Zhang Tianxing was not particularly interested in the entertainment industry, as fame held no appeal if it didn't intersect with his life.
Then, he reconsidered. If he were to produce products, he might eventually need a spokesperson, and this Hao Fangfang seemed like a suitable candidate.
Her acting was solid, her looks were good, and she was tall, fitting the Eastern aesthetic of beauty.
However, the train was not the place to discuss endorsements. Zhang Tianxing and Hao Fangfang were close in age.
With their mutual interest in getting to know each other, their conversation flowed smoothly.
Hao Fangfang had originally come to express her gratitude, but during their chat, she discovered Zhang Tianxing's shining qualities.
He always had incisive insights into the development of things, possessing an innate intuition.
It was astonishing how their views on certain matters aligned perfectly.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tianxing sighed internally. Hao Fangfang truly had a talent for business, but it was a shame she was pursuing a career in entertainment.
Otherwise, she would undoubtedly have been a formidable businesswoman with an exceptional sixth sense for products. Zhang Tianxing spoke his mind because he understood future trends.
He was taken aback that an actress could possess such foresight.
However, having an actress would make things easier. He could simply "borrow" a few songs from his memory, and his pocket money would flow in like water.
Then, wealth would pour in like the Yellow River, unstoppable. The thought alone was perfect.
Thus, Zhang Tianxing began the first step of his plan. Hao Fangfang, don't hate me. It's simply that I have neither resources nor connections, so I can only start with you, a little newcomer.
After all, I can't reach those with high status, can I? Let's start with your friends and family.
"By the way, our Zhonghai City will be hosting the first annual Crayfish Festival in a few days. Are you interested in attending?"
Upon hearing Zhang Tianxing's invitation, Hao Fangfang was a little surprised. Her charming eyes blinked, "I personally agree, but you might have to visit my company. I'll give them a heads-up in advance, and I'll get the fees down to the minimum."
What a little darling. She hadn't even discussed the price yet and had already offered to lower it. Perhaps it was because Hao Fangfang had only recently debuted and wasn't very famous. She wasn't a singer, and her role would be supportive.
Zhang Tianxing was overjoyed. "That would be wonderful."
"How many people are you planning to invite?" Hao Fangfang asked curiously.
"I'm not sure about that. The organizer is the Zhonghai Municipal Government, but they've chosen Yangcheng as the venue." Zhang Tianxing was primarily too young to promote the crayfish festival as if it were organized by some unknown entity, as that would likely deter participants.
Zhonghai City had poured a lot of effort into this crayfish festival.
The main issue was the lack of celebrities in the entertainment industry. The famous ones were unwilling to come, and those willing to come lacked sufficient stature.
This was a great headache for the Zhonghai Municipal Propaganda Department. Everything was ready, except for the performers.
Minister Zhou of the Propaganda Department had a grim expression, his eyebrows furrowed into the character "川." It turned out that some of his usual contacts were abroad or participating in programs in other regions.
Not a single one could make time. He could only curse under his breath.
"Everyone, find a way! We must invite heavyweight figures for this event. This activity cannot afford to fail. The entire nation is paying attention, so it must be high-class."
The staff of the Crayfish Festival Preparatory Committee responded listlessly. There was nothing they could do. They couldn't offer high fees, and the heavyweights wouldn't come.
However, this couldn't be discussed openly, so they could only say that communication had failed. Everyone was in a quandary.
At this moment, Xiao Li from Yangcheng's Agricultural Bureau, who had been seconded to the Crayfish Preparatory Committee, walked over.
"We've invited Hao Fangfang from our area, and she will be attending."
Everyone's eyes lit up. Hao Fangfang was a newly debuted beauty with considerable popularity. Her latest work, "Love Mala Tang," had performed well at the box office.
It was the third highest-grossing film the year before, earning over 40 million yuan. Don't underestimate this figure, as it was a small-budget film with a cost of only a little over 2 million yuan.
The songs were released before the movie, and in the end, both the movie and the songs were a success, making it a dark horse.
"Hao Fangfang's popularity is decent. It would be great if we could invite a few others."
"Save your breath. That's impossible. We contacted many people, but as soon as they heard it was a crayfish festival, they immediately said they hadn't heard of it and wouldn't accept."
"Exactly. When we started negotiating, they directly said they weren't interested and didn't even give us a chance to make an offer. Besides, we can't afford to pay high prices."
"Don't expect to accomplish things by spending a lot of money. That's impossible. Our budget is limited, so we can't spend too much on inviting performers."
Hearing the voice of Deputy Minister Zhou, everyone lowered their heads. This was an unsolvable problem. They wanted the horse to run without feeding it grass, which was an incredibly difficult task.
Xiao Li from the Agricultural Bureau was enjoying himself. He had been worried that inviting performers would be impossible to complete, but who knew that Zhang Tianxing would directly recommend Hao Fangfang.
Her fame was enough. This wasn't the Spring Festival Gala, where people scrambled to perform. Here, they had to pay people to come.
Deputy Minister Zhou of the Crayfish Festival Preparatory Committee approached Zhang Tianxing, hoping he could contribute some additional funds for the crayfish festival.
Zhang Tianxing asked in surprise, "Isn't this mostly funded by the government? Our Crayfish Association has already contributed its allocated share."
"That's correct. However, the quality of performers for the programs is a bit lacking, not enough to promote our inaugural event effectively. Therefore, we must invite first-class celebrities, and there's a funding gap. We were hoping the Crayfish Association could help out in this emergency."
Good heavens, how much money would this emergency funding require? This wasn't something that could be settled with a small amount. The crucial point was that the Crayfish Association had just been established, and the landlord hadn't even opened his shop yet. Where would they get the money to hand over?
"Deputy Minister Zhou, how about this: we'll try to contact some people. We're having trouble with cash flow right now. We still need to purchase and ship the crayfish, and the payments from outside haven't come in yet, so there's no money in the accounts."
There was nothing else they could do. Deputy Minister Zhou was just probing. This wasn't a mandatory allocation, but he wanted to let the Crayfish Association know his thoughts.
If the invited performers were of lower caliber, the leaders wouldn't solely blame him. It was a survival tactic to have someone share the criticism.
Zhang Tianxing pondered for a moment. Not feeding the horse and expecting it to run – what kind of situation was this? However, this had to be handled, otherwise, it would affect him.
Alas, there was no choice. He was born to be a busybody, specifically to clean up other people's messes.