Chapter 991 Chasing Stars
Love is something that often comes quietly but leaves easily heartbroken.
So the feeling of falling in love, although everyone expects it, is wonderful at first, but the process and result are always difficult to achieve perfection.
Like Xiao Tao, on that snowy night, Luo Guangliang, who was already in his twenties, also met a woman whom he fell in love with at first sight.
From this point of view, he and Xiao Tao can really be called a pair of brothers in need.
The only difference between them is that Xiao Tao and Sang Jing are old classmates and met by chance on the street.
And he was invited to a banquet, and inadvertently his heart was controlled by a strange girl he met for the first time.
The main culprit for this incident must still be placed on the head of Manager Sha of Pierre Cardon Company.
Although Ning Weimin came back this time, he had already told his colleagues in the "investment group" that he did not come back to speculate on stamps.
And he also made it clear to them in private that because the rat votes and bull votes were excessively speculated, this was a one-shot deal.
It is impossible for subsequent zodiac tickets to replicate the market conditions of Rat and Ox again.
But Manager Sha, this damn fat guy, has more evil intentions than anyone else.
He was worried that Ning Weimin would not tell the truth, or was avoiding the important and taking the easy, so he came up with the idea of making innuendoes.
Taking aim at Luo Guangliang, who has a close relationship with Ning Weimin and has been working for Ning Weimin, and wants to get some inside information from him.
Of course, Manager Sha also knows how to handle this matter and not to rush for success.
After all, he had already been in contact with Luo Guangliang for a long time when he was "speculating on rat votes".
Manager Sha noticed Luo Guangliang's loyalty to Ning Weimin and his calmness, calmness and orderliness.
He has long known that Luo Guangliang is a person who is not easy to fool, and the more anxious he is, the easier it is to mess things up.
But fortunately in his eyes, Luo Guangliang also has natural weaknesses, which are friendship, face, and kindness.
So he adopted the method of emotional investment. He did not talk about business matters, but first established friendships and only made friends.
He believed that as long as he could establish a certain emotional foundation with Luo Guangliang, he would have a stable and reliable source of information, and the rest would be easy to talk about.
It doesn’t matter even if Luo Guangliang remains unmoved and remains tight-lipped.
Because based on his brain and his eyesight, as long as Ning Weimin asked Luo Guangliang to handle the stamp matter, he didn't believe that he wouldn't be able to detect any clues.
Actually, what is needed to speculate on stamps?
It’s nothing more than an investment direction.
Once you let him catch something, wait to make a fortune!
Just like last time, wouldn’t it be appropriate for him to buy Japanese yen with Ning Weimin?
It has only been half a year since I invested 300,000 yuan, and it has become 500,000 yuan, and it is still rising.
This can only be said that if you follow Ning Weimin's footsteps, you can make money. No matter how much you invest, it is worth it.
In fact, just to win over Luo Guangliang, Manager Sha was really not stingy.
He almost showed the same vigor as Cao Ah Mao towards Guan Gong.
Every three days we have a small treat, and every five days we have a large treat. If nothing happens, just ask Luo Guangliang to come out and treat us to food and drinks.
And he took Luo Guangliang seriously, saying "brother" and "we brothers" all the time.
Although Luo Guangliang and Manager Sha are not the same person at all.
But since Ning Weimin finished flipping stamps, he didn't have much to do.
I have a lot of free time, but it gets boring after a long time.
Because people have social needs, he always felt fresh and fresh when he talked to Manager Sha about foreign companies.
That originally belonged to a strange world that he could never touch.
Coupled with the fact that Manager Sha is very accurate when feeling his pulse, Luo Guangliang is a person who loves soft things rather than hard things.
Sometimes I can’t help but say a few kind words, but I don’t quite understand the routines in the scene.
Seeing that Manager Sha was eager to get close to him with his attentive face, Luo Guangliang was wary and knew that the other party must have something to ask for, but he did not want to refute his face too much.
So after going back and forth, he became glued to Manager Sha like brown candy.
It became increasingly difficult to say "no" to Manager Sha's warm invitation.
On this day, Luo Guangliang came to Maxim Restaurant to meet Manager Sha at seven o'clock in the evening as scheduled.
It’s just that he didn’t expect that as soon as he arrived, he could see something extremely abnormal about Maxim’s Restaurant from a long distance away.
It's different from the past. There are no fans gathering outside the restaurant.
You know, with Zhang Qiang’s current nationwide fame, even on a snowy night, there will be fans standing guard on both sides of the steps in front of Maxim Restaurant.
This is a scene that Luo Guangliang has witnessed with his own eyes.
For example, on the first snowy day in Beijing last year, a dozen Zhang Qiang fans gathered in front of Maxim Restaurant, and there were many boys on the street who admired Cui Jian.
