Chapter 1019: A Trip to Hong Kong Island

Zhao Fusheng was not surprised by Bai Jie's words.

He knew very well that this matter put a lot of pressure on Future Film and Television as a whole. After all, the company had not produced any new works for over half a year, which was not good news for a film investment company.

As for their backup plan, Zhao Fusheng had never even considered it.

The European and American film and television circles had always been indifferent to the entertainment industry in Asia. This was not a decade or two later, when the Chinese market would become one of the world's top box office powerhouses. They had no intention of catering to the Chinese market, and frankly, Zhao Fusheng could not agree with what they produced.

But there was no way to criticize this; the domestic film production level was what it was. If it wasn't good enough, it wasn't good enough, and no one could say otherwise.

"Although we are the ones initiating this cooperation, we must not let them gain the upper hand," Zhao Fusheng said with a faint smile after a long pause, addressing Bai Jie.

Bai Jie quickly nodded; she certainly understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

In business, the worst thing is to have your weak points exposed. It wasn't unheard of for the other party to know what you wanted and then make exorbitant demands.

The current situation of Future Film and Television was precisely this kind of predicament, facing an urgent need to resolve difficulties by relying on a blockbuster film to get out of trouble.

Therefore, if Stephen Chow used this as a condition, it would put Future Advertising in a very passive position.

Zhao Fusheng's meaning was clear: under no circumstances should they give the other party such an opportunity.

In other words, Zhao Fusheng, as the big boss, was at this moment setting the negotiation bottom line for this cooperation.

This was very important, after all, it involved tens of millions in investment and a major production. In other words, if Zhao Fusheng didn't speak up, no one else had the authority to decide anything.

The plane slowly landed at Hong Kong International Airport.

Many people, when reading books, often have the protagonist's plane land at Kai Tak Airport.

Actually, this is wrong, because after the handover in 1997, Kai Tak Airport was already abandoned.

The newly operational airport was Hong Kong International Airport.

This is Hong Kong's only civil airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, ranking fifth in international passenger traffic and first in international cargo traffic. From Hong Kong International Airport, one can reach half of the world's population within five hours.

When Zhao Fusheng and his group got off the plane and walked out of the exit, they saw someone holding a sign standing there.

"It looks like it's from Star Union Company," Bai Jie said to Zhao Fusheng.

Star Union Company was founded by Stephen Chow himself in 1996, mainly producing high-quality, high-entertainment films. Stephen Chow's early classic films all bear the mark of Star Union.

To this day, although it has not released new works for two years, it remains a well-known entertainment company in Hong Kong.

Of course, although Star Union Company enjoys high visibility thanks to Stephen Chow as its pillar, in fact, the company's reputation in Hong Kong is less than satisfactory. While Stephen Chow is immensely wealthy and considered one of the top tycoons in Hong Kong's entertainment industry, Star Union's office environment is too shabby, and the professional quality of its staff urgently needs improvement. More importantly, Stephen Chow focuses only on his own career development and shows almost casual concern for the artists under his company.

Even old friends who have followed him for years receive no special treatment.

"Let's go, we'll head over," Zhao Fusheng nodded and took the lead.

Regardless of how Stephen Chow treated his subordinates, that was his own business and had nothing to do with Zhao Fusheng. If you had to pay attention to how the other party treated their employees when doing business, then the deal couldn't be negotiated.

The group approached the person holding the sign: "Excuse me, are you from Star Union Company?"

As the general manager, Bai Jie naturally had subordinates handle the interaction.

"Hello, are you Future Film and Television from the capital?" the person asked in a Hong Kong-accented Mandarin, looking at Bai Jie and the others.

Clearly, they had made contact.

Soon, under the other party's arrangement, the Future Film and Television group got into a—well, a bus.

That's right, a rented bus.

"This... is too shabby, isn't it?" Sitting in the car, Bai Jie's mouth twitched as she whispered to Zhao Fusheng.

To be honest, she really hadn't expected them to rent a bus to pick people up.

"Heh, what did you expect, a sedan chair carried by eight bearers?" Zhao Fusheng was indifferent and said with a smile, "We're here to discuss business, not to enjoy ourselves."

Bai Jie fell silent. Since the boss said so, she had nothing more to say.

The car moved slowly forward, and outside the window, the buildings of Hong Kong flashed by. Many in the company who were visiting Hong Kong for the first time looked out the window curiously.

