Huayu 1995

Chapter 92 What exactly did you go through? (Seeking monthly votes)
Harmony is quite important during album recording.

Dou Ying, Dou Wei's sister and one of Zhang Yadong's women, mainly works behind the scenes, such as providing harmony.

Su Chao's album uses harmonies in many places.

When his friends asked him for help, Xu Wei certainly wouldn't refuse.

But when it came to the cost of harmony, he resolutely refused.

Actually, the prices for harmonists and musicians are about the same.

For example, bassist Wang Xueke was paid 300 yuan per day for recording Zheng Jun's album.

It's pretty good overall.

Su Chao plans to pay Xu Wei 500 yuan a day to do harmonies and instruments. If he records for ten days or so, he can earn several thousand yuan.

Unfortunately, Xu Wei had already taken 10,000 yuan from Su Chao.

Now they absolutely refuse to accept it anymore.

He wrote "Persistence" for Tian Zhen for only one yuan, so Tian Zhen called him to ask if he needed money after she became famous.

It's frustrating to encounter such a stubborn person.

Su Chao was helpless.

"Let's go to the bar for a drink!"

Xu Wei rode onto Su Chao's bicycle, handed the guitar to Su Chao, and gestured for Su Chao to sit on the back seat.

"Tsk tsk~"

Last time she was reluctant, but this time she took the initiative.

Su Chao sat down without any hesitation.

Then the two of them rode a bicycle straight to the karaoke bar.

My pager went off twice more halfway through the journey.

This shows that Su Chao is no longer what he used to be; his business has become extremely busy.

This time, Su Chao did not turn back.

He sat on the back of the bicycle and sang loudly:
I can't promise you whether I'll come back or not / I'll keep walking without looking back...

Xu Wei didn't sing; he's not thick-skinned enough.

Su Chao not only used Chen Jiantian's phone, but he also used Yan Siyuan's.

Yan Siyuan's chair is more comfortable to sit in.

Once he makes money from the album, he plans to buy a cell phone first.

Work is so busy, not having a mobile phone would be a huge hindrance.

Last year, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications made the first GSM phone call in Chinese history using a Nokia 2110.

With the start of 2G digital mobile communication network operation, the term "mobile phone" gradually gained popularity, while the "big brother phone" began to cool down.

This year, Ericsson released the GH337, Motorola 8900, and Motorola 9900 mobile phone products.

Su Chao will definitely buy a mobile phone, not one of those bulky old-fashioned brick phones.

Upon arriving at the karaoke bar, he went to Yan Siyuan's office.

Yan Siyuan happened to be in his office.

"Hey, so early today, what are you busy with?"

"I'm busy preparing the album. Brother Chen is urging me to choose songs from their music library."

Su Chao didn't mention at all that he was actually very anxious.

Siyuan, I really wanted to stay with you in Casablanca.

It's all Chan Kin-tim's fault; he forced me to release an album.

"Old Chen is really something. I remember you were still studying with a vocal teacher. If you had waited a year or two, the album quality would definitely have been better."

Yan Siyuan was so angry that he wanted to kill Chen Jiantian.

You old Chen, I've helped you in every way, but you don't care whether I live or die.

"Who says it isn't?"

Su Chao successfully undermined the trust between the old friends.

You two are so loving, can I join in?
However, the issues that Yan Siyuan was considering did indeed exist.

Su Chao's skill level is limited.

He's considered second or third-rate among ordinary singers, and even less so compared to the national team.

Even with the help of Red Star Production's top sound engineers, it would be difficult to achieve the most perfect effect.

If it weren't for Su Chao being so impatient...

The best approach is to receive at least six months of vocal training.

But neither Chen Jiantian nor Su Chao could wait any longer.

Su Chao is currently surviving entirely on borrowed money.

Training courses are also considered a shady business.

Only after releasing an album could he completely change his situation.

Making money won't be as difficult as it is now.

Chan Kin-tim is from the Hong Kong music scene, where countless amateur singers have risen to fame.

He doesn't care that much about singing skills.

I think anyone with a distinctive voice who doesn't sing off-key can release an album.

Even after releasing the album, she didn't neglect her vocal practice.

There's plenty of time to improve gradually.

Don't act like Huang Shang, hiding away to level up without caring about anything, only to find that all his enemies are dead when he finally comes out after mastering his skills.

"After you release an album, you won't be able to perform at nightclubs anymore, right?"

Yan Siyuan was very troubled.

Both "Goodbye" and "The Moon Caused the Trouble" are very classic songs.

Others can make a song a hit.

Moreover, Su Chao currently has two songs, and there's a possibility he'll have more.

Once Su Chao becomes famous, he will no longer be able to perform at resident concerts.

Casablanca can't afford them. And the Scottish Premiership wouldn't be so lacking in prestige.

Even second-tier singers can earn 30,000 to 50,000 yuan for an appearance, and they only sing one or two songs.

