So what if I work with celebrities?

Last year, everything went as I wished; this year, everything will surely be to my liking.

Around the Lunar New Year, Xu Zan's apartment was bustling with visitors, including actors, photographers, lighting technicians, extras, distributors, and brothers from the Lianzhuhui (a Taiwanese entertainment organization).

Carrying large and small packages of gifts, they visited each other's homes, including seasonal fruits, exquisite pastries, mid-to-high-end cigarettes, cigars, beer, liquor, and red wine...

River delicacies, seafood, homegrown vegetables, tea...

Watches, belts, suits, shirts, socks, leather shoes...

Xu Zan, being an older brother, couldn't possibly eat all of this, so he had to give it to Hu Huizhong's family and their neighbors.

Of course, he also needed to take some things to visit his uncles Mei Changling, Zhang Che, Sailor, Grey Duck, Hip-Hop Guru, Wang Yu, and Qi Shao...

Every time I went to a new place, I had to have a drinking session, and I was almost drunk by New Year's Eve. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and curse myself for having wasted my time traveling.

Humans are, after all, social animals, and are inevitably subject to interpersonal relationships and social niceties.

On New Year's Eve, the house was quiet as he prepared the reunion dinner alone. Taiwan also has a tradition of staying up all night, where the whole family gathers around the stove for a meal.

Unfortunately, Xu Zan was an orphan and had no brothers or sisters.

At night, Xu Zan, like a lonely old man, would look at the clock on the wall, listen to the programs playing on TV, and count down the seconds.

10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1

ding dong~ ding dong~

The sudden doorbell rang, startling him. He quickly got up to open the door.

A couple stood outside the door, and a little girl clung to the man's leg, looking timidly at Xu Zan.

They are new neighbors who have moved in. They bought a new house but haven't finished decorating it yet, so they are currently renting an apartment.

Wang Yaohuang was very tall; Xu Zan felt he was more than 20 centimeters taller than her.

"Mr. Xu, these are some New Year's cakes we made, please try them! We also have some other dishes!"

"Please come in, please come in!" Xu Zan invited them in and quickly went to the kitchen to make tea.

"Mr. Xu, are you spending the New Year alone?" Wang Yaohuang asked with a smile.

"Yes, have some fruit and nuts, and sit wherever you like!" Xu Zan called out to the living room.

They sat there chatting for a while and learned that Wang Yaohuang was a basketball player, and the little girl sitting next to his wife eating pineapple cake was named Wang Zuxian.

"Your daughter is beautiful and has the makings of a star!" Xu Zan said with a smile.

"Oh? We didn't think about that. We just wanted her to get into university and marry into a good family," said Wang's mother.

It seems that parents of this era all share one wish: for their children to get into university.

"If she's tall enough, she'd be good at basketball!" Wang Yaohuang said.

Xu Zan stuck a strawberry on a toothpick, brought it close to Wang Zuxian's face, and asked, "Xiaoxian, do you want to be a star or a basketball player?"

Nine-year-old Wang Zuxian had no idea what a star or a basketball player was.

She was lively and adorable, her chubby little face beaming as she earnestly declared, "I want to be a speaker and a dancer!"

Her mother patted her daughter's head and smiled as she introduced how well her daughter danced, often being chosen as the lead dancer at school, and even winning third place in the last speech contest.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Teresa Teng knocked on Xu Zan's door very early and brought him a plate of dumplings. "Here, these are your favorite fennel and pork dumplings. You're a strange person; why do you like this filling?"

"I'd also like mackerel filling!" Xu Zan said with a smile as she took the lunchbox.

"How's the box office today? I'm so nervous!" Teresa Teng paced back and forth in the living room, talking for a long time without getting a reply.

Turning her head, she saw Xu Zan eating dumplings with her head down, not even dipping them in soy sauce or vinegar, just eating them plain. She walked over, pinched a dumpling with her hand, tilted her head back, and put it in her mouth.

"I still can't enjoy this filling. Say something!"

"What's the rush? Sit down and calm down, just wait for the news." Xu Zan poured a glass of red wine and asked Teresa Teng if she wanted one.

"I won't drink! Who drinks so early in the morning!" Teresa Teng saw a record player in the living room and put on the songs from the movie album "Miss Granny".

The song "When Will You Return?" echoed in the living room.

"You're so narcissistic, you even played your own songs!" Xu Zan laughed.

"You have a crush on me, don't you? This record player is so expensive, and it only has one record, which I sang." Teresa Teng said, turning her body, her skirt blooming like a flower, her smile radiant, with a unique kind of beauty.

"Uh... that's because you openly admire me, and you specially came to give me your first signed record!" Xu Zan immediately retorted.

While Teresa Teng waited anxiously, dozens of cinemas in Taipei simultaneously screened "Miss Granny".

Because it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, many young people invited their friends to watch performances on the street, such as dragon dances, lion dances, and acrobatics. At this time, Taipei had a feeling of old and new intertwined.

There was a long queue outside the movie theater. Some girls couldn't wait any longer, so they left their boyfriends in line while they went shopping at the mall or bought some snacks at a food stall.

In the early 1976 Lunar New Year film season, there were no other films competing with "Miss Strange". The big commotion that Xu Zan made really startled his peers.

Rumors are circulating in the industry that Xu Zan has incredibly powerful connections, which is why Zhang Che didn't go and Ding Shanxi lost. No one has verified this, but everyone is undoubtedly afraid of offending this rising star director.

With big-name directors lacking new works, smaller directors have had to step back, and theater owners, holding "Jaws" in their hands and fearing to offend the Bamboo Association, have had to postpone its release until after the new year. This has created the current situation where "Miss Granny" dominates the market.

In the afternoon and evening, Xu Zan received more phone calls. They all talked about how popular the cinemas were and wished the movie great success.

"Zan-ge, I took my friends to see it, the movie was amazing. It's a pity my role was too small," Zhang Aijia said.

"Zan-ge, shall I elope with you?" Hu Huizhong complained that her parents wouldn't let her act in movies. She and her roommate went to see a movie, and she was very envious of Teresa Teng's performance in the film, which broke through her image.

"Director Xu, the box office is sure to be a huge hit! I brought my brothers and we still couldn't get in!" The sailor grinned from ear to ear; Xu Zan was simply his lucky star.

Now, when people from the Lianzhuhui meet him, they all praise him, saying, "He has a keen eye and dares to take risks."

The United Daily News published a news article about the Spring Festival film season at cinemas that day, stating that under Ilizalov's wise leadership, citizens had more and more spare money and their consumption levels had significantly improved.

A long line stretched out of the movie theater, extending down the street. Teresa Teng broke through her acting limitations, showcasing her comedic talent and representing the bold, fearless, and life-chasing modern woman.

On the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Zan had just seen Hu Huizhong off, who was still lounging in bed, when he ran into Brigitte Lin at the door.

She carried a lunchbox and looked charming in the cold wind.

"Brother Zan, have you eaten?" Brigitte Lin asked with a smile, waving the lunchbox in her hand.

"Then I'll try your cooking!"

In the early hours of the morning, Xu Zan received a call from the cinema chain informing him of the box office results for the first day of the Lunar New Year. The cinema had grossed a total of 1.4 million yuan.

"Hey bro, are you asleep?" The sailor had already driven to Xu Zan's apartment and was banging on the door.

"Let's go, let's have a celebration party tonight, all-inclusive! What kind of girl do you like? I'll have someone prepare her in advance! How about a mixed-gender bath at the hot springs?"

"We sold 1.4 million on the first day! That means we'd make at least 42 million in Taipei alone in a month! Wouldn't we be rich?"