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

In the following days, a new type of soft drink appeared in newspaper offices, food stalls, shops, and convenience stores in Hong Kong.

The background is orange-red, the words are red, and there are two simple line drawings of mountain peaks on the words.

Starting the next day, the entertainment section of Time Daily began bombarding Bingfeng GG with news.

The photos of the four girls depict different aspects of their personalities: youthful, elegant, aloof, and passionate.

But they all had one thing in common: they each carried a can of Bingfeng soda.

The caption reads only one line: Bingfeng Soda, the choice of the Timeless Girl.

With the release of the Time Daily, three consecutive days of Ice Peak GG bombarded every newsstand in Hong Kong.

At the same time, in addition to newsstands, food stalls, shops, and convenience stores began to put up the same posters.

Mr. Chan's newsstand in Mong Kok also had a large poster displayed.

When people come to buy newspapers, they always take a second look at the posters.

"These four girls are..."

"Time Girl is very popular recently. She even sang on TVB a while ago."

"Oh, is that the group that sang 'A Thousand Songs'?"

On the third day, GG leveled up.

TVB started airing Bingfeng's TV drama "GG," and it aired for three days.

GG is simple: four girls sat in a row in a tea restaurant, each of them opened their bottle of Bingfeng soda and took a sip.

Everyone reacted differently: Rosamund Kwan was forthright, Anita Mui was mature, Chu Lin was gentle, and Cherie Chung was a heavy drinker.

After finishing their drinks, the four women all flashed charming smiles at the camera.

The narration consists of only one sentence: Bingfeng soda, the taste of timeless beauty.

These things are nothing new to ordinary Hong Kong citizens, but those who truly like the Time Girls group are the real driving force behind consumption.

After all, what difference does it make what you drink? Bingfeng is even two cents cheaper than Coca-Cola!

People at newsstands are always the first to change their minds; seeing how popular GG was, they couldn't help but buy a can to try.

Once that started, it was unstoppable, and the shouts echoed through the streets and alleys.

"Boss, a can of Bingfeng soda, please."

"Boss, hurry up, I'm going to be late..."

The newsstand owner was busy collecting and giving change. He sold about a hundred cans that day. He could get ten dollars from Mr. Li, and with the difference, he could make thirty dollars from a hundred cans.

Mr. Li is great in every way, except for his pricing, which is a bit problematic. He also has both whole and fractional amounts, making it inconvenient to give change.

When the newsstand owner closed up shop in the evening, he counted the stock and found that there were less than twenty cans of Bingfeng soda left. He immediately called the person in charge of selling Bingfeng soda.

"Another 120 boxes, please!"

"That's all, that's all. I can only give you a hundred boxes tomorrow."

Why?

"The whole of Hong Kong is demanding goods, and the warehouses are almost empty."

The newspaper owner had no choice but to agree, deciding to sell whatever was available first.

There aren't many people from Chang'an in Hong Kong, but some of them have achieved great success, opening various companies and restaurants.

Old Lei is from Shandong. He runs a restaurant in Causeway Bay, serving ordinary Hong Kong-style food. Business is so-so, just enough to support his family.

Until his wife came to him excitedly with Bingfeng soda.

"Old Lei, let's sell liangpi (cold skin noodles) and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)!"

"Why are you so unpredictable? You can't even sell Cantonese food well, and you expect to sell your hometown's cuisine?"

"How will you know if you don't try? Anyway, the restaurant's business is so-so, adding this won't cost much."

At first, Lao Lei refused, but when he heard his wife say that she had a secret weapon, he wavered and finally agreed.

The couple were also decisive and efficient, and they made all the preparations by the next day.

At his wife's suggestion, Lao Lei posted a big-character poster at the entrance of the restaurant.

The sign reads: "Freshly launched Shaanxi set meal: Bingfeng soda with liangpi (cold skin noodles) and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), it's amazing!"

