Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 48 Fan Binbin

After seeing Manager Chen off, Zheng Hui's commercial performance schedule officially began.

The first stop is Guangzhou, radiating throughout the Pearl River Delta.

Li Zongming set his price at 100,000 yuan for three songs, with no room for negotiation. This is the base price; if the organizer requires more songs or other interactive elements, the price will be calculated separately.

Even so, invitations continued to pour in like snowflakes.

Opening ceremonies, property launches, shopping mall promotions, and corporate annual meetings.

Zheng Hui will go as long as he can afford it.

Lin Dashan and Chen Jianguo took turns driving, while Li Zongming was responsible for communication and collecting money.

That afternoon, a newly opened star-rated hotel banquet hall in Dongguan held its opening ceremony.

Zheng Hui appeared as the last guest.

The host announced loudly, "Next, please welcome our popular singer from Macau, Mr. Zheng Hui, to perform his hit song 'I Believe'!"

Zheng Hui went on stage, took the microphone, and asked, "Friends in Dongguan, how are you?"

A simple greeting elicited an even warmer response, and the prelude to music began.

"I want to fly up to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun..."

As soon as the first line was sung, several younger people in the audience immediately started humming along. By the time the chorus started, the atmosphere was completely ignited.

"I believe in who I am, and I believe in tomorrow!"

A boss, his face flushed from drinking, stood up, waved his arms, and roared along with him.

The entire banquet hall was transformed into a private karaoke room.

After finishing his song, Zheng Hui didn't leave the stage. He immediately said, "Thank you everyone. I know that all of you bosses here started from scratch and worked your way up step by step. This song, 'Stubborn,' is dedicated to all my friends who are still striving on their journey!"

"If I'm different from the world, then let me be different..."

Finally, the song "Fly Higher" concluded the performance. After singing three songs, Zheng Hui bowed to the audience and walked off the stage amidst enthusiastic applause.

The organizer came up to Zheng Hui and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Zheng Sheng, you sang well! You sang so well! You sang exactly what was in my heart!"

He took a red envelope from his assistant and stuffed it directly into Zheng Hui's hand.

"This is just a small gift, nothing more."

Zheng Hui felt the thickness of the cup, handed it to Li Zongming next to him, and then said auspiciously to the boss, "Wishing you booming business and a constant stream of customers!"

Once in the car, Li Zongming opened the red envelope and counted the money: 50,000 yuan.

"This boss is generous; he agreed on 100,000, but gave me an extra 50,000."

Li Zongming put the money into his bag: "In this week, we went to seven venues and earned more than 900,000 yuan in performance fees alone. This is much faster than the return on selling cassette tapes."

Zheng Hui leaned back in his chair, looking at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, and asked, "Where's the next one?"

"In Shenzhen, a new housing development is holding a promotional event tomorrow morning at 10 AM."

The car sped off to Shenzhen overnight.

The next day, in Luohu District, Shenzhen, a huge crowd gathered at the entrance of a sales center for a new residential development.

The developer set up a stage in the square, with the property's slogan and photos of several celebrities printed on the backdrop.

Zheng Hui's photo is in the middle left, while the right side features headshots of several main actors from the "Princess Pearl" cast.

Li Zongming looked at the backdrop: "The hottest thing in China this year is these princesses and princes. That old hag Qiong Yao is taking advantage of the popularity of these TV dramas to squeeze these actors out of money like crazy."

Zheng Hui followed his gaze and understood.

After its premiere on Hunan TV this summer, "My Fair Princess" saw its ratings skyrocket. Now, with its second run on various satellite channels, its popularity has reached its peak.

The organizers came over to greet us; they were very polite.

"Teacher Zheng, thank you for your hard work. You are the finale performer, the second to last. After you finish singing, you can go backstage to settle your bill."

Zheng Hui was a little surprised that he had guessed the finale correctly, but he didn't say anything more and just nodded.

The event began at 10:00 AM sharp.

When Zheng Hui took the stage, he sang the same few songs that were most likely to get the atmosphere going.

Most of the audience members were young people who were familiar with his songs and quickly started singing along.

After he finished singing and stepped off the stage, the deafening music of "Dang" resounded throughout the entire venue.

The host, his voice almost cracking, shouted, "Let's give the 'Princess Pearl' cast a warm round of applause!"

Zhao Zhetian and Lin Xinru, dressed in their casual clothes from the play, walked hand in hand onto the stage, followed by several other lead actors.

They seemed to recognize Zheng Hui, but they were in a hurry to go on stage and didn't exchange pleasantries, just nodded and greeted him.

Zheng Hui walked into the temporary rest area backstage, a space partitioned off by a screen, with a few folding chairs and a case of mineral water.

Several supporting actors from the film crew were waiting in line here, gathered together discussing something.

There was only one girl, sitting alone on a chair in the far corner, completely out of place with the lively atmosphere around her.

She was wearing a pink theatrical costume, her head down, lost in thought.

Zheng Hui recognized her at a glance; she was the future Fan Bingbing who would stir up a storm.

He walked over and tentatively called out, "Fan Binbin?"

The girl suddenly looked up, her face filled with surprise.

When she realized that the person who came was the big star who had just sung on stage, her surprise deepened.

One reason is that such a famous singer would actually talk to me.

Another point is that most people who know her now only call her Jin Suo. This is the first time she has met a stranger who calls her by her real name.

She stood up, somewhat awkwardly: "You are... Mr. Zheng Hui? You know me?"

Zheng Hui smiled and said, "I've seen your acting on TV; you acted very well."

"Thank you," Fan Binbin said softly.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" Zheng Hui asked casually.

Fan Binbin's eyes dimmed for a moment, then he smiled again, though the smile seemed a little forced.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired, so I'm resting here."

Zheng Hui knew this was most likely an excuse. Rumors circulated that she had been severely ostracized on set back then.

A beautiful girl from a small town in mainland China, powerless and without influence, must have had a tough time in a film crew dominated by people from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"Your songs are really good. A lot of people in our crew bought your tapes." Fan Binbin took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Really? Thanks for your support."

"I especially love the song 'The First Dream'."

The two chatted casually for a few minutes, mostly about trivial matters.

Looking at the girl in front of him, who still seemed naive and uneasy, Zheng Hui found it hard to connect her with the powerful queen of later generations.

An idea popped into his head, and with a stamp-collecting mentality, he took out his phone from his pocket.

"I have other commitments to make, so I have to go now. Let's exchange contact information and chat again sometime."

Fan Binbin was stunned. A popular singer would take the initiative to ask for her contact information, a minor actress? She couldn't quite believe it.

"I...I don't have a cell phone," she said awkwardly, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I only have a pager."

"Okay." Zheng Hui handed her the phone: "Enter your number."

Fan Binbin took the phone and carefully pressed a string of numbers on the keypad.

"I'll be going now, goodbye."

Goodbye, Mr. Zheng.

Zheng Hui turned and left, but Li Zongming and Lin Dashan were already waiting for him at the door.

"What are you talking about with a minor actor?" Li Zongming asked curiously.

"It's nothing, I just looked familiar and said hello." Zheng Hui didn't explain further.

The three left in a hurry, heading to their next commercial performance venue.

Fan Binbin remained standing there, watching Zheng Hui's departing figure, seemingly lost in thought.