A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 1 Lin Jianlu

Veteran.

Lin Jianlu was very happy with his initial configuration.

Actually, he really wanted to be a soldier in his past life, but considering various factors, he ultimately chose to study at a music academy—being a soldier certainly wouldn't make you rich, but it's said that singing could.

However, it was useless; it was just for making a living.

Unexpectedly, a car accident transported me to 95, where I even became a veteran, which can be considered a small fulfillment of half of my dream!

Unfortunately, when Lin Jianlu transmigrated, she was already on the train home after being discharged from the military.

But the fact that he's originally from the capital city makes me think that the other half of his dream has been fulfilled a little bit.

He has a Beijing residency permit. In his previous life, he stayed here after graduating from university. After struggling for almost ten years, he still has no hope of getting a Beijing residency permit. He studied folk music and can sing popular songs quite well, but firstly, his natural voice isn't top-notch, and secondly, he's too ordinary-looking. In short, he can't make it big.

Anyone who has been in the music industry knows how difficult it is to make it big.

He's been in groups, sung underground, participated in talent shows, and later became a music teacher at a prestigious school. Don't believe what you see on TikTok, where it seems like music teachers at prestigious schools just lead a bunch of kids in jumping and singing, making it all so fun. Please, that's just the glitz and glamour; daily teaching is just as tough.

Moreover, while the income wasn't low, it certainly wasn't high either.

Later, he also did live streaming as a side job. The traffic was decent; he didn't get rich, but he didn't starve either. He even earned the nickname "Live Streaming Singer"—but he still couldn't become famous.

So you see, you still need to travel through more places.

Time travel could make dreams come true—he's a towering 1.83 meters tall in this life, and to make matters worse, he's incredibly handsome. He has a sharp, angular, and ruggedly handsome look.

He had just woken up on the train and went to the restroom to look in the mirror.

No bragging, he's both handsome and tough.

In Lin Jianlu's own evaluation system, this is the most handsome type.

He was so happy he couldn't stand it.

So unlike his ex, he now really likes to greet acquaintances proactively—he must have drunk some really rubbish-tasting chicken soup for the soul in his past life, called "A girl who smiles a lot is lucky," what a load of rubbish! That should be changed to "Lucky girls always smile a lot"!
You're already this damn handsome, what worries could you possibly have!

"Hey, Grandpa Zhao's taking a stroll. It's so cold outside... You look so energetic!"

"Ah, ah ha..."

The old man was getting on in years, and although he could hear, he only managed to see Lin Jianlu's retreating figure as he strode away, leaving two trails of white smoke behind his head like a rapidly moving train engine. He then sighed to himself, "Hey... this army is really a great place. After two years of service, even that kid Lin can speak human language now!"

Lin Jianlu continued running while laughing heartily.

After finishing my five-kilometer morning run, I was carrying three pounds of steamed buns, one pound of fried dough sticks, six tea eggs, and three servings of tofu pudding. I ran all the way back to the courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang, and sure enough, my mom was pouring out water for washing her face.

In the middle of the yard, the neighbors were filling water at the water trough, or washing their pots.

He greeted everyone as he went, and his mother heard him from afar. When she saw what he was carrying, she was furious, but she couldn't embarrass her son in front of outsiders, so she could only say "Hey..." and then slipped away, lifting the cotton curtain to go back inside.

Once her son entered the house, she was quick to criticize. The closeness they had shared in the first few days after his discharge from the army, and the tender affection she had painstakingly cultivated over two years of longing, were all gone. "Go ahead and spend! Keep spending! Buying steamed buns every day! How much money do you have? You eat steamed buns every day! Lin Guodong, control your son! He'll squander all that discharge pay he gets!"

But Lin Guodong didn't say anything, slowly smoking his cigarette. After he stubbed it out, he stood up and said, "Alright, eat up. Isn't it good that your son is being filial? Besides, it's just a few steamed buns and fried dough sticks, it won't make you poor!"

"Hey... Steamed buns are only four per pound, two yuan! Fried dough sticks are one yuan and fifty cents per pound, and tea eggs are only three for one yuan! The key is that your son doesn't have that kind of small appetite! Well, this guy gulped down ten yuan's worth of breakfast, including food and drinks! Isn't that enough to make him poor? Can't I heat up a steamed bun or cook some porridge for breakfast?... You're really something! Lin Guodong, ask your young master how many coins he earns a month!"

Despite her complaints, she quickly grabbed the bowls and chopsticks and put the things her son had bought on the table. Lin Jianlu returned with a basin of cold water, took off his shirt (not afraid of the cold weather), and started washing himself shirtless. His mother, concerned for her son, quickly pulled him aside, poured water from the thermos into the basin until it was at least warm and steaming, and then grumbled, "So what if you're healthy? The healthier you are, the worse you feel when you catch a cold. You're like a polar bear every day! You really live a rough life!"

After quickly wiping myself off, I sat down and started eating.

These steamed buns cost 50 cents each, and don't complain about the price! They're the size of Lin Jianlu's fist, packed full of meat! Thirty years from now, these buns will cost five dollars each!
The elderly couple had just gotten up and couldn't eat much. Lin Guodong was a little full after eating a steamed bun, a fried dough stick, and a tea egg. He was an educated man who taught junior high school Chinese and didn't exercise much. Lin's mother was even more satisfied with just a fried dough stick and a tea egg. The couple then ate tofu pudding while watching Lin Jianlu show off.

Crunch crunch crunch, eleven big steamed buns, more than half a pound of fried dough sticks, and four tea eggs were gone in no time.

