A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 231 Dignity!

The elevator goes down.

The two bodyguards consciously faced the wall, but subtly blocked the doorway.

Lin Jianlu instinctively reached out and pulled the two beautiful young women, Zhou Huimin and Zhou Haimei, into his arms.

The three of them had an unspoken understanding. The two pretty girls simultaneously tiptoed and kissed, but after the kiss, they were all speechless.

I've already explained what I needed to say at home.

Although their trip to America was for medical treatment, there were no difficulties. They were seen off at the airport, and Zhang Aijia was waiting for them upon landing. She even temporarily handed over the work of Wang Zuxian and Yu Feihong to her assistant and went to Los Angeles first to settle Zhou Haimei's matter.

Lin Jianlu has more than just a dozen backup dancers in America; she also has several bodyguards. The two young beauties received the strictest protection as soon as they landed there.

Upon entering, a full-body examination will be conducted. If a diagnosis is confirmed, Lin Jianlu will directly donate funds to support the research. As for medical expenses, those are minor matters.

Is there anything else I need to specifically remind you of?
It's just a little sad.

Especially for Zhou Haimei, who was diagnosed with a lifelong, incurable disease, it was a huge blow to her. However, her self-destructive behavior led her to unexpectedly meet a man who was so good to her. Regardless of the necessity and urgency of going to the United States, and regardless of whether she could see a complete cure even after the trip, just the thought of leaving the man she had just fallen in love with made her feel extremely reluctant.

So she hugged his waist and gently snuggled into his arms.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened, and the two bodyguards facing the wall simultaneously reached out to stop them. "Excuse me, there's an emergency. Please wait a moment before taking the elevator. Thank you!"—Without waiting for the people waiting outside to say anything, they closed the elevator doors again, and then the two men continued to face the wall.

But we arrived at the underground parking garage very quickly.

Lin Jianlu gently patted the two girls on the back. When they left Lin Jianlu's embrace, Zhou Haimei's eyes were already red. Lin Jianlu smiled instead, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek a few more times, and whispered to comfort her, "Go get checked out. Maybe it's a misdiagnosis here. We'll be back soon!"

He spread his fingers and smoothed her hair, then leaned down to kiss her, continuing to comfort her, "Besides, your husband will be there in a few days. I'll try to make time to come and visit you then, okay?"

She finally nodded.

Finally, everyone got out of the elevator.

After seeing the two women into the van, Lin Jianlu turned her head and glanced at Zhou Jinyun as the door closed.

Although she had only been with the company for a short time and didn't yet have enough trust in Lin Jianlu, Zhou Jinyun remained quite composed. She nodded to Lin Jianlu and then turned to get into the car on the other side.

Lin Jianlu was unable to deliver it.

Airports are places teeming with paparazzi, historically a hotbed for all sorts of gossip and paparazzi photos. Although he is now respected by the entire Hong Kong community, and even if the paparazzi manage to take photos, they will at most ask Ge Fuhong for a small fee, the news that doesn't make it into the media will still circulate among the public.

If you can avoid exposing yourself, then do so as much as possible.

Currently in Hong Kong, the women known as "Lin Jianlu" are Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan, and Leung Wing-ki.

Leung Wing-ki has always tried to present herself as the official wife. Although there has never been any official confirmation, many media outlets have previously referred to her as Mrs. Lam, but the rumors quickly faded away. In contrast, not long after Brigitte Lin gave birth, she was able to take over ATV and, taking advantage of her surname, was referred to as Mrs. Lam, whether true or false – otherwise, it was all just rumors.

Unverified information cannot be considered a point of contention.

Both of them, the "Two Beauties of the North" and Wang Zuxian, have been reported to have affairs. The former two even had photos of the three of them holding hands with Lin Jianlu as evidence, but it was useless. There were no further reports. It was just a rumor!

There is also a popular story circulating in Hong Kong about Lam Kin-lu saving Cheung Man from persecution by Wing Shing with a single sentence. However, there are no photos of this story; it's just a rumor and doesn't even qualify as a scandal.

This level of gossip is completely harmless.

As for Vivian Chow and Hai-mei Chow, there isn't even any gossip of that level.

Why expose it?

To reiterate, it's no big deal if someone is just a global pop star, but now that he's a small capitalist, controlling a media outlet and wielding significant capital, he needs to maintain some semblance of dignity.

If you're going to keep a mistress, just cover it up. It'll look good on the surface, and the leaders will pretend they don't see it.

