money player

The twin sisters who can sing have great potential. If they are portrayed as having a clean image, it would fit perfectly with the current conservative culture in the United States, giving them an advantage over mainstream jazz singers. They could appeal to the whole family, that is, all age groups.

Another advantage is that sisters have a great advantage in public relations. Three sisters are better than twins, and even better than working alone. Potential opportunities are less likely to be lost.

As he pondered this, Sin Yiu-man walked to the edge of the stage and carefully observed the faces and figures of the three women.

While not top-tier in appearance, the three women are still considered beauties. They are 168 cm, 165 cm, and 163 cm tall, respectively, and are very well-proportioned. This allows for differentiation, and with a little attention to clothing and shoes, they can also achieve uniformity, making them highly adaptable.

She has a relatively uniform figure, with prominent curves in the front and back, and clear lines, which allows her to pull off tight-fitting jeans that best showcase a woman's figure.

Having identified the three voices, he closed his eyes and listened to them hum almost half a song. He discovered that the tallest one was suited for the main melody, the one of medium height was suited for the low harmonies, and the shortest one was suited for the high harmonies. The three of them clearly knew their own abilities and that's how they divided the roles.

All three had clear, ethereal voices, capable of singing gospels. He thought of the church hymn "He" and the traditional spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

If the first song in each of their public performances is dedicated to the Gospel of God, they can achieve the correctness of their religious beliefs and also try to market the concept of "God's singers"—that all three are angels singing for God in heaven, with the first song for God and the second song onwards for their people.

If this identity marketing is successful, the three of them can sing until they die; one marketing campaign and they'll have food to eat for life.

He thought of "Amazing Grace," a bagpipe solo followed by an ethereal chorus, which he figured would be quite effective.

He also thought of "Que Sera Sera": "When I was a little girl, I asked my mother what my future would be like. Would I be beautiful? Would I be rich?"

"Long Long Time," "Frenesi," "Seven Lonely Days," and "Yesterday Once More" are all very suitable for a trio to sing. Well, you can really take all of the Carpenters' songs; they all fit the current music style quite well.

"Sacred Night", "She", "It's so Easy"...

It seems there's no need to think about it for now. He has the ability to "create" quite a few songs, but it's a waste of his talent. In his memory, the songs suitable for women to sing are either chart-topping hits, or even songs that are widely popular around the world and Grammy Award-winning works. He, being an ordinary person, really doesn't have the ability to create anything.

However, when it comes to a record debut, it's best to start with a children's song. A persona that cares about and loves children will never be out of place. Moreover, children, wives/husbands, and parents don't need to wait until the future; they can be in the present and reach a consensus and resonance on the singer's preferences, which is a wonderful thing.

What kind of cultural value would it generate if the whole family listened to the songs of the same band? And what kind of economic value would it generate?
Revenue from records and concerts will likely be a negligible part.

"Children's songs..."

The moment the thought crossed my mind, the song "If You're Happy and You Know It" popped into my head—a song with the potential to spread to every corner of the world. If it just became popular in the US, I could immediately announce that I was giving up my copyright rights so that anyone could sing and adapt it, and my "good guy" image would instantly take hold.

He beckoned to the tallest woman, "Girl, come over and let's talk about the contract."

Upon hearing this, the woman's face lit up with joy. She quickly walked over and, before even squatting down, said, "You want to sign a contract with us?"

"your name?"

“Christine, Christine McGuire.”

“OK, Christine.” Sin Yiu-man, surprised by his luck, grabbed the McGuire sisters. “Do you know Rebecca Penn?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the other two McGuire's came over as well.

"of course."

“I discovered her, and I made her famous.” Xian Yaowen took out a pen. “Give me your hand.”

Christine offered her hand.

Sin Yiu-man wrote Jorge Guinness's agency phone number in her palm. "Come find me at Jorge Guinness on North Carolina Blvd. tomorrow afternoon, at 3 p.m. If you can't come, call me."

“I will definitely go,” Christine said excitedly.