Almost each of those people was holding a cigarette in their mouths, and all of them were holding large guitars and playing them hummingly.
I waited until the performance ended at 10:30 just to meet Cui Jian and Zhang Qiang at the gate and ask for their autographs.
Maxim Restaurant also prepares free hot water for these people.
They are only asked to restrain the commotion, abide by order, and not affect the normal business of the restaurant.
So according to common sense, Maxim's Restaurant should perform for customers inside the restaurant, and there are people outside who are entertaining themselves.
How else can I say that this place has become a holy place for avant-garde music performances in Beijing?
Popularity means prosperity!
However, today Luo Guangliang found that there were no people waiting at the gate, only customers coming in and out.
How can you not be suspicious and curious about what is going on?
As he walked to the entrance of the restaurant, he found that there was a blackboard erected on an easel in front of the restaurant.
Relevant information about the performance is written on the blackboard, with important notices expressed in red letters of varying sizes and eye-catching exclamation marks.
Given his level of education, he had to read it at least twice before he understood it.
The general meaning is that since the day before yesterday, Cui Jian and Zhang Qiang said goodbye to the audience and suspended their performances.
Instead, the ADO band and a female singer named Zhang Mi from the Qingdao Song and Dance Troupe came here to perform.
The performance lasts for two months.
After this, Cui Jian and Zhang Qiang will return to the stage of Maxim Restaurant.
This made Luo Guangliang relieved, but also a little disappointed.
Because to be honest, although he knew more about the inside story than others, he guessed that Cui Jian and Zhang Qiang were preparing to go abroad.
But the problem is that the mainland music scene at this time was only divided into bel canto, ethnic and popular songs.
On the mainstream stage, even if it is popular, most people either sing lyrical songs like Li Guyi, or imitate the "extreme sound" of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers.
And like Xiao Cui’s tough and uninhibited rock music, like Zhang Qiang’s magnetic and magical sound, the dynamic and natural disco style.
No one else can sing it, and it can't be heard anywhere else.
Luo Guangliang has already become a loyal fan of Cui Jian and Zhang Qiang.
In fact, most of the domestic customers who come to Maxim's Restaurant in the evening basically come for the wonderful performances of the two of them.
Otherwise, who would have no problem spending ten yuan on a glass of foreign wine and five yuan on a cup of coffee?
The money you paid was actually the ticket money.
This is great. Once they leave, the real music is gone.
The person Maxim invites to come to the rescue might be the kind of singer with long hair who only sighs and kisses the microphone.
This is now the mainstream on TV, and is also popular in song and dance troupes. It is euphemistically called "breath singing".
Those who don’t know think it was taught by Li Guyi.
But the problem is that Li Guyi’s singing is not like this.
When I was performing, I never heard a sound like a valve core leaking from the speakers.
God knows which sect this is the inheritance of!
Sure enough, when Luo Guangliang actually entered, he discovered that the Maxim Restaurant was no longer full, and the occupancy rate was only 60%. Not only were there fewer domestic customers, but also fewer foreigners, and waiters were no longer seen taking advantage of the opportunities to set up extra seats around the stage.
Of course, there is also a benefit, that is, the environment of the entire restaurant is much more relaxed.
In addition, the kind of person who just wants a cup of coffee and is ready to spend the whole night and watch the whole show is gone.
It was not difficult for Luo Guangliang to find Manager Sha’s location.
Not only because he has been here several times, but he is already familiar with the internal environment of Maxim's Restaurant.
Also because Manager Sha is a senior executive of Pierre Cardin Company, like Ning Weimin, he has great privileges in spending money here.
One is a 30% discount on the price, and the other is that you can reserve a seat. Just call the restaurant in advance and say hello.
On this day, Manager Sha was sitting on a small table with a sofa seat on the left side of the stage, talking to the restaurant manager.
Luo Guangliang saw him when he walked into the restaurant.
He immediately shook off the restaurant manager and waved hello to the slightly restrained Luo Guangliang.
Luo Guangliang sat down and didn't know what to say for a long time.
He only saw that Manager Sha had ordered some appetizers on the small table.
Caesar salad, foie gras platter, cream cheese bacon balls, and bread baskets are all not cheap.
The glass of appetizing pre-dinner wine on the table has reached its bottom, and there are two wet lips on Manager Sha’s fat face.
He handed Huiquan a cigarette. "Come on, sit down, brother, we're waiting for you to order the main course... Do you want champagne or cognac?"
"Champagne." Luo Guangliang is already familiar with the general content of French cuisine, and I understand the rule that Cognac is an after-dinner drink.
For the main course, he ordered a grilled lamb chop with bamboo shoots, and then fell silent again.
After being in contact with him for so long, he is still not good at dealing with people like Manager Sha.
The main reason is that I always feel that there is no common topic, and I can't talk about martial arts or wrestling. I can only talk about business.
