1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Huang Hexiang is now the president of British American Tobacco (Hong Kong), responsible for the tobacco company's business in the Asia-Pacific region. Just one month before he married Gong Li, British American Tobacco had just merged its global tobacco business.

The tobacco company's main business in the Asia-Pacific region is now in Hong Kong, so Hong Kong's return is likely to have an impact on the tobacco company's layout in the Asia-Pacific region.

In fact, what tobacco companies want most is to enter mainland China to conduct business, and it would be best if they could open factories in mainland China.

They have been trying over the years, but have never gotten any chance, and the relevant departments have not given in at all.

The mainland's control over the tobacco industry is very strict, like an iron wall, and they can't get in at all.

In recent years, several major tobacco giants in the world have divided up the global market. As China is a major tobacco consumer, they will certainly not let go of this big piece of cake.

Everyone believes that whoever can take a piece of the big cake of China will become the real tobacco overlord.

British American Tobacco is now the world's second largest tobacco group, but if they can capture the Chinese market, they will quickly become number one.

For British American Tobacco, they believe that entering the mainland market is not a development, but a return.

Because the British American Tobacco Group entered China as early as the beginning of the 20th century and controlled more than 70 percent of China's tobacco sales in the 1920s. It can be said that they once dominated China's tobacco market.

The tobacco companies were able to grow so fast, so of course their methods were not clean.

When they first competed with the Nanyang brothers for the market, they directly used three tricks.

The first axe was to deliberately buy Nanyang Brothers' cigarettes, put them in a dark and damp ditch to let them mold, and then put them on the market to destroy Nanyang Brothers' brand power. Over time, customers believed that Nanyang Brothers' cigarette quality control was poor, and Nanyang Brothers often faced compensation requests because of this.

The second axe was to engage in a propaganda war. At that time, an unidentified reporter in the National Daily wrote an anonymous letter accusing Nanyang Brothers of relying on Neon's raw materials, equipment and technical personnel. At the same time, British American Tobacco also sent hawkers to sell Nanyang Brothers' cigarettes, and then shouted loudly, claiming that they were Neon cigarettes.

British American Tobacco even hired a group of small hooligans to buy cigarettes from various tobacco stalls. If the boss recommended Nanyang Brothers cigarettes, they would loudly scold them, saying that these were Japanese cigarettes. Over time, some vendors simply stopped stocking Nanyang Brothers cigarettes.

The third move was to sue Nanyang Brothers for trademark infringement. Not only did they sue in court, they also distributed flyers warning that anyone selling Nanyang Brothers' infringing products would be prosecuted.

This series of moves completely left the Nanyang brothers at a loss as to what to do.

After the founding of New China, the then Ministry of Light Industry took over British American Tobacco's assets and debts in China and established the China Tobacco Company.

So some people believe that the predecessor of China Tobacco Corporation was British American Tobacco.

This statement would certainly not be recognized, because at that time British American Tobacco was basically just an empty shell. Even if the Ministry of Light Industry did not take over British American Tobacco and instead established a new company, it would not make much difference.

Zhou Yan didn’t know what Huang Hexiang was thinking. If he knew, he would never say anything to Huang Hexiang.

Not to mention that Zhou Yan didn't want to get involved in this matter, even if he wanted to, he probably didn't have the ability to do so.

Tobacco is not something that anyone can touch. Not to mention the Zhou family alone, even if the Zhou family, the Zhan family, the Li family, and the Huo family were tied together, they would not be able to touch tobacco.

If you want to eat a piece of meat or drink some soup, they can all do it, but if you want to intervene directly, basically whoever touches it will be unlucky.

The three chatted for a while, and then the phone on the table rang. Zhou Yan apologized to the two of them, then got up and answered the phone.

"Lao Zhou, are you in the office?" Chen Kaige's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Isn't this nonsense? You called my office number. If I'm not in the office, can I answer your call?"

"Haha, I'm just asking casually. Since you're in the office, that's good. I'll bring someone to borrow your space for an audition later."

"Lend me your place?" Zhou Yan asked doubtfully.

"Why, it can't work?"

"That's fine, but why do you want to borrow my space?"

Chen Kaige is probably the boss of Yanjing Film Studio. He is preparing a new movie. Can the studio not give him space? It is not necessary for him to borrow space here even for auditions, right?

