Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Entrust
The train was cutting through the morning mist and speeding across the land of the southern country.
At first, the view outside the train window was dominated by yellow. Although it was a fruitful colour, it somehow gave a feeling of desolation. As the train travelled further south, the greenery became more and more abundant, and the temperature gradually rose.
After sleeping on the train for two nights, at a little after 6 o'clock on the third morning, they finally arrived at the terminal.
Following the crowd, Feng Yiping went through the underground passage to the exit. There were two doors, behind which was a long queue. At the entrance, the station staff were checking the tickets of the departing passengers one by one.
In the space next to the line, some male and female police officers were patrolling on both sides, some of them even holding wooden sticks in their hands, looking as if they were facing a major enemy.
The flow of people slowly moved, and many people were yawning. Feng Yiping just couldn't understand it. Everyone had to go through at least three checks before getting on the train, and the conductor would check tickets after boarding. Now that they had arrived at the station, was it still necessary to go through all this trouble?
It's just like some of the big supermarkets, where there's a person at the exit who pretends to double-check your shopping and stamp your shopping list, which is completely unnecessary!
But despite his grumbling, he had to give in. This made him all the more think about the guy from the night before. Unfortunately, when he got up that morning, the guy had already left the train, and they never got to meet.
Finally, he left the station. Although it was still early in the morning, there were quite a few people in the square, especially at this exit. There were a few people standing here and there, asking everyone they saw, 'Where are you going? Do you need a ride?' 'Do you want to stay at a hotel?' 'Do you want to find a job?'
Feng Yiping ignored everyone who came up to him and kept walking quickly with his bag. This station is the epitome of train stations across the country. It's really happened that they sell you out and you still help them count the money.
Feng Yiping had already walked out of the square, but a man in a yellow jacket kept up a running commentary. Damn it, does he think he can take advantage of me? This is my second hometown, after all!
Feng Yiping stopped and looked at him coldly, 'What do you want? You want to go back to my house with me?'
The man was taken aback. He had thought that Feng Yiping was a greenhorn, but he had never expected him to be a local. He stopped in anger, glaring fiercely at Feng Yiping. Seeing that Feng Yiping was not flinching, he turned around and walked back, muttering something under his breath, presumably not very nice things.
It was still early, and the whole city had not yet fully woken up. Near the train station, the dim street lamps were still on.
From here, the International Building, commonly known as the '63-storey building', can be seen looming in the distance. This building is currently enjoying great popularity. Not only is it the tallest building in Guangzhou, it is also the tallest building in the whole of China! Apart from hotels and office buildings, many foreign consulates are also located here, and that is also Feng Yiping's destination today.
He misses the morning tea here, but he doesn't know his way around Guangzhou. After more than 30 hours of bumping on the train and not having a proper meal, he is ravenous. He finds a noodle shop by the roadside and eats a bowl of bamboo-ladder noodles. Not yet full, he changes to another shop and eats a bowl of rice rolls, which is just about enough.
He pays special attention to the layout of these two small restaurants, hoping to learn from them. However, there is really nothing to write home about!
It was still early in the morning when work started, and Dacheng Law Offices, which had offices in the International Building, welcomed a special visitor, a student carrying a bag.
The pretty girl at the reception desk, who was checking her makeup in the small mirror, was a little surprised but still politely received Feng Yiping. She heard that he was consulting about copyright issues, so she took him to a small meeting room, but did not offer him any tea.
Soon afterwards, a young man in a blue suit, with gold-rimmed glasses and a folder, walked in, sat down opposite Feng Yiping and asked, somewhat impatiently, 'What is it you want to ask?'
Of course he was impatient; he had taken this as a free consultation. Feng Yiping was not annoyed either. At his age, it was already quite good to have someone to receive him.
'I have some musical works that I would like to entrust to your firm for transfer.'
He said this very solemnly, but the young lawyer did not believe him and asked, 'What?'
Feng Yiping repeated it, and the lawyer knew he had heard it right. On the spot, he wanted to get up and leave, thinking, 'You little kid, are you playing with me in the morning?' 'I'm sorry, our law firm does not have this business!'
If this were Feng Yiping, he would feel the same way, but now he had to impress him. 'Since you've come all this way, I'll just take a few minutes of your time. Okay, I have ten original songs. If they were made into an album, they would sell at least double platinum. My starting price is 3,000 US dollars per song, and we can negotiate the commission separately.' He emphasised, 'You can take 10% of all proceeds as an agent's fee.'
The lawyer was a little interested at this point, and thought it was quite interesting to hear such dreamy nonsense from a child so confidently and seriously said. But it was not easy to come across.
Feng Yiping saw the teasing in his eyes, but he still had to finish what he had to say, 'I know all the record companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but I have no contact with them. This is very simple for you, just a matter of a few phone calls. Here is the sheet music for one of my songs, you can have a look, and by the way, ask your leader for his opinion.'
Feng Yiping took a piece of paper out of his bag and handed it over. It was the lyrics to one of Liu Tianwang's later classic masterpieces.
The lawyer took it with a nonchalant attitude, read it, and smiled. 'Never mind, I'll give it a try for you. Maybe I'll really meet a genius today?'
Feng Yiping got up and told him, 'Thank you very much! It's hard to say if someone is a genius, but in some ways, I am somewhat talented.'
He didn't mince his words, and this wasn't the time to be polite. If you're humble, people really think you're messing around.
The man shook his head with a smile, but still took the sheet music and went out.
Feng Yiping sat quietly, not at all uneasy. He knew in his heart that he had a good foundation. He knew that as long as there was someone who could read music, they would understand the value of this song.
As for why he went to a law firm, it was very simple. A law firm, especially one that was now located in the International Building, represented a very capable network of connections that definitely radiated into both the political and business worlds.
He didn't think that a small kid like him, even if he had good works, would have any bargaining power when facing the record companies of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Taiwan's UFO Rock was okay, but Hong Kong's PolyGram and Warner, one British and one American, were all large multinational companies.
At this time, we should not have high expectations for the professional ethics of these multinational companies that have set up branches in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Feng Yiping is now like a weed, and they can just casually extend a little finger and say they will crush him.
Moreover, if something like sales sharing is involved, you, a country boy, should not naively expect them to truthfully give you all the money you deserve, even if the company has integrity, but there is no guarantee that the staff involved will also be of good integrity.
As for the general law firm not having this business, that is also not a big problem. Nowadays, there are still very few specialised intellectual property agencies, and the business of law firms is still somewhat related to this area. Besides, in this frontier where everything looks to the future, as long as there is money to be made, nothing else matters.
Not long after the lawyer left, Feng Yiping heard a scream from the reception area. In a moment, the girl who had greeted her came running, clattering, holding a glass of water in her hand. Her face was flushed, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Feng Yiping, 'You really wrote that song.'
'Of course, if I didn't write it, would I have found a law firm?' Feng Yiping took a sip of the water, saying that he wasn't nervous at all, which was nonsense.
'Wow,' the girl put her fists together in front of her chest, and without going back to the reception desk, she sat next to Feng Yiping, looking at him with stars in her eyes.
Haha, watching this scene, Feng Yiping was also a little drunk!