The car started, and the windows rolled down.

Zhou Haimei leaned against the window, her eyes red and her lips pursed, looking over as if she was about to cry.

Lin Jianlu simply smiled and waved at her, then blew her a kiss, which made the pretty girl burst into laughter through her tears—the car finally turned the corner and headed towards the exit.

Lin Jianlu stood there with his hands on his hips for a moment. When he heard footsteps coming out of the elevator behind him, he instinctively took the sunglasses from the bodyguard and put them on. "Let's go!"

…………

"The Wu family agrees to the sale!"

The matter was handed over to Cai Zhongxin, who was in charge of controlling Lin Jianlu's acquisition of the bank. So after seeing Zhou Huimin and Zhou Haimei off, Lin Jianlu went to Longhua Investment immediately.

The anticipated huge return on investment has made him particularly excited.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the door, I received some good news.

However, Tsai Chung-hsin said with a smile, "The Wu family is willing to sell all 64.1% of the shares as a package, but the offer we just received is HK$20 billion."

Lin Jianlu was stunned for a moment, unsure whether to sneer or give a bitter laugh. "Are you crazy? 20 billion? Wing Lung Bank's total market value is only 19 billion! Am I out of my mind to give them such a high premium!"

Cai Zhongxin still smiled, "It's all about bargaining! If they're allowed to ask for the moon, then we should be allowed to negotiate a lower price! But... this asking price is indeed too high. It seems they're still a bit unwilling to give up."

"Ah."

I carefully reviewed the information yesterday. Wing Lung Bank was established in 1933, which means it has a history of more than 60 years. It is one of the oldest Chinese-owned banks in Hong Kong. Although its overall size is not very large, Wing Lung Bank holds a full range of financial licenses, including banking, insurance, securities, and trust. Its business also covers retail finance, corporate finance, and financial markets, making it very comprehensive.

Moreover, don't just look at Wing Lung Bank now, which is already mired in an operational crisis. Even if we go back a few years, back in 1994, its market value was stable at 110 billion to 120 billion!

At that time, Wing Lung Bank was well-managed and its business was growing steadily. Backed by the mainland after the reform and opening up, Hong Kong's commerce was booming, tourism was growing, and real estate had been steadily growing for five or six years. Wing Lung Bank was in the midst of this economic boom and naturally benefited from it.

At that time, the Wu family was considered a wealthy family in Hong Kong that was somewhere between a second-tier and a third-tier city.

However, with the gradual decline in the property market starting in 95 and 96, Wing Lung Bank's good days began to end. Until last year, when it was hit by the financial crisis, a large amount of bad debt could no longer be concealed, and its market value plummeted to below HK$30 billion. When it released its 1997 financial report at the beginning of this year, it had fallen to less than HK$20 billion, and so far it has not been able to come up with any effective measures to improve its operations.

As the major shareholder and key operator, the Wu family, who controlled Wing Lung Bank for more than 60 years, experienced a dramatic fall from grace in just a few years—it's understandable that they are still somewhat unwilling to give up.

But a bid of 20 billion is really wishful thinking!
He took a document from Cai Zhongxin and looked at it.

Yes, the Singapore Development Bank has submitted its formal offer letter – agreeing to lower the price to HK$2 million for the sale of its 10% stake in Wing Lung Bank.

This direct cut, eliminating a fraction of twenty or thirty million, demonstrates a genuine desire to sell. If someone wanted to buy, they could have discussed it in detail, and a deal would be relatively easy to reach.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jianlu made her decision again, "Let's talk! Let's talk first and wait while we talk..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I have plenty of patience!"

Cai Zhongxin naturally agreed.

The financial crisis has passed, but Hong Kong's overall economic situation has not seen any significant improvement or relief. The predicament and crisis in the real estate and banking sectors are not only continuing but are even intensifying. And the next financial crisis may already be on its way—so what is there for those who have money in their hands to worry about!

Cai Zhongxin immediately handed over another stack of documents. "These were urgently prepared yesterday during overtime work. They are acquisition assessments of a total of thirteen small and medium-sized banks in Hong Kong. Take a look?"

So he took it, sat down on the sofa, and started reading carefully.

Since its opening to trade, Hong Kong has always been an important trading port, and its financial industry has naturally flourished. It not only has traditional British banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered, but also many small Chinese-owned banks.

