When Chen Jincheng arrived at the bar with Jiang Xiaobai, Sister Hong was already there, chatting with Zhu Ling in the main hall. She was likely telling her about getting started in the online world.
Xiaohai and Xiaoliao were with Lao Chen, already fiddling with two small video cameras.
Seeing him arrive, Sister Hong immediately walked over. "Trajectory" made it onto Tiao Yin's trending songs chart. Also, we've uploaded "Trajectory" to the Penguin Music platform, but you need to sign a digital authorization contract before they'll promote it. On top of that, Tiao Yin contacted us to negotiate. They're offering one million for the public use license fee for "Trajectory." If you agree, you'll have to sign a digital contract. If not, we can keep negotiating."
"Let's just sign it. We won't get much more even if we negotiate. It's not worth it." Chen Jincheng knew this well. Besides, once the digital contract was signed, Tiao Yin would give "Trajectory" another promotional push, allowing even more people to hear it.
That would also attract a lot of people to download "Trajectory" from the Penguin Music platform, which was another source of income.
"Okay." Sister Hong nodded and sent him the links to the two digital contracts.
Of the two contracts, the one from Tiao Yin was simple. It was a one-time buyout for the rights of regular users to use the song on their platform.
The Penguin Music contract, on the other hand, was a revenue-sharing deal. It was calculated based on a percentage of the total sales revenue after deducting channel costs, further multiplied by his percentage of ownership rights.
For his song "Trajectory," the cut they offered meant that for every 100 in revenue, he would get 40!
It couldn't be helped. All the music platforms offered similar rates. The percentage would only go up if you were a famous singer, with the split increasing based on your popularity.
After signing the digital contracts, he just had to wait for Tiao Yin to wire the one million, which would help ease his financial pressure.
'Recruiting people and signing artists for Second-Life Star will all cost money down the line.'
After signing the contracts, Chen Jincheng instructed Jiang Xiaobai, "Go get changed. We need to strike while the iron is hot—film the video and upload it. If we wait for others to start copying us, the impact will be much weaker."
"Okay!" When it came to this, Jiang Xiaobai was very obedient.
Just then, Li Guanghong, the one in charge of procurement, came over. "Jincheng, I need your signature here. It's the settlement statement for last month's alcohol!"
Chen Jincheng took a look. The previous month's alcohol bill was over 300,000 and had to be paid in a few days. 'Thank god "Trajectory" sold for a million on Tiao Yin.' He silently cursed that so-called uncle of his again.
However, after looking at the list, he noticed the purchase orders were mostly for spirits and beer. This confused him. "Why no Soda?" he asked.
"Soda? What kind of drink is that?" Li Guanghong asked, looking puzzled.
Chen Jincheng had been wondering for the past two days why no one was ordering Soda. It turned out Li Guanghong had no idea what it was. 'That's a bit of a dereliction of duty,' he thought. 'Soda is one of the most popular drinks in a bar. It sells countless times better than beer and is way more profitable.'
He looked it up online and froze, stunned to discover that a drink like Soda wasn't popular in this world yet.
'Never mind, then.' He went back to looking at the settlement statement and signed it.
'Another difference between the two worlds.'
Jiang Xiaobai quickly changed into a revealing black lingerie-style slip and came out, heading to the DJ booth to prepare.
Just then, Wang Yuan led a group of young women in from outside. Each one was dressed to the nines, showing off her figure. These were clearly the girls Chen Jincheng had chosen.
As soon as they entered, the women saw Jiang Xiaobai preparing at the DJ booth, and they couldn't help but look on with envy.
'After all, they all work in the nightlife industry. Look at her—one video and she gained over 400,000 followers, becoming a huge influencer just like that.'
Chen Jincheng looked over the 11 women he'd selected. 'The nightlife industry hasn't been hit by the livestreaming craze yet,' he mused. 'The quality of the women is really quite good.'
He also spotted Lin Qing, the one he had his eye on. Her chest, her legs, that naturally sultry look on her face... she was perfect for being a "tease" type of influencer. Her physical assets were definitely on par with the likes of Xiao Yating from his past life.
'He was confident that after the "window-wiping dance," the "chest-shaking dance," and the Booty Dance, she'd be able to build a solid fanbase. After that, he'd just have her keep making flirty videos. With assets like hers, her only job would be to look hot for her fans. He wouldn't even have to waste much time planning content.'
Lin Qing noticed Chen Jincheng watching her. She gave him a coy look, meeting his gaze without hesitation and subtly pushing out her chest.
She knew, of course, that this man was the Ancestral Master of influencers. The song "Trajectory" was now being sung by influencers everywhere, and Jiang Xiaobai's rise to fame was all because of him.
A moment later, Elephant arrived with Jingjing and her seven-girl crew. They were also meticulously dressed up. They had been told to come over but had no idea why they were at the bar so early.
