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

When Li Jiangbo arrived at the amusement park entrance, he saw three or four short, slovenly-looking men with brightly colored hair arguing around Johnnie To.

The leader was none other than the long-haired man who had previously ambushed Li Jiangbo at the food stall.

When Changmao saw Li Jiangbo in his director's uniform, he knew he had met the person in charge, so he walked towards the crowd with an arrogant gait.

"Are you in charge? Don't you know this site is under Yi Sheng's jurisdiction? Starting work without prior notice, what do you want?!"

Johnnie To frowned and asked, "What's going on? We have to pay for the amusement park too?"

Long Hair sized up Johnnie To, his eyes widened, and he raised his hand to slap him, "Go to hell, you think you're so..."

Before Johnnie To could react, Li Jiangbo reached out and grabbed Long Hair's arm. "Brother, calm down. Your men are ignorant. Calm down, calm down."

Long Hair suddenly pulled his arm out, looked Li Jiangbo up and down, and said, "Damn it, just pay the cleaning fee and you'll avoid getting hurt."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo's expression changed. He looked at Changmao and realized that the guy didn't recognize him at all.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, put on a smile, and took out a cigarette case to offer her a cigarette.

"Brothers, we were in the wrong. We started work here without paying our respects beforehand. We should be punished!"

Long Hair took the cigarette, lit it with the light Li Jiangbo offered, and took a deep drag.

"You have to pay protection money to work here, that's the rule! You don't want to be filming here..."

Li Jiangbo nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course, but I wonder how much it will be?"

Long Hair exhaled a smoke ring, stretched out his palm and gestured, "Fifty thousand dollars, consider it making friends."

Fifty thousand dollars in 79 was no small sum. Most ordinary people would have to work for a year without eating or drinking to save that much.

"Looks like this guy has a huge appetite!" A cold glint flashed in Li Jiangbo's eyes.

He changed his demeanor instantly, bowing and scraping, rubbing his hands together as he whispered, "Brother, to be honest, I just paid the actors their salaries today, and I'm short on cash."

At this point, he secretly observed Longhair's expression and noticed that Longhair was already getting impatient.

He continued, "Here's what we'll do: give me half a day, and I'll personally deliver the money tonight!"

Longhair squinted, scrutinizing Li Jiangbo, as if trying to discern something from Li Jiangbo's face.

However, all he saw on Li Jiangbo's face was anxiety.

Long Hair was convinced that Li Jiangbo wouldn't dare to lie to him, so he patted Li Jiangbo on the shoulder and grinned.

"You're smart to be sensible; I'll give you face today. 11 PM tonight, the warehouse in the back alley of Xingwang Arcade, you know the place, right?"

"I know, I know, I'll definitely be there on time!"

Longhair and his men strode away, pointing to his own eyes and then to Li Jiangbo before leaving, signifying: I'm watching you! Don't try anything funny!

After everyone disappeared, Li Jiangbo's eyes sharpened. He had experienced this scene in previous simulations, so he was not surprised at all.

Last time at the food stall, he wasn't prepared. This time, he'll make sure Changmao never forgets it, and he'll show him that the tough guys from Shaanxi aren't so easy to bully.

He turned and went back to the amusement park, whispering to Wang Jing who came up to him, "Jing, come with me to deliver the money tonight."

Wang Jing scratched his head, and seeing that Li Jiangbo was in a bad mood, he didn't ask any more questions and nodded in agreement.

Little did he know that he was about to witness a scene he would never forget.

At 6 p.m., Li Jiangbo told everyone to call it a day and go home, and also told Johnnie To to take the film back first.

......

At nine o'clock in the evening, Wang Jing looked at Li Jiangbo, who was grinning from ear to ear in the passenger seat, and felt uneasy.

Is this some kind of protection money payment? It looks more like they're going to collect an award.

The car stopped downstairs at Li Jiangbo's house for less than ten minutes before he jumped down carrying a large bag and a camera in his hand.

"Let's go, Brother Jing, to the back alley of Xingwang Arcade."

Upon arriving at the destination, Li Jiangbo got out of the car with his bag and said, "You wait here, I'll go by myself."

"You really don't need me?" Wang Jing was a little flustered.

"Don't worry, it'll be quick!" Li Jiangbo said with a smile as he turned around.

But no matter how Wang Jing looked at that smile, it felt unsettling.