“It wasn’t me.” Sin Yiu-man pointed to the other two McGuire’s. “It was us. I want all three of you.”

"Really?" McGuire, the shortest of the group, jumped up excitedly.

“Yeah,” Sin Yiu-man chuckled. “Your name?”

“I am Phyllis,” Phyllis said, pointing to another McGuire. “This is Dorothy.”

“OK.” Sin Yiu-man nodded slightly to the three of them. “The three Ms. McGuire, future superstars, see you tomorrow.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sin Yiu-man turned away from the stage. Amidst the excited shouts behind him, he glanced in the direction where the waiter had just disappeared. The announcement had taken far too long.

Before his thoughts had even faded, the waiter appeared in his line of sight, followed by a short man who must have been Mickey Cohen.

After a short wait, the man approached him and tentatively asked, "Mr. Hepburn?"

“Call me Adam.” It was the right person. Sin Yiu-man extended his right hand to Cohen. “Mickey, I apologize for the intrusion.”

Cohen grasped Sin Yiu-man's hand and smiled, "Adam, Sam had already told you you would be coming. I just spoke to Sam again about something unpleasant, and he asked about you."

"Is it inconvenient? I can leave now."

"No need, the matter has been taken care of. Please come with me."

Cohen and Sin Yiu-man led him deeper into the room, and after a short while, the two entered a private room.

Inside sat a man, none other than Frank Sinatra, who looked to be in poor condition, disheveled, and as if he had just been disciplined.

Before he could ask, Cohen said, "This bastard owes me $20. I was going to make him sell his ass to pay it off, but he said he's Sam's friend."

“I can vouch for that. Frank is indeed Sam’s friend, and also Cen’s friend.” Xian Yaowen walked up to Sina and bent down. “Frank, it’s me, Adam. How are you?”

Sinatra gave an awkward smile. "Adam, I never expected that our first meeting would be at this time."

Sin Yiu-man gave Sinatra a look that everything was fine, then looked at Cohen and said, "Mickey, I'll write you a check later."

“There’s no need for that. Frank and I have reached a new repayment plan. He’ll be fine, Frank, is that right?”

Upon hearing this, Sinatra gave Sin Yiu-man an awkward smile and said, "Adam, I'm fine."

"Ok."

Sin Yiu-man shrugged and sat down next to Sinatra.

Seeing this, Cohen sat down on his other side, poured two glasses of wine, handed one to him, and held one for himself, saying, "Adam, let's drink to our meeting."

Sin Yiu-man and Cohen clinked glasses, Sin Yiu-man took a small sip, and then put down his glass. “Mickey, a shipment arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago. Sam found out it came from Long Beach. Is this related to you?”

“Adam, I’d like to do business in Hong Kong, but we’ve only just met,” Cohen said with a faint smile.

Sin Yiu-man said with a sigh of relief, "That's good. Next time I can leave people and goods in Hong Kong with peace of mind."

"You're very hospitable?" Cohen smiled.

"Hmm." Sin Yiu-man nodded slightly. "I have real estate investments in the seabed. There are many houses there, and they are very large. There is enough room for even a large number of guests."

“Ha~” Cohen laughed. “I hate the sea. If I go to Hong Kong, I’ll definitely live on a mountain.”

"Mid-Levels, where some of the most powerful people in Hong Kong live."

"OK, I'll stay halfway up the mountain."

“Mickey.” Sin Yiu-man pointed to the coffee table. “I’ll take any shipment from Long Beach to Singapore, no matter how many, at the same price as Sam’s Club.”

"I'll take care of your guests?"

"I still can't confirm who the customer is, but the person I suspect is a bit troublesome. She's connected to politics, so you can take her business, but you can't do anything to her."

"she?"

"Uh-huh, a lady."

"Not American?"

"Taiwan."

Cohen raised his glass again. "Give me a few days, and the first shipment will arrive in Singapore soon."

Sin Yiu-man held the cup in his hand. "Do you need gold?"

"What's the price? How much can you give me?"

"The international gold price will be increased by 10% to cover the payment."

