Reborn in 1970, I thrived in Hong Kong.

Li Huai-ren hurriedly took the two pieces of seaweed sushi out of his mouth, secretly broke them open, and saw that each one contained a thin membrane-like substance mixed with black liquid.

He could tell from the pungent smell of the liquid that it was squid ink.

He immediately understood everything:

It turns out that Zhao Yazhi didn't want her to eat "spicy sushi," but rather to embarrass her in public as a "squid-mouthed dog." Unfortunately, something went wrong at some point, and the squid ink she had personally sabotaged ended up splashing all over her.

When Li Huai-ren saw Zhao Ya-zhi looking at him with a complex expression that mixed resentment, shame, and anger, and with a pitiful look, his heart softened and he did not expose her.

He reacted extremely quickly, immediately getting up and apologizing to her repeatedly:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, um, um, it's my squid sushi's fault, uh, anyway, it's my fault."

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out how to cover up the matter for Zhao Yazhi, so he could only apologize and take all the blame upon himself.

"There's so much ink in the squid ink sushi, and it squirts out when you bite into it? You're kidding me!"

At least many people present, including Li Hanxiang and Liza Wang, absolutely did not believe it. However, being seasoned veterans, they were reluctant to speak out, nor would they.

Liza Wang, true to her reputation as a top-tier host, reacted with lightning speed and displayed exceptional emotional intelligence. She immediately stood up and addressed an actress standing nearby:

"Sister Roland, I'll take A-Zhi to the restroom first. Could you please go to the clothing department and borrow a shirt for her to change into?"

Zhao Yazhi covered her chest with both hands, her once white fingers now stained with ink. She was only wearing a shirt, and the squid ink had soaked through her chest. Cough cough, the scenery was rather beautiful.

After hearing what Liza Wang said, Zhao Yazhi glanced at Li Huai-ren with complicated emotions, then stood up, turned around, and dashed out of the small conference room in one swift motion.

Liza Wang and several actresses quickly followed, while Brigitte Lin stood up, glared fiercely at Li Huai-ren, and also followed.

When they returned to the meeting room, the premiere of "Dream of the Red Chamber" was about to begin, so they quickly went back to their seats.

At 8:00 AM sharp, Phoenix TV broadcast the first episode of "Dream of the Red Chamber".

In the drama, Li Hanxiang recreated the Jia Mansion in Phoenix Film City almost exactly as it appeared in the original novel, which was magnificent and grand. The scenes that were exactly the same as those in the movie, the costumes and etiquette of the Ming Dynasty and their mannerisms, and the storyline that was strictly faithful to the original novel attracted everyone to immerse themselves in the drama.

When Zhao Yazhi, who played Lin Daiyu, made a stunning appearance, everyone in the small conference room couldn't help but turn around and look at her.

When Brigitte Lin's portrayal of Jia Baoyu first appeared on television, people were not amazed by her appearance, but rather by her charm that appealed to everyone, regardless of age or gender!

Everyone was captivated by her portrayal of Jia Baoyu!

In the parlance of the 2020s, Brigitte Lin's portrayal of Jia Baoyu in the film fulfilled everyone's imagination of their ideal partner, providing more than enough emotional value.

In short, Jia Baoyu in the play is androgynous and irresistibly charming, appealing to both men and women.

In fact, when Brigitte Lin's portrayal of Jia Baoyu first appeared, Hong Kong was filled with exclamations of "wow!" Everyone was calling on their friends and family to watch Phoenix TV's Jia Baoyu:

"Wow, Shit-Hu-Qiang, look at the TV! Is this Jia Baoyu on TV a man or a woman? Holy crap, he's stunningly handsome! Absolutely the most handsome man in Hong Kong, the most handsome man in Hong Kong ever!"

"Wow, Big Brother Guang, hurry up and change the channel to Phoenix TV! It'll be good for you! Don't you like that kind of thing? Jia Baoyu on TV is definitely your favorite! You won't be able to sleep tonight, hahaha!"

……

"Wow, Jiao Po Lian, look at the TV! This Jia Baoyu is so handsome, he's your favorite type..."

Even Li Huai-ren, who now spends every day with Brigitte Lin, was stunned by her portrayal of Jia Baoyu on television. He felt his throat go dry and subconsciously swallowed.

