The atmosphere in the conference room instantly chilled.
The four people who had been smiling moments ago had slightly changed their expressions, their eyes showing a hint of discomfort.
Yao Qiang remained composed. He scanned everyone and continued, "Your evaluation is a bit too diplomatic. I want to hear the truth, how are the songs really!"
"You really want the truth?"
Gao Fei winked at him, signaling that the four present were already displeased.
"Speak the truth!"
Yao Qiang's attitude suddenly turned firm, losing his previous amiability. "Xiao Gao, you must remember one thing in the army. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad, it's bad. There's no need for flattery.
This concerns a major revision of military songs, and it's not a trivial matter. Tell me your honest opinion directly."
"Yes!"
Gao Fei straightened his back and directly stated his inner evaluation: "These two songs, my assessment is that they are not as good as the old military songs.
If these two songs were submitted to the military song selection list, they would be eliminated in the first round!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the four people present immediately turned grim.
This was a blatant declaration that the songs they had written were trash and wouldn't even make it to the preliminary round.
Yao Qiang merely glanced at the four of them and said, "Evaluate them one by one, and tell the truth!"
"Yes!"
With Old Yao backing him, Gao Fei no longer cared about the four from the art troupe. He spoke directly, "The first song, 'Jun Hai' (Military Sea), the arrangement is too sentimental, with too many pop elements.
And, specifically, a lyric: 'You and I, hand in hand, gaze at the army-green ocean.'
This lyric is too commercialized and sounds like any common pop song."
"The second song, 'Lv Se De Hua Duo' (Green Flower), this song is even worse."
Gao Fei let loose, speaking without restraint. Looking at the four people with unfriendly gazes, he continued his evaluation: "The soldiers in our army are flesh and blood, heroes willing to shed blood and sacrifice for the country.
Comparing soldiers to flowers is more fitting for children's songs. It would be more appropriate to compare the children in elementary schools to flowers.
In the lyrics, 'Smiling faces, just like flowers under the sun'... You'd be better off writing this for primary school students!"
Facing the four with extremely displeased expressions, he added, "You from the art troupe are artistic soldiers, and you train less, which is understandable.
But when you write lyrics, do you consider the perspective of every soldier? Have you personally experienced the hardships of each soldier during training?"
"The starting point of a military song is from the soldiers, but your two songs are too artistic in their lyrics, lacking any spirit..."
Gao Fei's candid evaluation made the conference room atmosphere extremely awkward.
However, Yao Qiang, as the leader, felt very comfortable.
The words spoken were exactly what he wanted to tell the four of them. The two songs were like love songs, soft and lacking the spirit and grandeur of Chinese soldiers.
Although he was the leader of military song creation, he lacked musical theory knowledge and was essentially just a figurehead, only responsible for relaying messages within the creative team.
From the moment the two songs were released, Yao Qiang strongly disagreed with them.
Fortunately, with Gao Fei's appearance, and his not being part of the army, Major Yao directly delegated the evaluation of the two songs to him.
Yao Qiang looked at Gao Fei with admiration, truly a fearless youth.
As long as he had backing, this kid would dare to confront anyone on the spot.
After the evaluation, the four present remained silent.
After a moment, Cao Yuanyuan, the younger of the group and responsible for the arrangement, retorted, "Gao Fei, our two songs have already been approved by our superiors. Your current disparagement of our compositions is also indirectly criticizing them."
"Approved by superiors? So casually?"
Gao Fei turned to Yao Qiang, implying, "Did you approve them?"
But Yao Qiang shook his head and said, "The superiors Xiao Cao refers to are the battalion commander and the head of the art troupe."
Gao Fei had never met the head of the art troupe, but he had met Battalion Commander Huang Shengli just last night.
Despite only meeting once, the battalion commander did not give him the impression of someone who would approve these two songs.
Gao Fei glanced at the strangely expressioned Yao Qiang beside him and suddenly asked, "Lieutenant Cao, don't you happen to have someone in your family who is a high-ranking leader in the army?"
