Three days later, the results were released, and Hunan TV ultimately secured the rights to *Chinese Paladin*, with a total bid of 101 million RMB, setting a new record for television drama acquisition.
It is worth mentioning that Dongfang TV's bid was 100 million RMB, with only a 1 million RMB difference between the two.
You see, this is where the downside of having OCD shows itself. Why insist on rounding up to an integer? If they had just added a decimal point like Hunan TV, they would have smoothly acquired it.
However, Dongfang TV successfully acquired *Joy of Life*, also with a bid of 100 million RMB, which slightly surprised Huang He. After all, this television drama only had a trailer, and with no way to assess its quality, Dongfang TV daring to bid 100 million RMB was certainly bold.
What Mr. Huang didn't know was that Dongfang TV dared to explode with such a bid because they still had two to three hundred million RMB of their budget left for the year and were struggling to find places to spend it.
Well, the main reason was actually that Dongfang TV was wealthy, backed by Shanghai.
*Soldiers Sortie* was quietly acquired by Sichuan TV, but the bid was quite pathetic, only 42 million RMB. The second-highest bid was only 30 million RMB. Even though the market currently doesn't favor modern military-themed television dramas like *Soldiers Sortie*.
Soon, Huang He reached an agreement with them. *Soldiers Sortie* would be broadcast first, as October 1st was approaching, and it was the perfect subject matter to celebrate National Day.
*Chinese Paladin* would be broadcast between January 1st and 10th, 2004. The Chinese New Year in 2004 was early, with New Year's Eve falling on the 21st, so its broadcast time was also quite early.
Finally, *Joy of Life* was tentatively scheduled for broadcast in June 2004, also to coincide with the summer holiday period, ensuring that all major national broadcasting slots were meticulously arranged.
Meanwhile, Li Jing was experiencing the most surreal and hectic period of her life. She never expected that by simply mustering the courage to ask, Huang He would actually agree, and do so in front of so many people from the television industry.
So, before Li Jing could even call the station, the station already knew that Huang He had agreed to a special interview on *Super Interview*.
Almost instantly, this precarious little program became a key supported program of Beijing TV.
Originally, *Super Interview* was broadcast on Beijing's third economic channel. However, after a decisive meeting, the station decided to move it directly to Beijing TV's prime-time slot.
Simultaneously, even the studio began to be upgraded, with the station allocating millions of RMB to enhance the studio's various equipment and sets.
The leaders even considered that the studio's sofas were generic and not comfortable enough, which might affect Mr. Huang's mood. Therefore, they specifically spent 60,000 RMB to purchase a completely imported sofa, which made one feel as if they were floating in the air when sitting in it.
Indeed, spending money wisely always pays off.
While these were all things that made Li Jing happy, a subsequent decision by the station almost made her explode.
"What? You want me to go back and rest and have Sister Keyun take over!" Li Jing was stunned when she heard her leader's words.
She had been busy day and night, even mustering the courage to proactively communicate with Huang He, finally securing this rare opportunity to invite Huang He to the program. Now, her leader was telling her that the host of *Super Interview* would be temporarily changed to the station's top female host, Keyun. This completely bewildered Li Jing!
She was utterly blown away and even shouted at her leader.
The leader understood Li Jing's anger, so he didn't overly reprimand her disrespectful attitude. Instead, he calmly stated that Huang He was a heavyweight guest, and Li Jing was just a newcomer in the hosting industry with insufficient experience. He feared she might not be able to handle such a grand occasion, which could lead to an unpleasant situation for everyone.
"Li Jing, I'm doing this for your own good. You are still young and need to endure solitude to achieve great success! You must be magnanimous!" the leader said with a serious expression. "This is such an important opportunity, and it's a nationwide broadcast. If you make a mistake, our station will lose all face!"
"Besides, you only need to endure this once. Keyun is just filling in temporarily. After this episode, you will still be the host of *Super Interview*, and the program will stabilize, no longer being precarious as before. You won't be at a disadvantage!" the leader added, making it clear that Li Jing should accept reality obediently, as there would be benefits and she shouldn't cause trouble.
So, Li Jing took three days off and locked herself at home, pretending to be dead. The station didn't mind, as the entire station was overwhelmed with work. Especially Sister Keyun, who reportedly not only had to memorize scripts and questions until late at night but also used her connections to invite a top domestic makeup artist to help her with her appearance.
