So what if I work with celebrities?

Since Teresa Teng went to Japan to develop her career, her promotional efforts in Taiwan have decreased, especially after she severed ties with Hai Shan.

For established artists like Liu Jiachang, Zuo Hongyuan, and Tony, their works lack a strong singer to choose first, which gives other singers more opportunities.

In recent years, with the rise of Qiong Yao films, Qiong Yao songs have also become the most popular music genre in Taiwan. Anyone who sings a movie theme song is sure to become a big star.

After Teresa Teng went to Japan to develop her career, Zuo Hongyuan discovered Feng Feifei, who sang a Qiong Yao song and became an instant sensation in Taiwan.

This now seems to subtly overshadow Teresa Teng's stardom in Taiwan. Of course, audiences are always followers, their attention shifting with media hype.

However, those businessmen were well aware that Teresa Teng's value was on a completely different level from other stars in Taiwan. She was an international superstar with extremely high appearance fees, which were already calculated in US dollars.

"Director Hsu, will your movie be released in Japan?" Teresa Teng asked with a smile.

"You can call me Xu Zan or A-Zan, it's fine." Xu Zan naturally wanted to get closer to them, so the way he addressed them couldn't be too polite. "I'll be going to the Japanese market. I reckon the Japanese distributors will come knocking on my door once the Hong Kong box office results are out."

"I wish you great success at the box office!" Teresa Teng raised her wine glass and took a small sip.

Teresa Teng was very talkative and humorous. She talked a lot about her experiences in Japan and seemed to regard Hsu Tsan as a loyal listener.

A young Chinese woman took her mother to Japan to develop her career. She was completely unable to adapt to the environment, the food, the work, and the lifestyle, and as a result, she lost a lot of weight.

After she was hospitalized, the record company hired a chef who could cook Chinese food specifically for Teresa Teng.

"Oh dear, it's all my fault, I kept talking. Hsu... Ah-Zan, don't be angry!" When Teresa Teng smiled, her round apple cheeks looked very cute and bouncy.

"Lijun, I understand you. In the torrent of worldly affairs, it takes countless hardships to gain a foothold," Xu Zan said.

The two then discussed their collaboration, and Teresa Teng was very excited when she learned that the film would use several old songs as background music.

This is related to her background. As a singer who debuted at the end of the 1960s, she often heard Shanghai-style music when she was a child and grew up listening to stories of singers such as Zhou Xuan and Bai Yang.

"My film tells the story of an old woman who transforms back into her twenties and participates in a singing competition with her grandson."

"It sounds really interesting, can I act in it?" Teresa Teng suddenly had the urge to act.

This made Xu Zan ponder deeply. Apart from the fact that he had promised Brigitte Lin, his main consideration was Teresa Teng's acting skills.

The Korean version of "Miss Granny" relies entirely on the two female leads, with the acting of the elderly actress Na Moon-hee and Shim Eun-kyung being top-notch.

However, as a singer, Teresa Teng was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses, but as an actress, it can be said that she was not as good as the popular young idols.

"If you can fully accept my training, I can agree to your request," Xu Zan said in a low voice.

"Training?" Teresa Teng paused for a moment, the words were somewhat ambiguous, but she knew that it meant the director wanted to hone her acting skills.

She remains confident that with her current status in the entertainment industry, a small-time director simply cannot sexually exploit her. In fact, her involvement could enhance the film.

"Okay! No problem, then I'll leave it to Ah-Zan to train you!" Teresa Teng said, raising her glass and gently clinking it together.

The following day, major newspapers in Taiwan published the winners of the Golden Horse Awards the previous night, and the United Daily News even wrote a special column for Hsu Tsan.

This brought "Joyful Encounters," which had lost some of its initial popularity, back into the public eye, prompting cinemas to re-release the film on the big screen.

Xu Zan's "Strange Woman" was initiated within the company. After discussing with the crew for half an hour, the investment for the film was finalized.

The total investment was four million, with Teresa Teng's film salary alone amounting to 450,000. She received 250,000 for singing the movie's theme song, as well as 15% of the profits from the album "Strange Girl".

The role of the grandmother in the play was difficult to cast, with one being Li Lihua and the other being Lu Yan, who had just won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress.

The producer plans to invite award-winning actor Qin Xianglin, his grandson Liu Wenzheng, his son Lang Xiong, and his grandmother's secret crush Guan Shan. His granddaughter has invited Xu Jie…

After careful consideration, I finally chose Li Lihua.

In order to get her to star in the movie, Xu Zan got a passport and went to Hong Kong.

As soon as I got off the plane, I went directly to Clearwater Bay with the people arranged by Shaw Brothers. This film studio, built in the 1960s, originally cost only tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars to buy the land, but now it has risen to an astronomical price.

