After seeing Hu Zi off, Li Dian was planning to go back and have a rest, but Lai Yang forced him to sit down, wanting to hear his thoughts.
Li Dian pushed the frame of his newly bought glasses and sighed with his head down.
"I'm actually digesting it. I think the idea is great, but... thinking the other way around, it feels a bit strange. Ten schools earning a million a month? If that's the case, who can have a box office of nearly 100 million a year with 100 campuses across the country?"
After Li Dian's calculation, Lai Yang's excited expression suddenly froze.
Indeed, one hundred million a year, this sounds a bit far-fetched.
There are only a handful of performing groups in the country that can achieve such large-scale profits. Deyun Club may be able to do it, but how many Deyun Clubs are there in the world
Li Dian took a sip of water, pursed his lips, and frowned.
"If the profits are really that big, why hasn't anyone done it yet?"
"I will meet with my leader tomorrow on this issue and hear his opinion."
"Well, this is all we can do for now."
Li Dian yawned and asked Lai Yang if there was anything else.
"besides."
Lai Yang sighed, looked at Li Dian and told him that someone had tipped off Alu that night in Zhoushan, and he suspected that this person was Song Wen.
Li Dian's expression also became more serious. "You... nothing happened that night with Shengda, right?"
"What the hell is going to happen? If it was going to happen, it would have happened in our elementary school. Why wait until now?"
"Uh... well, I think you shouldn't overthink it. Maybe someone just let it slip. It's not as complicated as you think. But if you really investigate, it will definitely hurt feelings."
What Li Dian said was right. After hearing what he said, the evil fire in Lai Yang's heart slowly subsided.
He really hoped that this was what Li Dian said, and someone just let it slip by accident.
…
The next day, the sky began to turn cloudy. The dark clouds were like the thick smoke from rural chimneys. The low pressure covered the whole of Shanghai, and the tops of many tall buildings were completely submerged.
This gloomy atmosphere made Lai Yang feel depressed.
In order to meet his leader in the evening, Lai Yang specially took out a suit from the bottom of the box.
This dress was worn when she first came to Shanghai for an interview. Lai Yang remembered it very clearly. At that time, Gu Qian also bought a set of ironing machines.
Every night when he returned to his room feeling lost, she would iron his clothes to smooth out the wrinkles, and then he would wear them the next day to look for a job.
Although Lai Yang knew that he should not recall the past, when the wind blew into the house through the window, the empty and lonely feeling once again pulled his thoughts back to the past.
Lai Yang thinks back now that at least at that moment, Gu Qian loved him.
Later, what really separated them was money and the endless reality of life.
So when he put on the suit again to meet his leader tonight, Lai Yang hoped to change all that.
At the very least, I have to gradually narrow the gap between myself and Tian Jing, so that I can get closer to her in the future.
…
At night, there were occasional rumbling thunders in the sky, but it still didn't rain.
Lai Yang took an umbrella, met Li Dian, and took a taxi to Hu Zifa's location, a Chinese restaurant near Shanghai Jiao Tong University on Huashan Road.
Yuan Shengda didn't come because there was a performance in the evening and someone needed to be looked after, but Lai Yang had already told him about this last night.
When they arrived at the restaurant entrance, Hu Zi was already waiting there. After exchanging cigarettes, Hu Zi explained that the restaurant was chosen by the leader and they usually came here, but he wanted Lai Yang to come down early to settle the bill.
Lai Yang hummed and looked up at the night sky. Just then a drop of rain fell on his eye socket. After a few minutes, the rain began to fall with a crackling sound.
Everyone had an umbrella, so they opened it and waited for the leader.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the leader exceeded the time limit, but Hu Zi was too embarrassed to rush him, so the three of them just stood there holding black umbrellas.
At this time, Lai Yang saw a homeless stray dog that was soaked and leaning against the opposite corner to avoid the rain, with fear in its eyes. At this time, it was looking at him and he was also looking at it.
"Laiyang, I don't think it will be easy to talk tonight."
Li Dian came closer and said in a mosquito-like voice, "This could be a warning from someone."
"… "
After waiting for nearly half an hour, two Audi cars drove over. After they stopped, five or six middle-aged men with big bellies got out of the cars.
The bearded man shook his head and quickly stepped forward to shake hands with one of the square-faced men.
"Laiyang, this is Director Xia."
Hu Zi held an umbrella for the man and after introducing himself to him, Lai Yang also bent down, smiled and shook hands with him.
Although he felt very disgusted by this action, there was nothing he could do as the other person might decide his future destiny.
Director Xia didn't even say a polite word and led his people directly into the restaurant. Lai Yang and others followed and were led by the waiter into an ancient private room with the aroma of tea.
After they sat down, Director Xia introduced the other few people as leaders of a certain school. Lai Yang gave cigarettes to each of them without saying a word.
During the first half hour of the meal, we didn't talk about any serious matters and were basically just toasting.
These guys can drink a lot. Lai Yang even felt dizzy, but they remained calm.
Half an hour later, Director Xia patted Lai Yang on the shoulder and spoke with a drunken breath.
"Xiaoyang, I probably already know everything about your situation. Your idea is wrong."
Lai Yang's smile froze. Li Dian and Hu Zi both fell silent at the same time, all looking at Director Xia's face.
"Listen to me..."
Director Xia lit a cigarette, took two puffs, changed into a comfortable sitting position, and said.
"Schools don't want entertainment. Entertainment is optional and not a necessity... What is a necessity? It's the students' future employment and their... ability development. Do you understand?"
Lai Yang didn't say anything. He lowered his head, lit a cigarette for himself, and continued listening.
"If you want the school to support you, then you have to solve some practical problems, for example, you can guarantee employment... There are many school-enterprise cooperations that can guarantee employment. Students pay for classes, and you charge 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a year for tuition. For 1,000 students, do the math."
Director Xia waved his hands in the air, with an air of authority and power.
Lai Yang frowned, exhaled a puff of cigarette and said, "I don't have any qualifications to run a school here, so I guess what you're talking about is unlikely."
"Hey! If you don't have it, then go ahead and do it. This guy, Old Wu, you can just call him Brother Wu. This is where we specialize in handling all kinds of school-enterprise cooperation qualifications. We know everything."
Director Xia pointed at the man next to him, then looked at Lai Yang and said.
"As long as your business has a future, students are interested, and leaders agree, then it's fine. Don't overthink it. I've opened so many school-enterprise cooperation classes. You can do the math yourself. Just by collecting tuition fees, you can make hundreds of thousands on the first day. Let's not talk about anything else. As long as you have all the necessary procedures, I can get you the cooperation approval!"
At this time, Lai Yang glanced at Li Dian and Hu Zi. They also had no ideas and their expressions were solemn.
After a few seconds, Lai Yang looked up and asked, "Director Xia, Brother Wu, how much does it cost to get these qualifications?"
Director Xia leaned back in his chair without saying anything. The man surnamed Wu lit a cigarette and raised his hand to hold up four fingers.
"After the whole process, other people would have to pay at least fifty, but this is the amount I'll give you, four hundred thousand."