A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 23 is also a chapter of martial arts.
In three days, Lin Jianlu took on four performances. After deducting her agent's commission, she netted HK$63. Of course, she still had to declare and pay taxes, but that would be next year. This was actually Lin Jianlu's original plan to make money in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

During this period, Hong Kong people with regular jobs generally earned more than HK$10,000 a month, while white-collar workers generally earned between HK$15000 and HK$25000. Although prices were not low, their overall spending power was far greater than that of ordinary mainlanders earning only RMB500 or RMB800 a month. Consequently, artists in Hong Kong also earned more money.

The settlement of royalties in the record industry is generally very slow because the statistics and payment process itself is slow. So, despite the huge success of "Cold to the End", apart from the HK$10,000 signing fee he received when he first signed with Rock Records, this HK$630,000 was actually Lin Jianlu's first income since his transmigration.

Fortunately, although they arrived late, there were enough of them.

That's enough to buy three small three-bedroom apartments of 80 square meters each in Fangchengyuan, south of the Second Ring Road, or even a small detached courtyard house with an interior area of ​​about 100 square meters!
I can go back and fulfill my promise to my mom: "Never underestimate a young person's potential!"
On April 17, Lin Jianlu visited Luo Dayou's music factory. She had originally planned to go when Liang Yongqi called at the last minute, so she simply took her and her assistant Lin Xilei with her.

The two agents weren't signed for nothing. Besides shielding you from the dangers of the entertainment industry and helping you connect with business, the agents themselves have been in the industry for many years and are familiar with all sorts of stories. With a little background information, you can learn a lot about the history and entanglements of the industry. Music Factory is a record company that Luo Dayou started in Hong Kong in 90. It was a joint venture between him and Rock Records and can be considered a subsidiary of Rock Records. It was also Rock Records' front line in Hong Kong.

It's said that when the company was first established, besides taking on many film score projects and releasing hit movie theme songs like "A Laughter in the Vast Sea" and "Rolling Red Dust," Luo Dayou himself was quite ambitious. He subsequently signed a male and a female singer, presumably intending to heavily promote them. However, it's clear that even someone as talented as Luo Dayou can't guarantee that anyone he promotes will become famous.

Ultimately, the record industry is an industry, and even the greatest talent is not inexhaustible.

Yuan Fengying signed a contract in 1991 and released three albums, with one of them even selling over platinum. However, she was far from becoming a big star. When her contract expired in 1994, she immediately announced her retirement from the music industry.

Anthony Wong also signed with the company in 1991 and released several albums. Last year, in 1995, he officially switched to East East Records.

Today, Music Factory has basically become Luo Dayou's own studio, taking on film score orders to make a living. In addition, many of the singers in the Rock Records system are originally from Hong Kong and have been active in Hong Kong for many years. When they need to record, they often come to Music Factory to borrow the recording studio. It is a joint venture between the two companies, and the recording studio is then rented back to the singers of this company to make some money from the recording studio. It is actually a bit sad.

In fact, since Yuan Fengying announced her retirement from the music scene in 94, Luo Dayou has been somewhat depressed, believing that his peak period has passed and that he has produced few works recently.

There was no prior arrangement; the call was made on the way, and Luo Da was naturally extremely welcoming and very happy. He had previously chatted with Lin Jianlu for quite some time during his trip back to Taiwan, and clearly admired Lin Jianlu's talent.

When they arrived at the music factory, they found it unusually lively that day. Not only were Huang Zhan and Brigitte Lin there, but also the famous director Du Qifeng, a screenwriter named You Naihai, and the Taiwanese actress Wu Qianlian.

This has also been explained before. Although Wu Qianlian is from Taiwan, she was initially promoted by Du Qifeng and debuted as the female lead in the 90 film "A Moment of Romance" directed by Benny Chan, which made her an instant star. Subsequently, Du Qifeng personally became her manager and escorted her all the way. She partnered with actresses like Andy Lau and Leslie Cheung, all of whom were leading ladies. She even signed with a record company and released an album that I think was called "You Are Not the Only Wanderer in the World". She also won the Best New Female Artist Award at the 1994 Hong Kong Golden Melody Awards.

Not long ago, Johnnie To founded Milkyway Image, and is said to be preparing his first film. He is no longer just a big director, but can even be considered a big shot in the industry.

Luo Da then introduced everyone, and they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Lin Qingxia caught sight of Liang Yongqi and immediately teased, "Wow, Ah Lu, you've already won the heart of a beauty! How heartbreaking!"

Huang Zhan slapped his thigh and burst into laughter. He was naturally recalling the hilarious scene from that night.

Lin Jianlu had no choice but to quickly explain, "Gigi and I are friends, I wouldn't dare to say such things! My heart has always been with you, Qingxia, but... even if I tell you the room, you won't go!"

