Hong Kong Film: Short mules have no future, I am in charge of Hong Kong

Chapter 268 How did we lose?

Su Hanze pushed the door open while wiping the rain off his face with a tissue. He casually placed a document on the table and pulled out a chair to sit down. "Did that guy confess last night? Who sent him?"

Ah Liu swallowed the last mouthful of porridge and waved his hand: "He confessed. He is indeed from Dongwan. He also said it very toughly, saying that we can't stop Young Master Jin's opening ceremony."

Su Hanze snorted coldly, reached out and picked up the document and flipped through it. "Tough? Can toughness be used to make a living? Young Master Jin is in a difficult situation now, so he resorted to such a dirty trick. I watched the news last night, and their stage was only half built, and the whole place was covered with mud."

The skinny monkey came over to take a look at the document and grinned, "Boss Su, they will probably have to delay the opening ceremony by a day or two. Can we strike while the iron is hot today and hype up the news about the theater?"

Su Hanze looked up at the skinny monkey, his lips curled up slightly: "We have to hype it up, but not too much, we have to keep it stable. The reputation of the theater is our biggest trump card now, and we can't let the people in Dongwan find any flaws."

The skinny monkey was stunned and scratched his head: "I see, it's just showing off wealth in a low-key way, steady but ruthless."

Ah Liu glared at him and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Let's arrange more people to patrol around the theater from today. We can't let any more accidents happen. If the fire last night had really started, all our efforts would have been wasted."

At the same time, in Dongwan's office, Jin Shao sat on the sofa, with several newspapers and documents on the coffee table in front of him. His face was gloomy, and his fingers slowly tapped the table. Zhang Hai stood straight behind him, lowered his head and dared not speak.

"What were those people doing last night?" Young Master Jin's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. "They couldn't even handle a theater. The lights in Sai Wan are already on, and the news in Hong Kong Island is full of good things about them."

Zhang Hai raised his head and whispered, "Master, last night's operation failed, but we have invited several big stars to the opening ceremony, and the media has arranged publicity. The news can be spread today. As soon as our opening ceremony starts, the popularity of Xiwan will be suppressed quickly."

Young Master Jin sneered, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the port in the distance: "Celebrities? Media? These are just superficial efforts. If the stall owners in Xiwan don't leave and the tourists don't leave, our commercial center will never be able to beat them. You go and keep an eye on those suppliers. If anyone dares to supply Xiwan again, we will directly put them out of business!"

Zhang Hai nodded and turned to leave. As he walked out of the office, he ran into a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. This man was Dongwan's new partner, responsible for celebrity management and publicity. Zhang Hai stepped aside and let him in.

"Mr. Jin, the publicity work for Dongwan today has been almost prepared. Don't worry, this opening ceremony will definitely make a sensation in the whole city." The man said with a smile as he entered the door, his tone full of confidence.

Young Master Jin turned around, stared at him for a while, and slowly said, "Celebrities are used to attract popularity, but do you know what really keeps customers?"

The man was stunned, and the smile on his face froze for a moment: "Uh... of course it's the scale and freshness of our East Bay."

Jin Shao walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "The novelty will expire. Sai Wan has deep roots, and the stickiness between stall owners and tourists is more terrifying than you think. Go tell the media that starting today, all publicity will focus on 'the lowest rent in Hong Kong' to create greater temptation for stall owners."

The man nodded repeatedly and hurriedly left the office with the documents.

On the other side, in a high-end club in Central, Lin Qiming was drinking coffee with several investors.

The newspaper on the table happened to be flipping to the news about Xiwan Theater. He picked it up and took a look. He smiled and said to a middle-aged man next to him, "Su Hanze is quite interesting. He was able to stabilize the situation under Jin Shao's attack."

The middle-aged man nodded, picked up his coffee and took a sip. "There are indeed a lot of problems in Dongwan. I heard that Master Jin's capital chain has been getting tighter and tighter recently, and he has begun to put pressure on suppliers. If this continues, something bad might happen."

Lin Qiming put down the newspaper and smiled: "This is the rule of the capital market. Whoever can survive longer will win. However, no matter how difficult Dongwan is, it will not fall easily because it has the support of the Jin family."

The middle-aged man frowned: "What do you think of Xiwan? How long can their theater model last?"

Lin Qiming smiled and shook his coffee cup. “Xiwan’s model is stable, but too conservative. If Su Hanze wants to win, it’s not just about the theater.”

