Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Shao Yifu said this with a smile, and the atmosphere in the entire office suddenly froze.

Fatty Wang stared wide-eyed at Zhang Shuai'an, clearly not expecting this young man to be so bold as to dare to contact people from RTV.

It's well known that Shaw Brothers was notoriously petty. In the past, in order to get revenge on Raymond Chow, he risked losing the box office of a movie to sue him until he was bankrupt. If it weren't for the Hong Kong government's intervention, Raymond Chow's Golden Harvest might have really been dragged down by him.

Strictly speaking, Zhang Shuai'an wasn't a member of Shaw Brothers, but since he rose to fame through filming dramas for Shaw Brothers, most people still consider him one of them.

"When I was having dinner with Brother Lung and Brother Sanmao, two producers from RTV, McDonald Bear and Lee Siu-hung, came over."

Zhang Shuai'an didn't hide anything and briefly explained the situation: "I don't know where they got the information from, and the circumstances weren't suitable for discussing things at the time. They left after only a few words."

"Anzai, you're a talented person. I admire you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have approved a newcomer like you to play the male lead."

Shao Yifu said earnestly, "You are still young, and you have plenty of opportunities to improve. It would be a great pity if you accidentally chose the wrong path."

Zhang Shuai'an completely ignored Shao Yifu's words and said directly, "I've suffered a lot since I was a child. I swam here because I wanted to live a better life. I'm the kind of person who responds better to kindness than force. If Mr. Shao can give me enough benefits, I naturally won't go anywhere else."

Shao Yifu looked at Zhang Shuai'an with admiration: "So what conditions do you want?"

"I happen to have an idea for a new script. If it's filmed, the ratings will definitely be no worse than 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian'."

Zhang Shuai'an's expression was not without arrogance. "My conditions are very simple: I'll write the script, I'll provide the male lead, and the price is fixed: two million Hong Kong dollars!"

"What did you say?" Before Shao Yifu could react, Fang Yihua jumped to her feet in shock: "Have you lost your mind?"

Shao Yifu raised his hand, and Chongfang Yihua gently shook her head.

Fang Yihua sat down angrily, her face still full of displeasure. She was even more stingy than Shao Yifu. Many of the ridiculously stingy rules that TVB later implemented were mostly created by her.

"Two million Hong Kong dollars?"

Shao Yifu's lips twitched slightly as he asked with a smile, "Do you know what this means?"

"I know," Zhang Shuai'an said with a smile, "It means two million Hong Kong dollars."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang almost burst out laughing.

She quickly realized that it was inappropriate and immediately covered her mouth.

"Young man, let me tell you."

Shao Yifu slowly stood up and walked slowly towards Zhang Shuai'an: "At present, the median monthly salary of Hong Kong citizens is about two thousand dollars. Two million Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to 80 years of salary income for an ordinary person at that time."

"A brand new Ferrari, even the top-of-the-line model, costs only around HK$20. HK$200 million can buy about ten of them."

"Regarding housing prices, in early 1969, the price of mid- to low-end properties was around 50 dollars per square foot, but by 1970 it had risen to over 100 dollars..."

"In 1975, it was 230 mosquitoes."

"In 1978, it was 432 mosquitoes."

"By August of this year, it will be 725 yuan."

「200万港币，你可以在购买一套约2400平方呎（约220平方米）的豪宅，或者购买30-40套普通住宅单位。」

At this point, Shao Yifu had already walked up to Zhang Shuai'an, and said with a disdainful look, "Many of Shaw Brothers' veteran employees toiled for seven or eight years to earn this much money. You only became famous for one film, tell me, why should I give you so much?"

"As far as I know, Adam Cheng's hourly rate for filming 'Chor Lau Heung' was 5000 yuan. After filming this movie, he could earn at least a million yuan."

Zhang Shuai'an did not directly answer Shao Yifu's question, but instead used data to refute it: "Others are risking their lives, but aren't I too? Besides, the ratings for 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' are record-breaking. Even if you spend a fortune to buy a horse's bones, two million is still worth it."

"not to mention……"

Zhang Shuai'an paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "Thanks to this drama, TVB's commission fees have increased two or three times recently. I heard that many TV stations in Taiwan and Southeast Asia want to buy the rights to this drama."

Upon hearing this, Shao Yifu's pupils contracted slightly; he had indeed been hit where it hurt.

The copyright for "Young Detective Bao Qingtian" is still held by Zhang Shuai'an. He retained it by offering to "not charge a penny."

Although Shao Yifu could have completely disregarded integrity and copyright, and simply sold the show, at worst Zhang Shuai'an would sue him, and he would only have to pay a few hundred thousand in compensation.

However, by doing this, the reputations of Shaw Brothers and TVB were completely ruined.

Shao Yifu cared a lot about his reputation in Southeast Asia, which is where he started his business.

