money player

Li Shan, on the mountain road above the Hollywood sign.

Sin Yiu-man and Kosak stood facing the sign, while Grace Kelly sat in the car.

"Sam asked me to tell you that the CIA is watching you."

"I already know, and it's being addressed."

Sin Yiu-man was surprised by Giancarlo's excellent information network. It seemed that the CIA's use of the Mafia as a tool did not begin during the Kennedy era; they probably had already established contact by now.

Kosak paused, unsure how to phrase his next words. Sam's hope of gaining a favor from Adam Hepburn through the CIA had likely been dashed.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly composed himself. "Can this be resolved?"

"no problem."

Asking a chamber pot to help solve problems caused by chess players will only push you towards becoming a chamber pot yourself.

“Sam has always been interested in Hollywood. He gave me a sum of money to act as his agent. It’s a perfectly legal income and has nothing to do with Sam on the surface. I heard that Jorge Guinness has a project.”

“Sydney, I bought Lana Turner’s house. She owes property taxes, and I’m interested in her. I want to poach her from Jorge Guinness. Do you have any good ideas?”

"You don't want to resort to drastic measures?"

"Yes, I prefer a gentle approach."

"Can the contract help me in any way?"

"uh-huh."

How should I interpret your interest in her?

“Sidney, I’ve always been a gentleman to women.”

"Understood, give me a few days."

“OK, project or company? I mean you… oh, the one Sam is really interested in.”

Kosak chuckled and shrugged. "Adam, to be honest, it's me who's interested in Jorge Guinness. Last year, some people were laughing at Jorge Guinness for making a terrible investment, but this year, everyone's jealous of his lucky break."

"Adam, I believe you can create miracles again, and I'm willing to accept Jorge Guinness's treatment."

“Sidney, things are different now. Last year I was short of money, and I am still short of money this year, but not as much. I am very optimistic about the future of Jorge Guinness. If I told you my valuation of it, you would be shocked.”

"Is it more outrageous than the Flower Society?"

"Yes, even more exaggerated than the Flower Society, $4000 million is my valuation of Jorge Guinness."

“Wow!” Kosak exclaimed dramatically, “Adam, you’ve scared me! Jorge Guinno doesn’t have any income yet, right?”

"No."

"So, you're politely rejecting me?"

“No, that’s not it.” Xian Yaowen waved his hand. “Jorge Guinness has many plans to implement, which require a lot of funds. I am very sincere in attracting shareholders. I’ve been working on a Titanic project these past few days.”

Sin Yiu-man gave a brief overview of the Titanic project, saying, "This project will be initiated by Jorge Guineau, and most of the shares will remain with Jorge Guineau."

How many shares are you prepared to offer for financing?

Kosack has been seeking opportunities to inject Mafia capital into Las Vegas, and he is particularly interested in the Titanic-themed hotel.

"30%, at most we can only give you 15%, and that's a 1:2 ratio for buying and selling shares."

What guarantees can you provide?

"A performance-based agreement: Jorge Guinness will go public in five years with a valuation of $7000 million. If it doesn't achieve that, your investment can be doubled and you can exit."

"I invest $600 million and get $1200 million back after 5 years?"

"uh-huh."

Kosak considered for a moment, then shook his head. "It's too long. Shorten it to three years."

"Got a gun?"

"what?"

Sin Yiu-man pointed to his temple. "Point a gun at me here, and I can write you a check for $1200 million right now."

Kosak chuckled and said, "Five years is indeed too long."

“Sidney, we’re talking about investment now. The worst-case scenario for you is a 20% increase in value per year. If it weren’t for Jorge Guinno needing you to do something, and I wasn’t planning to pay you extra, you wouldn’t have gotten such good terms. Three years? Go to hell.”

"What do you need me to do?"

"What you've been doing all along."

Kosak fell silent.

Sin Yiu-man turned and walked towards the car, leaning against the back door. "Coffee."

Kelly handed her a glass bottle. "What are you talking about?"

“Investment.” Xian Yaowen opened the bottle cap, glanced at the corners of the cap, and seeing that it wasn’t very clean, he twisted the cap back on, threw the glass bottle into the car, and complained, “The bottle wasn’t clean, and they still want to charge 25 cents? This is ridiculous.”

“The bottle can be returned.” Kelly handed her bottle to Sin Yiu-man. “Mine is clean. What kind of investment?”

“Jorge Guinness.” Sin Yiu-man took a small sip of coffee and handed the bottle back to Kelly. “Pie.”

Upon receiving the apple pie, Sin Yiu-man took a large bite. He had already digested his breakfast, and since he had missed lunch, he was truly hungry.

"Is Jorge Guinno seeking financing?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kelly said reproachfully.

"I'm talking about dollar business, not cents."

“I have a family trust.”

"Wow, how much is that? Five or six zero cents?"

Kelly rolled her eyes at Xian Yaowen. "Adam, the person in front of you is the eldest daughter of the Kelly family in Philadelphia. My father, John Kelly, is a construction and sports tycoon in Philadelphia."

"Alright, I understand. You're not the only heiress in the Kelly family, nor are you involved in managing family affairs. Don't worry about dollars. I'll tell you about any business that involves cents."

"Damn it, don't talk to me like that. I'm not a child."

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly and said, "You should feel honored. I only use this tone when I talk to my daughter."

Kelly glanced at Sin Yiu-man. "Thank you very much."

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"No."

"I don't want to eat dinner at a restaurant."

"What to eat?"

"Do what you're good at."

"No appetizers? Pan-fried foie gras with asparagus and hollandaise sauce?"

"No need for such extravagance, keep it simple. Just the stew that you Irish are good at, please add some beer."

"No, beer will ruin the taste of the lamb."

"Listen, add Guinness stout, the broth will have a bittersweet flavor like dark chocolate."

