Chapter 100

A few days later.

The National Day holiday had ended.

Zhang Ye was now as poor as a church mouse, but when he got up in the morning and went downstairs to the parking lot to drive his BMW 2, he felt that everything was worth it. The car was one he had just obtained after passing his driving test during his senior year when he had some free time. Yesterday, he had already picked up the car, completed the registration, and formalities, and then drove it out of the parking lot with great enthusiasm.

The exterior was almost identical, but the interior was vastly different. The 2 Series Armored was configured differently from the regular 2 Series. Even compared to the high-end version of the 2 Series, the Armored 2 was far superior, truly justifying its price.

It was extremely impressive.

People in the neighborhood all turned to look, some envious, some sneering, some admiring.

As he passed by the building, Rao Aimin happened to come out to take out the trash. She had sharp eyes and immediately spotted the car. "Hey, Xiao Zhang? Did you buy a car?"

Zhang Ye braked, rolled down the window with a smile, and patted the steering wheel. "How about it, Aunt Landlady? Is the car good? Ha, you don't need to say it, you must think it's just a regular 2, right? Let me tell you, it's not. It looks the same, but this car is actually..."

Rao Aimin glanced at him. "Just over five million, right? Look at you showing off."

Zhang Ye exclaimed, "You know it's an armored car?"

Rao Aimin mocked, "Do you think only you can afford it? I used to drive one too, though not the upgraded version. I drove the regular armored 2."

Zhang Ye was drenched in sweat, realizing he had shown off to the wrong person.

Damn, he just remembered that Aunt Landlady owned almost an entire floor of apartments in the neighborhood. Selling just two small units would be enough to cover five million. If she sold her larger duplexes, it would be more than five million. This was just a casual estimate. Who knew if she had other properties and savings? Zhang Ye figured that even if he sold ten copyrights of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" for six million each, he still couldn't compare to Aunt Landlady, a female tycoon. He was far behind.

Forget it, I won't compete with you.

Better to be content with what I have.

Zhang Ye drove to work in a huff.

On the road, Zhang Ye deliberately slowed down, driving slowly and enjoying the attention from others. Of course, he wanted to drive fast, but it was impossible. This was the Third Ring Road during the morning rush hour. If you tried to drive fast, you were either dreaming or extremely tired. In Beijing, even a small car like an Alto couldn't reach its maximum speed. If you could drive smoothly and at full speed, you'd definitely see a text message welcoming you to Hebei Mobile.

Beijing TV.

The Cultural Channel, with the logo HT Cultural.

Previously, Beijing channels were indicated by numbers, such as HT2 (the former Cultural Channel) and HT. Now, they all use text-based logos for convenience.

The Cultural Channel of Beijing TV is dedicated to "spreading the strong voice of the times and serving the people of the capital," always adhering to the correct public opinion orientation. It aims to maximize the use of existing resources and create a new and innovative cultural and entertainment image. It has 11 programs, covering various styles and types of cultural programs, including celebrity interviews, film and television specials, variety shows, and cultural news. In essence, it's similar to the structure of the cultural frequency radio station where Zhang Ye used to work, just in a different medium—audio versus television. The audience base is much larger.

In the Cultural Channel B office area.

A man in his thirties, Brother Hou, smiled and said, "I heard we're getting a new person?"

"I heard that too," his identical twin, Brother Hou, said. "Seems like a host or guest? Da Fei, did you hear anything?"

Da Fei, who was oblivious to the outside world, replied, "Not sure."

Brother Hou asked, "What about Xiao Lu? Do you know anything?"

The young girl sitting at the back said, "I'm new, so I don't know much."

"Alright, do you think we're old-timers?" Brother Hou took out a razor and shaved a bit of his beard. "We're new too, just a few days earlier than you. My brother and I used to work on TV dramas, and Da Fei worked on movie scenes."

Xiao Lu said, "I used to be a text editor at a newspaper. I've known Teacher Hu for a while, and he was kind enough to bring me here."

"We're all the same," Brother Hou said.

Brother Hou added, "Right, we'll communicate more in the future."

Xiao Lu raised her hand in agreement. "Agreed."

Da Fei remained silent. "…Boring."

