Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Jiang Lai was truly surprised that when Jiang Zhiqiang said he wanted to introduce someone, he would introduce Andy Lau.

He shamelessly jogged over and extended his hand, "Brother Hua, hello, hello! I'm your fan!"

Andy Lau grasped his hand and said with a smile, "Don't be so polite. Boss Jiang asked me to show you around Hong Kong. Where would you like to go?"

"I'm not familiar with Hong Kong, so you can arrange it, Brother Hua."

Andy Lau thought for a moment, "Let's go to my company first. I have some things to take care of. I'll take you to see the night view tonight."

"Okay." Jiang Lai nodded, as long as he wasn't stuck in the hotel.

The two walked out and got into a black van, which took them to the Kwun Tong Old Factory Building.

This is an old-fashioned industrial building with long, narrow stairwells, old elevators, mottled corridors, and old floor tiles. Andy Lau's Sky Screen Company is located in this very place.

When Chan Kwok was filming "Made in Hong Kong", many scenes were shot directly here, which shows how crowded and chaotic the place is.

There weren't many people in the company. Andy Lau led Jiang Lai into his office, which was small and simply decorated with a desk, a sofa, and a few filing cabinets.

"The conditions are simple, please don't laugh." Andy Lau poured Jiang Lai a glass of water.

Jiang Lai took the water glass. "Brother Hua, you're too kind."

Andy Lau smiled and sat down behind his desk, frowning as he looked at the documents on the table.

Jiang glanced at it; it looked like a financial statement.

He vaguely remembered hearing in his previous life that the other person's company had experienced a debt crisis around this time, so he asked, "Brother Hua, have you run into any trouble lately?"

Andy Lau was taken aback. "Did Boss Jiang say anything to you?"

Jiang Lai blinked. "No."

Andy Lau clasped his hands together, torn between whether or not to seize the opportunity offered by Jiang Zhiqiang. When Jiang called him, he said that the person he was to pick up was a major mainland investor, and that if he cultivated a good relationship with him, he might be able to turn his life around.

But he's a bit vain, and he brought up money as soon as we met, as if it was specifically for that purpose.

After hesitating for a moment, Andy Lau finally spoke up: "Lai Zai, Boss Jiang calls you Lai Zai, so I'll call you that too. I opened Sky Screen in 1991. It did pretty well at first, but then..."

He paused, then added, "We lost a lot of money later."

Jiang Lai didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"I like making friends, and when friends ask me for help, I help them if I can. But in the end, I ended up getting myself into trouble." Andy Lau gave a wry smile. "These past few years have been the worst; the company owes forty million."

Jiang Lai did the math in his head. At this point, 40 million Hong Kong dollars was roughly equivalent to 43 million RMB, which was quite a loss.

"Later, I worked like crazy, taking on any role I could find, filming over a dozen movies a year, working on so many projects that I didn't have time to sleep." Andy Lau rubbed his face. "It took me several years to finally pay it off."

"Brother Hua has had a tough time," Jiang Lai nodded.

"It's not that difficult. Paying back debts is a matter of course." Andy Lau waved his hand. "It's just that after going through this, I'm thinking about how to move forward."

He stood up, looked at the poster on the wall, and said, "I still want to build the company, but not for the sake of making money."

"Why is that?"

"For the sake of the movie!"

Andy Lau's gaze was extremely sincere: "You don't know, there are so many talented young people in this industry who have no connections, no resources, and can't even get a chance."

He walked back to his desk and sat down. "I want to create a platform specifically for new directors and actors, to give them an opportunity to film the stories in their hearts."

Jiang Lai actually wanted to say, "I know perfectly well that Jia Kezhang, Lou Ye, and their gang are just like that," but saying it would seem a bit out of place, so he countered with, "Even if they don't make money?"

"Even if it doesn't make money!" Andy Lau said with absolute certainty.

"If you only think about making money when it comes to movies, then you're doomed."

Looking at the person in front of him, Jiang Lai could tell that the other person wasn't faking it, and suddenly he understood why the other person had been famous for so many years.

It's not because he's handsome, not because he sings well, and not because he's a good actor.

It's because he has a certain drive in his bones, a drive to do something.

Whether it's for fame or something else, there's a saying...

A gentleman judges by actions, not by intentions.

In the original story, Andy Lau received investment from Mak Siu-tong and was preparing to make a big splash in the business. In reality, Mak Siu-tong was a shrewd businessman who just wanted to use Andy Lau's fame to cash out in the stock market and make a fortune.

Andy Lau wanted to get things done and didn't want the other party to exploit their fans.

The two had different ideas, which eventually led to a lawsuit. As a result, Brother Hua lost everything, leaving him with nothing. It can only be said that he was unlucky in his choice of partners.

Jiang Lai hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Hua, if you're willing, I can help you."

Andy Lau looked up, somewhat surprised. Although he had explained his predicament, he hadn't expected someone he'd only just met to help him.

"Aren't you afraid of losing money?" Andy Lau asked.

Jiang Lai laughed, "So what if I lose money? I don't have any great skills, I just have a lot of money."

Andy Lau stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, "The tone of your voice is different from what Boss Jiang said."

"What did he say about me?"

"He said you are a very serious actor and take your roles very seriously."

Jiang Lai laughed heartily, "That's because he doesn't understand me."

The two chatted for a long time, from their companies to movies, and from movies to life.

In the evening, Andy Lau patted Jiang Lai on the shoulder and said, "I'll consider you a friend."

"What about the collaboration?"

"Have your people talk to my people. They're the professionals who know the specifics." Andy Lau smiled. "Let's just do our job: make a good movie and help the newcomers."

Jiang Lai nodded.

In the evening, Andy Lau took Jiang Lai to Victoria Peak to overlook the night view of Victoria Harbour. Over the next two days, they also went to Golden Bauhinia Square to see the Monument to the People's Heroes, to the Avenue of Stars to see the handprints of filmmakers, to Ladies' Market in Mong Kok, and to Lan Kwai Fong.

Jiang Lai felt very comfortable with Andy Lau. He was down-to-earth, sincere in his words and deeds, and a friend she could confide in.

When Jiang returned to the hotel and called Zhang Ziyi, she learned that Jiang knew Andy Lau and immediately started screaming, demanding an autograph.

Jiang Lai Te, feeling embarrassed, approached Brother Hua and, after thinking for a moment, asked Brother Hua to sign a few more copies, planning to show them off when he returned to school.

Jiang has had a very comfortable time these past few days, except when he's talking to Sister Ying.

Jiang made the call at night, while it was morning in the United States.

You know, girls always love to sleep in, especially Yingjie on a paid trip, who just explodes with morning grumpiness.

After venting her anger, Yingjie immediately switched to work mode.

"There are two options. The first is a direct acquisition, turning Tianmu into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yibao, but they might not be willing to do that. The second is a partial capital injection, taking a stake but not controlling it, returning the management rights to them, and we only receiving dividends."

"The second one." Jiang Lai said without hesitation.

"I knew it." Sister Ying snorted. "Fine, I'll have a lawyer in Hong Kong do some research first. We'll discuss the specifics of how to invest and how many shares to acquire after the research is done."

"Okay, Sister Ying."

"Okay, then that's settled." Ying paused for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "There's one more thing. I recently discovered something in the United States: the Nasdaq index for tech stocks is rising a bit strangely."

"So?" Jiang asked.

"It's okay, I'll observe a bit more, that's all!" Sister Ying hung up the phone directly.

Jiang Lai put down the phone, but took Ying Jie's words to heart.

At this point in time, it seems to be...