money player

Dinner was held in the garden. Sin Yiu Man, Jorge Guinness, Farouk, and Gana sat at one table, served by a private chef, while the others ate at a buffet.

The food on the table was a bit extravagant: two large trays of blue oysters, about seventy or eighty in total; three whole roasted lamb legs; a large plate of Napoleon cake cut into small pieces; and so many other desserts that it was too much to count. There was also a large plate of Lindt chocolates, which were custom-made and not the mass-produced kind.

These dishes were mainly prepared for Farouk, who was busy eating from the moment he sat down at the table. He ate two blue oysters in one bite, a slice of mutton in one bite. The chef's knife skills were not very good, and the slices were a bit thick, about three centimeters long. He also ate a slice of Napoleon cake in one bite.

After finishing these, drink a glass of Margaux 1937 to cleanse your palate before moving on to the next round.

Four people eating a large table of food, with chefs constantly serving dishes, would be considered ostentatious and wasteful by anyone who saw it, but there was no waste at all. For Farouk, it was no big deal.

Fortunately, Farouk was, after all, His Majesty the King, and he hadn't completely forgotten his dining etiquette. His eating manners were still within an acceptable range and not disgusting. The three of them, including Sin Yiu-man, didn't disturb his enjoyment and ate and chatted with him in a clear-cut manner.

“Adam, Lana Turner has a bodyguard who works for Mitch Cohen.”

"Boy friend?"

“Yes, it’s a bit troublesome,” Guinuo said gleefully. “This guy’s name is John, John Stormpanato, an Italian…”

As she spoke, Guinuo glanced at Jia Na, "Ava can tell you the detailed information."

Upon hearing this, Sin Yiu-man turned to look at Ka-na.

Jana put down her fork. "John is a bastard. He used to pursue me, but I have nothing to do with him."

Xian Yaowen understood what Jia Na meant. He turned back to Guinuo and said, "Ruo Re, don't keep me in suspense."

Guinuo chuckled, "Ava is right. Stormpanato is a bastard. He uses sweet talk to woo female celebrities, and then extorts money from them after he gets them. Several female celebrities have already fallen for his tricks, and Lana Turner is the latest one."

"Lana Turner is required to pay alimony to Bob Toppin because of him?"

"Maybe it's related."

Jana said, "There is a direct connection. Bob discovered Lana's affair with that bastard and started abusing her. Lana couldn't take it anymore, so she filed for divorce."

Is alimony actually hush money?

"You can say that."

Sin Yiu-man sighed, "It's a really complicated relationship. Ruo Re, I don't plan to accept your prize. Please keep it safe."

Guinuo shrugged. "Adam, she's yours now, and we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

"Fuck you!"

“Ha~” Guinno laughed happily: “Adam, I’ve discovered that you don’t necessarily need a film company to date female celebrities. Jorge Guinno’s expenses are too high. I don’t plan to continue operating it. I plan to transfer the original business to an agency.”

What kinds of services do you offer?

"There are contracts with some female artists, and a film called 'Rio de Janeiro' that is in the works. You can ask Ava for details."

Sin Yiu-man said in a slightly serious tone, "If you want to do business with me, do it with the same attitude you would use for work. Otherwise, we can talk about it tomorrow."

“Alright.” Guinuo shrugged. “I invested in this film to pursue Ava. Now that I’ve lost the opportunity, I don’t plan to invest any more money.”

Which company made it?

"Lianmei Company".

How much initial investment is required?

"$15 million."

“OK.” Sin Yiu-man nodded and said, “I will take over the follow-up matters, but the brokerage company will not pay a penny upfront. I will only talk to you about the costs invested in the early stages after those businesses generate profits.”

Gui Nuole said, "I still have a chance to recoup my costs?"

"Of course, there might be a profit, depending on the value of those artists' contracts."

“Each person has been carefully selected by me, so their value must be very high.”

"If you're hot, being good-looking doesn't necessarily make you a star."

"Isn't it more likely to be good-looking?"

"Hmm. Was that female referee a signed artist?"

"Yes."

"Her name?"

"Angelina Weaver, from Texas, you're interested in her?"

Sin Yiu-man countered, "You and her?"

"No, I haven't had time yet."

"Yes, I like her. Her looks are perfect for the female lead in the project I'm conceiving. Jorge has a great chance of becoming very valuable, you know what I mean?"

"I understand, I understand," Guinuo said helplessly. "She's yours now, I'll stay away from her."

"Thank you."

"Adam, I am a shareholder."

