Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 27 The Little Trumpet Starts Broadcasting!
When Zhang Yan returned home and told Sun Xiaohong what had happened, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Zhang Xingguo couldn't bear to see his wife cry, so he handed her a towel with a look of disgust and said, "Look, look, this is a good thing, what's there to cry about?"

Sun Xiaohong turned her back, wiping away tears and sobbing, "My son knows how to care for me now, isn't that enough to make me happy?!"

"Fine, fine, you can cry all you want. My son and I are going to take a shower first." With that, Zhang Xingguo grabbed his son and rushed out the door.

Sun Xiaohong hurriedly chased after him and reminded him, "Honey, remember to bring a bottle of beer?"

"Who would drink that stuff..."

"I drink!"

On the way to the bathhouse, Zhang Yancai told Tianjin TV about his plan to write a script for the station.

Zhang Xingguo was initially happy for his son, but then he hesitated to speak.

Zhang Yan knew what he was going to say and preemptively said, "Dad, I've actually come to terms with it a long time ago. Zhou Nan hasn't contacted the family for so long, he must have encountered some accident. Now I'm just doing my best and leaving the rest to fate."

Although Zhou Nan is stubborn, he is definitely not the kind of cold-blooded animal who doesn't care about family ties. However, after leaving for more than half a year, he didn't send back a single word. It's as if he has vanished into thin air.

Although Zhang Yan had not completely given up, he had long been prepared for the worst.

"Ah~"

Zhang Xingguo sighed, patted his son on the shoulder and said, "There are plenty of pretty girls among the actors. If you meet the right one this time, don't be so stubborn."

Zhang Yan replied vaguely, "We'll talk about it later."

"Since you're going to work there, don't bother buying a house in Hengjiang. Just buy one in Tianjin, and when you're looking for a girlfriend..."

"Then what about you and my mom?"

"What else can we do? When we miss you, we'll go to Tianjin to see you. When you miss us, we'll come back to visit."

He kept rambling on and on.

After the father and son finished showering and returned home, Sun Xiaohong cooked two more dishes, filling the entire table.

The atmosphere was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation until Zhang Yan asked about his sister's academic performance, at which point the mood suddenly soured.

"Don't mention it."

Sun Xiaohong sighed, "Just like you back then, she never puts her mind on studying. Just a few days ago, someone even wrote her a love letter!"

Zhang Fang, munching on a braised chicken foot, mumbled, "Didn't I already hand it over to the teacher? I'm a young woman with ideals and ambitions, I won't waste my life on something like this."

Seeing her attitude, Zhang Xingguo couldn't help but scold her: "How dare you talk about ideals? You only got a few points on the exam and you want to be a reporter—don't you even know which journalism department would accept someone like you?!"

"Oops~"

Zhang Fang put down the chicken feet and said angrily, "I can still improve my grades next semester, and our teacher said that colleges and universities will expand their enrollment next year, so if you score 450 points, you can go to a junior college."

Zhang Yan pressed further, "So what score can you get now?"

Zhang Fang squinted and said awkwardly, "Uh, about 400 points."

Got~
This is indeed a continuation of the same pattern. Zhang Yan scored just over 400 back then, mainly because his English and math scores were so poor that he basically never passed.

Zhang Yan wasn't optimistic about his younger sister's future grades. She was just a restless girl who couldn't settle down, and even if she barely made it to a vocational college, she probably wouldn't get into a good major.

Before venturing out into the world, he probably could only worry helplessly, just like his parents.

But now...

Zhang Yan stared at his younger sister for a while, then suddenly commanded, "Stand up."

"What are you doing? We're eating."

Zhang Fang thought her brother was going to criticize her, so she pouted and reluctantly stood up, puffing out her cheeks like a squirrel hiding hazelnuts.

"Be serious!"

Zhang Yan pointed at the washstand with an annoyance and said, "Go wash the oil off your hands and mouth, then come back and stand properly."

Although Zhang Fang was used to joking around with her brother, seeing his serious expression, she didn't dare to argue anymore and obediently went to add some warm water to wash her hands and face.

Concerned, Sun Xiaohong asked, "What's wrong? Is something wrong with your sister?"

"No."

Zhang Yan said, "Actually, I think Fangfang has a pretty good image. She's pleasing to the eye and has a quick tongue. Maybe she could try the art exam." "Art exam?"

