newbobooks Chapter 44 Chronicles of Hong Kong in the Past 2
Chapter 44 Chronicles of Hong Kong in the Past 2
She wasn't going out today to find her brother, since he should be studying in England at this point in the timeline. She planned to wander around first, to confirm if her brother existed in this world, to learn about Hong Kong now, and to think about what she should do to help her brother in the future.
She lived in Repulse Bay, and she asked Uncle Liu to take her directly to 18 Yip Fung Building, D'Aguilar Street, Central, just to see if her brother's father still existed. When they arrived, they indeed saw Cheung Wok-hoi busy in his shop. She didn't get out of the car, but just looked around from the entrance. Then she asked Uncle Liu to inquire with the surrounding shop owners, and they confirmed that Cheung Wok-hoi did indeed have a son named Cheung Fat-chung, currently studying in England. She was relieved. She also thought that if Cheung Wok-hoi hadn't suffered a stroke and become paralyzed due to drinking, her brother wouldn't have had to interrupt his studies and wouldn't have continued his previous life.
But it's such a waste that my brother isn't in the entertainment industry. And if he lives a different life, won't there be no problems in his life? If problems arise then, she'll be even more helpless, since it's all unknown. It's better to let him enter the entertainment industry. At least she'll know roughly what kind of things her brother has encountered in the entertainment industry.
First, she needed to have a certain social standing before 1977 and a certain amount of influence in the entertainment industry. Although being the daughter of a shipping magnate could earn her respect from most people in Hong Kong, they couldn't keep giving her face over and over again, right? After all, she didn't have any vested interests with him, and he couldn't keep relying on her fame.
She's only 10 years old, how can she have a say in the entertainment industry? Hmm… looks like I'll have to add some "genius" attributes to this life, that's decided. "Uncle Liu, let's go for a walk in Kowloon!" "Yes, Miss!"
After wandering around for a while, Liu Yuxi returned home with a few snacks. As soon as she got home, she was scolded by her aunt and her own mother, who said that the food outside was not clean and that she should ask Aunt Li (who was their kitchen helper) to make whatever she wanted to eat. Anyway, she didn't eat any of the snacks. She wished she had eaten outside before coming back.
Later, Liu Yuxi showed an interest in reading and studying at home. She spent most of the summer reading at home, and she read almost all the books in the family study and her father's study. At first, her family thought she was finally learning, but when they saw how fast she flipped through the pages, they thought she was probably just playing around. What normal person reads that fast?
Before the start of the school year, she told her aunt that she wanted to skip a grade and go directly to junior high. Her aunt was puzzled for a moment, but then understood. Because she attended the affiliated primary school of St. Paul's Co-educational School, the normal progression to junior high didn't require exams; as long as she had good grades and conduct, she could directly enter junior high. But since she wanted to skip a grade, her aunt took her to see Principal Luo Yiji, who arranged a grade-skipping exam. She didn't want to keep taking grade-skipping exams, so she went straight to the third year of junior high, planning to skip again when she went directly to high school and then apply directly to universities abroad.
Having lived several lifetimes and learned so many skills, it would be easy for her to pretend to be a genius who learns everything instantly. To ensure her skills wouldn't seem abrupt in the future, she pretended to learn everything taught at school and master various talents in no time, astonishing her family. Of course, the second and third wives were stunned, her mother was pleasantly surprised, while the shipping magnate and the first wife were amusing; their expressions were that of "I knew it!" Hmm… thinking about her father and the first wife's reactions, Liu Yuxi figured that whatever she wanted to do in the future would face virtually no resistance from her family, and she'd probably even receive considerable support!
Because all the knowledge and skills were already possessed by Liu Yuxi, she had plenty of free time. So what did she do with that time? She wrote novels, songs, and screenplays—she needed to build her reputation. After her novel was serialized in the newspaper for several issues, she went to her father, sang some of the songs she had written for him, explained the basic plot of the screenplay, and then said that she wanted to start an entertainment company, sign some artists to release these songs, and produce TV series and movies.
These songs and scripts were all works that Liu Yuxi found from materials in other worlds within his space, works suitable for this period. You can't just travel to another world and preemptively steal the achievements of others in that world. What would happen to those people? What if, because of your theft, they could no longer walk the original path or achieve the success they deserved? Fortunately, Liu Yuxi had a large inventory, so this situation wouldn't occur.
After hearing her sing and reading the script, the shipping magnate thought the entertainment company was worth starting. He, a middle-aged man, found the songs and script appealing; others would surely agree. The father and daughter then discussed the company's ownership structure: Lao Bao would provide the money, personnel, and venue; Liu Yuxi would provide the songs, scripts, and creative ideas. Lao Bao would own 49%, and Liu Yuxi 51%. Liu Yuxi objected to Lao Bao's smaller share; she wanted absolute control of the company. Lao Bao eventually relented. After all, she was his daughter; what if there were other projects in the future?
Once things were settled, Lao Bao proved to be incredibly efficient, given his large team. Within half a month, the company was up and running. It was named Huanyu Entertainment, emphasizing a grand image, and its office was located in Central. The basic behind-the-scenes staff had also been recruited. Liu Yuxi once again exclaimed, "It's good to be rich!" Leaving professional tasks to professionals, Liu Yuxi and Lao Bao hired Wang Sihai, a professional manager, and explained her business philosophy in detail: focusing on self-production and self-sales.
Let him advertise throughout Hong Kong first, hold a singing competition, select outstanding people to sign with the company, and cooperate with TV stations to make a talent show. This way, not only can the investment be recovered, but the company's reputation will also be established immediately.
The company will send out audition invitations. Lead roles will be selected from established actors, while supporting roles and extras will be filled through open auditions. Those with talent and potential will be signed. The company will hire professional instructors to establish an artist training department. All company artists must participate in the training, and their professional skills must be up to standard; all-around skills are a plus. The company will strictly prohibit any instances of unspoken rules, bullying, framing, drug use, or tax evasion; any such cases will be severely punished.
After explaining all his requirements, he handed over the song demo and script to Wang Sihai and instructed him to maintain good relationships with ATV and TVB, since the TV series would eventually be broadcast on television. He also needed to establish good relationships with record companies and cinemas. Later, Liu Yuxi asked Wang Sihai to set up his own distribution channels and cinemas. Hong Kong was still expanding, so there was still time for all of this.
Once everything at the company was on track, it was October 1971. Liu Yuxi was already in her final year of high school. She applied to several internationally renowned schools, and the principals wrote her several letters of recommendation. Now she was just waiting for the interview results from those schools. Once she received the admission notices, she could go to university.