1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 498 Prince and Princess Visit Hong Kong
After spending two days in Hong Kong, Chen Jiale said goodbye to his family and then hurriedly returned to the Soviet Union under Zhai Yuan's arrangement.

Hong Kong – Frankfurt – Moscow.

Thirty-odd hours later,

Zhai Yuan received a phone call in Hong Kong, which was relayed through the Moscow International Telephone Bureau.

"Ah Yuan, I'm not dead yet. Jia Le has already contacted his friends. You take care of Ah Qing and the family for me... Damn your mother! If I find that bastard Sergei, I'll kill his whole family!"

"What is A-Qing's birthday?"

"Ha! Don't worry, this isn't a recording. You're right, they only get paid if I'm alive... Okay, it's February 12th."

"OK, I'll contact you again next week~"

The Moscow telephone exchange's satellite lines needed to avoid peak hours while also preventing eavesdropping by the KGB.
Contact with Ye Zhiming could only be arranged after 10 p.m. every week.

The vampire from the administrative department stood guard the entire time, and each call was only allowed to last five minutes.

In the Soviet Union, 10 p.m. is equivalent to 3 or 4 a.m. in Hong Kong.

The thought of having to set aside one day each week, starting this week, to wait by the phone in the early hours of the morning for Ye Zhiming to let me know he's safe...

Zhai Yuan wanted to kill that swindler named Sergei even more than Ye Zhiming!

If it weren't for Ye Yuqing's sake... and her figure...

Zhai Yuan lay on the bed and yawned deeply. He glanced at Ye Yuqing, who was fast asleep and holding him, and felt his arms sinking into a pair of soft breasts...

Forget it, what's a few hundred thousand US dollars a week? We've already given away billions anyway.

…………

In October, several events, both big and small, occurred in the entertainment industry.

It's worth mentioning that Wang Jinbang's film "Mr. Possessed," produced by Metropolitan Film Festival, was released in theaters.

Before this movie was released, Stephen Chow was not actually unemployed. After all, he had made a blockbuster like "God of Gamblers". Even though he had a disagreement with 91 Entertainment over film contracts, there were no rumors of him being blacklisted in the industry, so people still asked him to make movies.

However, they are mostly low-budget productions with a single, trend-following model.

It's like having Stephen Chow play a country bumpkin from mainland China who comes to Hong Kong, and he absolutely has to have special abilities. He first makes a fool of himself by throwing out a few cheesy jokes, and then uses his special abilities to show off his prowess in the world of mahjong, billiards, and boxing...

A series of similar poorly made films have almost completely exhausted the goodwill that Stephen Chow's "God of Gamblers" had brought him.

Until the release of "Mr. Possessed",

Contrary to everyone's expectations, this film, with a budget of less than two million, actually grossed over ten million at the box office, heading straight for twelve million.

Even Zhai Yuan, having heard of it, came to observe it.

Compared to the original performance by Kenny Bee, Wang Jin redesigned the character's background to fit Stephen Chow's nonsensical style. However, the plot still borrowed from "A Nightmare on Elm Street." In addition to interspersed scenes of picking up girls while barbecuing and mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts, he even included a satirical clip of Chingmy Yau slapping Shao Zhongheng at the Peninsula Hotel entrance.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art won its first battle, and Mona Fong was overjoyed!

Following the duo of Stephen Chow and Lau Chun-wai, the combination of Stephen Chow and Wong Kam has once again made a name for itself.

During the same period,
The manga series "Naruto" and "Pokémon" were officially launched.

Through the business of the anime company, Zhai Yuan made a fake contact with Shueisha and first asked for a list of current young comic artists.

After a perfunctory selection process, they finally settled on Takeshi Obata, who had just debuted, and asked him to help produce "Naruto".

Takeshi Obata, who had just turned twenty, had neither "Hikaru no Go" nor "Death Note" in the works yet. Young people would come to Hong Kong for money to pursue their manga dreams!
Although his debut work, "Grandpa G Who's Cool," didn't become a hit, his drawing skills were already solid and steady. His character structure, perspective, and dynamic paneling were far superior to those of other newcomers of the same age.