Lin Qingxia laughed, "You invited me to dinner tonight, maybe I'll go!"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

In such situations, Leung Wing-ki, always a bit shy and tongue-tied, simply didn't have the courage to speak. She could only maintain a professional smile and let Lam Kin-lu say whatever she wanted, and at this moment, could only smile shyly along. After a brief chat, she learned that Du Qifeng had slightly reduced his output in recent years, focusing entirely on preparing for his own company. His recent project for Milkyway Image likely didn't include Wu Sin-lin, leaving her feeling a bit bored and considering signing with another record company to make an album for fun.

Du Qifeng, who is not good at music, came to Luo Dayou's place to sit and inquire about the situation. Perhaps he also wanted to test whether Luo Dayou was willing to produce an album for Wu Qianlian. Coincidentally, Huang Zhan and Lin Qingxia had already made an appointment with Luo Dayou to drink today, which led to the scene of the music factory, which had been deserted for a long time, suddenly being full of guests today.

Wu Qianlian's eyes lit up when she saw Lin Jianlu. After chatting for a short while, she tentatively asked if Lin Jianlu would be willing to write a few songs for her, but before she could finish her sentence, Lin Jianlu cut her off—she was a member of Du Qifeng's faction, and he was too handsome.

Sister Ge specifically warned me: You are too beautiful, which is a huge advantage for your career, but you must be careful when navigating the world. Don't easily accept women's advances, especially those with powerful backers.

In the entertainment industry, which is also a kind of martial arts world, no one can rise to prominence overnight. Everyone has their own connections and methods. If you mess with a woman, you might offend someone before you even get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. We may not be afraid of anyone, but there's no need to offend someone for no reason and ruin your career for a woman.

Wu Qianlian is clearly among them.

Sure enough, upon hearing Lin Jianlu's polite refusal, Du Qifeng was not unhappy at all. Instead, he said very warmly, "Your album is selling very well recently. How about you come and have a cameo role in my new film?"

Lin Jianlu laughed. Even if he hadn't earned enough money, he wasn't interested in making movies. As a singer, he earned six or seven hundred thousand from four shows, and that was just a side job on top of selling records. An actor could only earn a few hundred thousand after two months of hard work filming. These days, singers have a much higher status than actors, especially big-name singers. "Sure, we'll see when it's time! But let me make it clear beforehand, I can't act! Don't blame me for wasting your film if there are too many takes!"

Du Qifeng burst into laughter.

They ended up at a drinking party, and no one could escape. So, in the middle of the day, they ended up drinking in a restaurant downstairs from the Music Factory. Liang Yongqi seemed to have a decent alcohol tolerance, but after drinking the last two glasses of brandy, she started to blush. Lin Jianlu stopped her from drinking any more of the brandy, which drew a lot of teasing from Lin Qingxia.

Even Huang Zhan was dissatisfied this time, saying, "A young woman blushing is the most beautiful sight in the world! But you have to stop her, how boring! You can touch what's inside her clothes, but we should at least get a glimpse of what's exposed!"

Leung Wing-ki was already blushing, and at this moment she blushed even more so that she couldn't lift her head.

Lin Jianlu simply challenged Huang Zhan to a drinking contest, downing three glasses in a row, which made Huang Zhan's eyes glaze over and he became less talkative. Lin Qingxia, however, was always eager to see some fun, saying, "You're such a good drinker? It seems like it won't be easy to get you drunk and take advantage of you!" This drew laughter from the rest of the table.

This is actually a talent that Lin Jianlu has only recently discovered—he can drink a lot!

At first, Lin Jianlu hardly drank any alcohol because he rarely drank in his previous life, and at most he would drink a bottle of beer. Later, when he was recording in the capital, he naturally invited friends and acquaintances. As long as they were friends and helped him a little, he would use the public funds from the recording to treat them to a meal. Over time, he would drink a little here and a little there, and he gradually discovered that no matter how much he drank, he was not drunk at all.

The most he ever drank was two jin of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and he was still not drunk. After finishing, he went about his business as usual. From then on, he was never afraid to drink again.

After drinking, Luo Da returned to the music factory and drank tea to sober up. He was in a great mood and suggested that everyone take a picture. He also invited his company's employees to come and take a group photo.

Luo Dayou, a dazed Huang Zhan, and Du Qifeng sat in the middle of the sofa. Lin Jianlu originally wanted to stand at the back, but Luo Dayou called her over and asked someone to move the sofa. So Lin Jianlu sat on a single seat. Lin Qingxia originally wanted to sit on the other single seat, but politely gave it to Wu Qianlian. She got up and, without even looking at Liang Yongqi and Lin Xilei standing behind Lin Jianlu's sofa, sat directly on the armrest of Lin Jianlu's sofa, stretching out her arm and draping it over Lin Jianlu's shoulder.

With a click, the photo was taken.

(End of this chapter)