chapter 5

Some later generations of “fans” who like to follow Jay Chou’s example always seem to like to associate the popularity of R&B music with him. This is actually wrong.

In fact, in Baodao around the turn of the millennium, the person who really pushed the R&B genre to the mass market was Tao Zhe, which is why Tao Zhe is called the “Godfather of Chinese R&B.”

In 97, Tao Zhe, who had just switched from being behind the scenes to being a singer on stage, became an instant hit after releasing his first studio album. His rhythmic R&B style shocked the entire Chinese music scene;
In December 99, the release of Tao Zhe’s second album “I’m OK” put the future PPT god on the fast track to becoming a god.

At the beginning of 00, the sales volume was extremely high, even surpassing the new album “Walking Through 1999” by the singer Shenyou in the limelight.

In this case, as a professional music producer, Li Sisong can naturally see how receptive the current music market is to the R&B genre.

In addition, Zhou Yi is still very young. If he can also play R&B, he can make an album with the theme of “young people of the new era” and ride on this wave of R&B craze.

After all, the market for the R&B genre is not yet saturated, and there are not many people in the Chinese music scene taking the cake on this track.

“I can do R&B music. As for dancing, although I’m not very proficient in it, I haven’t played it at all.”

Under the producer’s analysis, Zhou Yi, who also saw the business opportunities, placed his hands on the table with his fingers crossed, and won Li Sisong’s attention with a humble yet confident tone——

“Really?”

“Of course, and if you want to focus on the young market, I think hiphop is also a good choice.”

Zhou Yi, who has been reborn from later generations, knows better than anyone what kind of melee situation the Chinese music scene will be in the next few years. Both the relatively slow-paced R&B and the more lively hip-hop genres are going crazy.

And, most importantly, compared to traditional Hong Kong-style love songs, these two genres have been significantly more popular among the younger generation since the beginning of the millennium.

The most typical example is Pan Weibo, who sang “Happy Worship” and “My Microphone”. His popularity was once comparable to that of Jay Chou, and he became one of the contestants in the melee among the gods in the Chinese music world.

Although several of his representative songs were later revealed to be Chinese versions, it is now 2000 and the original songs have not yet been released.

Zhou Yi felt that he could come here in advance, so that he would be orthodox!

“Hiphop?” Li Sisong was a little surprised.

Didn’t Zhou Jianhui say that this child came from the mainland?
He thought this kid would talk about playing rock and roll, and he would start doing hip-hop whenever he opened his mouth.

R&B genre has just begun to gain popularity in the market. Is there definitely a market for hiphop?
“Are you sure? If you want to go in this direction, you have to look to the RB music scene and Europe and the United States. Judging from how much Jianhui values ​​you, you should be able to receive some pretty good songs. Just re-write the lyrics when the time comes.”

Seeing Zhou Yi nodding, Li Sisong thought about it from the perspective of an album producer and then said.

Essentially, his words were reassuring to Zhou Yi, telling him that although Warner’s domestic market was declining, it was still a large international group and could still thrive abroad.

As for buying music and rewriting lyrics to make money, it’s not shabby.

Have you ever seen how many people did this during the golden age of the Hong Kong record industry?

What’s more, no matter whether it is Hong Kong or Taiwan, there are two hands that can count the producers who are good at R&B genre, let alone hip-hop, let alone the mainland.

There are people playing this thing, but it has not opened up the market at all.

In the impression of fans in this era, if you want rhythm, rhythm and popularity, then you can just go straight to dance music.

Warner’s first brother Guo Tianwang still wears the title of Asia’s Dance King. The group of people led by him are the representatives of rhythm and dynamics before hiphop elements became popular in the Chinese music scene.

A typical example is “Move”, a dynamic divine song just released by Guo Tianwang in April this year.That really makes everyone want to shake along after hearing it.

“What? Buy a song? No need, no need, Brother Li, I can just write it myself.”

After hearing what Li Sisong said, Zhou Yi waved his hand slightly, indicating that he could do the work himself. He said in an understatement: “I can write, and I can do all the lyrics, music, and arrangement myself.”

“…?”

Li Sisong, who was already thinking about which foreign language songs needed to be included in Zhou Yi’s debut album, was stunned. After a second of recovery, he frowned slightly and looked at the child in front of him: “Can you do the lyrics, music and arrangement yourself?”

Judging from his tone, he was obviously in disbelief.

