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

Chapter 737 My First Gathering with the Beijing Circle!
“We have a plan now, which is to communicate with some Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong, Macao and overseas, and persuade and guide them to invest in the mainland.”

"Currently, we are mainly focusing on Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, since these two provinces have the most businessmen in Hong Kong and Macau."

"As for Guangdong Province, I'm not from Guangdong, so I'm not responsible for that. But I think I'll visit the Zhejiang businessmen in Hong Kong one by one."

"The issue we're considering now is the personnel list."

"From a standpoint of his position, Shaw is not close to us, but he is not the kind of person who completely rejects us either. I think he is a purely commercial businessman."

"Changhe, you've had a lot of dealings with him in Hong Kong. Do you think we can win him over?"

Director Lu earnestly explained a new plan from above to Li Changhe.

To put it simply, it's about leveraging local advantages to persuade Cantonese and Zhejiang businessmen to invest back in their hometowns.

At first, Li Changhe wondered why there were no Fujianese merchants, but then he quickly understood.

Fujian's location is rather unique and carries some risks, making it not the first choice for economic development.

Li Changhe recalled his past life and realized that Shao Daheng didn't seem to have any investments in mainland China.

Of course, this is also related to his industry. Whether it's film or television, these are areas that are not open to the mainland, and he doesn't understand other industries either.

"Shaw is a man you can talk to. His eldest son works for me now, also at a television station."

"But if we're talking about pure investment, I don't think there's a suitable industry for him."

"The film and television industry falls under the propaganda field, which is unlikely to be opened up to him domestically. As for other industries, he doesn't understand them, and I doubt he'll dabble in them casually."

"Most importantly, Shaw's wealth was not actually that great."

Li Changhe pondered for a moment and then said.

The film industry is profitable, but not exceptionally so. In the early days, a single film only grossed a few million, and with dozens of films a year, the revenue ranged from tens of millions to hundreds of millions. After deducting costs, the profits were not small, but not much among the top billionaires.

Shaw Brothers' net worth of tens of billions in later generations came from two sources: the market value of TVB and the land appreciation brought about by the film studios under his Shaw Brothers Studio.

For example, although Shaw Brothers Studio has now been sold to Li Changhe, the Clearwater Bay Cinema and the land beneath it are still in the hands of Shaw Yifu.

“I know that too, but Shaw is quite famous in Hong Kong. He was knighted by the Queen and is a leading figure in the Hong Kong film and television industry. We need to make a gesture toward such a person.”

Director Lu said solemnly.

To put it bluntly, someone like Shaw, a godfather-level figure in the industry, has significant influence. Even if we don't explicitly support him, we can't allow him to openly oppose him.

“I think we can communicate. I’ve had more contact with his son. His family is a fairly traditional Chinese family, not the kind of people who are ‘yellow on the outside but white on the inside’ but are actually ‘bananas’ (yellow on the outside but white on the inside).

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then spoke up for Shao Yifu.

"I'll take a look at it later and see if I can add him to the list of people I want to visit."

After listening, Director Lu smiled and said...

Although he wouldn't listen to Li Changhe's one-sided story, what Li Changhe was saying now carried considerable weight.

The reason why the authorities are now considering Shaw Yi-fu is because Shaw's family has been cooperating with Li Changhe a lot, especially his son, who is a general under Bao Zeyang. This makes Director Lu and Elder Liao feel that Shaw Yi-fu has room to be won over.

After chatting for a while at Director Lu's house, Li Changhe left when he saw that guests had arrived.

After checking the time, Li Changhe parked his car inside the courtyard and waited for Zhu Lin to get off work.

Now that he's back in Beijing, he has fewer and fewer friends to hang out with.

The students from Peking University have gone their separate ways, some to work, some to pursue graduate studies, and they are now scattered all over the country.

The same goes for the Beijing Film Academy. Tian Zhuangzhuang, Chen Kaige, and the others all have their own filming assignments now and aren't in Beijing as often.

Now that he has returned, Li Changhe feels a sense of melancholy, as if the music has ended and the party is over.

Feeling bored in the courtyard, Li Changhe checked the time and decided to walk out of the courtyard and stroll along the Second Ring Road.

He hadn't walked far when a taxi slowly pulled up beside him.

"Hey, Li Changhe?"

Hearing the shout, Li Changhe turned around and saw someone waving at him from inside the taxi. However, the person was wearing sunglasses, so Li Changhe didn't recognize him at first.

"Me? Wang Shuo!"

When Wang Shuo saw that Li Changhe didn't recognize him, he immediately took off his sunglasses and greeted him.

