A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Clearwater Bay, Times Pictures.

"Ms. Chen, 'Drunken Master' has grossed over HK$600 million and is currently the top-grossing film in Hong Kong!" Zhou Wenfang, Chen Mengyi's female assistant, strode in.

Chen Mengyi's face lit up with joy. She was the main producer of "Drunken Master," while her master, Zhong Yuanguang, was only nominally in charge. Therefore, if "Drunken Master" was successful, her influence in the production department would increase.

Of course, everyone knows that Chen Mengyi is here to 'take over', but without the outstanding performance of the administration department, purchasing department, and production department, people will look down on her.

As everyone knows now, although Chung Yuen-kwong signed Jack Cheng and vigorously promoted him to make movies, problems arose in Chung Yuen-kwong's use of Jack Cheng, and Jack Cheng's "successor to Bruce Lee" was not successful.

On the contrary, at the end of last year, Jack Cheng's new film "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow," planned by Chen Mengyi, helped Jack Cheng find his own path. At the time, the film grossed HK$300 million and performed well at the overseas box office as well.

"Drunken Master" was released in October and grossed over HK$6 million in just one month, becoming the provisional box office leader for the year, demonstrating its significant impact.

In December, Michael Hui and Sam Hui's "Half a Catty, Half a Tael" might break this record. "Okay, I understand! Now we need to focus on the overseas box office of 'Drunken Master'."

Zhou Wenfang immediately said, "It's been showing in Taiwan for 15 days and the box office is very high. Everyone is saying that even if 'Drunken Master' can't hold onto its Hong Kong box office crown, Hong Kong films' overseas box office, especially in Taiwan, may set a new record. People are also saying that it's because of your talent for using people, Miss Chen, that Jack Cheng is where he is today!"

"Nonsense," Chen Mengyi said with a smile. "Master discovered Jack Cheng himself, how can it be attributed to me?"

Zhou Wenfang said with a smile, "It wasn't me who said it, so I can't control what the public says!"

She naturally protected him.

According to her guess, Ms. Chen might be gaining experience in the production department for a while, and then she would probably have to switch departments again; it would be great if she could follow Ms. Chen, since there are rumors that Ms. Chen will soon become a senior executive of Times Pictures, and may even become the president.

the other side.

Whether it was Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho, leading the "professional management team" of Era Films, or Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong of Shaw Brothers, they were all extremely shocked at this moment.

The former understands that with this achievement, Chen Mengyi will likely have no obstacles in taking over Times Pictures. At that time, how should they be placed?
The latter understood that with box office guarantees like Li Hanxiang, Michael Hui, Jack Cheng, and Hung Fat, Shaw Brothers would likely find it impossible to recover.

Early July.

That day, Chen Mengyi boarded a yacht at the Central pier and headed towards the Discovery Bay pier.

Between 1973 and 1976, no Phase IV project was sold in Discovery Bay, leading some to jokingly refer to it as the Chan family's "backyard." This was because, in addition to the three phases of low-density apartments/villas that were being sold, Discovery Bay also had a high-end area consisting of six villas, which were consistently rented out (to the Chan family).

In fact, the reason why Discovery Bay did not sell its fourth phase was mainly because the Hong Kong real estate market was not hot enough at the time; it was expected that Discovery Bay would begin sales in 1978.

Although fewer people live in Discovery Bay now, transportation is still excellent, with ferries departing every twenty minutes to Central. Currently, the main travelers are construction workers.

When Chen Mengyi arrived at the pier, a driver and bodyguards were already waiting for her. She then drove to the 'Chen Family Villa Area'.

"Dad, four mothers!"

As a matter of course, Chen Mengyi has known since childhood that she has four "mothers" because everyone treats her well, and she has not rejected them. As for her views on her father, it seems that it has never affected her respect and attachment to him.

"Let's have dinner together later," Chen Guangliang said, putting down his book slightly.

In this era without the internet, Chen Guangliang has read a lot of books over the years, which is certainly a form of accumulation rather than a deliberate act of reading.

"Um"

Chen Mengyi didn't follow her father first, but chatted with the four "mothers" first. Everyone was very concerned about Chen Mengyi's work and life, holding her hand and asking her questions.

When it was time for dinner, the six of them sat down to eat together.

Chen Guangliang's villa in Discovery Bay is naturally a vacation spot. The advantage of this place is that he can escape the hustle and bustle of the city, while also being able to monitor his various companies at will. He can also come here to report on his children's work.

