In the 1990s, Chengdu at night was not as bright and colorful as it would be thirty years later.
There was no driving tonight, Chu Tianyao and Lu Qiuyu strolled on the street.
After nine o'clock, most of the cars on the road were gone. Occasionally, you could see an old man playing mahjong at a roadside tea stall in the middle of the night.
In the roadside teahouse outside People's Park, the sound of playing mahjong seems to have become one with the city.
Chu Tianyao looked at the grandparents in the teahouse and stopped in front of a canteen.
“Get a pack of Chinese!”
Chu Tianyao shouted to the owner of the canteen.
The boss was playing mahjong in the shop, and when he heard there was a customer, he quickly got up and took out a pack of hard-box Chinese from the glass cabinet and put it on the table.
"Hard hit, eight dollars!"
The boss looked up at Chu Tianyao. After all, he might not be able to sell a pack of Chinese in his store for two days. The young man in front of him looked like a rich man.
Chu Tianyao subconsciously reached for his bag, but found that he didn't seem to have eight yuan in change.
"Let me do it!"
On the side, it was Lu Qiuyu who took out a ten-dollar bill from her bag and handed it to the owner of the canteen.
"Thanks!"
Chu Tianyao smiled slightly and took the cigarette in his hand.
Different from the Zhonghua in the 1970s and 1980s, since 1994, the hot stamping printing on the outer shell of Zhonghua cigarettes has been changed to the more advanced gravure printing, and the material of the cigarette labels has also been changed from white cardboard to mounted aluminum paper.
The retail price is eight yuan per pack, which is not cheap at all.
At first, China Tobacco was a special cigarette, but it was widely sought after. On the first day it was launched, the price increased from 40 yuan a piece to 65 yuan, triggering a nationwide panic buying. As a result, in desperation, the State Tobacco Administration
Tian then priced Chinese cigarettes at seventy-two yuan a piece.
The retail prices in various places are not much different, they are all around eight yuan a pack, and some are even higher.
"Can you quit smoking?"
Taking the two yuan change from the boss, Lu Qiuyu rolled her eyes at Chu Tianyao and said.
"I've been smoking for decades, how can I just quit smoking?"
Chu Tianyao smiled playfully and said that he did not smoke in his previous life, but since he was blocked from starting a business and stayed up late in the office every day, he also developed the habit of smoking.
Over time, it becomes difficult to break this habit.
"Foreign medical research shows that smoking is not only harmful to health, but also has a disadvantage specifically for men."
Lu Qiuyu watched Chu Tianyao open the cigarette case and said deliberately.
“The downside to targeting men?”
The movements in Chu Tianyao's hands froze, and he raised his head to look at the person in front of him.
"What's the downside?"
Lu Qiuyu pretended to smile mysteriously, then looked Chu Tianyao up and down, with a bit of scrutiny and contempt in his eyes, and then walked out without saying a word, carrying his satchel.
"Hey, you should explain it clearly to me!"
Seeing Lu Qiuyu playing tricks, Chu Tianyao lost his mood to smoke for a moment and quickly followed him.
When the two passed by a busy intersection, Lu Qiuyu stopped.
Next to it is the night market, which contains not only vendors, but also many late-night food stalls at the street entrance. The reason why Lu Qiuyu and Chu Tianyao stopped was because a group of people in front of them blocked the way.
At the intersection of the night market, twenty or thirty people crowded together, and everyone gathered around a man holding a guitar and wearing a denim jacket.
The most noteworthy thing is that this man looks like he is only in his early thirties, but both in body and face, he looks exactly like a king surnamed Liu.
There was a microphone placed in front of the man, and there was an external speaker at his feet. Although the sound quality was not good, the intro played on the speaker was the Cantonese song that was very popular in the past two years. It was the time we spent together.
"How to face, the days we spent together, and now I am left alone, how to let my heart speak one by one, you know..."
The man had Liu Tianwang's standard hairstyle with bangs. When he opened his mouth, his somewhat rich voice immediately shocked everyone in the room.
Not only does he look similar, this guy's voice is exactly the same as Liu Tianwang.
"Oh my god, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was Hua Zai here!"
In the crowd, a girl almost covered her mouth and said in surprise.
In the 1990s, the popularity of the Four Heavenly Kings has gradually spread from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the mainland, becoming idols in the hearts of countless people.
"Interesting, are you imitating a singer?"
Lu Qiuyu also murmured to himself.
Although if you take a closer look, the appearance of the other person is somewhat different from that of Liu Tianwang, his voice is really similar to Liu Tianwang's.
Chu Tianyao stood there, also somewhat interested in the guy singing in front of him.
In the 1990s, as Hong Kong and Taiwan stars became popular in the mainland, the domestic film, television, music and other entertainment industries really developed. Especially since the turn of the millennium, the so-called entertainment circle has been formed.
Chu Tianyao had not seen too many imitative singers like this, but when he saw the person in front of him, he inexplicably remembered an interesting story he had heard.
It is said that a roast duck restaurant called Lai Pi Duck actually posted a huge portrait poster of Jay Chou in front of its house and hired him to be the image spokesperson of Lai Pi Duck.
Overnight, the famous Jay Chou became the spokesperson of "Duck Restaurant", which can be said to have spread all over the country, making this roast duck restaurant an internet celebrity overnight.
Everyone thought this was true. After all, the person on the portrait poster looked exactly like Jay Chou.