“Yeah.” Sin Yiu-man picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “Sir, I’ve finished eating and would like to take a walk in the garden.”

"The master bedroom is mine; you can use any of the other bedrooms."

"Thank you, I like being in the garden."

Sin Yiu-man and Chia-na strolled through the garden in the sunset, with mist drifting to their right.

"Adam, that project?"

“You can’t play the role. What I need is an actress like Steve Rogers, who can ride horses, shoot, and fight, and she has to be trained to a professional level in everything.”

"Do I have a chance to compete for the lead role in that Rome project?"

"No, Audrey Hepburn came first, and then the Roman Holiday project was tailor-made for her."

"Is she special?"

"She was my girlfriend when I was conceiving Roman Holiday."

"A love gift?"

“No.” Sin Yiu-man changed the subject. “How much longer do you have left on your contract with MGM?”

"Expiring in February 1953."

How much is the penalty for breach of contract?

"$50 million."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Jia Na's eyes. MGM positioned her as a "sexy vase," refusing to give her serious scripts and rejecting similar scripts from outside. However, she did not want to be a man's ornament and once rebelled against MGM, making their relationship very tense.

Do you want to terminate the contract?

“I look forward to the contract expiring every day.”

"The penalty for breach of contract is too high. I lack an understanding of your business value. Give me some time to evaluate."

Jia Na winked, "Do you need me to prove my worth?"

Sin Yiu-man shook his head, "Our relationship will not affect my business decisions; business is only about profit."

“You misunderstood me. What I meant was that I could personally bear part of the penalty for breach of contract.”

"How many?"

"$5 million."

"I can feel your sincerity, but it's too little to change anything."

“$5 is a lot for me. I don’t have much income this year, and I still have to pay $1000 in mortgage payments every month.”

"You didn't buy your house outright?"

“The company paid the down payment for me as a condition of the contract.” Jia Na took Xian Yaowen’s arm. “My annual salary is $10, and I have to complete 6 films. I refused to act in a film arranged by the company, which is a breach of contract. I don’t know how much penalty I have to pay, but the company certainly won’t let me off easy.”

$10 sounds like a lot, but I actually received less than $2. Taxes, agent commissions, union dues and pension contributions, lawyer/PR fees, image maintenance—everything cost money.

"So you're saying that not only will you not get your salary from MGM this year, you'll also lose a penalty for breach of contract."

"Probably,"

"What about your other income? Loan-out filming fees and advertising fees."

"This year, I was only loaned out once. The film fee was $7.5, and I received $3. Then the company turned down two more loans."

"Your punishment?"

"Half the reason is that I don't fit the company's expectations of me."

"So, your actual income this year is $3?"

“No, it’s $23, Adam. You’re the first man to give me that much money.”

"I'm not giving it to you. I'm just creating an opportunity for you to make money. My commission is only $4. The $16 is your own profit. You don't need to thank me."

Jia Na smiled gently, "You weren't like this just now."

Sin Yiu-man paused, chuckled softly, "I love you more than Frank loved Ava; let's grow old together like Bogart and Bacon; I'll go to work in the factory, and you'll bake apple pies—like Donna Reed; I'll buy you mink coats and diamonds, like Rita Hayworth. Have you ever heard these things?"

"Trending love quotes."

"Couples in the throes of passion are like a pair of con artists deceiving each other, playing roles that are not their true selves, and saying sweet nothings that have not been carefully considered or assessed in terms of their own ability to achieve. Therefore, love usually fades and rarely grows stronger with the years."

The most beautiful state for most couples lies in sweet words. Sweet words are not the same as promises. Only a very few people still remember the lies they wove after marriage, driven by hormones, and try to make amends for the sin of lying.

This is love!
When two people exchange items they want from each other, they establish rules that restrict their rights and obligations. In order to get what they want smoothly, they will often abide by the rules well.

If one party finds that the item provided by the other party is no longer necessary to them, they can renegotiate the exchange or terminate the exchange altogether.

That's business!

Sin Yiu-man led Chia Na forward, saying, “The beauty of love lies in its ability to break the principle of equivalent exchange. It’s like betting on horses. The lowest odds for 3T are 50 times, and the highest odds are 1200 times. Winning is like betting big with a small investment. There is no shortage of lucky people in this world who win 3T.”

Of course, there are also unlucky ones who win one horse after another but lose the next. They bet on 9 out of 10 horses and lose. When it comes to the last one, they are too scared to gamble anymore and they have no money left to gamble.

"Frank, how many times have you done this?"

"the third time."

