After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 32: Is the whip dipped in iodine solution for disinfection while being used?
“I know you have grievances against the company, and I’m calling you this time to resolve the conflict.” Ma Ling said bluntly, “The company has arranged a gig for you, but it doesn’t conflict with the schedule of ‘Chinese Music Awards.’ Are you going or not?”

“Go on,” Shen Ming’en said directly, “I’m listening.”

Saying you're accepting gigs without specifying what kind of gigs you're accepting is just being a scoundrel. If they were to throw him into singing at someone's wedding or funeral, wouldn't that be the end of him?

Moreover, Shen Ming'en can almost be called the "spokesperson for patriotic songs" now. If the company arranges for him to sing patriotic songs in some informal occasions, his newly built good reputation might collapse, which would be a loss.

“I know what you’re thinking, don’t worry,” Ma Ling said frankly. “It’s a food variety show called ‘Taste of Life’ produced by our own company.”

"Teacher Huang's?" Shen Ming'en's lips twitched.

The "Teacher Huang" he mentioned is Huang Shi, also known in the martial arts world as "Chef Huang".

As a veteran in the industry with deep connections in Beijing's social circles, the lifestyle variety show "Welcome to the Mushroom House," which he co-hosted with He Jiong, the leading host of Hunan TV, became a hit across the internet.
On the show, Teacher Huang, as the only guest who "can cook," took on the role of "chef." The guests were all very tactful, respectful, and deferential to the senior, so no matter how good or bad his cooking was, they all praised it to the skies. With the addition of Teacher He, who was known for his mischievous charm, Teacher Huang even started to believe that his cooking was really delicious and that he was completely captivated by his own own abilities...

Two years ago, the reputation of "Mushroom House" declined and it was forced to end. Reluctant to give up his "God of Cookery" persona, Teacher Huang simply took the lead in organizing a new food variety show called "Taste of Life".

He and Teacher He will still be the main guests, inviting various friends in the industry to prepare food for them, and then they will taste and evaluate it.

Teacher Huang, with his fatherly demeanor, comments on the food prepared by the new guests in each episode, acting like a culinary master. Unfortunately, the audience has long since stopped buying into this act and is annoyed by his "know-it-all" personality and his tendency to preach. As a result, the show has never been very popular since its inception, let alone comparable to "Mushroom House".

So far, the most popular and viral video of this show is actually from when He Jiong was tasting the food and praising it, while Huang Lei dipped his hand in the soup and licked it, which was criticized as unhygienic and went viral on social media...

Shen Ming'en's participation in this lukewarm, low-quality show wasn't for any personal benefit; it was purely to leverage his recent popularity and influence to artificially boost the show's ratings!
Not only that, but the agent Ma Ling on the other end of the phone also said, "The program team's idea is that they can give you more appearance fees, but you have to play a clown role."

"You're going to play a clown again?" Shen Ming'en's lips twitched.

“Don’t be too embarrassed. The food you make doesn’t have to be that delicious, and the presentation doesn’t have to be perfect,” Ma Ling said. “When the time comes, let Teacher Huang give you some subtle feedback, then let him demonstrate it for you personally, and finally explain the correct way to make it.”

"...Am I his father?" Shen Ming'en couldn't help but ask.

Do you think he's the kind of person who would bow his head and act like a grandson, a stepping stone for others to climb up?

Good guy...

I thought the company had finally had a change of heart and gave me a gig, but now it seems they just saw his recent popularity and high viewership and wanted to use his fame to boost the ratings of their lukewarm food show. At the same time, they didn't want to give him any benefits, otherwise they wouldn't be able to explain it to those investors, so they made him play the villain...

You said you'd give me more money for the appearance?
Ha, even if he were given a few million more, Shen Ming'en would still be penny-wise and pound-foolish if he agreed.

The whip is dipped in iodine solution, disinfected while being used; your company is a master at using the tricks of capital to swindle people!

“You can’t say that,” Ma Ling was used to Shen Ming’en’s bluntness. She didn’t care that he wasn’t the one being scolded. She said bluntly, “Even if you have exposure and traffic recently, if the company doesn’t agree and no one dares to invite you to other shows, you still can’t monetize it. At least going on ‘Taste of Life’ can alleviate your recent predicament. You should know that yourself, right?”

She practically said that the company had deducted all of Shen Ming'en's money, and that he, Haji'en, would soon face a situation where he was "out of ammunition and supplies".

"..."

Shen Ming'en remained silent for a moment, then told the truth that he only had less than a thousand yuan left in his hands.

He won't get another gig anytime soon if he doesn't accept this one, and his company contract doesn't allow him to take on freelance work. As for the civil service exam, let's not even talk about the fact that the provincial and national exams are still a long way off this year; even if they do come around, it's uncertain whether he'll pass on his first try. Making money through live streaming is fine, but the concern is that discussing his private life too much might diminish his celebrity mystique and negatively impact his chances of passing the civil service exam—a case of penny-wise and pound-foolish.

He's not the type to borrow money...

“It’s fine,” Shen Ming’en said after a moment’s consideration, “but you have to pay me my appearance fee for ‘Chinese Music Center’ and the copyright fee for my songs first.”

He agreed, but he couldn't just agree for nothing. The company wanted him to stick to that lousy food show and even make him play the ugly character, but they only gave him some money and nothing else. Wouldn't that be like giving a beggar a free meal?

“Okay.” Ma Ling seemed to have thought about this beforehand, so she agreed without hesitation, but she also had a condition: “However, you have to sign a contract for at least 3 to 5 issues of ‘Taste of Life’ at once.”

He played the clown role for 3 to 5 episodes...

Shen Ming'en remained calm and said, "If you invite me to endorse or advertise, you must give it to me."

Monetization is not as simple as appearing on shows. For celebrities, influencers, and other professions, the main source of income is advertising, endorsements, and sales commissions from brands.

With his current popularity, he'll definitely be able to get a huge number of endorsements and advertisements.

It's worth mentioning that when Shen Ming'en made this request, another voice came from the other end of the phone. It was a young girl who said, "Is it overdone?"

Without even thinking, Ma Ling replied, "No problem."

The girl on the other end of the phone seemed to have some complaints, but Ma Ling had already agreed. Shen Ming'en frowned, seemingly aware of their intentions, and ultimately said nothing. After finalizing some details, he hung up the phone.

Hajime knew very well that he didn't have much of a choice in the current situation. The company's offer was already quite good; at least he had TV appearances and advertising deals. He should focus on earning the money he could get his hands on first, otherwise even putting food on the table would be a problem.

We'll talk about what happens next.

In front of me...

This food show features someone playing an ugly character...

Make something that isn't so tasty...

"Hehehe." For some reason, Shen Ming'en grinned, revealing his classic "evil gardenia smile."

That’s how you play, right?

So neat, right?
Okay...

If I do something really awesome, don't be surprised (remember this).

……

P.S.: There's a small side story at the end. If you're not interested, you can skip to chapter 45. It shouldn't affect your reading experience.

(End of this chapter)