Huayu 1995

Chapter 328 I'll Show You Around (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Aren't you going to ask anyone to look into the project?"

Su Chao was somewhat surprised.

"I invest entirely based on intuition; I invest when I feel a connection, haha~"

Lin Jianyue laughed heartily.

But in his heart he was thinking, with an investment of only one million, I feel it's too stingy to even buy my girlfriend a gift. Am I supposed to spend two million to hire a professional team to investigate the project's prospects?
"With Young Master Lin's premonition as my guarantee, I can finally rest assured."

Su Chao was also internally complaining.

Bah! With your attitude, no wonder you almost lost all of your father's wealth.

"Come on, barbecue has to be paired with beer, let's have some."

Young Master Lin is very popular, mainly because he can handle both a bottle of 82 Lafite and a bottle of 82 Sprite.

"Then drink less, you have to meet your girlfriend's parents tonight."

Su Chao held the wine glass with both hands, letting the other person pour the wine.

After clinking glasses, they drank it all in one gulp.

"Meeting the parents, does this mean good things are on the horizon?"

Lin Jianyue was amused.

“Sigh, it’s just a regular visit,” Su Chao shook his head and sighed. “This is my girlfriend’s uncle, he’s practically the patriarch of the family. I can’t just pass by his home and not go in.”

I didn't see Uncle Lin last time I came; he had quite a few complaints when he called.

Uncle Lin said he must come to my house next time he visits.

Su Chao couldn't hide it from them.

Because the Hong Kong media keeps a close eye on him, he will definitely be photographed by the media whenever he comes to Hong Kong.

We can't let Uncle Lin find out his whereabouts from the media.

Therefore, Su Chao had called before he arrived.

The time of the visit was specified.

“You should visit each other more often. When it comes to getting a wife, it’s easy to please the mother-in-law, but it’s twice as difficult to please the father-in-law,” Lin Jianyue chuckled, and then asked, “Where do they live? Do you want me to give you a ride?”

"Live halfway up the mountain..."

Su Chao didn't try to hide it; being a kept man wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Besides, we might even be able to do business together in the future.

"Uh, a villa?"

Lin Jianyue was taken aback.

There is an unwritten rule in Hong Kong that only the wealthy who live in the Mid-Levels can be considered true elite families.

Mid-Levels is a residential area in Hong Kong, located between Victoria Peak and Central. Geographically, it extends from the boundary between Wan Chai District and Central and Western District in the east to Pok Fu Lam in the west, bordered by country parks in the south and Sheung Wan in the north.

It is not a mountain, but an area.

However, the division of the hillside was determined by the British.

150 years ago, the Governor of Hong Kong designated Victoria Peak as a "European-only zone," and Chinese people were not even allowed to live at the foot of the mountain.

The ban was later lifted, but living on the mountaintop became a "identity card" for the wealthy – Li Ka-shing's Deep Water Bay villa is hidden halfway up the mountain, with security tighter than a bank vault, and his neighbors are all figures like Joseph Lau and Carson Yeung.

Feng shui concepts such as "wealth on the mountainside" and "mountains bring prosperity to people and water brings wealth" have taken root in people's hearts. The wealthy generally believe that living in a feng shui treasure land can bring good luck and wealth to themselves and their families.

Houses on mountains are often situated near mountains and water, at a higher elevation, which conforms to the description of an ideal living environment in traditional Feng Shui concepts.

"Yes, over at Deep Water Bay."

Su Chao knew that the place was full of wealthy people. The first time he went there, he was actually shocked by Uncle Lin's wealth.

"Tsk tsk, who is it? Who is your girlfriend's uncle? I'm sure I know him."

Lin Jianyue was once again impressed with Su Chao.

This should be considered a marriage alliance.

Who's moving so fast? They've already started hooking up with a wealthy mainland family before even returning to China.

However, Su Chao's girlfriend was indeed a complete stranger; he had never met her in the entertainment circle before.

"Lin Zhennan~"

Su Chao tried hard to control his expression and appear calm.

When he first heard the name, he pinched his thigh hard to keep from laughing.

Lin Zhimeng understood as well.

So, on the day I took him to meet my uncle, I told him his full name before we even entered the house.

Prepare Su Chao mentally beforehand, so that she won't burst out laughing when she hears her uncle introduce himself after going in.

But actually, there's nothing wrong with the name Lin Zhennan itself.

Many people call him Zhen Guo, Zhen Bang, Zhen Dong, etc.

Zhennan means "powerful and awe-inspiring in Lingnan".

Exiled to...Lingnan!
At most, it's like Lin Pingzhi's father in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" is named Lin Zhennan, and his family has the "Evil-Repelling Sword Manual".

That's where the humor lies.

"Oh, him? I know him. His family used to be in real estate, but they couldn't make a living in real estate, so they switched to making musical instruments. Their houses are quite nice."

Lin Jianyue immediately thought of it.

"You all share the surname Lin, so you're from the same place?"

Su Chao wasn't trying to claim kinship; after all, Hong Kong is such a small place.

"No, that's not it. My family is from Chaoyang, while they are from Shixing..."

Lin Jianyue didn't know whether Su Chao was familiar with his girlfriend, so he briefly talked about the history of Lin Zhennan's family.

Lin Jianyue's family made their fortune in the garment industry, while Lin Zhennan's family started out in the food industry.

Later, Lin Zhennan's family started making musical instruments.

When the time was right, they followed the big players into the real estate industry.

However, the Lin family's real estate ventures were not very successful. Although they did not lose everything, they were severely weakened. On the contrary, their musical instrument business did quite well.

