The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 226 Continuous Offensive
This move by the wireless company is truly quite clever.

It must be said that TVB's influence is indeed considerable.

Despite the criticism that imitation is too much, both the contestants who want to participate in the "King of Boxing Tournament" and the contestants who want to participate in the "Hong Kong Beauty Pageant" are extremely enthusiastic.

There's no way around it, the reward offered by Wisdom is just as good as that from Astro!
As long as they can win a ranking and get a reward, they don't care whether the wireless network's actions violate business ethics.

Then, TVB learned from ATV and managed to produce quite a few programs.

Unfortunately, the participants in the "King of Boxing Tournament" are limited to those from Hong Kong Island.

Most of them were formidable fighters in the triads.

Cough cough, even the Hung Hing Sai Kung branch sent out more than a dozen fighters to participate in the competition.

Since we can't stop it, let's make good use of the wireless platform!
Seeing that the Saigon branch had done this, the other branches of Hung Hing followed suit.

Chan Ho-nam, Chicken, and Tai Tin-Yi from the Causeway Bay triad are all participating, seemingly eager to make a name for themselves.

The other Hung Hing triads with some fighting power should not have missed the opportunity.

Privately, rumors were circulating within the club.

The point is simple: they're just humiliating themselves by participating in the "Unrestricted Fighting Tournament," and it would be more useful for them to make an appearance in the "King of Boxing Tournament."

It's obvious that the intensity of the "King of Boxing Tournament" is much lower.

With a large number of triad fighters participating, martial arts masters on Hong Kong Island naturally had reservations.

In addition, the previous participation in the "Unrestricted Fighting Tournament" had taken a toll on their health, so naturally fewer people signed up.

By the time the wireless side realized the situation, it was too late, and it was unlikely they could make amends.

As for the contestants of the "Hong Kong Island Beauty Pageant," they are clearly a level below ATV's beauty pageant in terms of looks.

So what if TVB has a bigger reputation?
Without the cooperation of numerous top-tier clubs, how could those top hostesses working in mid-to-high-end nightclubs possibly have the time and leisure to participate in beauty pageants?

Without these top beauties, the overall appearance of the contestants in TVB's "Miss Hong Kong Island" will definitely be much worse.

When the news reached Fang Yihua, who was in charge of the specific matters, she was also quite troubled.

Uncle Shao has a lot of influence, but it's not easy to persuade so many top-notch triads to help. They have to offer enough benefits.

Clearly, Uncle Shao would not easily make promises or concessions.

Moreover, the wireless network was not particularly outstanding in managing the popularity of the contestants or in monetizing their traffic, resulting in the contestants not earning very good returns.

In other words, Wu Feng didn't mean to kick someone when they're down; otherwise, this whole thing would have been a huge loss for TVB. Some things are not so easy to imitate.

Even just covering the street stalls in most of the bustling areas of Hong Kong Island would be difficult for TVB to manage.

Furthermore, the distribution channels of numerous newsstands and convenience stores are not so easy to manage.

Of course, wireless also has its advantages.

That is, the overall viewership of the TV station, as well as its promotional effect, is stronger than that of ATV at that time.

On the wireless side, whether they are willing to allocate some advertising time slots to give back to the many outstanding contestants is another matter entirely.

Wu Feng wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

He didn't focus his attention too much on TVB!
In the summer of 1988, the European Championship kicked off with great fanfare.

Under Wu Feng's guidance, ATV produced a special program about the European Cup.

They hired a few so-called football experts to provide commentary on the European Championship matches.

Then, at Wu Feng's instigation, they went on a rampage praising the Dutch and Soviet teams.

Of course, the host team, West Germany, is also indispensable!
After several matches, the teams that were highly favored by experts all successfully emerged from the group stage and became the favorites to win the championship.

The subsequent quarterfinals and semifinals were not much different from the experts' predictions.

Now, all the viewers who watched the TV program subconsciously acknowledged the level of expertise of these football experts.

In the final match, several experts enthusiastically recommended the Dutch team, which was accepted by most of the audience, and the final result was not unexpected.

During this European Championship, ATV successfully launched several well-known football commentators.

At the same time, it also demonstrated their 'professional level' in sports!
This gave ATV a significant advantage in sports commentary!

Wu Feng's other objective was to achieve it easily.