The person who picked him up was surnamed Huang, a newcomer to the production department. He was originally an administrative staff member in the office, but was preparing to become a university teacher. At that time, Mr. Zou changed jobs and Ms. Fang took over the production department, so Huang Jiaxi was recruited back.

Now he has become Ms. Fang's capable assistant.

"Mr. Xu, Miss Fang and Mr. Shao have gone to Japan. I will be in charge of hosting you for the next few days. Please feel free to tell me if you need anything." Huang Jiaxi was very polite.

"Mr. Huang, I hope to invite Ms. Li Lihua to star in my new film through the Shao family," Xu Zan said.

"No problem, Miss Fang has already given me instructions."

Huang Jiaxi took Xu Zan on a tour of Shao's Film Studio, where they met Chu Yuan, who was filming "Meteor, Butterfly, Sword".

This director became famous early on, experiencing the decline of the Cantonese film era, and became a five million Hong Kong dollar director with "The House of 72 Tenants".

However, after that year, he fell into a slump. After several years of no major activity, he finally caught the attention of the higher-ups at Shaw Brothers, who ordered him to stop making overly avant-garde films.

Chu Yuan approached Miss Fang and suggested filming a movie based on Jin Yong's martial arts novel, but by then the offer had already been made to other directors.

Miss Fang happened to have secured a deal with Gu Long's novel in Taiwan, so she decided to let him film it.

On set, Xu Zan even wore several sets of Chu Liuxiang's clothes and took photos. Chu Yuan said that he lacked a bit of the dashing charm and said that he was more like a chivalrous knight.

After becoming acquainted with Minister Huang Jiaxi, this man brought up something after drinking.

"Director Xu, I heard that China Film Group is preparing to shoot a patriotic film with a military theme?"

"It seems that's true; construction on the cinema has already started," Xu Zan said.

Huang Jiaxi, drunk and slurring his words, said in broken Cantonese, "Director Xu, that's not very friendly of you. I've heard you pulled some strings."

"Huh? This news has even reached Hong Kong?" Xu Zan asked in surprise.

"Of course," Huang Jiaxi pondered for a moment, "Director Xu, it's not that I'm not optimistic about this deal, but I've heard that Ding Shanxi has extensive connections in the mainstream circles of Taiwan, you..."

"I won't succeed?" Xu Zan didn't care. "Maybe. There's a 50% chance if I try, and zero if I don't."

"Director Xu, don't misunderstand, I wasn't referring to your directing or screenwriting abilities. Miss Fang often praises your abilities and wants to invite you to work at Shaw Brothers... You're a director of commercial films, Ding... he..."

Huang Jiaxi's words implied that this was not something that could be accomplished through mere ability.

"Joyful Encounters" finally finished its run in Hong Kong after three weeks, accumulating HK$1.5 million in box office revenue and climbing to sixth place among Chinese-language films.

This achievement shocked Hong Kong people, considering that romance films are not highly regarded in Hong Kong; people prefer action and comedy films.

This romance film actually managed to outshine Liu Chia-liang's "The Spiritual Boxer" and Chang Cheh's "The Young Master of Hung Kuen".

Many directors couldn't sit still and used their connections to obtain copies of "Joyful Encounters" to analyze it frame by frame.

Hong Kong media outlets widely reported on this matter, saying that the veteran director lacked ambition and that his films were too old-fashioned, failing to meet the demands of Hong Kong audiences for the New Wave cinema.

The term "New Wave" originated from an interview with Hui Tsan published in the Oriental Daily News. Some Hong Kong media outlets used it to make comparisons between the old and the new.

"Stirring up hatred? Hahaha, I love it!"

Xu Zan received another invitation from Jiahe to visit their company. Unlike Shao's, Jiahe adopted the method of developing satellite subsidiaries.

The company's internal vitality is naturally higher than that of Shaw Brothers, but there is no less internal strife. After all, Jiahe has limited funds and a limited number of theaters, so everything has to be fought for.

During his week in Hong Kong, Xu Zan met many celebrities and also met Jackie Chan, who was still unknown at the time. He followed behind Luo Wei and heard that Luo Wei had joined Four Weis Company.

At this time, Luo Wei had great confidence in Cheng Long, saying that he was preparing to reboot "Fist of Fury" to promote the young star.

Over the weekend, Xu Zan met Li Lihua, who had just returned from the United States. She was a very smooth person who spoke in a way that was neither humble nor arrogant, yet made people feel very comfortable.

Those who manage to emerge victorious from among a group of powerful figures are indeed extraordinary.

Li Lihua's salary wasn't high, only HK$70,000, which also included round-trip airfare, food, and accommodation.

Upon returning to Taiwan from Hong Kong, Hsu Tsan received a phone call from Brigitte Lin.

"Um, you went to Hong Kong?" Brigitte Lin stammered. "Do you have time? Shall we go dancing?"