The Cultural Channel B office area, where B stands for the program time slot, is the office for the team responsible for that time slot. Since the program is still in the early stages, everyone in the team is new, handpicked by Hu Fei, the head of the program. They come from various backgrounds—film, television, and editing—but they are all experts in their fields, which is why Hu Fei chose them.

"Hey, footsteps."

"Someone's coming."

They all looked toward the door.

At this moment, Zhang Ye entered the B office area with Hu Fei. The office area was tiny, with only six or seven desks and four people.

Hu Fei explained with a smile, "This is different from your radio station. Even within the same channel, each time slot's program team works separately. Our program is still a few days away from airing, so we don't have many people yet. When the program starts, the team will grow, but for now, we need to borrow staff from the station to record, which can be a bit troublesome."

Zhang Ye smiled. "It will get better."

"Indeed, with your addition, Teacher Xiao Zhang, we're like a tiger with wings," Hu Fei said, then introduced the team. "This is Brother Hou and Brother Hou, twins. Of course, these aren't their real names; I just call them that to distinguish them. They are the program directors. This is Da Fei, who handles program design and scenes, and is also very skilled in technology. This is Xiao Lu, a text editor, who is a top-notch talent in the industry. I had to put in a lot of effort to bring her here. In short, we have a team of elites. For now, I don't plan to add more people, as we're doing a historical and educational program, which doesn't require as many people as a variety show. The station has a complete system for lighting and cameras, so we can just borrow staff when needed."

Hu Fei is the program's general manager, director, and supervisor.

So, a one-man boss leading five employees? It was a bit embarrassing.

Although the Cultural Channel isn't a satellite channel and doesn't cover the entire country, it has a very good viewership in Beijing, making it a popular channel with a loyal local audience. Zhang Ye and his parents grew up watching the Cultural Channel, so why were there so few people? Perhaps Hu Fei, being new to the station, didn't want outsiders to interfere with his team, so he preferred a small, elite group to give him more flexibility?

Zhang Ye immediately went up to shake hands with everyone. "Hello everyone, nice to meet you. My name is Zhang Ye."

Hu Fei said, "Let Xiao Zhang introduce himself. I have a meeting, so I'll leave. You all communicate and review the program design."

With that, he left.

Zhang Ye was left with the other four.

Xiao Lu looked at him. "Zhang Ye, what did you do before?"

Zhang Ye replied, "I was a radio host."

Xiao Lu asked curiously, "I see that Teacher Hu values you a lot. What achievements did you have before?"

"Nothing much," Zhang Ye said modestly. "Just small things. Teacher Hu is too kind."

"Can a radio host jump to being a TV host?" Brother Hou blinked. "I'm a few years older than you, so I'll call you Xiao Zhang. Come, sit here. This is your desk."

"Sure, thanks, Brother Hou," Zhang Ye smiled, not taking it seriously, and sat down with his things.

Seeing that Zhang Ye was easy to talk to, Brother Hou became even more condescending. "Xiao Zhang, we'll communicate more in the future. If you have any questions, ask me. Although my brother and I didn't work in TV before, we have a lot of experience with TV dramas, so we definitely have more experience than you."

"Sure, I'll ask you if I have any questions," Zhang Ye said.

He realized that none of his colleagues were from the TV industry. They had all come from other fields in the past few days, which explained why none of them recognized him. In the industry, it was rare for someone not to know Zhang Ye, especially at Beijing TV. Anyone who had been there for a while or paid attention to the Golden Microphone Awards would definitely know him.

This was good.

It made the atmosphere more relaxed.

Zhang Ye quickly got used to the environment and was quite satisfied.

Da Fei looked at him. "If you have any computer issues, come to me. There's nothing I can't fix." He then handed him a document. "This is our program plan. Everyone has one. I'll print another copy for you later." He then continued working on his computer.

"Thanks, Brother Fei," Zhang Ye said.

Brother Hou glared at Da Fei. They had agreed to give the new person a hard time, so why was he being so eager? He then said, "Xiao Zhang, we have an unwritten rule here. New people are responsible for cleaning and getting water."

Zhang Ye laughed. "Sure, I'll do it. Who needs water?"

"I'll have a cup," Xiao Lu raised her hand. "Thanks."

"Me too, thanks," Brother Hou said.

Brother Hou didn't want to be too forward, but Zhang Ye ended up getting him a cup of water as well.