1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 734 A massive Hong Kong-wide sing-along!
At 9:40, Li Changhe brought Gong Xue to the office of Zhidi.

In the office, Rosamund Kwan was already waiting.

"The fireworks are much more beautiful from here than from below!"

Li Changhe led them to the window, then opened it, and they saw the dazzling fireworks exploding in the sky.

"There are so many people, I wonder how long this fun will last?"

Looking down at the densely packed crowd below, Gong Xue couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, Hong Kong Island hasn't been this lively in many years!"

Rosamund Kwan echoed this sentiment.

"I guess we'll have to wait until midnight, since it's New Year's Eve!"

Li Changhe then sat down behind his desk and began processing documents.

He was looking at the Times Square operations report for the past few days.

In the pre-internet era, Li Changhe's concept of urban complexes was a game-changer for other shopping malls on Hong Kong Island.

People, after all, prefer spacious and well-lit areas.

The sacrifice of so much commercial space has resulted in a daily influx of people and a surge in the consumer market.

Li Changhe originally thought that the retail industry should be the best-selling sector, since retail is geared towards the general public, even though the retail he launched in Times Square was more high-end.

However, to Li Changhe's surprise, the best-selling items here were actually high-end watches and luxury goods.

"Ah Yang, what are you looking at?"

Seeing Li Changhe sit back down at his desk to look at documents, Gong Xue turned around and walked over curiously.

"Sales report from Times Square."

"I originally thought that everyday retail items would be the best-selling products because of their large volume, but I didn't expect that high-end watches and clothing would be the best-selling items."

Li Changhe then asked curiously.

"Of course! Planet Cinema has been advertising your high-end brands for the past few years, with all sorts of promotions in the movies. These are definitely the best-selling ones."

At this point, Rosamund Kwan took the initiative to answer Li Changhe's questions.

"Huh? Planet Cinema?"

Li Changhe only realized what was happening at this moment.

Rosamund Kwan nodded: "Yes, Mr. Wei's Bosac Group has a dedicated person who liaises with Planet Cinema."

“Mr. Wei regularly sends people to collaborate with film companies on the main products of brands like Dior, Cartier, and Vacheron Constantin. These products then appear in the company's scripts, providing subtle publicity.”

"For example, the God of Gamblers' favorite watch is Vacheron Constantin. Compared to Rolex, he has a special storage room for his Vacheron Constantin collection."

"For example, my character in the movie loves Dior the most. He has a whole wardrobe of Dior haute couture clothes, and he will also display specific styles."

“I estimate that there are definitely many people in Hong Kong who want to buy these things, but very few can buy them from overseas stores.”

"Although Dior opened a boutique before, they didn't have many new styles that came with them right away. The Times Square boutique is now the most prestigious boutique on Hong Kong Island, so it's only natural that they would buy from it."

Li Changhe seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing Guan Zhilin's words.

Although he had designed this strategy, he hadn't really paid much attention to its development.

It seems to be working quite well now.

At this moment, Li Changhe thought of Pan Disheng again.

In his previous life, Poon Tik-sing built his empire in Hong Kong Island by selling high-end watches and luxury goods. He then entered the film industry and used movies for brand promotion.

So far, this strategy has indeed been very successful.

It remains to be seen whether Pan Disheng can succeed again, given Li Changhe's cautionary tale.

Li Changhe figured this guy was doomed, and most importantly, the movie route had been blocked for him.

Currently, among film companies in Hong Kong Island, Li Changhe's Planet Cinema can be considered the dominant player. It has not only integrated with Golden Harvest's cinema chain but also with Sil-Metropole's cinema chain. In addition to Planet Cinema's own original Shaw Brothers cinema chain, the box office revenue of films in Hong Kong Island has long exceeded the 30 million mark.

Pan Disheng can still enter the luxury goods industry, but it will be difficult for him to make a living from movies.

Li Changhe then began to consider it again.

Judging from sales in Times Square, the movie advertising model has a lot of merit, especially for high-end products.

Now that Global has basically fallen into their hands in the United States, can this strategy be implemented simultaneously?

While Asia is poised to become the epicenter of luxury goods production over the next thirty years, the purchasing power of Europe and America should not be underestimated.

Perhaps he should set up a dedicated company to assist his brand in this endeavor.

With the help of Universal and Planet Cinema, I might be able to create a luxury goods group similar to LVMH in the future.

