1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 141 Making money is easy

Fu Yuen Hotel, Tai Po District, New Territories.

As the only hotel in Tai Po District at that time, Fu Yuen had been operating for half a century. After a number of real estate developers intervened in the rural hotel business, its competitiveness was greatly reduced. It gradually transformed into a half-restaurant, half-accommodation business model and survived.

This is also the norm for old-style hotels and restaurants under the pressure of brands such as Marriott, InterContinental, and Grand Hyatt.

Expanding from Hong Kong to the mainland, optimizing development through frequent asset transactions, commonly known as driving up land prices.

The only advantage of hotels like Fuyuan Hotel, which will gradually be eliminated by the market, is that it is low-key enough and will not attract attention.

If you don't keep your eyes open and look carefully at the sign, you wouldn't even know there is such a hotel on this street.

So Xu Jiaqiang's wife Chen Lan hid Xie Hushan's mistress Qiao Yanni here.

"Your husband is dead, and many people are looking for you. For the time being, don't show up in Hong Kong Island or Kowloon. Stay in the countryside and avoid the limelight."

Chen Lan skillfully picked up the old-style kettle in the hotel room and boiled water to make tea in one go. In comparison, Qiao Yanni, who was of a lower status, looked like a rich lady being served.

"I've paid your rent for half a year. Don't go anywhere during this time. Call me if you need anything."

She handed the teacup to Qiao Yanni, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and sat down on a rattan chair beside her. She raised her eyelids to glance at Qiao Yanni and asked in a more serious tone, "Are you clear?"

Qiao Yanni looked haggard, and her eyes were red and swollen, obviously from crying.

She put the cup aside, leaned forward to get closer to Chen Lan, and pleaded in her voice: "Mrs. Xu, I really don't know anything. Now that Shan Ge is dead, I have no one to rely on in Hong Kong. Please let me go."

"You know nothing? Do you want me to hand you over to Xu Jiasheng now and see if he believes you?"

Chen Lan glared at her in dissatisfaction: "Anyway, I will let you go after this is over, but remember, if you dare to leave here privately, even if you are not caught by Xinji's people, I will not let you go!"

Xie Hushan's identity has been discovered by the police, so Xu Jiasheng was taken back to the police station early this morning to assist in the investigation.

The fact that there is no evidence against the person will not affect the twelfth young master of the Xu family.

However, Chen Lan still took Qiao Yanni away as soon as the incident happened, just to have an extra bargaining chip in her hand in case of any accidents in the future.

Chen Lan bet on both sides.

If Xu Jiasheng can really help her husband, Qiao Yanni's bargaining chip can be invalidated.

But if he loses and does something more outrageous, she will put this chip on Zhai Yuan's side.

…………

"Do you know that you are doing this to your husband? He is your brother."

When Zhai Yuan received the call from Chen Lan, he was sitting in his newly purchased Porsche 928, touching and looking around, looking like a person who had never seen the world before.

This is indeed the case. Although this Porsche model is now considered the latest model, it is like a vintage car to him.

"It is precisely because they are brothers that I will not hand over Xie Hushan's mistress to you now."

Chen Lan's voice rang out from the receiver: "But if you can help my husband, I guarantee that Xu Jiasheng won't dare to make plans against you again."

"He doesn't seem to dare to pursue me anymore. This Twelve Young Master should first explain to the police his relationship with Xie Hushan and why Xie Hushan was shot dead in the street after his failure."

Zhai Yuan laughed twice and didn't take Xu Jiasheng seriously at all.

When Chen Lan heard this, her heart skipped a beat, and she became more certain that Zhai Yuan had staged and directed the shooting of Xie Hushan himself.

But she wouldn't be stupid enough to ask the other party directly.

After a moment of silence, Chen Lan continued, "I know that Boss Zhai is running his own cinema chain, and he has a good relationship with Lianhua Cinema Chain headed by Yindu. If we set up an independent production company, can you help us make the connection?"

Zhai Yuan opened the car ashtray, lit a cigarette, leaned against the window, and did not give an immediate answer.

Mrs. Xu now seems to be trying every possible means to save her life. In fact, if she had waited a few years for the popularity of the Yiqing project to fade, her husband would have been able to open a Sanhe Film Company. Later, Yongsheng and Huaxiaxing, although they did not have their own cinema chains, were still leaders among independent production companies.

“Why did you have to choose the film industry?”

Zhai Yuan bit his cigarette butt and asked, "In fact, with your husband's position in Xinji, he can still make money by doing other businesses."

"It's too risky to steal someone's job at Sun Kee. How can the Five Tigers and Ten Heroes of Hong Kong obey a young master from Taiwan who is a concubine?"

