Chapter 10

The identity of the "prodigy" was exposed, and naturally, Wu Tian and his sister's "business" could no longer continue. However, on the 29th and 30th of the 12th lunar month, the siblings continued to write Spring Festival couplets as they had done in the previous days.

Upon hearing that the famous prodigy was actually Wu Tian and his sister, the neighbors in the compound couldn't help but praise them—how could such ordinary-looking children be so talented? They were also secretly envious—what good fortune must the Wu family have had, for their children, one just over six years old and the other not yet ten, to be able to earn money for the family? Then, one by one, they came to request calligraphy—on the street, the prodigy's couplets were expensive and hard to get, but now they could get them for free by just bringing red paper!

Seeing the neighbors come one after another, all speaking highly of her children, Chu Yumei was in high spirits, her initial anger at her children's "illegal business" long gone. She beamed as she greeted her children and called out to the uncles and aunts, asking them to write a few more couplets, which made her feel especially proud.

Poor little Wu Tian, doing this unpaid labor, worked half-heartedly. Fortunately, the exposure of their identity happened on the 29th, and most families in the compound had already bought their couplets. Otherwise, this arduous task might have continued for much longer.

Finally, on the afternoon of the 30th, the labor of writing couplets was finished, and Wu Jianguo also got a day off. The couple stayed at home to make dumplings, and Wu Tian finally had the chance to call Jia Liang. They spent two cents to buy a small string of firecrackers—since the prodigy son and daughter had brought their mother so much face, Chu Yumei had given each of them a yuan as pocket money and New Year's money the night before.

Even with such cheap firecrackers, Jia Liang wouldn't let Wu Tian set them off one by one. He insisted on breaking them apart and setting them off one at a time, making a loud noise all afternoon, which allowed Wu Tian to relive the feeling of celebrating the New Year in his childhood.

In the southern mountain region, every household's New Year's Eve dinner was dumplings. After the Wu family finished eating their dumplings and tidied up the dishes, the deputy director of the library, who lived in the north house, personally came to invite the Wu family to his home to watch TV.

The deputy director Liu was not usually so hospitable, but this was to repay the favor of the three couplets that Wu Tian and his sister had written for him the day before.

Although the deputy director Liu lived in the best house in the compound, it was not very spacious. When the TV was turned on, the small living room was crowded with the important figures of the compound, who were seated according to their status—some on benches, others standing by the walls and doors. As for the children, only Liu's young son sat on his mother's lap, and Wu Tian and his sister, Wu Yuan, sat on small benches in the front row. The other children in the compound were immediately shooed out by the adults as soon as they entered—prodigies naturally received special treatment!

However, even sitting in the front row, Wu Tian didn't feel comfortable—the room was small, crowded, and filled with heavy smokers, which made him very uncomfortable. If it weren't for the first Spring Festival Gala on TV, the little prodigy would have left long ago.

"Xiao Tian, do you like the TV show?" Deputy Director Liu asked Wu Tian while taking out cigarettes and offering them to Wu Jianguo and Jia Chunshan.

Wu Jianguo and Jia Chunshan, the deputy editor of the provincial newspaper and the deputy factory manager of the printing plant, respectively, were much higher in rank and power than the deputy director of the library, and were important figures in the compound, so they naturally had the right to sit in the front row with the host, Deputy Director Liu.

"It's just okay," Wu Tian casually replied, his eyes glued to the 14-inch black-and-white TV—there was no way he could look away with all the adults taking turns to smoke, which was a real test of his willpower.

"Haha, not saying it's good or bad, this kid has really seen through it," Jia Chunshan laughed. "Little prodigy, tell us, what do you think is good and what is bad about the Spring Festival Gala?"

Without turning his head, Wu Tian said, "There are too many bad things. For example, the singers keep singing one after another, and the crosstalk performers do several segments in a row without changing. Why not sing a song and then do a crosstalk segment?"

To be honest, the first Spring Festival Gala in 1983 was indeed just average. Not only was the stage and venue simple, but the program arrangement was also full of flaws. Songs and operas were grouped together, and crosstalk segments were one after another. Ma Ji, Zhao Yan, Jiang Kun, and Li Wenhua all performed three crosstalk segments in a row, and Li Guyi sang six songs in a row without leaving the stage, followed by two duets. It was only because of the lack of entertainment programs at the time that the audience found it entertaining, and even decades later, some people still praised the first Spring Festival Gala as the most successful.

Wu Tian's words made all the adults in the room nod in agreement. The vague sense of annoyance that occasionally appeared during the evening finally found its cause—the little prodigy was indeed a prodigy, hitting the nail on the head.

For a moment, the room was filled with praise for the little prodigy, which made his parents busy with modest replies. However, Chu Yumei's mouth was already twisted with joy, and she was thinking about whether to give her face-saving son and daughter an extra yuan as New Year's money when they got home.

"What about the good things?" After a round of laughter, Jia Chunshan couldn't help but ask again, eagerly waiting for another prodigy-level answer from Wu Tian.

Wu Tian, however, said indifferently, "The only good thing is that there are no ads!"

"No ads?" Jia Chunshan was taken aback, and then everyone in the room chuckled.

However, Wu Tian could tell that everyone was not very convinced. After all, in this era, TV ads were far from the flood of the future and were even popular, as they introduced new and high-quality products to the public.

Wu Tian secretly rolled his eyes.

As an advertising professional, Wu Tian knew very well how powerful the ads during the Spring Festival Gala were. As the "most-watched gala in the world" certified by Guinness World Records, the Spring Festival Gala naturally became a hot spot for advertisers. The price of ads during the gala was exorbitant, with pre-show ads costing millions for just a few seconds, and the naming rights for the zero-hour countdown costing half a billion. The "My Favorite Spring Festival Gala Program" and its advertising rights were even more expensive, reaching over a billion, and various methods such as oral greetings, close-ups of executives, and embedded soft ads were used. In the most severe year, 2010, the audience joked that ads were inserted into the gala, while in that year, the gala was broadcast during the ads.

At this moment, Wu Tian wasn't thinking about whether the lack of ads made the gala better or worse, but rather about the idea of taking advantage of the current lack of advertising awareness to get an ad on the gala. What would be the effect?

Definitely overnight fame, no doubt about it!

Well, no matter what, I must get on the gala next year!