Pirates began to dominate the Chinese entertainment industry.

Chapter 96 A Vast Collection of IPs: *Overheard*, *New World*

When Ji Yun saw the news video in her office, she silently pressed the pause button, turned to Huo Wenxi and said, "Sister Mani, help me make an appointment with someone."

"Who?" Huo Wenxi was looking down at her text message.

"Liu Weiqiang".

Huo Wenxi stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.

"It's Liu Wei, the director of 'Infernal Affairs', that's who you're thinking of."

Ji Yun placed her hands on the table and smiled, "The best way for Golden Harvest to keep the Hong Kong film industry in check is to continue making good films and bring back the most glorious team under the Golden Harvest brand."

The night outside the window was already deep, but the neon lights in the Tsim Sha Tsui direction were still flashing.

Ji Yun looked at the light and tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

He knew very well that the film library restoration was merely a matter of maintaining the status quo.

To truly revive the Golden Harvest brand and achieve a market value exceeding 10 billion, simply resting on past laurels is not enough; they must move forward.

Tsai Wing-cheong was won over, cinemas began to regain popularity, and the film library restoration was on track, but what could truly silence the entire Hong Kong film industry was a new film.

A new film produced by Golden Harvest, full of Hong Kong flavor.

Two days later.

At the Peninsula Hotel's tea room, Ji Yun met Liu Weiqiang in person for the first time.

The man who directed the Infernal Affairs trilogy was thinner than Ji Yun had imagined. He wore black-rimmed glasses and a faded dark gray jacket. He sat in a tea booth, unconsciously twirling a lighter in his fingers.

Mai Zhaohui next to him had a completely different style: a floral shirt, a toothpick in his mouth, and his legs crossed, looking like a street uncle who had just come out of a mahjong parlor in Temple Street.

Cai Yongchang hosted the event and sat opposite the two men, but he didn't interrupt; he simply sat to the side and drank tea.

"Mr. Ji, you are so young, yet you are so impressive."

Liu Wei got straight to the point, his tone not too harsh, but not very warm either: "Ah Hui and I signed a film contract with Media Asia two years ago, and filming was originally scheduled to start next year. If you want to sign me to Golden Harvest, you have to show some sincerity."

Ji Yun smiled but did not answer immediately.

He took two scripts out of his briefcase, handed one to Liu Wei, and placed the other on the table.

"Director Liu, I'm not here to poach your talent."

He paused for a moment, and waited for Andrew Lau to pick up the script before continuing, "It's been five years since the Infernal Affairs trilogy was filmed. How long has it been since you two made a gangster film?"

'

Liu Wei stopped flipping through the script, his expression stiffening.

This question hit a nerve.

After "Infernal Affairs", he went to Hollywood to make "The Haunted Cop Shop", which was a box office flop.

Mai Zhaohui returned to the mainland to shoot a co-production, which was completely altered by the investors.

The two people who made "Infernal Affairs" haven't made a decent gangster film in five years.

It's a huge disgrace to my career.

Ji Yun pushed another script on the table over.

"Overheard"

Police and gangster films are the foundation of Hong Kong cinema, and you are the best at making these kinds of films. Golden Harvest has the largest film library and the best resources in Hong Kong, but it lacks talent like you.

Mai Zhaohui stopped chewing on the toothpick, reached out and pulled the script over, turning to the first page.

Mai Zhaohui began flipping through the script, his fingers turning the pages one by one, faster and faster.

When he turned to page ten or so, a toothpick fell out of his mouth, but he didn't care and just held it down with his hand.

"Holy crap, three cops wiretapping about commercial crimes, stumbling into the dark side of the stock market? How exciting, so fitting."

As he looked at it, he slapped his thigh hard, then turned to Liu Weixi and said, "Old Liu, take a look at this part..."

Liu Wei has already flipped through half of the script.

He flipped through the script much more slowly than Mai Zhaohui, examining it page by page, sometimes pausing to stare intently at certain lines.

