Chapter 47 Pioneers of the Era

lready evident.Ding Juntao took another deep puff of his cigarette. The other side was prepared, determined to shake First High School’s position. If no action was taken, would First Middle School sti...Chapter 47: Pioneer of the Era

Before Su Cen left school, Zhao Hao heard that Su Cen was leaving Shanghai and specially invited him to have dinner. This summer vacation for Su Cen would be different from previous ones. With his career soaring and the most important project, Facebook Chinese, developing with Shanghai as its headquarters base, launching fully in three weeks, this summer vacation wouldn't be a quiet one.

He needed to return home first to comfort Zeng Ke and Su Licheng, who missed him dearly. After that, he might need to travel to several places, as the CEO behind Facebook Chinese should make an appearance at appropriate times.

Zhao Hao's invitation was at Quanjude, a genuine old Beijing roast duck restaurant. Among famous places near Nan University, this one stood out. The place used the traditional shikumen architecture style, giving it a distinct ancient charm that blended with modernity seamlessly. In this city renowned for its Shanghai culture, there was a sense of timelessness about Quanjude, making it one of the favorite spots for foreigners in the area.

Tang Wu had her own activities, and after finishing his last final exam in the afternoon, Su Cen hurriedly handled some matters and made his way to Quanjude around 7 PM from Nan University, which was chaotic on this eve of graduation.

Shanghai lies along the southeast coast, so it gets dark earlier. By 7 PM, the city lights were already bright. Quanjude's business was always exceptionally good; cars of all kinds filled its parking lot, and even some tour buses with their headlights on queued up to park. The streets were bustling with neon signs reflecting through the latticed windows of old-style restaurants nearby, creating a lively atmosphere.

As they say, each city represents a unique culture. Shanghai had always given Su Cen the impression of being modern and sharp on the surface yet ancient and traditional in its core, stifling at times. This was China's Oriental City That Never Sleeps, where the principle of survival of the fittest had been practiced since the Ming Dynasty, resulting in a cold and ruthless mechanism supporting rapid prosperity.

Yet, seeing these scenes reminded Su Cen of Chengdu’s laid-back charm.

This unique feeling was likely due to his mixed emotions about leaving school at the end of the semester.

How long had it been since Su Can felt this way Now, he was in his college days but doing things far beyond what someone in their college years would do. This made him feel inexplicably fulfilled.

Zhao Hao and others were already waiting on the second floor of Quanjude in a private room called "Soul Alley". Besides Zhao Hao, there was also one man and one woman present.

Zhao Hao wasn't alone; accompanying him was the vice president in charge of marketing. Next to them stood a girl who left Su Can momentarily speechless upon seeing her.

Saying he was momentarily speechless didn’t mean this girl’s appearance was so stunning it left Su Can staring in disbelief. Rather, Su Can wasn't unfamiliar with this female; she had sung songs and released albums. However, her singing career hadn't developed as well as her television career, which later blossomed when she became one of the rising stars in youth-themed TV dramas. Su Can had watched her performances and was familiar with her portrayal of youthful vigor.

"Let me introduce you. This is our vice president Zhang Lin from Huayao. And this is Nie Xiao, who just graduated from Beijing Film Academy and signed with us at Shangmai. She's here in Shanghai, so she came along as well. This is Su Can, Mr. Su," Zhao Hao stood up to make the introductions. After Su Can shook hands with both of them one by one, he sat down first and said to Zhang Lin and Nie Xiao, "It’s your first meeting; you might be surprised by his age."

Zhao Hao felt somewhat relieved because he had noticed how Su Can reacted when he saw Nie Xiao. This was also one reason why Zhao Hao brought her along today. As a board member of Shangmai and currently the largest shareholder investor, Su Can seemed to have boundless potential behind him. He invested five million in Shangmai initially, which was enough for Zhao Hao to accomplish many things at this moment.

But this was just the beginning. What was important was that he felt from Su Can some of his own long-held strategic plans might be implementable and have room for execution. There was nothing more exhilarating than having a stage where one could fully demonstrate their talents, so Zhao Hao had to firmly grasp onto Su Can.

To have Nie Xiao accompany them wasn’t purely about the backstage rules in the entertainment industry; it served as調劑 (a means of adjustment). A woman present, especially one skilled at setting the mood, often played a crucial role in business negotiations or banquets. Business and political arenas were indeed dominated by men, but women could wield significant influence.

Considering Su Can’s identity and age, Zhao Hao didn’t invite someone deeply versed in social PR; instead, he brought Nie Xiao, who was of similar age to Su Can and a recent graduate signed with Shangmai. Zhao Hao thought they might get along better. Despite Su Can appearing extraordinary in all aspects, when Su Can saw Nie Xiao, Zhao Hao was quite satisfied with the impact Nie Xiao had created.

"Uncle Zhao, you're not fooling me. If you told me he is a major shareholder of On Mic, I wouldn't have believed it; he's too young for that."

Nie Xiao propped her hand on the table and tilted her wrist towards Su Can as she said this in an amusing way with her Beijing-accented Mandarin. Everyone present found her words acceptable.

Urging a smile, Zhao Hao explained to Nie Xiao how Su Can had disrupted the summit by smashing noodles earlier. However, without seeking permission from Su Can beforehand, Zhao Hao did not rashly reveal that Su Can was also an influential figure behind Facebook China.

