107 "Harmony TV" Launches

“No, this song ‘Good Luck Comes’... why isn’t the lyricist and composer Crab Brother?”
“Family, does anyone know who Teacher Che Xing is? And also Teacher Qi Jianbo?”
“How should we know? All we know is Crab Brother—he’s made a comeback from the dead!”
“Crab Brother must have powerful backing from beyond.”
“That backer must be over two meters tall.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?!”
“?????”

One song, ‘Good Luck Comes,’ turned the whole circle upside down. How did an outdated ‘prodigy’ stir up such a storm again?

But since the lyrics and composition weren’t by Li Jie, many weren’t ready to give up. They hoped to uncover the talent behind it and recruit them.

At least ‘Perfect Music’ was thinking along those lines. Of course, they had to keep it from Director Duan Gen, who was lately trying to rebuild ties with ‘Boss Mei.’ But ‘Boss Mei’ said he was too busy—there were still half a month left in the first lunar month, and he had booked eight performances, two of which were online shows for ‘River Crab TV.’

‘River Crab TV’ was one of the online ventures Park Inyong took charge of after coming to China. The software was a half-finished retrofit, a ‘corporate-school collaboration project’ with Jianye Information Engineering University. But the company that had funded it, Daye Film & Television, had its chairman both legs broken, so the project naturally fell apart.

Especially since the previous contact, Li Lingbo, disappeared without a trace. Now the entire project was a mess, contracts unfulfilled, a complete abandonment.

Two days after the Lantern Festival, the contract was terminated, and they turned to Boss Li.

The matchmaker was Dean Guo Wei, who previously took 200,000 yuan from Boss Li without causing trouble. Taking another 200,000 now was just a natural follow-up.

Besides, they were all bros.

Boss Li was buddies with Guo Rong, so naturally, he could be buddies with Guo Wei too.

Each had their own perspective.

Thus, the original ‘Daye Film & Television Online TV’ project was renamed ‘River Crab TV’ and that was that.

On the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, a good day for signing contracts, trading, and receiving wealth, ‘River Crab TV’ officially launched. Whether there were bugs didn’t matter; the main goal was to grab broadcasting rights.

The qualification came from acquiring the licenses of fourteen county-level TV stations—using one meant thirteen remained.

Unlike most provinces and cities where small local stations were absorbed by provincial big stations, Sanjiang Province’s serious internal friction resulted in a ‘survival of the capable’ scenario.

The power struggles were quite spectacular.

But Boss Li had snagged a huge bargain. Those unfamiliar with the industry might not care, but insiders were waiting for the day when laws and regulations would catch up.

For now, Boss Li played ‘Masked Gourd Hero: Power of Red’ on loop on ‘River Crab TV,’ and the other sections were filled with free-license movies, TV shows, and songs.

No news content; no variety shows; no daily life segments…

Nothing but ‘Smash the Darkness with Thunder.’

They opened live streaming, but since no deals were made with major platforms, the live content was zero—no replays either, just text and image updates.

Still, because of ‘Masked Gourd Hero,’ kids eagerly rewatched it.

It was a bit of a makeshift operation, but downloads weren’t few; one week online saw eighty thousand downloads. Due to the sparse content, a ‘decade-long hater’ in the chat group, nicknamed the ‘Electric Pole Scoundrel,’ even posted a video complaining on another video site.

“I’m telling you, this is hands down the poorest content delivery software on the entire web!”

Originally, the Electric Pole Scoundrel posted that complaint just to stir up chat in the group. Unexpectedly, the video became a viral daily rant, with dense streams of comments.

The pinned comments were mostly from casual visitors.

Top pinned comment: “Trust the uploader, don’t go there, there’s nothing but ‘Gourd Hero’!!!!!!”

“Is there ‘Black Cat Hero’ too? Why not mention that?”

“And ‘Boss Mei’? Why skip him?”

