Chapter 67

Lunch break.

Many people came over to talk to Zhang Ye.

"Teacher Zhang, let's go, let's have lunch together."

"I have to congratulate you in advance, you might break the record tomorrow!"

"That's right, if nothing goes wrong, it will definitely break the record in the next two days. At the very latest, it will happen the day after tomorrow. When that happens, you'll have to treat us to a meal. If your bonus this month is less than 20,000, I won't believe it. Ha ha, actually, to be honest, both of Teacher Zhang's programs have entered the top three in frequency and the top twenty in the station. This is already a record. Think about the old colleagues in our station back then; there were very few who could achieve this."

Everyone was very supportive of him.

Except for a few people like Tian Bin and Jia Yan, most of the people in the arts and culture department were friendly to Zhang Ye. If Zhang Ye could indeed achieve several more records in the station or even in the country, refreshing the listening history of their radio station, the people in the arts and culture department would also benefit. According to the station's rules, not only would those who made outstanding contributions receive a bonus, but there would also be a team bonus. Everyone in the department might receive a 10% or 20% team bonus due to Zhang Ye's performance. When Wang Xiaomei's program broke the four-million-listener mark, everyone's bonus increased by about 1,000. This time, it would depend on what record Zhang Ye could create.

Zhang Ye smiled wryly, "Don't expect too much, everyone. This time, it's due to the right time, place, and people. It might not last."

Zhou Dajie was also uncertain, "It should be fine, right?"

Zhang Ye shook his head, "Can't guarantee that."

Sun Auntie smiled, "Let's see the results in the next two days. We shouldn't put too much pressure on Teacher Zhang."

Wang Xiaomei, holding a lunch box, was about to go to the cafeteria. The cafeteria had meal boxes, but she clearly wanted to take it back to the office to eat. The meal boxes there couldn't be taken away. Suddenly, as Wang Xiaomei passed by Zhang Ye, she looked at him, stopped, and said, "Did you put on makeup today? Or use skincare products? Eye cream?"

Zhang Ye was taken aback, "No?"

Zhou Dajie exclaimed, "Oh, now that Teacher Xiaomei mentions it, I can feel it too. It doesn't seem like makeup, but Teacher Zhang looks different today?"

Someone asked, "Is that so?"

Another person said, "No change?"

Sun Auntie said, "How can there be no change? I felt it the moment I saw Teacher Zhang today. It must be the joy of good news making him look refreshed. Look, he looks so handsome now, his eyes are always sparkling. Teacher Zhang doesn't have a girlfriend yet, right? I can introduce you to someone. Do you need it?"

Zhang Ye's assistant, Xiao Fang, also laughed, "Teacher Zhang does look handsome."

Zhang Ye finally understood why they were asking about makeup. It was because of the increased charm from the fruit. "Even his eyes are sparkling? Sweat, is it really that exaggerated!"

Xiao Fang nodded vigorously, "It really is!"

He could speak and had good taste. Zhang Ye was secretly very pleased.

...

In the afternoon.

The listener letters arrived.

Once again, Zhang Ye received the most letters in the entire frequency, over 400, which was 100 more than Wang Xiaomei. The reason was not hard to guess. Zhang Ye had two programs, and the letters were combined for both. Besides, a children's program naturally received more letters than an adult program. So, this didn't mean that Zhang Ye could replace Wang Xiaomei as the top female host in the arts and culture department. He couldn't, because he was a man.

The letters came from both adults and children.

"Please speed up the narration!"

"The 'Wizard of Oz' is so good to listen to, but it's too slow!"

"Uncle Zhang, can you speed up? I can't wait anymore!"

"The program time is too short. Comrade Zhang, I hope you can extend the program time, or at least speed up the plot development. It's really frustrating!"

Many listeners offered suggestions.

Zhang Ye thought about it and felt that their suggestions were reasonable. When he narrated "The Wizard of Oz," he used the same tone and slow speed as "The Little Rabbit." Since it was a children's program, he wanted to take care of the kids, so he spoke very slowly. However, the listener letters made him seriously consider speeding up. "The Wizard of Oz" is a more mature fairy tale, suitable for a wider age range. Using the storytelling method for "The Little Rabbit" was not appropriate. Children might still accept it, but adults might not have the patience. They might love the story, but if it was narrated too slowly, they might not be able to continue listening.

Let's make some changes!

It's completely possible to cover three chapters in one episode. Adding one more chapter isn't difficult!

Zhang Ye had Xiao Fang contact the recording studio and then buried himself inside for the entire afternoon, working on the recording for the next two days. In fact, Zhang Ye had already finished the recording for the next day in the morning, but to ensure the quality of the program, he deleted the previous recording without hesitation and re-recorded it. This time, he covered three chapters in one episode, and the narration speed was about 50% faster than before. He was very strict with himself, making several deletions and revisions before finalizing it.

...

The next day.

Friday.

Everyone came early, and the focus was undoubtedly on Zhang Ye. The people in the arts and culture department had all acknowledged this. They were waiting for history to be made, but they were not entirely sure if Zhang Ye could break the record. Yesterday's performance was a special case, a sudden surge due to the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival.

Zhao Guozhou also came early. When everyone saw the director enter the office area at 9:10, they noticed that he was smiling.

Did it happen?

Did he break the record?