Chen Lan laughed helplessly, "But the film industry is different. He has been an actor in Taiwan for ten years, from a stand-in to a leading actor. He has only been a producer. Not only will there be no conflict of interest with Xinji, but on the contrary, he can rely on the title of Xinji's Ten Young Masters to avoid a lot of trouble."

Zhai Yuan nodded and said jokingly, "Mrs. Xu has considered everything for your husband."

Chen Lan smiled, and a rustling voice came from the receiver: "Boss Zhai, women are actually very simple. As long as the man is good, I'm willing to do anything."

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Yuan sat alone in the car, lost in thought.

Chen Lan is worthy of being the boss lady of Hua Xia Star. At this time, she showed very clear ideas.

In fact, Xu Jiaqiang also took this path in his previous life. He used the name of Xinji but never interfered in the internal affairs of the society, and was able to develop steadily.

On the contrary, his younger brother Xu Jiasheng wanted to make movies and be a big boss at the same time, but ended up with a mess. There was even news that he was shot in front of his own company.

Zhai Yuan finally gave this smart woman some advice.

Jiuyi Entertainment can cooperate with her, but the company they are about to establish will not be an independent production company, but a studio that will accept investment from Zhai Yuan and produce movies together.

This is equivalent to tying their yet-to-be-established company under the umbrella of Jiuyi. If their own 1024 cinema chain can be established, they can provide film sources to the cinema chain. Otherwise, relying solely on Jiuyi Entertainment's production, the output is obviously not enough.

Chen Lan did not give an answer on the phone, only saying that she would think about it for a while.

Zhai Yuan knew that she was also betting on Xu Jiasheng, so he didn't care too much.

The issue of film sources is not within our consideration right now, we are just preparing for a rainy day.

Another reason for Chen Lan to join was because of her husband Xu Jiaqiang's position in Xinji.

It is now 1983 and the film industry has just shown its ability to make money. In a few years, it will reach its peak and all kinds of people will rush in to make money. The presence of Xinji, a local snake, can at least deter a group of petty thieves.

As for encountering a big thief... we'll talk about it then.

His mentality is the same as that of director Du Qifeng in later generations, who insisted on using ancient music when shooting the movie "Underworld".

In Sir Du’s own words: I can avoid a lot of trouble by using it.

That’s right, who doesn’t know the value of Jimmy Zai in Hong Kong and Macau?
It's a pity that Jiminzai may still be in the kiln now, and is far less useful than the ready-made Xu Jiaqiang.

"Hey, there's no point in thinking so complicated. Let's test drive the car first."

Zhai Yuan spat the cigarette butt out of the window, stepped on the accelerator, and headed straight for Kowloon Tong.

…………

Kowloon Tong, east of Beacon Hill Road.

A silver Porsche 928 was parked on the side of the road, its body creaking and shaking.

"It hurts, it hurts, don't break my legs."

"Hiss~ This broken car is still a little small, I'll get a bigger one later."

"Don't move, I'll move back a little..."

Deng Leling was lying on her side in the middle of the driver's seat, her black stockings torn open and half-pulled down to her calves.

The pointed high heels on her feet were almost hitting the roof of the car, revealing the red soles.

Zhai Yuan sat astride the driver's seat, grabbed her ankles and pressed them down.

The car was filled with a strong smell of hormones. The two people's breathing was heavy, leaving a layer of light white mist on the glass windows.

"Why do you buy a car all of a sudden?"

Deng Leling's soft parts were tossed back and forth, she was covered in sweat, and a few strands of her beautiful hair were stuck to her forehead and chest.

"It's for you."

Zhai Yuan pursed his lips without further explanation and placed one hand on her flat belly.

Deng Leling's gold-worshiping attribute was immediately activated, her eyes became more charming, and her cooperation became higher. She reached out to hold the car window and disperse the mist.

"Really give it to me?"

"Here you go, all for you!"

Zhai Yuan pressed the tip of his tongue against his upper teeth and hummed heavily, then lay on Deng Leling and exhaled heavily.

The car body gradually stopped shaking.

The test drive of Porsche 928 ended like this.

The performance is very good.

The oil discharge volume is large.

Zhai Yuan pushed Deng Leling to drive twice, and Deng Leling pushed him to drive once again.

Both were very satisfied with the performance of the car.

"Why don't you just be my full-time driver from now on?"

"Okay~"

Deng Leling covered her back with her coat and lay on Zhai Yuan, her soft chest being squeezed from round to flat.

There's nothing I can do. Among the people I know, only Deng Leling has a driver's license.

Zhai Yuan felt the meat bomb diligently wiping him with a tissue, and thought that he would wait until Zhou Haimei’s eighteenth birthday to give her another Ferrari 308 as a gift.

…………

In the following period of time, Zhai Yuan would occasionally visit the crew of "A Better Tomorrow".