These small banks have also experienced ups and downs over the past few decades. Some have long since disappeared, gone bankrupt, or been merged, but many still exist today.

Of course, judging from this assessment, the business situation is not very good.

For example, Union Bank, Guangdong Bank, Bank of East Asia, etc., and... well, in fact, it seems that what I said yesterday was a waste of time. There is no need to focus on choosing banks with high mortgage default rates, because all of them have suffered serious losses in their mortgage business, with default rates basically at least 30% or more!
These are all high-quality assets!
The intricacies are quite simple: you set up another company to acquire mortgaged properties seized by banks—that requires real money and a large sum of money. You then package and acquire the bad debts held by the banks. Depending on the situation, you only need to pay 20% to 30% of the value. If the negotiation goes well, you might even get 10%. After all, you're taking advantage of their distress. As long as the other party is in a hurry, the price can be low enough. Then, you can take all those bad debts, along with the mortgaged properties, into your possession.

However, if you skip these methods and go directly to buy banks, here's the interesting thing: you can acquire these bad debts at almost zero cost!

Because the losses caused by these bad debts have already been reflected in the stock price, the stock market has assumed that this money is unrecoverable, resulting in a de facto loss. Therefore, their value is zero!
That's really interesting!
But it is precisely because of this that major banks are mired in crisis – housing prices continue to fall and there is almost no sign of stabilization. So even the most ordinary stock investors can realize that bad debts will only increase, losses will only become heavier, and the banking industry will only become more and more difficult!

Therefore, these pessimistic expectations have already been reflected in the stock price!
For example, the Bank of East Asia. Lin Jianlu had never even heard of this bank in his previous life, but in fact, it was founded in 1918 and has been run by three generations of the family. It is now the largest Chinese-owned bank in Hong Kong and has been one of the blue-chip stocks in the Hang Seng Index since its inception.

It's a behemoth with total assets of over HK$80 billion, but now, sorry, its total market value is barely over HK$10 billion. Moreover, even though the financial crisis has passed and the Hong Kong stock market is gradually stabilizing, it is still falling continuously, showing investors' long-term anxiety about the operating conditions of the banking industry.

Take Hang Seng Bank, for example—yes, the Hang Seng Bank in the Hang Seng Index. It was established a long time ago and even challenged HSBC's industry position in the 1960s. However, when the Hong Kong banking industry experienced a crisis in the 1960s, HSBC swallowed up the bank and became its controlling shareholder. It even listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange for a time. But now, HSBC seems to be struggling and has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the bank's management.

HSBC holds a 56.4% stake in Hang Seng Bank, and sources close to Cai Zhongxin indicate that the bank is considering selling it. The asking price is unknown, but considering the market capitalization, this mid-sized bank with total assets exceeding HK$100 billion only has a market value of slightly over HK$10 billion. Even if HSBC were to ask for a higher price, it would likely be within HK$7 billion.

Well, even if you just look at it from ten years in the future, it all seems like dirt cheap!
However, this is the reality!
Even at this price, no one is willing to take it!

They've completely abandoned any pretense of decorum! All they want is a massive fire sale!

Hmm, this is interesting—Yongan Bank!
Founded in 1931, it was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1986. Hang Seng Bank injected HK$1.76 million into it, becoming its major shareholder and restructuring it. In 1993, it sold its 50.29% stake to Dah Sing Financial Group for HK$6.54 million, thus exiting with a profit. The timing of its exit was quite clever.

Just five years later, Dah Sing Financial Group could no longer hold on and sold its 61.4% stake in Wing On Bank, which it had acquired over the years, for HK$7500 million!
Then Lin Jianlu looked up and asked, "If we buy 61.4% of the shares, can we forcibly acquire the remaining shares?"

Tsai Chung-hsin immediately replied, "Yung On Bank? No way! Yung On Bank is not a listed company!"

Lin Jianlu nodded and tapped the documents in his hand. "Yongan Bank is good! We can buy it!"—Although it can't maximize profits, it's cheap enough.

Although Wing On Bank only has seven branches and total assets of around HK$2 billion, it owns a 28-story commercial building that it owns entirely, called Wing On Building. This building alone is worth a lot of money, and it also has an insurance license. It's interesting that it bought 60% of a bank's shares for HK$75 million.

"Should I contact Dah Sing Financial Group? Should I also contact other minority shareholders and try to inquire about their prices?"

Ask! If it suits your needs, buy it!