"Can it be provided long-term?"

"We can talk about it another time if there's an opportunity."

"OK, cheers."

"Pleasant to work with."

After taking a sip of wine, Sin Yiu-man asked again, "Are the McGuire sisters your people?"

"Who?"

"The three sisters performing on stage."

"No, they're just here to perform."

"I think they're pretty good. I'm planning to sign them and package them as a singing group. I'll let you know."

Cohen gave a cryptic smile. "Adam, I'm not the King of Hollywood. You don't need to greet me."

Sin Yiu-man shrugged. "When I visit someone's home, I'm used to being polite."

"Ha, Adam, I like you."

"Thank you, but I'm not interested in men."

"Haha~"

Cohen laughed heartily, bending over backwards, and it took a while for his laughter to gradually subside. He took out a pack of cheap Tyreden Regular cigarettes and gestured to Sin Yiu-man, who politely declined. He then put one in his mouth himself.

“I was born in New York and came to Los Angeles with my parents when I was five. At the age of eight, I became a newspaper boy and sold newspapers on the street. Because I was short, I was often bullied by other newspaper boys and was often robbed. After selling newspapers for a morning, I not only did not make any money, but I also lost my capital.”

When I was nine, I hung out on the streets with some older kids. They would send me to steal from the grocery stores on Soto Street and Brooklyn Street. After stealing too many times, I got caught and sent to a reformatory.

In the reformatory, I learned to smoke.

Cohen gestured to the cigarette in his hand, "My first cigarette was Terridon, and I've been smoking that brand ever since."

Sin Yiu-man wanted to punch Cohen hard in the face. This bastard underestimated him, making up stories without any preparation. Terridon was a brand that only appeared in the 1930s. To hell with his first cigarette.

He did know that Cohen, that bastard, forced Los Angeles businesses to put his vending machines on, selling Terridon cigarettes smuggled from New York. He was both raising prices and evading state tobacco taxes, making 10 cents a pack—it was incredibly lucrative.

It's important to know that Terridon is positioned as "the cigarette for workers," a staple cigarette for low-income blue-collar workers, and its daily sales are huge.

This bastard is even putting fake Coke in the vending machine, just syrup mixed with tap water, it's so damn unethical.

He was very angry because he had contracted the virus yesterday.

However, he was too lazy to curse. This guy had just been caught and prosecuted for tax evasion not long ago. Unfortunately, all the witnesses died unexpectedly. This time, he had offended the IRS and made himself a typical example of tax evasion for the IRS.

Normally, if you just back down, pay the fines, and have a private chat with the stakeholders, the matter can be resolved quickly. But this has become a typical case, leaving no room for maneuver. The IRS will absolutely stick to their guns and refuse to budge. If they don't deal with this bastard, thousands of other bastards will emerge. How will the IRSERs cope?

They always keep in mind the oath they swore under the Stars and Stripes—"I will fight to the death and for my country to pay taxes; I will be loyal to taxes and love my country; without taxes, there would be no new America."

Cohen's fate was sealed. He would either be killed by his enemies or sent to jail by the IRS, with a minimum sentence of 15 years. After deducting vacation time, he would spend at least 11 years in jail.

As for when he will be arrested, it depends on luck. If new and impressive tax evaders keep emerging, Cohen's schedule may be pushed back. It might be like the tortoise and the hare race, where the latecomer surpasses the former.

Regarding Cohen, Sin Yiu-man didn't have many memories of his previous life. He only knew of Cohen through movies and TV series like "L.A. Confidential" and judged from his villainous image that he had died long ago. Otherwise, if he had a successor and his power was still intact, even if the film company had eight times the courage, it wouldn't have dared to make such a film.

The information he had about Cohen was mostly gathered recently.

Cohen's parents were Ukrainian Jews. He was born in New York in 1913 and spent his childhood in Los Angeles. He participated in illegal boxing at the age of 13, started training as a professional boxer at the age of 15, and fought his last professional fight in Tijuana at the age of 20. He then went to Chicago, fully joined the Mafia, and worked for Al Capone.

