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

"Ah Hong, why are you waiting for me here?"

When Chung Chu-hung saw Li Jiangbo walk out of the elevator, she raised the corner of her mouth slightly and said, "Brother Li, I didn't see you on set this afternoon. I knew you must have gone out to have fun."

Li Jiangbo blushed. Although he was the director on set, he couldn't muster any interest in filming "Shanghai Bund." So every now and then, he would hand over the directing duties to Wang Jing and then secretly go to the stock exchange to check the stock prices.

He coughed awkwardly twice, then said stubbornly, "No, I was taking care of some important business. But you, why did you finish work so early?"

Chung Chu-hung smiled mischievously, looking at Li Jiangbo with an expression of disbelief.

Li Jiangbo felt a little embarrassed by Chung Chu-hung's gaze and turned his head away from her.

"I didn't have any scenes to film this afternoon, so I came home early. My parents said you've been taking good care of me on set, and they insist on treating you to a meal to thank you!"

Li Jiangbo, adopting the demeanor of an older brother, said seriously, "You can't slack off. You're still a newcomer. If you leave a bad impression..."

Chung Chu-hung looked at the serious-looking Li Jiangbo with great interest. After he finished lecturing her, she smiled and said, "Alright! I understand, Director. My parents are still waiting for you at home! Let's go." With that, she pulled Li Jiangbo towards her home.

Li Jiangbo couldn't refuse any longer, and was pulled forward by Chung Chuh-hung, muttering, "Then I won't be polite, thank you for your trouble, Uncle and Aunt."

As we followed Cherie Chung into her tailor shop, the aroma of food wafted out.

Aunt Chung, wearing an apron, came over and warmly pulled him to a seat. "Bo-zai, come on, sit down! Ah-hong has been so well taken care of by you on set these past few days. She's a newbie and doesn't know anything, so she must have caused you a lot of trouble."

Mr. Chung came out of the kitchen carrying the last dish and two bottles of beer. "It's just simple food, Bo-zai, don't mind. Come on, have some drinks to relax."

Looking at the table laden with dishes, Li Jiangbo said somewhat embarrassedly, "Uncle and Auntie, this is far too lavish."

Mr. Zhong smiled and opened a bottle of Blue Ribbon beer, filling Li Jiangbo's glass. "Not at all, just a simple meal. I'm so grateful to you for taking care of Ah Hong these past few months, Bo-zai. She didn't know anything on set, and if it weren't for your patient teaching, she wouldn't have gotten the hang of things so quickly."

"Uncle, you're too kind. We're all neighbors, it's what I should do."

Aunt Zhong set out the bowls and chopsticks, wiped her hands on her apron, and sat down. "Bo-zai, what are you saying? Ah-hong always says how good Brother Li is to her. Last time, she couldn't cry during that crying scene no matter what she did. It was only after you taught her to think about the saddest thing in her family that she was able to get through it."

Chung Chor-hung, who was helping her two younger sisters with food, blushed upon hearing this and said, "Mom, why are you saying all this..."

"Tell me what's wrong?" Aunt Zhong smiled and put a chicken leg on Li Jiangbo's plate. "Bo-zai, you don't know, this girl used to be a little firecracker at home, but now she's learned to be shy."

Li Jiangbo smiled and looked at Cherie Chung, saying, "Cherie Chung works very hard on set and is improving quickly. Yesterday, in her scene with Anita Yuen, even Producer Wong praised her for her natural acting."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhong's eyes lit up. He picked up his wine glass and said, "Come on, Bo-zai, let me toast you. Ah-hong is so lucky to have met such a benefactor as you."

Several people sat around the table, and after several rounds of drinks and dishes, the group had finished their meal.

Mr. Zhong put down his wine glass and asked seriously, "Bo-zai, Ah-hong is a straightforward girl, not very shrewd. Now that she's an actress, we parents are always worried that she'll be bullied. Do you think she can last as an actress?"

Li Jiangbo put down his chopsticks, pondered for a moment, and said, "Uncle and Aunt, Ah Hong is beautiful, hardworking, and puts in a lot of effort. She's progressing very quickly and has the makings of an actress. But this industry is indeed complicated, with many unspoken rules. Newcomers are easily manipulated without anyone protecting them."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhong frowned and quickly asked, "What can we do? We're just ordinary people, we don't have any connections to help her..."

Chung Chu-hung, however, said nonchalantly, "Mom! Don't worry about me, I'll be careful. Besides, I still have Brother Li!"

Chung's parents glared at Chung Chu-hung. Their daughter was good in every way, except she was a bit too straightforward and single-minded. Li Jiangbo was just their neighbor; why should he have any obligation to help her?

