Afternoon.
Phone calls came one after another.
The repercussions and serious effects of SARFT's decree # 43 were far greater and faster than anyone had imagined. The decree had already been implemented on the day it was issued. There was not even a buffer period. This big stick had landed too fast and too ruthlessly!
Ring, ring, ring.
First, it was a call from the Brain Gold company's CEO, Wu Mo.
"Hello, Brother Zhang. It's me, Wu Mo." Wu Mo's tone was somewhat bitter.
Zhang Ye said absentmindedly, "CEO Wu."
Wu Mo paid attention to his tone and said, "I heard about your matter. I don't even know what to say. You have been implicated. It shouldn't have been anything to do with you, but now, hai..."
Zhang Ye said, "It won't affect your business, right?"
Wu Mo pondered for a moment and said, "It won't have much of an impact. It's just that the higher-ups just called. The television station has also sent an approval letter saying that our company's Brain Gold product's TV commercial needs to be re-examined and will not be allowed to air it. Their intention is... to delete your scene, or else it will not pass the examination. I heard that the examination is very strict this time. My aunt knows a few people over there, but she helped me ask, but it was useless. I heard that there was no room for compromise, so the commercial could only be taken down."
Zhang Ye said apologetically, "I'm sorry, CEO Wu. I've implicated you this time. It's fine. You can just delete my scene. The commercial can still be used. It's just a scene. It's not a big deal. It's the same without me. The core of the commercial was not my scene anyway." In his previous world, the Brain Gold commercial was like this. There were no scenes of the spokesperson, so it didn't matter if it was deleted.
Wu Mo said, "Don't say sorry. Alright, then I can only deal with the higher-ups this way. I'll just remove your scene first. Wait until the storm blows over... then we'll talk about it."
Zhang Ye said, "Give me a list of the losses I've caused you. We will follow the contract. I will compensate you no matter how much it is. After all, this situation was caused by me alone."
Wu Mo said anxiously, "Brother Zhang, there's no point in saying that. A contract is a contract. It's a dead contract. Can our relationship not even be compared to a piece of paper? What compensation? Don't ever mention it again. Ever since your commercial, our Brain Gold's sales have skyrocketed. Just the sales during the past few days of the new year have already exceeded our company's total sales from the past two years by countless times. Now, we have basically secured the top spot in the country's health supplement sales market. The reason why the company and I, Wu Mo, are where we are today is all thanks to your commercial. If not, the company would have long gone bankrupt. How could we still have our current glory? You're still asking me for compensation? You're making fun of me. Please don't bring this up again. Besides, the company didn't lose anything! "
When Zhang Ye heard this, he did not argue any further, "Thank you, CEO Wu."
Wu Mo said, "I know that you are currently facing some problems at work. I can't help you with that, but if you need any help in other areas, just let me know. If I can help, I will definitely help. Our previous contract will still continue. If the ban is lifted next year, we will continue working together. I will even look for you to renew the endorsement contract." Having said all that needed to be said, Wu Mo delivered his words.
As for lifting the ban?
Both of them knew it was not very realistic!
No matter what, Zhang Ye was very grateful for Wu Mo's words. It warmed his heart. Be it in his previous world or this world, he had seen too many celebrities having contract problems because of their endorsement contracts. The celebrities and the company would have all sorts of arguments and kick them when they were down. It was quite unbearable, but Wu Mo did not do that. Not only did he not mention the compensation for breach of contract, he even expressed his desire to continue working with Zhang Ye. This was a favor that Zhang Ye had to accept, because it was not his duty to do so, but out of friendship.
Following that, another phone call came.
It was from Weiwo WebTV's Department Director, Feng Guiqin. Usually, communication with Zhang Ye would be done through the department's deputy, Wang Xiong. Wang Xiong was also the supervisor of Zhang Ye's current workplace, but this time, Director Feng had directly called him. Zhang Ye roughly understood what was going on.
"Director Feng." Zhang Ye answered the phone.
Feng Guiqin was silent for a moment and did not say a word.
Zhang Ye smiled, "Director Feng, if you have something to say, just say it. It's fine."
Only then did Feng Guiqin say, "'Zhang Ye's Talk Show' has been completely taken down and deleted. Thankfully, it finished airing a few days ago, so the WebTV did not suffer any losses. It's just that your next program might not be able to continue. Have you seen the SARFT's documents?"
Zhang Ye acknowledged, "I know."
