New York 2006

Chapter 39 Political Tendency
After Luo Ji and Yao Ming had dinner together, they shot a video and uploaded it to YouTube, were interviewed by reporters, exchanged business blows, and then separated.That night Luo Ji and Jeff Busker met up and took a plane to Texas to continue promoting.

On the plane, Jeff Basker felt that Luo Ji was very kind to him. His income had increased a lot recently, so Jeff Basker said a lot of heartfelt words: "Mixed-race people sometimes have identity problems, but Living in a multi-racial country like the United States, people must have an identity. Logic, although you are of mixed Chinese and European descent, white people will never consider you to be one of their own. They follow the one-drop principle."

Luo Ji put down the juice in his hand: "I know."

Jeff Basker continued: "The American media also thinks of you the same way. When they report, they always use Chinese to describe you. The Chinese community did not refute, because most Chinese follow the patrilineal principle. Your father If you are Chinese, if you are successful, Chinese will naturally accept you as one of their own, just like Bruce Lee. As the saying goes, the butt determines the head. The Chinese support you very much. Your records sell best in the Chinese community. They are all I spent real money to support you, and your business performance quotation is also the highest in the Chinese community. So you must never say that you are not Chinese on any occasion."

"Ah."

Jeff Busker continued: "If you say it, it will only make white people look down on you, and it will also make the entire Chinese American community disappointed in you. I know it is difficult to live as a minority in this country, especially Asians, They really want to integrate into the mainstream white ethnic group. But you must not do anything stupid, the white people will not accept us, and blood theory has always been very popular in the Western world."

Jeff Basker's father is Indian and he is also a minority in the United States.It seems that he has suffered a lot of discrimination in his life experience.

Luo Ji said: "I know this. I have read "Who Are the Americans" by Harvard University professor Samuel Huntington. He believes that the United States is facing a critical juncture of where to go. If it does not vigorously defend and promote the Anglo-Christian culture, Without its fundamental characteristics, the country will be in danger of fragmentation and decline. He called on the United States to turn to Christianity to save itself from the threats of Latinos, Middle Eastern immigrants, and Asian immigrants."

"This book has caused a great response among conservatives in the United States, and many conservative white people have taken action. On the contrary, many ethnic minority people are not aware of the change in this situation. They will start from their own situation, It is normal to say that you have never encountered discrimination in your life. Political correctness has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the public opinion media has also cracked down on this kind of thing on a large scale. It is rare to encounter blatant discrimination in life. But if you go through customs, After entering the police station and dealing with these traditional white government departments, you will find that ethnic minorities are more difficult than white people, and they are treated clearly differently. The immigration-related departments of the United States are also vigorously cracking down on the immigration of ethnic minorities. , and there is basically little control over white immigration.”

Luo Ji looked at Jeff Basker in confusion: "Why do you talk so much about politics today?"

Jeff Basker smiled and said: "I don't want to see you go down the wrong path. I heard that your lawyer supports the Republican Party. You must remember that he is not from the same group as us. He is a southern white man. I know Many values ​​of the Republican Party are consistent with the concepts of Chinese Americans, but you must not be deceived by him. The Democratic Party is the future of the United States. The attributes of the Democratic Party are destined to support ethnic minorities, expand immigration of ethnic minorities, and increase the proportion of white people in the population. Decrease and make minorities stronger.”

Luo Ji was speechless: "Why do I feel like the two political parties are like the staff of the Christian Church, pulling people out everywhere? People from Jamie Law Firm have tried to influence my political leanings before, and now you are here again."

"Haha, it's normal. The United States is a party country. As long as you have a little influence, people from both parties will contact you. I estimate that when you return to New York, people from both parties will try to contact you."

"Really? I really don't know about this."

Time flies by quickly, and before you know it, another week has passed. The promotion in St. Louis is over, and the group of people is eating breakfast in the RV early in the morning.

Overall, I had a good week. I finished recording Marvin Gaye with Britney and shot the MV. I still hired Francis to direct it, ensuring clarity and film quality.He also completed a commercial performance for Staples, and the $15 was split 7.5-22 with the Universal Music Entertainment Department, and he received $[-].The most important thing is that viva la vida bulletin board came to [-]nd this week.

"Our campaign to bribe radio stations is very effective. Here is the data. These major radio stations have all played your songs this week. Their listening base is very large and it plays a big role in the Billboard rankings."

Braun handed the document to Luo Ji. The document listed in detail where the money had been used. There were many bribes to the radio stations, most of which were small accounts worth a few hundred dollars. After a cursory glance, Ludacris controlled The radio station is the most cost-effective, and the minimum investment is indeed the best. On the contrary, Braun said that he could bribe some white radio stations, and the money was given to a lot of people, but the number of listeners was still small.

