A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

We'll find out in Chapter 97!
The girls all went back to change into their outdoor clothes.

Lin Jianlu, still carrying the bag, continued to take out money. Two more stacks of HK$100 notes were handed to one of Ge Fuhong's bodyguards who was responsible for escorting him to the commercial performances. He stuffed the notes into his hand, then took out two more stacks and stuffed them into another hand. "These are red envelopes! Thank you both for your hard work these past few days. Take them to have some tea!"

He didn't bother taking anything else, and stuffed the bag and all into Lin Xilei's hand, saying, "Here! Yours! You've worked hard!"

Lin Xilei was in charge of collecting the money, and a simple calculation showed that there were four stacks left.

Ge Fuhong pursed her lips.

This person... well, that's how it is.

He casually throws money around wherever he goes—yet even Ge Fuhong had to admit that what he did was indeed brilliant.

Both bodyguards looked grateful, and Lin Xilei was clearly very happy.

Bodyguards earn a decent income, especially since it involves overseas travel and long journeys. After a month of following them around, they can earn fifty to sixty thousand Hong Kong dollars. But who would complain about having too much money?
Twenty thousand isn't much; it's enough to make them remember this good deed for a while.

Not to mention Lin Xilei… She's actually quite poor. She's been working as Lin Jianlu's assistant for half a year now, just getting a salary. The drama she filmed before aired, but the results were mediocre, and she herself wasn't particularly outstanding. If she really wanted to go out and find work, she could still find some, even minor supporting roles, and she could still earn money. But whether it was Ge Fuhong's preference or her own considerations, she preferred to stay quietly by Lin Jianlu's side.

Well, 40,000 yuan is the third red envelope Lin Xilei has earned from Lin Jianlu.

Every time she went out for a commercial performance, Lin Jianlu would always give her a small reward upon her return—this was already higher than her salary and better than the small supporting roles she worked hard to film several movies.

However... despite his generosity, Sylvia Chang had actually been to mainland China. She said that Lin Jianlu lived an extremely simple life, even in mainland China.

He is already well-off, and the record royalties he is currently urging are about to be settled. Once settled, he will be even more financially secure. However, whether in Hong Kong or Taiwan, he shows no signs of extravagance.

Having made a fortune, he doesn't buy luxury homes, luxury cars, or yachts.

It is said that he also rents an apartment in the capital, a small two-bedroom apartment of only a few dozen square meters. He rarely drives and prefers to ride a bicycle. Even when he invites friends to a gathering for drinks, he chooses a roadside stall. Although it is said that he likes to treat people and has countless friends in the capital, he has no air of wealth or luxury.

Even on ordinary days, he goes to the market to buy groceries and cooks for himself, without hiring a housekeeper.

It's incomprehensible to most people.

"Ah Lu, shall we settle the accounts?"

"Okay!"

The bodyguard and Lin Xilei went out, waiting for the girls to change their clothes and go shopping together. In the luxurious suite, only Lin Jianlu, Ge Fuhong, and Liang Yongqi remained. So, in a businesslike manner, Ge Fuhong took out all the receipts and invoices from the trip, with a list attached.

When performing at commercial events, the agreed-upon prices are usually after tax, and the promoters have to cover expenses such as airfare and accommodation. Even so, there are still expenses. At least they don't provide meals, and if there's a time constraint, the flight needs to be rescheduled, etc. All these expenses are the responsibility of Lin Jianlu.

However, it's just a small amount of money!
This trip lasted nearly a month, and I've lost count of how many performances I did. In short, the total revenue from performances in Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea was just under $560 million. After deducting the 10% share that had to be given to Ge Fuhong, and then deducting all sorts of miscellaneous expenses on the bill, the remaining amount was approximately $500 million.

Taiwan earned NT$4800 million, of which Zhang Aijia received a commission, while Lin Jianlu pocketed NT$4320 million.

Finally, there's Hong Kong. Of the HK$45 million, HK$450 was given to Ge Fuhong, and then the girls' plane tickets back to the capital were bought. Another HK$30 was given away earlier, so there's still less than HK$370 million left.

They will have to pay the girls a performance fee of up to 110 million yuan when they get back.

In short, this trip, which lasted nearly a month, was quite fruitful—the actual total income was close to $700 million.

This is the reason why you need to make money overseas. If you're performing domestically, the normal price range for a commercial performance is between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan. No matter how popular Lin Jianlu is, he'll only make 100,000 yuan per performance. Even if you perform for a month and take on a hundred shows non-stop, you'll only make a few million yuan.

Of course, in about ten years, it will probably be even more appealing domestically.

If we wait another 20 or 30 years, haha, it will be normal for a big internet celebrity to charge 50,000 or 100,000 yuan for an appearance. Popular singers will generally charge more than a million yuan for an appearance, such as G.E.M., Zhang Bichen, Jane Zhang, and Angela Zhang, whose appearance fees are already two or three million yuan. By then, foreign countries will be completely outmatched!
…………

After quickly glancing at the bill, Lin Jianlu readily signed it.

The agent is in charge of collecting the money. After he signs the papers and calculates the accounts, the money should be deposited into the account within a day or two—look, another large sum of money.

Ge Fuhong was also very happy. Although she was tired from following along, she earned 60 US dollars. Apart from the two times when Lin Jianlu quickly signed endorsement contracts, this was the fastest she had ever earned in her career. So she took matters into her own hands, rummaged through the wine cabinet in the suite, and although there wasn't much good wine, she still found a bottle of Rémy Martin, opened it, and poured the bottom of three glasses.

