Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

On his first day back from the holiday, Li Jiangbo discovered the problem.

Many actors were not in good condition, but he was not in a hurry and thought he would check the condition of the main actors first.

Fortunately, Zhao Yazhi, Zhou Runfa, and Lü Liangwei are in very good condition.

Li Jiangbo breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the main actors' acting skills were up to par, at least the crew could continue filming normally.

As for the other supporting actors, he spent the whole morning correcting their attitudes, finally getting everyone else into character.

During lunch, Li Jiangbo called Wang Jing over.

Before long, Fatty Jing staggered over to Li Jiangbo.

When Li Jiangbo saw Wang Jing arrive, he put down his cup and said with a smile, "Brother Jing, you continue filming for us this afternoon. I'm going to the recording studio."

"Is the theme song recorded?"

Li Jiangbo shook his head. "Not yet. I'm a little worried about Lao Li's situation, so I went to check on the progress. As for the production crew, you'll be in charge. How about that?"

Wang Jing felt somewhat aggrieved upon hearing this, but since Li Jiangbo was the director, he could only nod helplessly.

After explaining the situation to the film crew, Li Jiangbo left.

He first went to the production team to check on Ye Liyi's progress in recording the song.

Finding the progress quite fast, I said goodbye to Lao Li and left the TVB headquarters.

Li Jiangbo returned to his rented room, took the manuscript he had written the day before, and prepared to submit it to the Oriental Daily.

This newspaper was recommended by Li Hanxiang. After writing 10,000 words yesterday, he called Li Hanxiang to ask if he knew anyone in this field.

Upon learning that Li Hanxiang's "Thirty Years in Detail: A Beginning" was published in the Oriental Daily News, and that he was very familiar with the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Li Jiangbo asked him to help inquire about it.

This morning, his phone rang. When he called back, he learned that Li Hanxiang had already made the contact for him, so he decided to take the manuscript over in the afternoon.

My own book, "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty," certainly couldn't be published in Ming Pao; the editor-in-chief, Jim Yong Kim, was a major hurdle.

He also made no choice with Sing Tao Daily; he had already learned his lesson in the previous simulations and couldn't afford to forget.

Half an hour later, Li Jiangbo got off the bus at the Wan Chai station and walked for about five minutes to the ground floor of a magnificent building.

Upon entering the building, Li Jiangbo immediately explained the situation to the receptionist.

The receptionist led Li Jiangbo to the editor-in-chief's office.

As soon as I entered the office, a middle-aged man, about forty or fifty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, came to greet me.

"Hello, I am the editor-in-chief, Xu Jixin."

Li Jiangbo extended his hand and shook hands with Xu Jixin, smiling as he said, "Hello, I'm Li Jiangbo. Director Li Hanxiang recommended me."

"Please have a seat!"

Li Jiangbo nodded and sat down on the sofa.

Xu Jixin sat down opposite them and waved to the receptionist, "Make some tea!"

The secretary responded, and soon the piping hot tea was served.

"What brings you here, Mr. Li?"

Li Jiangbo took the manuscript out of his briefcase, handed it to Xu Jixin, and said with a smile, "Editor-in-Chief Xu, I wrote the beginning of a short story out of boredom and plan to submit it to your publication. Would you please take a look and see if it's acceptable?"

Xu Jixin's eyes lit up, and he took the manuscript and began to read it.

He didn't like the biographical style of the opening, and even felt that this style wasn't a novel at all.

However, the following descriptions caught his eye. The history of the Yuan Dynasty was sketched out concisely, and the experiences of the protagonist, Zhu Yuanzhang, were described in a very simple way.

But it was precisely this simple description that made him see the story's readability.

The first thing a novel should do is make it understandable to the reader, and the second is to make the story interesting.

Imagine a novel that's all about showing off literary talent, leaving readers completely confused; the market certainly wouldn't accept that.

After reading Li Jiangbo's manuscript in one go, Xu Jixin looked up and asked, "Mr. Li wants to serialize this novel in the Oriental Daily?"

Li Jiangbo nodded, "I'd be happy to, but I'm wondering how the payment will be calculated?"

This question stumped Xu Jixin.

Firstly, this type of novel is currently quite rare, and novels with fewer themes tend to have lower market acceptance.

Secondly, Li Jiangbo was recommended by Li Hanxiang, so it wouldn't be appropriate to offer him a lower fee.

Thinking of this, he cautiously asked, "May I ask who Director Li Hanxiang and Mr. Li are?"

Li Jiangbo laughed and understood Xu Jixin's probing. He said, "I have a pretty good relationship with director Li Hanxiang. I even helped him film a movie this month."

Xu Jixin's words quickly turned his mind to something else; didn't this mean that he and Li Hanxiang had a very good relationship?

Oriental Daily News and Li Hanxiang have a very good relationship. When they commissioned an article from him, they had to shamelessly beg him.

Thinking of this, he put down the manuscript in his hand and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the coffee table.

After a moment, he calmly said, "Mr. Li, novels of this genre are rare on the market. However, your writing skills are commendable."

He paused here, and seeing Li Jiangbo's modest demeanor, smiled slightly and continued, "However, I don't have much research on the history of the Ming Dynasty, so I can't say for sure..."

Li Jiangbo smiled and said, "Editor-in-Chief Xu, don't worry. These are all materials I found in the library, and I guarantee that all the content has a source."

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Jixin slowly said, "We'll take this novel. We'll pay you eighty yuan per thousand words. How about that?"

Li Jiangbo picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and said nothing.

Xu Jixin, thinking that Li Jiangbo was not satisfied with his offer, asked again, "Mr. Li, are you not satisfied with the price?"

Li Jiangbo shook his head and remained silent.

This puzzled Xu Jixin, but he remained calm and sat quietly on the sofa watching Li Jiangbo drink tea.

For a moment, the room fell into a deathly silence, with only the occasional sound of sipping.

After a while, Li Jiangbo finally put down his teacup and said with a smile:

"Editor-in-Chief Xu, I am very satisfied with the price, but I would like your newspaper to grant me one request."

"Mr. Li, please speak."

Li Jiangbo thought for a moment and asked, "How does your newspaper calculate the GG fee?"

Xu Jixin was completely baffled, but he still patiently explained to Li Jiangbo:

"Our current GG fee is calculated based on the page layout, divided into full page, half page, and quarter page. Full page is the most expensive, costing 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, half page is only 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and quarter page is the cheapest, around 10,000 yuan. Does Mr. Li want to give up?"

Li Jiangbo laughed and said, "Of course! I make movies, so I definitely need to promote them!"

Xu Jixin was delighted. What were these conditions? Getting a promotion was a piece of cake, and he could even gain a favor. After all, judging from Li Jiangbo's appearance, he was at most in his early twenties. Someone who was doing well in the film and television industry and was so capable was someone the editor-in-chief would definitely want to befriend.

Thinking of this, he said, "How about this, I'll give you a 50% discount privately?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo stopped talking and stood up, extending his hand. "Editor-in-Chief Xu is truly straightforward and sincere! In that case, I wish us a pleasant collaboration!"

"It's a pleasure to work with you!" Xu Jixin shook Li Jiangbo's hand firmly, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

The following process was much simpler and smoother. Xu Jixin personally prepared the contract, and both parties agreed that no less than 30,000 words would be delivered each week.

After signing the papers, Xu Jixin opened a bottle of champagne, poured the wine, and handed the glass to Li Jiangbo.

"Director Li, I wish us a win-win cooperation."

"Win-win cooperation!"

The clinking of glasses rang out, followed by bursts of laughter from the office.