1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

After more than two months in Hong Kong, Huo Sheng finally transformed from a small boat with an uncertain course on the water into a tram on land.

Lau Ching-wan came out with him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Huo, you've become the lead screenwriter in the blink of an eye."

Huo Sheng waved his hand, "Just call me A-Sheng."

Liu Qingyun looked quite mature, and calling him "teacher" made him seem decades older, which Huo Sheng couldn't stand.

"That won't do. I'll have to rely on you for guidance from now on."

Lau Ching-wan wanted to build a good relationship with Huo Sheng, since the role was still undecided, so he introduced him while leading him forward.

"The headquarters is quite large, take your time to get to know it. If you need anything, just come to me. Let's go sign the contract first. Once the contract is confirmed, the station will be able to send you an assistant in the next couple of days. He can help you with anything then."

"I have an assistant?"

"Yes, you're a key member of the creative team, so you have a very high status."

As he spoke, he led Huo Sheng to an office on the second floor, around the corner. A sign on the door read "Personnel Department," and inside was a large cubicle.

With Wai Ka-fai's approval, the interview process was just a formality.

The HR colleague had already received the call. They were very enthusiastic, asked a few basic questions, and then politely said, "Mr. Huo, this is your contract. Please take a look."

Huo Sheng took it, opened it and looked at it carefully, and found that the salary offered to him by TVB was better than expected.

Firstly, it's a full-time contract for two years, during which you'll be assigned by TVB and receive a fixed monthly salary of HK$16000—which is quite good, considering that a recent college graduate currently earns around HK$10000 per month in Hong Kong.

In addition, the contract also stipulated that the copyright and derivative rights of all works produced during this period belong to TVB, and Huo Sheng only has the right to be credited.

This is also a common practice for Hong Kong television platforms.

Take TV drama production as an example. Hong Kong TV dramas are generally invested and produced by TV stations, with very little external funding. TV stations naturally take the lion's share of the revenue from local productions and distribution rights, typically ranging from 70% to 90%.

The remaining 10%-30% will be allocated to the producer, who will then distribute it at their discretion to the production team, including part-time staff, directors, main screenwriters, script editors, other screenwriters, lead actors, supporting actors, as well as composers, editors, and other post-production staff.

The share varies from person to person, depending on seniority and contribution. The situation also varies from film to film. It is meant to encourage everyone to work hard, work overtime, and strive to produce high-rated works. The bonus is similar in nature to the award.

After a quick look around, Huo Sheng was quite satisfied with the conditions.

He's completely unknown right now, and it's already pretty good for a newcomer to get this kind of contract. It's probably because they're preparing for a TVB anniversary drama, and he seems to have some talent, so Wai Ka-fai skipped the probation period and directly promoted him to the position of lead writer.

As for exclusive copyright, don't even dream about it. It's not like you can just assemble a makeshift crew and rush to win international awards for a movie.

If TV stations don't invest money or provide broadcasting channels, even the best scripts are just worthless pieces of paper.

The only downside to this contract is that it's only for two years, unlike other senior screenwriters who sign long-term contracts of six years with benefits and resources that can increase year by year.

Actually, the HR department still doesn't quite trust Huo Sheng. What if this young man from out of town, whose background we don't know, turns out to be all show and no substance? He might seem impressive at first glance, but if he doesn't work, wouldn't that be a waste of resources?

But that's alright, you can't expect too much at the beginning. Huo Sheng finished reading it and thought there were no problems. He was about to sign it when Liu Qingyun next to him asked, "Sheng, is there a problem with the contract?"

He noticed that Huo Sheng paused for a while when looking at "two years" and was afraid that he might have objections—after all, Huo Sheng had just come from a place like a bar and definitely wanted a long-term, stable job, so a two-year contract was not enough.

However, as a newcomer who had neither attended a screenwriting training course nor had any academic qualifications, being able to sign a contract immediately was already the best condition that Wai Ka-fai had managed to secure for him.

As a major television station, TVB has extensive experience in this area. Two years is just the right amount of time to test his creativity and talent. If he turns out to be a promising talent, it's not too late to renew his contract.

After all, there aren't many TV stations in Hong Kong that can compete with them!

Although Huo Sheng was young, he had just been laid off in the 21st century and knew the nature of these companies well. He was used to it and smiled directly, saying, "No problem, I'll sign right away."

After saying that, under the guidance of my colleagues in the HR department, I filled in my personal information, such as name, age, address, and bank account, on the document, which was considered a temporary sale to TVB.

After he signed the contract, the HR colleague warmly shook his hand, left him a copy of the contract, and then saw him off.

Liu Qingyun was a little worried that Huo Sheng was overthinking things, so he led him outside while comforting him, "Ah Sheng, as long as you prove your talent, a long-term or even lifetime contract is definitely not a problem. But for now, this is the only way, don't worry about it."

Huo Sheng understood that with the current economic downturn, every place was afraid of employing idle people, so he just smiled and said, "Don't worry about me, Mr. Liu, I think the contract is very good, thank you for your help."

He paused, then said sincerely, "Thank you."

Liu Qingyun deserves at least half the credit for his smooth job search and entry into this industry. He took a risk, and he must thank him for it—even if Liu Qingyun was only thinking about his own future and both sides were actually using each other, as the beneficiary, he must remember this favor.

Hearing this, Liu Qingyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that Huo Sheng would abandon him after the matter was settled—he had seen this kind of thing many times in the industry. Newcomers would call him "Brother Liu" when they first started out, but once they had established themselves, they wouldn't even bother to say hello.

Huo Sheng may look young, but he's a really nice person.

"You're welcome, Ah Sheng. Perhaps I'll need your help in the future."

Liu Qingyun smiled.

"must."

Huo Sheng didn't want to remain too polite and awkward, so he quickly changed the subject, "So, do we need to submit a transfer application to anywhere?"

"We'll have to wait until the team is formed before we can talk about it."

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

"Producer Wai is probably preparing the project proposal right now."

Lau Ching-wan explained, "After the approval is granted, he will select a director and a co-writer, then the director will select the actors, and then there will be pre-production preparations..."

"It sounds like we'll be waiting a while."

"Not really," Lau Ching-wan changed the subject. "Although it sounds complicated, TVB shoots more than forty dramas a year. There's no time to wait. It's done very quickly. Approval, casting, and set construction are all assembly line operations. It can be finalized in three to five days."

"I've vaguely heard about that before..."

Huo Sheng nodded.

"We'll talk about that later," Liu Qingyun said, tugging at his tie, which clashed terribly with his appearance.

"There is something else that is more important right now."

"What?"

Huo Sheng looked over in confusion.

Lau Ching-wan flashed his white teeth again and said with a smile:

"You need to prepare to move!"