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

a new day.

Li Jiangbo was about to go to his office to discuss contract matters with Leslie Cheung and Lai Siu-tin when he saw Rosamund Kwan, Zhu Lin, Cherie Chung, and Anita Mui walk into the company gate.

Director Li hurriedly waved to the four of them, "You four come here for a moment, let's discuss your record release."

The four of them quickened their pace with delight, entered the office, and took their seats.

Lai Siu-tin was recruited here by Leslie Cheung. When he learned that Leslie Cheung was going to break his contract and sign a contract with Time Records, as Leslie Cheung's teacher, he felt it was his responsibility to vet his disciple.

"Ah Rong, are you planning to break your contract with Polydor?"

Leslie Cheung nodded, "Yes, the company released three albums for me, none of them became hits. Now that they see my song 'The Way We Were' has become a hit, they want to release a single album for me."

"Releasing a single album is one thing, but they pressed the button as soon as they heard I didn't have the copyright to 'The Way We Were.' What is this? Are they making a fool of me?"

Lai Siu-tin gave a wry smile. "Ten, don't complain. The company isn't doing too well right now..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo understood that his child had been mistreated outside and wanted to change families.

"How much time is left on your contract? How much is the penalty for breach of contract?"

Leslie Cheung said, "There are still two years left, and the breach of contract fee is about 50."

Li Jiangbo fell silent upon hearing the figure. Although Zhang Guorong was worth the price, he didn't want to be ripped off.

Seeing that Li Jiangbo remained silent, Leslie Cheung anxiously said, "Director Li, I can pay part of it, and I can pay the rest with my film contract fees."

Li Jiangbo shook his head. "We'll talk about that later. I'll try to find someone I know to see if we can get a discount."

He turned to look at Lai Siu-tin. "Mr. Lai, you're here today?"

"I'm just trying to persuade Shizai not to act impulsively. Since Shizai is determined to leave, I won't try to stop him."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangbo had a sudden inspiration: "How much longer does Mr. Li's contract with Lida last?"

Li Xiaotian looked at Li Jiangbo in surprise, but honestly replied, "One more year."

Li Jiangbo nodded, picked up the phone on the table, and made the call.

Li Xiaotian overheard Li Jiangbo talking to someone about Zhang Guorong's breach of contract fee and Li Xiaotian's breach of contract fee.

What does this mean? I just came to see the strength of Time Records, how did I end up selling myself out?

Leslie Cheung looked genuinely excited and whispered, "Teacher, the boss is talking about your breach of contract fee! He wants to poach you!"

Lai Siu-tin glanced at Leslie Cheung speechlessly.

"Why don't you come over too, teacher? How about you continue being my producer?"

Li Xiaotian didn't want to pay attention to this rebellious disciple and silently turned away.

"Teacher, why don't you come over too? Anyway, Director Li won't treat you badly. In all my time in Hong Kong, I've never met a boss more generous than Director Li."

Li Xiaotian silently thought to himself: Am I the kind of person who's greedy for money? What I want is fame! Status! Don't you understand?!

After hanging up the phone, Li Jiangbo said to the two men, "It's settled. Arong's breach of contract fee is 15 yuan, and Mr. Li's breach of contract fee will be higher, 20 yuan."

Leslie Cheung and Joseph Koo reacted very differently; one was overjoyed and danced with excitement, while the other stood there dumbfounded, at a loss for what to do.

Seeing their reactions, Li Jiangbo laughed, "Arong, you'll have to pay your own breach of contract fee. The profits from these two movies alone will be more than enough to cover your fee. As for Mr. Li's breach of contract fee, Time Records will cover it."

Li Xiaotian stared at Li Jiangbo in surprise, unable to utter a single word.

What does that mean? Two hundred thousand, and you just pulled it out without even blinking?

Actually, Li Jiangbo's attempt to poach Lai Siu-tin was a spur-of-the-moment decision; Time Records just happened to be short of a music director. With Lai Siu-tin practically offering himself up, how could he not make a move?

