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

When Li Jiangbo returned to Hong Kong, it was the second week after "The Wind Continues to Blow" was released.

This week, sales of "The Wind Continues to Blow" surpassed 10,000 copies.

The Hong Kong Recording Industry Association called, their tone still tinged with disbelief, "Mr. Lai, who exactly is your Leslie Cheung?"

Lai Siu-tin laughed and said, "What kind of background could I have? I just endured three years of hardship before finally finding the right person to follow."

The Time Daily started promoting the album as soon as it was released, but due to its relatively weak foundation, it did not make much of a splash in Hong Kong.

It wasn't until the second week that other newspapers in Hong Kong began to follow suit.

Ming Pao devoted half a page to the publicity, with the headline: "After three years of silence, Leslie Cheung soars to new heights with 'The Wind Continues to Blow'."

The Oriental Daily News' headlines weren't catchy, but the content was certainly well-written.

"If Sam Hui is the pioneer of Cantonese music in Hong Kong, Michael Kwan is the righteous knight-errant, Roman Tam is the glamorous actor, then Leslie Cheung is the affectionate prince, whose songs can soothe all your wounds."

Time Daily News praised the artists from the same company without hesitation, and even said that the album would definitely break platinum sales.

For a time, a phrase began to circulate in the streets and alleys of Hong Kong: "The wind keeps blowing."

a new day.

Li Jiangbo sat in his office, pondering which martial arts choreographer he could hire to be the martial arts director for "Operation Hurricane".

After a month, he finished writing the script and drawing the storyboards, and now he just needs to prepare the film crew.

The last time they tried to recruit Yuen Woo-ping, he wasn't interested, leaving them without a martial arts choreographer for a while.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Please come in."

The office door was pushed open, and Lai Siu-tin walked in front, followed by Leslie Cheung.

As soon as Lai Siu-tin entered, he shouted, "Boss, it's broken! It's broken!"

Li Jiangbo put down his pen, looked up, and stared at the two people in front of him with a puzzled expression.

"What's broken?"

Li Xiaotian wore an indescribable smile, his lips curling into a hook.

"The sales of 'The Wind Continues to Blow' have broken records; it sold over 10,000 copies in its second week."

Leslie Cheung stood behind him with a smile on his face, but there was something indescribable about that smile.

Li Jiangbo nodded, took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for himself, and then pushed the pack over.

Lai Siu-tin waved his hand, and Leslie Cheung wanted to take it, but under Lai Siu-tin's murderous gaze, he ultimately did not make a move.

"sit."

The two sat down on the sofa.

Lai Siu-tin was still excited, rambling on about the market response to the record, the number of song requests on the radio, and the various reports in the newspapers.

Leslie Cheung sat to the side, listening attentively, occasionally nodding in agreement, but his gaze remained fixed on Li Jiangbo.

It wasn't until Li Xiaotian asked, "Boss, the factory has printed 20,000 copies so far. Do you think it's necessary to print more?"

"Print it! Why not print it? You can tell from the sales figures that this album will definitely reach gold record status, maybe even platinum!"

Lai Siu-tin was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Li Jiangbo to think so highly of Leslie Cheung. In his mind, it would be a success if the album could sell to gold record status.

It's worth noting that very few people in the Hong Kong music scene can become a huge star with just one album.

Leslie Cheung has been a flop for three years, how could he possibly achieve platinum sales with just one album?

This brings us to the standards set by the Hong Kong Recording Industry Association: a local record with annual sales of 30,000 copies is recognized as a gold record, 50,000 copies as a platinum record, and 100,000 copies as a double platinum record, and so on.

Why is sales so important these days? It's because only those who achieve platinum status can hold a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Leslie Cheung didn't even get a gold record, so how could he go straight to platinum?

Thinking of this, Li Xiaotian said, "Boss, how about printing another 10,000 copies?"

Li Jiangbo nodded, "Okay, you handle it! By the way, keep an eye on the Four Sisters' album too."

Li Xiaotian nodded. "No problem."

After the two finished talking, Leslie Cheung finally spoke, "Boss, thank you."

Li Jiangbo looked at Leslie Cheung like he was an idiot. "What are you thanking me for? You sang the song, you recorded the album, what does it have to do with me?"