“What else is there?”
“Nothing else…”

Second pinned comment: “This is abstract as hell. I thought the uploader was exaggerating, but I downloaded it and guess what? It’s the first video app I’ve ever seen that doesn’t require finger swiping!!!”

Third pinned comment: “Honestly, finding ‘Masked Gourd Hero’ online was a pain—all ads. Now my daughter finally has somewhere to watch. By the way, the actor who plays ‘Gourd Hero’ is the kid who sang ‘The Great Sky’ back in the day. How did he end up like this?”

Fourth pinned comment: “I used to be in the software development department at Daye Film & Television; I’m 100% sure this is their original software. Mr. Yang broke two legs and threw in a whole software system with it.”

“Is Park Inyong there too?”
“Director Park came from Goryeo through ‘Creative Ability,’ right?”
“They all came, poached in a package. Those who stayed in Goryeo have non-compete agreements and had to switch careers.”
“Damn? So many from Daye Film & Television? I haven’t even gotten my severance!”
“Forget it. Li Lingbo ran off to Shudu. ‘Kaihuang’ says he’s a mole and plans to sue him.”
“Guys, I just joined ‘Shenyao Entertainment.’ Anyone want to come over? Boss Li is desperate for people now.”
“I’m quite interested in ‘Creative Ability.’ My mom is with the Jianye Symphony Orchestra. When ‘Boss Mei’ was in Jianye, the head of ‘Creative Ability’ gave out 180,000 yuan in red envelopes to about 100 people.”
“Damn, I thought my uncle was bragging—he’s a cellist.”

The comment section’s tone gradually shifted. Many who read the comments got curious, downloaded ‘River Crab TV,’ and saw new additions: the ‘Good Luck Comes’ music video, behind-the-scenes footage, rehearsal highlights, and various production processes.

Originally, these were meant to attract music lovers, but soon comments changed again.

“To be honest, ‘Masked Gourd Hero’ is pretty good.”
“That ‘Black Cat Hero Cop’ trailer is really flashy—full-on style, got me hooked.”
“Looks like ‘Divine Scroll Apparel’ used that version’s design in their East China promo—amazing!”
“Sunglasses, muscles, trench coat, motorcycle… not a dull moment!”
“Can we repost it?”
“Looks like reposting’s allowed. Let the uploader do it.”

Although Li’s acting was terrible, his flair for posing and showing off was a rare gift. With that physique, he was an unstoppable force.

The Electric Pole Scoundrels worked hard to flood comments about ‘Crab Brother playing a dog,’ but it only made a group of female viewers fall hopelessly for his looks.

The die-hard female fans were practically ‘ovulating on the spot,’ producing countless ‘beauty shots’ and edited videos, filling the barrage with flirtatious messages.

The initial surge in ‘River Crab TV’ downloads was to see how poor it was, but it ended up attracting a flood of obsessed female fans.

Meanwhile, Li Jie’s muscular build was envied by male fans, especially among high school and college students, who plastered posters showcasing his handsome and domineering muscles on lockers and walls.

This caused a massive split among the fans; the influx of fangirls stirred up another storm on Li Jie’s already chaotic Weibo.

‘River Crab TV,’ an obviously amateurish and comical online TV, made its debut.

‘Boss Mei,’ Mei Xingyu, mentioned on Weibo that he had two upcoming online shows, one of which was on ‘River Crab TV.’

With this news, ‘Perfect Music’ contacted ‘River Crab TV’ customer service, bluntly aiming to negotiate collaboration. The previous soundtrack for ‘Straw Bag Yintai’ was impressive, but now ‘Perfect Music’ just wanted to work with the ‘Good Luck Comes’ creative team.