Compared to the financial crisis that broke out at the end of last year, which caused a significant reduction in the wealth of major enterprises and individuals throughout Hong Kong, made business increasingly difficult, and threatened to break the capital chain at any time, Lam Kin-lu has undoubtedly become one of the few wealthy people in Hong Kong with a large amount of cash in hand during this turbulent time!
Of course, he himself also had a lot of debt.

Starting from the end of October last year, he first acquired 40% of the shares of Manton Building from Joseph Lau for HK$1.66 million, and then bought another 60% from Manton Insurance for HK$2.75 million.

They spent HK$7 million to acquire 67.08% of ATV's shares from Lai Sun Group, and recently acquired the remaining 32.92% from the Li Zhaoji family and the Cha family for a total of HK$3.62 million.

Of course, ATV lost nine million last year and had to pay Lin Jianlu. Moreover, he just signed two more agreements a few days ago: 1.2 million to launch the digitalization reform of the variety show department and 7000 million to establish the satellite TV news department.

Then, they acquired the land on Man Yiu Street, New Harbourfront, Central from Lai Sun Group for HK$8000 million. The land lease was renewed until 2054 for another US$4800 million, which is approximately HK$3.74 million.

The company spent HK$8.8 million to acquire a 40% stake in the International Finance Centre from Henderson Land Development.

First, he entrusted HSBC to acquire 2% of Hong Kong City Telecom's shares, spending approximately HK$8 million. Later, not to be outdone, he increased his holdings by another 2%, spending HK$6.3 million. Of course, this 4% stake in Hong Kong City Telecom was incredibly valuable, representing Lin Jianlu's only, yet exceptionally successful, short-term trading operation to date.

Having already received HK$2.56 million in dividends, Lin Jianlu then ordered Cai Zhongxin to take advantage of the high share price of Hong Kong City Telecom and sell all the shares in half a month, getting back a cash of up to HK$57 billion. In short, the dividends plus the price difference made Lin Jianlu a net profit of about HK$45 billion in just a few months!
This is the biggest cash he's ever made!
Then there's the package deal of acquiring 87.5% of the Capital Times Square and 51% of the Shanghai Times Square from Wharf Holdings, which together cost a total of 300 million yuan.

In short, up to now, Lin Jianlu has obtained a total of approximately HK$42 billion in loans from HSBC, Citibank, and Wells Fargo for various acquisitions. However, the transaction with Hong Kong City Telecom brought him nearly HK$60 billion in cash back!

Of course, they continued to spend money afterward, acquiring the remaining 32.92% stake in ATV, successfully privatizing it, and making two subsequent investments in ATV, as well as investing HK$7000 million in the renovation of the Wantong Building, and jointly establishing a cinema chain company with Jiang Zhiqiang and Zhuang Cheng, etc.

But to date, Lin Jianlu still has more than HK$53 billion in cash on hand—not including the two royalties he received from Rock Records and Millennium Records.

The former is worth over 70 million dollars, and the latter is worth over 49 million Hong Kong dollars!
That was all his personal savings.

Well, 53 billion in cash shouldn't be used to pay off loans right now—Lin Jianlu is no longer the same person he was a year ago, when he had to be very careful when taking out a Thai baht mortgage. He's much bolder now.

He has always been wary of banks withdrawing loans prematurely, so once he had an initial advantage, he did not dare to mortgage all the high-quality assets in his hands. However, in the current situation, the 53 billion is still safe for the time being, and he can confidently take advantage of this market downturn to continue to distribute it!
Yes, the banking industry is a very good investment direction.

Yong An Bank can immediately begin acquisition negotiations.

Try to make an offer to Union Bank.

The tug-of-war continues with Wing Lung Bank.

We could even test the waters with HSBC's holdings in Hang Seng Bank, and inquire about their pricing before making a decision.

Having settled on these matters for the time being, Lin Jianlu had no intention of returning the documents. She planned to take them to the car so she could review and study them further while on the journey.

But Cai Zhongxin surprisingly handed over another document with a smile, saying, "You should still meet with General Manager Ye Keyong whenever you have time. After all, you plan to continue using him!"

"okay!"

Oh, and there's another investment that's already on the verge of being implemented.

China.com.

The investment contract has already been drafted.

Lin Jianlu took it and quickly glanced through it, saying, "Make sure you check it carefully. Have the accountant and lawyer review it twice. Since it involves state-owned assets, don't leave any loopholes, and don't dig any obvious traps for others."

