Huayu 1992, my entertainment era

Chapter 1 Return to 1992
(This is an entertainment novel. Please do not take any discrepancies between the characters and objects in this article seriously.)
1992 October.

The summer solstice in Guangzhou ushered in a hot season, and the breeze was hot and humid.

“Bang, bang, bang… woooo…”

A breeze flew in through the window gap, bringing with it the noise of trains leaving from the train station next door.

There are also songs by the three little tigers of this era, "Take your heart and my heart, string them together into a lucky clover, string them into a concentric circle..."

In the room, Zhou Ziheng lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

Reborn!
He was reborn from 2025 to 1992.

From a post-00s who is still in college, he has become a migrant worker in the south who was born in 72 and is years old this year.

Just a bomb explosion made him go from a time when he had no worries about food and clothing, convenient travel, and could even go on TikTok to flirt with girls, to an era without mobile phones, no internet, and even television was still in black and white in many places.

What should we do if we are reborn in the 90s?

Zhou Ziheng thought about it again and again.

Learn small goals and do real estate?

No money!
Learn to trade stocks like Mr. Bao in “Prosperity”?
He doesn't even know what the Shanghai Composite Index is.

Use the Internet to grab opportunities from big and small ponies?
What the hell! Asking a music college student to work on the Internet in the 1990s was probably as difficult as asking him to build a nuclear bomb.

After much thought, it seems that I still have to follow the plan of my previous life and engage in entertainment and singing is the right way.

Just the right professional counterpart.

This body itself has a nice appearance and a good singing voice.

It was the early 1990s, when pop music was just beginning to develop in mainland China. Music tapes were selling like hot cakes, with sales of millions. If you didn't sing, you would be letting down those pop songs in your head.

However, after learning the situation carefully, Zhou Ziheng felt helpless again.

In this day and age, it’s not easy to become famous or stand out.

At this time in mainland China, if you want to be a singer, there are only two ways.

First, participate in the Youth Song Competition and become a member of the national team.

Second, become a resident singer, commonly known as a wandering singer, to attract the attention of record companies.

Both of these paths are difficult.

Whether or not one can stand out from the crowd of national team members when participating in the Youth Song Contest is another matter.

The key is also the qualifications.

What can we say about the Youth Song Contest at this moment!

That's the real national team.

Participants must first be members of local art troupes. It is harder than climbing to the sky for other grassroots to stand out here.

As for being a resident singer to attract the attention of record companies.

To be honest, this is not difficult at all.

In the late 80s, the pop music trend from Hong Kong and Taiwan slowly blew in. Across the motherland, it was not just people in art troupes who could sing and wanted to sing.

There are many restless souls and beautiful voices, but there is only one stage where one can shine.

There are even less than a dozen satellite TV stations nationwide, and none of them are broadcast on satellite.

These comrades who want to sing cannot participate in the Youth Song Competition, so they naturally set their sights on smaller stages such as dance halls.

There are countless people with heavenly voices all over the country who have become wandering singers or resident singers in dance halls.

There are few opportunities and many competitors, which makes this track also full of hardships.

Anyway, I had been a resident singer at the Friendship Salon Ballroom for more than half a year, but I didn't get any chance and didn't even get a whim from anyone from the record company.

"I'll sing 'Wandering Song' tonight. If there's still no hope, I'll have to move to Hong Kong and Taiwan to compete with the Four Heavenly Kings!"

With a sigh, Zhou Ziheng sat up from lying on his back.

To be honest, he doesn't want to develop in Hong Kong or Taiwan unless it is necessary.

It’s not that I won’t go forever.

Instead, I go there as a wandering singer, which is actually no less difficult than living in the mainland.

Don’t think that all the Hong Kong stars in later generations have flocked to the mainland, we are all one family.

But now, don't even think about it.

If mainland singers and actors want to develop in Hong Kong and Taiwan, unless they have great connections, they will naturally be excluded.

Being excluded is one thing, but what is more terrifying is being treated differently.

Mainland actors and artists are treated differently in Hong Kong and Taiwan, not only in terms of status, but also in terms of treatment.

Normally, mainlanders can only do less than one-tenth of the jobs that pay NT$100 to people from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In a word, once you go to Hong Kong and Taiwan, let alone whether you can make a name for yourself, even if you can, you will still be looked down upon and suffer a lot.

Therefore, if Zhou Ziheng really couldn't make it in the mainland, he would not consider going to Hong Kong or Taiwan.

Bang bang bang!
There was a knock on the room door.

"Hahaha! Ziheng! I succeeded. Mr. Li Guangping from the planning department of China Record Corporation listened to my song "Xiao Fang" and approved of it. He will come to talk to me tonight about releasing the song!"