Perhaps we should find a legitimate agent or partner?
An Asian person is still too conspicuous.

Should we find one in Europe or in the United States?
On the other side, seeing Li Changhe deep in thought at his desk, Gong Xue and Guan Zhilin wisely kept quiet and sat down on the sofa to watch the fireworks outside.

Time passed quietly, and soon it was eleven o'clock.

Rosamund Kwan, on the other hand, was still full of energy. After all, it was normal for her to play mahjong until one or two in the morning.

Gong Xue, on the other hand, was already yawning and seemed a little sleepy.

Normally, she would be asleep by this time.

Even after arriving in Hong Kong, she didn't really have the habit of staying up late.

Li Changhe then saw Gong Xue dozing off and went over to her.

"If you're sleepy, there's a lounge in the back where you can go and take a nap. I'll stay here until midnight."

Gong Xue tried to open her eyes after hearing Li Changhe's words.

"Are you going to stay here to celebrate the New Year?"

She thought that Li Changhe was going to keep vigil for his son Li Zheng on New Year's Eve, since this year was his first year of birth.

Li Changhe naturally understood Gong Xue's words.

"I guess so, but most importantly, I've prepared a gift for the people of Hong Kong Island!"

"Gift?"

Gong Xue looked at Li Changhe in surprise, but Li Changhe just smiled and didn't say anything.

Then he walked to the window and looked at the fireworks filling the sky outside.

Time ticked by, and soon the final countdown arrived.

"ten!"

"Nine"

"Eight"

At this moment, whether in Central or on Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Island residents, led by the music show host, began chanting and counting down to the New Year.

On Taiping Mountain, shouts shook the heavens.

Shen Bi, who had already fallen asleep, was also woken up by the shouting.

"The Spring Festival for Easterners is truly a bizarre holiday!"

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the fireworks over the distant harbor, Shen Bi couldn't help but shake his head.

Just as he was about to turn around and rest, his body suddenly froze on the spot.

"One"

As the collective shout of "One" subsided, fireworks simultaneously erupted from all four barges in Victoria Harbour, shooting straight into the sky and exploding in spectacular fashion.

At that very moment, a melodious song began to play from the speakers placed along both sides of the road, whether in Central or Victoria Harbour.

"A great river flows wide."

"The fragrance of rice blossoms wafts through the air on both banks," and "My home is right on the shore."

"I'm used to hearing the boatman's calls."

"I've grown accustomed to the white sails on ships."

When Ms. Guo Lanying's voice resounded across Victoria Harbour, the residents of both Central and Hong Kong Island were stunned.

For them, this song is definitely a representative song of the North. Most importantly, now it is being sung openly over Victoria Harbour.

Beautiful mountains, beautiful water, beautiful place

Every road is wide and spacious.

In the crowd, someone started humming along, and gradually, more and more people joined in.

Many people may not know how to sing this song, but they have definitely heard it before, and now, mixed in with the crowd, they can't help but hum along.

The chorus's voices went from being scattered and disorganized at the beginning to eventually singing loudly along with the speakers.

"This is the motherland of heroes"

"This is where I grew up"

"On this ancient land"

"The power of youth is everywhere."

Gradually, a massive chorus of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people resounded throughout Hong Kong Island at that moment.

The loud singing echoed from Victoria Harbour in all directions. People in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kwun Tong, Sheung Wan, Sai Wan, North Point and other places kept turning on their lights and opening their windows.

Someone was looking north.

Some people burst into tears.

Even on Victoria Peak, people were singing loudly.

Meanwhile, in the villa on Victoria Peak, Shen Bi felt a chill run straight to his head.

Bao Zeyang has gone mad!
No wonder he suddenly wanted to put on a fireworks show; he made such a big fuss.

It turns out that he released that heart-stirring song for this very moment.

He assumed that the other party had already expressed their stance upon returning from the mainland.

But it seems that he has not stopped at all; he is still protesting against the Hong Kong government and even Downing Street in his own way!
While Sir Michael Sandberg was still reeling from the news, it was also being reported to the homes of Hong Kong's wealthiest individuals.

79 Deep Water Bay, next to Li Changhe.

Li Jiacheng had not yet rested. At this moment, he came to the window and frowned slightly as he listened to the faint singing in the distance.

"Uncle Fu, what's that noise outside?"

"Sir, it sounds like someone is singing over in Causeway Bay."

Just then, the phone on the table rang.

