novellhall Chapter 31 Xiang Yeqiang's Phone Call
Chapter 31 Xiang Yeqiang's Phone Call
Monday, April 27th.
The aftershocks of the Hong Kong Film Awards spread to newsstands across Hong Kong overnight.
The headline on the front page of the Oriental Daily News—
"The stock market tycoon utters a golden word: billions of US dollars in cash! The entire Hong Kong film industry goes wild!"
The accompanying photo is of Lin Dong holding a microphone on the awards stage.
Ming Pao should have been a little more restrained—
Lin Dong responded confidently on stage: "The money is in the account and can be invested at any time."
Subtitle: "Thunderous applause at the Hong Kong Film Awards; industry insiders say it may be a turning point for Hong Kong films."
The financial and entertainment sections of the Sing Tao Daily collaborated—
"From Wall Street to the Hong Kong Film Awards: How exactly did Lin Dong spend his two billion?"
The post included a large photo of Lin Dong and Chen Long presenting an award together, with a small frame next to it showing Li Jiaxin pointing at Zeng Aizi's nose. The caption was only six words: "The First Beauty Protects Her Husband".
Sing Tao Daily was even more direct—
"When Zeng, the short man, publicly humiliated his sugar daddy, Li Jiaxin angrily retorted: 'You're just a clown!'"
The accompanying photo shows Zeng Aizi shrugging and spreading his hands on stage, taken from a tricky angle, making him appear three inches shorter than usual.
The cover of Apple Daily, however, presents a completely different picture.
Front-page headline: "Wall Street Pervert? Lin Dong's Harem Exposed!"
The post included three photos: Li Jiaxin arm-in-arm with Lin Dongjin at the Peninsula Hotel; an interview photo of Zhang Baizhi signing copies of "King of Comedy"; and a candid shot of Li Zhi without makeup at the opening ceremony of "Mongkok Street". The three photos were arranged in a triangle, with a large, bright red question mark in the middle.
The text makes no mention of "billions of US dollars in cash," only stating:
"Our investigation over several days has revealed that the so-called stock market tycoon's return to Hong Kong to invest in movies is actually a ploy with ulterior motives."
Since its inception, Tengda Films, a subsidiary of the company, has only signed one female artist—18-year-old male model Zhang Baizhi. There are even rumors that Lin Dong pressured Stephen Chow to cast her as the female lead.
More recently, there have been reports that the original choice for the female lead in "Mongkok Street" was someone else, with Lam Tung personally requesting that Gigi Lai be replaced.
"Besides the three women, according to sources, Lin Dong also has several other 'potential harem' members who frequent the Peninsula Hotel's presidential suite."
Under the guise of revitalizing Hong Kong films, he was actually pursuing womanizing—it seems the tastes of this Wall Street stock market tycoon lie not in stocks, but in women.
The post ended with a short clip titled "Lin Dong's Predicted Harem List," which listed Li Jiaxin first, Zhang Baizhi second, and Li Zhi third, followed by four or five spaces with question marks.
Tengda Film & Television, Chairman's Office.
Lin Dong threw the last copy of Apple Daily back onto the table. "Ha! Such dirty tricks, not fit for the table."
He picked up the Pu'er tea on the table, took a sip, and didn't pay much attention to these scandalous rumors.
Personal image? Does he need to care? Absolutely not!
As long as he doesn't force women to do what they want, all that stuff in the newspapers is useless and will only make it easier for him to go north.
A patriotic businessman with weaknesses can be more popular than a saint.
There was also a copy of the Hong Kong Economic Journal on the table. Cao Renchao's column today contained a sentence: "Bold words at the Hong Kong Film Awards are not as convincing as a blockbuster film. No matter how much cash is in the account, it cannot fill the hole of the loss of Hong Kong film audiences."
That's absolutely true; it hits the nail on the head.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Chen Xinjian pushed the door open and came in, holding a brown paper document bag in his hand.
"Mr. Lin, I've found it."
He sat down opposite Lin Dong, opened the file folder, and pulled out a list. "First, let's talk about Zeng the Shorty. There are no film projects currently in progress. The only one in the approval stage is called 'The Story of Viagra,' a Category III comedy, directed by Zhang Min!"
Lin Dong nodded. "What about the yellow dog?"
Chen Xinjian turned to the second page. This person had prepared very thoroughly beforehand, listing every item clearly.
"Huang Gou has significantly more resources than Zeng Aizi. He has 'Beast Cops' coming out soon, and 'Full-Time Thief' just finished filming. 'The Haunted Fetus' is about to start filming. Upcoming projects include 'Hong Kong's First Haunted House,' 'The Story of Viagra'—the one Zeng Aizi also starred in—and 'The Untold Story 2.'"
He pushed the list in front of Lin Dong.
"Have the investors found out about these projects?"
Chen Xinjian nodded, pointing to the list. "Most of them are related to Wang Jing, but one person is also indispensable—Xiang Sheng."
Lin Dong poured Chen Xinjian a cup of tea, not at all surprised, as Wang Jing and his Best Partners company were known for their prolific output.
Best Partners is actually a production company, and it relies on Xiang Yeqiang for most of its distribution, funding, and star power.
"In addition," Chan Yan-kin continued, "Tsang has another resource—TVB. The third season of 'Super Trio Series' is already in preparation and is expected to start filming soon."
Who is in charge of this project?
"Wai Sze-fai. Producer of TVB Variety Department, and the person in charge of the 'Super Trio' series. He's been in charge of it from the very first season."
"Can you handle him?"
Chen Xinjian remained silent for a while.
"It's a bit troublesome," he said. "Super Trio Series is TVB's flagship variety show, with consistently high ratings. Tsang Yi-tak is the core of the show; viewers recognize him. At the same time, he has a powerful backer—Alan Tang. So, getting TVB to replace him at the last minute would require very stringent conditions, and TVB as an organization—"
He didn't finish speaking, but Lin Dong understood.
TVB is not a film company. Film companies can use money, projects, and actors to force concessions, but TVB is a television organization with a huge system and network of interests behind it.
No matter how much money Lin Dong has, he can't influence TVB's decision-making level—at least not yet.
"There's one more piece of information." Chen Xinjian pulled the last page from the file folder and placed it on the table. "Zeng Aizi is a gambler."
From what we understand, he currently owes a considerable amount of money to underground gambling dens, estimated at several million Hong Kong dollars. He's currently using his film salaries to pay off these debts.
Lin Dong tapped his fingers twice on the table.
Gambling debts.
It seems he really is not far from death.
"Alright." Lin Dong put down his teacup. "This is enough. Mr. Chen, you can go back to your work now."
Chen Xinjian stood up, drank the tea in front of him, put the documents back in his bag, bowed slightly, and turned to leave.
The phone rang less than two minutes after the door closed.
Xiang Yeqiang.
"Mr. Lin, are you free tonight?" Xiang Yeqiang's voice was strong, but his tone was more serious than usual. "I've booked a table at Fulinmen for seven o'clock."
"OK."
See you tonight.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Dong put it on the table.
He roughly knew what Xiang Yeqiang wanted to talk about. It was nothing more than Zeng Aizi's matter.
Tonight's dinner is either to explain things to him or to give him an account.
He believed that Xiang Yeqiang would not let him down.
After all, Zeng Aizi appears to be Xiang Yeqiang's man, but in reality, Zeng Aizi's true motives are Deng Guangrong.
Even if Xiang Yeqiang really got rid of Zeng the Dwarf, he wouldn't be too heartbroken; it would just mean losing one useful person.