Do you believe you've won big by betting on this stock?

"My relationship with Frank was like a storm. We were both passionate, impulsive, and possessive. We not only distrusted each other but also envied each other's careers and success. When he was angry, he would hit me until I couldn't take it anymore and called the police. In a moment of impulse, I flew to London and had an abortion."

"Sorry, I was daydreaming. Your words sparked my inspiration."

"What inspiration?"

"Inspired by a story, Angelina and Brad are assassins belonging to opposing forces. They meet in a Havana bar, encounter a police search, and cover for each other to escape danger."

You guys drink together, dance the tango… oh no, the dance needs special choreography, maybe a tango fused with the rumba, and we also need to create a special piece of music, blending African percussion with Spanish melodies, like "Babalú."

Sin Yiu-man embraced Chiana and danced with her. "In this dance, you can show off your beautiful figure and also promote the development of Angelina and Brad's relationship. They both killed people and were searched by the police, so they need to release their tense nerves."

After a night of pleasure, they returned to New York to continue their relationship under a cover. What other profession do you think you could pursue besides acting?

"To conceal one's identity?"

"uh-huh."

After thinking for a moment, Jia Na said, "I can sing jazz and dance, which might be more suitable for a job that conceals my identity."

"No, I want a bigger contrast, one that has nothing to do with your acting career, and preferably the opposite of the image of an assassin."

"police?"

"If you weren't an actor, what profession do you think you would pursue?"

“A writer.” After a moment’s thought, Jia Na said, “I mean, a writer. Actually, I’m working on a story about a bullfighter and a prostitute, and I’ll write it down when I have some free time.”

"Your cover identity is a librarian. You secretly create in class. You like to write romance novels. Your place is piled with manuscripts of all kinds of love stories. Every time you finish a work, you send it to the publisher with great anticipation, only to receive rejection letters, time and time again."

You wear outdated clothes, wear glasses, enjoy eating certain food that has been advertised online, watch children's programs, love cats, and have adopted many stray cats..."

How did you know I like cats?

"I don't know, but it's great that you like cats. You can be more sincere in your performance. The strong conflict and contrast between killing and rescuing cats will highlight the contradictions in your female character."

Brad's cover identity will be related to his profession as an assassin. I haven't decided on a specific profession yet, but a fitness instructor or boxing coach would probably be one of those.

My real idea was to tell the story of the sweetness and conflict in married life through the love story of two assassins from opposing camps, in a rather exaggerated way. For example, Angelina and Brad find out that they have been deceiving each other, calmly finish their dinner, and then one goes to the kitchen and the other to the tool shed, each grabbing a weapon and having a big fight.

Pistols, rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, grenades, and daggers will be used in turn until the house is completely destroyed, at which point the two will leave and return to their respective sides.

"Yes, there will be another major battle later on, and I plan to leave that to a professional screenwriter to develop."

"Your idea, won't you implement it yourself?"

“I’m not a screenwriter, the story isn’t my child, I don’t care how many fathers it has, I only care about how much money I can get in return.”

"What the hell? Why did God give you the ability to write scripts? That ability should be given to me," Jia Na said sourly.

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "Because I am Adam."

Jia Na gave Xian Yaowen a "you're awesome" look, "What are you planning to call this story?"

“I like the name ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ but I’m worried that audiences will associate it with Hitchcock’s ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith.’ So we might change the name later, perhaps ‘Mr. & Mrs. Sinatra.’”

"You're planning to have me and Frank star in it?"

"Isn't that a great selling point?"

Jia Na stopped dancing and took Xian Yaowen's arm again. "You really think so?"

"That's the idea, but whether it can be implemented is not up to me. I personally think this concept is promising and I estimate it will achieve good box office results, but there are many large-scale scenes, so the budget will not be low. Jorge Guinness has not yet received any revenue and cannot afford the risk of such a large investment failing. I will consider financing to reduce the risk."

"Partnering with other companies? Like MGM?"

“On the one hand, I’m also considering financing from outside the industry.” Xian Yaowen waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about it for now. I just had this idea a few minutes ago. It will take time to turn it into a project. Let’s talk about it later.”

In fact, he had a deeper vision and considered integrating film and television projects into the bank's plans as part of its wealth management services.

Because this isn't a fraudulent fundraising scheme, nor is it about "making $300 million overseas with short dramas" where you can scam anyone you can, targeting gullible people with a little spare cash, ensuring client returns is crucial. Rigorous risk assessment and a clear business logic are essential, and things can't be rushed. (End of Chapter)