Outside the door, the person knocking was loudly expressing his excitement.

Zhou Ziheng got up and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a simple and honest young man.

As he squeezed into the room, he said excitedly:

"Ziheng, do you know the planning department of China Record Corporation? This is the first department in Yangcheng that was established based on Hong Kong and Taiwan companies. They are recruiting singers from all over the country. They will choose to sign singers they value like they did with Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, plan their future for them, and package them."

Hearing this, a trace of memory flashed in Zhou Ziheng's eyes.

Of course he knew about the planning department of China Record Corporation.

Anyone who studies pop music will be familiar with this.

This event is definitely a major milestone in the history of mainland pop music.

It was in 1992 that Guangdong musicians, drawing on practices in Hong Kong, Taiwan and abroad, took the lead in establishing a record company planning department and producer system in the mainland: record companies signed contracts with singers, producers tailored songs for singers, carried out planning and promotion positioning, and then launched them into the market after a series of careful packaging.

This commercial and market-oriented operation that conforms to the world trend has made the Guangdong pop music scene flourish and become the center of mainland pop music in this era.

At the same time, it also gave birth to the famous 94 new generation.

The so-called 94 New Generation refers to the first generation of stars in the Chinese mainland pop music scene who reached their peak in 1994.

In the south there are Mao Lin, Yang Yuying, Li Chunbo, Gan Ping, Chen Ming; in the north there are Chen Lin, Xie Dong, Sun Yue and others.

Others include Lin Yilun, Huo Feng, Gao Linsheng and other star singers who were also popular across the country in 94.

This group of people created a brilliant era. In the mainland market, they are the brightest stars, no less than singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. They are the direct descendants cultivated by the mainland in the true sense.

"Congratulations! It looks like it won't be long before you can leave here and become a real singer!"

Although Zhou Ziheng was envious, he was not jealous. He smiled and congratulated the man who was almost a generation older than him.

This man was none other than Li Chunbo, who would soon become a nationwide sensation with the song "Xiao Fang". His singing would fill the streets and alleys, making 1993 his year.

In his previous life, Zhou Ziheng was not very familiar with Li Chunbo.

The main reason is that he retired too early. He quit the music industry a long time ago and went to make movies.

The only thing Zhou Ziheng knew was that "Xiao Fang" was really popular.

Maybe some people say that this song is rustic. Whether in later generations or now, there are people who think this song is rustic.

But what you cannot deny is that this song is definitely the best of the best. It sold millions of copies within two months of its release. The line "There is a girl named Xiaofang in the village" has become a tune that almost everyone can hum in this era.

Then, by coincidence, after being reborn here, he discovered that he and Li Chunbo were actually resident singers in a dance hall. Although the two were 9 years apart in age, they lived next door to each other and both liked to play original music with guitars. After a while, the two became familiar with each other and became good friends.

"Haha!" Hearing Zhou Ziheng's congratulations, Li Chunbo showed great joy on his face. "I knew that my song must have potential. Every customer in the dance hall would not like it. I submitted it to other record companies before, but they refused to accept it. They have no vision at all!"

As he spoke, his expression suddenly straightened and he looked at Zhou Ziheng, "Ziheng, haven't you been working on a new song recently? I listened to it next door, and I personally think the quality is very good.

When the people from the planning department of the China Song & Dance Hall come in the evening, I will try to get them to stay in the dance hall for a while longer.

Just sing this song when you go on stage. If you are lucky enough to be valued and signed, you will definitely have opportunities to make a lot of money in the future!"

"Thank you! I will definitely try to get this opportunity." Zhou Ziheng thanked him solemnly.

He knew how important this opportunity was.

The planning department of China Records! It is one of the four major record companies in Guangdong.

Li Chunbo is a person with a strong desire to share.

Since his song was valued by the planning department of China Record Corporation, he naturally had to share it with others.

After chatting with Zhou Ziheng for a few words, he rushed out of the room in a hurry to harass other acquaintances.

Zhou Ziheng looked at the time. It was already one o'clock in the afternoon. Instead of lying back in bed, he washed up, took the old guitar left by his original owner and went out.

"How to face the days we spent together, and now I am left alone, how to let my heart speak one by one, you know..."

"Ziheng is going out to sing again!"

In the security room of the compound, the theme song sung by Andy Lau in "The King's Avatar: Reign of Assassins" last year was played on the tape recorder.

Lao Wang, the security guard who was listening to music leisurely, glanced at Zhou Ziheng who was carrying a guitar and greeted him.

"Yes, Brother Wang! I need to eat!"

Zhou Ziheng said hello to Lao Wang and walked out of the compound quickly.

