1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 151: Moonlight over Tsim Sha Tsui

The 1980s was the turning point when Xiangjiang Nightclub transformed from a Chinese restaurant to a Japanese mama-san model.

When it comes to the concentration of Japanese nightclubs, it is naturally the eastern part of Tsim Sha Tsui, which is known as the "golden and glittering place in Tsim Sha Tsui".

Science Museum Road, Richman Nightclub.

Although the Rich has only been open for less than a year, it has already established itself as the No. 1 nightclub in Asia and one of the largest nightclubs in the world. Covering an area of 70,000 square feet, it is more popular than Chinatown and Duluzhi.

After eight o'clock every night, there is no parking space at the door. You have to pay the parking attendant to drive your car to the next street to park.

Dutch dance music was playing in the nightclub.

Indulging in sensual pleasures and busy life.

In the luxuriously decorated golden hall, in addition to the large dance floor in the middle, there are also several stages, where people perform striptease, sing love songs, and even wrestle bare-chested...

The talent shows are all different, but the common point is that the stands are filled with beautiful girls dressed simply.

A golden Rolls-Royce antique car shuttled back and forth in the hall, specifically picking up wealthy guests.

At this time, nightclubs have introduced the concept of minimum consumption. The minimum consumption in the hall is 500 per night, and the minimum consumption in the private room is 2,800. It is a veritable den of money.

"Oh my! I told you I was busy tonight, but you still had to bring me to a place like this."

The man who was speaking was Cai Lan, one of the four great talents in Hong Kong.

Huang Zhan kept his word and helped Zhai Yuan invite him to discuss the matter of Zhao’s Cinema Line tonight.

Both are 42 years old, but Cai Lan looks much younger than Huang Zhan, mainly because of her thick hair and slightly chubby cheeks. Although she doesn't wear glasses, she has the temperament of a gentle scholar.

Huang Zhan pushed him forward, saying dissatisfiedly, "Be stingy! The door is right behind you. If you want to leave, just turn around at any time. I will never stop you. Without you, I can just hire two more pretty girls to accompany me for drinks."

"Yes, there is something going on. TVB asked me to help come up with a new program."

Cai Lan shook off Huang Zhan's hand and teased with a smile: "But you can't eat alone. It's rare that the boss treats us tonight, so of course we have to have fun."

Huang Zhan nodded and said, "Yes, you can work anytime, but rich people can't spend money every day!"

After saying that, he took Zhai Yuan who was following behind him, greeted Cai Lan, and then he found a familiar mama-san to say hello to. The three of them entered a VIP box together.

Then there was a group of beautiful girls wearing school uniforms or small vests, lined up for the guests to choose from.

This kind of beautiful girl is called a dancing lady in Hong Kong and a female public relations lady in Taiwan.

Later in the mainland it was called...anchor?
The quality is naturally much better than that of the transferred personnel of Secret Garden. After all, the tips given by the wealthy customers in the nightclub are several thousand yuan every night, and even the director who hands out towels in the toilet can earn more than ten thousand yuan a month. It would be impolite to use street prostitutes to fill the number.

There were three people, and eight beautiful girls were left. Each of them took two to play rock-paper-scissors and drink with them, and the extra ones went to sing and dance to entertain the guests.

Zhai Yuan saw the pretty girl in uniform with her student ID on her chest and asked curiously:

"Are you really a student?"

"Yes, boss. I'm a student at a foreign language school. I've saved enough money and want to immigrate to Spain~"

"Can you please speak a few words of Spanish?"

“Buenas tardes, Encantado de conocerte.”

"...When will you be able to save enough money?"

"It should be pretty quick. Even though I've only been doing this for a short time and only make tens of thousands of dollars a month, if I work for a full year, it will be enough for me to graduate."

It’s better to make money by doing business!
Zhai Yuan clearly realized the gap between himself and the big nightclub bosses and decided to work hard to improve himself.

After three rounds of drinking, Cai Lan and Huang Zhan were seen with red faces.

Zhai Yuan took the initiative to speak: "Uncle Lan, my new play is going to be released during the Lunar New Year, so I would like to trouble you to help Uncle Liu speak a few words."

When Cai Lan heard Zhai Yuan start talking about the main topic, she smiled with a smell of alcohol.

Even though she was hugging Miss Wu and putting her hands into her arms to caress her, Cai Lan still had an introverted look on her face with her teeth hidden behind her.

He said, "A Yuan, actually I'm not that close to Uncle Six. I usually have to drink to build up my courage before I knock on his door. After all, cinemas are a business, and it depends on how well your film is made. The most I can do is to help you put your finished film in front of him in advance. It's not my turn to decide whether to schedule it for you or not."

"You can't have a say in Hong Kong, but you can in Southeast Asia!"