This time, betting on the Australian islands not only failed to make any money in the European Cup betting market, but actually lost a lot of money.

I heard that the person in Australia is quite unhappy with the outcome.

But what can you do if you're unhappy?
Without prior planning, given the sheer size of the gambling industry in Australia, participating in the European Cup would be extremely difficult.

Having achieved the desired result, Wu Feng simply smiled and concealed his accomplishments.

Meanwhile, another measure targeting the gambling dens in Macau has also begun to take effect.

……

Around 7 a.m., Zhang Xinjie hurriedly washed up and went downstairs.

I ate a bowl of pork liver congee and a few pineapple buns at the tea restaurant downstairs, greeted a few familiar neighbors, and then got up to go to the company.

Passing by a newsstand, he subconsciously stopped and bought a copy of "Mong Kok News" and the latest issue of "Fiction Monthly," as he was a loyal reader of both publications.

After finally squeezing onto the subway, he had a moment to open two newspapers and magazines and carefully browse through them while the subway was moving.

He put the newspaper in his briefcase, intending to read it when he got to the office.

I first flipped through "Fiction Monthly" and went straight to the latest chapter of "Gambling God," then sat on the subway seat and began reading with great interest.

That's right, he's recently become obsessed with the novel "Gambling God" serialized in "Fiction Monthly"!
He himself wasn't interested in gambling; he didn't play mahjong or cards. However, certain trends in Hong Kong, coupled with his family background, led him to have a strong desire to make a lot of money.

In the novel "The Gambling God", the protagonist gradually becomes rich by relying on a broken feng shui manual passed down in his family, and then, under the guidance of a friend, successfully enters the world of gambling.

With the help of feng shui secrets and the inherent good fortune of the Pig, it was naturally invincible when it first entered the gambling world, winning almost every time it participated in a game.

That was so satisfying, it made Zhang Xinjie feel incredibly happy!
The preceding plot follows the standard formula of a "feel-good" novel, rushing from one exciting moment to another, leaving readers feeling thoroughly satisfied and wishing they could replace the protagonist.

It also features fascinating feng shui secrets and various mysterious techniques, which appeal to readers in Hong Kong, making the novel a huge hit.

Unfortunately, in this installment of the novel, the protagonist begins to encounter setbacks.

Just like leveling up in a game, the protagonist had previously only frequented underground gambling dens, where the amounts won and lost were not actually that exaggerated, and he had consciously controlled his spending.

Unfortunately, he couldn't resist the encouragement of his incompetent teammates, and ended up going to Macau to gamble and have a blast.

Then, the pig's feet got a bloody head injury here!
Right from the start, he won tens of millions in the casino!
What a joke! Do you think the casino would let this go so easily? And indeed, the protagonist had just left with his winnings when he encountered the casino's dirty tricks.

Then, all sorts of dangerous and underhanded methods came to the fore.

"What's going on? If you can't handle losing, don't run a gambling den!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Xinjie felt a bit aggrieved and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He had already put himself in the protagonist's role, so he naturally felt quite unhappy.

Without even realizing it, people started to match the pig's feet with the gambling dens in Macau.

The novel continues, and the protagonist, through sheer luck, manages to escape this calamity.

However, due to various reasons, the protagonist had to participate in the King of Gamblers competition held by the Macau casino. This time, the protagonist encountered a severe feng shui suppression.

At this point, the novel vividly describes the feng shui layout of the casinos on Macau Island, as well as various feng shui arrangements specifically targeting gamblers, highlighting their ruthless and vicious nature.

It's a story about a protagonist with such abundant luck who, upon entering the gambling dens in Macau, experiences various forms of suppression of his luck and ultimately suffers a narrow defeat against his opponent.

"That's too much! That's absolutely too much!"

Completely immersed in the story, Zhang Xinjie felt an urge to tear up and throw away the entire copy of "Fiction Monthly".

I felt incredibly suffocated; my impression of the gambling dens in Macau was extremely poor.

"No wonder the casinos in Macau are making a fortune every day; it turns out there's a special feng shui arrangement to them!"

Zhang Xinjie immediately closed the monthly magazine, having lost all interest in reading it further.

Having read the latest episode of the novel, besides feeling worried for the protagonist, I also feel dissatisfied with the gambling dens in Macau.