"You wrote the song."

Li Jiangbo flicked his cigarette ash and said, "I've written a lot of songs, and you've made them popular. That's your talent."

Leslie Cheung opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

Li Jiangbo laughed heartily, "Alright, I'm just teasing you. I'm planning to make a movie, Ah Rong, would you like to act in it?"

Leslie Cheung bargained, saying, "Then I don't want the film fee, I just want the song."

Lai Siu-tin rolled his eyes at Leslie Cheung. "Do you think these songs just fall from the sky? That you can just get them whenever you want?"

Leslie Cheung tugged at Joseph Lai's clothes, "Teacher, all those songs of mine were earned with my acting fees."

Li Jiangbo heard them but couldn't be bothered to pay them any attention.

Just as I was about to say something, there was another knock on the office door.

Before Li Jiangbo could respond, the door was pushed open a crack, and Guan Zhilin's little head peeked in.

"Boss, busy?"

Li Jiangbo waved to her speechlessly, "Come in."

Rosamund Kwan pushed open the door and came in alone. She nodded to Lai Siu-tin and Leslie Cheung first, and then walked to Li Jiangbo's desk.

"Boss, I heard Ten's records are selling like hotcakes?"

Li Jiangbo hummed in agreement.

Rosamund Kwan's eyes lit up instantly. "What about the rest of us? Can we become as popular as Ten?"

Li Jiangbo rubbed his forehead. "Jiahui! You should practice singing more. I can guarantee you'll be just as popular as Shizai."

"real?"

"More real than real gold!"

Li Xiaotian, who was standing nearby, said, "Jiahui, the boss wrote the title track for your group's album, it's bound to be a hit. If you're worried, I'll keep an eye on it for you after the album comes out."

Rosamund Kwan smiled sweetly at Lai Siu-tin, "Thank you, Director Lai."

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Rosamund Kwan turned her head and looked at Li Jiangbo, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing her expression, Li Jiangbo asked, "Is there anything else?"

Rosamund Kwan nodded, then shook her head, and then nodded again.

This completely baffled Li Jiangbo. "Does it or not?"

Rosamund Kwan bit her lip. "Yes, there is... but please don't laugh at me, boss."

"explain!"

Rosamund Kwan took a deep breath and said something strange, "Young man, come here, let me tell you something."

Li Jiangbo was stunned.

Seeing that Li Jiangbo didn't react, Rosamund Kwan added, "Come and give me a handy."

The office fell silent, then suddenly a violent coughing fit broke out.

Lai Siu-tin and Leslie Cheung looked at each other, completely bewildered by what Rosamund Kwan was saying.

Li Jiangbo coughed twice, patted his chest with his hand, and it took him a while to calm down.

He stared at Rosamund Kwan, his expression complex, as if he wanted to laugh but was trying hard to hold it back.

"Where...where did you learn that?"

Rosamund Kwan blinked. "She learned it from Anita Mui! She said it's your Shaanxi dialect, it sounds so nice. I asked her what it meant, but she wouldn't tell me, she told me to ask you."

Li Jiangbo was silent for a few seconds before explaining, "First, young man, come here, I have something to say to you. I need to get a young man here because I want to talk to him about something."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The second sentence, 'Come and lift me up,' means you should pick me up."

Rosamund Kwan's face flushed red.

Li Xiaotian burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth.

Leslie Cheung lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.

Rosamund Kwan stood there, her face burning as if it were on fire.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Finally, she stomped her foot, turned around, and disappeared.

The office was quiet for a few seconds, then Lai Siu-tin and Leslie Cheung finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Li Jiangbo shook his head. "This girl, of all things to learn, she has to learn this."

After laughing enough, Lai Siu-tin stood up. "Boss, we'll be going now. Don't worry about the record; there are still a few songs left, we'll work on them slowly."

Li Jiangbo nodded, "Hurry up and try to finish it before 'Peking Opera Blues' is released."

As the two reached the door, Li Xiaotian suddenly turned around. "By the way, boss, that other end... is that really what you mean?"

Before Li Jiangbo could answer, Li Xiaotian had already disappeared.