Nie Jia nodded but inwardly thought Su Can seemed rather dense, having been stunned for a moment when they first met.

Initially, she had imagined Zhao Hao as some middle-aged man who never took his eyes off pretty girls. Now seeing Su Can's demeanor, she concluded that he didn't seem so different from her expectations—he was two years younger than her and exuded the qualities of an old-fashioned wealthy man. Furthermore, since On Mic's investment came from him, Nie Xiao naturally categorized him as a second-generation rich kid. She had seen plenty of such individuals in both the film industry and outside it.

The others were unaware that Su Can’s momentary daze was merely due to his familiarity with Nie Xiao and the unexpectedness and joy life could bring.

Once the dishes arrived, Zhao Hao started discussing business matters with Su Can. Although Su Can didn’t interfere in On Mic's internal politics, Zhao Hao still needed to regularly update him on the basic business plans.

"Inland pop music doesn't compare to Europe and America or Japan and other regions. The recording industry there is a huge industrial chain, like hundreds of tightly sealed aircraft carriers floating over an ocean. Even in countries like Japan, the development of the recording industry surpasses that of movies. Sales figures are astronomical, but domestic music remains relatively weak compared to them. However, currently, there's still potential. For instance, last year’s domestically produced Chinese films had no more than ten that exceeded a million yuan in box office revenue. To achieve such success internally, investments would likely be around the same amount. But for pop music albums, I know of several top-tier companies with millions of sales and revenues ranging from one to three million yuan. In terms of investment scale, it's much smaller compared to the film or television industries. Looking at the input-to-output ratio, the recording industry is not doing badly. Of course, each year there are still a dozen albums that exceed a million in sales."

Su Can nodded; Zhao Hao comparing record sales to box office figures was somewhat reasonable this year. However, it seemed that starting from 2002, the gap between them would grow increasingly large.

The Chinese film industry was flourishing, with box office revenues and cinema lines growing explosively. People nowadays also cared about quality of life, and most opted to watch movies in theaters, contributing significantly to the box office. This fervor for movie-watching had spurred many low-quality commercial films into production, hoping to benefit from it, an undeniable fact that was yet to be realized at this point. However, these memories were far removed from Su Can's current situation; they would only come true in a distant future. By then, where would he stand

From Zhao Hao's perspective as one of the top figures in China’s record industry, what he said was valuable experience and comprehensive understanding at his level, which even Nie Xiao found intriguing.

After Zhao Hao finished talking about records, Su Can thought for a moment before saying, "Have you ever considered that the music industry will eventually come to an end, just like how phonographs were replaced by newer technologies in their time Just as we used to buy bootlegged cassette tapes at our gates years ago. One day, records will become outdated and people will listen to pop music via the internet, where digital music will take over the place of physical records. Devices for playing such media won't just be limited to music but could also include movies. In that time, it won’t be the era of P3 players anymore; it’ll be the era of P4."

“P4” Vice President Zhang Lin and Zhao Hao couldn’t help smiling in surprise. "The so-called 'P3' stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer III and doesn't mean it's a third generation product. Its successors won't necessarily be called P4 either."

Su Can smiled, thinking that at the moment, MP3 players looked like shoddily made matchboxes from inferior toy factories with designs lagging behind his era’s standards. The internal flash memory was priced in the thousands of yuan, making them luxury items for average wage earners at this time. Talking about P4 would be laughed off by professionals like Zhang Lin.

Of course, Zhang Lin didn't dare mock Su Can, and Zhao Hao felt it wasn’t serious enough to warrant a reaction. However, besides the concept of finance that was difficult for people to understand at this time, what Su Can said still carried significant weight.

Zhao Hao exchanged a glance with Zhang Lin, who continued speaking: "But internationally, many companies are already working on technological breakthroughs in mobile video playback devices. The cost will undoubtedly be very high, probably not much cheaper than a PD (Personal Digital) device. Mr. Su's vision is indeed grand and forward-thinking."

"If it comes out, I must buy one!" Nie Xiao raised her hand and said with a smile that made the corners of her eyes crinkle.

Zhao Hao suddenly felt nostalgic: "Yes, now when we think about it, everything we eagerly discuss will eventually be buried by time. The things we are passionate about will be left in dark corners. Back then at Tsinghua University, wearing washed white jeans and buying bootlegged tapes at the school gate was common. We often saw Cui Jian there, listening to a Russian version of 'White Birch' with him until our eyes were filled with tears. That era was the 1970s. In an instant, 'White Birch' had been sung by Pu Shu; now even in Tsinghua’s Five-Avenues area, they are selling bootlegged CDs instead of tapes, and those good old cassette tapes are getting harder to find."

"So change and transformation are necessary. This is just a shift in media carriers," Su Can said. For him, who had experienced time travel, he could understand these principles more deeply than Zhao Hao and others: "Everything can be changed, but classics remain unchanged, such as the music of Mozart and Beethoven. From records to today’s digital formats, their brilliance hasn’t faded. If we cannot stop change from happening, then let us be pioneers, always ahead of the curve." students had come with ulterior motives today. It was rumored that they were from Nan University themselves. But if their female students couldn’t even cater to their own needs within the school, how...