He is not alone in sharing this view!
Then, their relatives, friends, and colleagues, who were influenced by them, naturally had doubts about it.

Putting everything else aside, if they wanted to have some fun, they probably wouldn't go all the way to Australia to cause trouble.

There's no other reason; it's just that the content described in the novel is too terrifying.

Residents of Hong Kong Island are quite superstitious and place great importance on feng shui and fortune!
The novel's content created preconceived notions in them, and changing those notions won't be easy.

On the Australian side, no unusual activity was detected.

Originally, the widespread popularity of online gambling machines with gambling-related features did indeed affect their gambling business, resulting in a significant decrease in customer traffic.

In addition, the audience for novels is still a small number!

Even with Jin Yong's novels, his influence and fame were built up one book at a time.

Besides, Hong Kong now offers a wide variety of entertainment options, unlike when Jin Yong's novels were all the rage.

It's simply unbelievable that a novel could sell more than 500,000 copies in Hong Kong.

The highest sales volume of a single issue of "Fiction Monthly" never exceeded 200,000 copies.

In other words, the number of readers of "Fiction Monthly" is still limited.

Even if one of the stories is particularly compelling, it will at most boost sales to over 200,000.

The best way to spread influence quickly is to adapt it into a TV series and a movie.

In fact, ATV had already begun filming the TV series "Gambling God", which was considered a key project at a certain time.

As for Fengrui Films, the first film of "Gambling God," directed by renowned director Wang Jing, has completed filming and is currently in post-production.

In fact, this high-achieving graduate from the University of Hong Kong had been somewhat worried about the reaction to the film after its release.

Unfortunately, this was a filming assignment directly given by the boss, Wu Feng. Even though he was apprehensive, he had to complete the task honestly, otherwise how could he continue to work at Fengrui Film and Television?
He is quite satisfied with his current situation and has no intention of leaving.

The environment in Hong Kong's film industry is not exactly peaceful!

With the massive influx of Taiwanese capital, all sorts of messy and chaotic things have emerged one after another.

People working in the film industry are constantly being given bullets or even having guns pointed at their heads.

Which normal film industry professional could withstand such stimulation?

The key issue is that not only were they forced to make bad movies, but they also didn't get paid.

This isn't an isolated incident; it's far too dangerous outside.

With Hung Hing, Hong Kong's top triad society, backing them, Fengrui Films is unlikely to encounter such a ridiculous situation.

The boss, Wu Feng, is a sensible man, and he is also very generous to his employees.

As long as it generates revenue for the company, the company will not hesitate to offer generous rewards.

For a film with a budget of 20 million, director Wang Jing could earn 2 million. Such a good deal is unthinkable for other film companies.

Not to mention, he also has a great deal of autonomy!
If you can make a lot of money and live a carefree life, you must be out of your mind to choose to leave.

Wang Jing's ambitions weren't great; at least for now, he had no intention of starting anew.

Under such circumstances, helping the company shoot a movie was naturally an obligation.

It just feels like my boss is deliberately targeting that guy from Australia!
It's unbelievable to think about. That guy in Australia is incredibly wealthy and powerful. I don't know where his boss got the confidence to do this.

Little did he know that Wu Feng's cash flow was not much worse than that of the man in Australia.

Moreover, the relationship between Hung Hing and the person in Macau will soon drop below freezing point.

At that time, it was hard to say whether the person in Australia had any interest in the movie "Gambling God".

At this time, communication between Hong Kong Island and the mainland was not smooth, and not many people realized that the BBK learning machines and game consoles produced by Wu Feng's electronics factory were already selling like hotcakes in the mainland.

Meanwhile, many game cartridges designed in Hong Kong are also selling like hotcakes in mainland China.

No one expected that BBK's learning machines and game consoles would be so popular!

Wu Feng's companies in mainland China began to accumulate RMB rapidly.

He was also very straightforward, directly purchasing chips that could be manufactured in mainland China from certain microelectronics factories in mainland China through mainland companies!

Indeed, at that time, the chip manufacturing level in mainland China was considered to be among the second-best in the world.

BBK's learning machines are one thing, but BBK's home game consoles require a chip as a core component.

His idea was simple: since there was a need, he should give a good helping to the struggling microelectronics industry in mainland China.

As for whether it could save his life, that was not something he should be considering.

(End of this chapter)