Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
There were only five hours until the Spring Festival Gala began.
In the production control room.
Video monitors were mounted on all the walls.
Zhang Ye took his position and oversaw the entire operations.
“Camera 10.”
“Director, I’m listening.”
“The camera is a little off, turn it slightly to the left.”
“OK.”
“Stage management, stage management, come in.”
“Director, please instruct us.”
“What’s the status of the problematic display from yesterday?”
“We’ve already replaced it with a new one.”
“Carry out a final check on it.”
“Roger.”
All of the production departments were conducting their final checks!
…
There were still four hours to go until the Spring Festival Gala began.
The executives on the Spring Festival Gala’s organizing committee arrived. From the looks on their faces, no one seemed to be relaxed and were looking rather uptight. They were finally going to put this year’s Spring Festival Gala to the test, so they were very nervous too. The pressure of the task of increasing the viewership ratings that the higher-ups had delegated to them was overwhelming. The feeling wasn’t as intense before today, but with the start of the Spring Festival Gala approaching, their emotions were sinking further.
“Director Zhang, how are the preparations going?”
“Everything is on standby.”
“There won’t be any problems, right?”
“How do you expect me to answer that? We’ve already done everything that we could. If any unforeseen situations really happen, we’ll just deal with it on the spot. After all, this is a live broadcast, so nothing will go perfectly according to plan.”
“If you put it like that, we feel even less assured.”
“Yeah, Director Zhang, do give us some assurance.”
“Can we at least retain the viewership ratings from the previous year?”
Everyone chipped in with something to say.
Zhang Ye smiled. “Don’t worry, everyone. Just leave it to me.”
The executives looked at one another with bitter smiles. What kind of an answer was that?
The viewership ratings for the recent Spring Festival Galas had been dropping year after year.
Four years ago: 23%
Three years ago: 22%
Last year: 19%
It had fallen below the 20% mark and was at a historical low. If it dropped any further this year, there would really be no way for them to answer to the higher-ups. The higher-ups had already tasked them to at least maintain the viewership ratings, or if possible, to bring it back above the 20% mark. Only then would they be considered to have successfully completed their job.
20%!
It might not look like much.
But could they really complete that task?
Could they really stop the decline of the Spring Festival Gala?
…
There were still three hours left until the Spring Festival Gala began.
The backstage was packed with performers.
“Let’s go get our makeup done!”
“It’s still too early.”
“Where’s my costume? Where is it?”
“Have you checked inside the cabinet?”
“I found it! What a scare!”
“Aiyo, where did I put my script? Let me have another look, I’ve forgotten the lines.”
“Little Xu, don’t be nervous!”
“How can I not be nervous?”
“Let’s rehearse one more time?”
Some people were so nervous that they kept going to the bathroom.
Some people were pacing around and trying to regulate their breathing.
There were also regulars of the Spring Festival Gala among them, like Zhang Yuanqi, Ci Xiufang, and Zhang Xia. Comparatively, they were much calmer than the others, especially Zhang Yuanqi who had arrived on the dot at Central TV as per schedule. She knew exactly what to do, and had taken part in the Spring Festival Gala many times before. As such, there was a natural air of confidence to her. But for the majority of the other performers, this was their first time taking part in the Spring Festival Gala. There was no need to explain just how suffocating the stress and the anxiety was.
At this moment, Zhang Ye came backstage to encourage them.
“Little Hu Die.”
“T-Teacher Zhang.”
“Whoa, why are you stuttering?”
“I-I-I’m nervous!”
“Your legs aren’t gonna stutter too, are they?”
“Ah?”
“It’s fine if you’re fumbling with your words. Just don’t mess up your footwork later.”
“Pfft! Don’t worry about that, I’ll be able to spin for sure!”
Hu Die was tickled, her nerves calmed.
“Where are the Laborer Brothers?”
“We’re here, Teacher Zhang. We’re here.”
“What’s this about? I heard that the two of you have gone to the bathroom a dozen times!”