Li Jiacheng answered the phone out of curiosity, and after a moment, he put it down.

Tens of thousands sang "My Motherland" together.

Bao Zeyang, you really have a big budget!

Aren't you afraid of falling out with the Hong Kong government?
Landmark Building.

Gong Xue looked at Li Changhe in shock.

"Ah Yang, is this the gift you mentioned?"

"Yes, wouldn't it be a great thing to let Hong Kong Island hear songs from the mainland?"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"Let's go, it's past midnight, I'm sleepy, let's go home and sleep!"

Li Changhe then took Gong Xue and Guan Zhilin back to Deep Water Bay, and then he fell asleep peacefully.

Li Changhe fell asleep, but many people in Hong Kong Island will be unable to sleep tonight due to the bombing.

The next day, early in the morning, Hong Kong newspapers began to report frantically on the spectacle of the previous night.

Meanwhile, residents of Hong Kong Island who live further away, such as those in Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan, and Tuen Mun, mostly focused on the mass singing in the newspapers or lamented that they had missed out on the excitement.

Of course, many people are curious about the song "My Motherland" and have started looking for its audio source or cassette tape.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government held a rare early morning meeting specifically to discuss the large-scale chorus performance from the previous night.

This is not just a simple song playing; it took tens of thousands of people in Central, Victoria Harbour, the very heart of Hong Kong Island, to sing together a patriotic song that is most representative of the North.

Even if it's not "The March of the Volunteers," which they just adopted as their national anthem, songs like "My Motherland" still carry a strong mainland flavor.

This behavior
Just as Sir Michael Sandberg and his colleagues had not yet come up with a solution, the first secretary of the Governor's Office hurriedly entered the office.

"Your Excellency Governor, the Pao family has issued a statement."

"Oh? What statement?"

Yud frowned and asked.

“Bao Zeyang’s former secretary, Catherine, held a press conference and informed major media outlets.”

"The song 'My Motherland' that was played last night in the early hours of the morning was only because his fiancée liked it. So Mr. Bao deliberately played it after midnight to express his love to his fiancée and to ease her homesickness."

"This does not involve any political stance. We hope that all media outlets will not over-interpret it. If any media outlets maliciously interpret or distort Mr. Bao's article, we reserve the right to pursue legal action."

When the secretary read out Catherine's statement, Sim Phillips and his colleagues looked utterly disgusted, as if they had eaten excrement.

You might as well not post this at all; it's like trying to hide something obvious.

They deliberately released this to shut the Hong Kong government up, right?

Most importantly, after Bao Zeyang issued this statement, it became very difficult for the Hong Kong government to send anyone to question him.

Everyone admitted that they played the song to ease their fiancée's homesickness, and the Hong Kong government did not officially ban it.

So, you can't talk back after getting slapped like that.

Meanwhile, in Bao Yugang's study.

Bao Yugang looked at Li Changhe, not knowing what to say.

Goodness, in the short time I wasn't watching, a big news story broke.

"Now that you've done this, I'm even debating whether or not I should take you to Downing Street."

Bao Yugang was somewhat helpless at this moment; this guy was too much of a troublemaker.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "Of course I'll go, Uncle. That's exactly why I should go."

"How can I turn back from my wrong path if they don't offer me sufficient conditions?"

As the saying goes, good people must go through hardships before they can become Buddhas in their next life, but bad people can become Buddhas on the spot after laying down their butcher knives!

Throughout history, those in power have always treated those who obey and those who rebel differently. Those who obey are naturally expected to consider the bigger picture.

As for the dissidents, I'll say this: as long as you're with me, I'll give you whatever conditions you want!

Li Changhe is now displaying the posture of a "rebel" and wants to see how Downing Street will treat him.

"Downing Street is alright, since it's far away. But here on Hong Kong Island, things are really turbulent. Even though you've issued this statement, some media outlets won't listen to you so easily. For them, some things are worth criticizing severely."

Bao Yugang said helplessly at this moment.

The media in Hong Kong Island has diverse stances, and many media outlets are backed by their own factions. Some of these individuals certainly do not want to see certain things happen, so the media will not behave themselves just because of Li Changhe's statement.

"I already knew that. Actually, I wanted to see which media outlets would keep targeting me."

He was actually using this opportunity to fish out which media outlets were dissatisfied with him.

After all, Fei Zai Jun's knife had been sharpened for a long time!

(End of this chapter)