Pirates began to dominate the Chinese entertainment industry.

Chapter 95: Jiahe Fire, Ji Yun Earns Over 100 Million Yuan While Lying Down

He smiled and crossed his legs again.

"Very good. Since no one wants to leave, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. I'll make this clear from the start: from today onwards, Jiahe will not tolerate idlers or rely on seniority. Whoever has the ability will take the lead. Whoever holds us back will be fired."

That was a very blunt remark.

But strangely enough, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't because Ji Yun was so terrifying, but because he said, "Whoever has the ability can go."

This is exactly what Golden Harvest has lacked most over the years.

Cai Yongchang was the first to applaud.

Next came the theater director, the financial director, the head of the distribution department... and applause filled the conference room.

Huo Wenxi stood behind Ji Yun, watching the man's back, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up.

After the meeting.

Ji Yun stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the president's office.

Kowloon Bay outside the window gleamed golden in the afternoon sun.

Huo Wenxi walked in carrying two cups of coffee and handed him one of them.

"Congratulations, the internal cleanup is complete. From now on, Jiahe truly belongs to the Ji family."

Ji Yun took the coffee but didn't drink it immediately.

"Chen Zhixin is a smart man," he said. "A smart man won't turn against you when he has no leverage. So he'll stay in Southeast Asia and wait for an opportunity to turn things around."

Do you think he has a chance?

"Of course not." Ji Yun laughed. "The combined annual revenue of the seven cinemas in Southeast Asia is less than eight million. He has no budget to do anything. In three years at most, he'll either resign or achieve results and beg me to transfer him back."

Huo Wenxi remained silent for a moment.

"How do you know he has connections with Orange Sky?"

"I don't know."

Ji Yun turned around, leaned against the window, and winked at her. "But the position he's in is too crucial. He's the deputy production manager, in charge of casting, budget, and filming schedule... Only someone in that position can be one of my people."

Huo Wenxi paused for a moment, then shook her head and chuckled, not asking any further questions, and took a sip of her coffee.

The steam from the coffee blurred her features, but her eyes shone with a faint light.

That evening, the first wave of news about the new boss of Golden Harvest began to circulate within the industry.

The first to hear the news was the owner of Yinghuang.

He was talking to Huo Wenxi in his office.

"Mani, you're so unfair. I asked you to entertain Director Ji, and you went to entertain yourself at his company?"

Huo Wenxi calmly said, "Boss, I'm just helping you make friends. Now that Jiahe is under Mr. Ji's management, wouldn't it be more convenient for Yinghuang to cooperate with Jiahe in the future, with me acting as a go-between?"

Mr. Yang was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Good! You do have a conscience. But you'd better keep a close eye on him. That kid surnamed Ji is not simple. Don't let him poach all our talent."

Huo Wenxi hung up the phone and looked up at Ji Yun, who was holding her on her lap.

Mr. Yang said he was afraid you would poach all his people.

Ji Yun looked at the script without looking up, her fingers caressing the delicate skin on her waist: "Why wouldn't we want talented people? This is just the beginning."

Hengdian.

The crew of "Chinese Paladin 3" was finishing up and removing their makeup. Liu Shishi was slumped in a chair, asking the makeup artist to remove her wig.

She was looking down at the news on her phone.

On the screen was a candid photo of Ji Yun leaving the company, accompanied by a group of respectful executives.

Below the photo is a Hong Kong media news report: Ji Yun, chairman of Tiandao Culture, officially took over Golden Harvest. On the first day, the management restructuring was completed, with many veterans being promoted and former deputy director Chen Zhixin being transferred to Southeast Asian cinemas.

"He rebuilt Jiahe in just one night!" Tang Yan leaned closer, her eyes wide. "How is he so experienced?"

"I'm still playing minor roles at my age, while he's already the boss of a listed company," Guo Xiaoting said quietly from the side. Liu Shishi didn't say anything, but just zoomed in on the photo again and again.

Ji Yun's signature in the photo is very beautiful, with clean lines and a calm expression.