When he turned to a scene of confrontation in an interrogation room, his fingers repeatedly slid across the script page, and he suddenly took off his glasses and wiped them.

Twenty minutes passed, and the script had been turned to the last page, but he didn't put it down. He turned back to the first page and stared at the title for a long time.

"Mr. Ji, would you like to take a picture?"

Liu Wei put his glasses back on, and when he spoke again, his eyes were bright and his tone was much gentler.

"A budget of 40 million, funded by Golden Harvest, without any external investment. The cast is yet to be determined."

Mai Zhaohui suddenly turned his head to look at Liu Wei.

Liu Weiqiang remained silent.

After "Infernal Affairs," many people wanted the two of them to team up again to make a gangster film.

But no one could bring the script, budget, and actors together on one table.

Until today...

"Regarding the release date," Ji Yun added before they could even process it, "Zou Sheng gave me the green light before he retired. The best release date for Golden Harvest next year is reserved for you. It will premiere in Hong Kong during the summer season, with a simultaneous release in Southeast Asia. The marketing budget is separate, and you'll get the best spot on every screen in the theaters. I'll negotiate the quota for imported films from mainland China; we already have a verbal agreement with the theater chains in Shanghai."

Upon hearing this, Mai Zhaohui suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and forcefully stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray. When he turned around, he could no longer suppress his smile and turned to his old partner with great enthusiasm.

Liu Wei leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and then slowly smiled.

"Mr. Ji, how long have you been preparing?"

"From the day I learned that your contract with Media Asia had six months left to expire."

After Ji Yun finished speaking, she picked up her teacup and took a small sip. "The script was written three weeks ago. You two, I put my heart into it."

Mai Zhaohui turned back from the window and, seeing that Liu Wei still wouldn't agree, slammed his hand on the script: "Damn it! I'll direct this script! If you won't, Lao Liu, I'll direct it myself!"

Ji Yun easily caught his wrist with one hand and teased with a smile, "Mr. Mai, you can't film 'Infernal Affairs' by yourself."

Liu Weiqiang finally laughed, the laughter starting softly and then spreading outwards.

"Besides, I don't only have this one script."

Mai Zhaohui and his companion paused, then cautiously asked, "What does Mr. Ji mean?"

Ji Yun then pulled out a notebook with the words "New World" written on it.

"Since you can make 'Infernal Affairs,' then 'New World' is just right for you."

The two of them carefully opened the book and started looking at it, and then they were dumbfounded.

Goodness, it's the complete opposite of "Infernal Affairs," where an undercover police officer becomes the boss of a gang, and Xiao Bai is completely corrupted.

Mai Zhaohui, who comes from a police family, had never seen such a grueling yet exhilarating plot before.

With the foundation of "Infernal Affairs," no one in the world is more suitable to make this film than these two. To make it bigger and stronger, to create new glories... this boss is incredibly shrewd...

They looked up at Ji Yun.

Ji Yun smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Liu and Mai gasped, then stood up simultaneously, extended their hands, and said eagerly, "Mr. Ji, we'll sign!"

The contract was signed, but the tea was still warm.

Ji Yun put down her pen and gently pushed the contract to the other side with her finger.

When he looked up, the smile he had worn while discussing business had vanished, replaced by a different expression.

"There's one more thing, and it's not about business." Ji Yun put down her teacup and leaned forward slightly.

Liu Wei was about to sign the contract when his pen stopped mid-air, and he looked up at him.

"I heard that after the last Infernal Affairs movie was filmed, three stuntmen didn't receive their final payments."

Liu Weiqiang and Mai Zhaohui were both taken aback.

Mai Zhaohui was the first to react, pulling the toothpick out of his mouth and asking in a low voice, "Mr. Ji, how do you know all this?"

"I've checked."

Ji Yun spoke calmly.

