Chapter 05: Two Dongzis
Yang Jian took a taxi to Zhongguancun and first found a Nokia store, where he picked out a Nokia 7650. This cell phone was many people's dream machine at the time.
As for computers, since he was in Zhongguancun, he definitely had to go find Da Dongzi. He wasn't sure if Da Dongzi still sold computers.
At the same time, he also had selfish motives. Alibaba was out of the question at this time; they had already received investment from SoftBank last year. Tencent had also survived the internet bubble crisis by now, so there was probably no opportunity there either. Even if there was, what could a few hundred thousand renminbi do? Only JD.com was still nestled in Zhongguancun. Although its development was also good, by next year, the sudden SARS outbreak would severely impact offline businesses, and Da Dongzi's store would not be spared.
Heh heh, when that time comes, he would lend a helping hand in their time of need. Yang Jian would also be a future Dalao of the internet!
But time was tight and the task was heavy. During this period, he had to make money first, and make more money.
He asked pedestrians along the way and found Da Dongzi's store—Jingdong Multimedia, which was the predecessor of JD.com Mall.
He saw a man around 30 years old standing behind the counter. His ears were close to his head, his nose was large and straight, his lips were thick, and he had standard thick eyebrows and large eyes. Who else could it be but Da Dongzi?
Coming to the counter, Yang Jian asked, "Boss Liu, do you have computers here? I heard someone recommend your computers, saying the quality is good. I need one laptop and one desktop."
As soon as Yang Jian said this, Da Dongzi thought, this is a big customer, and they were introduced by an acquaintance. He immediately greeted him warmly.
"Little brother, is it convenient to ask who introduced you? I'd like to thank them properly if I have the chance."
"I heard my brother mention you. He graduated from Renmin University, just a few years after you. He really admires you, his senior. I just happen to be studying at Beijing University and needed to buy a computer, so I came to find you." Yang Jian used his brother Yang Rui as a shield. Anyway, Da Dongzi was also a famous person at their school, so it wasn't strange that someone had heard of him.
"Not at all, not at all. I just graduated a few years earlier than your brother, but I still have to thank you and your brother for your support. I'm older than you, so if you don't mind, you can call me Dong Ge. I don't know your surname yet, little brother."
"My name is Yang Jian, the 'Jian' in 'simple'. You can call me A Jian or Jian Zi." Yang Jian was also very happy; this was considered a preliminary connection with Da Dongzi.
"Alright then, I'll take the liberty of calling you Jian Zi. Brother won't make money off you; I'll charge you the cost price. But there's no stock in the store right now. Leave a contact address, and brother will find someone to deliver it to you tomorrow."
Yang Jian readily agreed and didn't decline. In interactions between people, there must be give and take.
"Dong Ge, I'm studying in the performance department at Beijing Film Academy. Can you jot down my phone number? 139xxxxxxxx. When the time comes, have someone call me in advance; we might be very busy tomorrow."
"Oh! My brother is studying at Beijing Film Academy. Then I'll wish you a future as a big star in advance!"
"Heh heh, then I'll borrow Dong Ge's auspicious words. I also wish Dong Ge a future as a Dalao in the business world."
The two exchanged a round of commercial flattery, unaware that this was the beginning of a legend.
"Dong Ge, do you know where there's a car dealership nearby? I want to buy a car for transportation." Yang Jian asked on purpose. One reason was to give Da Dongzi the impression that he wasn't short on money, so when he needed investment, he would definitely think of him first. Another reason was that having a car would indeed be much more convenient. After claiming his prize after the college entrance examination, he had gotten his driver's license and planned to buy a car after arriving in Beijing.
He wasn't the type to inconvenience himself. It would be one thing if he had no money, but excluding the registration fee and the cost of buying a computer and cell phone, he still had over 400,000 renminbi in his pocket. Spending 100,000 to buy a car was no big deal at all.
Da Dongzi also secretly clicked his tongue. What kind of family was this? One must know that when he went to school, he had only brought 76 eggs and 500 renminbi to Beijing. When he started his business in 1998, his initial capital was only 12,000 renminbi.
Damn it, comparing people is infuriating. He looked at Yang Jian with a slightly strange gaze.
