The Fine Food Broadcaster
Chapter 47 I am a Broadcaster

Here’s what the scene looks like now.

In the middle of the room was a typical round banquet [1] table meant to seat 6 to 8 people comfortably. Ma Cuihua’s father was seated in the middle, directly facing the door as the most senior member of the family. Ma Cuihua was seated on her father’s right with Mother Ma on her right. In short, Ma Cuihua was now bracketed in by her parents.

[1] The young man was seated to Father Ma’s left, while Ye Fei was seated on Mother Ma’s right…

Erm…

Are you confused yet? Author felt a little confused too.

In short, Ma Cuihua’s family of three were seated together while Ye Fei and the young man were seated opposite each other.

5 people sat around the table, but no one spoke.

It was getting rather awkward.

Right then, Ma Cuihua broke the silence by introducing Ye Fei, “Xiao Fei, this is my father, Ma Qingyun, my mother Zhao Lizhi, and this is…”

Looking at the young man, Ma Cuihua paused for a moment before continuing, “He Peng, the CEO of DD Technology.”

Since Ma Cuihua took the effort to make the introductions, no matter whether others were paying attention to him or not, it would not do to appear uncouth. Ye Fei half-rise in his chair and greeted everyone.

After that, Ma Cuihua introduced Ye Fei to the others, “Father, Mother, He Peng, this is my boyfriend, Ye Fei.”

“Boyfriend!?”

The moment Ma Cuihua made the announcement, Ma Qingyun, Zhao Lizhi and He Peng all exclaimed and stared at Ye Fei.

Ye Fei, “… …”

F*ck, what’s happening? What the heck is Ma Cuihua doing? Since when did he suddenly become somebody’s boyfriend?

Having all eyes on him, Ye Fei also felt a little confused.

Fortunately, Ma Cuihua pressed on, “Since everyone would be here today, I believe that I shouldn’t hide from you anymore. Father, Mother, please don’t be angry about my bringing him here. Moreover, he’s not an outsider.”

Ma Qingyun’s expression was a little dark. He stared at Ye Fei for a long time before finally giving a little ‘en’.

Zhao Lizhi was seated closest to Ye Fei. She turned and stared at him now and then. Although she was one of the first people in the room to see Ye Fei, she had not taken a proper look at him just now.

As for He Peng, he was staring fixedly at Ye Fei and not moving an inch.

The three pairs of eyes were like sharp swords, Ye Fei felt exhausted just sitting there.

However, being stared at like this also awakened Ye Fei’s hidden competitive spirit. He thought: Just look at each of your expressions, just what are you thinking, ah? The moment Ma Cuihua said I’m her boyfriend, all of you looked like you want to tear me apart. I will curse anyone who provokes me. I know you don’t like me, but so what?

Ye Fei cast a glance at Ma Cuihua and found that she was also looking at him. However, below the hint of tenderness in her eyes, the sense of pleading was more obvious

It was then that Ye Fei realised that Ma Cuihua must have disliked her parents’ matchmaking habits and recruited him to block this arrow for her. Hence why he was now playing the part of the ‘boyfriend’.

He looked across the table at He Peng. This must be the boyfriend candidate that Ma Qingyun and Mother Ma were planning to match with Ma Cuihua.

Well, it was not surprising for them to favour He Peng more. This guy was clearly more upscale than himself, more handsome too, just by a little bit. The key point, however, was that Ma Cuihua introduced this guy as the CEO of DD Technology. This guy is a rich man, ah. Compared to him, I’m just a ground beetle.

But, so what if I’m a ground beetle? So long as daddy is willing to work hard, I could one day transform into a golden tortoise.

Moreover, daddy has the ultimate weapon which is the System. One day, all of you side characters will have to tilt your head up 45 degrees angle just to look at me.

When Ye Fei recalled the DCB System, his self-confidence skyrocketed.

Seeing He Peng’s cold gaze at him, Ye Fei also returned the cold gaze to He Peng.

He Peng was stunned to realise that this Ye Fei fellow actually dared to meet his gaze. Suddenly, he felt as though he was being stared at by an ancient beast. There was even a trace of contempt in Ye Fei’s eyes.

That’s right, contempt.

He Peng thought coldly: Looks like the opponent has some points of interest.

At that moment, Zhao Lizhi turned to Ye Fei and asked, “Mister Ye, how nice to meet you for the first time. May I ask, what is it that you do?”

Ye Fei withdrew from his staring match and a smile took over his face, “Auntie, I am a broadcaster.”

A broadcaster?

Ma Qingyun, his wife and He Peng were all shocked. In fact, they were not alone, Ma Cuihua was also shocked.

Ma Cuihua was especially shocked. She knew that Ye Fei had not left the building these days and was wondering what this guy was up to inside his room. She had not expected to find out that this guy had started a career as a broadcaster. If I had known that you’ve become a broadcaster, I would never have brought you here, ah.

