I Will Always Be Your Solid Backing

That evening, Lin Chudong didn't eat with them. The film crew still had a night scene to shoot, and he couldn't stay here all day. He had only come to see Lin Qiqi.

The young girl who had been playing the electronic keyboard hurried over, holding a pen.

"Brother Da Fei, my name is Li Xiaomai. Can you sign an autograph for me?"

Lin Chudong smiled. "Okay, Li Xiaomai is a nice name. Are you a professional?" He didn't seem to have heard the name before, but he had some impression of this young, pretty face.

"Mhm, I'm a university student at Beijing Film Academy. I'm graduating this year and came here for an internship."

"How much is your pay?"

"Hehe, five thousand per episode."

Lin Chudong's eyes lit up. "Okay, let's exchange WeChat IDs."

This girl had good looks and a low salary. He might be able to use her in the future.

Li Xiaomai was very excited. "Okay, Brother Da Fei!"

After signing, Lin Chudong said, "Qiqi, I'm leaving."

Lin Qiqi pouted, reluctant to see him go.

"When will you come to see me again?"

Song Jing said, "Qiqi, don't be silly. Brother Da Fei is very busy with work. He can't visit the set every day!"

Lin Qiqi looked a bit disappointed. "Okay."

Song Jing said, "Be good, Qiqi. After this drama finishes, you won't have any more schedules. You can rest for a few days, and then you can visit Brother Da Fei's set."

Lin Qiqi's eyes immediately lit up. "Great idea!"

Lin Chudong smiled. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you then. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye!"

Lin Chudong walked outside the film set to hail a taxi. All the way, Lin Qiqi's gaze never left him.

The Director pointed to his watch and said softly to Sister Song.

"Sister Song, it's getting late. We'll lose the light soon!"

Sister Song sighed helplessly. "Let the Young Lady see him off first!"

The Director also felt helpless. Big productions were always taxing on the director.

Lin Qiqi watched Lin Chudong get into the taxi and muttered to herself.

"Why is Da Fei taking a taxi..."

It was almost eight o'clock when they arrived at the piano shop, and quite a few people were already there.

Six members of the orchestra group: flute, sheng, long flute, hammered dulcimer, konghou, and pipa.

These six were all from the middle-aged and elderly group, mostly older, but with good spirits.

There were also six harmony members, all young, likely the fresh blood of the Performing Arts Troupe.

"Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. Something delayed me, apologies."

Liang Yin and the others looked at him strangely. "Da Fei... never mind, we'll talk later. You should audition first!"

Lin Chudong nodded and said, "Everyone, our Mid-Autumn Festival Gala is the day after tomorrow, and it will be live-streamed, so all the musicians needed must be professional."

"I'll give everyone a piece of sheet music. The grand piano sound will be the main focus. Please sight-read it first."

Sight-reading, as the name suggests, is the ability to convert musical notation symbols into instrumental performance by looking at them.

In simple terms, it's the level of performance when playing an unfamiliar piece of sheet music for the first time.

These musicians have accumulated experience over time, practicing countless pieces, so by looking at their sight-reading ability, one can roughly gauge their skill level.

As the older musicians began to sight-read, Lin Chudong walked over to Liang Yin and asked in a low voice.

"How much are these people?"

Liang Yin replied, "Sixty thousand in total, including rehearsals and performance. They're at our beck and call for these few days. How's their skill level?"

Lin Chudong nodded. "Sufficient."

In terms of skill, Lin Chudong was undoubtedly more formidable. Not to mention anything else, if you gave him a pipa, Lin Chudong's few roll fingers could shatter the perceptions of these old musicians.

However, Lin Chudong couldn't be in multiple places at once, and funds were limited. It was impossible to hire masters for every position. This lineup was already quite good.

"Harmony group, please sight-sing as well!"

The voice rang out, and Lin Chudong nodded with satisfaction.

"They're from the Performing Arts Troupe, right?"

"Yes."

"Then that's fine. We can't have amateurs on the gala. If something goes wrong, they won't take responsibility. These members of the Performing Arts Troupe are on the state payroll. If they mess up the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, they'll lose their jobs. They'll take this seriously. I'll treat their leader to a meal later and see if we can get a better price for long-term cooperation."

