Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

"You old hag, if you hadn't taken a liking to Hu Xiaoxiao's drama and coaxed me into helping you snatch it, I wouldn't have been forced to resign."

Qiu Lihua was filled with regret. If Wang Shasha hadn't been whispering sweet nothings in his ear every day, he wouldn't have done such a foolish thing.

When he was the general manager, Wang Shasha used his name to grab resources everywhere, which indirectly offended many people. As a result, when he finally got into trouble, very few people were willing to help him; instead, they all kicked him when he was down.

Wang Shasha bears most of the responsibility for his current predicament.

Recalling the past, Qiu Lihua felt regret and couldn't help but feel resentment towards Wang Shasha.

Just then, the phone rang. Qiu Lihua thought it was Wang Shasha finally coming to her senses and calling back, so she answered the phone, only to find it was Guo Yuanqing.

"Mr. Qiu, I lost again in horse racing yesterday and have no money for food today. I need your help urgently. Could you lend me a few thousand yuan? I will definitely pay you back once I win the betting."

Qiu Lihua laughed in anger, "You took tens of thousands of yuan from me just a few days ago, and now you say you've gambled it all away? Do you think I'll believe you? In total, you've taken nearly 100,000 yuan from me, Guo Yuanqing. 100,000 yuan could buy your life."

On the other end of the phone, Guo Yuanqing's voice was roguish, "Mr. Qiu, I've lost my job and I'm barely scraping by. How am I supposed to live if I don't ask you for some money for food? I still have a family to support! If you refuse to lend me money, I'll get hungry and my mind won't work properly. What if I suddenly have a moment of madness and send the tape to Mr. Ji, letting him know that you've left the company but are still causing trouble? What do you think Mr. Ji will do to you then?"

Qiu Lihua was furious, but dared not tell Guo Yuanqing, fearing that Guo Yuanqing would actually send the recording to Ji Sheng. Why did he secretly have someone film Hu Xiaoxiao instead of just having her kidnapped from the start? It was precisely to avoid incurring Ji Sheng's displeasure.

Later, he hired the Qinglong Gang to kidnap Hu Xiaoxiao, partly due to old grudges, and partly because he was annoyed by Guo Yuanqing's extortion and took his anger out on Hu Xiaoxiao.

Qiu Lihua suppressed his anger, "Give me a price, and we'll settle this once and for all. Once you've paid me this time, we'll be even. If you ever dare to threaten me with this recording again, we'll all die together."

"100,000, I want 100,000 yuan. After you give me 100,000, we'll be even."

"100,000? You might as well rob me! I don't have that much money, I can only give you 20,000 at most."

"Twenty thousand?" Guo Yuanqing on the other end of the phone sneered, "Qiu Sheng, you've made so much money at the TV station these past few years, do you think twenty thousand is enough to appease a beggar? The reason you resigned was because the company caught you taking kickbacks, but because the amount wasn't large, Ji Sheng didn't send you to jail. I heard that what the company caught was only the visible accounts; you also have a hidden account. The money you took from the company is enough for you to serve twenty years in prison."

Qiu Lihua has already left the TV station, so why can he still control some high-ranking officials? Isn't it because they had some kind of vested interest in each other?

Upon hearing Guo Yuanqing's threat, Qiu Lihua felt an urge to rush to Guo Yuanqing and strangle him. "Ten thousand it is, but I'm warning you, this is the last time. If there's a next time, your family can retrieve your body from the sewers."

Guo Yuanqing chuckled a few times, "No problem. Once I get the 100,000, I'll do some honest small business. And if I see you on the street in the future, I'll pretend I don't know you."

"I'll give it to you tomorrow." Qiu Lihua hung up the phone.

He took out his savings book, which only contained a few thousand yuan.

He had invested his large sum of savings in Da Ya Lai a few days ago. Da Ya Lai had recently acquired a boat and wanted to start his own smuggling business, but he had used all his money to buy the boat and was short of funds to purchase goods. This gave Qiu Lihua the opportunity to get in touch with Da Ya Lai through his cousin, invest money, and essentially become a shareholder.

Big Tooth Lai is ambitious but short-sighted; once he starts something, he wants to go big. Lacking funds, he even plans to rob a bank's armored truck to get money for goods. The route of the armored truck and the amount of money transported that day were all information obtained through Qiu Lihua's connections—he arranged for Big Tooth Lai to establish relationships with bank executives and bribe them to obtain the information.

Qiu Lihua figured that if Da Pi Lai got the money and stocked up on goods, he could make a fortune from it, so he didn't want to cause any more trouble and just considered it money to avoid disaster.

But the money he had on hand was either invested in Da Ya Lai or had been extorted away by Guo Yuanqing.

After much deliberation, Qiu Lihua decided to go to Wang Shasha and borrow some money from her to tide him over. No, since he was being extorted by Guo Yuanqing, Wang Shasha also bore some responsibility; she should be the one to pay the 100,000 yuan.

Inside the apartment, Wang Shasha had showered early, changed into a sexy little dress, and put on exquisite makeup. Grabbing her newly bought bag and spraying on perfume, she was about to leave when Qiu Lihua came to find her.

When Wang Shasha saw Qiu Lihua, she was a little impatient. "Didn't I tell you I'm busy lately? Once I'm done, I'll go and cause trouble for Hu Xiaoxiao myself, without you having to tell me."

Qiu Lihua looked Wang Shasha up and down suspiciously. "What are you busy with? I asked you, and you don't have any movies or events to do lately. What are you busy with every day, dressed up so extravagantly?"

“I’m a celebrity, a well-known artist. Isn’t it normal for me to dress up beautifully every day?” Wang Shasha said matter-of-factly. “You know I used to do this every day.”

"You used to dress up so beautifully and wear so much perfume just to climb into my bed and coax me into giving you resources." Qiu Lihua's heart stirred, and he stared at Wang Shasha, saying, "Which sugar daddy have you hooked up with?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Wang Shasha started putting on her shoes and said, "I'm going shopping with my girlfriends, I don't have time to chat with you."

Qiu Lihua didn't have time to delve into Wang Shasha's private affairs, and said, "I'm short on cash, can you lend me 100,000 yuan to tide me over?"

"One hundred thousand yuan?" Wang Shasha's voice was a little shrill. "Where would I get one hundred thousand yuan? I haven't been working for a long time, I don't even have ten thousand yuan."

Qiu Lihua bluntly pointed out, "Is that bag your subordinate is carrying a new one? This bag alone costs more than 100,000 yuan."

"Yes, I spent all my money on bags, so I don't have ten thousand. If you need money, I can lend you five thousand out of consideration for our past relationship."

Just then, Wang Shasha's mobile phone rang. She quickly answered it, her voice becoming much softer. "Okay, I'm on my way, almost there. Just wait a little longer."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Shasha met Qiu Lihua's sinister gaze and took a step back in fright. "What do you want to do?"

Qiu Lihua recognized the man's voice on the other end of the phone. "Chairman Liu? So you shameless woman have hooked up with Chairman Liu. No wonder you're always so busy, you're busy sleeping with old men."

"It's all your fault! You've ruined my acting career, and I haven't had any income in ages. If I don't find someone to back me up, are you expecting me to starve?"