The Xiangnan Television "I Am a Singer" program office that evening.
"There are still five minutes of commercials left, and our show will officially begin!"
The general director, Gong Tao, said excitedly. This was his brainchild, and today was the day to test its worth.
"Old Gong, the station is taking your show very seriously this time, directly giving you this prime time slot on Friday."
A man with sparse hair next to Gong Tao said to him.
"Director Zhao, please rest assured, I will definitely not let the station down."
Gong Tao said with a smile, speaking cautiously.
After all, this was his direct superior, the director of the station's variety show department!
And he understood what Director Zhao had just said.
For a television station, ratings determined everything. Although his show was placed in Xiangnan Satellite TV's prime time slot, it didn't mean he could relax.
The more prime time it was, the greater the test for the show. Because during prime time, it had to compete with programs from other television stations.
Therefore, any program that could be broadcast in prime time essentially represented the station's prestige.
If "I Am a Singer" couldn't boost Xiangnan Satellite TV's ratings today, Gong Tao's days wouldn't be easy.
At 9:30 PM, the show officially began.
"Director, our current rating is in tenth place!"
The staff member monitoring real-time ratings said to Gong Tao.
"Keep monitoring, and report to me immediately if there's any change!"
Gong Tao said.
The previous variety show on Xiangnan Satellite TV had just been canceled the day before, which was why he had the opportunity to be placed in this time slot.
However, due to the failure of the previous program, Xiangnan Satellite TV's ratings today were much lower than their usual peak.
After all, during this time slot, Xiangnan Satellite TV's ratings had always been in the top five. But now, they were barely staying in the top ten.
Director Zhao sat by the side with a deep frown, his eyes fixed on the real-time ratings on the big screen.
After some time, as Xiangnan Satellite TV's rating ranking increased by a few places,
Director Zhao's furrowed brow finally relaxed.
Seeing Director Zhao's brows relax, Gong Tao also gradually felt relieved.
However, when the program reached the segment where Hua Chengyu appeared and performed, the ratings plummeted instantly.
It dropped directly from seventh place to fourteenth place.
At this moment, Director Zhao, whose brow had just relaxed, immediately turned grim.
Even Gong Tao was startled by the sudden sharp drop in data, and he seemed to be caught off guard.
"What's going on?"
Director Zhao asked coldly.
"This... I don't know either..."
Gong Tao was also bewildered. He truly didn't expect Hua Chengyu to be so unpopular that his appearance would cause such a rapid decline in ratings!
Fortunately, after Hua Chengyu's performance, the ratings began to rebound.
This indicated that the audience strongly disliked Hua Chengyu, to the point that they would switch channels whenever his footage appeared.
Thinking of this, Gong Tao immediately regretted it. He truly wondered what he was thinking at the time to invite Hua Chengyu to his show.
"Director, I know the problem. However, after this episode, Hua Chengyu will be eliminated, and such mistakes won't happen again!"
Gong Tao quickly explained. Director Zhao, looking at the gradually recovering ratings, merely nodded slightly.
And when the program reached the end, and Wang Shu took the stage to compete, the ratings surged, directly from outside the top ten to third place.
This scene stunned everyone in the office.
"What's happening? Why did it suddenly surge so high?"
Director Zhao asked in disbelief, staring at the constantly increasing ratings on the screen.
"Xiao Liu, check if the equipment is malfunctioning!"
Gong Tao, equally surprised by the surging ratings, thought he was seeing things and even suspected that the statistical equipment was broken.
"Director, there's no problem, we are indeed in third place right now!"
The staff member named Xiao Liu replied confidently after a thorough check.
"That's great, Old Gong, you've achieved a great success this time!"
At this moment, Director Zhao stood up with a happy expression and patted Gong Tao's shoulder.
"It's been a long time since our Xiangnan station entered the top five in national ratings. Reaching the top three is something we've never achieved before!"
Gong Tao was even more excited. He had worked at Xiangnan Television for many years and naturally understood what national third place in ratings meant.
He just didn't expect that such a program would be created by him. Looking at the image of Wang Shu singing on the television,
He felt very gratified that he had listened to Qin Feng's recommendation and had Wang Shu participate in this show.
"This 1.5 million is worth it!"
Gong Tao muttered to himself.
He had initially felt it was a bit of a loss to pay Wang Shu 1.5 million for his performance fee, but now, it seemed completely worth it.
With his program now ranking third nationally in prime time ratings, many brands would likely call soon to bid for advertising sponsorships for the next episode.
At that time, 1.5 million would be mere pocket change.
Thinking of this, Gong Tao became even more determined to keep Wang Shu, this valuable asset. Even if his current program finished, he would introduce him to other shows.
...
Beijing, the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences.
Although night had fallen, the Academy of Sciences was still brightly lit.
The scientists in the laboratory were all busy with their experiments.
...
"Everyone here is a leader in our Dragon Country's chip industry. Over the past period, I believe you have all been disgusted by the tactics of the major powers.
They preach that technology knows no borders, yet they attempt to use all sorts of means to hinder the development of our Dragon Country's chip and semiconductor industry!
Today, I have convened you all at the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences with only one purpose: to develop a chip with completely independent intellectual property rights for our Dragon Country!"
In the conference room of the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences, Qi Junguo said sternly to the experts from technology companies across the country.
"Completely independent? That's unlikely, isn't it?"
"The difficulty is too great! No country in the world can achieve completely independent chip production yet!"