On the dining table were plenty of fresh seafood and tonics, which Chen Mengyi was used to. She could even guess that it was only natural for her father and four mothers to do some absurd things while on vacation.

Chen Guangliang took a sip of red wine and ate a bit of beef; the delicious flavor instantly filled his taste buds. The chefs cooking here are all from five-star hotels, so their skills are naturally superb. Of course, if it were at Villa No. 79 in Deep Water Bay, the chef would be an auntie; there's no need for a real chef, just someone who can cook home-style dishes.

Of course, the ingredients are also very important. Tonight's lobster is from Australia, the beef is from Japan, the abalone is also from Japan, the ginseng soup is from Changbai Mountain, and the chicken is from Guangdong Province. There's no need to prepare anything special; we just get everything directly from the Shangri-La Hotel.

After eating half of the meal, Chen Guangliang said, "Mengyi, I plan to make you the president's assistant next year. What's your opinion?"

President's assistant, not president's secretary.

Raymond Chow is the CEO and General Manager of Times Pictures. The CEO's Secretary is Raymond Chow's personal secretary.

The president's assistant is a senior management position in a company that assists the president in handling strategic decisions and daily affairs. Its core functions include providing advice, coordinating execution, and assisting in management.

Only when Chen Mengyi achieves results in this position will she be qualified to truly say that she is competent to manage a company.

Chen Mengyi immediately replied, "Of course I have no objection! It's just that in the past three and a half years, I've worked in three different departments, and in each department I haven't stayed for more than a year and a half. I'm worried that people might say I'm..."

Chen Guangliang immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about what others say. The company belongs to our family, so they have no right to say what we want. What you need to do is improve your abilities so that you can help your father."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mengyi immediately replied, "I am confident that I can handle this position!"

Chen Guangliang nodded, then after a moment's thought, he said, "Do you know why I've been grooming you for a promotion at Times Pictures?"

Chen Mengyi replied without hesitation, "Naturally, we should take back the businesses my father founded and have them managed by the Chen family again." Chen Guangliang smiled and shook his head, saying, "That's just an empty title!"

Chen Mengyi added, "Times Pictures' profits are also very good!"

Chen Guangliang laughed again, "I wouldn't even feel bad about donating that little bit of money."

Chen Mengyi said unwillingly, "Times Pictures is a media company that can help the family."

Chen Guangliang interrupted, saying, “Our family’s influence has never come from the media industry. Of course, the media industry did help your father establish himself in Shanghai in the early 1930s. But after the mid-1930s, I never felt that the media industry was helpful; sometimes it was even a burden.”

Chen Mengyi said helplessly, "Then the father is always thinking about his daughter's dowry, right?"

The four mothers all burst into laughter.

Chen Mengyi blushed. She didn't even have a boyfriend yet. She had dated one before, but they didn't last long. Because she was too smart, she saw through his hypocrisy and broke up with him immediately.

Being too smart might also be her weakness, making it difficult for her to find a suitable boyfriend. But Chen Mengyi isn't in a hurry at all. Her father has said he won't pressure her to get married, and even if she never marries because she can't find a suitable partner, that's fine with her. Of course, her father has also said that if he takes a liking to someone, Chen Mengyi needs to treat him seriously.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "I'll just give you cash as a dowry, and I can also send my daughter into the 'fire pit' of the media industry."

"A fire pit?" Chen Mengyi became somewhat suspicious.

She also thought that her father had never allowed his four older brothers to get involved with Times Pictures or Oriental Daily News since they were young, which meant that her father really regarded the media industry as a "pit of fire".

"Then I don't know, Father, please tell me!" Chen Mengyi said coquettishly.

At this moment, Chen Guangliang put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "I arranged for you to work at Times Film Industry, and even when you were in secondary school, I was already laying the groundwork for the future. Later, I plan to develop Hong Kong's 'Greater Cultural Industry,' which will require television stations, film companies, entertainment agencies, and even video game software and comic IPs. These all belong to the 'Greater Cultural Industry.'"

"A television station? So Father didn't intend to bid for TVB back then?"