"Wow, Wang Shuo, that's pretty trendy!"

Li Changhe looked at Wang Shuo in his leather jacket and sunglasses and thought, "Hmm, he certainly has a lot of style these days."

"Alright, enough talking while standing here, get in the car!"

Wang Shuo waved to Li Changhe, signaling him to get in the car.

Li Changhe waved his hand: "Never mind, I'll just wander around here and wait for my girlfriend to get off work. You guys go ahead and do what you need to do!"

"Wait a minute! You're like a dragon that appears and disappears without a trace. I've finally run into you once in a while, so wait a minute!"

Wang Shuo then took out a 100-yuan note and handed it to the driver.

"Keep the change, please!"

Then Wang Shuo got out of the car.

"Great, that's generous!"

Seeing Wang Shuo's actions, Li Changhe chuckled and joked.

"It was supposed to cost ten yuan to get there, but now there's only a short distance left, so there's not much money left."

“I saw your back from a distance and it looked just like you, so I tried calling out to you, and it really was you.”

Wang Shuo got out of the car and smiled at Li Changhe.

Li Changhe shook his head when he saw his outfit.

"Are you alright now that you've gotten out of the car?"

"What could possibly happen during the Lunar New Year? Just wandering around aimlessly. Oh, by the way, I'm treating you to dinner tonight!"

"take me Out to eat?"

Li Changhe was somewhat surprised.

He and Wang Shuo are only acquainted at the moment, but their relationship is not very close, mainly because they have not been in contact for very long.

They had met a few times in the first two years, but Li Changhe spent more time overseas afterward, so he didn't have many opportunities to meet Wang Shuo.

I never expected to run into them today, and they want to treat me to dinner.

"Yes, it's been a long time. Here, I'll treat you to dinner."

"Let's go back to my room and talk. Don't catch a cold dressed like that outside!"

The leather jacket and sunglasses look cool, but they don't block the wind, especially in the dead of winter in Beijing.

Wang Shuo didn't feel cold in the taxi, but after getting out, the wind made it very noticeable.

Seeing his posture, Li Changhe immediately pulled him back to the courtyard house.

"Wow, you changed cars again? Is this a Japanese car?"

Upon entering the courtyard and seeing the Jeep parked there, Wang Shuo was somewhat shocked.

These days, cars are not something that just anyone can drive.

"It's the company car. I just got back, so I'll use it for a bit."

Come inside!

Li Changhe would definitely not admit that the car was his; if asked, he would say it belonged to his workplace.

Wang Shuo glanced at it and said, "Hmm, military license plate."

Did Li Changhe go to a military unit?
Classified unit?

Thinking about Li Changhe's mysterious whereabouts over the past two years, Wang Shuo had a guess in his mind.

After all, he himself came from a military compound.

"There's no stove in the house, but it's still warmer than outside." "Please, make yourself at home!"

Li Changhe greeted Wang Shuo.

Wang Shuo glanced around and thought, "Good heavens, this room full of family decorations must have cost at least ten thousand or eight thousand."

And they're all imported goods from Friendship Store, quite luxurious indeed.

Did he really get into a classified unit?
At this moment, Wang Shuo couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

However, being clever, he didn't point it out, but instead sat down on the sofa.

"Here's the thing, buddy, I'm treating you and Zhu Lin to Peking duck tonight."

After sitting down, Wang Shuo smiled and said to Li Changhe.

"You're treating us to Peking duck? Quanjude, huh?"

Li Changhe joked with a smile.

"Why eat at Quanjude? Let's grill it ourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Li Changhe was speechless.

Roast Duck?

Baking it yourself?
Wang Shuo immediately explained: "Well, the country encourages young people to choose their own jobs, and I just resigned from my job at a pharmaceutical company. I plan to join the ranks of those choosing their own jobs."

"I'm partnering with a friend to open a roast duck restaurant. We just found a roast duck chef. Why don't you and Zhu Lin come with us tonight to try out the dishes and see how good they are?"

"So, you're opening your own restaurant?"

Li Changhe asked with a smile.

Could it be that this guy hasn't started writing literature yet?
He couldn't remember which year Wang Shuo wrote the book, since he had never read any of Wang Shuo's books.

He did know that this guy was quite good at writing scripts, and that he was the one who wrote things like "Yearning" and "Stories from the Editorial Department".

This is why it has become one of the core elements of the Beijing entertainment circle.

"Yeah, I just quit my job and I'm bored, so I'm thinking of giving it a try. How about it? Since we've run into each other today, give me some face and let's go try it together. I can also give you some feedback."