Feng Guiqin said, "After the documents from above came down, the relevant departments also specially sent us an approval, ordering us to take down your program and forbid us from broadcasting any of your programs. We even said that we were going to start the production of a new program immediately, but now it has fallen through. You are the hero of our WebTV. For us to have such a market scale and market share is all thanks to your Talk Show. It was your Talk Show that snatched up the market share. If you are still willing to stay in the company, you can help others plan their programs. We will still pay you your usual salary, but I'm not going to lie to you. Looking at the severity of the policy, it will be very difficult for you to host a program in the future."
Zhang Ye was getting calmer and calmer. He smiled, "Director Feng, thank you for your kind intentions. Even if I help others do their programs, it would be meaningless. If the higher-ups were to nitpick, there might even be problems with the programs. I don't want to add to the company's troubles, so I'll resign."
Feng Guiqin felt that it was a pity, but she did not want to let him go. She said, "There's no need to resign. Why don't you keep your position and hang it here for now. Your salary will still be paid."
Zhang Ye did not want to take advantage of this. He was not short of money, "Director Feng, let's do it this way. I'll send the resignation letter to you later. You can handle the paperwork and I'll sign it."
Feng Guiqin sighed deeply, "This is really an undeserved disaster. To be honest, the entire company's WebTV is feeling wronged for you!"
"There's nothing we can do."
"If not, with your abilities and talent, hai!"
"Thank you for taking care of me all this while, Director Feng."
"We should be the ones saying that to you. Little Zhang, take care."
Then, a person in charge of Beijing Television Station, whom Zhang Ye did not know, called him. He told Zhang Ye that the rebroadcast of "Zhang Ye's Analysis of the Three Kingdoms" and a few fairy tales on Beijing Radio Station had been stopped. He did not say much. After all, Zhang Ye was no longer a part of Beijing Television Station. There was no contract between them. He was only informing Zhang Ye as a matter of routine.
After hanging up, Zhang Ye's mood was a little heavy. He was a broadcasting graduate. Although he also wrote poems and became a teacher, his main job had always been as a host. Now, his job as a host was gone, and a few of his programs had been taken off the air. This made him feel like something was missing in his heart. It was empty. From the beginning to the end, this fellow's dream had always been to become famous. He wanted to be the center of attention, to reach the pinnacle of the world. Hence, he placed a lot of importance on popularity. He had always been trying his best to climb up, but now, when he had lost everything, Zhang Ye suddenly realized that what he yearned for was not just fame or status. He was surprised to realize that he actually loved this job to the bone. Even if he did not achieve anything, even if he would never become famous, he still wanted to continue doing this job!
Standing on the stage!
Living on the stage!
And dying on the stage!
But now, this tiny request had become an extravagant hope. At this moment, he did not even have the chance to stand on the stage!
His heart was like dead ashes — this was how he felt now.
Then, three more work calls came in. Zhang Ye was in no mood to answer them.
The first call was from a person in charge of Peking University's website. He told Zhang Ye that the video of his lecture on Dream of the Red Chamber had been ordered to be deleted by the higher-ups.
Zhang Ye no longer felt anything. He asked out of turn, "Then when the university reopens next month, will I still be teaching? Will I still be a lecturer in the Chinese department? "
The person in charge answered vaguely, "Uh, I don't know about that. I'm only in charge of the website. You can ask Dean Chang of the Chinese department."
Zhang Ye nodded and did not ask Chang Kaige. He did not even call Wu Zeqing, who had a good relationship with him. This was because he did not want to trouble her. If they did not want to use him, then so be it. Now that things had come to this, Zhang Ye could accept any outcome!
The next call was from the Education Publishing Firm. It was also the publishing firm that Zhang Ye had worked with on "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and many fairy tales.
The other party said, "Is this Teacher Zhang Ye?"
Zhang Ye said, "That's me."
The other party was a youth. He said, "Hello, I'm from the legal department of Beijing Education Publishing Firm. Your" Ghost Blows Out the Light "," Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "," The Wizard of Oz ", and other short and long fairy tales have been removed from the shelves of the major bookstores. The books have been returned to the publishing firm. According to the contract you signed with the publishing firm, you are the party who breached the contract. It was due to personal reasons that led to the termination of the collaboration. It has also caused serious financial losses to our publishing firm. Now, the publishing firm is preparing to terminate the contract and seek compensation. I'm calling you to inform you in advance.
Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes, "How much should we compensate for the losses?"
The youth said calmly, "According to the buyout price of all your simplified Chinese copyrights and the breach of contract clause in the contract, the compensation we propose is 3.5 million yuan. I'm not responsible for the specific matters. A lawyer will handle this matter. If it can't be resolved, we will file an appeal and settle it through a civil lawsuit."
Zhang Ye was even calmer than him, "You don't need a lawyer, nor do you need to appeal. 3.5 million, right? Alright, send me a copy of the procedural contract. I'll transfer the money to you immediately. "
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