How old is Zhou Yi?
19 years old?

You’re not studying in an art school, how can you write this?

“Yes, if I have time, I can try to make a few songs and record them within this month. Then I will ask Brother Li for more guidance.”

“This month?”

“Correct.”

Zhou Yi nodded, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was full of sunshine: “I have to go back to school next month to take the final exam.”

“…Since you are so confident, you can write a song first. It just so happens that Yanzi’s album has been recorded and I am free.”

Li Sisong, who was almost silenced by the words “I have to go back to school for the final exam”, scratched the tabletop of his desk with his right index finger, touched his chin with his left hand and said.

“Okay, thank you Brother Li.”

After chatting with Li Sisong about some music direction issues, Zhou Yi looked at the time and chose to leave.

He still has to move.

I have been staying in Baodao for the past month. Even though I just brought some changes of clothes, I still need time to find my way around.

As for what songs to “write”, he probably has some ideas in his mind.

Tao Zhe launched a wave of R&B trend in Baodao with his two albums, and he was later regarded as the “Godfather of Chinese R&B”.

Considering that no one had written the original songs at this time in 2000, he directly took Pan Weibo’s Chinese-made famous songs and started a wave of hip-hop in the three areas across the Taiwan Strait. In the future, wouldn’t he also be able to make a “Chinese-language” song? The title of “The Godfather of Hip-Hop”?

Once the first person to eat crab succeeds, the harvest will be extremely huge.

Hiphop can also transform and gain the reputation of creating a “new era of Chinese style”. Wouldn’t that directly establish a golden status?

When he thought of this, Zhou Yi felt eager to try, and even walked to Zhou Jianhui’s office a lot faster.

If the album is produced quickly, he might be able to make it in time for the release by the end of the year. Then he might be able to compete with Sun Yanzi and Jay Chou, who are also just starting out, at the Golden Melody Awards.

ps: Huh, I’m done, I’ll start two updates tomorrow~

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 5
When Wen Yan returned home, he immediately began to search for all kinds of abnormal things. Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, he found only a few false words.

I finally found one that looked real, and when I saw the end, I found a line of text.

“If you want to see the follow-up, please log in to the Chinese website of the terminal and search…”

Wen Yan was speechless.

He gave up looking for these unreliable ones and started searching for things related to Decheng Funeral Home.

At least the staffing can be found directly.

The curator is He Jian, and he has been working here for most of his life.

Wen Yan looked for the old Wang mentioned by the curator, but there was currently no one named Wang.

When I found the historical records from last year, I found a person named Wang, but he had passed away.

As for other information, there is not much valuable information that can be found.

For example, a fire evacuation map with escape routes marked.

It was confirmed that the current Decheng Funeral Home had been expanded twice, and the building where he encountered the ghost was the earliest office building.

Today’s office buildings are newly built.

Wen Yan wanted to find something abnormal, but there were only a few rumors that had no beginning or end.

Wen Yan turned off the computer and shook his head. Forget it, it would be better to ask the curator directly later.

He was now certain that he had indeed encountered the Soul-Eating Beast on his way back in his dream, and that something had indeed happened.

Even if he didn’t choose a profession that day, he wouldn’t be able to leave. It was probably related to the appearance of the Soul-Eating Beast.

However, there were no large numbers of deaths anywhere inside or outside China.

Whether it’s all kinds of news or self-media, if you keep searching, what you can find is a flash flood in a certain place, a minor earthquake in a certain place, a chemical plant leak in a certain place, etc.

But there were no casualties above single digits.

Unfortunately, many of the delicacies he was familiar with had lost their “souls,” and no one thought it was abnormal.

And he himself became a soulless person, because he had truly felt his soul being absorbed before, so he was definitely not born a soulless person.

Therefore, there must be a soul-eating beast, and that guy’s definition of soul is a bit off.

Food has lost its soul, at least it can be restored.

People die, but nothing is left.

If that were the case, Wen Yan would still be able to accept it.

The world has become different. It may have become different a long time ago, but he never knew it before.

Looking back carefully, there were indeed many clues, but he had never thought about it before.

The next day, Wen Yan went to work as usual, wandering around like a gangster, learning to adapt, and spending more time actually finding a place to bask in the sun.

The director still didn’t arrange work for him, and no one cared about the other two deputy directors. He only met one of the deputy directors in charge of the administrative office on the first day.

