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

The fifth floor of a commercial office building on Broadcast Drive.

Li Jiangbo was sitting in his office drinking tea; he had been extremely busy this week.

First, they bought several small secondhand apartments on Broadcast Drive and had Cherie Chung move in.

He also bought two cars for his bodyguard leader, Awei, and registered two companies: a shell trading company and a film company.

The million I earned last time has been mostly spent, leaving me with two hundred thousand to prepare for the next glass business deal.

These are all just a matter of time. His focus is on the clashes with the Yi Sheng gang and the promotion of the film.

In just one week, Yi Sheng has come to cause trouble five times, averaging once a day, which shows how deep the resentment of Fei Bo, the person in charge of Yi Sheng, is towards Li Jiangbo.

If it weren't for bodyguards, he couldn't imagine what his newly started company would have become.

As the conflict erupted, Li Jiangbo even felt that five bodyguards were not enough.

The company needs to keep at least three, Cherie Chung needs at least one by her side, and I need to keep one for myself as well.

But with Rosamund Kwan signing with Time Pictures, there won't be enough bodyguards to go around.

Today is the day he signed the contract with Rosamund Kwan, and he was in his office early, drinking tea and waiting for her.

A short while later, Rosamund Kwan and Kwan Shan knocked on the door of Li Jiangbo's office.

"Please come in!"

Rosamund Kwan is currently underage and needs Kwan Shan's signature.

The group sat down around the coffee table, and Li Jiangbo didn't mince words, asking directly, "Jiahui, since you signed with my company, are you planning to take a break from school or study and film at the same time?"

Guan Shan smiled and said, "Mr. Li, that's not important. What's important is the specifics of the contract?"

Li Jiangbo smiled and took a contract from his desk drawer, handing it to Guan Shan.

Guan Shan took the contract and looked at it carefully.

Guan Shan glanced at the red tape in the contract and noticed that the term was five years, the base salary was 2800 yuan, and the contract guaranteed at least one film per year.

Also, room and board are provided, and in addition to the basic salary, film fees are calculated separately...

These terms are really tempting! When Guan Shan saw this, he even wanted to sign with Li Jiangbo's company, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

You know, these days, actors' contracts are almost always for ten or eight years. Even Golden Harvest, the best-paying agency, only offered a film fee, no base salary. Compared to Shaw Brothers, their actors would be green with envy! They did the same work but only received a fixed wage.

After a while, Guan Shan closed the folder and looked at Li Jiangbo with a strange expression. He suspected that this guy was a spendthrift.

Guan Shan coughed twice. "No problem, Jia Hui, sign it. From now on, you can just drop out of school and hang out with Li Sheng."

When Rosamund Kwan heard that Kwan Shan was actually letting her suspend her studies, she was overjoyed and immediately signed the contract. After all, she wasn't cut out for studying and wasn't good at it anyway.

Li Jiangbo was all smiles after signing the contract. Although Miss Guan's acting skills weren't great, her beauty was enough.

Before the father and daughter could leave, someone knocked on the office door again.

The visitors turned out to be Zhao Yazhi and Zhang Guorong.

Leslie Cheung invited her himself, so what is Zhao Yazhi here for?

Li Jiangbo first asked the two to sit down, and then took out a song he had written for Leslie Cheung from the drawer.

"Ah Rong! This is a song for you."

Leslie Cheung looked at the lyrics sheet in his hand, feeling a surge of excitement.

The fact that his song "A Game, A Dream" could earn praise from his teacher, Joseph Koo, shows how rare that is.

Then look at this song, "The Wind Continues to Blow," with its beautiful lyrics and melodious tune, which is not much inferior to "A Game, A Dream."

This song was originally a cover of "Beyond the Reunion" by Japanese singer Momoe Yamaguchi, released in August 1980. It was still July 1979 at the time. Li Jiangbo gave it directly to Leslie Cheung without worrying about copyright issues.

He hummed a couple of lines softly, then excitedly looked up at Li Jiangbo, "Director Li, is this song really for me?"

Li Jiangbo smiled and nodded. "Of course, I always keep my word. There's something else I want to talk to you about."

Leslie Cheung asked in confusion, "What is it?"

"I suppose Ah Rong doesn't have a movie contract yet? How about it? Interested in signing with my company?"

