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

Li Jiangbo relinquished the directing rights for "Dao Ma Dan" to Xu Ke, while he himself retained the title of producer.

Anyway, this movie was originally made by Xu Ke in his later years, so letting him make it now will still meet the standards for making money.

In fact, Li Jiangbo had his reasons for recruiting Xu Ke. One was for his girlfriend Shi Nansheng, and the other was to get in touch with Jiahe.

Now, most of the people in his company come from Shaw Brothers, and the cinemas are also owned by Shaw Brothers. If Uncle Six gets upset one day and blocks his cinemas, he won't even have time to find a backup plan.

In the second week of its run, "A Better Tomorrow" saw a slight drop in box office revenue, but still managed to rake in over six million dollars.

In just two weeks, "A Better Tomorrow" grossed 13 million yuan, directly surpassing Cheng Lung's self-directed and self-acted "Young Master" by 2 million yuan.

Hong Kong newspapers kept up with current events and reported on the box office performance of "A Better Tomorrow" every day.

Two weeks later, Hong Kong audiences had become numb. When they saw the box office figures for "A Better Tomorrow" in the newspapers, they would just sigh and silently look elsewhere.

Chen Baisen wrote in *Film Biweekly*: *A Better Tomorrow* touches upon men's father-son relationships, brotherhood, friendship, romantic love, and the pain of being wronged. Director Li Jiangbo accurately captured men's fantasies and dreams and brought them to the screen. Perhaps in the future, Hong Kong will see a surge in gangster films.

new week.

Li Jiangbo was sitting in his office discussing record company matters with Zhao Yazhi.

"We have already contacted three record companies, but none of them are willing to sell."

At this point, Zhao Yazhi paused, turned to a page of the document, and said, "Mei Yanfang's mother called again, implying that she still wants to raise the price."

Li Jiangbo said without looking up, "Ignore her, I'll take care of this when I have time."

Zhao Yazhi nodded, and was about to say something when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

Pan Yingzi walked in carrying a lunchbox.

"Boss, I just made some Dendrobium and Ophiopogon japonicus lean pork soup, would you like to try it?"

Li Jiangbo looked puzzled. So, he can't live without soup anymore?

What impressed me most was that Ah Zhi, Jia Hui, and Ah Hong all brought soup over; the scene was like an enhanced version of a chaotic battlefield.

"Just put it on the table, I'll drink it later."

Pan Yingzi casually walked around the desk, placed the lunchbox next to the documents, and then took the cigarette from Li Jiangbo's mouth and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

"Smoke less; it's bad for your throat."

Zhao Yazhi paused in her flipping through the documents, without even looking up, but inwardly she was furiously complaining:

You little wench, are you trying to curry favor? The smell of tea is practically filling the whole room, you little slut! You're eight years older than me, and you still want to...

At this moment, Pan Yingzi made a new move. She put her hands on Li Jiangbo's shoulders and began to massage them gently.

Li Jiangbo glanced at Pan Yingzi behind him in surprise. "Didn't you go to film a movie with Director Zhang Che?"

"I turned it down; I want to compete for the role in 'Peking Opera Blues'."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo frowned. Pan Yingzi didn't seem like a good person at all! She was probably here to cause trouble on purpose!

If Zhao Yazhi weren't here, he would have definitely given this woman a good beating.

Seeing that Li Jiangbo remained silent, Pan Yingzi turned her gaze to the report in Zhao Yazhi's hand.

"Oh! Ah-Zhi is still busy with record company matters? That must be tough."

Zhao Yazhi put down her pen and looked up at Pan Yingzi.

Their eyes met, and an invisible collision occurred in an instant, making the surrounding temperature seem to drop significantly.

"This is my duty."

Pan Yingzi wanted to say something, but was silenced by Li Jiangbo's sharp glare.

"Sister Zhi, go ahead and get busy! Focus on the record company matters, and let me know as soon as you have any news."

Zhao Yazhi closed the folder in her hand and walked outside without looking back.

