My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 930: Is there any potential in combining disco and karaoke?

This set of Taoist combat skills completely captivated Long Zhenwei.

He changed his previously aloof and arrogant demeanor, and now seemed eager to wipe the Taoist priest's sweat.

The Taoist priest, who couldn't understand Cantonese, was baffled. Even when someone offered to translate with a white paper fan, he simply said, "Everything is in accordance with the arrangements of the mountain master. Ask the mountain master."

This title sounds even more mysterious.

Ordinary people find it hard to understand that the underworld is another world altogether.

The underworld will then understand that cultivating Taoism and passing on martial arts is a completely different world.

First, immediately instruct the Taoist priests and masters to be well cared for with good water and tea.

Wagging its tail, it asked Rang Weidong, "Does the Qingcheng Sect really exist?"

Wei Dong retorted arrogantly, "Are you kidding me? Cheng Lang is the head elder of the Qingcheng Sect. Otherwise, why do you think he's so amazing?"

This signboard is still misleading.

Even though they had been secretly competing with each other, Xin'an didn't dare to mess with Cheng Lang casually.

Now that he knew the truth, he became even more respectful: "Could I... learn from you as a disciple? I truly love martial arts."

To everyone's surprise, Wei Dong looked him up and down and asked, "Do you want to learn martial arts, or the Dragon and Tiger Technique?"

As expected of someone from the martial arts world, Long Zhenwei's eyes lit up: "Learn them all! Learn them all! We can discuss any conditions you have!"

Even the white paper fan used for translation became obsequious.

This is similar to the eagerness described in novels when ordinary people see the path to cultivation or immortality.

Knowing that it contains endless mysteries, it is a transformative metamorphosis, a complete overhaul.

Wei Dong stopped being coy at this moment: "Alright, if you're so keen, you can become a lay disciple of Qingcheng and become my junior brother. I don't practice martial arts, I only practice spear fighting."

When he was telling the truth, Long Zhenwei immediately exchanged knowing glances with Bai Zhishan.

Qin Yuye, watching from a distance, felt a headache coming on: "Sneaky and furtive! I always say he shouldn't have associated with these gangsters and underworld figures!"

Shen Cuiyue immediately retorted: "Oh, you've made enough money in the dollar business, of course you think it's good to be glamorous in public, and you even think that we're involved in dirty business. There are people in this family who have to do everything, both the black and the white!"

Qin Yuye was taken aback: "I was just saying. Don't get involved in those shady dealings. Are you really going to do this kind of nightclub business? It's too much trouble!"

Zou Huimin, sporting bangs, quietly observed the way the two ladies interacted.

Having only acquired a title, Shen Laosan was very confident: "Why not do it? You have to deal with all sorts of people. But what if all the dancers and singers here have run away?"

Then he slyly glanced at the administrative director next to him, which scared the pure and innocent leader of the sect so much that she quickly hid behind the boss's wife.

This immediately amused Qin Yuye, who quickly added a threat: "That's right! If my family were to run this kind of nightclub business, we'd bring TV celebrities to accompany us for drinks, and you'd have to come too!"

The fact that it was so unbelievable actually reassured Zou Huimin a lot. She smiled sweetly and held the proprietress tightly, saying, "No, I believe you wouldn't do such a thing. You will definitely bring a new social atmosphere!"

While talking, she clenched her cute little fist, clearly trying to cheer herself up.

The three girls decided to watch together and let Wei Dong make the decision.

How to do?
Let's build a chain karaoke bar.

The previous Shanghai Electronics Industrial Park doesn't count.

At most, it was just a place for foreign guests to have international exchanges that Qin Zhiming casually set up in Shanghai, and it was still restricted by the current social atmosphere in the mainland and dared not make a big fuss about it.

This time, Wei Dong finally got to see the nightclub properly.

As a major source of income for triads and gangs in this era, they invested heavily in everything from renovations to equipment.

It was a magnificent, opulent place with mirrored decorations everywhere, even the floor was a mirror.

So, the lights are on all the way now, brightly lit for the boss to see, with extremely high reflectivity.

As Wei Dong walked in, he turned back and reminded him, "The skirt!"

He couldn't help but pat his own leg as a gesture of acknowledgment.

Because both the proprietress in her white dress and the executive director in her silver-gray suit were beautiful, upon hearing the voice, they looked down, their faces breaking into smiles, and quickly walked away, leaning on each other...

The girl in jeans looked down on the two pretentious individuals. The venue was large, with a huge outer hall featuring a large "S"-shaped stage that wound its way to tabletop height, passing numerous sofa booths.

There are dozens or even hundreds of booths, sofas, and bars, which can accommodate hundreds or even thousands of people.

Long Zhenwei, now a completely enthusiastic follower, explained to Wei Dong: "The beautiful girls walk across the stage like this, and the guests can choose them at any time. Without dancers, this stage is useless."

Then he pointed to the "mysterious" passageways around the hall: "Including the forty-eight private rooms on the perimeter, not counting the dancers, the average daily alcohol consumption is 100 million, but in reality, the dancers' commission is the real money."

