Chapter 25

During lunchtime.

Zhang Ye's new poem for the young couple was once again being talked about by his colleagues at the radio station. It was easy to overhear their discussions during their breaks.

"Xiao Zhang, eating instant noodles again?" The director came in.

Zhang Ye quickly swallowed the last bite and smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, just enough to fill my stomach."

Zhao Guozhou, concerned, said, "Eating like this isn't healthy. Is it because you haven't received your salary yet, making life a bit tight? Hehe, if that's the case, you don't need to worry. I have something to announce in a bit." Looking around the office, he said, "Everyone has finished eating? Then stop what you're doing. We lost a lot of time this morning, so let me announce the listening rates from yesterday."

Everyone turned their heads.

Zhao Guozhou found a place to sit, "First place, 'Words of the World,' the listening rate is..." He deliberately drew out the moment, "4.09%!"

"Ah?"

"Really?"

"Over 4?"

"Listening rate broke 4?"

It was clear that Wang Xiaomei was also taken aback.

Zhao Guozhou, satisfied, said, "For years, Xiaomei's program has been the top-rated on our station, but it always hovered around 3%. Everyone heard correctly, this time it really broke 4. I can happily tell everyone that our 'Words of the World' program ranked fourth in the entire station yesterday, just behind two news programs on the news channel and 'Safe Journey' on the traffic channel. This is an unprecedented achievement for our station. Everyone, congratulations to Xiaomei."

Applause erupted!

The colleagues also felt honored, and with better performance, their year-end bonuses would definitely increase. It was a good thing for everyone at the cultural radio station.

Wang Xiaomei explained, "Thank you all, but yesterday was a special case. It won't be maintained in the future." Jumping from the eighth or ninth position to fourth in the entire city, she knew what had happened. After a brief moment of excitement, she didn't say much more.

She understood, and so did Zhao Guozhou and the others. Zhao Guozhou continued, "I suggest we also give Teacher Zhang some applause. He played a crucial role in yesterday's program, not only saving the day in a crisis but also boosting the listening rate of 'Words of the World.' Let me announce the listening rate for 'Midnight Ghost Stories.' Last night, the average listening rate for Teacher Zhang's program was 1.57%, ranking third on our station, higher than the 1.4% on weekends. Clearly, the hot topic last night boosted the ratings. I believe, and I have reason to believe, that 'Midnight Ghost Stories' will reach new heights under Teacher Zhang's efforts. So, I and the other vice-directors and the head of the department decided to award Teacher Zhang a bonus of 5,000 yuan for this month. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No objections."

"This is deserved."

"Teacher Zhang, congratulations."

Zhang Ye pretended to be modest, "Leader, how can I accept this? I'm just a new guy, really..."

Zhao Guozhou, smiling broadly, said, "I'll have the finance department transfer it to your salary card. No need to be shy. This is what you deserve. And there's another reason for this bonus. Starting today, 'Midnight Ghost Stories' will have advertisers. Because of the series of knowledge about antiques and collectibles in 'Ghost Blows the Lamp,' and the consistently high listening rate, a large pawnshop's publicity department has already contacted the station. The sponsorship and advertising fees are almost finalized. The specific numbers are still confidential, but I can give you a rough idea. Hehe, the sponsorship for 'Midnight Ghost Stories'... is almost on par with our prime-time programs, very high!"

What?

Almost on par with prime-time?

To be honest, many people were stunned. 'Midnight Ghost Stories' was a late-night program, even worse than the 11:30 PM to midnight slot. Now, it had an advertiser willing to pay almost as much as for a prime-time slot? Were the advertisers crazy? But upon closer thought, it made sense. 'Midnight Ghost Stories' was no longer the late-night program it was when Tian Bin hosted it. After Zhang Ye took over, the listening rate skyrocketed, and the audience's loyalty was extremely high. The pawnshop wanted to increase attention through this relatively specialized and highly engaging novel program, making the high advertising fees more understandable!

"Teacher Zhang, you'll have to treat us."

"Right, you must treat us. It's so enviable."

"My afternoon program doesn't even have as high advertising fees as yours. It's really demotivating. Haha, when you get paid, don't be stingy. Treat us to a meal!"

More advertising sponsors mean more performance-based bonuses. Although Zhang Ye was still a new employee, his salary might not be as high as everyone else's, but with this prime-time-level sponsorship, his monthly income could surpass that of some veteran employees who had worked at the station for over a decade!

Zhang Ye was also delighted, "Definitely, definitely."

Seeing Zhang Ye's success, Tian Bin was green with envy. He had been on 'Midnight Ghost Stories' for years, and for most of the year, there were no advertisers. Even when there were, they were short-term and the advertising fees were negligible. How many days had this Zhang been here? What good luck! Tian Bin still didn't fully acknowledge Zhang Ye's abilities, only his luck.

After announcing the listening rates for all the programs, Zhao Guozhou called Zhang Ye over and instructed him, "The advertiser will be here soon. Today is for signing the contract, and they also want to see your live recording. I'll have someone reserve the recording studio for you. When they arrive, go over. I don't have the ad copy yet, but they might bring it. I'll have someone give it to you when it's ready."

Zhang Ye exclaimed, "Recording in the afternoon?"

"Yeah, you don't need a script, right? What's the problem?" Zhao Guozhou asked.

Zhang Ye, with a stiff upper lip, said, "No problem, leader. I'll go prepare."

Zhao Guozhou nodded, "Perform well. Don't let the advertisers find any faults, or the signed contract might be in question."

"I understand, don't worry," Zhang Ye promised.

Once the leader left, Zhang Ye's face fell. No problem, my ass. He couldn't recite the text for 'Ghost Blows the Lamp' and only knew the general plot. Last night, he was too excited about the newspaper to write the script. He had planned to write it during the day, but the morning's issues and the afternoon's advertiser visit made it impossible. This time, he couldn't go off-script. Sigh, was all his hard-earned reputation about to be ruined? 'Ghost Blows the Lamp' couldn't continue, and the program would be ruined by him?

This is going to be bad!

This is going to be a disaster!

But at least he got 5,000 yuan as a bonus. With money, even if he ruined the program, Zhang Ye didn't care. In this world, money is... Wait, no!

Didn't I say I treat money like dirt?

Let me think. Did I say that? Forget it, I don't think I did!

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