However, what people didn't expect was that the roast duck restaurant's invitation to Jay Chou to advertise turned out to be fake. As for the so-called celebrity on the poster, it turned out to be just a professional celebrity imitator who looked very much like Jay Chou.
For a time, this matter caused a big fuss and even involved a lawsuit, but in the end the law ruled that the roast duck restaurant had no infringement, and this could only be regarded as a sideways operation at best.
"The product has been sold for so long, why didn't I think of hiring an image spokesperson?"
Chu Tianyao stood outside the crowd and suddenly had an idea and slapped his forehead.
At this moment, after singing a song, the man in the crowd opened his guitar bag and asked for money from the surrounding audience.
"What are you doing? He's just a fake celebrity and he's asking us for money!"
Seeing this scene, the onlookers who were standing there just now waved their hands and strode away.
The man held an empty guitar bag and looked at the people leaving the venue. He was also stunned on the spot with a bitter smile on his face.
This is not the first time he has encountered this situation.
"Nice singing!"
Just when the man thought he would get nothing tonight, a figure walked up to him and put a hundred-dollar bill into his guitar bag.
This is a picture of four heads, which costs a hundred yuan.
The man raised his head in disbelief and looked at the person in front of him, with a look of excitement on his face.
"Thank you for your support..."
"May I have your name?"
Chu Tianyao stood there and looked at the slightly desolate man in front of him.
"My surname is Zhou... By the way, this is my flyer!"
He replied subconsciously. As he was speaking, the man suddenly remembered something and took out a colorful leaflet from his pocket.
There is a photo on the flyer, it is the man himself, and in addition to the photo, there is also a self-introduction about him.
"Zhou Dehua, singer and professional celebrity imitator, participated in the 1993 Kunming Star Imitation Competition and won first place..."
Chu Tianyao looked at the flyer in his hand, and then looked up at the person in front of him.
"Your name is Zhou Dehua?"
The man nodded, smiled and said to Chu Tianyao: "The person on the flyer is me, boss. I am a professional celebrity imitator, and the one who is best at imitating is Liu Tianwang!"
"I see it."
Chu Tianyao nodded and then put the leaflet back into Zhou Dehua's hands.
"Since you have this ability and have won awards, why have you ended up in this situation?"
Hearing Chu Tianyao's words, Zhou Dehua couldn't help but sigh.
"It doesn't matter if I win an award, I'm just a fake. At first, some people invited me to be a resident singer in nightclubs. Later, the novelty gradually lost its appeal, so I had no choice but to become a street singer."
Maybe it was because of the one hundred yuan, or because he felt that he was very close to Chu Tianyao, Zhou Dehua rarely opened the conversation and said: "Boss, to tell you the truth, my wish is to be a singer and become like the Four Heavenly Kings.
The same people."
As he spoke, Zhou Dehua waved the guitar in his hand.
"If nothing else, it will be difficult for your dream to come true!"
Chu Tianyao looked at Zhou Dehua who was full of confidence, but he revealed the reality without mercy.
He has seen too many celebrity imitators, and there are many who can imitate better than Zhou Dehua, but those people are just short-lived and make the audience happy. There are very few people who can really become popular by imitating.
"My mother said so too..."
Chu Tianyao's words also made Zhou Dehua's expression freeze, and then he said with a wry smile: "But where there is a will, there is a way. As long as there is a one in ten thousand chance, I will not give up."
"You have no chance by singing, but I have a way to make you famous and rich!" Chu Tianyao said with a smile.
"any solution?"
Zhou Dehua asked subconsciously, and then looked at Chu Tianyao with a puzzled look.
On the side, Lu Qiuyu also became curious when she saw that Chu Tianyao seemed to be talking to Zhou Dehua with purpose.
"I want to ask you to shoot an advertisement and be the spokesperson for our products. If nothing else happens, you should be able to become popular."
As soon as Chu Tianyao said these words, the confusion in Zhou Dehua's eyes gradually turned into surprise.
"Scout, you must be a talent scout, right... I know that as long as I sing outside every day, there will always be a talent scout discovering me."
Zhou Dehua said with excitement, and as he spoke, he actually held Chu Tianyao's arm with both hands.
Perhaps because he has read too many Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment magazines, Zhou Dehua has always fantasized about being discovered by a talent scout like the Hong Kong female star Guan Zhilin and becoming famous.
Hearing Chu Tianyao's words at this moment, he was almost certain that Chu Tianyao was the Bole he had been waiting for for a long time.
"You misunderstood, I'm not a talent scout, I'm just a businessman!"
Chu Tianyao broke free from this guy's hand, then took out his business card and handed it to Zhou Dehua's hand.
"General Manager of Xingyao Liquor..."
Zhou Dehua lowered his head and glanced at the business card, seemingly confirming Chu Tianyao's identity, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his eyes.
"Although I'm not a talent scout, the invitation to you to shoot an advertisement is true. Please consider it carefully. My phone number and office address are on the business card."
After Chu Tianyao left his business card, he glanced at Zhou Dehua, who was full of disappointment, and immediately led Lu Qiuyu away.
"Commercials?"
Zhou Dehua held the business card given by Chu Tianyao, somewhat doubtful in his heart.
After all, the only people who can shoot commercials and appear on TV are big stars. How could he, a mere street singer, be treated like this?
Subconsciously thinking that Chu Tianyao was lying to him, Zhou Dehua looked disappointed and was about to throw away the business card in his hand, but turned around and suddenly saw a hundred yuan in the guitar bag. He was heartbroken, and finally stuffed the business card back into it.