Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 48: Let’s go sell books of “Three Generals”!

Zhang Chao in Fuhai was completely numb. Now he just wanted to point at the reporter and shout to the crowd: "He is slandering me! He is slandering me!"

In Yanjing, the people of Dongxing were also numb - but they were numb from laughing.

This wave of public opinion was like a godsend, and it immediately revived the "Blog China" that had seen its traffic cut in half after the suspension of "Youth Like You". Almost every day, a large number of people came to see what "Midnight Tide" had to say about the incident.

Zhang Chao naturally knew what Dongfang Xing meant, so he simply pretended not to see it.

This wave of teamwork is really difficult to deal with, because his position is exactly opposite to what the public expects, and it is absolutely impossible for him to abandon his position and jump to the side of the rumormongers.

Although doing so would allow him to get enough traffic, it would also cause endless troubles. Because the truth will eventually come out, and by then he may face repeated scourges for more than ten years.

After much deliberation, Zhang Chao decided to stick to his position, but he had to choose a better angle rather than directly confronting the overwhelming public opinion.

The article needs to be written, but it cannot be published now. Because in the face of overwhelming public opinion, the text content is too easy to be taken out of context, and it is not explosive enough in terms of public opinion appeal.

Zhang Chao opened his mailbox and rummaged through the inbox for a long time before finding an email. He wrote down the phone number on it, went to the school phone booth, inserted the phone card, and dialed an unfamiliar number:

"Hello, hello, is this Mr. Dou Wentao? I am Zhang Chao..."

Zhang Chao decided to spread his position and views through TV interviews, and the program he chose was Phoenix Chinese Channel's flagship program, "Three Generals" hosted by Dou Wentao.

Although he has received many invitations to TV shows, there are two problems that are difficult to overcome in most talk shows on mainland TV stations: first, the period from recording to broadcasting is too long. A program with a certain reputation is often only broadcast once a week, and there are too many intervening factors; second, the hosts are generally strong and like to "block" the guests into their preset positions.

If the guest "disobeys", the host may even scold him on the spot.

"Three Generals Going Together" is different. From Monday to Friday, there is one episode every day, each episode is half an hour long. The main feature is short, flat and fast. It seizes a hot event to make money, and the production and broadcasting cycle is extremely short.

Dou Wentao is a rare host who is willing to give up the right to speak to the guests, so the overall atmosphere of the show is relatively relaxed and lively, just like a casual chat between new and old friends. But it is this atmosphere that often allows the guests to talk deeply and thoroughly.

The most crucial point is that the audience covered by "Three Generals Going Together" is mainly intellectuals, urban youth, etc. On the one hand, there is a certain overlap with Zhang Chao's readers. On the other hand, they have a relatively loud voice in the public opinion field and are more receptive to different viewpoints.

Zhang Chao’s goal is to express different viewpoints.

The only thing he was worried about was that if the program was recorded in Hong Kong Island, it would be quite time-consuming to apply for a pass in this era. However, Dou Wentao told him that the program team had recently opened its own office and studio in Yanjing, and Zhang Chao could go there to record. The two of them tentatively decided on a time, which would be this Saturday afternoon, and there were still two days to prepare.

The next day at noon, when Zhang Chao checked his mailbox, he received a notification email from Dou Wentao's assistant. It contained the invitation letter, itinerary, program theme and process, and air ticket information. Zhang Chao couldn't help but sigh at the high efficiency.

In fact, Zhang Chao's arrival was also a pleasant surprise for Dou Wentao. The reason why "Three Generals" had to set up a Yanjing office was that Hong Kong Island was too limited. There were only a few guests coming and going, and the topics were getting narrower and narrower, and the ratings were showing a downward trend.

But after going to Yanjing, the situation did not improve quickly. The show was exhausted just looking for guests. The people who came either had too many concerns and avoided the topic; or they were happy to chat in private but not in front of the camera. As a result, the effect of several episodes was too poor. No matter how they edited, they could not produce a decent film and could only be abandoned.

The reason why Dou Wentao sent an email to Zhang Chao was because he was impressed by his performance during the interview and his ability to generate topics.

Dou Wentao vaguely felt that this was not a last-ditch effort, but rather an opportunity to turn the situation around.