Besides, Lai Siu-tin carries far more weight than Leslie Cheung. After all, he was one of the most talented musicians in RTV's music department. His abilities were comparable to Gu's, and he later helped launch the careers of Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, and Lui Fong, among others!

After finishing talking about Leslie Cheung and Joseph Lai, Li Jiangbo took out a few sheets of paper from the drawer and handed them to Mei, Guan, Zhu, and Zhong.

"You guys should hurry up and practice these four songs. Amei will be the lead singer. After Director Wang and Director Xu's movies finish filming, you can also go around doing promotional appearances and perform for the movies."

Mei Yanfang took the lyrics, her eyes lighting up. She looked at the four song titles: "Song of the Setting Sun," "A Stroll Through Life," "A Thousand Songs," and "Tomorrow Will Be Better."

"I'm not worried about Amei, but about the three of you."

Li Jiangbo pointed at Guan, Zhu, and Zhong, "I don't expect you to sing like professional singers, just passable is fine, and lip-sync when it matters."

Leslie Cheung and Joseph Koo both lowered their heads. What kind of boss did they end up with? He actually instigated the singers to lip-sync?

Li Xiaotian wanted to say, "Mr. Li, please spare my life, okay?" But he didn't find a suitable opportunity.

"Later, we'll buy a few songs from James Wong, Cheng Kwok-kong, and Chan Hsun-ki, and then we'll record albums for you guys."

Anita Mui, who was standing nearby, seemed to notice the problem. Pointing to the two lyric sheets, she cautiously asked, "Boss, are the melodies of these two songs the same?"

Li Jiangbo knew without even looking that she was referring to that song.

It must be "A Thousand Songs" and "Song of the Setting Sun".

This song actually has quite a history; both are covers of "Sunset Song" by Japanese singer Kondo Shinjiro. However, one was sung by Anita Mui in later years, and the other by Chen Huixian.

These two songs also sparked a debate between the new generation of female singers and the older generation of female singers.

Li Jiangbo gave everything to Mui Yan-fang, thus avoiding a life-or-death struggle between the two and preventing Chen Hui-xian from retiring from the music scene because of this.

As for "Walking the Road of Life," it's a song that will be published by someone else if it's not copied now.

This song was released by Deng Lijun in 83. Coincidentally, it was also a cover of a song by Japanese singer Miyuki Nakajima. The song title seems to be "Habit of Loneliness".

Regardless, Li Jiangbo had no qualms about catching Japanese chicken.

Thinking of this, Li Jiangbo nodded, "Yes! It's one song with two lyrics."

Upon hearing this, Lai Siu-tin suddenly looked up, snatched the lyrics paper from Rosamund Kwan's hand, and began to read it.

Leslie Cheung also looked at the lyrics sheet in Lai Siu-tin's hand.

Rosamund Kwan snorted, her mouth agape, and squeezed her head next to Anita Mui.

Li Jiangbo didn't care about any of that. He looked at Mei Yanfang and asked, "Which song does Mei like? Are you confident you can sing them all well?"

Mui Yan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then said, "Hmm, I personally prefer 'Song of the Setting Sun.' However, boss, I'm confident I can sing these songs well."

Li Jiangbo sighed. Just as he thought!

If she remembered correctly, in later generations, Anita Mui seemed to have dated that Japanese singer, but in the end, she was dumped.

Now he's worried that if he gives these two songs to Anita Mui, will it seduce that Japanese singer and then steal away the diva he's worked so hard to cultivate?

After half an hour.

When Li Xiaotian stared wide-eyed at the contract given to him by Li Jiangbo, he thought to himself: I've never seen such an arrogant boss before. I must have been blind.

Li Jiangbo paid Li Xiaotian a salary of 200,000 yuan per year for the position of music director, excluding record sales revenue.

After being thoroughly humiliated, Lai Siu-tin signed the contract with tears in his eyes.