She stared at the photo for a while, then silently saved it to her phone's album. She then sent Ji Yun a message: "I saw the news. The new boss scared someone to tears on his first day in office."

A few seconds later, Ji Yun replied: "Don't you cry often too?"

Liu Shishi's lips curled up slightly, then she quickly suppressed it, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed: "Mainland media outlets are also saying that you reorganized the management team in just one day. That's unbelievably fast."

"You should know how fast I am," Ji Yun replied instantly.

Liu Shishi stared at the line of text for two seconds, then burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth.

Yang Mi frantically winked at her from the side: What are you two talking about? Let me see!

Liu Shishi decisively flipped her phone over and placed it face down on her fair thigh.

The third wave of news came the latest, but it had the greatest impact on the people of Hong Kong Island.

A week later, the restoration plan for the Jiahe Film Archive was officially announced.

The first five names on the initial list of restoration projects are:

Li Xiaolong starred in "Fist of Fury" and "The Big Boss", Jackie Chan starred in "Drunken Master I & II", and the Hui Brothers starred in "Half a Catty of Eight Taels".

They also announced that all screenings would be free for a week, inviting all citizens to watch the movie.

The whole of Hong Kong was in uproar.

Ming Pao's front-page headline: "Golden Harvest Reopens, Film Library Restoration Plan Revealed"

Apple Daily's entertainment section features a full-page report: "The Digital Rebirth of Hong Kong Cinema's Golden Age."

Oriental Daily News Financial Section Commentary: "Tiandao Culture's First Month of Acquisition of Golden Harvest: A Dramatic Change in the Hong Kong Film and Television Landscape"

On the balcony of his villa in Kowloon Tong, Zou Wenhuai finished reading the front page reports of three newspapers.

He took off his reading glasses and wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand.

His wife came out of the house, saw this scene, and asked softly, "Ah Huai, what's wrong?"

"Yes." Zou Wenhuai folded the newspaper and placed it on his lap, gazing at the distant sea. "I just feel that the young man has more guts than I do."

In a small screening room at Golden Harvest in Kowloon.

Ji Yun is watching a batch of restored test screenings with Cai Yongchang and Huo Wenxi.

On the screen, after restoration, Li Xiaolong's black-and-white image was so clear that you could see the beads of sweat on his face as he threw a punch.

"The effect is good," Ji Yun said. "After the first batch of fifty films are repaired, we will release a few for free to help cinemas regain popularity."

Cai Yongchang was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Mr. Ji, to be honest, when you acquired Golden Harvest, I thought you were only interested in Golden Harvest's theaters and film library. Restoring old films and investing in new movies were all for packaging for an IPO and cashing out."

Ji Yun remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"But your restoration plan is more detailed than any other acquisition I've ever seen. It even lists the preservation status of each film, the difficulties in restoration, and the estimated timeline."

Cai Yongchang turned to look at him, "It seems you really intend to keep Golden Harvest's old films."

Ji Yun looked at the last frame of Li Xiaolong on the screen: after throwing his last punch, he stood still, his eyes blazing.

"Uncle Cai," Ji Yun said calmly, looking at the other person, "it should have been written in the newspapers that my family used to make pirated DVDs."

My mother passed away early, and my father is always busy outside, so these DVDs are all I have to keep me company every day.

My dad's favorite movies are Hong Kong films. He told me I was lucky to be able to watch them. But now, those DVDs have oxidized and can't be played anymore.

I used to think: "There are so many great movies. When I'm rich, I'll definitely buy all those production companies and let everyone watch them for free."

He stood up, looked at Cai Yongchang, his smile fading, and said seriously, "If we don't try to save these films, they'll be snatched up by other countries."

the next day.

Jiahe's employees received an email from the president's office.

From: Ji Yun.

Recipient: All employees of Jiahe.

The main text contained only one sentence: "Work hard, and Jiahe will not let down anyone with ability. In addition, this year's year-end bonus will be doubled."

