章節 454: Chapter 454: The Program Begins
The *Millionaire* program was pre-recorded, scheduled to air every Friday night from 9 to 10 PM, with a duration of one hour.
Originally, Huang Xizhao did not want to schedule it at this time to directly compete with Wireless Television.
This was because Wireless Television's top program, *Happy Tonight*, aired from 9:30 to 11:20 PM every Friday.
For ten years, whether it was Jia Shi or the former Li's Television, they had tried multiple times to challenge *Happy Tonight*, but they all failed, watching *Happy Tonight* dominate Friday nights.
*Happy Tonight* was a variety show created by the then 21-year-old genius TV producer Cai Heping, who spent five months observing the culture and life of Hong Kong before producing it.
It quickly became a hit!
Since 1967, it had dominated for 11 years, leaving the other two TV stations struggling.
Fortunately, *Happy Tonight* only aired once a week on Fridays, for 110 minutes.
However, Huang Xizhao's highly anticipated *Millionaire* program was scheduled to air on Friday nights from 9 to 10 PM, overlapping with the latter half of *Happy Tonight*.
Although Huang Xizhao was very confident in *Millionaire*, he felt some unease facing the competition.
After all, in a direct battle between two strong competitors, it was almost always a case of mutual damage. Huang Xizhao did not want the debut of *Millionaire* to be affected.
However, since the boss had made this decision, Huang Xizhao had no choice but to comply and find ways to promote the program, fighting hard against Wireless Television.
If they could really break *Happy Tonight*'s invincibility, it would be a huge success!
Huang Xizhao thought this way because he hadn't reached Xia Yu's level and had a smaller perspective.
Xia Yu was confident in *Millionaire* and was determined to go head-to-head.
In a confrontation, the first step was to target the general's camp, using unwavering determination and confidence to defeat the enemy.
Even if there were losses, so what?
If the ratings for the first episode were affected, as the media king of Hong Kong, Xia Yu had plenty of ways to support *Millionaire*, attacking one wave after another to destroy the myth of *Happy Tonight*.
This time, due to the program's duration, the overlap was only half an hour, so the remaining time after 10 PM would be given to the next program.
No rush! No rush!
Xia Yu was never short of brilliant ideas. Taking it step by step, TVB was destined to be completely overwhelmed.
Soon, it was 9 PM. Huang Xizhao arrived again in the backstage monitoring area, closely watching the ratings. Seeing that the ratings had already exceeded the same time slot by more than double, his heart surged with excitement.
"Welcome everyone to Global Television's *Millionaire* program. I am your host, Yu Hua!"
As the TV program began, a spirited and handsome young host appeared in the center of the studio, holding a microphone and speaking in a clear voice.
"Do you want to get rich overnight? Do you want to become famous overnight? Do you want to become a millionaire? Do you want to light a cigarette with cash? What are you waiting for? Come and join our quiz!"
Yu Hua dramatically pointed at the camera, his eyes sharp, and spoke with passionate excitement.
In the camera's view, the audience in the studio looked slightly flushed, clearly stirred by Yu Hua's words.
Xia Yu, watching TV with Li Qian in their cozy home, smiled with satisfaction, clearly pleased with the atmosphere Yu Hua was creating.
This Yu Hua was not the originally famous host but a new discovery.
According to the program's requirements, the selection of hosts was very strict. Huang Xizhao did not consider seniority but gathered all hosts for internal selection, and finally, Yu Hua stood out.
Although Yu Hua was young, he had a solid foundation and a well-established hosting style with strong personal flair and infectious energy. He always seemed passionate and could subtly stimulate people's emotions while maintaining rationality. His ability to grasp people's hearts was exceptional.
Such qualities were perfect for the *Millionaire* program, which required creating suspense.
A good program relies heavily on a top-notch host!
And Yu Hua did not disappoint Xia Yu!
Next, Yu Hua briefly explained the rules of the quiz and read out the names of the participants selected from the auditions. He did not drag his feet but smoothly transitioned into the quiz segment.
