Chapter Fifty-Three: Signature

  On Saturday night, the TV station broadcast "Beauty in Flower City". Although Xiao Ye Sheng did not win the championship, he won a Best Popularity Award with his song "East Wind Breaks", which caught the attention of record companies. After the competition, someone approached him to discuss signing as a singer.

  "I can sing, but I'm not good at reading sheet music. If I sign a contract, I'll have to follow someone to learn singing skills and only then will they push me out." Xiao Yesen explained to Zhou Ling and Ning Qingmian with a hint of indifference, "Anyway, I won't lose anything, let them do whatever they want."

  "These days, classmates have been humming the song you sang, everyone says it sounds good, your singing has a special flavor." Wu Meimei looked at Xiao Yesheng with admiration and hastily handed over a notebook saying: "Future superstar, first help me sign an autograph!"

  "Mei Mei, don't be in a hurry to tease me!" Xiao Ye Sheng laughed and pushed away Wu Mei Mei's hand. "If I really become famous, it won't be too late for you to ask me for an autograph then."

  "Extra, extra!" Mo Xiao Hong rushed into the dormitory, panting and saying: "I just went downstairs to buy snacks at the small grocery store, many classmates were discussing the song that Xiao Ban Zhang sang before, saying it was super nice. They also said that many people can sing it now."

  "Wow, really? Xiao Ban Zhang has become famous!" Zhou Ling excitedly stood up and also held out a notebook saying: "Class leader, please sign an autograph for me first, no need to wait until later."

  "Me too! Me too!" Mo Xiao Hong also shouted, hastily handing her laptop to Xiao Ye Sheng.

  "If you want to sign, come one by one, line up!" Jiang Mingzhi coolly blocked Xiao Yesheng's way, first taking the paper handed over by Zhou Ling, pretending to be fair.

  "Are you sure you want me to sign? My handwriting is terrible!" Xiao Yesi felt a bit helpless, seeing everyone nodding in agreement, and had no choice but to sign his name.

  "I told Yesheng, you go out tomorrow and see if anyone can help design a signature for you, let someone design one that's decent. Look at the handwriting you signed, it doesn't have any star quality to it, it looks like it was scribbled by a chicken claw." Jiang Mingzhi frowned as he looked at Xiao Yesheng's signature and sighed: "Other celebrities' signatures are truly elegant and powerful."

  "I'm not a star yet, am I? When I become one, shouldn't there be someone to design my signature for me?" Xiao Yesi rubbed his hands together, "I've already tried very hard to write it neatly."

  "No big deal, signed with the original flavor, if Xiao Ban Zhang becomes a big star in the future, this original signature might be worth a lot of money!" Zhou Ling Le chuckled and was about to put away his notebook when he turned around and saw Ning Qing Mi smiling and watching from the side. He handed over the notebook and said: "The best filler also signs for me!"

  "If you're not afraid of adding my signature, this book won't sell for a lot of money later, come on!" Ning Qingming made a gesture as if he was willing to sign.

  "I'll think about it again!" Zhou Ling shrank back, picked up a book that was usually scribbled on, and said seriously: "To be cautious, you can sign on this one."

  "This is blatant discrimination against me, the best songwriter! Ning Qingming saw that tattered little notebook and shouted, "Big stars sign beautiful notebooks, I sign this crappy notebook, no way!"

  Laughing and making a fuss, the phone rang, but it was Fan Dongyang calling. On the other end, he was surprised and delighted, shouting loudly: "Ye Sheng, someone from the record company called to find you, saying they want to record your song 'Dong Feng Po' separately first, and asking you to call them back immediately to discuss."

  "Wow, that's great! Hurry up and call to confirm!" Everyone heard the good news and urged Xiao Yesong to quickly make a phone call to confirm.

  Xiao Ye Sheng was also surprised, but looked at Ning Qing with a hint of inquiry and said: "Qing Ming, you're the lyricist of this song, what conditions should I propose to the record company?"

  "The copyright of this song belongs to you, don't sell it!" Ning Qingming thought that in a few years, the popularity of this song would help Xiao Yesan become famous, so he decided to let Xiao Yesan keep the copyright.

  "Alright, I'll listen!" Xiao Ye Sheng took a deep look at Ning Qing Mi before picking up the phone and dialing out.

  The record company said a few words and let Xiao Ye Sheng go to their company to discuss the details and sign the contract.

  "Come on, I'll go with you!" Jiang Mingzhi patted Xiao Yesen's shoulder. "I'll help you take a close look at the contract."

  After seeing off Xiao Ye Sheng and Jiang Ming Zhi, the dormitory erupted in cheers again. "Our class will give rise to a shining star! The key point is that we are classmates and good friends of the star."

  Ning Qingmin saw everyone's excitement and smiled happily, just thinking of crawling onto the bed for a nap, when her phone rang. It was Ning's mom calling, "Xiao Min, didn't you say there were no classes this afternoon? Why haven't you come over yet?"

  "Mom, something happened in class, so I didn't go! What's wrong? Is anything wrong?"

  "We've found a small eatery, just 200 meters outside your mall on a street, the rent is a bit expensive, let's wait for you to come and take a look!" Now Ning's mom consults with Ning Qingmian about everything, no longer treating him like a child.

  "Alright, I'll go take a look right away!" Ning Qingmin covered her mouth and let out a yawn, forget it, she could sleep early tonight.

  "The location is not bad, and the rent is okay, but if we only sign a two-year contract, it's hard to say what the conditions will be like when it's time to renew. Ning Qingmin thought for a moment after looking at the snack shop with Ning's mother and grandmother, "Also, the layout of the place is not reasonable, the kitchen is too small, and the fire safety and sanitation conditions are not up to standard. This is not the countryside, we need to get a food hygiene permit. This store obviously hasn't gotten one, if someone checks, they'll have to shut down. In serious cases, they might even be fined."

  "I knew it, the store has a lot of customers and business is good, why would they want to rent it out? It turns out there are so many problems. Maybe they can't handle some kind of certificate, so they just rent it out and let someone else deal with the hassle." Ning's mom suddenly realized and laughed: "After staying in the countryside for over a decade, my brain has rusted, I don't see things as clearly as before."

  "It's still our little Qīng Mǐn who is wise and brave." Ning's grandmother lovingly pulled over Ning Qīng Mǐn, seeing that she was a bit tired, waved her hand and said: "First let the child go home and take a nap, tonight we'll stew some good soup for her to drink. Rushing around all day, be careful not to exhaust herself into illness."

  "Mom, Grandma, you go back home first, I'll go take a look at the stall and then head back." Ning Qingming smiled as she hugged her grandma and walked forward. "At noon, Xiaoyu called me and said that several new samples had arrived, but didn't dare to hang them up, afraid of being seen by the people across from us and next door. They've now copied our stall's samples and made several similar ones, and their prices are even cheaper than ours."

  "It's not possible to guard against others when doing business!" Ning's mom sighed, "Then go take a look! We'll go to the vegetable market to buy some vegetables and make a snow pear soup. It's hot outside, it will help moisten our lungs."