This email was frantically forwarded by employees; some clenched their fists and growled in front of their computers in cubicles; others called their wives from the fire escape, saying, "Honey, I'm not changing jobs, Jiahe is still here..."

At the end of the email, a classic still from Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" was attached, with the caption: "Our Chinese products are never inferior to anyone else's."

The Golden Harbour Cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui has completed its initial renovations and is about to reopen. Ji Yun personally cut the ribbon at the entrance.

A long queue formed outside the theater, stretching from the third-floor entrance of the shopping mall all the way to the roadside.

Among those queuing were elderly people with gray hair and young people in their early twenties.

There were movie fans who brought small cards collected by their parents to take photos, and office workers who rushed to get a limited edition poster early in the morning.

The crowd was bustling, yet no one bothered each other.

A middle-aged man standing in line told a reporter who came to interview him, "I used to come to this theater every week when I was a child. Later it got too old and I never came again. Today it reopened, so I took a day off to bring my daughter to see the restored version of 'Fist of Fury'."

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The reporter then knelt down and asked his daughter, "Do you know who Li Xiaolong is?"

The little girl tilted her head back and said in her childish voice, "Daddy said he's even more powerful than Ip Man!"

The new logo of Jiahe in the distance gleamed in the sunlight.

The four gold bricks remained unchanged, but a new line of text appeared next to them:

Golden Harvest Films – Founded in 1970, Relaunched in 2008. Ji Yun stood at the theater entrance, looking at the long queue, only to find Cai Yongchang standing at the very front of the line.

He was still holding a ticket stub from the premiere of "Fist of Fury" in 1972. The paper had long since yellowed, but he had preserved it well in a plastic sleeve.

He handed the ticket stub to Ji Yun: "Mr. Ji, I came as an audience member. I've been waiting for this ticket for 36 years."

Ji Yun took the ticket stub, looked down at it, and then took something out of the inside pocket of his suit and gently placed it in Cai Yongchang's palm.

It was a brand new ticket for the premiere of the 4K restored version of "Fist of Fury", seat number 1, row 1, seat 1.

Amidst the lively chatter around them, no one noticed the elderly man standing at the front of the line bowing slightly to a young man forty years his junior.

Cai Yongchang did not look back when he entered the theater.

He found a seat, leaned his cane against the armrest, put on his reading glasses, and watched the dragon logo and classic soundtrack flash across the big screen. When he saw the man who had started his Golden Harvest dream appear... Cai Yongchang's eyes quietly reddened in the darkness.

It's been 35 years, Xiaolong, I'm getting old.

The news of the opening day swept across major media outlets in Hong Kong.

Ming Pao's financial and entertainment sections collaborated for the first time on the front page: "Golden Harbour Gateway Cinema reopens, queues in Kowloon Bay longer than at the Apple Store."

The Oriental Daily News headline was even more direct: "Mainland bosses take over, Golden Harvest is brought back to life."

A Phoenix TV reporter conducted a random street interview, asking an elderly woman who had queued for two hours to finally buy a ticket why she came to see the restored version.

The old woman said to the camera, "Back then, who didn't love Bruce Lee... When my husband was pursuing me, our first date was watching—"

"Fist of Fury." Later, he followed Bruce Lee, and we couldn't watch the movie anymore. It's showing again today, so I came to see it, as if I'm watching it with him one last time.

The reporter offered her a tissue, but the old woman waved it off and instead bent down to wipe the dust off the ticket stub.

The interview spread throughout mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that very night.

35 years after the death of Li Xiaolong, the legendary figure behind Golden Harvest, he has become popular again.

As a result, Jiahe's stock price rose by 30% in three days, and its market value officially exceeded 5 million from less than 7 million when it was first acquired.

Ji Yun's net worth has also increased by more than 100 million yuan without her even realizing it.

According to predictions from securities firms such as Citibank, with Ji Yun's actions, Jiahe's market value is very likely to return to 10 billion within the year, and 1132.HK has become one of the very few stocks that can still rise.

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