"Rowing the black-awned boat,"
"Smoothly with the wind and tide,"
"On your eighteen-year-old face,"
"Like sun-kissed lotus flowers, uniquely brilliant,"
"Passing through the bluestone alley,"
"Lighting the red lanterns,"
...
Inside the office of the China Record Planning Department, Zhou Ziheng's cassette tape was playing its final moments on the tape recorder.
Chen Xiaoqi and Li Guangping sat side by side on the sofa, listening to the music flowing from the recorder, both of them falling silent.
After a long pause, Li Guangping hesitated and spoke up, "How about we don't recommend Zhou Ziheng to Pacific after all? Let's release this record ourselves!"
Initially, both Li Guangping and Chen Xiaoqi had believed that Zhou Ziheng's cassette would be just like Li Chunbo's, with only a single track like Wandering Song capable of making waves in the market.
Therefore, when faced with a situation where it clashed with Li Chunbo's Xiaofang and they could only push one, Li Guangping had agreed with Chen Xiaoqi's proposal to recommend Zhou Ziheng to Pacific.
However, after listening to the entire tape, Li Guangping regretted it.
If the song Wandering Song was undeniably rustic yet undeniably catchy, most of the other tracks on this tape belonged to a genre Li Guangping considered extremely popular in Mainland China right now.
Take Outside the Window, for instance—in Li Guangping's view, this song was in no way inferior to the pop songs coming out of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Then came Ninth Ninth Daughter's Red Wine and Double Ninth Wine. Not only were their lyrics exceptional, but their musical styles also carried a distinct, powerful Mainland flavor.
Combined with the immensely evocative New Migrant Worker Ballad and Child Far From Home, Li Guangping had become utterly certain after listening through that this cassette was destined to be a massive hit.
Handing over a cassette he considered a guaranteed blockbuster to another company felt far too foolish to him.
Across from him, Chen Xiaoqi was listening intently to the music still playing from the tape recorder. Hearing this, he couldn't help offering a wry smile.
"It's too late. I've already spoken to Liu Zhiwen about it."
Pausing for a moment, his tone took on an unreadable quality. "Besides, given the remarkable quality of Zhou Ziheng's record, handing it over to Pacific for publication might not actually be a bad thing."
Li Guangping was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Why do you think I proposed signing Zhou Ziheng's Wandering Song at the meeting last time?"
Chen Xiaoqi stood up. "I knew full well that Wandering Song wouldn't be accepted by Old Wang and the others, yet I proposed it anyway.
Aside from my reluctance to simply hand Zhou Ziheng over to Pacific like that, there was another reason: I needed Wandering Song to go through the review process within our Planning Department.
Tell me, what do you think the impact on the Planning Department would be if a song that the two of us strongly recommended was rejected by everyone else, only for it to be published by another company and achieve great success?"
"Naturally, the company would question the Planning Department's criteria for selecting music!"
Without a second thought, Li Guangping gave his answer.
Yet the moment the words left his mouth, realization struck him. He stared straight at Chen Xiaoqi. "You want to use pressure from above to clear out those dissenting voices within the Planning Department?"
Li Guangping had originally been puzzled as to why, half a month ago, Chen Xiaoqi had suddenly pulled out the finished version of Zhou Ziheng's Wandering Song and proposed signing him during the internal department meeting.
Now, he finally understood.
As it turned out, Chen Xiaoqi's primary goal had never been to get the song approved. On the contrary, having it rejected was his real intention all along.
"The Planning Department has been established for two months now. Even though I'm the director, you've seen how the higher-ups insisted on planting a bunch of clueless people in here.
Their presence has already directly or indirectly undermined the original purpose of founding this department.
What was our original purpose?
It was to reference the advanced management models of record companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and abroad, and to drive the rapid development of our musical culture.
And look at the result..."
Chen Xiaoqi lit another cigarette.
He was an avid smoker, a heavy smoker who constantly had a cigarette between his fingers.
Taking a deep drag and exhaling, watching the smoke curl and roll in the air, he continued, "Wandering Song is our opportunity to weed them out—even if it means sacrificing a cassette that has the potential to sell millions.
Look at the cassette for Xiaofang. Both you and I agreed it had immense potential and would win market approval.
And what happened? A bunch of rigidly outdated guys insisted on rejecting its publication on the grounds that the music was too rustic.
If we have Xiaofang today, there will surely be other songs tomorrow.
I have no interest in haggling with them over every single cassette we believe has market potential."
Having heard Chen Xiaoqi out, Li Guangping looked toward the tape recorder with a deep sense of regret.
He genuinely liked this cassette.
Yet compared to having absolute authority within the Planning Department, the tape suddenly seemed far less important.
"Tomorrow, I'll personally accompany Zhou Ziheng to Pacific. Not only am I going to make Pacific sign his cassette, but I'm also going to make them pour massive resources into it—turning this cassette into a blockbuster in the truest sense of the word."
As the song on the recorder ended, replaced by a low hiss of static, Chen Xiaoqi pulled out the cassette and said with absolute determination.
...
"Bip, bip, bip, bip..."
Early in the morning, Zhou Ziheng was jolted awake from his dreams by the pager on his bedside table.
He recognized the calling number—it belonged to Chen Xiaoqi.
Seeing that it was Chen Xiaoqi paging him, he instantly realized that Chen Xiaoqi had already set out to pick him up.
Yesterday, Li Chunbo had visited China Record and, upon returning, told Zhou Ziheng that Chen Xiaoqi would come to pick him up today and personally take him to Pacific.
His gaze falling upon the poster of the Four Heavenly Kings by his bed, Zhou Ziheng's eyes were filled with anticipation.
If things went smoothly, he would likely sign a publishing contract with Pacific today, putting them in full charge of pushing his cassette, Wandering Song, out into the market.
And if things went even smoother and the cassette achieved strong sales, his career as a singer would officially set sail.
"Four Heavenly Kings! Maybe one day I'll share the stage with you guys!"
Muttering to himself, he scrambled out of bed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, put on a suit he had bought for the exorbitant price of a hundred yuan, and stepped briskly downstairs with a light and hopeful stride.
"Sweet, you smile so sweet,"
"Like flowers blooming in the spring breeze,"
"Blooming in the spring breeze,"
...
At the entrance of the residential courtyard, Old Wang the gatekeeper had already begun his daily routine of playing the cassette player. Seeing Zhou Ziheng's unusual attire, he asked with a look of surprise:
"Heng-zai, all dressed up so sharp—where are you off to?"
"Brother Wang!" Zhou Ziheng called out, replying, "I recorded a tape and I'm taking it to Pacific to see if they'll publish it.
If it works out, who knows, you might even have a chance to buy my tape one of these days!"
"Quit bragging!" Hearing this, Old Wang was skeptical. "If you really manage to publish a tape, I'll marry my daughter off to you!"
"You're jumping way too many generations ahead. I call you brother, and yet you want to be my father-in-law? You'd better save your daughter for someone else!"
Hearing Old Wang mention his daughter, Zhou Ziheng couldn't help shuddering.
He had seen Old Wang's daughter—she was built like a tank, with arms thicker than his own thighs, and he simply didn't dare provoke her.