He took out another document from inside his suit, a thin document of only two pages, and placed it on top of the contract. He tapped the paper lightly with his fingertips. "This is a new rule established by Golden Harvest: all action actors who sign contracts with Golden Harvest must have personal accident insurance and a minimum guaranteed salary clause included in their contracts."

He turned to Liu Wei, his gentle smile from the business conversation vanishing, his gaze almost direct: "You can tell all the filmmakers in Hong Kong that Golden Harvest will never default on any payments again. If there were any in the past, just report them to me, and I'll pay them for you."

Mai Zhaohui looked at the young man in front of him, who was not even as old as his own nephew, and didn't say anything for a moment.

He looked down at the contents of the two papers.

It was densely packed with text, and every single point was written in great detail.

This isn't just a perfunctory official document; it's genuinely providing the most basic protection for grassroots martial arts workers.

Mai Zhaohui raised his coffee cup in a toast: "Director Ji, I'm not good at polite words. I thank you on behalf of everyone."

7

The aroma of tea still lingers in the air at the Peninsula Hotel, while the floor-to-ceiling windows offer a view of Victoria Harbour in the afternoon.

Ji Yun looked at the two signatures that had just been added to the contract. This represented not only the two of them, but also their original filming crew.

For example, Felix Chong, the screenwriter of "Infernal Affairs," is also the director of the future "Project Gutenberg."

Ji Yun smiled.

From today onwards, Golden Harvest will no longer rely solely on its film library and old theater chains to survive.

At 8 p.m., Ji Yun returned to the company.

The entire floor was brightly lit, even more lively than when he left.

The electronic screen at the front desk was still displaying the message "Welcome New Employees".

The newly hired young women in the administration department are placing pothos plants on their workstations.

Huo Wenxi's assistant jogged to deliver documents, and someone was hanging a new poster in the corridor. It was a restored poster for the re-release of "Fist of Fury," with Bruce Lee's fist enlarged to more than a person's height.

He stood at the elevator entrance for a while, not in a hurry to go into the office.

Behind me came the sound of high heels clicking on the marble floor tiles, a light and crisp rhythm.

Looking back, I saw it was Mani Fok.

She was carrying two cups of iced lemon tea and naturally handed them to him.

"Uncle Cai asked me to tell you that Yinghuang, Anle, and Huanya will all be reporting their cooperation intentions tomorrow."

Her eye makeup was still impeccable, but the way she bit her straw with her red lips gave her a more relaxed look.

With her straw caught in her mouth, she mumbled, "And another thing, Michael Hui, who had been out of contact for over a decade, contacted Mr. Choi, saying he wanted to see the restored version of 'Half a Catty, Eight Taels'."

Ji Yun took the iced lemon tea, and water droplets quickly condensed on the cool cup in her palm.

He suddenly remembered a news report he had seen that morning: an old Golden Harvest cinema had reopened, showing Hong Kong films from the 1970s. Among the people in line, someone had written on their ticket stub, "Dad, did you see this?"

He stuck the straw into the cup, took a sip, and the sour and slightly sweet taste of the iced lemon tea rushed up at the same time.

"Tell Uncle Cai to reserve a seat in the first row for the premiere of the restored version."

Huo Wenxi tilted her head and glanced at him, saying nothing, her eyes gentle.

A night breeze blew in, and the office lights were bright and warm.

That old signboard, which was almost forgotten, is being rebuilt brick by brick.

Ji Yun gazed at the night view of Hong Kong Island, pondering her future.

He spent so many days here entirely because of the special nature of Hong Kong Island within mainland China, allowing him to film things that cannot be filmed on the mainland.

He has many scripts in his hands, including "The Witch," "Lucy," "Parasite," "The Man from Nowhere," "John Wick," "Gone Girl," and "Old Boys"... It would be a waste not to film them, given the billions of dollars in cash and intellectual property involved.

Having assembled the Golden Harvest team, it was time to return to headquarters, where a whole host of projects awaited him.