Chapter 124: Basic operations, just basic operations... (Seeking monthly tickets, seeking first subscriptions!)

Chapter 124: Basic Operation, Nothing More...

Zhao Jinzhi had left, and the Little Theater was now short one female performer.

The Joymotion Drama Troupe had only just begun making a name for itself around Rongdian. How could it manage without good actors?

During this period, Zhang Shuo had brought in more than a dozen performers. They put on either Thunderstorm or Teahouse once a day at the Little Theater. But to be honest, their standard was merely average.

People often said that unless one became completely possessed by a role, one could never truly succeed. Among the extras in Rongdian, perhaps half of them were indeed completely possessed.

After spending so long in Rongdian, Li Shixin had seen people smashing stones against their chests in the public square while claiming to be the leader of the martial world. He had seen people wearing Sun Yat-sen suits every day and insisting they were descendants of a prestigious family. He had even seen someone carrying a cane and turning Charlie Chaplin into Donald Duck day after day.

Most of these people had acted themselves straight into their roles, unable to distinguish whether they were living in a performance or in reality.

They were absolutely mad—utterly consumed by their performances—but very few of them actually possessed the talent to make a living from it.

Lately, in the environment of Jianhong Community, where failed extras gathered in droves, the sentence Li Shixin heard most often was, “So-and-so can become famous—why can’t I?”

Whenever he heard it, he merely smiled.

Whether a person could accomplish something—or accomplish it over the long term—depended greatly on opportunity and luck. But the prerequisite was certainly that he himself possessed the qualities needed to seize that opportunity.

There was no such thing as a lucky man who succeeded for no reason.

Take himself, for example.

Why had he already risen to become a fairly well-known actor of substance in Rongdian?

Without genuinely formidable acting skills, could he have gotten anywhere merely by playing the victim and making a scene?

Right?

Besides, one also needed a godson!

After returning home from the teahouse, Li Shixin called Zhang Shuo and Chen Antang and told the two idiots to hurry up and find some actors for him.

Remembering that An Xiaoxiao would soon finish filming as well, he directly ordered them to look for a few young theater actors too.

Once all these arrangements had been made, Li Shixin could not help feeling a faint melancholy.

Damn it.

The Cultural Plaza performance had come at precisely the moment when the reputation of Only You was beginning to gather momentum.

And now, just like that, they were facing an actor crisis.

Wasn’t this cutting off the fuel beneath the cauldron?

Just as he was thinking this, a faint chime suddenly rang out in his mind.

Ding!

Received 344 applause points.

Ding!

Received 454 applause points.

Hmm?

As batches of emotionless applause points continued arriving, Li Shixin hurriedly opened the system.

Seeing that the applause points for the current period had already accumulated to more than four thousand, he knew something must have happened.

He opened Weibo and was instantly stunned.

His Weibo comments had already exploded.

“Hahahaha! They said the song had been used without authorization, and then Jin Wenqi personally showed up to sing it! Huahua Records slapped itself in the face just to clean up the mess. Lord Xin, that is what you call stature!”

“Huahua Records finally bowed its head!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it bowing its head. Sure, every crow in the world may be black, and capitalists are hardly saints. But Huahua Records at least knew how to read the situation. Jin Wenqi’s appearance was probably ordered by the company, but she came in person and granted free permission to use the song. That deserves a thumbs-up!”

“I don’t really believe the excuse about the copyright manager violating company rules, but they admitted their mistake. That makes them forgivable, at least. Lord Xin is mighty!”

After skimming through the comments, Li Shixin understood what had happened.

One had to admit, publicly traded companies were frighteningly efficient when dealing with a public-relations crisis.

The contract had only been signed last night, and he had already laid the groundwork on Weibo. Huahua Records’ public-relations team had followed up immediately.

Just moments ago, Jin Wenqi, an artist signed to Huahua Records, had posted two consecutive updates on Weibo.

Apart from photos taken at last night’s performance of Only You in the Cultural Plaza and a video of her singing there, she had also written a long post lavishly praising the play Only You.

She urged her fans to pay attention to people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and, as the original singer and composer of The Thief of Time, had granted the Joymotion Drama Troupe free commercial performance rights to the song.

This act of wholehearted support won a storm of praise from netizens following the controversy over Huahua Records’ exploitation of theatrical copyrights. It boosted her own popularity while also confirming Li Shixin’s earlier statement on Weibo that he had already been in contact with Huahua Records and that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.

Huahua Records’ copyright department also held a press conference to wash its hands of the matter.

At the conference, the head of the copyright department “clarified” the so-called facts to the public media, directly blaming the “ten-thousand-yuan copyright fee” on Wang Kexin, characterizing it as a violation of duty, and dismissing her from her position.

