blogombal Chapter 74 50 Guests
Chapter 74 50 Guests
In Fengtian City, at an old-fashioned hot pot restaurant that has been open for twenty years, the red oil broth is bubbling and the aroma of spiciness mixed with sesame sauce fills the room.
Zhao Dabao, wearing a floral shirt and a large gold chain around his neck, was arguing with a middle-aged man in a suit across from him. The man was Liu, the producer of "Basketball Camp," with a shrewd look on his face, and he was typing away on a calculator.
"Producer Liu, let's get this straight," Zhao Dabao picked up a slice of tripe, dipped it in the spicy broth a few times, then shoved it into his mouth with sesame sauce. "What's my Lin Hao's worth now? Asian Championship MVP, national idol. If his appearance fee is less than 50, forget it."
Producer Liu frowned deeply: "Manager Zhao, our program budget is limited. Last time, we only got 8 yuan to hire Hu Weidong as a coach. Lin Hao is a rookie, and 50 yuan a episode is more than Yao Ming's price. The station definitely won't approve it."
"Who is Hu Weidong?" Zhao Dabao slammed his chopsticks on the table, making the bowl jump. "He's a legend of the older generation, I respect him. But who's hot now? Lin Hao! Airport pick-ups can cause a three-kilometer traffic jam, he's been trending on Weibo for three days, and canned peaches are sold out! If your show didn't invite him, do you believe it or not?"
Lin Hao sat to the side, munching on a frozen pear, not saying a word, just listening quietly. He liked Zhao Dabao's protectiveness, just like back when they played pickup basketball in their hometown, Zhao Dabao could argue with people for three blocks.
Producer Liu wiped his sweat and softened his tone: "Manager Zhao, it's not that I don't want to give it, it's just that the station's rules are like this. How about this, 30 per episode, plus 10 for GG's share, this is already the maximum budget."
"30?" Zhao Dabao sneered, pulling a stack of documents from his bag and slamming them on the table. "Look at this yourself. Nike offered him an 8000 million five-year contract, and they're even releasing a signature shoe. You think 30 will hire Lin Hao? That's not even enough for him to buy a pair of shoes!"
Producer Liu opened the document and saw the contract amount with Nike; his pupils contracted sharply. He knew, of course, that Lin Hao was negotiating an endorsement, but he hadn't expected the figure to be so outrageous.
"Manager Zhao, this..." Producer Liu's tone softened completely, "I need to report this to the station, but this price really..."
"Stop reporting," Lin Hao suddenly spoke, his voice not loud but carrying an undeniable authority. "50, not a penny less. Also, each episode must dedicate 5 minutes to Xinghuo Youth Training for promotion, and canned yellow peaches will be the designated souvenir for the show."
Producer Liu said with a pained expression, "Lin Hao, you're being too forceful..."
"Producer Liu," Lin Hao put down the frozen pear, looking directly at him, "your show's ratings have been declining year after year, you hired me to revive it. Paying 50 for an episode with a rating above 3, you're making a killing. Besides, I don't get paid for appearing on your show; I bring you viewership and sponsorships. Can't you even do the math?"
Producer Liu was speechless, and lowered his head to start pressing the calculator. After a while, he gritted his teeth: "Fine! 50 per episode. I'll go back and try to get the youth training promotion and the canned peaches deal! But we have to sign a performance-based agreement; if the ratings don't break 2, the next fee will be halved!"
"Deal!" Zhao Dabao slapped his thigh, almost spilling the hotpot soup. "But if the ratings break 3, you'll have to add another 10!"
The two negotiated the contract terms for another half hour before finally settling things down. After seeing Producer Liu off, Zhao Dabao was overjoyed and pulled out his phone to make a call: "Hey? Lao Li, the contract's done! A guest at 50 per episode—Lin Hao's set a record!"
Lin Hao smiled and shook his head. This Da Bao is always so loud and boisterous.
Back at the hotel, Zhao Dabao tossed the contract onto the bed and mysteriously pulled a stack of drawings from his bag: "Haozi, take a look at this. I had a student from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang work through three nights to draw this—the first draft of the signature shoe design!"
Lin Hao took the blueprints and was immediately struck by the shoe design.