Seeing this, Guan Shan tactfully pulled his daughter up, saying, "Mr. Li, we'll take our leave now. Jia Hui will report to the company tomorrow."

After seeing the Guan family father and daughter off, Li Jiangbo personally brewed tea for Zhao Yazhi and Zhang Guorong, and continued the previous conversation.

Leslie Cheung scratched his head, "I haven't signed it yet, but I don't know what kind of contract Director Lee can offer?"

Li Jiangbo then took out another contract from the drawer and handed it to Zhang Guorong.

"I'd like to sign you to a top-tier contract, Ah Rong, for three years, guaranteeing at least one film per year, and at least one leading role in one film over the three years. Your salary will be based on market rates. As for box office revenue sharing, I haven't decided on the amount yet."

Leslie Cheung looked at Li Jiangbo in surprise. This treatment... is too good!

The fact that his salary would be subject to market rates was enough to convince Leslie Cheung to sign the contract, not to mention the film promises and box office revenue sharing.

You should know that many actors take pay cuts to act in movies for the companies they're signed with! As for the promise of several movies a year, whether that can be fulfilled is another matter entirely.

There's also box office revenue sharing, which is currently only implemented by Golden Harvest. Whether or not they actually receive it is another matter.

Without saying a word, Leslie Cheung picked up a pen and signed his name on the contract.

After securing Leslie Cheung's contract, Li Jiangbo smiled so broadly his eyebrows curved.

It's important to know that Leslie Cheung is still relatively unknown, with only some achievements in television; his accomplishments in other areas are negligible.

First, he should cultivate a good relationship with Leslie Cheung. As for how he became famous, did he not appreciate the kindness he had shown him?

After the contract was signed, Leslie Cheung left, leaving Zhao Yazhi alone in Li Jiangbo's office.

After placing the contract down, Li Jiangbo looked at Zhao Yazhi with an inquiring gaze, "Sister Zhi, what brings you here today?"

Zhao Yazhi smiled gently, "I heard you started a film and television company, Bo-zai. Why don't you welcome me to come and visit?"

"Welcome! How could we not welcome you!"

Zhao Yazhi didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "Bo-zai, can I sign a contract with you? A contract like Rong-zai's?"

Li Jiangbo was somewhat bewildered; he had little idea that Zhao Yazhi wanted to sign a contract with him.

After all, based on Zhao Yazhi's career development, she has almost always worked at TVB and rarely makes movies.

Why did Zhao Yazhi sign a contract with Li Jiangbo?

The main reason was that she saw eye contact with Li Jiangbo and had a good impression of him. After all, the way Li Jiangbo looked at her was so clear and without any other color.

Li Jiangbo, now realizing what was happening, asked in confusion, "Sister Zhi, are you in trouble?"

Zhao Yazhi sighed and then told Li Jiangbo everything about her recent situation, like pouring out beans.

After saying that, she blushed a little. What's wrong with her today? Why can't she keep things to herself?

After listening, Li Jiangbo understood that when Zhao Yazhi divorced Huang Hanwei, she chose to leave with nothing in order to provide a better environment for her son, so she now desperately needed money to support herself.

If Li Jiangbo remembers correctly, Zhao Yazhi also got divorced in later years, but not this year, but in 82. She was supposed to give birth to a son for Huang Hanwei this year!

It seems that my time travel has also changed the fate of some people.

Li Jiangbo agreed without hesitation. Anyway, he had to sign actors, so it didn't matter who he signed.

Besides, before Li Jiangbo traveled through time, he was a big fan of Zhao Yazhi. How could he not be happy to sign a star he admired before he traveled through time?

However, Li Jiangbo had to consider Zhao Yazhi's market situation.

Until Zhao Yazhi retired from the entertainment industry, she had acted in fewer than 20 films in total. As for the reason, Li Jiangbo didn't know either.

Now that he has signed a film contract with Zhao Yazhi, will it affect Zhao Yazhi's future decisions?

Who cares! I'll just sign it and consider it doing a good deed.

Who can blame me when Li Jiangbo is such a good person!

One person wants to sign, and another is willing to sign, and then the contract is finalized.

After signing the contract, Zhao Yazhi suggested treating Li Jiangbo to dinner, and Li Jiangbo agreed without hesitation.