Deep in the alley was a dilapidated warehouse with its iron gate ajar, from which shouts and yells could be heard from time to time.

The warehouse was filled with goods all around, and in the open space in the middle, Long Hair and his henchmen were playing happily.

One of the underlings asked, "Brother Mao, is that bastard up to no good?"

Longhair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at the cards in his hand and said with a disdainful expression, "Trying to cheat? He dares to cheat with me? I'll smash up his place tomorrow!"

The game continues.

Longhair, drunk and needing to urinate, got up cursing, "Yellow Hair, give me a couple of rubs!"

He wandered outside the warehouse, found a corner, and hummed a little tune on his belt.

A dull thud echoed in the empty space, and Longhair fell to the ground.

About ten minutes later, Li Jiangbo returned to the car and knocked on the window.

Wang Jing quickly rolled down the car window. "How's it going? Did you pay?"

Li Jiangbo opened the car door. "Let's switch seats, I'll drive."

Wang Jing was puzzled, but readily switched places with Li Jiangbo.

Unexpectedly, Li Jiangbo turned a corner and drove towards the warehouse.

Before he could react, the car had already arrived at the warehouse entrance. Li Jiangbo waved for Wang Jing to get out of the car and walked into the warehouse without looking back.

When Wang Jing walked into the warehouse looking completely bewildered, he saw four people lying neatly on the ground, as if they were asleep.

"Help me!" Li Jiangbo had already grabbed Changmao's ankle.

"What...what are you going to do?" Wang Jing's voice was dry.

Li Jiangbo didn't even look up. "Help them sober up, quick!"

......

Longhair was awakened by a stench. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a person wearing a gas mask stirring a large pot.

A brownish-yellow unidentified object was simmering in the pot, bubbling and churning from time to time.

"Waaaaah!!!"

Longhair wanted to roar, but his mouth was tightly stuffed with a rag.

A few more whistling sounds followed, and the three henchmen were also awakened by the stench.

When Li Jiangbo noticed that the others had woken up, he carried the large pot over to them.

As the large pot slowly approached, the stench grew stronger.

Longhair and the others seemed to have smelled an unknown biological weapon, and they all started gagging, especially Longhair, whose entire face was covered with tears, snot, and saliva.

What sins did I commit in my past life to deserve encountering such a thing?

Li Jiangbo didn't say anything. He took out a series of IOUs from his bag, placed them on the table, and then took the thing out of Changmao's mouth.

"Long-haired Bro's awake? Did you like the midnight snack I prepared? It's all-natural and pollution-free! Enjoy it while it's hot!"

When Longhair was finally able to speak, his first reaction was not to start cursing, but to tilt his head and vomit violently.

For a moment, the air was filled with a sour, foul, and pungent odor that made people's eyes sting.

Once the long-haired man had recovered, he squeezed out a few words through his teeth.

"What...do...you...want?"

Li Jiangbo didn't answer, but gestured with his chin towards the paper on the table, indicating that Changmao should look at it himself.

Longhair struggled to open his red eyes and finally saw that the note read: "I owe Li Jiangbo HKD 500,000..."

Five hundred thousand! That's an astronomical figure.

Longhair was trembling with rage. He thought he was ruthless enough, but he never expected this man to be even more ruthless and vicious than him.

At first, Changmao threatened Li Jiangbo, but when he found that Li Jiangbo was unmoved, he begged for mercy, determined not to sign the IOU.

Li Jiangbo was very patient and just sat there watching the four of them.

Longhair finally couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Sign! I'll sign! Pen! Give me a pen!!!"

Li Jiangbo smiled slightly, loosened the long hair's bindings, and made him sign and put his fingerprint on the document.

Once one person compromises, the rest of the struggling people also compromise.

He had no choice but to obediently sign the IOU, which implicated him in a loss of moral character, and press his fingerprint on it, as Li Jiangbo had demanded.

About half an hour later, Li Jiangbo, carrying four IOUs and a stack of photos, walked to the door of the container and stood next to Wang Jing, who was wearing a gas mask.

"Let's go home!"

The two walked quite a distance before removing their gas masks. Li Jiangbo looked at Wang Jing, whose face was pale, and laughed, "Now no one should dare to mess with me."

Wang Jing looked at the smiling Li Jiangbo, a complex expression appearing in his eyes.