Zhao Guozhou announced, "I don't want to read the rankings in order today. First, I want to announce yesterday's third-place program. Zhang Ye's 'Midnight Ghost Stories,' with a listening rate of... let me build the suspense... 2.01%! Everyone, let's give a round of applause! The listening rate for 'Midnight Ghost Stories' is 2.01%! Some of you might already know, yes, the program has broken the two-million-listener mark. Not only has it broken the record for the midnight slot in the country, but it has also set a new historical record for a domestic midnight program, surpassing the 1.99% record set by the 'Midnight Chat' on the Central Radio Station's Urban Voice thirteen years ago! Now, this record belongs to us, to our Beijing Radio Station's Arts and Culture Department!"

Wow!

Applause thundered!

"Ha ha!"

"Amazing!"

"Too impressive!"

"I think our frequency is going to be legendary!"

Exceeding the listening rate of the Urban Voice's midnight program might not seem significant. It's just a 0.02% increase, right? But in reality, it's not that simple. Only those in the industry would be shocked by this news. Why? Because it's incredibly shocking!

That was the listening rate from thirteen years ago, when radio stations held a semi-dominant position. They were already in decline but had not been completely replaced by television media. Most people still had the habit of listening to the radio, which is incomparable to the current poor radio environment. The listener base was dozens of times larger! Yet, 'Midnight Ghost Stories' still broke the record set by 'Midnight Chat'! What kind of quality is this? In the eyes of industry insiders, this was almost an impossible feat!

But Zhang Ye did it!

'The Ghost Blows the Light' did it!

'Midnight Ghost Stories' did it!

Everyone had reason to believe that, although they couldn't see it, the Urban Voice must have known about this news and was in a state of shock. They might never have imagined that in the current radio environment, someone could break a record set over a decade ago!

Zhou Dajie urged, "Teacher Zhang, say a few words."

Zhao Guozhou smiled, "Teacher Zhang, share your feelings with everyone."

"Very excited," Zhang Ye stood up and said, "I'm really excited. I didn't expect to achieve this. When I created 'The Ghost Blows the Light,' as everyone knows, it was a last-minute decision to avoid a live broadcast accident. To reach this level today, I thank everyone for your help and the trust of the leadership. This is not my achievement alone; it's the result of our team's efforts."

Zhao Guozhou nodded deeply, "Well said."

Everyone applauded again, offering their congratulations.

Zhao Guozhou waved the list in his hand, "I'll continue. The first place is still Teacher Xiaomei's 'Talking About the World,' with a listening rate of 3.77%." He paused and smiled, "I know everyone is also very interested in the next listening rate. Yes, it's still Teacher Zhang's program, 'Old and Young Story Time,' in second place, with a listening rate of... 3.17%!"

What? 3.17%!

Another significant increase from yesterday's 2.98%?

No way! How can it keep jumping up every day?

Even with the influx of new listeners from the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival, it shouldn't be this dramatic, right? Could this be the charm of a serialized story? Does the serialized format further凝聚听众？肯定是的！大家心中凛然，当初众人还都质疑张烨的童话连载，连冯老师和很多有经验的老同志都否定了他这种讲故事的方式，然而张烨却一意孤行，谁的话也没听，并用事实告诉了大家，童话连载在别人那里或许不行，但在他手里却可以！

赵国洲欣慰极了，目光温暖地看向张烨，“《老少故事会》破三了，而且破出的零头非常多，我们还得给张老师鼓一次掌。我们文艺广播破三的节目从今以后就要有四个了，我们北京电台破三收听率的节目也有第二十五个了，大家都记住这个名字吧——《老少故事会》！”

原本收听率垫底的节目一周时间变成了收听率破三的明星节目！这个奇迹不可谓不大！文艺频率的同事们都是亲眼目睹这个过程的，可直到现在很多人还是不太敢相信呢，这简直不是奇迹了！

而是神迹啊！

翻云覆雨起死回生的神迹！

甚至众人都有了这么一个念头，照这个收听率暴涨的趋势看，莫不成《老少故事会》还有机会追上《话说天下》吗？

大家都被自己的想法吓了一跳！

应该不会吧？再离谱也追不上王小美的节目吧？

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Further凝聚 listeners? Definitely! Everyone was solemn, remembering that initially, many had doubted Zhang Ye's serialized fairy tales. Even experienced colleagues like Teacher Feng had rejected his storytelling method. However, Zhang Ye had stubbornly stuck to his guns, ignoring everyone's advice, and proved with facts that while serialized fairy tales might not work for others, they did work for him!

Zhao Guozhou was extremely pleased, looking warmly at Zhang Ye, "‘Old and Young Story Time’ has broken the three-million-listener mark, and by a significant margin. Let's give Teacher Zhang another round of applause. From now on, we will have four programs in the arts and culture department that have broken the three-million-listener mark. Our Beijing Radio Station will have a total of twenty-five programs that have broken this mark. Everyone, remember this name—‘Old and Young Story Time’!"

A program that was originally at the bottom of the listening rate list had, in just one week, become a star program with over three million listeners! This was a significant miracle! The colleagues in the arts and culture department had witnessed this process firsthand, but even now, many still found it hard to believe. This was not just a miracle!

It was a divine miracle!

A miracle of turning the tide and bringing the dead back to life!

Even more, everyone had a thought: Given the rapid increase in the listening rate, could ‘Old and Young Story Time’ possibly catch up to ‘Talking About the World’?

Everyone was startled by their own thoughts!

It shouldn't be possible, right? No matter how outrageous, it couldn't catch up to Wang Xiaomei's program, right?

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