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Li Jiangbo quickly took over, "Uncle and Aunt, don't worry, now that I've brought Ah Hong into the film crew, I won't let her suffer any grievances."

Upon hearing this, Zhong's mother's anxiety vanished instantly. She had been extremely worried after hearing Li Jiangbo's words. What would she say if her daughter had been scammed?

Thinking of this, she tentatively asked, "Bo-zai, you're also working hard in Hong Kong all by yourself, it's not easy. Auntie sees that you're so capable at such a young age, I'm sure you'll make a name for yourself in the future."

She served Li Jiangbo a bowl of soup and continued, "Although Ah Hong isn't the smartest, she's conscientious and kind-hearted. We parents are at ease knowing that you young people can look after each other."

The meaning behind those words is already quite clear.

Chung Chor-hung's face flushed red, and she almost dropped her chopsticks on the table.

"Mom! What did you say?!"

Chung's mother looked at Chung Chu-hung innocently, "What did I say? I said you should look out for each other on set. What were you thinking?"

Looking at this scene, Li Jiangbo understood a few things.

He didn't think the Zhong family parents were snobbish; it was more like the instinct of an ordinary family wanting to find someone for their daughter to rely on.

In Hong Kong during this era, it was extremely difficult for a pretty girl without connections to establish herself in the entertainment industry.

Li Jiangbo put down his bowl and said sincerely, "Auntie, I understand what you mean. But to be honest, I won't be an employee of Shaw Brothers anymore soon."

Mr. Zhong looked at Li Jiangbo with a puzzled expression. "Were you fired?"

"No, I plan to do it myself."

Li Jiangbo said these words very softly, but they stunned everyone at the dinner table.

"Start your own business?" Chung Chu-hung's eyes widened. "Brother Li, you're going to start a company?"

"Let's start small," Li Jiangbo smiled. "Let's make one or two films to test the waters. If they succeed, we can gradually expand. If they don't... well, we can always start over. I'm still young."

Mr. Chung slammed his hand on the table, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Good! That's how a man should be. If things go wrong, he can always start over! But, Bo-zai, I bet you need a lot of capital to start this company, right?"

Li Jiangbo thought for a moment, "At least 500,000, but I've already saved up almost all of that money."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chung was greatly alarmed. He knew that in Hong Kong, ordinary people who had worked for less than five years were lucky to have 20,000 to 30,000 in their pockets!

Li Jiangbo then looked at Cherie Chung and asked, "Cherie, if I really start a company and make movies, would you be interested in coming and helping me?"

Chung Chor-hung nodded without hesitation: "Of course!!"

Li Jiangbo laughed upon hearing this, "Silly girl, don't speak too confidently. In this circle, don't trust even your closest relatives."

Chung Chor-hung shook her head and said firmly, "I believe Brother Li would not harm me."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

These words warmed Li Jiangbo's heart. He suddenly remembered the information about Cherie Chung from his previous life—that stubborn girl who married a businessman, retired from acting early, was bullied by people in the industry, but never complained.

Since he's been brought into this world, I should do something about it.

Li Jiangbo said solemnly, "Okay, when I start my company, I'll have Ahong come and help me."

Before Chung's parents could react, Chung Chu-hung spoke up first, "No problem!"

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter again.

The meal was a great success, and after dinner, Li Jiangbo returned to his room with the help of Chung Chu-hung.

Lying in bed, Li Jiangbo pondered what kind of movie he would make after making money in the stock market.

He had already calculated exactly how much money he could make after selling his stocks in September, which was around 400,000 yuan.

This is all the money I have left. I need to be careful when choosing movies, aiming for small investments with high returns so that I can gradually grow stronger and create new glories.

Li Jiangbo is exploring the path of making low-budget, high-return films.

"Paranormal Activity" had a budget of $1.5 but grossed $1.93 million at the box office; "The Blair Witch Project" had a budget of $6 but also grossed $2.49 million.

Unfortunately, they are all pseudo-documentaries that rely on publicity to gain popularity, but the quality is really poor. In addition, the market trend is unpredictable, so this is quite risky and not suitable for me.

He then thought of the movie "A Better Tomorrow" in the simulator, but the cost of 350 million was far beyond his budget.

In the current Hong Kong film market, only kung fu comedies are still viable. Gambling films and zombie films, although they may be popular in the future, have long been abandoned due to their high costs.

Just as he was racking his brains, Li Jiangbo had a flash of inspiration—the 84 Cinema City film "Happy Ghost"!

This film cost less than a million dollars, and they even got Cherie Chung to play the lead role. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?