Chan Kwong-leung said, “The reason I’m not bidding is because within the ‘Greater Cultural Industry,’ there’s a specific cultural model—Hong Kong pop culture. So I don’t need to enter the market too early. I just need to wait until the 1980s, find an opportunity to acquire RTV, then integrate RTV, Times Pictures, and even the Oriental Daily News, and create a ‘new cultural model’—Hong Kong pop culture. What I want isn’t traditional Hong Kong films, songs, TV dramas, or TV programs, but a new model. Of course, you only need to know that I have such a plan; you don’t need to know too much. You just need to know that I need you to be good enough to realize your father’s idea and create a possibility for Hong Kong culture to spread to the world!”

Chen Mengyi became more and more excited as she listened. Her father had always been a great man in her eyes, but today she realized firsthand that the height at which her father stood was a height that no one else could reach, and that his plans seemed to concern the future of the entire Hong Kong.

"Yes, I will definitely try my best."

"Okay, I believe you!"

After staying overnight, Chen Mengyi left Discovery Bay the next day to go to work in Clearwater Bay.

When 1000 Space Invaders arcade machines crossed the Pacific Ocean to arrive in the United States, the Midea Games Entertainment team had already anticipated the game's potential based on feedback from the Hong Kong market—but they did not expect it to reshape the American arcade market in such an overwhelming manner.

The first arcade machines were launched in game halls in Los Angeles and New York and immediately sparked an unprecedented craze.

In a long-established arcade in Manhattan, New York, the popular "Ping Pong" and "Gunfight" arcade machines, which used to occupy the prime spots, now had quiet queues for the first time; while next to the newly placed "Space Invaders" machine, players lined up from morning till night, with some even willing to wait an hour just to play one more game.

"Playing Ping Pong before was just hitting the ball in front of the screen, it was too monotonous!"

The young man, wiping sweat from his brow after finishing a game, still stared at the screen of Space Invaders. "This game requires you to dodge enemy attacks and accumulate points. It's tense and exciting, and I just can't stop playing!"

In just one week, 1000 Space Invaders machines demonstrated their ability to "crush" existing arcade machines in the United States: the daily coin insertion volume of Space Invaders in a Los Angeles arcade exceeded $2000, three times that of other arcade machines; arcade owners in New York urgently contacted the distributors, requesting "priority restocking," and some were even willing to pay an extra $500 just to get the machines ahead of time.

American media have keenly captured this trend.

The Los Angeles Times wrote in its technology section headline: "Space Invaders: A New Milestone in Video Games! This arcade game from Hong Kong has completely revolutionized traditional arcade gameplay with its innovative rules of 'score competition' and 'enemy-aiming attacks,' allowing players to truly experience the fun of 'immersive combat.'"

The New York Post directly compared it to Ping Pong: "If Ping Pong ushered in the arcade era, then Space Invaders defined the future of arcades—it proved that video games are not just about simple controls, but can also create a 'mini-world' that players can't put down."

The media's praise further boosted the popularity of Space Invaders, and arcade dealers across the United States sensed a business opportunity.

The Los Angeles distributor called immediately: "I need to place an additional order for 300 units! They must arrive before Christmas, or my customers will drive me crazy!"

Following this, dealers in New York and Chicago also placed orders. In just two weeks, the total number of additional orders exceeded 2500 units, and all dealers emphasized that the goods would arrive before Christmas Eve. They knew that Christmas was the peak season for consumption in the United States, and missing this point would mean missing the biggest profit window of the year.

Looking at the mountain of orders, Lin Baitao couldn't help but smile.

Back when "Space Invaders" became a hit in Hong Kong, he followed Chen Wenkai's instructions to expand the production line in advance and stockpile enough spare parts.

"We can deliver the orders on time!"

Lin Botao promised the distributors that he would immediately convene an emergency meeting to arrange for the production line to operate 24 hours a day and for the logistics team to coordinate with the cargo ship in advance to ensure that every arcade machine could arrive in the United States before Christmas.

"I didn't expect the US market to react even more enthusiastically than Hong Kong!" The head of the R&D department said excitedly to Lin Botao, holding up a report from the US media.

"Now even Intel has contacted us to inquire about the feedback on the processor and is willing to improve the 8080 processor to make the graphics of Space Invaders smoother."

Lin Botao smiled and nodded: "This is just the beginning. President Chen said long ago that the value of 'Space Invaders' is not just about selling machines, but also about becoming a 'rule-maker' in the gaming industry. Now it seems that we have achieved that."

When 2500 Space Invaders arcade machines were loaded onto two different container ships, the management of Midea Games Entertainment in Hong Kong beamed with joy.

While Midea may struggle to compete with Japan and the US in the console gaming industry, it enjoys global dominance in game software. (End of Chapter)