"Dong Ge, don't look at me like that. All the money I spend is my own; I didn't spend any family money." Yang Jian saw that Da Dongzi's gaze was a little strange and knew he had misunderstood, so he quickly explained.
He wanted to give Da Dongzi the impression that he wasn't short on money, but not the image of a rich second generation who wasn't short on money. Who knew if he would dislike those second generations?
"No need to explain, brother didn't mean anything else. I just feel like you're a bit annoying. Brother has been working hard for so many years, and although I've made some money, I still have to think for a long time before buying a car."
"Dong Ge, don't sigh like that. You'll definitely be among the richest people in our country in the future." After Yang Jian finished speaking, he thought to himself: You know, your old brother's peak net worth was 1 billion.
"Alright, let's not chat here anymore. Brother will take you. What kind of car do you want to buy? Why don't you buy a Volkswagen like brother?"
"Okay, as long as it can get me around."
After Da Dongzi instructed his employees, he took Yang Jian into his Santana and drove towards the Volkswagen 4S store.
It was clear that Da Dongzi also wanted to befriend Yang Jian, this younger brother. If at first it was for the sake of Yang Jian's brother being a schoolmate, now it was because he valued Yang Jian himself. With Yang Jian's level of wealth, befriending him might be useful in the future!
Of course, this was also what Yang Jian was happy to see.
When they arrived at the 4S store, Yang Jian immediately took a liking to the Passat B5. Its appearance suited his taste, and its performance was also good.
This car was priced at 107,000 renminbi. In the end, Yang Jian spent an extra 5,000 renminbi and drove the car away.
He originally wanted to treat Da Dongzi to lunch, but Da Dongzi had to be busy with the store's affairs and declined.
Yang Jian didn't make a big deal out of it. Anyway, they were already familiar with each other, and there would be plenty of time in the future.
Driving back to Beijing Film Academy, it didn't cause much of a stir. Everyone had seen the world. Only the three people in the dormitory, upon learning that Yang Jian had bought a car, started clamoring to go for a ride like bumpkins.
Uh, I forgot, these three people really haven't seen much of the world right now.
"Jian Zi, you're really a rich dog." Luo Jin touched here and looked there after getting into the car.
Zhu Yawen and Qi Kui also echoed, "Exactly, exactly." = ͟ ͟ ͞ ͞ = ͟ ͟ ͞ ͞ ( ● ⁰ ꈊ ⁰ ● | | | )
Yang Jian was a little troubled seeing the three of them like this. Each and every one of them, at least they were actors who could be called by name, but their current appearance was simply unbearable to look at.
"You three are enough! This is a rich dog? This is nothing yet. You are at least members of the celebrity reserve, maybe you'll become famous someday. Can't you have some ambition?" After saying that, he started the car and took the three brothers for a few laps.
Remembering the time he had agreed upon with Huang Bo, he returned to school a little after 12 o'clock, kicked the three people out of the car, and called Huang Bo to meet at the school gate.
After 5 or 6 minutes, he saw Huang Bo looking around at the school gate. He quickly got out of the car, waved his hand, and shouted, "Brother Bo, over here."
Huang Bo jogged all the way over. After getting into the car, his reaction was the same as the other three, "Jian Zi, you're amazing. You're already driving such a nice car. You just bought this, right?"
"Yeah, I made some money during the summer vacation, so I bought a car for transportation. Brother Bo, where are we going? Can you show me the way? I don't know the way."
Hearing Yang Jian ask this, Huang Bo smiled and said, "Okay, we're going to Zhang Yadong's studio today. You know him, right? He's a pretty good producer."
"I know him. He used to be Wang Fei's producer."
Zhang Yadong is a well-known producer in the Mainland music scene. After his debut, he produced for many singers including Wang Fei and Pu Shu, and he also wrote songs for many famous singers such as Dou Xian, Wang Fei, Pu Shu, and Xu Wei.
Of course, besides his talent, his romantic life was also frequently discussed.
He abandoned his wife and child at the age of 19, married Dou Xian's sister and then divorced, and his Gossip with popular female stars like Wang Fei, Gao Yuanyuan, Xu Cai Nu, and Qu Ying never stopped. As a man, you have to admire him.