These days, many people have never even heard of the art exams. Zhang Xingguo knew a little about them, and immediately shook his head vigorously: "Our Daily News only needs to produce one Zhou Nan, so you should tell your sister to shut up!"

"Art exams aren't limited to acting majors."

Zhang Yan explained, "I heard that the broadcasting and hosting major also goes through the arts entrance exam, and the cultural score requirement is relatively low. It seems that 3 or 400 points is enough to get into a good university."

"Cough, cough~"

As soon as he finished speaking, two soft coughs came from behind him.

The father and son turned around and saw Zhang Fang standing behind them at some point, her hands resting flat on her lower abdomen, one in front of the other, her eight fingers hooked together. She sweetly said, "Listeners, listeners, the little loudspeaker is starting its broadcast~"

…………

Three days later, Zhang Yan returned to Tianjin and formally submitted his application to join the Writers Association to Zhang Shaomei. His job transfer was also put on the agenda immediately.

While all the formalities were still in progress, Zhang Yan turned around and boarded the train to Beijing.

My sister's future cannot be delayed, and this trip to Beijing also allows me to thank Professor Shi Tiesheng and Professor Zheng Ming in person.

Without their help, I definitely wouldn't have gotten past the hurdle of being a scholar of "Dream of the Red Chamber," and even if I had, I wouldn't have had the chance to write scripts for TV stations again.

We arrived at Beijing West Railway Station.

Zhang Yan spotted Dou Wei, who had come to pick him up, at a glance. Dou Wei was sitting on the high steps, playing the flute for the endless stream of passengers.

Zhang Yan pulled out some change from his pocket and walked over to throw it at Dou Wei's feet. Suddenly, he noticed that there were already several coins and small bills there, and he couldn't help but laugh and say, "You're not professional enough. If you had brought sunglasses, you would have earned more."

It seemed that Dou Wei only realized at this moment that someone had given him some spare change.

Without even glancing at him, he stood up and said, "Let's go. I couldn't personally welcome you last time, so this time I specially booked Old Mo's place to broaden your horizons."

"Hey, you've struck it rich? No wonder you look down on these loose change." Zhang Yan joked as he bent down to pick up the scattered bills. "Even if you don't want them, you can donate them to Project Hope. How can you waste them?"

Dou Wei sighed, tilted his head slightly, and said in a particularly empty and lonely tone, "Our version of 'Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty' is very popular, and almost every show is sold out."

It was clearly a great thing, but he expressed a melancholic sentiment of being the only one sober while everyone else was drunk.

Zhang Yan retorted speechlessly, "Are your bones itching again? Let me tell you, if you keep going like this, someone's going to break your legs sooner or later!"

He paused, then asked, "Where's Jiang Xin?"

"She has classes in the morning, so she'll go directly to Lao Mo and meet us in a bit."

The two walked and talked, and when they got outside to wait for the bus, Dou Wei remembered to ask Zhang Yan the purpose of his visit.

“My younger sister is in her final year of high school, right? Her grades are just average, so I’m thinking about whether she could pursue an arts exam. Do you know anyone who is familiar with arts exams, preferably someone majoring in broadcasting and hosting?”

"Broadcasting and Hosting Major?"

Dou Wei frowned and said, "It's easy to find people who study music. Students from the Central Conservatory of Music often come in groups to listen to me sing. But for broadcasting and hosting majors... Oh right, do you remember Zhang Youdai?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Yan excitedly patted Dou Wei on the shoulder. Wasn't that Zhang Youdai the host of the Central Radio Station?
He asked hopefully, "Are you very familiar with him?"

"We haven't had much contact."

Dou Wei shook his head decisively.

Zhang Yan was greatly disappointed: "Then say something auspicious..."

"However, Fourth Brother [Guo Chuanlin] should be quite familiar with him. Fourth Brother used to always get bootleg tapes from him. Zhang Youdai was nicknamed the 'King of Tapes' in the industry."

Got~
In the end, it all comes down to Guo Chuanlin.

Zhang Yan looked at Dou Wei with disdain and said, "What can you do without Brother Guo? You're useless even if you're given a chance to prove yourself."

[PS: In the 1980s, there were almost no formal channels in China to access foreign pop music.]

However, some foreign record companies would simply destroy and scrap their unsold cassette tapes and records and sell them to China as garbage.

Then, the better-preserved pieces of this imported waste are distributed to music lovers around the world.

Because these tapes have notches left from when they were destroyed, they are called "cut tapes."

(End of this chapter)