In 1939, the National Crime Syndicate sent Cohen back to Los Angeles to work for Benjamin Siegel.

In 1947, the criminal family ordered the murder of Siegel because of his mismanagement of the Flamingo Hotel, most likely because Siegel or his girlfriend Virginia Hill were making money off it.

From then on, Cohen rose to power, and the Cohen family came into being.

The Coen family controlled most of Los Angeles' underground casinos, organizing poker games and horse racing betting. They also controlled protection money collected from famous Hollywood entertainment venues such as Mocambo and Trocadero.

They controlled the supply of extras for the film crew and threatened the crew to use designated union workers, such as truck drivers' union workers.

They controlled the drug supply channels for Hollywood stars, and their methods were rather unsavory. They not only sold drugs at high prices but also resorted to threats, using the threat of exposing drug use or short videos to blackmail stars into accepting roles at low prices and providing certain services free of charge.

"The Frolics" has a terrible reputation in Hollywood. Although it offers many services, such as gambling, drugs, women/men/horses/sheep, and prostitution, Cohen and his men love to tinker with cameras. To use an advertising slogan, "The Cohen family, recording the good life." What customer can stand such a hobby? People in the know don't like to come here unless they absolutely have to.

Sin Yiu-man insisted on coming. Well, Hollywood these days is all about the industry, and the lines on drugs are very blurred. Actresses these days rarely have very healthy lifestyles. Smoking, drinking, and staying up late are the norm. They have to maintain a good public image, for example, by exercising or eating healthily to keep their figures. But the truth is, they are taking amphetamines.

Amphetamines are currently a holy grail drug in Hollywood. They are used for weight loss, to boost energy, to enhance entertainment, and to relax. Everyone knows that this stuff is addictive, but no one considers it a drug.

If someone is a big star with strong box office appeal, they can be somewhat unconventional and don't need to follow the unspoken rules that most Hollywood people follow, such as integrating into the circle, because they inherently possess the attributes of that circle.

But as a newcomer to the industry, if you want to get on camera, you naturally have to integrate into the circle and become one of them before you can slowly strive for opportunities. Otherwise, everyone else is wading across the river, but you are walking on a single-plank bridge. Would the people wading across the river be willing to do that?
Although Sin Yiu-man treated Hepburn differently, had an affair with Grace Kelly, and even hoped for a deeper collaboration in the future, he did not protect her all the way, nor did he try to find alternative ways to help the two bypass the unspoken rules of Hollywood.

Change requires sacrifices, revolution requires sacrifices. He was just a passerby in Hollywood, making a quick buck and then leaving. He was so busy that he ignited the flames of revolution here. He came here only to make a profit, never thinking of becoming a candle, burning himself to light up others.

Jorge Guinness only provided the actors with a direct elevator to their desired floors; the remaining distance to their destination was still their own walk.

To put it bluntly, one should sit on the red sofa as it is meant to be. If you want someone to give up the benefits they are entitled to, you would have to offer extra and excessive benefits in exchange, which does not conform to the principle of maximizing benefits.

His people have to abide by and adapt to the unspoken rules. They're not exactly chaste and virtuous women; sleeping with someone isn't too difficult for them. He doesn't need to be perfect in this regard and sacrifice his own interests.

However, drugs are not an option. He doesn't want to see any of his people passively get involved with drugs in order to fit into the circle. It's fine if he doesn't integrate into the drug addict circle, and it's fine if he doesn't seize some opportunities.

Cohen was probably quite proud of his life story, so he gave Sin Yiu-man a long reminiscence of his glorious past, how he sold alcohol at the tail end of Prohibition, how he organized card games when he could no longer sell alcohol, and how he once single-handedly fought off five armed robbers who came to his door to protect his customers. He was arrested for this, but was eventually acquitted.

He then went on to talk about how he developed his business in Los Angeles, how he built the Flamingo Hotel from scratch in Las Vegas, and some gossip. The reason why the Flamingo Hotel was named after the Flamingo was related to Virginia Hill. It is said that when she was engaged in a certain passionate sport, her face would turn pink like a flamingo.