But I didn't see Zhang Guorong on the set for several times. After asking, I learned that he was pulled by his agent Chen Shufang to record the song "Monica".

You're not acting anymore, you're singing songs now, right?
Chen Shufang seemed to be very optimistic about this song mixed with electronic music, but Zhai Yuan was very unhappy.

Whether your Huaxing singers become famous or not has nothing to do with me, Jiuyi. How can it delay my progress?
"Young Master Rong, do you still want to do this?"

Zhai Yuan angrily called Zhang Guorong and launched into a barrage of criticism: "I still own the copyright to that song. I can take it back anytime. Hurry and get back to filming! I'll give you a better song after you finish filming!"

With coercion and inducement, they finally brought this unreliable guy back to the crew.

Zhai Yuan observed for a few more days and confirmed that the filming progress was fine before he delegated power to Wu Yusen again.

I went to check on the business situation of Secret Garden.

It’s a big surprise.

Calculate the revenue of Secret Garden in the first two months, minus the share from the telecommunications company and all labor, water and electricity expenses.

The total revenue in two months was more than 2.4 million.

“No wonder they all go to northern Myanmar to commit fraud. It makes money quickly!”

Zhai Yuan compared the shooting progress with Wu Yusen's and couldn't help but sigh.

At that time, it would take a year or so to shoot a movie. Even if Jiuyi Entertainment had him as the best screenwriter, saving a lot of time in meetings and negotiations, it would still take several months just to shoot.

If a blockbuster movie takes one or two years to shoot, it will definitely not make as much as Secret Garden.

In addition to the income from telephone bills, there was also an unexpected windfall.

The two songs "Secretly Obsessed" and "Self-Sentimental" sold more than 20,000 copies on tapes and records, with a total profit of more than 100,000 or 200,000 yuan.

Making money is so easy!

Just when Zhai Yuan was immersed in the joy of lying at home and picking up money, Peng Jiayan called.

"The Burning of the Old Summer Palace is now showing at Lianhua Cinemas."

On September 9, one of director Li Hanxiang's masterpieces officially landed in Hong Kong.

Although this blockbuster film did not get the theaters of Jiahe and Golden Princess, its screening in Lianhua and some independent theaters attracted a large number of local audiences.

The Zuobe Cinema, which is usually deserted, is not crowded, but business is obviously much better.

Zhai Yuan also bought a ticket and chose a good seat to sit down and watch this Qing Dynasty palace drama which was filmed in mainland China.

Liu Xiaoqing in the picture is only 28 years old, and she plays the Empress Dowager Cixi perfectly.

"I don't know what she was thinking later. She was in her 50s or 60s, but she wanted to play a little girl..."

Amid Zhai Yuan's mumbling, the last scene of the movie showing the burning of the Old Summer Palace shocked the entire audience.

This is different from Xu Qi's special effects that look fake at first glance. Director Li used real scenes to burn directly, which also caused criticism from some mainland media. They believed that it was a waste to burn down the output value of China Film Studio for half a year in one fire.

But if they saw the exclamations of the audience in the cinema at this time, they would probably understand Li Hanxiang's artistic pursuit.

After the screening of "Old Summer Palace" ended that day, left-wing newspapers, led by Ta Kung Pao, began to launch an extensive propaganda campaign in Hong Kong.

'Li Hanxiang: The burning of the large and beautiful Old Summer Palace by the invading army will further arouse the audience's national sentiment.' - Ta Kung Pao

"Watch the fire for the spectacle, watch the curtain drop for the play." — Wenhui Daily.

"The Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens Burns, Reconstructing the Historical Facts of the Forced Cessation of Hong Kong and Macau." - China-Hong Kong Daily

The next day, Zhao's cinemas also began to screen the movie "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace". The gap between Uncle Zhao Liu and Director Li seemed to disappear suddenly.

Although the film was banned in Taiwan, a large number of audiences from Taiwan took special planes and passenger ships to Hong Kong just to see the film.

At the same time, the audience of "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" overwhelmingly surpassed other movies released at the same time.

Of course, part of the reason for this is that Jiahe and Golden Princess did not release any blockbuster films to compete with them, but even so, it was enough to give Zhai Yuan more confidence in the local left-wing theaters.

As long as the movie is good enough, even if the theater environment is not good or the reputation is not good, it can still attract audiences.

"The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" was released in Hong Kong on September 9rd, the third day.

Another piece of news swept across Hong Kong with unprecedented momentum.

The Hong Kong dollar crisis broke out, and the floating exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar fell to 9.6 Hong Kong dollars to 1 US dollar.

Just one day later, it fell to a historic low of 10 Hong Kong dollars to 1 US dollar.

Zhai Yuan knew that his chance to make money had come again.

PS: I am almost recovered from the cold, I will update tomorrow

(End of this chapter)