Wei Dong nodded: "Yes, if we're talking about exorbitant profits, nothing is more lucrative than prostitution, gambling, and drugs under the protection of triads. But first, I don't care about this little bit of nightclub income, because this kind of money inevitably involves a lot of hidden expenses. Second, since we've already packaged these entertainment venues for listing, then the profits should come from the stock market. We can just use this place to boost our reputation. What do you think?"

Long Zhenwei began to think seriously: "For example, how do we pull it?"

The proprietresses were already standing by, listening intently. Zou Huimin, who had clearly never been before, had to listen to the proprietresses' gestures and guesses.

But all attention quietly shifted to Rang Weidong.

"First of all, this is a very standard and ready-made stage. For example, Zheng Zhiwei's variety shows in the TV station studio can be moved here to film. Can't we sell tickets for the nearly 1,000 seats in this hall? Moreover, the recording time can actually be during the daytime non-business hours. Isn't the variety show venue usage fee and ticket fee a net income?"

The owner's wife and the executive director's eyes lit up, both flashing "HK$" money symbols.

Qin Yuye clapped happily: "You said before that you were going to build a batch of studios, but... with six nightclubs, there will be six different studios!"

Zou Huimin was quick to apply this idea to other situations: "Could we hold a singing competition here? Oh, and this year's ATV beauty pageant could also be held in a venue like this; it would definitely be very attractive!"

Wei Dong encouraged everyone to contribute their ideas: "That's right. The studio also needs to be renovated and adjusted frequently. Wouldn't it be the same if we put this part into a nightclub? I'm not a moralist. In mainland China, I would definitely oppose the existence of dancers and the like, let alone beauty pageants. But in Hong Kong, it's acceptable as a business. But we can do it less blatantly and focus on karaoke."

He didn't sing it in his past life, but he saw it a lot through various channels.

In the 1990s, especially around the turn of the millennium, not only young people in the tax compound, but even veteran cadres like Lao Shi were keen to go to karaoke. Shi Linyan's mother was a major contributor.

Meanwhile, the tax authorities are also actively collecting taxes from these karaoke bars and karaoke rooms, and they know exactly which ones have made renovations and improvements, so they must be frequent customers.

Therefore, Wei Dong may know more about the rise and fall of this "King of Karaoke" than the average citizen.

At least for now, karaoke is still a novel and exciting way to make money, and there's no need to focus on sex services.

How could the owner of Asia Television and the president of the Basketball Association be so engrossed in such low-level interests?

"We will eliminate various service expenses such as 'princess' and 'boy' in private rooms and tips, allowing singing to return to its most fundamental aspect. Asia Television will definitely promote this in its variety shows, so that every citizen, couple, classmate, friend, or colleague can come and sing together. We will even provide private room catering."

The girls were already clapping eagerly: "Great, great, I want to try!"

Nightclubs are inherently places for men to indulge in sensual pleasures and entertainment. Even if a very few women appear here with a strong presence, they are still considered outliers.

Therefore, after karaoke entered Hong Kong, it was immediately absorbed by nightclubs. Only such highly profitable places could afford the still relatively expensive karaoke equipment, sound system, and decoration.

If we're just selling drinks, when will we ever break even on the cost of the renovations and equipment?

So Long Zhenwei frowned again, wondering if you were stupid: "This... at most it can cover daily expenses and rent? And there's such a big empty hall, are you going to sell tickets to variety shows every day?"

Wei Dong shook his head: "I said the variety show recording is during the day. Actually, the venue fee is still being handled by us, making the nightclub's expenses look good. But the important thing is that this place should be a disco at night..."

Several Hong Kong residents couldn't help but chuckle.
"Disco? It's not popular anymore..."

"Not necessarily. A disco might even have a nostalgic vibe."

"No, no, no, what if we combined disco and karaoke?!" Long Zhenwei exclaimed excitedly. "Disco is also very profitable, but some people don't like it being too noisy. Besides, those who can afford it are mostly older and don't like it too chaotic. But if we operate the private rooms and the main hall separately, there's potential! There's potential!"

This reminded Wei Dong of the disco in the 1990s, which was once very popular in Shangzhou.

It's a trendy hotspot that young people all over the city flock to, and the daily incidents of flirting, jealousy, and fights give Ding Haifeng and his friends a major headache.

Not to mention the undercurrents of various pills and drugs, it quickly became a key target for crackdown and censorship.

But in reality, these are all things that Hong Kong has already done.

Disco became popular here in the 1970s, but it was squeezed out when karaoke entered Hong Kong in the mid-1980s.

Later, a famous disco called "Ho Tung" emerged in mainland China. It was a disco in Hong Kong known for its DJs. The amazing and energetic dance music was compiled into an album, along with another series called "Warrior," and became the ancestor of disco music in mainland China.

Even disco music was introduced to the mainland via a transliteration from HK, referring to dance music played in the form of albums. For the mainland, where equipment was not yet fully developed, all you needed was a cassette tape and the speakers turned up to the maximum!

The "Shamate" and "Tuhai" that are ridiculed online 30 or 40 years later were actually the norm in mainland China's disco during the 1990s.

Is it possible to reignite the craze in Hong Kong now?

(End of this chapter)