"Buy a song?!"
At the dining table, the family of three cried out in surprise almost in unison.
"?"
"Is there someone else with you?"
"Oh, it's fine, I'm having dinner with my parents. Go ahead, what were you saying?" Xiaolan hurriedly explained, paying no mind to her parents' strange expressions.
It was no wonder her parents' minds were wandering.
Just a moment ago, they had been discussing how buying scripts was unreliable, and now out of nowhere came buying a song. These were two completely different industries.
Had their daughter's talent already reached such heights?
The elderly couple instantly plunged into deep self-doubt, wondering if they had previously underestimated their daughter in some ways.
Confirming everything was fine, Lu Chen continued, "You know my situation. I don't have much money left that I can use. So..."
Hearing this, Xiaolan instantly understood why Lu Chen was acting this way.
He wanted to bargain.
That being said, she really hadn't expected Lu Chen to come to her to buy a song; she had never considered this path herself before. Now, it seemed this new "business opportunity" might serve as a fresh way to make money.
"Just name your price. If it's reasonable, I'll sell it."
"Um... is one hundred thousand okay?"
"Alright, ten thousand it is."
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiaolan replied immediately. But she quickly thought of something and hurriedly added, "Plus a twenty percent sales commission."
"No problem."
Lu Chen agreed readily as well. Although there was a slight markup, given the quality of the song, he felt it was worth it.
Under Hua Nation's comprehensive intellectual property protection mechanism, all musical works could be released and sold on official platforms. If a singer was signed to a company, the standard rule was that a single download cost 1 yuan. Half of that went to the company, and the remaining 5 cents was split among the lyricist, composer, arranger, and singer.
Among these people, the singer actually took the smallest cut unless their rank reached silver, gold, or ace status, which allowed for a higher percentage.
But he was different now; he was an independent musician. Without the company-level cut, he had enough margin to offer a better share to the lyricist and composer.
Some might wonder: since selling songs to independent musicians yielded a higher split, why did those people still prefer working with entertainment agencies?
The reason for this was actually quite simple.
For a song to become a hit and increase its sales volume, apart from the quality of the song itself, the most crucial factor was promotion.
Promotion costs had always been enormous, and it wasn't something money alone could achieve—you also needed reliable promotional channels and resources.
All of this was basically in the hands of entertainment agencies. For an ordinary independent musician, self-promotion not only cost a lot, but even if they managed to get the word out, nobody might even know who they were. This would lead to poor sales figures, meaning that even if those brilliant lyricists and composers took a larger percentage, their actual earnings would end up lower than if they had simply cooperated normally with an entertainment agency.
Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, it was only after singers had made a name for themselves and accumulated a certain following that they dared to try leaving their companies to set up their own studios as independent musicians. This way, they could rely on their own fame, accumulated wealth, and connections to handle promotion, ensuring sales figures while securing a larger personal cut and maximizing their profits.
Xiaolan, having browsed countless pieces of entertainment industry information, actually understood all of this.
Yet the reason she was still willing to sell and demand a sales commission was primarily because... she believed in the power of Earth's culture from her past life—she wanted to take a gamble. Besides, she wasn't a heartless person. Lu Chen had indeed given her help when her film career was just starting out, and one good turn deserved another; helping him out wasn't a big deal.
After all, even if this song really flopped and didn't generate much revenue, she at least still remembered plenty of other songs and could just use them later.
The two of them chatted on the phone about a few more details, including when the complete lyrics and sheet music would be delivered to the other party, the release date, the settlement schedule for sales commissions, and so on.
Once everything was settled, just like last time,
Lu Chen drafted the contract. After Xiaolan confirmed there were no issues and signed it, her banking text message notification rang out shortly after.
Zhong Jianjun and Yang Cuifang witnessed the entire process.
They were left utterly speechless with shock upon seeing that another 100,000 had been deposited into Xiaolan's account.
Seeing this, Xiaolan felt quite pleased inside and even feigned a sigh, saying, "Sigh, making money really is that simple."
However, Yang Cuifang quickly snapped back to reality. Once she fully grasped how things had unfolded, the smile on her face could no longer be contained. She kept humming smugly at Zhong Jianjun, as if continuously reminding him:
Look at that, look at that! That's my precious daughter.
Born from this very mother!
Zhong Jianjun felt quite helpless about this and could only give a slight shrug to concede. Deep down, however, he still wasn't convinced.
That's my precious daughter too, you know.
Besides, I contributed half the effort here as well.
Yet when the three of them began discussing the matter of resigning, the couple's opinions remained completely unified.
"Actually, your mother and I have it much easier at work now than before. It's not tiring at all."
"We'll save that one hundred thousand for you to use as dowry in the future. You don't need to transfer money to us on ordinary days. Keep the money you earn for yourself, Xiaolan, and take good care of your career."
Just as Zhong Jianjun finished speaking, Yang Cuifang chimed in from the side in agreement, "That's right. You just focus on making movies. If your career and income stabilize in all aspects later on, it won't be too late for the two of us to quit and retire. Oh, right, if you could happen to get married and have a kid by then, that would be even better."
"Huh?"
Xiaolan clearly hadn't expected her mother's train of thought to make such a sudden leap.
They had been having a perfectly good discussion about retiring from work, so why did it suddenly pivot to marriage? She had completely no thoughts about that whatsoever.
"Mom, you can't force marriage."
"Besides, late marriages are everywhere these days. I'm still young, no need to rush."
Zhong Jianjun nodded, supporting Xiaolan's view as well.
"Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. Marriage is a lifelong affair, you can't rush it. If you just get married for the sake of getting married and end up unhappy and divorced later on, you're the only one who will suffer."
"If you really can't find a suitable match in the future, just move back home and live with us. As long as you're happy and safe, that's all that matters."
"Mom, listen to that, just listen."
Xiaolan couldn't help giving Zhong Jianjun a thumbs-up of approval: "Now that's profound wisdom. Dad still understands me best."
"Well, well, well, are the father and daughter teaming up to bully me now?"
"And another thing..." Yang Cuifang widened her eyes, glared fiercely at Zhong Jianjun, and then grabbed him by the ear, twisting hard: "What kind of nonsense is an old fogey like you spouting, talking about not finding a suitable match in the future? Are you implying that none of the guys out there find my daughter attractive? If you don't know how to talk, stop talking and go wash the dishes right now!"
Zhong Jianjun rubbed his ear and glanced at Xiaolan as he stood up to leave. The father and daughter completed a silent eye conversation.
Xiaolan: Dad, take care. When Mom flies into a rage, even I can't save you.
Zhong Jianjun: Come help wash them?
Xiaolan closed her eyes and cut off the connection: That's really not necessary, Dad.
Zhong Jianjun: Right, the two of you are teaming up to bully people again.
And so, Dad walked away with a grievance-laden expression, clutching a stack of bowls and chopsticks, leaving Xiaolan and her mother to continue chatting.
Seeing her father's dish-washing back, Xiaolan knew that Dad must be smiling right now, and the same went for Mom right in front of her.
Perhaps this was the very meaning of home.