If they really invite them every day, then Casablanca is just working for the Scottish Premiership.

"Brother, don't worry. Our friendship speaks for itself. I'll definitely come back often. I won't ask for money then, so it won't be considered a commercial performance."

It's not considered prostitution if you don't pay.

The same applies to commercial performances.

In the end, everyone will just say that Su Chao is a loyal friend who remembers his roots and takes care of his old friends even after he became famous.

"Holy crap, what are you doing..."

To be honest, Yan Siyuan was genuinely moved.

He finally paid off for his "love" for Su Chao; all his efforts had been rewarded at this moment.

Su Chao is such a loyal friend.

"Brother, I'm only releasing this album because I'm really short on money right now. Otherwise, I'd like to stay in Casablanca a little longer. The atmosphere at our karaoke bar is so great, I really love it..."

This is Su Chao's level.

If he uses it to scam girls, he probably won't even have to pay for the hotel room or buy a baby's diaper.

"Don't worry, even if I ask you to go back to the karaoke bar, I won't treat you badly."

Even Yan Siyuan, a seasoned veteran, was fooled.

“Brother, the reason I invited Xu Wei to our karaoke bar is because I thought that if I were to leave one day, the karaoke bar would need someone to take over.”

Su Chao didn't consider how upset Sha Baoliang and Wu Xiubo would feel if they heard these words.

"Xu Wei, he sings okay, but he's not lively enough."

Yan Siyuan did not think highly of Xu Wei.

People like Su Chao are popular because they are good-looking, can sing Cantonese and English songs, and most importantly, they are sweet-talking, sensible, and have a strong ability to control the stage.

"There aren't that many people as handsome as me."

Su Chao also felt regretful; as such an amazing person, he was incredibly lonely.

"..."

What have you been through at such a young age?
So shameless!
"If I start recording an album in a while, I might have to take a lot of time off."

Su Chao came today to talk to Yan Siyuan about this.

"I know, but I wanted to ask, if you take time off to release an album, can people at nightclubs sing your songs?"

Yan Siyuan has been considering countermeasures.

How can Casablanca maintain its core competitiveness without Su Chao?

Without Su Chao, we can only use Su Chao's songs.

"Goodbye" and "The Moon Caused the Trouble" have not been officially released yet, and Su Chao carries the instrumental tapes with him at all times.

Other singers want to sing it but can't.

"Sure, let Xu Wei and Huang Bo sing, the others can skip it."

Su Chao nodded without much hesitation.

It's only a matter of time before the song gets out. As long as the backing track is kept safe, it's fine to let friends sing it and make money.

While Xu Wei was singing, Huang Bo stared at the backing track.

While Huang Bo was singing, Xu Wei was standing by his side.

"Okay, go ahead and make the call. I won't bother you anymore."

Yan Siyuan received a satisfactory answer.

He left his office to Su Chao and even closed the door for him.

He began to consider it.

Should we ask the boss to give Su Chao a cell phone as a gift?

These days, a mobile phone costs around ten thousand yuan.

It's a gift that's not too expensive, but still very practical.

At that time, Su Chao will be holding the phone Casablanca gave him all day long, constantly reminding him of this friendship and urging him to come back and sing a song or two.

Su Chao had no idea that another windfall was about to fall from the sky.

He dialed the number on the pager and found that the person who answered the phone was Brother Chen, the group leader.

Communication is so inconvenient these days.

When you send your number to someone's pager, you often have to wait an hour or two for them to call back.

Su Chao has two brothers named Chen. One is Chen Jiantian, the boss of the Red Star Production Cooperative, and the other is Old Chen, the group leader he has dealt with before.

"Brother, what made you suddenly decide to call your younger brother?"

Su Chao did not neglect the group leader, Brother Chen, just because he was doing well; he still called him "brother" repeatedly.

In fact, they had only been separated for a few days.

We won't forget our roots so quickly.

It's just that Su Chao's development was a little too fast.

"I've been a bit busy these past few days, and phone calls are expensive, so I won't waste any more time. I just went to a film set yesterday and introduced you to a job. If you take it, you can report for duty the day after tomorrow."

Brother Chen was worried about the phone bill.

Calling and receiving both cost money, and the price per call isn't cheap.

"the day after tomorrow……"

Su Chao hesitated immediately. He was about to release an album, and he would be indispensable in both the preparation and the actual recording.

This time, we really can't do without him.

“If you don’t have anything particularly important to do, you must try this role. Originally, it was just a minor supporting role with only a few dozen seconds of screen time, but I managed to get it a major supporting role with at least ten minutes of screen time.”

Before the film is edited, any estimate of how many minutes of screen time there will be is just a guess.

However, if someone can confidently say that they have more than ten minutes of screen time, then they have nothing to do with being an extra.

Su Chao also perked up and asked...
"Is it a movie or a TV series? Who is the director?"

(End of this chapter)