Wen Yan is so familiar with the environment and his colleagues. Three days have passed. The fishing class he once dreamed of has only been three days, and he feels uncomfortable.

He couldn’t help his curiosity and came to the curator’s office.

He wanted to ask, who was that person he met in the old office building that day?What’s next?
Moreover, he was more curious about the employee rules in the old office building, which were so strict and a bit weird. Judging from his experience, I am afraid that every rule represents something that has happened.

It’s a pity that after three days in the workplace, I’m already familiar with my colleagues, but I haven’t heard anything related to it.

The only thing I heard about related to the regulations was that a colleague of the cremation department accepted the red envelope that the family member stuffed into his pocket. The deputy director called him to the office and slapped him, and gave him a day off. Go home and reflect.

Wen Yan knocked on the door of the curator’s office.

The curator still wore the ill-fitting black suit and did not take it off in the office, and the damage was no longer visible.

It’s just that it’s summer, isn’t it hot?
Wen Yan glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the air conditioner was turned on to 19 degrees.

The curator looked warm and waved to Wen Yan.

“Sit down wherever you like, I just have something to tell you.”

“Don’t you want to know about that guy that day?”

“It just so happens that Lao Wang is busy with other things. Go to the old ice house and find cabinet No. 89.” “Inside is the body of the guy we met. He may have pushed him to the cremation department for his own body.” , there happens to be a luxury furnace available.”

“Then in the afternoon, come have a meal with me. An old friend is here and I need to entertain him.”

After listening to the curator’s words, Wen Yan opened his mouth and wanted to say something. The curator stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.

“Relax, the guy has crossed the line and is gone. Follow the regulations and burn the body to complete the procedure.”

Wen Yan wanted to say something else, but the curator laughed again.

“You young people, aren’t you still scared? How about I accompany you?”

Wen Yan sighed after leaving the curator’s office.

The curator was really just being polite. He really wanted the curator to show him the way.

Of course he also knew that if the curator crossed the line, he would rush into the street. He saw it with his own eyes last time.

When we walked downstairs, the curator opened the window and gave another worried warning.

“Remember to read the employee rules first.”

Wen Yan came all the way to the old office building, walked through the long corridor, and crossed the line at the end of the corridor, only to see a downward elevator and a downward staircase at the end.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor.

There is a number “1-50” next to the door on the basement floor.

Continue walking down to the second underground floor, numbered “51-100”.

The door was locked. He took out the key given by the curator, inserted it into the keyhole, and opened the door as expected.

A chilly air hit my face. Apart from a few simple push beds, there was only a row of stainless steel cabinets. Each cabinet door had a number engraved on it and was traced with red paint.

It’s very ordinary, not much different from what I’ve seen before.

Just when Wen Yan was about to politely interrupt, the employee code that he had just read several times came to mind.

It is forbidden to talk in the work room where the body is present.

Wen Yan put on his mask and gloves and went all the way to cabinet No. 89. He pulled out the body inside and confirmed the text information. Then he opened the body bag and saw a wax-sealed mummy inside.

This has been here for at least ten years.

The wax corpse was exactly the same as the phantom he encountered a few days ago, but not as ferocious.

Okay, the identity is completely confirmed.

He pulled up the body bag, pushed the flat bed, left the old icehouse, locked the door, and took the elevator up. The journey was smooth and nothing happened.

He didn’t even feel much pressure or fear in his heart. He was very sure that what was lying here was definitely just a corpse.

Wen Yan was inexplicably relieved when he saw the wax mummy being pushed into the so-called luxurious furnace.

At this time, he suddenly remembered that this seemed to be the first customer he had sent away personally after entering the company.

It should be… right?

After a long time, he came back to his senses when someone walked up to him.

The person who came was in his 50s, had a dark face, and was wearing blue overalls. He was holding a cigarette case and handed it to him.

“Used to it.”

Wen Yan hesitated, took out one, and followed him outside.

Seeing the other party puffing away, Wen Yan asked confusedly.

“Uncle Zhang, is it common here?”

“It’s not common.” Zhang Kuang replied naturally. He knew what Wen Yan wanted to ask: “If you feel uncomfortable, come to the cremation department. Once here, everyone from family members to leaders is easy to talk to.”

“What if we meet that kind of customer who is not very quiet?”

Zhang Kuang took a puff of cigarette and laughed.

“Then fire hard.”

(End of this chapter)