Cai Zhongxin nodded, "Don't worry."

Lin Jianlu then smiled and said, "I trust you to handle things."

…………

"Haha, Brother Han!"

When Lin Jianlu arrived at the chairman's office of Media Asia Films, Han Shanping was already there, but Zhuang Cheng was not, as he was still in mainland China investigating the establishment of a cinema chain. Shi Nansheng and a vice president of Media Asia were with him.

Stephen Chow is already here.

Even Brigitte Lin was already sitting on the sofa.

Han Shanping stood up to shake hands, but Lin Jianlu had already opened her arms.

So the two of them gave each other a big hug.

The last time they met was during the Chinese New Year. Han Shanping was so drunk by Lin Jianlu that he almost slid under the table. Now that the old friends are meeting again, there is naturally a warm atmosphere.

Well, Zhou Xingchi wants to join the big boss. Lin Jianlu thought it over and decided to take him on, but he really didn't like his personality and temperament, and he also hated the possibility of him defecting in the future.

So, when Stephen Chow invited Lin Jianlu to invest in his Star Overseas, Lin Jianlu agreed, but didn't intend to invest in his personal capacity. He genuinely valued Stephen Chow's talent and hoped he could focus on making more good films, but he didn't want to get involved in a personal dispute with him. So, he called Han Shanping, whose China Film Group, which was already taking shape and undergoing integration, was being established. He invited Han Shanping to join in. Was Stephen Chow interested? Let him get involved!

Han Shanping readily agreed and quickly obtained approval from above—a Hong Kong film company, a mainland company holding shares? That's extremely rare! And he wouldn't dare take that step lightly! But now, Lin Jianlu was taking the initiative to invite him to invest in the renowned Stephen Chow film company, how could he not be tempted?

So, Media Asia Films, China Film Group, and Forbidden City Film & Television are all going together!

Stephen Chow will retain a 30% stake, Media Asia Films will take 30%, and China Film Group and Forbidden City Film & Television, two mainland film companies, will each take 20%—control will remain with Hong Kong, so as not to arouse fear and resistance in the Hong Kong film industry, but a large amount of state-owned capital has already been mixed in!
Most importantly, with Media Asia Films in Hong Kong and China Film Group and Forbidden City Film Group in mainland China, does Stephen Chow think he can just finish one film and run away? Abandon Star Overseas as a shell company and start a new one?
I dare you!
No one needs to threaten you. Just look at the shareholding structure of Star Overseas. If you offend Media Asia Films, you might still have a way to survive in Hong Kong. But if you offend China Film Group, well... do you still want to enter the mainland film market?
With Hong Kong films declining to this point, it's no exaggeration to say that the mainland film market is now the only way for the Hong Kong film industry to survive. Anyone with a bit of insight knows this very well.

Once China Film Group is officially established, it will become the absolute controller of the mainland film market!
"Brother Xing! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"No, Mr. Lin, you've worked hard!"

Stephen Chow's expression today was a bit strange, both humble and seemingly a little happy?
Well, perhaps he realized that Lin Jianlu's decision to bring in China Film Group was like piercing his collarbone, making him unable to run away or play any tricks to escape and start anew. But at the same time, it was actually helping him. "The Lucky Guy" didn't even make 30 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office, so next time, Stephen Chow's movies will also have to get the right to be released in mainland China!

This isn't about chasing higher box office numbers; it's about surviving!
They had a pleasant conversation and signed a contract.

Han Shanping represented China Film Group, which is not yet fully integrated and can only be described as a "smaller" version of China Film Group. Lin Jianlu represented Media Asia Films, Brigitte Lin represented Forbidden City Films, and Stephen Chow represented his Star Overseas. The investment agreement was officially signed in Lin Jianlu's office as chairman of the board of directors of Media Asia Films.

Star Overseas has already profited handsomely from the film "The God of Cookery," but the money earned has long been transferred out by Stephen Chow. While the copyright to "The God of Cookery" remains, the operational rights are held by the distributor, Win's Entertainment. This is industry practice; distributors typically sign copyright operation rights for at least ten years, and sometimes as many as twenty, including but not limited to global distribution rights, videotape distribution, VCD distribution, DVD distribution, etc. Star Overseas is no exception. Therefore, simply put, Star Overseas is now essentially an empty shell. Lin Jianlu invested heavily in Media Asia Films, but in reality, Media Asia Films has only been established for a few years and has produced a limited number of films, almost all of which are low-budget productions. Why were they so expensive? Because Media Asia Films has a very robust distribution system, thus effectively controlling the copyright operation rights of many films.

