I returned to the hotel where I stayed, entered the room, hung the thick coat I took off on the clothes hanger, and brewed a cup of hot tea. Soon, the door of the room was gently knocked.

"Ye Zhaosang, this is the first-day list of singles sent from Tokyo." Uemura Yuki handed Ye Zhao a piece of paper.

"Well, thank you for your hard work." Ye Zhao took the list and glanced. "WINTER, AGAIN" won the daily list with 86,000 copies, which is a great achievement.

"If this momentum can be maintained, it should not be a problem to sell 200,000 copies this week." Uemura Yuki's tone was very optimistic.

"I hope." Ye Zhao put the list aside, "Humura, have you booked tickets to Aomori?"

"I booked the Shinkansen at 7:40 in the morning. It's not too early. Ye Zhaosang can have a good rest." Yuki Uemura said and left the room.

At 6:30 am the next morning, Uemura Yuki came over and woke Ye Zhao up. The group packed their luggage, had a simple breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and took a taxi to the station.

The total population of RB is about 125 million, of which 100 million people live on Honshu Island, and 25% of this 100 million people live in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Aomori Prefecture is located at the northernmost end of Honshu Island, with about 1.32 million people living here. Among these 1.32 million people, in addition to the elderly who were already in the past and children who were ignorant of the world, there are about 850,000 people who truly have purchasing power. Among these 850,000 people, people who are completely uninterested in music and families with more than two people who do not buy it repeatedly. In general, the market in the entire Aomori Prefecture is so small that it cannot be smaller.

In fact, not only Aomori, but also the situation in the Tohoku Tokushima region is similar. Moreover, due to various reasons, the popular music in the Tohoku region is not developed, but traditional songs are very active. Many singers have been born in these areas. With the attitude of mosquito meat as well, Ye Zhao still visited Aomori, participated in a radio program at noon the next day, and set off for Akita Prefecture in the afternoon.

...

When it comes to Akita Prefecture, the first thing Ye Zhao thinks of is Akita Dogs and Hot Springs. Like Aomori Prefecture, Akita Prefecture is also a major agricultural county. There are not many young people and not many elderly people here - in short, the population is very sparse. At least 1.32 million people in Aomori Prefecture, and only about 1 million people in Aomori Prefecture.

Not only are there few people here, but it is also one of the most poor counties in RB. Most of the people living here live a peaceful life, a kind of peace of being content and willing to be at the status quo. This kind of peace is the most difficult to break. Although he has prepared to get cold in the process of national publicity in advance, Ye Zhao never expected to be rejected directly by the local broadcasting bureau.

"Sorry, we don't provide song-making services." Akita's producer Kota Ohara even refused to listen to the song.

After walking out of Akita Broadcasting, Takeda Toshi said, "Ye Jun, why don't we go to Akita Asahi Broadcasting to go again?"

Ye Zhao didn't say anything, and looked up at the gray sky as if he was aware, "It's snowing?" Hearing his words, Takeda Toshi and Uemura Yuki looked up together, and sure enough, they saw tiny snow particles as gravel falling down.

A taxi stopped in front of the three of them and got in. Takeda Toshiki reported to Akita Asahi broadcast, but Ye Zhao interrupted him, "No, please take us to the shopping street in the city. I want to buy a guitar."

"Buy a guitar?" Takeda Toshi was stunned for a moment, not asking any more questions.

The taxi driver started the car.

Although Akita is a Japanese-style "remote countryside", all facilities are still complete, and many large chains have opened branches here, so it is still not difficult to buy something.

In a shop called Yamada Musical Instruments, the young clerk with a brush head has a very different attitude than his appearance: "Welcome, do you need anything?"

"I want to choose a noodle guitar. It doesn't need to be very good, just play it easily."

"Please come here." The clerk made a call and led Ye Zhao to a corner of the store. "There are all entry-level guitars here. If you are a novice, I suggest you consider this Yamaha. This piano feels comfortable, has a soft tone, and is quite cost-effective. If you buy it now, you can get a 10% discount..."

Ye Zhao's eyes swept over the price tag below: 59,800 yen. RB's guitar is really expensive.

"Can I try it?"

With the consent of the clerk, Ye Zhao took the guitar from him, debugged the strings, and played several chords. The feel and tone were similar to those introduced by the clerk. Ye Zhao did not choose again and bought the guitar directly.

After leaving Yamada Musical Instruments, Ye Zhao greeted Takeda Toshi and Uemiya who were waiting outside, "Since I signed a record company, I have never performed singing anymore. Today's opportunity is rare. Let's find a place to go for a roadshow."

The commercial area in the evening is the time when the whole city has the largest traffic in one day. Young office workers, students who have just finished their day's studies, come to the family to shop and have dinner together. People of all kinds draw a group picture of the city here.