Later, some people commented that Takeshi Obata was a skilled manga artist at the age of twenty, and only at the age of thirty did he evolve into a complete narrative master.

However, Naruto doesn't need masters now; it needs skilled artisans, and the storyline has a professional writing team.

Under Zhai Yuan's patient guidance, Takeshi Obata went through three drafts and established the style and feel of the artwork before being promoted to lead artist for the anime project "Naruto".

Room and board included, monthly salary up to HKD 6000!
Poverty can help newcomers maintain their creative drive.

As for the Pokémon style, it is not known for its complexity and intricacy. Instead, it relies on cartoonish and approachable works, where female creators have an advantage.

So the project was handed over to Chen Shaomei, the chief writer of "A Shuai".

Of course, "A Shuai" was not completely shut down. It was still serialized in the September 1st Daily with a different artist. This kind of short comic can always maintain its popularity as long as there are hot topics and current events.

Finally, there's the arrangement for Girls' Generation.

What are some popular performance venues in Japan?

Inside The Voice of China's record company, Zhai Yuan gathered several executives together and posed a question.

What's the NHK Hall in Shibuya like?

Joseph Koo suggested, "A 5000-seat concert hall is a gathering place for mainstream Japanese television and radio media resources."

Zhai Yuan gave a noncommittal "hmm".

Dai Sicong, who was standing next to him, immediately said, "Of course it's the Nippon Budokan! It has 12000 seats. The Beatles' first performance was here. It's a holy site."

Zhai Yuan gave a noncommittal "hmm".

Not satisfied with this?
The two managers exchanged a glance and frowned. Girls' Generation was barely considered mainstream in Hong Kong, after all, they had held a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, but their fame in Japan was mediocre. They relied entirely on the movies released there for promotion. According to the company's prediction, filling all 5000 seats at NHK Hall would be considered a great success. Any more would require local audiences to fly over to support them. Given Girls' Generation's influence, a maximum of 10,000 seats, including those from mainland China and overseas, would be the absolute limit.

Osaka Castle Concert Hall?

Chen Shufang said in a very uncertain tone, and then added, "It's a major city in Guansi with 16000 seats. Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui have both held concerts there. Fans are more accepting of Hong Kong stars."

Zhai Yuan pondered for a moment before finally speaking: "I heard that Tokyo built a giant dome concert hall last year. What's it like there?"

The conference room fell into a deathly silence, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Joseph Koo coughed and reminded him, "Tokyo Dome is the Tokyo Dome you mentioned, Mr. Zhai. It's currently the most prestigious performance venue in Japan, with a full 55000 seats. Since its opening last year, only singers of Sting, Van Helen, Hibari Misora, and Michael Jackson's caliber have dared to perform there..."

Zhai Yuan asked, "Has anyone been to Hong Kong?"

Everyone shook their heads.

What are local singers doing at a venue with over 50,000 people? Are they just trying to embarrass themselves?
"Then this opportunity has arrived!" Zhai Yuan slammed his hand on the table: "Girls' Generation's first concert in Japan will be held at the Taipei Arena, on par with Michael Jackson, showcasing our national prestige. Sounds amazing!"

“No, Mr. Zhai,” Chen Shufang advised, “The Giant Dome is only allowed to open its entire venue, with more than 50,000 seats. It would look terrible if the audience seats weren’t full, and people would laugh at us if word got out.”

Zhai Yuan rolled his eyes: "I don't care, I have to promote my Huimin, Aqing, Lizhen, Saifeng, Annie... You guys figure it out."

They're really pushing it hard!
The key personnel present felt a sudden toothache.

"Then let's do it the same way as last time at the Hong Kong Coliseum, continuing the tradition of experienced mentors guiding newcomers~"

After listening to the whole thing, Wong Jim gave Zhai Yuan a thumbs up and laughed in his hoarse voice, "Girls' Generation will open the show, and then Chen Shih-Lung will take over. He's the most popular! We'll bring over Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Alan Tam. I don't believe the posters won't sell out!"

Zhai Yuan stood up, gave Huang Zhan a high five, and praised, "Uncle Zhan is so thoughtful. Let's do it this way. You've got this matter sorted out. Gotta go!"