"Really?"

"You'll know once you try it."

"Jewish Irish stew?" Kelly joked.

Sin Yiu-man flicked Kelly's nose, then walked toward Koshak, who was waving at him.

"Adam, I need to ask Sam's opinion."

“I’ll wait for your news.” Sin Yiu-man changed the subject, “Sidney, I’d like to hire you as my private lawyer in Los Angeles. Give me a favorable offer.”

Kosak said with a smile, "I will give you the best offer."

“OK, you’ll have a job soon. I’ve got my eye on a building on Vine Street. The owner is asking for $15, which is acceptable, but it would be better if it were cheaper. No matter how much cheaper, I’ll pay you half the commission.”

70%.

"No trouble?"

"of course."

"make a deal."

After leaving Li Shan, Xian Yaowen returned to the music room.

After brainstorming his Titanic plans for a while, he found two Dorothy Dandridge sound montages on the record shelf.

Dandridge was the only Black actor signed by the company. He had seen the photos and found that his appearance matched his aesthetic standards for Black people. He had a very curvaceous figure and was considered ugly among Black people.

In 1951, African Americans had just emerged from an era of food shortages, and their aesthetic standards were quite simple. They liked fat women because being fat meant they could eat their fill. If a Black woman weighed over 120 pounds, she usually wouldn't marry too badly.

He loaded the sound short film into the secondhand Panoram jukebox that Simpson had acquired and began to appreciate Dandridge's performance.

Sound short films are actually music videos invented a few years ago. Because sound short films and jukeboxes are not cheap, they did not enter homes, but only entertainment venues, where customers could watch a music video for 10 cents.

As soon as Dandridge opened his mouth, the word "as expected" popped into his mind.

Dandridge is 29 years old this year. According to her resume, when she was five years old, her mother and "stepfather" formed her and her sister Vivian into a magical children's duo and performed around their birthplace, Cleveland.

As they got older, they formed the Dandridge Sisters, based in Los Angeles, and performed in nightclubs across various states.

By chance, Dandridge played small roles in some films, which made her fall in love with acting. She devoted a lot of energy to winning film roles. At the age of sixteen, she met her current husband, Harold Nicholas, and drifted apart from her sister because of love.

Her current situation is all told to her by the female technician: her husband is a good-for-nothing, has accumulated a huge debt from gambling, and is also having affairs with other women; the two are already separated; her daughter is sick, has congenital brain damage, and needs a professional nurse to take care of her 24 hours a day, which is very expensive.

However, she continued to perform at nightclubs, earning a fairly good income, and her life was not difficult.

God favors the voices of Black people; He doesn't discriminate, he just kisses them all the time. There are so many Black people who can sing well, it's like they're free.

Dandridge's voice has been blessed by God all night long; her mezzo-soprano voice combines softness and power, with a smoky quality, making her able to effortlessly handle scat and sing ballads with ease.

This is a polished piece of black jade, a Grammy-worthy voice, and a relaxed performance style that can be appreciated even from a glimpse. Both singing and acting have the potential to reach the top. The only pity is its skin color; these days, it's difficult to make a black person famous.

However, even if it's difficult, you still have to promote her. Signing other people starts with investment, and the returns take time. But Dandridge made money for the company as soon as she was signed. The company took over her agency work for nightclub performances and got a share of the profits for free.

If we don't praise them, what will others think?

After listening to the two songs, he sat down at the piano, pondering what songs would suit Dandridge.

He then thought of Rihanna's "Diamonds." This song was not suitable for the current situation if it was sung by the blonde bombshells, but it was not unsuitable if it was sung by Dandridge. In the eyes of most white people, black people should be unconventional, not in line with their values, and be classified as outsiders.

Since they are outliers, they will naturally have a sense of curiosity when listening to music, and they will not find it difficult to accept songs that are outside their musical knowledge.

Furthermore, "Diamonds" could be renamed "Black Diamonds," a double entendre that could refer to Dandridge as a dazzling black diamond or to the Black Diamond bison kept at the Central Park Zoo decades ago.

In 1901, a $10 banknote was issued with the image of the North American bison and the Black Diamond in the center. A bison nickel was issued a dozen years later. Although there is no explicit statement that the bison is the Black Diamond, this is the common belief.

Black Diamond was very popular at the zoo during its lifetime, but after it became disabled due to illness, the zoo did not provide it with a proper old age. Instead, it was auctioned off and slaughtered, and its meat was very delicious.

Black diamonds share some similarities with the experiences of Black people...

Sin Yiu-man took out the coins from his pocket, picked through them, and found a 5-cent bison nickel. He held it in his hand and examined it for a while. Dandridge's signature mark was now complete—an infinity symbol with a black diamond in the center on the left and a simple bison drawing in the center on the right. Below the infinity symbol was the artistic lettering "BD".

Dandridge changed his stage name to "BD".

Black is black, there's no need to hide it. Show it off openly and boldly. There's nothing wrong with being a little defiant. Why bother trying to please white people?

"It's reasonable for a rebellious Black woman to be brutally murdered by a radical white man. This is the kind of story that the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) needs. I wonder if they'd be willing to pay a lot of money to buy out the script for this story."

The arrogant persona is fine, but the problem is that Dandridge might actually become arrogant. If he remains obedient, everyone can feast and share the spoils. If he doesn't behave, he'll just have to figure out how to profit from the dead.

With this idea in mind, Fairy Maiden's "Any Man Of Mine" popped into my head. This song is quite rebellious in today's context, and it is practically a contempt for male power.

With his hands on the piano keys, Xian Yaowen said to Xie Tingyun, "Have Debbie call Dorothy Dandridge. If she's free, come to the company before five o'clock. If not, schedule a time tomorrow." (End of Chapter)