Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 50 Because of Weibo

The fire burned faster and more fiercely than expected.

Initially, the conflict was confined to the film and television industry.

The speeches by Han Han and Hong Huang represent the deep sorrow and indignation of cultural elites over the fact that "A Simple Noodle Story" has "degenerated into a two-person comedy."

Their criticism of "A Simple Noodle Story" was spot on, but the "screening in the county town" resonated with many people.

Some people felt relieved, while others felt insulted.

The latter is the key.

The people in the county were indignant. Why was the movie they watched considered a bad movie?

What does "suitable for county towns" mean? Are we only fit to look at the rotten ones?

Once this tension is ignited, it's no longer just about talking about movies.

The post on Tianya was extremely sarcastic: "Han Han and Hong Huang teamed up to criticize the film, and in the process, they insulted audiences in third-tier cities and below across the country. Are you going to take it?"

The building was buzzing with excitement.

"I live in a small, sixth-tier city, and I just like watching it, so what?"

"The big shots say it's ugly, the big shots say we have low taste, but the big shots still want to collect our ticket money."

"Who is Hong Huang? What is her background? And what gives her the right to speak on behalf of the public?"

It was this question, "Who is Hong Huang?", that completely unraveled the chain.

People started digging.

Born into a prominent family, I studied in the UK and the US, and after returning to China, I worked as a magazine editor and cultural commentator.

"Good heavens, what is this? Born with a silver spoon in their mouth, studied in Europe and America, lived in a mansion, and then came to tell us that Zhang Yimou's films are too vulgar?"

Following Hong Huang's lead, someone uncovered a network of relationships: these cultural figures in the circle knew each other, supported each other, recommended each other, and attended the same dinner parties.

The term "Beijing Circle," originally used only within the industry, was exposed to the public on a large scale for the first time.

Once the objective is determined, the battle lines become clear.

On one side are the "Beijing elites," and on the other side are the "ordinary people."

Ren Pingsheng breathed a sigh of relief. The operation, which involved using the national advisor, stirring up emotions, and engaging in comparisons to tie the fringe web series "Report to the Boss" to mainstream topics and leverage its popularity to rise to prominence, was progressing as he had anticipated.

The limerick is the first thread, responsible for planting the emotion of "mocking the elite" first.

The three shots were the spark; the National Advisor's downfall gave everyone the legitimacy to speak out.

Han Han and Hong Huang were the catalysts; their identities made them perfect targets, and the elites themselves stepped forward to take the hits.

All he had to do was direct the fire in the right direction at the right time.

Ren Pingsheng opened his Weibo account, which details his life story.

This is the third blog post, with no pictures and just one sentence.

"Elites never feel like they are looking down on you; they simply believe that you should look up to them."

After posting, he switched to the comments section and waited quietly.

In less than ten minutes, the number of reposts exceeded two hundred.

Bai Ke leaned closer, his expression complex. "Brother Pingsheng, are you... stirring things up?"

"It's called going with the flow."

"Is there any difference?"

"Stirring up a fire is like starting a fire, while following the trend is like taking an already lit torch and helping it find a pile of firewood." Bai Ke took a second to process this and then said nothing more.

Ren Pingsheng then opened the comment section of "Men's Diary 2".

He has found what he was looking for, and more than he expected.

Three days ago there were only a few scattered doubts, but today they have spread far and wide.

"It feels like the second season of 'Loser' is a completely different species from the first season. In the first season, I could see myself in the characters, but in the second season, I can only see celebrities."

"Got it. It's produced by the Beijing elite circle, just for their own amusement. What does it have to do with us?"

"Huang Xiaoming playing a loser? His watch alone is worth ten years' salary for me, and he calls that a loser?"

Anti-elitist, anti-pretentious, and anti-Beijing elite sentiments have found an outlet.

Amid this fervent atmosphere of comparison and criticism, "Report to the Boss," as the opposing force in the competition, naturally entered the mainstream public's view.

"Brothers, go watch 'Report to the Boss' on Youku! This is a show made by us working-class people!"

"That boss's empty promises are exactly like my boss's!"

"Three years later, then another three years—that line is brilliant!"

Office workers seeking resonance, casual observers, and even mainstream media journalists drawn by this media battle all flocked to Youku.

The number of views for "Report to the Boss" is soaring at almost a vertical 90-degree angle!

"Two million three hundred and seventy thousand."

"How many?"

"Two million three hundred and seventy thousand!"

On December 15th, this marked the first time that a single episode of "Report to the Boss" surpassed two million views.

There was a moment of silence in the studio, then Bai Ke slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it!"

Xiao Ai leaned against the door frame, head down, eyes red.

Two million three hundred and seventy thousand, almost matching the number of "Loser 2".

More importantly, the growth rate of "Loser 2" is decreasing, while the growth rate of "Report to the Boss" is increasing.

Ren Pingsheng stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.

"Don't get too excited yet, the third episode hasn't aired yet. Next week will be the real test."

He paused for a moment, then glanced at everyone. "But we can go out for a nice meal tonight."

……

Search Arc Building.

Deng Ye pushed the report in front of Alex.

The report contains today's backend data for "The Loser 2" and a densely packed public opinion report below.

"Explain this to me," Deng Ye's voice wasn't loud, but the office was quiet. "Last week we were saying it was a 4-1 sweep, how come it's almost tied now?"

Alex sat across from him, his palms sweaty, but he maintained a professional calm on his face.

"Sister...President Deng, this is all just a result of public opinion. The Three Gun incident has nothing to do with us, but after netizens dug up Director Zhao and the Beijing entertainment circle, they started spreading the blame to 'The Loser 2'..."

"I know what happened," Deng Ye interrupted him. "I'm asking you, do you know how this happened?"

Alex gritted his teeth, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly.

Of course he investigated. As the person in charge of the content center, if he couldn't even find the source of the public opinion, he could just pack his bags and leave.

But this source struck him as an unprecedented absurdity.

"It's because of... something called Weibo."

"Weibo?" Deng Ye frowned.

As an executive at a traditional portal website and video platform, she didn't pay much attention to this new toy that had only been around for a few months and was being used as a test product by Xinlang.

"Yes, it's a microblog similar to Twitter that Xinlang created."

Alex handed a printed screenshot to Deng Ye.

The screenshot shows three Weibo posts published by the account "Life Story".

"The latest post was published less than an hour ago and has already been forwarded over 10,000 times, but that's not the scariest part."

Alex swallowed hard. "What's scary is that among these tens of thousands of people who shared this, there are many celebrities, and each of them has their own fan base..."

Deng Ye stared at the screenshot, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"And..." Alex's voice trembled slightly, "The account that started this trend is called 'Life Story,' which should be Ren Pingsheng's personal account."

"Ren Pingsheng's?"

"pretty close."

Deng Ye remained silent for a full half minute before suddenly letting out a bitter laugh.

"When Gong Yu left, he told me that Ren Pingsheng had an excellent business sense, but I thought he was exaggerating."

"It seems we've all been left behind by this young man."