Sin Yiu-man was captivated and inquired about Hill's appearance, only to be told that she was "very short and looked somewhat old." Instantly, he lost all interest in meeting the woman in Paris next time.

Near the end of the Flamingo Hotel story, Cohen cursed the national crime syndicate, saying that those bastards broke their promise and didn't give him the hotel shares they had been promised.

One conversation after another, all Sin Yiu-man could do was listen, and he had to concentrate and not miss any details. Who knows if Cohen's story of struggle had any hidden meaning?

But as Cohen's story drew to a close, Sin Yiu-man glanced at the ashtray on the coffee table. At that moment, he wondered whether the ashtray was harder or Cohen's head was harder.

You son of a bitch, you're just telling a story.

However, he quickly abandoned his illusions. Cohen had fought in professional boxing matches and had a decent record. As long as he maintained a certain level of training intensity, unless it was a life-or-death struggle, he would most likely be no match for Cohen.

Fortunately, the story is over.

"Adam, there's a poker game here tonight, Fletcher will be there, are you interested?"

"Fletcher Bowlen?"

"Yes, our good mayor."

"Tonight might not be an option; I've already agreed to attend Mr. Guinness's champagne pool party."

"What a pity, but Mr. Guinness's party must be very interesting."

Sin Yiu-man could easily hear the word "want to go" in Cohen's tone. After all, Jorge Guineau was an extremely wealthy man, whose wealth was greater than Cohen's even by the hair on his leg. Moreover, Jorge Guineau was not someone Cohen could use tricks against.

Jorge Guinness had little power in the United States, yet he maintained an equal footing with the powerful class, thus possessing an invisible shield of social class. If Cohen, a mere chamber pot, dared to covet Jorge Guinness's wicked ideas, he would immediately face a thunderous rebuke from Heaven. If he dared to steal manure from the Peach Garden today, he would dare to storm the Southern Heavenly Gate tomorrow.

Sometimes the severity of a crime depends not on what was done, but on who was targeted. To punish Cohen for crimes against civilians, evidence is required. However, once certain conditions are met, evidence becomes less important, and special cases must be handled specially.

"Haha, this is my first time attending a party like this. I wonder what kind of program is going on." Sin Yiu-man said with a knowing smile, "If there's anything fun, I'll hold a party next time and invite all my acquaintances here. Mickey, you have to come."

"With great pleasure."

Sin Yiu-man glanced at his watch and said, “Mickey, I have a film project with a high budget that needs financing. I’ll have someone send over the proposal in a few days. You can take a look, and if you’re interested, we can discuss it in detail.”

"Big production?"

"Yes, the project I'm very confident in doesn't actually lack funding, but it needs other resources. You know, even a good project can fail if it lacks resources."

“I’ve seen a lot of what you’re talking about in Hollywood, Adam. If it’s a good project, I’m willing to invest.”

"Hmm, we'll talk about it in detail next time."

After another round of pleasantries, Sin Yiu-man took his leave.

Back in Beverly Hills, he went to the Hollywood Sports Club, gave his name at the front desk, paid the $500 annual fee, and became a member.

This place is membership-based, and you can't just pay to join. You need recommendations from two current members. It offers good privacy and is a popular hangout for Hollywood people.

He spent some more money on gym equipment, changed into his workout clothes in the locker room, and went to the punching bag area in the gym.

After warming up, he began to work on the sandbag.

He punched the sandbag again and again, his body became hot, and soon, sweat beaded on his skin.

Just as the first bead of sweat on his forehead was about to drip, the sandbag next to him received a guest and began to wail loudly.

Sin Yiu-man glanced at the newcomer and saw it was Humphrey Bogart, the screen tough guy and Rick, the bar owner from *Casablanca*. Judging by his punching style, he was clearly an amateur. At just over fifty years old, throwing heavy punches right off the bat—he wasn't planning on anything good. (End of Chapter)