In addition, the company announced that it had reached a copyright agreement with Li Shixin, with both sides satisfied with the terms.

As he watched news pouring across the internet and instantly reversing the previously unfavorable public opinion surrounding Huahua Records, Li Shixin drew his brows into a deep frown.

Although he had laid the groundwork for this development, the more he thought about it, the clearer it became that Huahua Records’ public-relations strategy was extremely coherent.

Last night, Jin Wenqi had personally attended the event along with members of the copyright, public-relations, and advertising departments. Judging from their determination to obtain the copyright to Only You during their negotiations with him, Huahua Records could have achieved this outcome even without his own preparations.

There was a master strategist behind them.

(...)

Hmm. From now on, he would have to think things through more carefully whenever he picked a fight.

Seeing that the two pieces of news—Jin Wenqi’s appearance and Huahua Records’ press conference—had pushed the incident’s popularity even higher, Li Shixin collected his thoughts, quickly composed a Weibo post, and sent it out.

“Thank you all for your support and protection after this incident occurred. During my latest contact with Huahua Records, I felt the company’s sincerity. The misunderstanding has now been completely cleared up.

“I would like to thank Ms. Jin Wenqi for coming all the way here to sing in person, and for granting me free authorization to use the song. I would also like to thank Vice President Zhou of the Copyright Department, Manager Lu of the Public Relations Department, and Team Leader Yang of the Advertising Department for their patience and goodwill.

“I would also like to share some good news with all of you: the copyright for Only You Are the One I Can Never Forget has been settled with Huahua Records. The final copyright fee has been set at exactly three million yuan.

“I have entrusted Huahua Group to donate this three million yuan to the Chinese Alzheimer’s Prevention and Relief Foundation, where it will be used to raise awareness of the disease and provide assistance and care to patients.

“Thank you to every friend who has cared about this matter over the past two days.

“It was your support that won fairness and brought about this result.

“There are too many things I wish to say, but words cannot express them. On behalf of everyone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, I bow to you all in gratitude.

“Thank you!”

The moment this Weibo post went up, the already-heated comment section exploded once again.

“I’m crying! Lord Xin, why are you thanking us? We should be thanking you! Thank you for doing so much!”

“I spent hundreds of hours on Weibo this year, doing all kinds of ridiculous and pointless things. The only thing I feel was truly meaningful was following Lord Xin.

“Seriously, although you are not a famous actor, you are the greatest idol in my heart. Thank you for doing so much for people with Alzheimer’s disease. I sincerely hope you live a long and healthy life!”

“Teacher Li, we are the ones who should be bowing! We all know what you have been through! You are a high-risk patient suffering from severe cerebral thrombosis. You came to Rongdian to pursue your dream because your son refused to spend money on your treatment.

“Now that you have finally earned some money, you could have used it to treat your own illness. Instead, you donated every penny without even passing it through your own hands. Why are you bowing to us? Why should you be thanking anyone?!”

“I didn’t cry while watching the play. My eyes only turned red. But this Weibo post from Lord Xin made me cry like an idiot.

“You foolish old man! You silly old man, do you know that? Three million yuan! How many people spend their entire lives without earning that much?

“You sold the copyright to your script. That money belongs to you! Use it to treat your illness! Do you realize that your existence has raised the moral standards of the entire entertainment industry?

“If you don’t get better, what will we do if something happens to you one day? Who will we support then?”

“Damn it! All those brainless fans who go around shouting ‘Oppa’ and ‘husband’ should come here and stand in punishment! All those pretty-boy celebrities who claim to have a cold today and an inflamed toenail tomorrow just to milk attention online should come here and kneel!

“What does character mean? Do any of you even have any? How should a public figure behave? What should a celebrity do? Learn properly from Lord Xin!”

“I only came here to watch the spectacle. Maybe it’s because I’m older, but I only care whether a celebrity looks pleasing to me. I’ve never really understood the whole business of being a fan.

“But today, I have to say this: Lord Xin is my one and only idol! I do not admire you for your acting, nor for your popularity. I admire your character. Lord Xin, from now on, I am your devoted fan!”

“Join the Ironclad Guardians of Lord Xin!”

“Ironclad Guardians of Lord Xin, plus one!”

“Plus 10,086!”

Ding!

Received 66,548 applause points!

Watching the applause points suddenly surge in the system, and seeing his number of Weibo followers rise rapidly, Li Shixin smiled faintly and switched off his old-fashioned mobile phone.

As the reminders of applause points continued bursting beside his ears, Li Shixin spread his arms and gently closed his eyes.

Thank you for your generous support, my leek harvesters.

With this round, his public image had been thoroughly established.

No need to overdo it.

Basic operation...

Nothing more.