Originally, Yu Xiang just didn't want his brother-in-law Zhao Chengguang to have an easy time. He would take away any talent Zhao Chengguang found if he could, and sabotage those he couldn't. If he could poach someone, he would just put them in his own company. However, Zhou Xuan's amazing performance at his nightclub tonight made him realize that Hu Yun was a real gem. He didn't know what skills Hu Yun had on the ship, but just his singing ability alone could take his company to the next level.
But this Hu Yun is probably not so easy to poach; he's probably trying to drive up the price.
"Hehe, Xiao Hu, don't speak so quickly, and don't be so absolute. In this society, who doesn't want to live well, and who would turn down money?" Yu Xiang chuckled, then said, "How about this, let me tell you about the rates of the resident singers in our store. In Binhai City, or even in the entire Donghai Province, the scale of our Yu family's entertainment venues is among the largest. Correspondingly speaking, the singers who perform in our store are paid much more than in other places."
As Yu Xiang spoke, he scrutinized Zhou Xuan's expression, but Zhou Xuan showed no reaction. He could only continue with his lewd words: "In the entire industry, singers in nightclubs and bars are divided into several levels. The ordinary resident singers are those who are not famous but have some singing skills. They fill in when there are no customers, which is what we call entry-level workers. These singers are usually paid between two and eight hundred yuan a night. They don't sing by the number of songs they sing, but by the day. This is the lowest level."
"The second type is the so-called has-been film and music stars. They used to be very distinctive, but in recent years their popularity has declined and they have lost their appeal. They come to the store to make some money. For these people, we usually give them a commission based on the number of songs requested and the amount of money spent. If they are popular and many customers request songs, their income will be high. If few customers request songs and the store is not very popular, their income will be low, sometimes even less than that of the resident singers. However, most has-been stars still have a good income in the store. It is not difficult to earn several thousand or even more than ten thousand a night."
When Yu Xiang talked about this kind of thing, he actually exaggerated a bit. It's rare for washed-up movie, TV and music stars to earn more than 10,000 yuan a night. Earning two or three thousand yuan a day is more normal. The commission for a song request is 10%. For ordinary singers, customers can earn two or three thousand yuan for a song request. For unpopular songs, it's a few hundred yuan, or even no one requests them and the atmosphere is awkward. Earning more than five thousand yuan is extremely rare, and earning more than ten thousand yuan is even rarer.
What Zhou Xuan encountered tonight was truly a once-in-a-century event. Yu Xiang was merely using tonight's situation to deceive Zhou Xuan, making him believe that the atmosphere was always this frenzied, and that anyone could request songs for thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan.
However, Zhou Xuan remained unmoved and simply listened calmly to Yu Xiang's speech.
"The best and highest-paid category is the currently hottest celebrities. Through connections, we will occasionally invite one. Of course, the fee for such celebrities is very high. They usually just show up at a set time, sing a song at most, and then leave. The value of that one song is hundreds of thousands or more. The specific price depends on the celebrity's status."
Inviting such famous celebrities only happens two or three times a year, during events or holidays. Although the celebrities stay for a short time, Yuxiang's company advertises heavily one or two months in advance. On the day of the event, the guests who come to see the celebrities are all big spenders who are willing to spend money. The consumption in one night can be tens of thousands. With more than a thousand guests, the income is enormous. This is the foundation of Yuxiang.
After talking for a while, Yu Xiang then said to Zhou Xuan, "Little Hu, with your singing skills, I guarantee you'll become quite popular. If you're willing, let me tell you, earning two or three thousand a night is commonplace."
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, shook his head slightly, and said, "President Yu, I'm really sorry, I really don't want to change jobs. You should go back."
Yu Xiang said he could earn two or three thousand a night, but he wanted to test Zhou Xuan's reaction first to see if he was satisfied with the price. If he wasn't, they could change it; if he was, then it would be easier to negotiate.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Xuan remained unmoved and flatly refused.
Yu Xiang gritted his teeth and said, "Xiao Hu, if you're worried, I'll give you a fixed salary of 100,000 yuan a month, how about that?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said calmly, "President Yu, actually it's not about the money. I think you don't know how much your father pays me, do you? Let me tell you, he pays me an annual salary of one million."
"One million?" Yu Xiang was stunned, speechless with shock.
Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter 452: Heaven and Hell
Chapter 452 Heaven and Hell
Because nightclub business isn't the same every day; it can be good or bad. A decent resident singer can earn thousands of dollars a night on a good night, but might not earn a single dollar on a bad night.
The same applies to laborers; they can work more when the weather is sunny, but they have to rest when it rains.
Yu Xiang's promise of a fixed salary for Zhou Xuan was actually a trap. If business was good and he earned a lot, that was fine; they could pay him more. But if he earned less, they would immediately turn their backs on him and kick him out. At that point, even if Zhou Xuan wanted to go back to Zhao Chengguang, they wouldn't want him. What kind of trust can you have in someone who can betray you for money at any time? Even if you manage to poach him back with a high salary, you can imagine that he will betray you again for an even higher price in the future.