However, the musical instrument business is ultimately limited in scale, making it difficult for the Kobayashi family to ever enter the ranks of top-tier families again.

What's even more distressing is that the Lin family is small in number.

The man who came to Hong Kong to seek his fortune back then, Lin Zhimeng's great-grandfather, had three children.

The eldest son followed his father to Hong Kong to make a living, but died of illness on the way to start his business. The second son, despite his father's objections, died on the front lines of the War of Resistance against Japan. Only the youngest son, who was frail and sickly, remained, and that was Lin Zhimeng's grandfather. Her grandfather then had two more sons.

They are Lin Zhimeng's father and uncle.

Lin Zhimeng's father also died young, leaving behind only two daughters.

The responsibility of carrying on the family line fell on Uncle Lin's shoulders, but Uncle Lin has not had a child all these years.

The next generation of the Kobayashi family consists of only two girls.

To many, this meant the Kobayashi family line was practically over.

These things are really hard to find out.

Su Chao listened with great interest.

However, Lin Jianyue was also unaware of the past of Lin Zhimeng's parents.

After all, those two were older than him and from different generations.

Moreover, the Lin family is not comparable to Lin Jianyue's family; they are not on the same level, so naturally they don't receive much attention.

After chatting for a while about the Lin family's past, Su Chao asked Lin Jianyue whether he was familiar with Jin Yong.

Lin Jianyue admitted, "We're not exactly close, but we can talk to each other."

"I want to get the TV adaptation rights to some of his novels, and I need an intermediary to vouch for it."

Su Chao was also quite direct.

"If you pay for his copyright, he shouldn't refuse to sell it, right?"

Lin Jianyue was puzzled.

"Firstly, I don't have much experience in project management, and I'm afraid he won't trust me. Secondly, I want a lot; I want to work on the more outstanding ones."

Su Chao hopes that local Hong Kong tycoons like Lin Jianyue will endorse him.

In Zheng Zhi, the term "endorsement" is used to indicate a promise or guarantee for someone or something, thereby increasing the credibility of the matter.

It has a certain credit collateral effect.

Not everyone can memorize texts.

“Then I’ll find an opportunity… Oh right, there’s an art auction next month, and he’ll definitely be there because one of his manuscripts will be auctioned. I can go with you then.”

Lin Jianyue couldn't possibly go to too much trouble.

There's no need for it in the first place.

Su Chao doesn't want to acquire all of Jin Yong's copyrights for free.

A transaction involving real money.

Having an introducer makes things easier.

As for Su Chao's lack of successful project experience, well, he'll have that soon, with that "My Sassy Girl" thing.

Moreover, what exactly constitutes a successful experience?
Wasn't "Too Softhearted" a success?
Lin Jianyue doesn't understand the ways of the entertainment industry, but he feels that with Su Chao's current momentum of dominating the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with "Too Softhearted," even if he were to make a movie where he does somersaults, people would definitely buy it.

Even if only one million of the millions of fans go to the cinema for Su Chao, that's still tens of millions in box office revenue.

Its commercial value is off the charts.

The old man surnamed Cha isn't crazy, how could he be so picky?

There are so many people in the mainland entertainment industry, but only a few are truly pleasing to the eye.

Su Chao has both a strong background and considerable ability, making him the perfect first choice for cooperation.

Lin Jianyue himself believes this.

The man surnamed Cha isn't blind.

"Thank you so much!"

Su Chao's eyes lit up; this was indeed a good opportunity to meet.

Moreover, he wrote so many poems; how can he not be considered a literary figure?

Oh, by the way, she also wrote a novel called "Bad Pig Princess," which I heard sold quite well in Hong Kong.

Writing a novel makes you a writer.

"And your fund is almost ready. When you come over next month, we'll get it all set up for you. What industry would you like to invest in?"

Lin Jianyue wondered if he should give Su Chao some advice.

A fund of four or five million might have been lost in no time without the guidance of an expert like him.

"They might invest in movies, the internet, or something like that."

The projects invested in by the fund cannot have any capital-related interaction with Su Chao himself, but Su Chao can choose not to invest and let the fund invest instead.

"internet?"

Lin Jianyue seemed to be listening to gibberish.

"Do you know Yahoo? It's a company that was founded last March. It launched search, portal, and email services. That's the internet."

Su Chao gave a random example.

The earliest internet company in China was Yinghaiwei. It was the first company in China to apply for internet access services, earlier than Sohu (1998), NetEase (1997), China.com (1997), and other companies.

"It's a new product. What are the market prospects?"

Lin Jianyue scratched his head. He really couldn't offer any advice on this; he probably needed Su Chao to give him some pointers instead.

"I don't know yet, but I'm quite interested. If Young Master Lin is also interested, we can play together."

Su Chao never bowed down to Lin Jianyue.

In Su Chao's eyes, this heir to a Hong Kong tycoon family with assets of billions, reaching tens of billions at its peak, was just a not-so-spoiled second-generation rich kid.

Playing together, or you could say taking you to play.

“I’ll take a look when I get back. This is so trendy. I’ve studied at the University of Oregon, and I’ve never paid attention to it before.”

Lin Jianyue gave a wry smile, and couldn't help but sigh that time waits for no one.

He no longer understands many of the things that young people care about these days.

His focus is more on finance and real estate...

"Investing in movies is also an option. I can't guarantee a profit, but all the projects I have are of high quality."

If it's just a movie with an investment of a few million, Su Chao and Andy Lau can handle it. But if the cost is higher, Su Chao will need to bring in players with more financial resources.

(End of this chapter)