Cao Yuanyuan, who was starting to throw a tantrum, was taken aback. "How did you know?"
Gao Fei wasn't foolish, nor was he a fresh graduate. He was a transmigator, skilled at observing people's reactions.
From Yao Qiang's hesitant demeanor, Cao Yuanyuan's petty temper, and the fact that this military song revision would bring merit, he quickly realized that the youngest female lieutenant present likely had connections.
"So, you're a second-generation privileged person. No wonder the battalion commander agreed. Case closed!"
Gao Fei muttered softly.
But the conference room was small, and even the deaf could hear him.
Cao Yuanyuan, standing beside him, darkened her face. "Gao Fei, what do you mean!"
"Nothing really, I just spoke my mind. Don't take it to heart, just consider me talking nonsense!"
Gao Fei smiled apologetically.
But Cao Yuanyuan, her temper flared, could not tolerate this. She placed her hands on the table and said loudly, "Gao Fei, my family is my family, and I, Cao Yuanyuan, am me. You don't need to treat me as someone with connections.
Moreover, if you're not convinced, why don't you write two songs yourself?
Your current evaluation is that the songs should have spirit and represent the soldiers in the army.
If you can, create songs that meet your evaluation criteria. As long as you can write them, I will listen to you on any important or trivial matter from now on."
Looking at the indignant Cao Yuanyuan, Gao Fei said calmly, "You said it yourself, you're not forcing me!"
"Yes, I, Cao Yuanyuan, said it myself, you are not forcing me!"
He nodded and looked at the other three. "What about you seniors?"
Even a rabbit would bite when cornered, let alone after such a critical evaluation. The three of them were also filled with anger.
They silently nodded, indicating their agreement with Cao Yuanyuan.
They also wanted to see if Gao Fei truly had the ability to create the military songs described in his evaluation.
"Alright, if you all agree!"
Gao Fei looked at Yao Qiang and said, "Major Yao, could you have our squad leader bring me the USB drive with my luggage? I need the arrangement software inside!"
But Yao Qiang didn't agree immediately. He looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time for lunch. Why don't we eat first? We're in the army, no one can run away!"
Everyone nodded in silence, then got up and left the conference room.
In the army, the administrative offices and the soldiers' mess hall were separate.
After lunch, Yao Qiang took Gao Fei to the recruit training ground to retrieve the USB drive.
On their way back after getting the item, Yao Qiang couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Gao, do you have confidence? Don't flip the boat in the gutter."
"Don't worry, Major Yao, I won't fight a battle I'm not confident about!"
Seeing Gao Fei's absolute confidence, Yao Qiang could only gamble.
Conference room on the third floor.
When the two returned, two senior leaders were already present.
They were Battalion Commander Huang Shengli and Art Troupe Head Lü Zheng.
Battalion Commander Huang's presence was due to hearing about the morning's confrontation in the conference room.
Therefore, he wanted to see if Comrade Xiao Gao, whom he had met last night, could resolve the situation with the four with his abilities.
Art Troupe Head Lü Zheng, on the other hand, decided to come to the scene after hearing Gao Fei's evaluation of the selected songs.
Since Gao Fei could make such an evaluation, he also wanted to see if he could write songs that fit the description.
Before returning with the items, Gao Fei had already received news that the two senior leaders would be present.
Upon entering the conference room, Battalion Commander Huang waived the formality of saluting and directly urged him to start composing.
Gao Fei got straight to the point. He took the computer prepared by Yao Qiang, inserted the USB drive, opened the latest arrangement software he had purchased from Kuying Media, and began creating the song.
The four members of the creative group adopted a "wait and see" attitude.
It had taken them a week, and the combined efforts of all four, to create the two songs.
They had no faith that Gao Fei could spontaneously create the military songs, which possessed both the spirit and grandeur of soldiers, right there on the spot.