But the problem is that he still has a string in his mind and tries his best to avoid revealing information about Ning Weimin. This is very contradictory.
Fortunately, Manager Sha is a master of the scene and easily found a topic that they were all interested in.
“Before you came, I was asking people at the restaurant...”
"What are you asking about?"
"Inquiry about the new band and the girl who sings. What's the level like?"
"What did the restaurant manager say? They hired Didn’t all the people come and sing?”
“The band didn’t say it was better than the previous Seven Plywood. This time it was a joint venture, and the two musicians were foreigners. It’s not very good, even if the surname is Zhang, it can’t be compared to Zhang Qiang’s level. Yesterday, I heard that it was out of tune. "Is it so bad? Isn’t this a bad sign?" No wonder the Qingdao Song and Dance Troupe is no longer waiting.”
"Hi. You can't say that. I heard from the manager. In fact, the woman has a good voice. She did come from a professional group. There will be no problem during rehearsals. The out-of-tune is caused by nervousness. Maybe she has never seen so many foreigners. It’s just stage fright. In fact, it’s okay to not sing well. The key is that the dress is also vulgar. I heard that Pi Meng’s designer is doing the image these two days.”
“Oh, I know, Ting Wei. People have said that it is a beauty and hairdressing school jointly run by your company and people from Hong Kong City, right? If there are professionals to take care of it, it will definitely be fine.”
“It’s hard to say. The key to this image is temperament. But think about it, if a member of the Qingdao Song and Dance Troupe performs in the capital, it would be strange for her to not be trembling. What kind of temperament can she have on stage..."
The two spoke in low voices.
The speaker played a slow piece of music, with a monotonous and low melody.
Just chatting and eating without any pressure, it soon reached eight o'clock in the evening.
But when the performance started, Luo Guangliang was surprised to find that this Zhang Mi turned out to be a young girl in her early twenties.
However, the notice outside said that she was Ms. Zhang Mi.
Looking at the fuss, he actually misunderstood and thought she was an older woman.
And as soon as Zhang Mi opened her mouth, Luo Guangliang was impressed.
Her voice is indeed not as special and magical as Zhang Qiang's.
But she took another path, and her singing voice was heartbreakingly simple.
The throat is very tender and sweet, without any hint of coquettishness.
It was like a girl chatting with her parents, siblings, and lightly expressing her inner anguish.
Especially her performance attitude, she is very hardworking.
His face was red, and his fair temples were shiny with beads of sweat.
A thin oval face. Like an ignorant and timid child, when adults ask her to sing, she sings with all her strength.
The innocent expression on her face is indeed out of tune with the melody and content of the song.
But Luo Guangliang was not disappointed at all, but a little excited.
To put it bluntly, he often delivers goods at the Temple of Heaven and Pierre Cardin Company stores, and he knows at least fifty beautiful girls. They are noble-minded and have money in their pockets, but there is an air of arrogance that makes people uncomfortable.
What is endearing about this girl is her slightly shy and pure expression and her singing voice.
Although she is very beautiful. But it would be better without makeup.
Luo Guangliang feels a little sorry for this girl now and has some opinions on the designer who put her makeup on.
He thinks the makeup thing is a bit too much.
The strong eye shadow and lipstick concealed the most attractive charm of this girl, making her look at least several years older.
I don’t know whether it was because there was no applause or she was too nervous. The girl on the stage wiped her face with a handkerchief while singing.
He seemed a little tired and depressed, and at first glance he seemed unhappy.
Because of the close distance, Luo Guangliang could even see clearly that the girl lowered her head, her nose was gently rising and falling, and there were some light fluff on the back of her neck and between her mouth and nose, with crystal beads of sweat trembling on it.
I don’t know what happened, but his heart went up and down along with the girl’s voice, and the call came out of his mouth.
“Well done!”
This sentence made almost all eyes turn to him.
Some audience members burst into laughter.
When Luo Guangliang realized what he had done, his face turned red and he felt a little embarrassed.
However, when he saw the girl on the stage looking at him with a smile and nodding lightly to express her gratitude.
He actually had the courage again and simply took the lead in applauding vigorously.
At the same time, he blushed and looked at the faces around him with a arrogant expression.
Then all the sneers subsided because of his eyes.
Instead, Manager Sha gave a few rounds of applause as if to cheer him up.
Oddly enough, after receiving such encouragement, the girl on the stage suddenly got the rhythm right and her performance level improved significantly.
When the song was about to be sung, the girl couldn’t help but bow down to face the audience, especially to express her gratitude to Luo Guangliang for his direction.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
This was their first conversation.
But such a simple reply made Luo Guangliang so excited that he thought about it for several days.
Even he himself did not realize that he would become a frequent visitor here in the future.
He will "chasing stars" with a more fanatical obsession than those young people.
(End of this chapter)