“Okay, it’s 4:30 now. Let’s wait here for a while. My boyfriend will get off work soon, and then we can go over together.”

Li Changhe glanced at his watch and said to Wang Shuo.

In winter, people at get off work get off early.

Around 4:50, Zhu Lin pushed her bicycle into the courtyard house.

"Huh, Wang Shuo?"

Zhu Lin saw Wang Shuo sitting in the living room and greeted him with a smile.

She didn't have much contact with Wang Shuo, but she had a deep impression of him because he was a very obvious "veteran" with a roguish air about him.

This characteristic is quite rare among Li Changhe's friends.

Because Wang Shuo's kind of scoundrel is different from Shen Juncheng's kind of playboy; he's the kind of scoundrel who's also educated and cultured.

Therefore, Zhu Lin was not unfamiliar with him when she met him.

"I've finally waited for you to get off work, Comrade Zhu Lin. Let's go, let's set off."

Zhu Lin asked curiously, "Where are we going?"

Li Changhe put on his coat: "He wants to open a roast duck restaurant. He ran into me today and insisted on inviting us to try it. So let's go and let him taste the dishes."

"A roast duck restaurant?"

"Okay, let's go!"

The three got into the car, and Li Changhe then drove, led by Wang Shuo, to an old street-front house.

“This is a row of military-owned houses along the street. I used my connections to rent one of them, thinking I could open it right on the roadside.”

"Come in, come in!"

Wang Shuo led Li Changhe and the others into the house. As soon as they entered, a warm feeling immediately enveloped them.

The stove inside the house was burning brightly, and a group of people were playing cards around a dining table in the middle.

Upon seeing Wang Shuo enter, the group immediately burst into laughter and jeers.

"You were driving a taxi all by yourself, how did you disappear halfway through the trip?"

"Goodness, bringing in a pretty girl, did he go on a date on the way here?"

"Alright, all of you, stop talking nonsense! That's Zhu Lin!"

Zheng Xiaolong knew Li Changhe and Zhu Lin, and immediately reprimanded the others.

"Changhe, Zhu Lin, what brings you two here?"

Zheng Xiaolong then stood up and greeted Li Changhe and Zhu Lin.

"I met him on the way. I was halfway there when I saw a figure from behind on the road next to the TV station, so I asked the taxi to stop and called out to him. Unfortunately, it was Changhe."

So I invited him to come along.

"We didn't come over until Zhu Lin got off work."

"Old Zheng, it's been a long time!"

Li Changhe greeted Zheng Xiaolong with a smile.

"Come on, guys, let me introduce you. This is Li Changhe."

"Changhe, Zhulin, let me introduce you. These are my childhood friends."

"This is Ma Weidu!"

This is Lu Haiyan.

Wang Shuo introduced each of them to Li Changhe, and Li Changhe greeted them with a smile.

They were all famous figures in later generations.

This Lü Haiyan should be the famous Haiyan, but something seems off about his eyes.
"Alright, everyone, please sit down first. Let Lao Hu start serving the dishes."

After the introductions, Wang Shuo gestured for everyone to sit down and then ordered the dishes to be served.

Then, the group of people started eating and drinking there.

Li Changhe didn't put on airs at all; he chatted with Ma Weidu about antiques and with Hai Yan about literature.

He now understood why Hai Yan was looking at him so intently; it was mainly because the guy had just written a new novel and wanted Li Changhe to give him some advice.

The novel's subject matter is rather sensitive; it's a police story that stems from an incident a few years ago.

If this happened in later generations, let alone writing about it, it wouldn't even be allowed to be mentioned.

But in this day and age, these kinds of critical stories are actually quite popular, and many publishers are happy to publish them.

Li Changhe then offered some advice, but didn't say much more.

After all, someone who would have succeeded even without him in their previous life doesn't need much guidance from him.

"Hey, Lao Zheng, I haven't asked you yet, where did you get assigned after graduation?"

Li Changhe then asked Zheng Xiaolong.

Zheng Xiaolong was also from the Chinese Department of Peking University, but Li Changhe didn't have much of an impression of him. He only found out later that this guy was from the Chinese Department of a branch campus of Peking University.

He was a student in the class of '78 and graduated in the second half of '82, so now he has been working for more than half a year.

"I wasn't assigned to anything, so I went back to my old workplace, the Beijing Radio Station, oh right, it's called the Beijing Television Studio now."

After the original Beijing TV station was upgraded to CCTV, a new TV station and production studio were established in Beijing.

"Oh, that's perfect, I have something to discuss with you!"

(End of this chapter)