“Ah? Teacher Che Xing can’t come?”
“Yes, Boss Li said Teacher Che Xing is vacationing in Hawaii. No one knows when he’ll return.”
“And Teacher Qi Jianbo?”
“Also on vacation, no one knows when he’s back.”
“And Teacher Li Jie?”
“Boss Li is filming ‘Black Cat Hero Cop,’ tight schedule, heavy workload. Boss Li said his focus is studying now.”
“Huh?”

“School started. Boss Li is a freshman at Jianye Arts Academy.”
“……”

Struggling to secure song rights, everyone at ‘Perfect Music’ was anxious. ‘Gaolianghe Entertainment’ offered three million yuan—if they could get it done, the money was theirs.

But ‘Gaolianghe Entertainment’ soon learned that ‘Perfect Music’ was far from perfect. To appease the major shareholder’s dissatisfaction, Creative Director Zhao Zeping hurried to ‘Ji Family Manor’ to explain.

“It’s not that we’re not trying, it’s just that the other side is too sly.”

At Ji Family Manor, after handing over the invitation, the gatekeeper came out and said, “Director Zhao, the madam requests your presence.”

“Thank you, Steward Meng.”
“You’re welcome, please come in.”

Entering, Zhao told his secretary and driver, “Wait outside for me and don’t leave.”
“Yes, Director Zhao.”

Inside, the main hall was stark, with only some plum blossoms planted—nothing else.

Passing the corridor, the courtyard had a small garden with a pond, connected to a spacious hall, airy and elegant. On the east and west sides of the courtyard walls were small rooms. Steward Meng led Zhao to the east side room, essentially a heated parlor.

Inside, it was lively; the sound of mahjong clacking could be heard from afar.

Zhao stood quietly behind a screen while Steward Meng entered and told a middle-aged beauty who resembled Wang Shiyin, “Madam, Director Zhao Zeping has arrived.”

“Let him come in, what’s he waiting for?”

Holding a slender cigarette holder in one hand and touching her tiles with the other, she was just about to complete a seven pairs hand. She laughed heartily, “Ah, seven pairs with a concealed hand, I can’t believe I’m holding this…”

She pushed the tiles back, the mahjong pieces clattered down, confirming it was indeed a concealed seven pairs.

The middle-aged beauty, in a good mood, turned her head and glanced at Zhao, who held his hat and bowed slightly, “I say, Zhao Zeping, what’s wrong with you? You’re just a bumpkin from the south, and you can’t even handle a small matter like this?”

“Madam, I’m truly sorry, I didn’t expect there to be ‘Yongle Media’ involved as well.”

“The Zhu family… that’s not your fault.”

She raised the jade cigarette holder to her lips, took a slow puff, and exhaled clouds of smoke. Once the mahjong machine was ready, she pressed the dice shaker and said, “But to be trampled like this and still rise, there has to be an explanation. When the master asks, do you know what to say?”

“Yes, yes. Please rest assured, madam, we will tell the truth and conceal nothing.”

“Hmm…”

She nodded slightly, pleased, then said, “Go wait outside. The master will be here soon.”

“Yes…”

Meanwhile, in a back study of the Ji Family Manor, Wang Tianxian’s face was dark as a tall middle-aged man scolded her fiercely.

“Dabbling in that lowly trade is disgraceful enough! Aren’t you done yet? Without the family’s support, do you think you can make it on your own?! I’m officially telling you: no more singing or acting! On the third day of the third lunar month, you will go on a blind date!”

“This kind of thing is uncontrollable—”

“Foolish! Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll win every battle. Haven’t I taught you this? Your brain can’t support your stubbornness. Starting tomorrow, fade from the media’s sight. Disgraceful things, get out!”

“……”

Clenching her fists, Wang Tianxian grit her teeth and returned to her room. She grabbed an eight-sided Han sword and wildly stabbed at the punching bag with a ‘Gourd Hero’ poster pasted on it.

She stabbed countless times but wasn’t satisfied. Then she pressed the punching bag against the wall and unleashed a flurry of punches, the ‘thuds’ echoing loudly…

(End of chapter)