After all, Sister Keyun was unmarried and full of hope for the future.
Time quickly passed to the scheduled 4:00 PM on September 30th. The program was scheduled to air at 8:00 PM, and Li Jing was still lying in bed. Suddenly, her door was forcefully knocked upon.
However, Li Jing had no intention of opening the door. She simply pretended not to hear the knocking, and then with a bang, the door was forced open.
"What do you want?" Li Jing was startled, thinking she was being robbed. To her surprise, her old partner Dai Jun, the leader, and several staff members from the program rushed in.
"Li Jing, what are you doing? Not answering your phone, are you acting out *The Injustice to Dou E*?" the leader scolded impatiently.
"Ah? My phone was turned off and wasn't charged. I didn't know there were any calls!" Li Jing hastily replied.
"You girl, how can you not handle a little setback? You're acting like you're dying over this!" the leader grumbled a few times, then said, "You have 5 minutes to get yourself together and report back to the station!"
"Why do I still need to go to the station now? I'm an inexperienced young person!" Li Jing said sourly.
"Enough, I don't have time to argue with you. You're still in charge of hosting today, but if you make any mistakes, you can forget about coming to work at this station again!" the leader said domineeringly before leaving. Li Jing was left looking dumbfounded at Dai Jun and asked, "What happened?"
"Little Jing, do you and Mr. Huang have some personal... friendship?" Dai Jun asked Li Jing with a gossipy expression.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You know my social connections better than I do, Dai Jun. How could I possibly know Huang He, or have any personal friendship?" Li Jing said.
"Exactly, that's what I thought too. But today, when Huang He came to the station for rehearsal, he saw Sister Keyun sitting in the host's seat, and his expression immediately changed. He directly told the leader that if you weren't hosting, he wouldn't participate. Otherwise, why do you think the leader rushed to call you back!" Dai Jun said with a strange look.
Indeed, Huang He's reaction made it hard not to suspect that Li Jing and Huang He had some special relationship.
In fact, even Li Jing herself was shocked upon hearing this. After pondering for a while, she touched her not-so-rosy cheeks and said, "Old Dai, do you think Huang He has taken a liking to me?"
Well, every girl has a Cinderella dream, so it's not unusual.
Huang He obviously wouldn't be interested in Li Jing. After all, Li Jing's looks were at most above average. Huang, a connoisseur of beauty, would never have any thoughts about Li Jing.
The reason Huang He wanted Li Jing was that in his previous life, Huang He had been a viewer of *Super Interview* for a period and was quite satisfied with the program.
At the same time, there were only a few famous interview programs in the country. CCTV's *Oriental Son* had the most prestige, but unfortunately, *Oriental Son* had been renamed *Face to Face*, and the host was a woman named Chai Jin, whom Huang He deeply disliked.
Then there were *Luyu Youyue* and *Yang Lan Interview*, but Huang He also disliked the hosting styles of these two programs because they weren't suitable for bragging.
So, after much deliberation, *Super Interview* was the best choice. But anyone who has watched *Super Interview* knows that the core of the program lies in the dynamic between the two hosts, Li Jing and Dai Jun. How could Huang He accept the substitution of some unknown Keyun, and what if it affected the program's viewership ratings?
Alright, enough said. Li Jing quickly arrived at the station, started her makeup, and while doing so, she familiarized herself with the script.
However, having been lying down for three days, Li Jing felt half-crippled. But now, she was also extremely excited, so even though she held the script in her hands, she couldn't remember anything. This made Li Jing so nervous that tears were about to fall.
"Are you very nervous?" Suddenly, a voice sounded in her ear. Li Jing turned her head and was surprised to find Huang He standing in front of her.
"A little..." Li Jing said softly. She felt utterly humiliated.
"I heard about your situation. It seems you can't remember the script, but that's perfect, because I don't like the script you prepared either!" Huang He snatched the script from Li Jing's hand, tore it into pieces decisively, and threw it into the trash can. Then, he said calmly, "Just host the program according to your usual personal style and adjust the overall atmosphere of the show."
"As for the content of the program, and all sorts of questions, just follow my lead!"
"Ah..." Li Jing was stunned. Shouldn't the rhythm of the program be controlled by the host? When did it become dictated by the guest?
However, Li Jing didn't dare to refuse when Huang He said this. Since she couldn't remember the script anyway, she readily agreed to Huang He's suggestion.