Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

Building their own cinemas wasn't cost-effective, so Hu Xiaoxiao considered acquiring some bankrupt or near-bankrupt small cinemas. With the Hong Kong film market gradually declining in recent years and news of cinema closures constantly emerging, Hu Xiaoxiao planned to select cinemas in good locations with development potential from these poorly managed ones, and either lease or buy them.

Hu Xiaoxiao is a very efficient person. After deciding on the plan, she immediately asked the marketing department staff to follow up on the matter, first conduct market research, and then write up an acquisition or leasing plan.

At a time when the film market is sluggish and many are preparing to scale back operations or change careers, Shengshi Entertainment's decision to go against the trend requires considerable courage. If its strategy is flawed, and it expands so extensively that it can't regroup, Shengshi will be finished within a few years.

Hu Xiaoxiao, Huang Yuliang, and Dong Peiyu discussed this matter in the conference room. Although it was said to be about the movie theater chain, it was actually a discussion about the company's future development direction.

Dong Peiyu said, "I have been paying close attention to the development of the film market. In recent years, many film companies have begun to focus on overseas markets. I think we can also develop overseas."

Dong Peiyu looked at Hu Xiaoxiao and smiled, "Xiaoxiao also has a good reputation in the overseas market. The TV series you filmed at the time were very popular overseas, and the movie 'The Ace Bodyguard' was the best-selling film by Starlight Cinema in the overseas market. The company can definitely use Xiaoxiao's reputation to expand into the overseas market."

Huang Yuliang nodded and said, "We can cooperate with Taiwan. In recent years, Taiwan has introduced many Hong Kong films. We can talk to them about importing them."

Huang Yuliang has extensive connections in Taiwan, so he can discuss business in the Taiwanese market.

If overseas and Taiwanese markets can be opened up, it will be enough to make up for the disadvantages of Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Hu Xiaoxiao agreed with their views and shared her own thoughts: "I have always believed that the mainland market is the largest, with a large population and vast territory. The reason we haven't seen a box office advantage yet is because the mainland film industry hasn't started to take off. Shengshi Entertainment should prioritize this market in its future development."

Dong Peiyu had concerns: "There are many restrictions over there. Many subjects cannot be filmed, and the import process is very strict, making it difficult to get in."

“Then let’s not film controversial topics. We can start with safer topics, such as period dramas, historical dramas, and martial arts films,” Hu Xiaoxiao said.

Huang Yuliang looked at Hu Xiaoxiao with surprise. Because of its backwardness, many people in mainland China looked down on the people and things there. Take the entertainment industry in Hong Kong, for example. Almost all stars who wanted to advance their careers aspired to Hollywood and competed to develop their careers there. But Hu Xiaoxiao never seemed to have such thoughts, and she had even thought about returning to the mainland more than once—perhaps it was related to her background coming from the mainland?

Huang Yuliang didn't hide his thoughts and asked Hu Xiaoxiao, "You seem to have always been very optimistic about that side. Are you really confident?"

“I know that many actors, after reaching a certain level, want to go to Hollywood to prove themselves and elevate their status. But over the years, so many actors have gone there, and who has succeeded? They either end up playing supporting roles or negative characters. It's clear that those foreigners don't treat us like their own people and won't give us a fair and just opportunity. You can see this from the foreigners in Hong Kong. They live in Hong Kong, make a living in Hong Kong, and still discriminate against us. If they're like this in Hong Kong, what will they be like in their territory? They'll be at the mercy of others.”

It's absolutely impossible for Hu Xiaoxiao to go there and beg for food, given her personality. Foreigners have deeply ingrained prejudices; even if she were willing to humble herself, good resources and awards wouldn't be given to her. Why would Hu Xiaoxiao care about those marginal, unwanted roles?

Huang Yuliang was also well aware of the rules of Hollywood. If he went there to try his luck, he would not only fail to get good roles, but he would also fail to get screen time for his self-produced films.

Upon careful consideration, if Chinese films want to find a real way out, they really can only turn to the mainland.

Huang Yuliang began to face the problem squarely, saying, "I have also learned about the situation in the mainland. Recently, the policies have become more and more open, and companies from Baogang that have invested in the mainland have benefited a lot. Perhaps we should also take a risk. No matter how much we explore the market here in Baogang, it will only be so. It is time for us to find a new way out for the company's future development."

“That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m thinking. The sooner we get in, the sooner we can capture the market.” Hu Xiaoxiao looked at Huang Yuliang and Dong Peiyu. “We’ll take two steps. The first step is to be in Baogang, where we can take advantage of others leaving the market to acquire some good resources at low prices. The second step is to start setting up our mainland branches and seize the market in major mainland cities in advance…”

The three of them talked for half a day in the conference room and finalized their future development plan.

Dong Peiyu was responsible for organizing the meeting minutes. After the meeting, she put the recorded development plan into her briefcase and walked out of the meeting room with Hu Xiaoxiao.

“I originally thought that after you reached the pinnacle in Hong Kong, you would plan to go to Hollywood like everyone else, and I even gathered a lot of information about Hollywood for you,” Dong Peiyu said with a smile. “Who knew you would suddenly turn back and look towards the mainland? Aren’t you afraid of what people will say about you?”

These days, the entertainment industry looks down on the mainland industry. When filming with mainland actors, the mainland actors are treated much worse. Hu Xiaoxiao has such a big reputation, but instead of going to Hollywood, she goes to the mainland market that they look down on. Dong Peiyu can already imagine how many people will come to laugh at Hu Xiaoxiao.

Hu Xiaoxiao doesn't care about other people's gossip at all. "If I care about what other people think and just follow the path they have taken, then I would be wasting my life."

From her debut until today, Hu Xiaoxiao has always followed a path with clear goals, free from constraints and following her own desires. Constantly challenging herself and surpassing her limits—this is the brilliant life she cherishes.

Dong Peiyu admires Hu Xiaoxiao's courage and determination; partnering with Hu Xiaoxiao feels like life is full of surprises.

“Although you don’t want to break into Hollywood, Hollywood has sent you an invitation,” Dong Peiyu said.

Hu Xiaoxiao asked, "What invitation?"

"It's not a good resource. I saw you've been very busy lately, so I turned it down for you." Dong Peiyu's job was to help Hu Xiaoxiao filter out meaningless jobs. Otherwise, with Hu Xiaoxiao's popularity and numerous jobs, having to make decisions about everything would keep her too busy to handle everything.

However, Hu Xiaoxiao was still very curious about what kind of invitation it was, and why Dong Peiyu, who had a good impression of Hollywood, directly refused it.