The two of them were speechless with frustration.

Are you going out to look for a job again today?

"Go ahead and look for it!"

"Didn't you say the other day that the Hu family's kid's company was hiring a driver? Don't worry about the pay, just take any job you can get. It's a decent job, better than wandering around like this in the alley! It's easier to find a better job while you're still looking for something better!"

"Ha... Mom, three months of internship, 150 a month, only 280 for the official job, I'll starve!"

"You won't starve! Mom will subsidize you for three months! As long as you go to work, Mom will buy you steamed buns every morning!" "Haha, save your money, Mom! Keep your money safe! Your son is about to strike it rich!"

"Screw you! You'll drive me crazy sooner or later, so be it!"

A noisy and chaotic meal.

After a quick breakfast and some tidying up, the two of them headed out to work. Lin Jianlu also grabbed her backpack, stuffing it with a stack of manuscript paper, a cassette tape, and the guitar she'd bought after returning from the army. She was also going out—the family had two bicycles, but since Lin Jianlu was looking for work recently, Lin Guodong was responsible for taking her mother to the stationery factory first. She worked as an accountant there.

Just as she was about to leave, she looked up from the porch and saw Gao Jiancheng, who lived in the east wing across the street, also pushing a cart. "Oh, is Xiao Lu going out to look for work again?"

"Yes, Grandpa Gao!"

"Hey, if you ask me, your mom's right, you're always looking for a better job while you're still employed! These days, so many people are laid off, and don't complain about the low pay. Our factory only pays temporary workers 120 a month! How are we supposed to survive?"

Lin Jianlu chuckled twice, too lazy to reply.

That old man is really...

The main reason is that my ex broke his house windows a few times when we were kids.

Later, starting from when he was in junior high school, his second daughter always hung out with Lin Jianlu and almost went astray.

The old man harbored resentment, and his words were laced with sarcasm and a sense of mockery.

The worst part is that he wasn't finished; he got more and more excited as he talked, "You know, you were so disobedient back then. We told you to study hard, but you insisted on fighting and skipping school all the time. Now look at the result! Look at our Wenwen, she's only two years older than you, and she's about to graduate from university. She'll be a government official right after graduation! Isn't that great..."

Unable to hold back any longer, he said, "It's alright, Uncle Gao. If I really can't find a job, I'll date Wenwen. Then we'll get married, and guess what? Wenwen's earnings and yours will all be mine to spend..."

"Hey kid..."

Lin's mother, who was a dozen steps ahead, burst out laughing and turned around, saying, "Hurry up and go! Stop teasing your Uncle Gao. He's narrow-minded, don't take it seriously!"

“Hey, Little Deer Mom, what you're saying…”

…………

In the twenty days since his discharge from the military, Lin Jianlu has really been busy.

The job search was a pretense; his main purpose was to thoroughly explore the capital city at the end of 1995.

He also bought several newspapers and magazines to read every day, and some cassette tapes to listen to, so as to get a feel for the pulse of the times—more importantly, it allowed him to find some information he wanted.

For example, even if he listened to a lot of songs from this era 20 or 30 years later, he would never know that Moyan Records, which is still very famous 30 years later and has left a strong mark on the history of Chinese pop music, does not even have a formal office address!
Even now, they still work from their guest rooms at the New Grand Hotel in the capital.

Moreover, the parent company of Grindstone Records, Rock Records, has its branch office in the capital city, which is also temporarily located there.

Rolling Stone Records, um, Lo Ta-yu, Jonathan Lee, Sarah Chen, Emil Chau, Richie Jen, Sandy Lam, Karen Mok...

Lin Jianlu was a live streamer in his previous life. All the tracks were crowded, and he didn't have good looks to sell, so he had to desperately improve his singing skills and sing obscure songs that others hadn't covered before. As a result, he sang a lot of songs from the 80s and 90s.

He has sung for all of the above-mentioned people.

The New Grand Hotel isn't far, about seven or eight kilometers away. I rode my bike there in no time.

After locking his bicycle, Lin Jianlu, carrying his guitar, headed straight for Moyan Records. He had recorded the demo himself on a blank cassette tape and submitted it about ten days ago. Yesterday, he received a call from the corner store at the alley entrance, saying that Moyan Records was very interested in his work and wanted him to come to the company for a face-to-face meeting.

Following the address given over the phone, I went upstairs and knocked on the door. A man in his thirties opened the door; he was slightly thin, with bloodshot eyes, but his hair was neatly combed.

Upon hearing the name, the other person's eyes widened, and a look of joy instantly spread across their face. The Taiwanese accent wasn't heavy, and it seemed to be the same person who had called yesterday. "Please come in! Our General Manager Zhang heard the demo you sent yesterday and immediately asked me to call you! Your song 'The First Tear' is especially wonderful!"

So he went inside, and as soon as the door closed, there was a loud rush of water from the bathroom. Three seconds later, a hairy face peeked out from the crack in the open door. "Is that Mr. Lin from 'The First Tear'?"

"it's me!"

"oops……"

He was pulling up his pants as he was about to come out, and just as he was about to reach out, he thought for a moment, then smiled sheepishly, quickly turned back, washed and dried his hands with a splash of water, and then came out, shaking hands very firmly.

On his face, covered in a thick beard, the smile appeared exceptionally sincere and radiant.

"Hello Mr. Lin, you are very handsome! I am the general manager of Moyan Records, my name is Zhang Peiren."

(End of this chapter)