Before an HMV record store near Takashimaya, a simple stage was set up quietly - it was said to be a stage, but in fact it was just a few boxes to build a slightly taller stage. A young and handsome young man stood on it, holding a wooden-colored guitar in his arms, facing the road, and the picks swept across the strings.

This HMV has been in the sixth year in the city of Akita. During these six years, his business has been lukewarm. Although it is not deserted, there has never been a situation where records are sold out. Whether it is B’z or Chuck Asuka, no group of singers have completely captured the hearts of people in Akita.

The store manager faced Cheng Shan’s records all day long. When he saw Ye Zhao, he naturally recognized him at first sight. When Ye Zhao suggested that he wanted to borrow a roadshow outside the store, the store manager agreed very happily. Not only that, he also provided him with a simple stage and a microphone with a shelf.

The musical atmosphere in Akita Prefecture is not very strong, and few people perform publicly on the streets. On the bustling streets, the sound of strings being plucked suddenly sounded, and the passing people subconsciously looked at it. Several of them recognized the person who performed the performance as Ye Zhao and stopped for him.

In this situation, Ye Zhao started his performance. The first song was "Rainbow" and the second song was "Because you are by your side". After the two songs, facing the audience, Ye Zhao performed a brief MC, "Hello everyone, I am Ye Zhao. Today I will be performing a public performance of about 40 minutes here. Please give me some advice."

The simple Akita people cooperated and applauded. The people who recognized Ye Zhao shouted: "Come on Ye Zhaosang!" "I like Ye Zhaosang the most!"

Fine snowflakes kept falling from the sky. Outside the HMV record store, people gathered on the three layers inside and three layers inside. The one surrounded by these people was Ye Zhao, who was singing on the guitar. He had only released three singles, and he couldn't even make up enough song lists for a forty-minute roadshow. After singing the first two songs, he played freely and searched for a few songs with a warmer style suitable for winter and improvised.

"Good...so amazing!" Uemura Yuki, who was responsible for maintaining order, couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the audience who occupied both sides of the road and almost affected traffic.

"There must be one or two hundred people. Ye Zhaosang is so amazing when we Akita can create such a big battle." The record store manager sighed while smoking.

"But at this level, the policeman should be coming soon." Takeda Toshi looked around.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, several policemen in uniform walked towards this side quickly, shouting with a loudspeaker: "Hey, roadshows are prohibited here, you have affected traffic, stop quickly!"

Standing on the stage and looking at the surrounding situation, Ye Zhao naturally saw the police coming here. He smiled, turned the tone of the guitar in his hand, and said, "The next one is the last song! This song is my newly released single "WINTER, AGAIN" on the sixth of this month. I hope everyone can like it, so I will start singing!"

...

After scanning the QR code, the clerk of the HMV Records Store scans the last picture "WINTER, AGAIN", and the last lucky man walked out of the record store with a smile. Looking at the long queue outside, the clerk apologized: "The shop's "WINTER, AGAIN" has been sold out. Please come again tomorrow."

"Hey~" There was a frustration outside the record store, but there was no way, so the people in the queue had to disperse.

In the record store lounge, the store manager said: "Ye Zhaosang is amazing! I will contact the supplier and complete the distribution in the fastest time."

"This is all the credit for the store manager's generous loan of the place." Ye Zhao said modestly.

"I have a reluctant request..." the store manager discussed, "It is rare that there are stars who are promoting us. Can Ye Zhaosang leave a signature in the store?"

"Of course there is no problem!" Ye Zhao picked up the guitar placed at his feet, Yuki Umura took out the signature pen from the bag he carried with him and handed it on. He signed his name on the guitar panel, and Ye Zhao handed the guitar to the store manager, "Let this be left for the store as a souvenir."

While waiting for a taxi on the roadside, Umemura Yuki said in a good mood: "After today's performance, this song will definitely be slowly circulated in Akita."

"I was worried just now that I was rejected by Akita Broadcasting, the publicity here will be difficult to open, so I feel relieved now." Takeda Toshiki said.

"Maybe the Akita broadcast tonight will have to be bombarded by the song call!" Umemura Yuki said with a smile.

Takeda Toshi looked at Ye Zhao, "Ye Jun, you are different from many artists I have come into contact with. Most people will find it difficult to put down their airs and start with the most basic part after becoming famous. You really made me admire you today."

Ye Zhao smiled, "Music is something that is close to life, so no matter when, I will not reject such street propaganda. On the contrary, I also enjoy the interaction with the audience very much." At first, he decided to embark on the road of music just to get rid of the poverty after rebirth. In such interaction, he suddenly discovered a new meaning of music.
Chapter completed!