"Didn't you set up a special place for auditions? It's fully equipped."

The studio does have a place specifically for auditions, but the so-called audition room is not much different from an ordinary room.

It's nothing more than two rooms, one for a fitting room and the other for a makeup room. This makes it more convenient to try on characters with special requirements.

In addition, there are cameras and reflectors in the room, which are also the places usually used for movie auditions.

After hearing what Chen Kaige said, Zhou Yan didn't think much about it. He just thought that he probably didn't want to move the camera into the room, so he came here to borrow space since it wasn't far away anyway.

"Oh, then will you come in the morning or in the afternoon?" Zhou Yan asked.

"I'll be there soon, okay?"

Zhou Yan glanced at Gong Li, then said, "Okay, Sister Li is here too, let's have lunch together at noon."

Hearing that Gong Li was there, Chen Kaige smiled and said, "Gong Li is here too, see you later."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan said to Gong Li, "It's Uncle Kai. He said he wants to lend us the place for actors to audition."

"Is it his new movie? I saw it in the newspaper before."

Hearing Gong Li's words, Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes.

In the original world, Gong Li participated in "The Emperor and the Assassin", in which she played the childhood playmate of Ying Zheng.

But now from what Gong Li said, Chen Kaige did not contact her.

Has Chen Kaige not found one yet, or is he not planning to find one at all? Will Gong Li still play Zhao Ji later?
As time went by, Zhou Yan found that more and more things in the world were changing. It didn't seem to be a particularly big deal that Gong Li didn't star in "The Emperor and the Assassin". It was normal for things to change.

"Yes, his new movie, The Emperor and the Assassin."

"Why does he want to audition here?" Gong Li was also very confused.

"Maybe he thinks it's more convenient for me to be here." Zhou Yan smiled, "He will be here soon. Let's have lunch together at noon. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind." Gong Li waved her hand.

Although Gong Li and Chen Kaige have an average relationship, they have collaborated on two films after all, so they are at least acquaintances.

Moreover, Gong Li has now separated from Zhang Yimou, and if her relationship with Chen Kaige doesn't go well, she will have fewer films to shoot in the future.

"We won't go out for lunch. Let's eat in the cafeteria."

"You can arrange this. It doesn't matter where I eat. Our old Huang is not very particular about food."

Huang Hexiang nodded, "Yes, I have no problem. I will follow Director Zhou's arrangements."

Gong Li patted her thigh and stood up, "Where is your toilet?" "Go out and turn right."

Zhou Yan stood up and wanted to go out to show her the way, but she waved her hand and said, "I'll go find it myself."

After Gong Li left, Huang Hexiang took a sip from the teacup, then pushed up his glasses with a smile, "Director Zhou, we usually spend most of our time in Hong Kong. If you go to Hong Kong, please tell us so that we can play our part as hosts."

"Don't worry, Mr. Huang. If I go there, I will definitely look for Sister Li."

"Yes, Hong Kong will soon be returned, and it will be more convenient to travel back and forth."

Zhou Yan smiled and didn't respond. Instead, he asked, "Has Mr. Huang been to Yanjing before?"

"I've been here a few times."

"What is your impression of Yanjing?" Zhou Yan asked again.

"Although I have been here several times, I stayed here for a short time each time and didn't have time to look around."

"That's a pity. Yanjing is different from Hong Kong and Singapore after all. If you have time, you can ask Sister Li to take you around. Or if you have other acquaintances in Yanjing, you can ask them to take you around."

Hearing this, Huang Hexiang's eyelids twitched suddenly.

He felt that Zhou Yan had something else in mind, but how could Zhou Yan know about him? This shouldn't be the case.

Maybe Zhou Yan just said it casually and didn't mean anything else.

Huang Hexiang thought that he should not scare himself. He forced a smile and said, "The only people I know in Yanjing are business friends. No one wants to take me out to play."

"Oh, that's a pity." Zhou Yan nodded and picked up the cup to drink tea.

Huang Hexiang had something on his mind and didn't know what to talk about for a moment, and the atmosphere suddenly became cold.

After a while, Gong Li came back from the toilet. She said with a smile, "I think I saw that Japanese female singer just now. Her name is Kudo or something?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's Akina Nakamori. She has been in China recently."