Half an hour later, Yang Jian and Huang Bo arrived at Zhang Yadong's studio, and the one who received them was Zhang Yadong.
Zhang Yadong had long hair, but it wasn't flowing; it was even greasy.
Yang Jian couldn't help but mutter to himself: Can you do whatever you want if you're talented?
It seems that's really the case. Some people just love this type of person.
After some pleasantries, they got down to business.
"Dong Ge, this is my classmate, from the performance class at Beijing Film Academy. He has a song he wants you to help him take a look at," Huang Bo said.
Yang Jian also quickly handed over his transcribed lyrics and music score for "fairy tale."
"Dong Ge, these are the lyrics and music score I wrote. Can you help me take a look and see if you can help me produce it? I'll pay for the cost myself." Yang Jian didn't know the process for a singer to release a song. Anyway, he expressed his position first. If there's an opportunity to make money, you can't not take it, right!
Zhang Yadong looked through it for a while and said, "You can handle both the lyrics and music yourself, that's very impressive. The song is also good; it has the potential to become a big hit."
It's definitely going to be a big hit. Although it was released 3 years earlier, in the original timeline this song was the top song on the top ten golden songs list that year, it became popular all over the country, breaking through everything, making Guang Liang a god with one song, and the long-tail effect was also very strong.
Then he heard Zhang Yadong say, "You're Xiao Bo's friend, I'll take on this song. I'll help you with the production and distribution. If you don't consider the scale of distribution, it won't cost much."
Zhang Yadong was also considering Yang Jian, after all, he thought Yang Jian was a student and probably didn't have much money.
"Then thank you very much, Dong Ge. As for distribution, I definitely want large-scale distribution. I've prepared 200,000 renminbi, and I'm not sure if it's enough."
Zhang Yadong looked at him deeply after hearing him say that, probably not expecting Yang Jian to be quite wealthy.
"Then there's no problem. This song of yours is suitable for shooting an MV. You're from the film academy, so you're more familiar with this aspect than I am. When it's finished, release it simultaneously with the song."
Actually, releasing a single doesn't cost much. Even if you release it on a large scale, most of it is through television stations, radio stations, etc. They also have to consider listenership and so on. The main thing is that the song is good.
Anyway, Yang Jian wasn't clear about the specific process. He was just responsible for paying the money, and that was it. As for whether he would be ripped off, he could only trust Zhang Yadong's character.
After discussing some details, both parties signed the production and distribution contract. Yang Jian read it very carefully. He couldn't be blamed for this; being cautious with contracts is very important.
The contract was very standard and there was nothing tricky about it. After reading it, Yang Jian signed his name readily.
Recording the song was very simple. After all, his singing skills weren't bad; only some minor adjustments were needed for the details. Moreover, his arrangement was already finished.
The recording was finally completed around 10 p.m.
It was getting late, so Yang Jian and Huang Bo prepared to return to school; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get into the dormitory.
However, before leaving, he was stopped by Zhang Yadong, "I made money easily from this; I didn't even have to worry about the arrangement, and your singing is quite good. Go back and quickly get the MV done."
"Okay, Dong Ge. School starts tomorrow. After I finish dealing with school matters, I'll find someone to shoot the MV."
Actually, he had already chosen the person to shoot the MV, which was Ning Hao. At this time, Ning Hao was studying in the cinematography department at Beijing Film Academy, so it should be easy to invite him.
Lying on the bed back in the dormitory, Yang Jian thought about his next plan. He found that many things couldn't be done, mainly because he was running out of money. He only had 130,000 renminbi left now. It seemed like a lot, but he couldn't do anything big with it. He could only hope that "fairy tale" would be a huge hit.
He estimated that after it became a hit, he would be busy. In this era, relying on music copyright fees wouldn't be enough to live on. Ringtone services would only be launched next year. He could only rely on performing at events and commercial shows to make money. Just thinking about it made him tired.
He had originally planned to just coast along. After 2004, he would go to Europe and buy a wave of football bets, and then he could completely coast along. But the appearance of this damn system directly disrupted his plan.
Ah, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. It was better to sleep...... (ｕ Д ｕ 〃 )