Zhang Chao did not inform too many people about his trip to Yanjing this time. He only talked to Lan Ting and Song Shiyu, who had just returned to school, and then asked for leave from school. The only twist was his parents. When Zhang Chao's mother heard that he was going to Yanjing alone, she was determined not to agree at first, until Zhang Chao told her about the itinerary and the round trip on the same day, she reluctantly agreed, but she still talked about it for more than half an hour on the phone.

At 4 o'clock on Saturday morning, Zhang Chao left home. His parents had hired a car in advance and sent him to the airport together. Zhang Chao took a 6:9 flight and landed at Beijing Capital Airport at :.

The temperature in Yanjing in March was generally in the single digits, so Zhang Chao put on his winter clothes as soon as he got off the plane. When he walked to the exit, he saw a young man holding a big sign with the words "Zhang Chao" waiting for him.

The two took a taxi and came to the office of "Three Generals" in Chaoyang District, Yanjing. The studio was next to the office. Both places were very small.

When Zhang Chao arrived, Dou Wentao was still recording another guest. Usually, this kind of talk show would record several episodes a day, or even enough for a week, but of course not all of them would be broadcast in the end.

Zhang Chao waited until almost twelve o'clock before he saw Dou Wentao open the door of his office and greeted him warmly: "Welcome, welcome. Nice to meet you. I'm Dou Wentao. Zhang Chao looks younger than he sounds!"

Zhang Chao immediately stood up and shook Dou Wentao's hand. After the two exchanged greetings, they began to talk about the content to be recorded in the afternoon. It must be said that Dou Wentao is also very friendly in private, gentle and lively, with excellent eloquence, and it is refreshing to communicate with him.

The theme of this issue is: How to say no to school bullying! And the starting point is Lord Ma.

Zhang Chao briefly described to Dou Wentao his experiences, views and analysis as a teacher and a living in his two lifetimes, which immediately aroused the interest of this experienced host. He said frankly that he had never expected that behind the bullying that he thought was simple in logic, there were such complex factors intertwined.

Dou Wentao said excitedly: "If you want to present all of what you said in the program, I think it should be cut into at least two episodes, and broadcasted consecutively. There has never been a precedent before, but I think we can make an exception, and it is very valuable."

Talk shows may seem like casual conversations, but in fact they are planned in advance so that people can interact with each other in this way. They are not completely without a "script".

At this time, the assistant came in with two boxes of lunch boxes. Dou Wentao felt a little embarrassed and said, "We are new here and haven't made any achievements yet, so our budget is limited. I'm sorry to let Zhang Chao bear with it."

Zhang Chao opened the lid calmly and said in surprise: "There are chicken legs? This is much better than the school cafeteria!" This sentence amused the whole office and the atmosphere relaxed immediately.

At 2pm, the recording of "Three Generals" officially started. At the head of the table sat the host, Dou Wentao; on the right was the resident guest, Xu Zidong, professor and head of the Chinese Department at Lingnan University in Hong Kong Island; on the left was Zhang Chao.

After the routine opening remarks, Dou Wentao quickly got to the point: "Look, the recent incident in the Yunda dormitory has been a hot topic, especially why he killed people. There are many opinions in the media and on the Internet..."

The topic soon turned to Zhang Chao, and Zhang Chao spoke from a rather strange angle: "In fact, I am sitting here today. In addition to being a guest, I also have another identity, that of a victim."

Xu Zidong promptly took over the conversation and jokingly said, "Then you are really lucky."

Dou Wentao continued, "Hey, that's an interesting statement. In a case, it's not just the parties involved who are harmed, people outside the case may also be harmed."

Xu Zidong said, "I saw you brought a book here today. Before the show started, I flipped through it and found it very interesting, so I convinced Wen Tao to bring it here."

Then he picked up a book that had been placed on the small table where the three of them were sitting, and showed the cover to the camera. Half of the cover was bright sunshine, and the other half was dark night; at the intersection of black and white, there were four big characters "Youth Like You", the font design was clever, faintly outlining the outline of a young man and woman.

Dou Wentao said, "This is a novel that Zhang Chao is about to publish. We never advertised our guests before, but today I think we have to advertise it because it is very relevant to what we are going to talk about today."

Zhang Chao said: "When I say I am a victim, it is more accurate to say that my work has become the victim."

(End of this chapter)