Chapter 17 Host? No way!

  The Changsha Huatian Hotel is the first five-star hotel in Changsha. Many big shots who come to Changsha choose to stay here, and Zhao Qingya is no exception.

  In the hotel room, Song Qingming, Zhao Qinyan and the broker were gathered together watching a replay of Happy Camp. The more they watched, the uglier Zhao Qinyan's face became.

  "Sister Zhao, I didn't expect Hunan TV to be just like Guizhou TV, not giving any face at all." The thin monkey's agent said, looking at Zhao Qingya's unfriendly expression.

  "Hmph. It's just a small local station, what's the big deal." Zhao Qingya snorted, "Originally, I was going to let them make amends, and next time I'd accept an invitation from Happy Camp to make up for it. Now, it seems there's no need."

  "Zhao Jie, they seem to be doing quite well." Song Qingming said casually.

  Zhao Qingya glanced at the TV and didn't say a word.

  "Especially Lin Xiao, I didn't expect that not letting Zhao Jie put on makeup was to steal the spotlight for himself." Song Qingming sighed and said "It seems that he will be reused by Hunan TV."

  "He indeed performed well and should be a newcomer to variety shows. Many veteran hosts can't compare to him. I really didn't expect that this person has great talent for variety shows."

  Song Qingming's teeth gritted tightly, and he had never received such a confirmation from Zhao Qinyan's mouth before!

  The agent was also shocked "Zhao Jie, this is just a newcomer! How can he have such a high level?!"

  Zhao Qingya didn't say a word and continued to watch the Happy Camp on TV carefully, after tens of seconds, she said in a low voice "With time, he will become a great talent."

  The two of them were both shocked in their hearts, neither had expected that the more they looked at her, the higher her evaluation became!

  Lin Xiao! Song Qingming clenched his fists tightly, he absolutely would not allow this abandoned son of heaven to climb over his head! Not even if it was someone else's evaluation! That wouldn't do either!

  He is the most valuable newcomer recognized by Tian Guang! Not Lin Xiao!

  Zhao Qingya stabbed an apple and slowly put it in her mouth. "Don't worry, without this announcement, I'll tell the familiar people on other platforms, and you'll get a big platform announcement."

  "Thank you, Sister Zhao." Song Qingming hastily replied.

  "As for Lin Xiao, Zhao Qingya fell silent for a moment, then said indifferently, 'Call Old Zhu and tell him to go on the show if he likes variety shows. It's not bad being a comedian in a small local station for his whole life.'"

  The next day, when the ratings came out, the entire Happy Camp production team was cheering.

  The final ratings ended up at 1.13%, which was even higher than their expectations by 0.03%!

  "Brother Wang, we've really struck gold this time!" Fatso exclaimed, not mentioning his previous betrayal at all. "You weren't planning on having them be intern hosts? I think it's great, and if the ratings are still this high after a few weeks, I fully support promoting them to official hosts!"

  "What? Aren't you going to mention Zhao Qingya's matter anymore?" Wang Jue Ming wouldn't let him off, teasing him after taking a sip of coffee.

  Fatso choked for a moment, then smiled and said "If Sister Zhao can let our ratings go up by 0.13%, I have nothing to say. Hey, right, Brother Wang, now it's not just me, everyone says your decision yesterday was brilliant!"

  Wang Jue Ming sighed, "This is just how the entertainment industry is. When I decided to use them, people who were scolding Zhao Qing Ya the second before would suddenly want us to yield. Once they saw the ratings, they immediately changed their tune."

  The fat boy's face turned red and he didn't dare continue.

  Wang Jue Ming didn't continue speaking, he stood up and said "Now my headache is, if the other party doesn't agree, how can we go on with this program? Let He Jun Li Xiang suddenly merge two styles, but the time is still too short. Ah...the time to meet him has arrived, I hope to give this old producer some face."

  "Or how about we give him a raise? Newcomers only get travel expenses, right?"

  Wang Jiaoming smoothed out his clothes and thought for a moment before responding, "I plan to calculate the collection number for him."

  "How much is the salary?!" Fatso was shocked. "That's a way of calculating wages that only popular hosts have! He's just a newcomer, and 1200 yuan per month is already the highest! Most people get around 800 yuan per month! Aren't you afraid of being criticized? Wang Ge, now many people are eyeing the producer's seat of Happy Big Yard, there are many people who are jealous!"

  "After all, he's just a trial host, it's also convenient to settle accounts." Wang Jue Ming smiled wryly "That's the thing, whether he agrees or not is another matter. Hard to find someone... Alright, time's up, let's talk later."

  After Wang Jue Ming left, Pang Zi drank his coffee with a bit of an acquired taste and muttered to himself "A newcomer is already considered a collection? He Jiong and the others only started counting when they reached 1% viewership on Happy Camp... Brother Wang really has his heart set on this one, he must dig it up no matter what..."

  After leaving the TV station, Wang Jue Ming immediately went to the agreed-upon teahouse.

  The teahouse was very close, it wouldn't take ten minutes, and when he arrived, Lin Xiao was already sitting in the private room waiting for him.