Of course, I will share the profits with the copyright holders, but how to operate the business and who to authorize is up to me. Moreover, I will take a large slice of the profits from every single operation!

That's what makes publishers so awesome!
It doesn't matter anymore. Everyone accepts that Star Overseas is just an empty shell. The money that everyone invested was only for Stephen Chow's next movie.

Including the copyright of "The God of Cookery", Star Overseas was valued at HK$500 million. Stephen Chow personally invested HK$1000 million, Media Asia Films invested HK$1500 million, and China Film Group and Forbidden City Film Group each invested HK$1000 million to form Star Overseas Limited into the new Star Overseas Film Limited.

From then on, "glory overseas" became a historical term.

None of the new shareholders are afraid of Wing Shing or the Xiang family. Why bother with such a low profile and going overseas? Our base is Hong Kong, and our next base will be the mainland!
Would the Xiang family dare to utter a single word?
After the signing was completed, Shi Nansheng invited everyone to open a glass of champagne. Lin Jianlu even took it and personally poured drinks for everyone. Then everyone raised their glasses to celebrate the establishment of the new Star Shine Films!
Lin Jianlu also seemed exceptionally happy.

In reality, his interests in Star Overseas Films are limited – through Media Asia Films' 35% stake, he holds approximately 10.5% of the equity, and through Forbidden City Films' 37.5% stake, he holds approximately 7.5% of the equity.

Looking back, the total shareholding is 18%, and that's about it.

But as I said before, no matter how talented Stephen Chow is, how many films can he make in the next ten years? How much money can he earn?
In a market where HK$75 million can buy a 60% stake in a long-established Hong Kong bank, it's hard to say how attractive the meager profits from simply investing in a filmmaker would be for Lin Jianlu!
With total assets of approximately HK$2 billion, but an overall market value of just over HK$100 million, how much will Wing On Bank be worth ten years from now if it can get a financial injection and get through the most difficult period?
Therefore, the purpose of investing in Stephen Chow, at least for Lin Jianlu, was truly no longer about money.

Lin Jianlu's happiness now stems more from the fact that he genuinely considers himself a fan of Stephen Chow and sincerely hopes that Chow can settle down and stop wasting his time on irrelevant worldly affairs, saving his time and energy to make more good films if he wants to earn money. If he can do that, he believes he will have made a contribution to Hong Kong films and even to Chinese cinema!

Among filmmakers across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, he is indeed the most outstanding genius!

"Lunch is on me! Nobody's allowed to skip it!"

Before the glasses were even put down and the champagne was finished, Lin Jianlu was already arranging for them to go out to a restaurant to celebrate at noon. Han Shanping immediately laughed, "You're not going to force me to drink today, are you? This is Hong Kong, you know, I can't get drunk!"—Lin Jianlu laughed heartily, putting her arm around his shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you drink well but not too much!"

Han Shanping immediately agreed.

Just then, Stephen Chow surprisingly stepped forward and, speaking in broken Mandarin, said, "Having met so many big shots today, I hope Mr. Lin can give me a chance to treat everyone to dinner..."

Lin Jianlu didn't think much of it, but many people at the scene were stunned upon hearing this. The next moment, Shi Nansheng must have gently poked Zhou Xingchi in the lower back from behind, "Xingchi, don't talk nonsense!"

After a slight pause, Lin Jianlu realized what was happening.

Yes, entertaining guests and treating them to meals is obviously an expensive affair. Perhaps Stephen Chow thought that by paying for it, he could show his attitude. However, in the world of business, do you have the right to treat others to meals like this?
You can settle the bill quietly afterward, but you can't stand up and say you want to treat—you're not qualified enough!
However, Lin Jianlu then laughed and put his arm around Zhou Xingchi's shoulder, whose face was already showing embarrassment, and said with a smile, "Alright! Then I'll treat you to a big meal today, Brother Xing!"

He chose to laugh it off.

I'll give you this much respect!

…………

Finding a quiet moment, Lin Jianlu pulled Han Shanping aside, "This afternoon is fine, tomorrow is fine too, let's go shopping, buy some things for my sister-in-law or something, I'll arrange for someone to go with you!"