Huang Zhan's hoarse voice sounded, introducing Cai Lan's background to Zhai Yuan: "Don't be fooled by this old man's polite manner. He doesn't speak the truth. His father was in Nanyang with Mr. Shao and his brothers to expand the territory. He is definitely a super veteran. He is definitely the Miss Fang of the Zhao family in Singapore."

Cai Lan smiled and changed the subject: "Pick! Why are you talking about these old things? Come on, come on, drink."

"Don't act like a jerk. A Yuan will have to pay for the wine in your glass tonight."

Huang Zhan called out Cai Lan's nickname because he loved to eat rice with lard.

He drunkenly crawled over the sofa, patted Zhai Yuan on the shoulder, and crawled back to hug the two beauties.

Then he said again: "There are more than a hundred theaters in the whole of Singapore, Malaysia and Borneo. If your father is willing to ask for a branch, the production cost of Ayuan's play can be recovered by more or less~"

Zhao's cinema chain is divided into multi-line distribution and single-line screening, with one line consisting of about fifteen theaters.

“It still depends on the quality of the movie.”

Cai Lan spoke more subtly. Although she was drunk, she still didn't dare to speak easily.

If Zhai Yuan makes a terrible movie, everyone will be embarrassed.

"There is absolutely no problem with the quality. Although I haven't seen the show yet, I will definitely trust A-Yuan just because he can sing the song "Back then".

As Huang Zhan was speaking, he stood up shakily, staggered to the song-ordering booth, snatched the microphone from the dancer, and began to sing the song "Love in Those Days" that he had just learned.

Seeing this, Cai Lan smiled and shook her head, and said to Zhai Yuan: "This is what happens when Ah Zhan drinks too much."

"Uncle Zhan is a man of kind nature." Zhai Yuan smiled and took the initiative to clink glasses with Cai Lan.

He went on to say, "Uncle Lan, I've finished filming that movie. When you have time, come to Jiuyi Entertainment to get some guidance and advice. After all, you and Uncle Zhan are both seniors in the film industry."

Cai Lan worked in the film industry at Zhao's, and Huang Zhan also opened a film company in the 1960s. Although it lost money and closed down, he was still considered a predecessor.

"Okay." Cai Lan nodded: "Again, if the quality is good, I will definitely help you put the finished film on Uncle Six's desk."

The theaters make money from commissions, not to mention that the Lunar New Year holiday is such an important schedule.

Cai Lan didn’t say the second half of the sentence: If it’s a terrible movie, let’s not talk about it anymore.

Zhai Yuan knew it very well, but he was still very confident about "A Better Tomorrow". The key was how to bypass the film review department and let Zhao Yi-fu see the play directly. Now that Cai Lanken helped him solve this problem, the problem was actually mostly solved.

Thanks to Huang Zhan for the matchmaking.

Zhai Yuan understood whose face Cai Lan was doing this for. He glanced at Huang Zhan, who was hugging the dancer in front of the song-ordering stage, twisting his waist and singing a medley of his golden songs.

James Wong now runs an advertising company with his official girlfriend Lin Yanni. He became famous in the industry because he came up with the advertising slogan for Remy Martin, "Once Remy Martin is opened, good things will come naturally."

When "A Better Tomorrow" is released, we will inevitably need the help of the other party.

"Uncle Lan, I was just outside and heard that TVB asked you to produce a new TV program. In fact, I think you could consider doing a late-night show with Uncle Zhan." Zhai Yuan waited for Cai Lan to finish playing rock-paper-scissors with Miss Wu before speaking at the right time.

The early release of "Unguarded Tonight" can be regarded as an extra reward for Huang Zhan and Cai Lan's willingness to help him today.

Cai Lan asked, "What late night show?"

Zhai Yuan said: "Programs for adults who like to chat with others are like the two programs that ATV has produced before, such as "Hello Night Returner" and "Owl Time."

Cai Lan said: "But the two programs you mentioned have been discontinued."

Zhai Yuan said: "They don't know what to do!"

The "Hello Night Returners" and "Owl Time" he mentioned are both programs hosted by popular porn star Chen Weiying and several other female artists. The former was cancelled because of its excessive scale, and the latter was a victim of conflicts of interest during the transition from Rediffusion Television to ATV.

Then Zhai Yuan started to use the same formula as the show "Unguarded Tonight": in each episode, different female guests are invited to be interviewed, including actors, singers and even directors. The guests do not have to be talented, but they must be good-looking. The show also reveals private gossip about female stars, thereby increasing ratings.

"It doesn't matter if the guests are idiots, as long as you and Uncle Zhan can control the situation. If that doesn't work, write a script for them to memorize in advance. It would be best if we had a cultured person as the host, so that there would be more topics to talk about. I think it would be best if it was a senior with a steady stage presence like Sister Wang."

"why?"

When hearing the previous part, Cai Lan was still nodding frequently, but she couldn't help but ask a question at the last sentence.

Zhai Yuan explained: "You guys cover for the stars, and the third senior host will cover for you, otherwise you will say anything, and if it's too explicit, the show will be interrupted."