Zhai Yuan walked briskly out of the conference room.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Dai Sicong said quietly, "We're going to lose a lot of money..."

"Take it! How much did he lose?" Wong Jim was very easygoing and didn't care. "The rent for the Taipei Arena is 1500 million a day, which is less than one million Hong Kong dollars. The other guests came to support him as a friend. Who didn't give Ah Yuan face? They paid for his travel expenses! Do you think he cares about a million or so? He could buy a few pretty girls a diamond necklace for more than that!"

Joseph Koo: "Being rich is really something to brag about!"

Dai Sicong: "Being rich is really awesome!"

Chan Suk-fong: "Sigh! If I were Mr. Zhai, I would definitely play with a boy, one who's not even fully grown yet, and make sure his first ejaculation is choked out by me..."

…………

At the end of October, The Voice Records booked the Tokyo Dome.

Girls' Generation's performance is scheduled to be held in Japan next month.

The posters were first put up in Hong Kong, and after the Hong Kong Coliseum, local fans were once again stunned by Girls' Generation's guest lineup.

What does it mean to be "star-studded"? Pick that star!

The Voice of China really went all out to promote Girls' Generation!

Of course, there are also conspiracy theorists who believe that all the members of Girls' Generation were marked by Zhai Yuan, which is why they were able to obtain such resources.

Such remarks naturally drew criticism from fans and condemnation from The Voice of China.

Zhai Yuan also felt that conspiracy theorists were being absurd and outrageous.
What do you mean by "all of them have been stamped"? Aren't there still a few underage trainees?

To help Girls' Generation gain fame in Japan

Zhai Yuan also spent a lot of effort during this period. In addition to searching the memory bank for "Bluebird" and "Pokémon Song", he also frantically searched the memory bank. With the help of a group of professionals from the record company, one after another, the Japanese pop songs in the memory bank were set to music.

Putting aside the group of musicians' astonishment at his own creative talent... after all, Mr. Zhai was already used to it.

Finally, "Pokémon Song" was chosen as the group dance for the cute performance.
"Secret Base ~All You Gave Me~" serves as the visual center for the girl group.
"Bluebird" is Zhou Huimin's signature song, "First Love" is given to Ye Yuqing, Noriko Sakai continues with "aLIEz", the poignant and powerful "Mikazuki" is taught by Li Saifeng, and Li Lizhen and Bai Anni's "Surely Will Fly to the Sky"...

After racking his brains, CEO Zhai led the members of Girls' Generation in a fierce counterfeiting operation!
If they steal J-Pop first, South Korea can steal K-Pop next time.

In reality, most of the girls in Girls' Generation don't speak Japanese.
But now they are all professional singers, and pitch accuracy is a basic skill; learning it by imitation isn't too difficult.
This is similar to how many Hong Kong singers can sing Mandarin very well, but can't speak Mandarin.

Then came the choreography, costumes, and style, which were gradually established...

11 month 5 day,
As Zhai Yuanzheng was admiring the girl group dance they performed in JK uniforms for the first time, exuding youthful energy, he received a phone call.

Governor William W., whom he hadn't been in contact with for a long time, asked over the phone, "How is the progress of China-Hong Kong Communications going?"

Zhai Yuan took a few steps back and smiled, "Everything is progressing step by step. Wei Sir, remember to urge the MTR Corporation for me. They haven't paid me the full amount of the HK$12 million I claimed last time."

Wei Yixin ignored Zhai Yuan and continued, "Is it possible to demonstrate your so-called internet in the next few days?"

He paused, then added in a low voice, "Even if it's fake, it doesn't matter."

Zhai Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does 'that' mean?"

"Prince Charles and Princess Diana should be visiting Hong Kong in the next couple of days to preside over the opening ceremonies of the two landmark cultural centers and exhibition centers."

On the other end of the phone, Wei Yixin slowly said, "I want to take advantage of these two people's stay in Hong Kong these few days to show them the progress of China-Hong Kong Communications. It would be best if your company could achieve some results to demonstrate to them. In that case, I can overcome all objections, first announce your status as a Justice of the Peace in the New Territories, and then give you a directly elected seat in the Legislative Council..."

(End of this chapter)