The sides of the shoes feature the classic red and green color scheme of a traditional Northeastern Chinese floral print, but not in a tacky way; instead, they have a gradient effect, like fire burning in the snow. The soles are engraved with intricate suona patterns, and the word "Lynx" is hidden within the patterns. The most amazing part is the tongue, which is embroidered with a cute cartoon version of Lin Hao dunking, next to which are the words "Northeastern Floral Print".
"How's it going?" Zhao Dabao proudly raised his chin. "I specifically told the designer to make it both tacky and trendy, so that foreigners would be dumbfounded and Chinese people would exclaim that he's an expert!"
Lin Hao flipped through the drawings, liking them more and more with each look. The design also included matching clothing: training uniforms in a floral pattern, wristbands with a peach can design, and even a suona-shaped pendant.
"Da Bao, you really did something big this time." Lin Hao rarely praised him.
"That's right!" Zhao Dabao laughed with his hands on his hips. "By the way, Nike just called and said they've seen the design drafts and headquarters has basically agreed, but they're asking us to change 'Northeast Big Flower' to the English 'Northeast Blossom', saying it'll make it easier for global promotion."
"No," Lin Hao shook his head, "Not a single word of 'Northeast Big Flower' can be changed. Foreigners can't understand it? If they can't understand it, let them learn Chinese. My shoes have to use Chinese characters, so the whole world knows what these five characters mean."
Zhao Dabao scratched his head: "But Nike said that if we don't change it, it might affect sales in the European and American markets..."
"So what if it affects us?" Lin Hao put away the blueprints. "Why should our own Chinese shoes follow the rules of foreigners? Floral print jackets, suonas, and canned yellow peaches—we can't do without any of these three things. If they're not happy, I'll go to Anta's headquarters for an inspection tomorrow."
Just then, Lin Hao's phone rang; it was Harris calling.
"Hey! Great news!" Harris's voice was filled with excitement even through the receiver. "Nike headquarters has relented! They said they can keep the Chinese 'Northeast Big Flower' logo, but they require an English explanation inside the shoebox. Also, they've agreed to include canned yellow peaches as a limited-edition gift, with an initial production run of 10 sets!"
Lin Hao smirked: "Looks like they've figured it out."
"It's not that I've figured it out, it's that I'm afraid you'll actually sign with Anta," Harris laughed. "By the way, the press conference is scheduled for next Wednesday at the Capital Workers' Stadium. Nike said you can choose the venue, and they can set it up however they want."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Hao looked at Zhao Dabao: "The venue for the press conference has been decided, the Workers' Stadium. You make the arrangements to set it up in the style of a Northeast market, with two rows of suona players at the entrance, and everyone who enters will be given a can of yellow peaches."
"Alright!" Zhao Dabao rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "I'll go contact the Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form) troupe and the acrobatic troupe right away. We'll put on some amazing performances and make sure those foreigners at Nike are blown away!"
That evening, Lin Hao posted the design draft on Weibo with only two words in the caption: "First draft".
Within ten minutes, the comment section exploded.
Holy crap! These shoes are so flashy! I love the floral print color scheme!
[The Northeast is bursting with color, hahaha, Haozi, you really know how to name things!]
[The soles even have a suona pattern? Would playing basketball in these shoes bring your own background music?]
[Nike actually approved this design? Haozi is awesome!]
[100 pairs already pre-ordered to give to relatives and friends. If these shoes don't become a hit, I'll eat my keyboard!]
Zhao Dabao scrolled through the comments, slapping his thigh with delight: "Haozi, look, everyone's saying it's great! These shoes are definitely going to be a hit!"
Lin Hao remained silent, simply gazing at the design draft. He knew this wasn't just a pair of shoes; it was a signal—Chinese players no longer needed to cater to Western aesthetics. We could have our own style, our own culture, our own "Northeast big flower" (a reference to a popular Chinese folk art style). (This is just a preliminary note; other versions will be designed later. The first version will use a red and green overcoat color scheme.)
[Ding! Detected that the host has adhered to local cultural design principles and gained market recognition. The [Cultural Confidence] attribute has been upgraded, commercial influence +10%, and overseas market acceptance +5%.]
Lin Hao smiled and turned off the light. He had to go to the youth training camp to watch the kids train tomorrow. Guo Ailun had been slacking off lately, so he had to make him run a few more laps as punishment.
Some things take time.
But some things, like showing the world what Chinese basketball looks like, can't wait a moment longer.