"First question: Who is the author of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China?"
"A: Cao Xueqin. B: Shi Nai'an. C: Luo Guanzhong. D: Wu Cheng'en."
The first contestant, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, clearly well-educated, smiled confidently and said, "I choose C, Luo Guanzhong."
"Congratulations, you answered correctly!"
The first question was quite easy, intentionally set to avoid an awkward start. So Yu Hua did not overly praise but smiled and began the knowledge explanation.
"The Four Great Classical Novels refer to four classic Chinese novels, which in the order of publication are *Water Margin*, *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, *Journey to the West*, and *Dream of the Red Chamber*."
"*Water Margin* was written by Shi Nai'an, *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was written by Luo Guanzhong, *Journey to the West* was written by Wu Cheng'en, and *Dream of the Red Chamber* was written by Cao Xueqin. Therefore, C is the correct answer."
The knowledge explanation was also a highlight. The audience could expand their horizons and learn a lot through the program, which was a good promotional feature.
"Next, please listen to the second question!"
"What is the first detailed chronological historical book in China's history?"
"A: *Guoyu*. B: *Zuo Zhuan*. C: *Spring and Autumn*. D: *Strategies of the Warring States*."
The man with glasses still appeared very confident and decisively answered, "I choose C, *Spring and Autumn*."
"Congratulations, you answered correctly!"
"*Spring and Autumn*, also known as *Spring and Autumn Annals*, is one of the Six Classics of Confucianism in ancient China and the official history of the state of Lu during the Zhou Dynasty…"
...
"Please listen to the fifth question!"
"In ancient China, twenty was called 'weak crown' and thirty 'established'. What about eighty?"
"A: Knowing the destiny. B: Rare in ancient times. C: Old age. D: Flowering age (huājiǎ)."
"I choose C, Old age. Twenty is weak crown, thirty is established, forty is confused, fifty is knowing the destiny, sixty is flowering age, seventy is rare in ancient times, and eighty is old age."
The man with glasses answered without hesitation and even confidently explained.
Yu Hua immediately showed a look of distress, shaking his head and sighing, causing the audience to be puzzled. Even the man with glasses widened his eyes, doubting life. Yu Hua then sighed and said, "Congratulations, you answered correctly, but could you not steal my lines? Don't you have any sense of shame?"
Yu Hua looked at the man with glasses with a resentful expression, like a scorned lover. The man with glasses sighed with relief and awkwardly scratched his head, causing the audience to burst into laughter. The sudden turn of events was very amusing.
"Just a joke, please don't mind!"
"No worries, no worries!"
After everyone laughed, Yu Hua quickly composed himself and said to the contestant, "Mr. Liu, you have answered 5 questions correctly, and the prize money has accumulated to 1,000 dollars. According to the rules, you can either take the 1,000 dollars and leave now or stay and continue challenging. What is your choice? Please tell everyone loudly!"
"Continue! Continue!"
A cheering sound erupted from the audience.
The man with glasses, full of confidence, said decisively, "I choose to continue!"
"Alright, next, the difficulty of the questions will increase. Please focus, and let's start the next question!"
Yu Hua's expression was very serious. After finishing his statement, he immediately read the next question: "…"
The man with glasses proved to be quite knowledgeable, answering questions six through nine with ease. The prize money accumulated to 20,000 dollars. If he answered the tenth question correctly, he would reach the second choice line and could choose to take 50,000 dollars in prize money.
The audience both in the studio and watching on TV became excited, and even the man with glasses' emotions were stirred.
"Tenth question: The Ming Dynasty's 'Three Yangs' refers to which three people?"
"A: Yang Pu, Yang Jisheng, Yang Rong. B: Yang Tinghe, Yang Bo, Yang Jisheng. C: Yang Pu, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong. D: Yang Jisheng, Yang Tinghe, Yang Shiqi."
This question clearly touched his knowledge blind spot, and the man with glasses looked perplexed.
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