"Two million is too much." After a moment's consideration, Shao Yifu decided to compromise: "I'll give you at most eight hundred thousand. That's already the highest salary for a newcomer. You can't get that anywhere else. Don't think that the people at RTV are stupid and easy to fool."

Zhang Shuai'an said, "Two million, not a penny less."

"I'll give you two days to rest, and you can think it over carefully," Shao Yifu said coldly, his expression changing.

Zhang Shuai'an got up to say goodbye, but after taking only a few steps, Fatty Wang immediately chased after him.

"Oh dear, Anzai, you're so silly."

Fatty Wang gently advised, "Eight hundred thousand is quite a lot. Take it first. With your next project, your salary will increase a bit, and you'll naturally earn two million in a few years. Why rush things? What you can have right away is the best."

"Thanks for the reminder, Brother Jing." Zhang Shuai'an smiled and patted Fatty Wang on the shoulder, then suddenly asked, "Brother Jing, have you ever thought about leaving Shaw Brothers and developing your own career elsewhere?"

"Me? Go out and develop on my own?" Fatty Wang waved his hands repeatedly and said with a wry smile, "With my abilities, who would invest in me? I would starve to death out there."

Zhang Shuai'an said with a smile, "If I open a film company in the future, I'll ask Brother Jing to come and help me. Will you come?"

"You? Start a movie company?" Fatty Wang couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter, teasingly saying, "If you can afford to start a company, I'll come without hesitation. How about that?"

"That's what you said." Zhang Shuai'an nodded in satisfaction and strode away.

Fatty Wang froze for a few seconds, then suddenly yelled, "Hey, you're not serious, are you?"

Zhang Shuai'an had already walked far away and didn't hear what Fatty Wang was shouting.

Back at the dormitory building, I saw Ling Zhijian and He Jiatong waiting there.

"Where are the reporters?" Zhang Shuai'an asked.

Ling Zhijian said somewhat embarrassedly, "We couldn't get reporters from major newspapers to come, so we only managed to get one from a small tabloid. However, he works part-time for several small tabloids, taking photos and writing news articles."

"Call him over," Zhang Shuai'an said.

Ling Zhijian immediately waved to someone in the distance: "Ah Hao, come here."

The man was slightly overweight and walked with a somewhat awkward gait, reluctantly approaching.

Zhang Shuai'an looked up and was surprised to see it was an old acquaintance: "Young Master Kuang, what are you doing here?"

"You two know each other?" Ling Zhijian was also surprised.

Young Master Kuang said somewhat embarrassedly, "I do know you, but I didn't recognize your talent before, and things didn't go very well."

"The past doesn't matter." Zhang Shuai'an wasn't petty, and said with a smile, "I want to take some photos now, and then you can take them back and write some news articles. The headlines can be as sensational as possible, as explosive as possible."

"No problem with that, I'm a professional." Young Master Kuang recovered and patted his chest, saying, "I work as a reporter for the 'Red and Green Tabloids,' and at the same time I write news and erotic novels for more than a dozen tabloids! Not a single one of them has ever failed to praise my writing."

"Okay, later you hide in a corner and try to film from a candid angle, using everyday shots..."

Zhang Shuai'an started directing and explained the filming details to Kuang Dashao: "The focus should be on my downfall and my grief and indignation at being kicked out of Shaw Brothers, ideally evoking the public's sympathy!"

"You're the real expert," Young Master Kuang said, his voice filled with awe.

Zhang Shuai'an rubbed some dust off his face and clothes, then ran to a distance and walked back looking dejected.

Young Master Kuang retreated to the side of a trash can, squatted down, and found a suitable angle to take pictures.

He tried his best not to capture Zhang Shuai'an's face clearly, but still made sure readers could recognize him at a glance.

I took a few more pictures of Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong struggling to carry their luggage... In the end, they sat in the car and left dejectedly.

Zhang Shuai'an said, "The photos are good. Develop several more tonight and send them to different newspapers so they can be published more often."

"No problem." Young Master Kuang didn't ask Zhang Shuai'an for payment, because just these few photos were enough for him to make a lot of money.

Moreover, Zhang Shuai'an's guidance just now opened up a whole new world for him.

He thought, "If I use this method to film those female celebrities, I'll make a fortune!" He felt like he had seen mountains of gold and silver beckoning to him.

Unable to contain his excitement, Kuang thanked Zhang Shuai'an in return and hurriedly left.

"Let's go take a look at the new house."

Zhang Shuai put the seat in the back and said to Ling Zhijian and He Jiatong.

Ling Zhijian immediately started the car and quickly drove away from Shaw Brothers Studio.

……

The next morning.

There were indeed more than a dozen newspapers on Shao Yifu's desk, both major and minor, and each one had a frighteningly sensational headline on the front page.

One of the tabloids read: "[Breaking News! TVB's Rising Star Zhang Shuai'an Kicked Out, Tycoon Shao Turns His Back on Him]"

The following photos show Zhang Shuai'an carrying his luggage with a forlorn expression as he drives away in the twilight.