Just then, he suddenly felt someone staring at him, and someone across from him whispered an insult:

"You lecherous bastard, you dead pervert!"

Li Huai-ren turned around and met Zhao Ya-zhi's eyes, who was pouting.

Zhao Yazhi quickly turned her head to the side, her cheeks already slightly flushed, and she felt inexplicably flustered.

The methods used to obtain television ratings in Hong Kong in 1970 were completely different from those that relied on electronic monitoring devices and real-time data decades later. They primarily relied on very traditional manual methods such as sampling diaries and telephone interviews.

I just finished watching the second episode, and the ratings for the first episode were already out. According to data from telephone surveys conducted by a research company, the rating for "Dream of the Red Chamber" was 69.1%, while Phoenix TV's own survey showed a rating of 70.3%, which is not much different.

The premiere of "Dream of the Red Chamber" crushed the programs broadcast by TVB and RTV in the same time slot, which was exactly what Li Huai-ren and Li Han-xiang had expected.

The reason is simple: in 1945, Hong Kong had a population of only about 60, which was the lowest point in Hong Kong's history in terms of population at the end of the Japanese occupation (1941-1945) and the end of World War II.

Due to war, forced repatriation, and flight, the population plummeted from about 160 million before the war to about 60 in 1945, and this 60 included a considerable number of British people working and living in Hong Kong.

Following World War II, Hong Kong's population rapidly recovered and grew due to the influx of immigrants from mainland China and the baby boom. By 1970, Hong Kong had recovered from the post-war depression and entered the early stages of industrialization, with a population approaching 400 million, approximately 398 million.

In other words, the vast majority of families in Hong Kong at that time had migrated from the mainland, coming from all over the country, including Shanghainese, Ningbo, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Chaozhou, Hakka, Guangzhou and other diverse groups.

But the vast majority of these people are somewhat educated, and most of them have heard of or read "Dream of the Red Chamber".

The TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber" aired at this time, which perfectly touched the hearts of people who had been away from their homeland for many years, and the ratings were naturally very high.

Among these, Li Huai-ren collaborated with Li Han-hsiang to adapt all four classic novels into television series. His choice to adapt "Dream of the Red Chamber" as the first one was based on his own considerations.

He knew very well that the number of people who could read all four classic novels was not as large as people imagined.

The truth is that most ordinary people only like to read more readable works like "Journey to the West", "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Most people will fall asleep while reading "Dream of the Red Chamber". It is quite good if you can persevere and finish more than half of it.

If Li Huai-ren were to film TV series like Water Margin or Romance of the Three Kingdoms first, and then film Dream of the Red Chamber a few years later, he would almost certainly not achieve high ratings.

Therefore, he discussed it with Li Hanxiang, and the two were surprisingly in agreement. They hit it off immediately and cleverly decided to film "Dream of the Red Chamber" first.

Of course, there was a secret that couldn't be known to others: after much deliberation, Li Huai-ren decided it would be better to bring Brigitte Lin to Hong Kong ahead of time, so that she could be under his watchful eye.

The reason for this was that while he was in the middle of a fierce battle with Shao Laokou to poach people, he suddenly heard that Wang Yu had been poached by Jiahe. He immediately remembered something: it seemed that Wang Yu was Lin Qingxia's first man in his previous life!

Therefore, he had a brilliant idea: he could film Dream of the Red Chamber first, and at the same time bring Brigitte Lin to Hong Kong to have her play Jia Baoyu in male disguise. It was a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone!

This led to the story of how Lin's mother brought her three children, including Brigitte Lin, to Hong Kong for auditions, and how the whole family eventually settled in Hong Kong.

At 10 p.m., Li Huai-ren drove back to Bijia Mountain with Brigitte Lin.

Unlike when she arrived in the morning, Brigitte Lin was in a great mood this time and took the initiative to sit in the passenger seat.

The neon lights of the GG brand cars lining the streets shone through the car window, reflecting on her extremely pretty face, which was fair and rosy, making her look stunning.

When Li Huai-ren saw her right hand resting on the armrest in the middle of the seat, her slender, fair hand immediately sparked the thought of holding her hand, a thought that he couldn't shake off.