Of course there are reasons for this, but the main reason is that Mr. Zhai did not like the talented man named Ni who wrote about Wesley.

In the later "Tonight Without Defense", he was the worst and he would deliberately lead the topic in a sensitive direction at every turn.

In comparison, although Cai Lan's cultural level is not as good as Huang Zhan's, he is more experienced and knowledgeable, and the stories he tells are fascinating.

For example, Zhai Yuan remembered hearing him tell a story about a female star who drank too much and went to a hot spring, where she fell asleep and was boiled...

After listening to Zhai Yuan's explanation of the format of this program, Cai Lan had a thoughtful look on her face and didn't even bother to drink the wine that the dancer handed to her.

“It seems like there’s something going on.”

Cai Lan looked at Zhai Yuan and said with some emotion.

"It's definitely worth it. If I had my own TV station, I would definitely do it."

Zhai Yuan added: "Zhao's own female celebrities don't even have to pay appearance fees for them to appear on their own shows, and it can also play a role in publicity, killing two birds with one stone."

The reason why this program was later broadcast on ATV was because there were many factions within TVB at the time, and launching a new program required repeated meetings and discussions among various departments, which resulted in a long stalemate.

But now in the 1980s, there were only two leaders in TVB, one named Fang and the other named Li, and there were far fewer twists and turns.

"What a great guy! I didn't expect that I could solve work problems while drinking."

The more Cai Lan thought about it, the more he felt that this program would work. He praised Zhai Yuan a few words and planned to talk to Huang Zhan again.

When he looked up, he found that Huang Zhan had disappeared.

"Where's A-Zhan?"

"Uncle Zhan just went out to the bathroom."

Miss Youwu began to explain.

Cai Lan shrugged helplessly and said to Zhai Yuan, "Then we'll discuss it when he comes back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Zhan came back.

It's just that he fell in.

He was kicked into the box like a sandbag.

Huang Zhan fell to the ground and struggled to get up. As soon as he sat up, he felt his stomach churning and vomited everywhere.

Then, a group of vicious gangsters rushed in, scaring the dancers so much that they screamed.

"Brother, what happened?"

Zhai Yuan frowned, motioned to the female student beside him to take care of Huang Zhan, then stood up and looked at the group of gangsters.

"Pounce on your mother! This old guy is your friend? He hooked up with my girlfriend outside and touched her from head to toe. How should this matter be handled?"

Outside the door of the box, a man with a shaved head pushed through the crowd and walked in, pointing at Zhai Yuan and shouting at him.

Zhai Yuan turned his head and glanced at Cai Lan, and both of them showed a helpless expression.

In a nightclub of the level of Rich Man, the possibility of someone setting up a honey trap is unlikely.

This indeed sounds like something that Huang Zhan would do when he was drunk.

But just as the Jianghu man finished his words, the dancing lady who had just accompanied Huang Zhan to the bathroom immediately stood up and stared at the bald man with an unexpected look on her face.

"Genie! I told you that we should break up when you were in prison. Please stop pestering me, okay? How can I get out of this situation when you beat up my customer?"

Magic lamp? Zhai Yuan was startled when he heard the name.

Looking closely, it was my brother Deng from Xiu Mau Ping. His originally long hair had been shaved off and I couldn’t recognize him at first glance.

Next to the magic lamp, there is a familiar face, it is Fei Zaijun who was sentenced to the correctional institution.

"It came out pretty quickly. It looks like it cost a lot of money."

Zhai Yuan said with a smile and clapped his hands vigorously, turning everyone's attention to himself.

He looked at his two old friends and said, "Brother Shendeng, Brother Jun. Why don't you recognize me?"

Fei Zaijun stared at Zhai Yuan carefully for a few seconds and finally recognized him.

After not seeing him for more than a year, Zhai Yuan's figure and temperament have changed a lot, but his features are still clear.

"Brother Deng! It was the idiot in Xiu Maoping who sent you to jail!"

When enemies meet, their eyes turn red with envy. The expression of the genie lamp changed from disbelief to a ferocious grin.

"Fuck you, it turns out it's you! I didn't expect to find you in the housing estate, but here. If I can't beat you to death this time, I won't be called the genie!"

Seeing this, his ex-girlfriend Miss Wu hurriedly opened her arms and stood between the two groups of people.

Miss Wu looked panicked: "Shen Deng, please don't mess around, this place is under the protection of Xin Ji Jun Ge!"

The angry Genie's eyelids twitched when he heard the name "Jun Ge".

But he immediately regained his fierce look and slapped Miss Wu on the face: "Gossip! Do you think you are great just by relying on Xinji? Xinji is in a mess now. I will use the magic lamp to transfer the numbers to help him make a big bottom line. I hope Xinji is not dead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another man's voice sounded from outside.

"Xinji is in such a mess? How come I, Huang Jun, have never heard of this?"

(End of this chapter)