The performance fee of sixty thousand yuan was too expensive. Da Fei and the others only charged a hundred thousand yuan for participating in a music festival.

An orchestra shouldn't have such a high price. A thousand yuan per person for their appearance fee would already be quite good.

They probably thought the shopkeeper's wife didn't understand the market and was asking for an exorbitant price. They would have been happy even if it was twenty thousand yuan per performance.

Soon, the interviews were over. These people were all well-qualified, having graduated from professional music schools, and were more than capable of providing accompaniment.

"Alright, that's all for today. Everyone take your sheet music back tonight to familiarize yourselves with it. We'll rehearse all day tomorrow, and then rehearse for another morning the day after. In the afternoon, we'll have a dress rehearsal and then our debut."

After the dozen or so musicians left, Lin Chudong said, "Feifei, Little Jia, you two also practice well. Don't mess up."

Both of them nodded. For this performance with the orchestra, having these two ladies step in, especially for a live broadcast of the gala, they certainly couldn't let Da Fei down.

Liang Yin asked, "Da Fei, did you go visit Lin Qiqi today?"

"How did you know?"

"I saw a video of you cursing on my phone. Is it true? You even dared to curse at Li Zhilin?"

Lin Chudong was stunned. "Let me see?"

Liang Yin and Jia Lu started searching on their phones. Jia Lu frowned.

"It's gone now. I really saw it just now. Brother Fei, was that really you cursing?"

The group didn't think it was a joke and were instead very worried.

Lin Chudong recounted everything that happened today. Everyone was stunned. Da Fei was too formidable, cursing at a top celebrity just like that.

"When will this TV series be released?"

Lin Chudong replied, "In a few days. I've arranged an ending theme song for them. We can record it after the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala."

"Once the ending theme song is recorded, it should be about done. They'll be wrapping up filming in a few days. Including post-production editing, it should take about a week."

Jia Lu asked, "Brother Fei, will this drama bring us any popularity?"

Lin Chudong smiled. "I only have a few minutes of screen time, so it's not very useful. If the ending theme song becomes popular, maybe it'll have some effect."

It was getting late. Old Chen and Jia Lu left work first.

Liang Yin said, "Da Fei, why don't you come stay at my place? I've hired workers to apply white paint to your room tonight."

Lin Chudong was taken aback. "This... is it appropriate?"

"Of course, it's appropriate. My place is quite spacious. You can stay for a couple of days, and then you can come back once it's done."

"Okay."

That evening, at Liang Yin's home.

Entering the spacious house, Lin Chudong was a little surprised.

"Shopkeeper's wife, I couldn't tell, your family seems quite well-off."

Liang Yin rolled her eyes, "Don't mock me, this is all we have."

"You can sleep in that room tonight, Fei Fei and I will share."

After settling into the room, the two ladies changed into their pajamas and brought out some fruit. Lin Chudong got to enjoy a fashion show of their sleepwear, a feast for his eyes.

After eating the fruit, Jing Feifei said, "Brother Fei, Shopkeeper's wife, I'm going to bed. You two chat!"

After Jing Feifei went into her room, Liang Yin tiptoed and took out a contract and a bank card.

"Da Fei, the money from mortgaging my house has arrived. I mortgaged it for 3.2 million, and with our previous performance fees, after deducting expenses like costumes, we have 3.15 million left."

"This is all the company's funds. I haven't included the instruments. This contract is an equity contract. The company didn't have money before, so I didn't set one up."

"Now that we have money, let's sign it. Currently, the company has two shareholders: you and me."

"I'll give you 51% of the shares, and I'll take 49%."

Lin Chudong was stunned, "Shopkeeper's wife, I haven't put in a single cent."

Liang Yin said, "You're contributing with your skills. If it weren't for you, there would be no band. I'm just putting in a little money, which is nothing compared to your talent."

Looking at this equity agreement, Lin Chudong's heart was filled with complex emotions.

"This is equivalent to you giving me 1.6 million for free?"

Liang Yin smiled, "Hehe, it's not for free. I'll be relying on you to make money in the future."

"Even if we lose money, it's okay. I still have the Piano Shop."

"Da Fei, just go all out! I'll always be your solid backing!"