Chapter 34
In the late 1990s, television was very popular in our country.
The Ministry of Electronics Industry, which has not yet been abolished, once made a rough statistics at the end of 1997. The ownership of color TV sets by urban residents in my country has exceeded 95%, and the ownership of color TV sets in rural areas has also reached 32.5%.
Note that this is only the number of color TV sets. If black and white TVs are included, the number of TV sets in rural areas can be doubled.
Television has become an indispensable household appliance for every household in China...
However, although television has become popular, cable TV networks have not fully kept up, and most of them only operate in cities or towns.
As for rural TVs, if they want to receive signals, they all need to make their own antennas or spend money to buy satellite antennas, which are also commonly known as large and small pot lids.
But whether it is cable TV, satellite antenna, or homemade antenna, no matter how many channel signals are received, there is always a guaranteed TV channel.
That is, CCTV set!
The channel call sign is CCTV1, the full name is CCTV Comprehensive Channel. It is the earliest developed, most installed and most influential TV station in China.
It also has China's most-watched programs "News Network" and "Spring Festival Gala", as well as the most-watched TV drama theater - prime time.
In this era when CCTV is still almost monopolized, CCTV’s 8pm prime time slot is almost equivalent to a ratings guarantee.
If coupled with the two auras of CCTV's New Year's Eve drama and the Four Great Classics, the power generated is enough to make the entire industry tremble.
In the first two episodes, it received a ratings of 35%.
Again, the current ratings statistics are unreliable and too watery.
However, single-drama data is unreliable. You can roughly estimate the data of "Water Margin" by comparing it with the ratings of other TV series in the same period.
The result was, of course, a one-sided defeat by "Water Margin".
Regardless of region, the national ratings of "Water Margin" exceeded the second-ranked TV series by nearly 20 percentage points.
The ratings data of the drama "Water Margin" is the sum of the ratings data of the second to fourth ranked TV series.
"Water Margin" was unsurprisingly popular, and it was extremely popular.
Zang Jinsheng, who played Lu Zhishen, had not yet been discharged from the hospital, and the ward was immediately surrounded by the audience. Thanks to the help of nurses and doctors, otherwise Master Lu would have been forced to perform a live show of pulling out an oxygen tank upside down.
However, Zang Jinsheng was only the first beneficiary, as episodes of "Water Margin" continued to be broadcast.
Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Song Jiang and other Liangshan heroes appeared one by one, and many actors became popular or small.
By the time the 10th episode of "Water Margin" was broadcast, the national ratings had soared to 48%. According to official statistics, it had already monopolized nearly half of the TV sets in the same period.
So scary!
Also popular across the country is the theme song "Song of a Hero" from "Water Margin".
The heroic lyrics and melody, coupled with the super popularity of "Water Margin", "Song of Heroes" quickly became popular.
In a short period of time, it topped the major music charts, rubbing the lingering "Heart Is Too Soft" and "Ten Thousand Reasons" as well as Liu Tianwang's recently released "Ice Rain" on the ground.
Liu Huan became famous with this song, his career went to a higher level, and he became a representative figure in the mainland music scene.
It is said that the Spring Festival Gala program team has contacted him and is preparing to let him temporarily join this year's Spring Festival Gala.
It can be seen how popular "Water Margin" and "Song of Heroes" are now!
………
On January 15, Cao Xuan saw off Hu Jing and Zeng Li at the Beijing Railway Station, who were returning home for the New Year.
It happened that the two of them had tickets for the same day, which was convenient for Cao Xuan.
Also taking the train home that day were Qin Hailu, Yuan Quan, Zhang Tong, and Li Min, the four golden flowers. Zhang Ziyi is a native of the capital and went home yesterday.
This is also the first collective meeting between Cao Xuan and the golden flowers in the drama. These golden flowers who will become famous in the future are still very young now.
Qin Hailu is a bit stupid, she has the spirit of a northern woman, her family is very good, and she is dressed in brand-name products.
Yuan Quan is introverted, quiet, and doesn't like to talk. He doesn't say much to say hello.
Zhang Tong had met Cao Xuan once, and was considered "the most familiar" with Cao Xuan, but he always cast a pair of gossipy eyes on Cao Xuan, Hu Jing, and Zeng Li, making Cao Xuan feel awkward all over.
Li Min and Hu Jing have a normal relationship, they don't get involved very much, and they keep paddling.
Cao Xuan also had the least impression of her. He only vaguely remembered that she seemed to have acted in "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan", and later changed her name to Li Xinyu. She had not filmed for many years and was suspected of quitting the industry.
Qin Hailu and the others were also observing Cao Xuan silently.
He is really handsome and has a very easy-going personality. He doesn't have the airs of a singer. He was afraid that they would be hungry on the road, so he bought food and drinks for each of them at the station.
Everyone's first impressions of Cao Xuan were good.
Hu Jing was the first to leave on the train, and got on the bus with several fellow villagers from Dian Province, followed by the others, and Zeng Li and Yuan Quan stayed at the last.
Both of them are from Jing City, Hubei Province. They studied opera together in junior high school, were assigned to the same theater troupe after graduation, and then were admitted to the Chinese Opera together. They are classmates, hometown colleagues, and have a multi-layered relationship.
Yuan Quan is also the one with the closest relationship between Jinhua and Zeng Li in Class 96, and even Hu Jing is slightly inferior.
While waiting for the bus, Cao Xuan pulled Zeng Li aside and gave her something.
Yuan Quan was very curious, but due to his personality, he couldn't bear to speak. He couldn't help but ask questions until he got into the car with Zeng Li.
"Lizi, Cao Xuan gave you something just now."
Zeng Li glanced around, then leaned into Yuan Quan's ear and whispered: "Electric baton, for self-defense."
"Is it reliable?"
Yuan Quan's eyes lit up. In the 1990s, train thefts and robberies were frequent. With an electric baton for self-defense, the safety rate was greatly improved.
However, electric batons are not cheap, and most of them on the market are parallel imports of poor quality. The real ones have to find a way to get them, which is difficult for college students like Yuan Quan and Zeng Li to get their hands on.
"He said that he had tried it with a powerful force that was comparable to that of a police officer. Even a strong man could be knocked down with just one strike."
Zeng Li was very excited. For the two young girls, although they were not scared every time they took the train, they were still worried.
This time Cao Xuan sent an electric baton, and Zeng Li felt confident. He even hoped to meet a blind thief and try the power of the electric baton.
Zeng Li was thinking about the electric baton and eagerly looked at the passengers in the carriage, but Yuan Quan thought of the electric baton elsewhere.
"Lizi, do you think Jingjing has this electric baton?"
"There must be some, I have them all, why wouldn't Cao Xuan prepare them for her... Wait, what do you mean?"
Zeng Li reacted and frowned slightly, but Yuan Quan hesitated and said: "I don't know if I feel wrong, I always feel that he seems to have thoughts about you.
Think about it carefully, these few times you have met, has he shown extra care and concern for you? Moreover, you also said last time that he found you first for the MV and then added Jingjing. This shows that you She is the number one heroine in his mind. "
"Stop thinking nonsense, it's impossible."
Faced with Yuan Quan's analysis, Zeng Li instinctively refuted.
But after carefully recalling the times I spent with Cao Xuan, I felt a little confused.