CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 95: CHU TIAN’S PRIVATE MEETING WITH HOU YICHUAN

By the time Sister Hua left, Xu Qingqiu suddenly let out a sigh unconsciously.

"What’s wrong, Sister Qiu?"

As soon as Yiyi finished asking, Xu Qingqiu pouted and complained, "I just finished recording two songs, and I was thinking about taking a few days off to rest... I’m so tired!"

"But why did you agree to Sister Hua just now?"

"Well, after all she said, Sister Hua has put in so much effort. I can’t just hold everyone back!"

"Ah? Then should we not record anymore?" Seeing her look so aggrieved, Yiyi blurted this out without thinking.

"Of course not! Hmph! Even if it’s tiring, it’s tiring. At most, it’ll be bittersweet, but the songs still have to be recorded!"

Pulling herself together, Xu Qingqiu quickly got busy.

Recording two songs isn’t the same as making a whole album. It’s not as simple as one plus one. From recording to release, music videos, and so on, there are too many things to coordinate. Of course, with the lyrics and music prepared in advance, about sixty to seventy percent of the work was essentially done, making the rest much simpler.

Although she lacked top-tier resources these years, she could still access capable resources for album production. Finding a few professionals wasn’t that difficult.

As Xu Qingqiu continued making contacts, a team was formed in just a few days.

An album production team can be large or small, mainly depending on the workload and the desired quality of the album. For example, the initial lyrics and music are crucial and usually involve multiple people, as it’s rare for one person to handle all the songwriting, composition, and production for an entire album. Besides, a sound mixer and a recording engineer are also needed. High-quality recording also requires top-notch recording studios and equipment.

Beyond these, there’s the pre-recording arrangement. Even if a complete arrangement exists, it might not suit a particular artist and may need adjustments.

Lastly, there’s the band—not a performance band, but one for instrumental backing. The more skilled the guitarists, keyboardists, and other musicians, the better. There might also be a need for backup singers, harmony vocalists, and even field recordists to add ambient sounds.

Although it wasn’t her first time releasing an album, the company had always handled this aspect previously; she only needed to cooperate. This time, it was Xu Qingqiu’s first experience managing the entire process of team assembly and album production. There were many elements she hadn’t encountered before, so the difficulty was naturally considerable.

Initially, she thought of Chu Tian, having witnessed his abilities during the recent song recordings. However, an album is different from a single, and Chu Tian lacked experience in this area. Ultimately, following Li Chunhua’s advice, Xu Qingqiu chose someone older and more experienced to take charge.

Meanwhile, Chu Tian had taken a couple of days off for personal matters.

In a coffee shop on the first floor of Jiahe Center, Chu Tian, wearing sunglasses, sipped his coffee unhurriedly, occasionally glancing at the people passing by, seemingly waiting for someone.

Soon, a tall, lean, middle-aged man in a casual suit and gold-rimmed glasses walked in. Carrying a briefcase, he scanned the coffee shop. When he spotted Chu Tian, he quickly approached with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Hou Yichuan. You must be Mr. Chu, correct?"

Chu Tian had already noticed him. When the man approached, Chu Tian confirmed it was the person he was waiting for and quickly stood up to shake his hand.

"Hello, I’m Chu Tian. I contacted you yesterday."

"Hello, Mr. Chu. This is my resume; please take a look. Additionally, I’d like to understand the industries Mr. Chu is involved with."

Hou Yichuan immediately took the initiative, appearing like a seasoned negotiator—clearly an old hand.

Chu Tian didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the folder Hou Yichuan pulled from his briefcase and, while looking through it, said, "Feel free to ask anything you want to know. I can answer your questions."

Seeing Chu Tian examine his resume without any visible reaction, Hou Yichuan stated his purpose, "Okay, I’d like to ask, where is Mr. Chu’s company currently located? What specific industry are you in? And what is your main scope of business?"

"Please don’t take offense. This concerns my future career planning, so I’m just doing some routine fact-finding."

Looking at the impressive achievements on the resume, Chu Tian began to take Hou Yichuan more seriously. He actually knew some of this already; otherwise, he wouldn’t have wasted time on what felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.

According to his information, Hou Yichuan had graduated from a top university in the country, then went to America to earn a Master’s in Finance. After graduating, he joined a major media conglomerate, eventually rising to Director of Asian News. Later, he handled a series of remarkable cases, the most famous being the hugely successful adaptation of a well-known American animation. Normally, such success would warrant a promotion and a raise, right? But for an Asian in that environment, it wasn’t so simple. So, he later returned to China and joined Tianmu Group, the parent company of the internet’s most popular microblogging platform. He was primarily responsible for the news and literature divisions. During this time, he not only doubled the traffic for the news section but also personally oversaw the film and television adaptations of three bestselling novels. Later, he resigned for unknown reasons. Rumor had it that he started a business but was cheated by a partner, though the truth of these rumors was uncertain.

"I understand. What you’re saying is perfectly clear," Chu Tian said. "To be frank, the company doesn’t exist yet. You’ll need to register it yourself."

"As for the business scope, currently, it’s focused on acquiring and managing the adaptation rights for novels—including but not limited to film, television, game, and animation adaptation rights."

"Down the line, it might expand into film and television production, animation production, game development, variety shows, and music publishing."

This was just him painting a grand picture; Chu Tian himself wasn’t entirely sure of the specifics. His current resources were too limited to cover everything. For now, his main goal was to find someone to establish a company that could help manage the copyrights for his musical works. Simultaneously, through cross-shareholdings and by appointing a legal representative, he aimed to distance himself operationally. Then, using a corporate account, Xu Qingqiu could transfer the funds, and he could buy back the copyrights to his novels. It was that simple. Of course, this was just the initial plan. He hadn’t forgotten about Baise Entertainment. That father-son duo, Ye Zhonghuai and Ye Guang, were real pieces of work. Letting them off so easily? After these days of indulgence, he felt a bit restless, an itch to do something. Since he couldn’t stay idle, why not stir up some trouble for his opponents?

After hearing Chu Tian’s explanation, Hou Yichuan nodded thoughtfully.

The two chatted for over an hour, sharing their philosophies. The more they talked, the more they found common ground.

One was disinclined to manage day-to-day affairs but had a clear and insightful vision for the future. The other was assertive, ambitious, and possessed a strong desire for control.

The two of them together seemed like a natural fit. On the spot, Hou Yichuan agreed, taking on all responsibilities, including registering the company and handling all the necessary procedures.