In fact, no matter what industry you're in, what bosses hate most is disloyalty. No matter how capable you are, if you're not a good person, you'll end up all alone.
Yu Xiang's actions have harmed many people, and Fu Gui knows quite a bit about it. However, he hasn't had a chance to instruct Zhou Xuan about it today. Yu Xiang was keeping a close eye on things, but then he got so excited about Zhou Xuan's singing that he forgot everything else.
Yu Xiang looked at Zhou Xuan's indifferent expression, his mind was confused for a moment, then he remembered something and asked, "Impossible, right? Xiao Hu, on the ship, the wages paid by our Yu family are already among the best. There are very few that can surpass ours. It's hard to find anyone on the entire East Coast. Even my second uncle's annual salary is only 200,000. How could he possibly pay a worker a million?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "According to the conditions given to me by Uncle Yu and Manager Zhao, there are also commissions. Based on the commission structure, my annual income should be over five million. So, I advise you not to say anything more."
Zhou Xuan's words truly frightened Yu Xiang.
Five million a year or more—that's the amount of senior management in several of the Yu family's major projects. Even that doesn't amount to much, let alone the workers on a ship.
It was truly unbelievable, but looking at Zhou Xuan's nonchalant and extremely indifferent expression, Yu Xiang didn't seem to be lying. However, Yu Xiang didn't believe this condition and wanted to find out more before making a decision. It seemed that it would be difficult for him to persuade Zhou Xuan.
"I think you have a great singing foundation. I can guarantee you'll become famous and make money. Even if you don't want to sign with me as a full-time resident singer, you can still find some extra income with me."
Yu Xiang stopped talking about offering him a high salary. Since Zhou Xuan had already mentioned such a high salary standard, he couldn't possibly offer more. He could only wait and see and find out the details before making a decision.
Zhou Xuan wasn't after money; he just wanted to thwart Yu Xiang's probing by deliberately setting the conditions extremely high, making it impossible for Yu Xiang to agree.
This was the first time Yu Xiang had been humiliated by Zhou Xuan, and he was somewhat unwilling to accept it, but there was currently no other way.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, "I'm so sorry, President Yu, all I wanted to do was work on the ship. I have absolutely no interest in singing. I'm sorry, I'm feeling very tired..."
Yu Xiang blushed, extremely embarrassed. He never expected to be driven away and unwelcome. Then he thought, wasn't this his home? Why was Hu Yun so arrogant in his own home?
Yu Xiang stood up, and as he did so, the anger that had been surging within him subsided. Zhou Xuan saw this and narrowed his eyes. This Yu Xiang was truly cunning and probably had a lot of bad intentions. He was clearly furious with him, but he forced himself to suppress it. Zhou Xuan had seen many people like this before, and none of them were good.
Yu Xiang's expression gradually returned to normal, and then he actually smiled and said, "Alright, you can rest now."
After Yu Xiang's footsteps faded away on the stairs, Zhou Xuan tilted his head and said, "Miss Yu, is there another question?"
Zhou Xuan had been using his supernatural abilities to detect things. Yu Qi was hiding near the door of the next room. Because Zhou Xuan's door was open, she overheard his entire conversation with Yu Xiang. Zhou Xuan also sensed that Yu Qi had gone upstairs and was listening there until Yu Xiang left before he spoke up.
Yuqi paused for a moment, then went into the room and asked, "How did you know I was in the next room?"
After thinking it over, I realized that I shouldn't have shown my face at the door. How did he know I was here?
Zhou Xuan knew she was puzzled, so he said, "You don't need to think about it. When you came up just now, I heard a noise. My hearing is very sharp; I can hear even the faintest sounds. Besides, who else could be upstairs besides you?"
Yuqi thought about it and realized it made sense. Usually, no one from her family would come up to the top floor, except for her, who would occasionally go up to the fifth floor or the rooftop to enjoy the view.
"Oh, I see. But I wanted to ask you something..." Yuqi stared at Zhou Xuan and asked curiously, "Did my dad really give you a million-dollar annual salary plus commission? Is it for a job on a ship?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "I don't know either, but that's what Manager Zhao and Uncle Yu told me. I don't know exactly how much they'll give me. Actually, I don't have any particularly high demands; I just want to be able to eat my fill and have a place to sleep."
Yuqi was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing and said, "Get lost, are you kidding me?"
After a pause, Yuqi asked again, "Your name is Hu Yun, right?" She smiled and then suddenly added, "Is that your real name? It sounds so fake."
Zhou Xuan was startled. He looked at Yu Qi and, seeing her nonchalant expression, chuckled but did not answer her.
Yuqi added, "Hehe, I was just joking. But I'm curious, you sing so well, why don't you collaborate with my second brother? With your singing ability, it wouldn't be difficult for you to become famous. I reckon if you participated in one of those super male or female singing competitions these days, winning an award would be a piece of cake."
However, Yuqi immediately shook her head and said, "Of course, that's only based on ability. These events nowadays are all just for show. There are too many behind-the-scenes deals. Without a powerful backer and by not following the unspoken rules, it's impossible to win an award."