That night, Li Jiangbo didn't come back, and she knew he was having an affair, but she never expected it would be Pan Yingzi, who was eight years older than her!

This kid has really heavy tastes!!!

As soon as Zhao Yazhi walked away, Li Jiangbo's expression changed immediately.

He locked the office door without saying a word, turned around, and gave a cold snort.

He walked up to Pan Yingzi and waved his hand fiercely.

"Snapped!"

Pan Yingzi's body swayed, and she almost collapsed to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

She looked at Li Jiangbo with a wronged expression; that force just now... hurt so much!

Li Jiangbo pulled over the boss's chair and sat down, patting his leg. "Come here."

Pan Yingzi didn't dare to move and stood frozen in place.

Seeing that Pan Yingzi remained unmoved, Li Jiangbo raised his voice, "Come here and apologize!"

Pan Yingzi shivered and took small, quick steps to sit on Li Jiangbo's lap.

She was about to ask something when Li Jiangbo forcefully kissed her.

This young man is so domineering! I really like him!

After a long while, a rapid telephone ringtone sounded in the office.

The two, whose clothes were disheveled, hurriedly stood up.

Li Jiangbo answered the phone, "Feed?"

The call was from the secretary. "Boss, a Mr. Chen is visiting without an appointment. He says he's from Kowloon Construction."

Li Jiangbo winked at Pan Yingzi, signaling her not to be nervous.

"Please invite Mr. Chen to the reception room, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and stuffed the small white cloth into his pocket.

The two walked together toward the door.

While Pan Yingzi was in the elevator, she was still thinking about the position of artist director that Li Jiangbo had promised her.

As the elevator went down, she clearly felt something was wrong; why did her bottom feel a little cold?

Li Jiangbo pushed open the door to the reception room and saw a middle-aged man sitting at the table drinking tea brewed by his secretary. He didn't recognize the man.

"Hello, who are you?"

The middle-aged man who identified himself as Mr. Chen stood up and grasped Li Jiangbo's hands tightly.

"Mr. Li, I apologize for disturbing you. My name is Chen Qiang, and I work at Jianye in Kowloon. Mr. Lei asked me to send my regards to you."

Raymond Lui? Looks like I guessed right. It really is Raymond Lui, the real estate tycoon behind Kowloon Construction, Kowloon Motor Bus, and the yet-to-be-established Golden Princess Cinemas.

Li Jiangbo smiled slightly and gestured for the other person to sit down.

"Hello, may I ask what brings you here, Mr. Lei?"

Chen Qiang sat down gracefully, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Li Jiangbo in front of him.

"Lui Sheng watched 'A Better Tomorrow' three times. He slammed his fist on the table in his office and said, 'This is what Hong Kong movies should be like.' He originally planned to visit Li Sheng in person, but he was afraid of bothering him too much, so he asked me to scout things out first."

Li Jiangbo didn't say anything, but took the business card and looked at it carefully.

Senior Manager of Kowloon Development Investment Department, Director of Golden Princess Cinemas.

Seeing that Li Jiangbo remained silent, Chen Qiang opened his briefcase, took out a document, and handed it to Li Jiangbo with both hands.

"Golden Princess Cinemas opened last year, but currently only has four cinemas, which is not yet a significant presence. However, Mr. Lei's plan is to continue expanding this year, aiming to reach fifteen cinemas within six months."

He paused at this point.

He glanced at Li Jiangbo, and seeing that Li Jiangbo didn't react, he continued:

"Therefore, I would like to discuss cooperation with Mr. Li."

Li Jiangbo glanced at the document and knew what it was, but he pushed it back without hesitation.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Lei's offer is too generous. So generous that I'm hesitant to accept it."

Chen Qiang seemed to have anticipated Li Jiangbo's response and began to use his silver tongue to try and persuade him.

An hour later, Chen Qiang left Time Pictures carrying his briefcase.

Before leaving, he left behind his last words: "Mr. Li, Mr. Lei asked me to tell you: the doors of Golden Princess will always be open for you and your Time Pictures."