Han Shanping was startled. "Don't do anything reckless! You can't do this, there are rules! Last time Chen Hong sent those wines and ginsengs home, I was already on tenterhooks. Even if you buy them, I won't dare to take them. Even if I do, I won't dare to bring them back. And if I do, your sister-in-law won't dare to use them! Do you understand?"

"Tsk... What's there to be afraid of! You've been a full-fledged official for several years now, shouldn't you... hehe, it's alright, I can't say anything else, but buying you a watch strap isn't too much to ask, is it? I'm not going to give you gold or silver! If I give you too much, I'm afraid you'll become suspicious and worry that I'm eyeing my sister-in-law!"

"I'll go to you!"

"Seriously, how about I arrange for someone to go, so you don't have to go? Just get some simple cosmetics, okay?"

Han Shanping hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's just get some cosmetics. I really don't dare to ask for anything else!"

"All settled! ... Don't be afraid, you can report whatever I sent. You can't deny me even this small favor, can you? I'm not trying to bribe you! What would I get in return for bribing you? Tch..."

"Don't give me that! Nobody dares to do anything to you, but those who have their eyes on my position are all watching me closely! They wouldn't dare to do anything wrong, brother!"

"Alright, alright! I was even thinking of arranging a little sister-in-law for you here tonight..."

"roll!"

They were close enough that he dared to get him drunk at the dinner table, so they naturally laughed and joked without restraint. But the way the two of them whispered to each other with their arms around each other in a corner took on an air of mystery to the Hong Kong filmmakers from Media Asia Films – well, it's said that a large film group, China Film Group, is being established in mainland China, and this man is the next head of China Film Group, or to put it bluntly, he is actually the future head of the entire Chinese film market!
Look, the Governor of Hong Kong is indeed the Governor of Hong Kong!
They can be summoned with just one phone call; their relationship is obviously incredibly close!
Who else in Hong Kong can boast such dignity?
…………

The midday drinking party turned out to be nothing more than a charade, a game of social niceties.

They certainly wouldn't try to get Han Shanping drunk in this kind of setting. In fact, even Lin Jianlu herself doesn't drink much. After everyone finished eating, Lin Qingxia had to go home to take care of her child and left immediately. The rest of the group, however, had to accompany Han Shanping on a long trip to see the current office space of Xinghui Overseas Co., Ltd.

Frankly speaking, Stephen Chow's negative reputation in the industry is reflected in every aspect. Although Hong Kong is small and densely populated, and everyone is used to cramped environments for living and working, the small size of Star Overseas Limited's office, the simple and sloppy decoration, and even the shabby desks and chairs still broadened Lin Jianlu's horizons a little.

Well, even though Han Shanping came from the mainland, he couldn't help but frown several times after taking a quick look inside.

When Shi Nansheng and the other executives from Media Asia Films came in, they looked at each other and couldn't help but smile unconsciously—a mocking, even slightly disdainful smile.

So Lin Jianlu could only sigh helplessly in his heart. He turned to Zhou Xingchi and said, "Brother Xing, let's leave it at that for now. My Wantong Building will be renovated by the end of the year. Then Xinghui Cinema can move there too. It'll be on the same floor as Media Asia Cinema, so it will be easier to communicate. I'll tell my men to give you a 20% discount on the rent. Save the money and renovate it properly!"

Stephen Chow hesitated for a moment, but still nodded obediently, "Okay! Thank you, Mr. Lin!"

To save on rent, he opened his company in Kwun Tong. Once he moved to Central, even with a 20% discount, the rent would definitely skyrocket. However, he probably also thought that the company would belong to everyone anyway!

I don't know if it's more than 100 square meters in total, so it's really not really a "visit". Basically, you can see everything as soon as you stand at the door - well, but it still counts as a visit.

End.

When everyone went downstairs together, Lin Jianlu had already received the script for Stephen Chow's new movie that he was preparing. Well, at the dinner table, he said that the new movie was planned to be a semi-autobiographical film, tentatively titled "King of Comedy".

Bored on the way back, I opened it and flipped through it. It was basically the same as the movie I remembered.

As far as I can remember, this should be Cecilia Cheung's debut work.

Hmm, after thinking for a moment, I took out my phone and called Ge Fuhong, "I'm free this afternoon, I'd like to come over to your company!"

***
It's almost the end of the month again. Looking back, the updates this month have been pretty good, so I'm asking for a few more monthly votes!

Brothers, check your pockets and lend a hand!
Xiao Dao thanks you!

(End of this chapter)