"Akina Nakamori... is she..."

Gong Li thought of the gossip about her good friend Anita Mui and wanted to ask, but she finally held back. She and Zhou Yan were both friends of Anita Mui, and it didn't seem good for them to discuss Anita Mui's gossip behind her back.

If Anita Mui herself were here, it would be easier to deal with. Anita Mui probably wouldn't care about this matter.

Since she held back, Zhou Yan naturally didn't say anything further.

Everyone who follows the entertainment industry knows about what happened between Akina Nakamori and Anita Mui. It's no secret.

Now Akina Nakamori has finished her schedule in China, and she has no work in the next period of time, so she came to the studio to practice singing.

When Zhou Yan returns to Nanjing, she will probably have to return to Neon as well.

Half an hour later, Chen Kaige came and brought a girl with him.

When Zhou Yan saw the girl, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He didn't expect that Chen Kaige would eventually find Zhang Ziyi.

"Teacher Zhou." Zhang Ziyi greeted Zhou Yan first, and then saw Gong Li, her eyes full of surprise. She didn't expect to see Gong Li here.

For students like Zhang Ziyi at the Central Academy of Drama, Gong Li is a role model, and many people regard Gong Li as their goal to catch up with.

She wanted to call Gong Li "Senior Sister", but she didn't have the nerve to do it.

Zhou Yan nodded and introduced her to Gong Li, "This is Zhang Ziyi, a student from the 96 grade of the Central Academy of Drama, your junior sister."

Hearing that it was her junior sister, Gong Li also smiled, "I heard that there are many beautiful female students in this class. It seems that the rumors are true."

In fact, Gong Li's words were somewhat coaxing, because Zhang Ziyi is not that good-looking.

Some people say that Gong Li's face is too big and her body is too big.

But in fact, Gong Li in real life is not burly at all. She has a very normal, even a little thin figure. Her face is not big at all, and is obviously smaller than that of ordinary people.

Zhang Ziyi is a little too thin, like a bamboo pole, and her head is narrower than that of other actresses.

Chen Kaige feels that Zhang Ziyi has some of Gong Li's characteristics, but Gong Li herself doesn't have this feeling at all, and Zhang Ziyi doesn't think she looks like Gong Li.

Zhang Ziyi even has a little inferiority complex, she thinks she looks a bit rustic.

Chen Kaige said with a smile, "The waves behind will always push the waves ahead. Maybe Ziyi will surpass you in the future."

Gong Li certainly didn't take this seriously. She also smiled and said, "Of course I hope that all the juniors in our school can have good development. If everyone can surpass me, I will be so happy. Junior sister, develop well, and in the future, these directors will beg you to film for them."

Chen Kaige and Gong Li were joking, but Zhang Ziyi was a little overwhelmed. She didn't know whether she should be humble or make some bold statements.

After all, she is a girl who has just entered college and has little social experience.

Seeing her stunned, Zhou Yan looked at Chen Kaige again. He didn't know how this guy had tricked her into coming for the audition.

To be honest, Zhou Yan thinks that if Zhang Ziyi goes to act now, it would be completely over.

He had seen a skit performed by Zhang Ziyi and felt that she lacked spirit and her basic skills were poor, so she definitely needed to be honed.

If she had gone out to act early and not studied hard in school, her basic skills would have always been poor.

It doesn't mean that you can't hone your basic skills after you start acting. Many people have solid basic skills after acting a lot.

Just like Zhou Yan, he had never acted before, but he taught himself and now his acting skills are pretty good.

But not everyone can do this. Many people don't have the time and energy to think about these things after they start acting, especially in Zhang Ziyi's current situation. The things the director arranges for her every day are enough to give her a headache.

Unless she is willing to take a break for half a year to a year after taking on a role to hone her acting skills before taking on another job.

With that period of time in between, it actually doesn’t matter whether you’re in school or not.

But it is obvious that most people cannot do this. No one wants to waste their youth like this, especially for actresses, who only work when they are young. If they don’t shoot more movies while they are young, they will have no chance later.

In the original world, Zhang Ziyi's acting skills didn't improve much after graduation, and this is proof.

If Zhang Ziyi drops out of school this time to act in Chen Kaige's movie, I'm afraid her future life will be worse than her previous one. (End of this chapter)