It is called a compound, but in fact it can be called a hotel, Friendship Hotel, the largest hotel next to Yangcheng Railway Station.

It includes a series of facilities including restaurants, accommodation, dance halls, etc.

Zhou Ziheng is a resident singer in the dance hall here. He usually eats and lives in the dormitory building at the back, and sings in the dance hall at night.

During the day, he would bring his guitar and sing at the commercial street on Nonglinxia Road.

All right! It's just singing for money.

Put a box in front of you that can hold money, sing for an hour or so with a guitar, and sing to the hearts of passers-by. If you meet someone who is not short of money, they will give you a few dollars. At the end of the day, you can earn more than ten dollars.

Combined with his work at the Friendship Salon Ballroom, he could earn about 100 yuan a day.

Considering the economic environment of that era, this income is not low.

In fact, it can be called high income.

But the economic pressure of this body is too great.

It is said that those who travel through time will become orphans, and this is absolutely true.

When Zhou Ziheng traveled through time and space into this body, his parents had already passed away.

Not only did he die, but he also left him with a huge debt.

The original body's parents were among the first group of people to go into business.

In the early days of reform and opening up, thanks to policy advantages and the good industry they chose, my original parents made a lot of money and became millionaires.

This is also the reason why the original body has good musical literacy. In this era, if you don’t have some money and want to play music, it is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

However, the good days of being rich ended a few years ago.

In 1989, the second economic crisis since the reform and opening up broke out in China. During this crisis, the company run by my parents not only collapsed, but also owed a huge debt of more than 100,000 yuan.

Hundreds of thousands may seem like a small amount of money in later generations, but it was a huge sum of money in that era.

In order to pay off their debts, the couple went out early and came back late. One night two years ago, they returned very late because of a social event. They encountered a road landslide on the way and both left this world.

After the couple passed away, the huge debt was directly placed on this body.

The creditors came to the door and relatives came to collect debts.

In order to repay the debt, the original body sold everything that could be sold, but it was not enough to repay the debt.

Finally, in order to pay off his debts, he chose to come to Guangzhou to become a resident singer.

Up to now, Zhou Ziheng still has a debt of more than 70,000 yuan.

Mostly from relatives.

Every month, Zhou Ziheng needs to transfer some money back home.

Therefore, even though the daily income is not low, it is just a drop in the bucket for Zhou Ziheng.

"Fried noodles!"

"Pho, delicious and cheap Pho, come and have a look, have a look!"

"Dongguan, let's go!"

"Tianhe, Tianhe is getting on the bus!"

The Friendship Hotel is close to the train station, and the exit is not far away. There are huge crowds of people here every day, and today is no exception. One after another, strangers carrying large and small bags walked out of the train station with tired looks on their faces.

When they saw the gradually modernizing Guangzhou, excitement appeared on their faces again, as if after coming to this city, they were on the road to getting rich.

This scene made Zhou Ziheng couldn't help but sigh.

Starting from the 80s, the spring breeze of reform first warmed the south. The jingle "East, West, South, North, and Center, to get rich, go to Guangdong" spread throughout China, and people flocked to the south with large and small bags.

Yangcheng Railway Station became the first gate facing the tide.

This place attracts countless people with dreams.

They came here with big and small bags.

Some become trendsetters of the times and eventually achieve success.

Some were beaten black and blue and left with nothing.

Some of these people may eventually succeed, but most of them may leave behind sad memories here.

While waiting for the bus, Zhou Ziheng's eyes fell on the barber shop next to him.

The sunlight fell directly on the billboard, reflecting a faint light.

【Fashion Haircut】

The glass of the barber shop is covered with various posters of the most fashionable things.

Perhaps due to the wind and sun, the photos of Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Jackie Chan, Anita Mui and others have faded a little, while the latest ones are the Four Heavenly Kings including Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok.

This seems to indicate that the Hong Kong entertainment industry is also undergoing a change of dynasty.

But no matter what, it cannot change the fact that Hong Kong and Taiwan stars are still the most popular in Guangzhou at this time.

How popular are Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities in Guangdong Province?

Let's put it this way! Yesterday the Four Heavenly Kings released a new song in Hong Kong, and today people in major dance halls in Guangzhou have started to sing covers of it.

It was no longer a fire in the ordinary sense, but was regarded as a trend.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are popular and trendy.

This is true whether it is clothing, film and television works, or songs.

His eyes lingered on the photos at the door of the barber shop for a long time. Zhou Ziheng hoped that one day, his photo could be on par with the four heavenly kings such as Andy Lau and become a popular symbol.

Only in this way can the future classics in his mind be worthy.

(End of this chapter)