Sure enough, the moment Ye Fei declared himself a broadcaster, Ma Qingyun and wife turned to He Peng.

This time, He Peng’s eyes, when he looked at Ye Fei, did not contain a trace of contempt. It was blatant contempt!

Zhao Lizhi was stunned silent for a moment. Then, she smiled and said, “Looks like our Cuihua has a lot of fate with the new, upcoming industry. Mister He’s DD Technology is one of the leaders in this industry. Our family is also in this business, hehe.”

This time, it was Ye Fei’s turn to be shocked. Unexpectedly, of the five people in the room, men, women, young and old were all in the same field. Surely the world is too small?

Wait a minute. DD Technology? Broadcasting?

Ye Fei suddenly felt a shudder through his body. That’s because the true giant in the live broadcasting industry was the giant DD Broadcasting Platform!

“DD Broadcasting Platform?” Ye Fei asked He Peng.

He Peng smiled lightly, “Looks like Brother Ye is really from this industry. That’s right Our DD Technology is indeed DD Broadcasting Platform. Since Brother Ye is in the same business, are you interested in joining DD Platform? Not to worry, a word from me and the company will cultivate your talents. I dare promise that you will become a Million Yuan Broadcaster in no time at all.”

Hearing He Peng’s words, Ye Fei suddenly felt very cheerful. So cheerful that he could not control it.

Why so cheerful?

He Peng’s boastful words and egoistic nature made him feel good. He felt great about looking down on He Peng’s condescending eyes.

Let you raise me to a Million Yuan Broadcaster? Let me tell you now, daddy is already a Million Yuan Broadcaster.

“Heheh, Xiao Ping is such a warm-hearted person. That’s right, if Mister Ye Fei could enter DD Platform, with Xiao Ping’s help, it should be easy for you to get ahead in the industry. Don’t you think so, Mister Ye?”

Zhao Lizhi clearly liked He Peng better. Her words were obviously in favour of He Peng.

Ye Fei also laughed, “Heheh, auntie. If someone wishes to become famous, getting ahead with help would be the easiest. However, in broadcasting, the main character is still the broadcaster. If a person doesn’t have what it takes to become an excellent broadcaster, even when praised to the heavens, the broadcasted material would only be mediocre at best. The eyes of the viewers are sharp. They could see who the better broadcasters are.

In the broadcasting business, though we give the illusion of facing the audience directly in a virtual world, it is still your own face. You might be seeing thousands of people, but the viewers only see one of you. If they approve of you, they will like you, if they don’t recognise you, no matter how wonderful the package, in the end, you will only receive some passing interest.”

“Good!” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Ye Fei had just finished his little speech when Ma Qingyuan, who had not spoken in a while, suddenly cried out ‘good!’.

Everyone was shocked.

They stared at Ma Qingyuan with confusion.

As for Ma Qingyuan, his gaze lingered on Ye Fei for a moment before saying, “I agree with everything you said. No matter whether it is a large platform or a small platform. The goal is to push the broadcaster and his program forward to the viewers. Whether the viewers accept the broadcaster or not all depends on the quality of the program.”

“Uncle is right, I also believe this is true. Smaller platforms have flexibility while large platforms are a little more constrained. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of a large platform is its bigger number of broadcasters. However, having more broadcasters doesn’t mean having better broadcasters. Moreover, the broadcasters themselves could be constrained by rules and guidelines, which could constrain a broadcaster’s creativity.”

“That’s right, I agree with these points. Just because a platform is small doesn’t mean there are no talented people within. There’s a reason why smaller platforms survive until now. Therefore, I believe that smaller platforms add to the diversity of shows and challenge broadcasters to be more creative.”

“Uncle, you are very correct, I think…”

Ma Qingyun and Ye Fei took turns expressing their views on the broadcasting industry, getting more excited the more they talked. As for the other three, they were all bewildered.

Especially He Peng. He looked at Ye Fei, then at Ma Qingyun. He had the urge to spit up blood. He thought: Hey, I am the guy you picked out to be the potential son-in-law, you know?

So why do I feel like an outsider now?

[Gumihou: Well, what an unexpected twist, lol~]

[1] Some additional information on table sitting culture for those who did not grow up watching Chinese CEO family dramas. By the way, if you notice, people in dramas mostly occupy half of the table, one reason is that it’s easier to shoot a table scene without the backs of people’s heads blocking the camera.

The other reason is, half of the table closest to the seat of honour is where the ‘important people’ sits, while the other half is made up of less important people. Please note that Ye Fei is seated furthest from GOH (Guest of Honour).

You will probably see this kind of table arrangement in real life at some VIP tables where only half the table is set up, with the guests viewing the stage, while the other half is decorated with flowers (so that it doesn’t look empty). 

Here’s some extra details for those who are interested.

https://yoyochinese.com/blog/learn-mandarin-chinese-dining-etiquette-chopstick-manners-paying-the-bill-toast-phrases-seating-arrangement

Sᴇarch the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.