Meanwhile, in the backstage of Xiwan Theater, several workers were busy with the final debugging. Ah Liu stood at the side of the stage, directing while looking at the progress chart in his hand, but his expression was not relaxed.

"Xiaolong, please arrange a few more people around the theater today. I'm worried that there will be more trouble in Dongwan." He whispered to Xiaolong beside him.

Xiaolong nodded: "I understand. We haven't investigated what happened last night yet, so we have to be on guard."

Ah Liu looked at the tourists who had begun to gather outside the theater and sighed, "Young Master Jin won't give up so easily. The more anxious he gets, the more likely he is to use ruthless tactics. We can't let our guard down."

The theater was busy inside and outside, but the atmosphere in Dongwan was even more tense. Standing in the center of the opening ceremony, Jin Shao looked at the workers coming and going, with an unreadable expression on his face. His cell phone suddenly rang, and he picked it up and took a look, frowning instantly.

"Master, it's bad. Two major suppliers have informed us that they will temporarily suspend supply." Zhang Hai's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding particularly anxious.

Jin Shao's face instantly turned pale, and the phone in his hand was almost crushed. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his tone: "I will take care of this matter. You go and inform everyone that there must be no problems with the opening ceremony."

After hanging up the phone, Young Master Jin turned to look at the foremen next to the stage and said in a low voice, "Reinforce the stage and ensure that all lighting equipment is operational. We can only win this opening ceremony, not lose."

The atmosphere in East Bay and West Bay seemed to be separated by an invisible dividing line, and each was extremely busy.

The opening ceremony of West Bay Theater has entered the final countdown, while the commercial center of East Bay is also struggling to attract attention.

In the backstage of Xiwan Theater, the lighting engineers were nervously doing the final check on the equipment. Ah Liu stood beside the stage, directing the workers to move the props, his face showing both nervousness and excitement. He bit the pen in his hand while staring at the rehearsal schedule in his hand.

"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother, something bad has happened!" Skinny Monkey rushed over from the backstage, holding a flyer he had just received from outside, and said breathlessly, "Hurry and have a look, those people from Dongwan are causing trouble again!"

Ah Liu took the flyer, glanced at it quickly, and frowned. The flyer read "The lowest rent stall in Hong Kong, East Bay Commercial Center grand opening", and also attached a huge celebrity promotional photo, advertising the live performance lineup that night.

"Tsk, these bastards are really trying their best to steal our limelight." Ah Liu snorted coldly and slammed the flyer on the table. "You can win by calling a celebrity to endorse you? Do you really think the stall owners and tourists are all fools?"

Skinny Monkey scratched his head: "Sixth Brother, this is indeed a big event. I heard that they have already set up the stage and have spent a lot of money to invite several popular actors from Hong Kong Island." Ah Liu stared at the flyer for a few seconds and suddenly laughed: "They are so anxious to promote it, which means they have no confidence at all. Go find Xiaolong and ask him to arrange someone to keep an eye on the movements in Dongwan, especially the event site tonight. Notify me immediately if there is any movement."

The skinny monkey nodded and ran away. Ah Liu looked at his back, shook his head, and turned around to continue arranging the stage layout.

Meanwhile, in Dongwan's office, Jin Shao's phone calls almost never stopped. While answering the phone, he frequently looked out the window at the construction site, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy. Zhang Hai stood next to him, holding the latest bill in his hand, his tone somewhat uneasy.

"Young Master, the budget for this opening ceremony has exceeded the limit by 20%. If additional expenses are incurred, the capital chain may be further strained." Zhang Hai said cautiously.

Jin Shao glanced at him coldly and said, "What do you mean by 'maybe'? Just tell me the result."

Zhang Hai gritted his teeth and answered: "If the funds do not flow back sufficiently in the later stages of the activity, the subsequent development of the project may stagnate."

Young Master Jin was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly slammed the phone on the table and said in a cold voice, "Stagnation? Impossible! As long as the opening ceremony is successful and the media reports it, investors will naturally come back. Now we have only one goal - to beat Xiwan! We can't afford to lose this battle."

Just as Zhang Hai was about to answer, there was a knock on the door. A middle-aged man in a suit walked in, looking a little embarrassed: "Mr. Jin, something bad has happened. A supplier just called and said that people from Xiwan are contacting them again. It seems that they want to bring more people over."