"Come on, congratulations on the great success of this commercial performance! It's a great start for your tour next year!"

"Okay, do it!"

After emptying his glass, Ge Fuhong put it down and disappeared.

As soon as the door closed, Liang Yongqi eagerly threw herself into Lin Jianlu's arms again, "Ah Lu..."

Lin Jianlu chuckled and gave her a playful squeeze on her bottom. "I'll teach you something!" She paused, then asked, "Huh?"

“Next time you encounter a similar situation, and Sister Ge goes to open the wine cabinet, you should be the first to go and help get the glasses! Don’t always think of yourself as a princess, or that your agent is there to serve you. You need to put her on a higher pedestal and yourself on a lower one…”

Before Lin Jianlu could finish speaking, Liang Yongqi's face was already flushed.

This is a matter of keen observation, a clever tactic. Lin Jianlu didn't know how Liang Yongqi fared in that other world or timeline where he had no involvement. It seemed she was popular for two years, but soon faded into obscurity along with the overall decline of the Hong Kong entertainment industry. At least from what I've observed now, this girl got off to a great start in just over a year in the industry, and things went too smoothly for her. So, even now, she seems rather naive.

She obediently accepted the instruction, saying, "I understand, Brother Lu. I will definitely pay attention in the future."

Regardless of what she was thinking, this attitude was pretty good. Lin Jianlu hugged her as a reward and kissed her on the lips. "So, you see, I've been staying here ever since I came back. How about I get a day off today?"

Leung Wing-ki pursed her lips—I knew it!

I knew he'd be free today and wouldn't be able to resist going to see that old woman!

So she got up early this morning and carefully put on her favorite light makeup. Right now, she was about to beg him to ask her to ask her agent for a day off. She didn't want to go to the film set today and wanted to keep Lin Jianlu by her side...

result……

"Hmm? Is it okay?"

Liang Yongqi looked up into his eyes, and finally nodded, looking pitiful, "Well... okay!"

He was indeed very happy, probably because of her good behavior, so he hugged her again and rewarded her with a deep kiss, "Gigi, you're getting better and better. I didn't like you that much before, but now I like you more and more!"

He made her happy with just one sentence.

But I couldn't help asking, "Are you coming back tonight?"

Lin Jianlu surprisingly asked her in return, "If I bring her back, will you come along?"

Liang Yongqi was stunned for a moment, her face instantly turning red. She stammered for a while, "No way! She's too old!"—Although she was young and hadn't been in the industry for long, the entertainment circle was a bizarre place, and many things had become commonplace. Rich men dating pretty girls, even minor celebrities, and holding orgies on yachts—these weren't unusual occurrences. She just hadn't expected Lin Jianlu to ask her such a question!
Hmm...that's a bit unacceptable!
…………

The door opened, and the elderly woman was as beautiful as ever.

With a radiant smile, she said, "Come in!" Then she took a half step back, bent down, and pulled out a pair of slippers. Lin Jianlu changed her shoes and stood in the entryway looking around. Lin Qingxia had been in Hong Kong for over ten years, had acted in many films, and was quite famous. In terms of film remuneration, she was among the top actresses, so she could naturally afford such a luxurious mansion.

It was luxuriously decorated into a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment.

"Hello Lin Sheng!"

She had a maid who looked to be around forty years old. When she heard that a guest had arrived, she stood between the living room and the kitchen and waited. When she saw Lin Jianlu walk in, she bowed and greeted her.

"Hello there!"

The living room faces the sea; it's an absolute beachfront property.

Lin Qingxia warmly invited the guest to drink, and personally washed her hands to make tea. "I heard you like to drink Taiwan's high mountain oolong tea. I haven't had this in a long time, so I specially asked my sister to buy it from Taiwan. Please try it."

Lin Jianlu chuckled, "Where did this rumor come from! Saying I love drinking high-mountain oolong tea is simply because I've only ever received one box of high-mountain oolong tea, a gift from Zhou Huajian! Why don't you give me something else instead!"

"puff……"

Lin Qingxia immediately laughed, "I know! Hong Kong people like to drink Pu'er tea, and they also like to drink Phoenix Dancong tea produced in Guangdong Province. I'll go and buy some for you later!" Then she couldn't help but complain, "You earn so much money yourself, and you don't know how to buy it? You just have to drink whatever others give you?"

"The complimentary drink tastes the best!"

"Pfft..." Not only Lin Qingxia laughed, but you could also vaguely hear some suppressed laughter from the kitchen. The house was too small. To be honest, it wasn't much bigger than the house Lin Jianlu rented in the capital for a few hundred yuan a month. It was impossible for the kitchen not to hear what was being said in the living room.

So when Brigitte Lin sat down, Lin Jianlu bluntly said, "Give her a break!"

Lin Qingxia smiled, glanced back at the kitchen, and after a moment, she actually got up and went to the kitchen.

I don't know what they said, but a little while later, the maid came out with a vegetable basket. When she got to the living room, she stopped, bowed slightly to Lin Jianlu, and without saying anything, changed her shoes, opened the door, and went out.

"I asked her to go grocery shopping, and she spent two hours doing so. Is that enough time?"

"more or less!"

***
There are only two and a half days left. If you think Xiaodao has been updating quite frequently lately, how about giving him some monthly tickets?
(End of this chapter)