Even Bai Jie was occasionally attracted by the scenery outside the window, whispering with the people beside her.

As for Zhao Fusheng, from start to finish, he never showed any interest in looking outside, but sat quietly there, reading the newspaper in front of him.

The entertainment industry in Hong Kong was developed, sweeping across Southeast Asia in the 1980s and 1990s, including South Korea and Japan. Many Hong Kong superstars had countless fans, and figures like Leslie Cheung and Jackie Chan were even admired and worshipped by numerous Korean and Japanese celebrities.

Of course, along with that came the notorious paparazzi, who were everywhere. They would follow every bit of news about the stars, with all kinds of gossip and scandals emerging endlessly. In severe cases, they could even ruin a good actor.

For instance, the charming Huang Rong, Barbara Yung, was destroyed by those media. Although her psychological resilience was indeed not strong, the relentless gossip reporting by the media often became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

What Zhao Fusheng focused on, however, were the works in the film and television industry.

Before coming to Hong Kong, he had consciously gathered information on this aspect. To his surprise, it seemed that Hong Kong's film and television works had shifted, with the millennium as the boundary.

More precisely, taking the few months after his time travel as the node, after that, none of the classic works he was familiar with had appeared.

Including Stephen Chow, the film Shaolin Soccer that made him hugely popular had not been successfully produced. Instead, there was a bizarre film called Xi Shen, which Zhao Fusheng had never heard of.

That was why Zhao Fusheng felt confident enough to write the script for the film Kung Fu Hustle. Otherwise, according to the normal timeline, Kung Fu Hustle should have been about to be released by now; how could it have been left for him to produce?

Soon, the car stopped in front of the office building of Xinghui Company.

Getting out of the car, Bai Jie blinked, glanced at the guide, and really wanted to ask him if this shabby building before them was actually Xinghui's headquarters.

What met their eyes was an old eight-story building that looked at least twenty years old. After entering, they found the interior decoration also very outdated, hardly like an entertainment company.

"Don't mind these details," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile. "If you go to South Korea, you'll find companies even shabbier than this."

Bai Jie and the others looked bewildered, completely not understanding what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Zhao Fusheng didn't explain. He knew that SM Entertainment, founded by Lee Soo-man, who would later cultivate numerous top Korean Wave idols, initially had only a three-story office building, including the basement.

Yet such a company became the most famous entertainment company in South Korea, cultivating countless Korean Wave idols that drove Chinese fans crazy.

Whether it was Han Geng or Song Qian, or later the four returnees, they were all idols produced under that assembly line.

Their abilities were certainly good, but to be fair, without systematic training in South Korea, they could never have become stars.

After all, South Koreans are a peculiar race that even trains how stars live and smile—a point that other countries can't catch up with no matter how hard they try.

……

……

"Hello, I am Lin Darong, the general manager of Xinghui Entertainment."

At the door, a middle-aged man wearing glasses led a group to greet them. Clearly, he was the person in charge from Xinghui.

On the Future Film side, Bai Jie naturally stepped forward to exchange pleasantries, while Zhao Fusheng remained silent, quietly playing the role of an invisible person.

Xinghui seemed to have been instructed by Stephen Chow in advance, treating Future Film with great courtesy and a very good attitude.

"May I ask, which one is Mr. Zhao?"

After exchanging pleasantries with Bai Jie, Lin Darong asked.

Bai Jie was taken aback but still pointed at Zhao Fusheng.

"That's me," Zhao Fusheng said, having heard Lin Darong's words. He smiled and replied, "Hello, General Manager Lin."

"Hello, Mr. Zhao."

Lin Darong's attitude had clearly changed compared to how he treated Bai Jie just now.

In fact, he was even quite respectful.

To be honest, this change surprised Zhao Fusheng himself.

"Do you know me, General Manager Lin?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Lin Darong in surprise, then shook his head. "To be frank, we should never have met. That means..."

Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "Mr. Chow must be waiting for me, right?"

At his words, Lin Darong's expression changed several times, and finally he let out a long sigh, giving Zhao Fusheng a thumbs-up. "Mr. Zhao is truly impressive!"

With that, Lin Darong said, "Mr. Chow is already upstairs waiting for you. Please."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, nodded, and followed Lin Darong upstairs.

That Stephen Chow would arrange things this way was quite in line with his style; Zhao Fusheng was not at all surprised.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng was also looking forward to what surprise this legendary Best Actor would bring him.