“Ah, uh…”
“We’re feeling a little scared, so we can’t really control ourselves.”
“You’ll both have to hold it in when you’re up on stage. Just hold it for three minutes. You can then go to the bathroom all day for all you like after you finish singing. If you two don’t think that you can hold it in, then please seek some advice from Little Hu Die. Look at her. She doesn’t even need to go to the bathroom for four straight hours. But you two grown men?”
Hu Die was floored!
The Laborer Brothers forced smiles.
Then Zhang Ye went to look for Ci Xiufang’s team.
“Auntie Ci, are you still rehearsing?”
“Yup, I still want to go over it another two times. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
“Everyone, take a break for now. I recommend that you all stop rehearsing. If you don’t, you’ll lose that freshness. Once you get tired of it, you’ll just end up not being able to do well and lose the desire to perform. Everyone did great during the rehearsals. There’s no need to familiarize yourselves any further. Listen to me on this and leave some energy for your performance onstage!”
“Sure, you’re the director, so we’ll listen to you.”
Finally, Zhang Ye came to the deaf-mute dance troupe.
Qi Xiaomei was signing to her team, looking like she was giving them some encouragement of sorts.
Zhang Ye walked over. “Teacher Qi, how’s everything going?”
Qi Xiaomei turned to him. “Ah, Director Zhang. About that, the children are all a little nervous. But don’t worry, we’ll definitely complete our performance and not screw it up.”
Zhang Ye nodded and turned to look at the girls. All of a sudden, he raised his hands and gestured for a bit. He paused for a while and gave it some thought before gesturing further.
Qi Xiaomei was taken aback!
The children were also stunned!
Sign language?
The first sentence was: “Do your best.”
The second sentence was: “You’ll all be fine.”
When Zhang Ye saw their expressions, he turned slightly embarrassed. “Did I mess up something? I just had someone teach me a little bit.”
Qi Xiaomei shook her head furiously. “No, it was correct, it was completely correct!”
To encourage them, he as the executive director of the Spring Festival Gala who didn’t even have time to sleep had actually learned some sign language for their sake?
Some of the girls’ eyes reddened. They were very touched and looked at one another in the eye. They could see each other’s determination in wanting to dance well later! They definitely wouldn’t embarrass Teacher Zhang!
…
There were still two hours left until the Spring Festival Gala began.
The gates were opened and a large group of audience entered to take their seats.
“Whoa, it’s this huge?”
“The stage looks like an entirely new one?”
“It looks pretty good, but I wonder if the lighting effects will be as good?”
“It’s about to start. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“I’m really looking forward to it!”
“Yeah, I wonder what it’ll be like this year.”
“Let’s see what sort of an answer Zhang Ye can come up with.”
Celebrities.
Leaders.
Workers.
Teachers.
Students.
People representing all walks of life were admitted into the venue.
…
There was still an hour left until the Spring Festival Gala began.
At Zhang Ye’s maternal grandma’s house, his family members had all congregated here today.
Zhang Ye’s three younger sisters were happily cheering!
“It’s the Spring Festival Gala! The Spring Festival Gala!”
“Why hasn’t it started yet?”
“It’s coming up.”
“Aiya, I can’t wait!”
“You three, come and have dinner first. We can watch as we eat.”
“It’s starting, it’s starting!”
…
There were only a few minutes left until the Spring Festival Gala began.
All the staff members were fully focused.
All of them were standing by in position.
Zhang Ye had already returned to the production control room. Looking at the second hand ticking away, he felt his heart pounding. He took a deep breath to ease the stress and managed to control his anxiety a little.
It had finally arrived!
This moment was finally here!
Bring it on! This bro is all prepared for this!
I don’t know if you guys will like it. I don’t know if you can accept it. But this is my Spring Festival Gala, and it’s the gift I want to present to you for Lunar New Year’s Eve!
So please be sure to accept it.
Zhang Ye said loudly: “All departments, stand by!”
“Counting down!”
“Five!”
“Four!”
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One!”
It was time!