Young Master Jin clenched his fists tightly, his eyes as sharp as a knife: "Xi Wan? That old fox Su Hanze! Are they worthy of competing with me?!"

The man said cautiously: "Mr. Jin, the supplier's attitude seems to be more resolute this time. Should we..."

Young Master Jin stood up abruptly, grabbed the man by the collar, and growled in a low voice: "Go tell those suppliers, if they dare to go to Xiwan, I will make their entire families starve to death!"

The man nodded repeatedly and retreated in embarrassment. Zhang Hai stood aside, his worry becoming more and more obvious, but he didn't dare to say anything more.

At this time, Su Hanze was negotiating with several supplier representatives in a teahouse in Xiwan. He was wearing a simple white shirt, with a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were firm.

"Dear bosses, our theater in Xiwan is ready, and the effect of the opening ceremony will not disappoint you. More importantly, during the cooperation period, we will absolutely guarantee that the payment for the goods will be in place on time, and there will be no arrears like in some places." Su Hanze's tone was gentle, but people could feel his sincerity.

Several suppliers looked at each other, and one of the older men said, "Boss Su, we all see your sincerity. However, the pressure from Dongwan is also very high. Can you guarantee that we will not offend Young Master Jin because of this?"

Su Hanze smiled slightly, picked up the teacup and said, "I can't guarantee that Young Master Jin won't have any opinions about you, but I can guarantee that as long as you are willing to cooperate, Xiwan will always be your backer. In business, the key is win-win. Only when the interests are stable, no one dares to act rashly."

The man hesitated for a few seconds and nodded: "Boss Su, we can give it a try."

Su Hanze nodded and raised his teacup: "Then I wish us a happy cooperation."

At the same time, Xiaolong was patrolling the periphery of Dongwan with a few people. They mixed in the crowd and silently observed the layout of Dongwan. One of his men came over and whispered, "Brother Long, it seems that Dongwan's event tonight is quite grand, and the lighting and stage equipment are quite advanced."

Xiaolong snorted coldly: "What's the point of being so advanced? The stall owners don't make money, and the tourists don't come back. It's useless for them to toss and turn."

The subordinate nodded: "But Brother Long, I just heard someone say that they seem to have real problems with their funding chain."

Xiaolong raised his eyebrows and smiled: "It would be great if the funding chain is broken. We can just wait for them to kill themselves. Keep watching and notify me immediately if there is any movement."

As night fell, the theater in Xiwan was already crowded with tourists, and the street under the lights looked particularly lively. Su Hanze stood at the entrance of the theater, looking at the surging crowd, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Boss, today's customer flow is more than expected!" Ah Liu ran over excitedly, holding statistical data in his hand, with a smile on his face that almost reached his ears.

Su Hanze nodded, but there was a hint of caution in his eyes: "More people is a good thing, but at times like this, we have to be more careful. Dongwan will definitely not let it go so easily."

Sure enough, before Ah Liu could reply, the skinny monkey hurried over and said in a low voice, "Sixth Brother, it's bad. Someone has mixed in with the crowd and smashed two stalls!"

Ah Liu's face darkened: "Did you catch him?"

The skinny monkey nodded: "We caught him and are questioning him backstage."

Su Hanze frowned and said, "Let's go and have a look."

In the small backstage room, a panicked young man was pressed on a chair, and several Xiwan brothers surrounded him with serious expressions. Ah Liu walked over and asked directly, "Who sent you here?"

The young man shook his head in panic: "No one sent me, I was just wandering around!"

Ah Liu sneered and kicked over the stool next to him: "I was just strolling around and you want to destroy the stall? If you don't tell the truth, I'll show you how I'll deal with you today!"

The young man turned pale, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally uttered a few words: "It was... Zhang Hai from Dongwan who asked me to come."

Su Hanze stood at the door, his face remained calm when he heard this. He turned to Ah Liu and said, "Notify the media to report all the customer flow and popularity tonight. If Dongwan wants to cause trouble, then let everyone in Hong Kong Island see how they lost."

In a private room in the East Bay Business Center, Mr. Jin leaned on the sofa with an opened bottle of champagne in front of him.

He was wearing a custom-made Italian suit and brown crocodile leather shoes, looking very handsome. But there was no joy on his face, instead there was a deep sense of uneasiness and anxiety.

(End of this chapter)