  Wang Jue Ming cautiously looked around and didn't see CAMI's shadow, only then did he secretly let out a sigh of relief, smiling and saying "Xiao Lin, you're quite early."

  "Older brother Wang."

  Wang Jue Ming ordered two cups of tea, chatted for a while, and smiled saying "The program ratings are out, 1.13%, thanks to your help."

  "Where is it? Wang made us show our faces." Lin Xiao said calmly, "I watched the replay last night, I had a lot of shots."

  "This is what you deserve." Wang Jue Ming smiled and said "I came today to talk to you about something."

  "If it's about being a host, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Wang Ge." Lin Xiao said sincerely "My aspirations are in the film industry, I'm afraid I'm not suitable for hosting."

  Wang Jue Ming originally wanted to say "I think you're quite suitable", but swallowed it back.

  "May I ask why?"

  "Wang Ge is also a sensible person, why ask knowingly? Doing comedy variety shows will label me as a 'comedian' and 'host', limiting my acting career. It may make me popular for a while now, but it will be very restrictive when I try to take on roles in the future."

  Wang Jue Ming said with a sigh, "Is it CAMI who told you that? Actually, the path of an artist is unpredictable, and it's not that I don't think you'll make it big on the silver screen. But it's also not the case that everyone will have a smooth ride. Xiao Lin, I've been in this industry longer than you, and I've seen too many people switch to variety shows because their acting career didn't go well. And besides, the income from variety shows is actually much higher than you think."

  Lin Xiao shook his head "It's what I thought. As a long-time host, I'm really sorry but I couldn't agree to it. If it was a monthly fixed guest spot, then that might be something to consider."

  Wang Jue Ming looked at him with surprise, how long has he been in the industry? He can already think of the shortcomings of variety shows. You know, nowadays new artists will do whatever it takes to get on a show, let alone a popular one like Happy Camp.

  He sighed and said, "Well, doing variety shows is like finding a lover. A host who suits your taste is like a spouse. Actually, my idea was to start as a trial host first, and see if the ratings turn positive after a month. Even...if the ratings remain good after a month, I can promise you that I will be the main producer, with pay calculated by episode, and a fixed salary every month."

  Lin Xiao was taken aback, calculating the salary based on the number of episodes. It could be seen that the other party was genuinely sincere, but he knew what his ambition was. In his previous life, he had fallen down and wanted to climb back up from there.

  "Thanks for considering me for Happy Camp, but the big screen is my goal, I'm afraid it won't change." He rejected the offer once again.

  Wang Jue Ming furrowed his brow "Really can't have it more than once a month?"

  Lin Xiao nodded.

  "Then I have to consider it, if every month is just your show that can create such ratings, it will make our other shows very difficult to do." Wang Jue Ming hesitated and knocked on the table, extremely reluctant to glance at Lin Xiao, this feeling of gain and loss, really hadn't been felt in years since becoming the host.

  "Go, no matter what the result is, I'm very grateful to Hunan TV for giving me this opportunity." Lin Xiao picked up a stack of papers from beside him "This is the material I promised Xiang Jie and Jiong Ge yesterday, sorted out this morning. Also trouble Wang Ge to bring it to them."

  "Alright, you'll be staying in Changsha for a few more days. I'll give you an answer within two days." Wang Jueming took it and left without even looking at it, nodding his head as he walked out the door.

  He was eager to go back and ask for everyone's opinion. He knew very well that this kind of artist would never let go as long as the producer's eyes were not blind.

  He hastily returned to the production room and summoned He Jiong and Li Xiang, as he needed more of the host's opinions on adding a fixed guest.

  "Did he really not want to?" Li Xiang didn't seem too surprised after hearing Wang Jue Ming's account. "The first time I met him, I felt that his ambition was not here, this result is not unexpected."

  "Variety shows indeed bring a lot of inconvenience to big screen actors, many somewhat famous movie stars won't come as guests on variety shows except for promotion." He Jiong sighed helplessly "This is the shortcoming of variety shows, not just movies, TV is also like this. Unless he himself is a comedian, but I think Lin Xiao Xin is not small-minded, what he wants to challenge is definitely not just comedy."

  "What a pity for such a good seedling." Li Xiang said regretfully, "To be honest, I've been hosting for so many years, from 1998's 'Happy Camp' to now, and I really think he and this show are the most compatible."

  "Do you guys think so too?" Wang Jue Ming gritted his teeth in pain "Do you really think he didn't have an extraordinary performance that day? Or did he make thorough arrangements beforehand?"

  "Of course not!" He Jiong and Li Xiang said in unison. "Wang Ge, we've been hosting for so long, there are many random and unpredictable things that happen on the spot, how could it be possible that Lai's good script can produce such an effect."

  "In fact, I've tried several times already. Temporarily changed the order of several programs, and he actually connected them all, with a very good effect. I dare say that if he can come to Happy Camp, our program will definitely become the country's number one entertainment!"

  Wang Jue Ming didn't say a word, got up with some annoyance and walked back and forth several times. Only then did he grit his teeth and say "Everyone knows how important a good host is to the rise of a variety show. But now he's stubbornly insisting on once a month and won't budge. Don't ask me if I've found his agent, I'm telling you, if his agent finds out about this, that would be even more difficult to deal with."