But seeing Jiang Xiaobai on the stage filled them with envy. 'Who wouldn't want to be an influencer?'
Jingjing, in particular, looked at her older sister, Zhu Ling, with a complicated expression. 'My sister only came to the bar to drag me home. Who knew the boss would take a liking to her instead, letting her gain so many fans in a single night? How is that fair?'
'If she didn't know her sister so well, she'd almost think she was some scheming girl who came here on purpose, knowing the boss was an influencer.'
Onstage, Jiang Xiaobai was ready. She gave Sister Hong an "OK" sign, and the video shoot began.
Today, they were using the instrumental for "Trajectory" again—the bar's "sultry" mix. It had a short DJ break that was perfect for her routine, and most importantly, "Trajectory" was hot right now.
As the neon lights flared and the music kicked in, Jiang Xiaobai began her DJ dance. When Sister Hong, Lao Chen, and the others saw the rapturous expression on her face, their jaws dropped in astonishment.
Everyone had already seen how well Jiang Xiaobai performed on the DJ booth in the last video, but now, with that rapturous expression and the look in her eyes, the impact was on a whole other level.
Sister Hong instinctively glanced at Chen Jincheng. "You taught her that?"
"Gave her a little coaching," Chen Jincheng said with a smile.
"You're really something else. How'd you even think of that? Seen it somewhere before?" Sister Hong asked, her tone teasing.
Chen Jincheng just smiled, saying nothing.
Sister Hong, of course, understood immediately. 'He's seen it before.' But under what circumstances would you see a girl make that kind of rapturous face?
Lin Qing and the other women who had been called over watched Jiang Xiaobai, stunned. Even as women, they had to admit her expression was incredible. 'Men would definitely love to see that,' they thought. 'With that outfit, any guy would be completely captivated.'
Finally, the music ended. The shoot had gone smoothly. Lao Chen sighed in admiration. "Seriously, with Xiaobai up on that DJ booth, the cameraman doesn't even need any skill. You can just point and shoot."
"Thank you, Master Chen," Jiang Xiaobai replied sweetly to the praise.
She saw Lin Qing and the other women watching, and deliberately ran over to Chen Jincheng's side, taking his arm. "How did I do?"
On the way to the bar, "Scumbag" Cheng had already told her that the company was planning to recruit a lot of influencers. So, this was a deliberate display for the other women, a way of telling them that she came first.
Chen Jincheng knew exactly what was going through her mind. Her question was just a plea for praise.
So, he said with a grin, "You did great. You've really grasped the essence of it."
Sister Hong watched the footage of Jiang Xiaobai and was very pleased. She walked over to Lin Qing and the other women and got straight to the point. "As you've all seen, besides this bar, the boss has also opened a media company. Do you want to be influencers?"
Her direct question immediately brought excited looks to all their faces.
Who wouldn't want the chance to become an influencer?
This was especially true for Lin Qing. The bar where she used to work did great business, and her income was stable. A few bosses had even offered to pay her tens of thousands a month to be their sugar baby. She had come to apply at Extreme Bar—a place she heard was about to go under—precisely for an opportunity like this.
She didn't want to live the life of a kept woman.
Sister Hong didn't have to do much convincing. Almost all the women wanted to be influencers and eagerly signed contracts with Second-Life Star. Of course, Lin Qing and the others also signed employment contracts with the bar. The deal was that if they couldn't gain enough followers to start livestreaming after his video projects, they would have to go back to their regular jobs at the bar.
Once the contracts were signed, Chen Jincheng wasted no time. Striking while the iron was hot, he waved all the women over. "Everyone, gather around. Since you've signed, I'll use this time to teach you a dance and shoot a video for all of you."
Instantly, all the women gathered around him excitedly.
"Zhu Ling, you don't need to come over. This video doesn't fit your image," Chen Jincheng quickly said when he saw her. A Street Vendor Girl, whose whole brand was being a pure Bai Yueguang type saving up for her dowry, doing the window-wiping dance, the chest-shaking dance, or the Booty Dance? That would completely shatter her persona.
'He had three video concepts planned. He intended to start with the "window-wiping" dance, as there were three versions they could shoot, with the third version being the one that would generate the most heat.'
So, he said to the women, "I can't dance, so I need a model to follow my instructions. Who wants to volunteer?"
Jiang Xiaobai was about to raise her hand, but Lin Qing had already stepped forward with a smile. "Boss, I can be the model. I'm a good dancer!"
'She knew you had to seize your own opportunities, and this was the perfect chance to make an impression on the boss.'
"You've wiped windows with a rag at home before, right?" Chen Jincheng asked Lin Qing with a smile.
"Huh? I have!" Lin Qing was confused by the question. 'Doesn't everyone who does chores know how to wipe a window?'