At first, none of the customers were willing to try it, until a few fellow villagers from Chang'an came to the shop and spoke authentic Guanzhong dialect:

"Boss! I'll have a Shaanxi set meal, and I want the meat sandwich with both lean and fatty meat."

Old Lei's wife knew immediately that he was from the same village, so she readily prepared cold noodles and steamed buns, served the meal, and brought a bottle of Bingfeng soda with her.

Then, with a smile, he busied himself at the counter, but his ears were perked up, listening to the customers' feedback.

"Wow! I never expected to find a Shaanxi-style set meal here."

He took a bite of liangpi (cold skin noodles), a bite of roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and a sip of Bingfeng (a local soft drink), and felt as if he had returned to Chang'an.

Seeing the way this person ate, everyone else ordered a Shaanxi set meal.

It tasted really good.

And so, Lao Lei's restaurant business improved, with people lining up every mealtime.

Old Lei and his wife can both grin so wide they look like hooks.

In one week, 430,000 of the 600,000 cans of Bingfeng soda were sold.

When Zhao Yazhi pushed open Li Jiangbo's office door with the report in hand, Li Jiangbo was looking at the stock market trends in the newspaper.

"Boss, the sales figures for Bingfeng are out."

Without looking up, Li Jiangbo asked, "How much?"

"Of the 430,000 cans, less than 170,000 remain. I feel it's time to order another batch."

Li Jiangbo nodded with a smile, "Not bad, within my expectations."

Zhao Yazhi put down the report in her hand, walked behind Li Jiangbo, and used her hand to relax him.

"Bo-zai, when are you going to call to order the goods? It's a bit far, I'm afraid we'll run out of stock and all the work we did before will be for nothing."

Li Jiangbo nodded, enjoying the beautiful woman's service as he said, "I'll make the call in a bit, you go ahead and get busy! Remember to urge the electricity inspection department."

"Okay, boss, I'll get right on it."

After Zhao Yazhi left, Li Jiangbo picked up the phone and dialed the Bingfeng factory office.

After the call was connected, Li Jiangbo got straight to the point:

"Director Liang, we've ordered one million bottles of Bingfeng beer."

Liang Yuan was somewhat surprised: Who is this? So arrogantly asking for goods?

When he recognized Li Jiangbo's voice, the weariness on his face vanished.

"Comrade Li? All 600,000 cans have been sold out?"

Li Jiangbo nodded, "Yes! There aren't many left, and I'm worried about running out of stock, so I'm placing an order now."

Liang Yuan excitedly agreed repeatedly, "Okay, okay! I'll start production at full capacity right now."

"Oh, right, there's something else I need to trouble Director Liang with."

"you say."

Li Jiangbo paused for a moment, then explained to Factory Director Liang the idea of ​​printing portraits on aluminum cans.

After hearing this, Director Liang shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.

"No, we don't have that equipment in China. The current equipment can't print portraits with enough precision. The prints will be a blurry mess, and you won't be able to tell who it is at all."

Li Jiangbo paused for two seconds, then asked, "What about engraving?"

"No problem, don't worry, it's just printing a few words!"

"Alright, send out the one million ordinary ones first. As for the portrait ones, wait for my news."

"Alright, alright! Don't worry, Comrade Li, I guarantee we'll operate at full capacity and ship the goods in two batches."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Jiangbo hung up the phone.

He sat in the boss's chair for a while, thought for a moment, picked up the phone, and called Zhao Dong.

"The boss?"

"Ah Dong, how are things going in Australia?"

"That's good. We'll be heading back by ship the day after tomorrow."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "I have a favor to ask you. Could you inquire in Australia and the United States to see if there's any equipment that can print portraits on aluminum cans with high precision and be mass-produced?"

Zhao Dong was taken aback. "Print a portrait? Print it directly onto the jar?"

"Yes. This is the device."

Zhao Dong scratched his head and thought for a moment, "Okay, boss, I'll ask around."

"Yes, give me a call if you have any news."

"OK!"