"When did this end? Do we have to keep bribing these radio stations like this? Could it be that all the songs in the Billboard charts were bribed."

Luo Ji complained that he had to spend tens of thousands of dollars every week, and it would take more than a dozen commercial performances before he could come back.Agent Braun stood aside and spoke.

"Of course not. Our main purpose at that time was to get off to a good start and have a good ranking on the Billboard for the first week and the next week. Now that the goal has been achieved, you don't actually need to continue bribing the radio station. Now the public opinion of your song has already Just get up, the quality of your songs is very good, even if you don’t pay for it, many radio stations will play your songs spontaneously.”

Luo Ji looked at the person in charge of publicity: "Can Universal Music also contribute part of the money? I can't always provide this money alone."

The person in charge of publicity said: "This kind of bribery of radio stations is an unspoken rule in the industry. No one will expose it, but it is not convenient to transfer this kind of money. It is all traded in cash. It is not convenient for us to participate. You use the cash you earn from commercial performances Just pay the bill. Besides, we only have 20 in promotional expenses and we need to save some money. We are not even halfway through the promotion journey." Luo Ji had no choice but to call Blake over and take out 10,000 in cash and give it to Braun: "This is the last step. It's been a week. Three weeks of bribery should be enough. Just stop the small radio stations and influence the big radio stations. They are the most cost-effective. In the past three weeks, [-]+ dollars have disappeared. Many songs that are now ranked in front of me You may not be able to sell it for that much money.”

"Okay, leave it to me. Don't worry, it's definitely worth the money."

Luo Ji took the latest Bulletin Board magazine from the table in the RV and read it. There was an exclusive interview about himself, which was a reprint of a special report written by a Chinese host some time ago. The entire article was full of rainbow farts.The photo was requested by Bulletin Board. Luo Ji showed it off to everyone with the magazine, and everyone flattered him.

"really not bad."

Looking at myself in the magazine, I am tall and handsome, with wisdom revealed in my coldness. I am not too handsome at all.He immediately picked up his phone and sent text messages to his friends to show off and remind them to buy Billboard magazine.Max, reporter Robin, director Francis, Britney, Yao Ming, etc.

After Luo Ji finished posting this, he was just about to call his mother Sami to show off, when his mother called Sami.The first sentence blinded Luo Jizheng.

"Do you have money? I need [-] meters of knife. Your grandfather needs a liver transplant."

Grandpa?Luo Ji didn't know his grandfather, he only knew his grandmother Queenie. His grandmother gave birth to his mother Sami with an unknown man decades ago. I have always used my mother's surname.

Luo Ji wondered why Sami's father, whom he hadn't seen for decades, suddenly showed up to need a liver transplant after not seeing him for more than ten days, and paid him [-] yuan.But in an instant Luo Ji realized that money was not the important point, liver matching was the important point, and the probability of success among close relatives was much higher.

"Mom, you don't want to use your own liver for transplantation to your father whom you haven't seen for decades. I firmly disagree. Where are you now?"

Luo Ji thought about it carefully and realized that his mother, Sami, could definitely do such a thing. She was the kind of woman who was extremely lacking in emotion. As long as someone was kind to her, she would break out of her heart and lungs. The mother on the other end of the phone Sammy spoke.

"I'm in Chicago right now and my liver doesn't match your grandpa's liver and we need money to get a new liver match."

Luo Ji was speechless: "Chicago? Are you really planning to transplant a liver to that trash man? He has abandoned you for more than 30 years. Sammy, don't do anything stupid. A liver transplant is a big deal. Just wait for me. Come right over."

Sammy on the opposite side yelled: "I really didn't lie to you, my liver and his liver really don't match."

Luo Ji didn't believe it at all and shouted directly: "Mom, give me your address right away. If you do something stupid, I will never forgive you in this life. You are impulsive and don't care about anything. You are here now I have zero credibility with you. If you want money, give me your address."

"Okay, I'm in the South Side of Chicago... Just go to the nearby neighborhood and ask the Gallagher family."

After hanging up the phone, Luo Ji wiped his face.His mother Sami was really irritating sometimes, and sometimes he wanted to run away, but after all, blood is thicker than water, and she was one of the few relatives he had in the world.

"Where are we going next?"

The publicity manager heard Luo Ji mention Chicago on the phone and said, "We originally planned to go south to Nashville, but if you want to go north to Chicago, it's not impossible. We can go to Nashville later."

"Okay, let's leave now. Let's go to Chicago first. We should be there in five hours."

(End of this chapter)