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

In the conference room of Time Pictures.

Li Jiangbo sat in the head seat, while Guan, Zhu, Mei, and Zhong sat on either side.

After distributing the contracts to everyone, he began to speak.

"This is an endorsement contract to promote a carbonated beverage. Everyone take a look, and if there are no problems, sign it."

Upon hearing this, the four women began to whisper among themselves, and Li Jiangbo did not stop them, continuing his story:

"This shipment is small, only 100,000 cases, which is 600,000 cans of soda. So I asked the four of you to be the spokespeople first. Don't say I'm not giving you a chance because I'm getting something out of it."

The four women were completely bewildered. What were the benefits? What was the opportunity?

Does becoming a spokesperson mean you get benefits and opportunities? Then wouldn't all those Hong Kong businessmen be coveted by celebrities?

Rosamund Kwan, standing to the side, seemed a little anxious and asked, "Boss, it's just filming a scene! You're talking about benefits and opportunities, but I don't quite understand."

Li Jiangbo didn't really want to explain, but his contract was different from those of other companies; it wasn't a direct buyout, but rather a revenue-sharing arrangement.

Hong Kong hasn't developed a star effect yet; most endorsements are just about paying a fee for a male celebrity to do a few photoshoots.

The businesses are making money using your name; whether they make a lot or a little has nothing to do with you.

Thinking of this, Li Jiangbo looked up, only to find that the four women were all looking at him with blank expressions.

He sighed and took a sip of tea.

"Alright, I'll explain it to you clearly."

"Your current endorsement model is like this: you film the movie, get paid, and leave. How much the company sells afterward has nothing to do with you."

The four women nodded in agreement.

After gaining everyone's approval, Li Jiangbo continued, "My model is that you celebrities stick your faces on the cans, get together with convenience stores and newspapers to sell drinks, and then everyone splits the profits."

Anita Mui grew up in nightclubs and dance halls, so she knows a lot about these places.

As soon as Li Jiangbo finished speaking, she immediately realized, "So, you mean we also sell beverages?"

Li Jiangbo nodded. "Yes! Although Amei's words were rough, the reasoning was sound. It's just that everyone in this sales chain has a different role."

Rosamund Kwan still looked at Li Jiangbo with clear, innocent eyes.

"Boss, why is there so little money? When will I ever be able to save enough to buy a house?"

Li Jiangbo was on the verge of a breakdown. Guan Zhilin, a Form Four graduate, was not as good as Mui Yanfang, who had spent a lot of time in nightclubs and dance halls.

However, he patiently explained, "It's based on recurring income. For every can you sell, you get a share of the profits. The more you sell, the more you get—there's no upper limit!"

Before Rosamund Kwan could ask anything else, Zhu Lin tugged at her sleeve and whispered an explanation:

"Jiahui, do the math. If you sell 100,000 cans a day, or a million cans a day, how much money could you make each day?"

Rosamund Kwan counted on her fingers, "One hundred thousand cans, I get one thousand; one million cans, I get ten thousand..."

The more she calculated, the brighter her eyes became. Finally, she slammed her hand on the table, exclaiming, "If we sell three million cans, I could earn thirty thousand a day! That's incredibly lucrative!"

Li Jiangbo smiled but didn't reply.

The others were much faster and more accurate at calculating the accounts than Rosamund Kwan.

Chung Chor-hung, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up and asked, "Boss, what if sales aren't good?"

Li Jiangbo glanced at her and said, "If sales are poor, it just means you're not famous. What you should be worried about isn't profit sharing, but making yourself more famous."

Chung Chor-hung pouted and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Li Jiangbo continued, "This is just the profit sharing for regular goods. I plan to make a special edition. The profit sharing is tentatively set at one cent for every can of your special edition soda sold."

Upon hearing this, the four of them began to frantically do mental calculations.

Li Jiangbo didn't wait for them and continued, "This exclusive edition will be sold with your pictures printed on it. Your fans will definitely be the first to buy it, so at this time, we want to give back to our fans."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "Let's hold a lucky draw. For example, the winners could get autographed photos, concert tickets, or tickets to the movies you starred in."

"Aren't all your fans scrambling to buy it? Besides, it's not expensive. If someone can't afford it, it's only 1.8 yuan a can. People buy it every day. It's just a matter of how much money they have."

The four women became more and more excited as they listened, as if the more famous they were, the more money they would make.

Rosamund Kwan stood up excitedly, as if making a vow.

"We need to be famous, really famous, incredibly famous, and then our fans will buy our soda, and we'll make a fortune!!!"

Li Jiangbo smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about the rest. Just focus on practicing singing, filming, and appearing on shows. I'll take care of everything else!"

The four of them were swept up in a frenzy of revelry, and the way Guan Zhilin looked at Li Jiangbo became increasingly strange, as if she were looking at prey; she seemed to have already fallen for him.

With Li Jiangbo's current assets, which girl wouldn't fall for him?

He's got good looks, he's got a great physique, he's got talent, he's got money... He's a typical eligible bachelor!

After the four finished their party, they all picked up the contract and signed their names at the bottom.

After collecting all the contracts, Li Jiangbo glanced through them.

"Alright, that's all for today. Mr. Pan will handle the publicity for you. The goods will arrive tomorrow. I'll bring you a few boxes to try."

The four women burst into laughter and got up to leave the meeting room.

After Li Jiangbo and the others finished walking, they prepared to pack up and leave.

To everyone's surprise, the conference room door opened, revealing that Rosamund Kwan had returned.

Why didn't you go with them?

Rosamund Kwan looked at Li Jiangbo with a smile, "Boss, where's the 'precious treasure' you were talking about?"

Li Jiangbo glanced at Rosamund Kwan, "This is the darling I was talking about!"

Rosamund Kwan was stunned. "This is the precious baby you were talking about?"

"yes!"

Rosamund Kwan pouted, "I'm not a child, I know what a 'precious baby' is. Are you trying to fool me like a three-year-old by dragging this out?"

Li Jiangbo raised an eyebrow. He suspected the girl was being inappropriate, but he had no proof.

Then, Rosamund Kwan, her face flushed, continued, "Boss, I know about your relationship with Sister Chi and Sister Poon, but I'm no less capable than them!"

Li Jiangbo looked at her without saying anything.

His eyes, however, were restless, scanning Rosamund Kwan up and down. She was wearing a pink dress today, with black stockings underneath.

This touched on a little quirk in Li Jiangbo's heart.

Suddenly, Li Jiangbo realized that this person was getting closer and closer to him. So close that Li Jiangbo could see Guan Zhilin's eyelashes.

"Boss, the smell on you..."

Li Jiangbo covered Guan Zhilin's mouth with his hand, preventing her from continuing.

But Rosamund Kwan was captivated by the scent on Li Jiangbo's hands—a faint masculine aroma mixed with a hint of tobacco.

This made her somewhat excited and also filled her with joy.

Rosamund Kwan thought to herself: Why isn't this boss tempted? Whatever! Anyway, I'm eighteen, an adult. If you're not tempted, I'll just seduce you!

Thinking of this, she disregarded everything and hugged Li Jiangbo tightly.

With his clumsy kissing skills, he left a few drops of saliva on Li Jiangbo's face.

Li Jiangbo was on the verge of exploding, but his remaining rationality made him look at the conference room door.

Rosamund Kwan knew what she was doing. While kissing him, she pulled Li Jiangbo to the conference room door and locked it.

After Li Jiangbo and the others locked the door, they responded enthusiastically, their hands moving about everywhere...