Chapter 121: The Company's First Film

Although Hong Kong citizens’ average incomes had risen by varying degrees along with the recent development of Hong Kong’s economy, and an ordinary office worker could earn four or five thousand Hong Kong dollars a month, an annual salary of three hundred thousand was an astronomical figure to Pan Jiade. It meant more than twenty thousand dollars a month—an amount he had never even dared imagine. One had to understand that, at present, even a second-tier star at Television Broadcasts could not earn that much in a year, let alone an assistant director like himself. The figure was several times his current salary.

The number Yan Xu had offered also left Wang Jing deeply astonished. He had not expected Yan Xu to possess such boldness—to spend so much on someone he had only just met. After working as a director at Shaw Brothers for so many years, Wang Jing had only recently reached that level of pay himself. Although he knew that Pan Jiade’s abilities were certainly worth the price, Yan Xu knew nothing about him. All he had was faith in his own judgment.

“Three hundred thousand a year.” Pan Jiade drew in a sharp breath. At the beginning, he had merely been hesitating, but with such a figure placed before him, his heart was stirred beyond measure. No one would turn their back on money. It was indispensable, tangible, and a form of recognition in itself.

“To be honest, that figure is very tempting. I never imagined I could be worth so much. No one could refuse an offer like this, but before I agree, I have one request.”

Pan Jiade did not accept immediately. If he were to join a new company, he would never be able to keep things running by himself.

“What request? Name it. As long as it is within my power, I promise I will grant it.” Yan Xu was desperate to recruit talent.

“I hope to bring someone with me.”

“Just one person? Bring several if you like. That is no problem at all. What our company lacks most right now is people.” Yan Xu nodded without the slightest hesitation. Anyone Pan Jiade recommended was someone he knew thoroughly, which would save Yan Xu the trouble of poaching talent himself.

“Ad, who are you bringing with you? Don’t tell me you have your eye on that young girl.” Seeing that Yan Xu had agreed, Wang Jing teased him from the side.

“You think everyone is like you? Though, now that you mention it, the person I want to bring really is a woman. But don’t get the wrong idea—she has a boyfriend. She only joined Television Broadcasts recently. She is an assistant screenwriter named Au Koon-ying, and she is a very capable girl with plenty of ideas.” Pan Jiade looked at Wang Jing.

“What? You said her name is Au Koon-ying?” Yan Xu’s eyes suddenly widened. He slapped his own forehead. This was the future senior screenwriter and development department manager at Television Broadcasts, as well as Pan Jiade’s personal script editor. This was an incredible bargain.

***************** DIVIDER *******************

Establishing a new company required an enormous number of complicated procedures, and Yan Xu had been so busy these past few days that he barely had time to stop and breathe. It was the first time since arriving in this era that he had been worked so hard.

After twenty days in theaters, Luxury Mansion No. 1 had finally ended its run. Thanks to its excellent performance, its originally scheduled fifteen-day release on the Golden Harvest circuit had been extended by another five days. It was still some distance from the twenty-seven-day run of Lucky Stars, but there was little chance of its figures rising any further. Only a few scattered theaters were still showing it, and even there the screening times had been reduced or shifted to the midnight slot.

Just as everyone had expected, the box office of Luxury Mansion No. 1 continued its relentless climb past twenty-five million dollars, finally stopping at twenty-five-point-eight million. It became Yan Xu’s highest-grossing film to date. With an investment of only one million, it had earned twenty-five times that amount in Hong Kong alone, perfectly continuing Yan Xu’s style of achieving high returns with low budgets. Next came its release and distribution in overseas markets.

The general manager of the Hundred Battles Company had already been replaced by Uncle Lai Shui-bak. How he intended to run the company from then on was no longer Yan Xu’s concern. Watching Luxury Mansion No. 1 achieve such a dazzling box office while receiving none of the profits himself, Uncle Lai was burning with envy. If the agreement had not stipulated that no merchandise could be released until the film had finished its run in Taiwan and Japan, he would probably have put the videotapes on the market long ago.

Because of all these changes within the company, there was no celebratory banquet despite Luxury Mansion No. 1’s outstanding success. Instead, Yan Xu and Chicken Feather each took part of their share of the profits and gave every member of the crew a reasonably generous red envelope.

Although Chicken Feather ranked at the very bottom among the senior figures in the Yim faction, his seniority gave him an advantage. He had actually become the most successful of the younger generation, and many of the faction’s juniors regarded him as an idol.

A large number of followers had gathered beneath him. With the support of several senior members of the organization, as well as Uncle Lai Shui-bak and the others, the territory Bald Strong had left behind had not shrunk at all. In fact, both his territory and his business interests had expanded. His strength ranked unquestionably among the top five in the entire organization. On top of that, with more than five million dollars in profits from Luxury Mansion No. 1, he now had both people and money. He had become a rising star in the underworld.

Ghost East, meanwhile, had successfully arrived in America and found the cousin he supposedly had not seen for more than a decade.

Once he reached America, he seemed to thrive like a fish in water. Every time he contacted Yan Xu and the others, he spoke excitedly and at great length. He talked about the flavor of blonde white women, the power of Black women’s “little motors,” and, in his own words, claimed to have sampled women from Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

This made Chicken Feather and Yan Xu intensely envious. Chicken Feather even sought out several Indian girls to see for himself, and for several days afterward his body was saturated with the smell of curry.

“I’m exhausted. Absolutely exhausted.”

The door to Yan Xu’s office was suddenly pushed open. Fatty Wang dropped himself onto the sofa beside him without the slightest restraint, slouched there shamelessly, wiped his face with a tissue from the desk, and immediately turned on the air conditioner facing him. He spread his arms and let the cool air blow over him.

“You really ought to lose some weight. Fat people sweat too easily.” Yan Xu glanced at Wang Jing, opened the small refrigerator beside his desk, took out a chilled can of cola, and tossed it to him.

It was already October, and the weather had become much cooler, but Wang Jing looked as though he were still suffering through the height of summer.

“Glug, glug, glug!” Fatty Wang opened the cola and gulped down several mouthfuls before giving a heavy belch. “Easy for you to say. Today is the company’s opening day, and there are so many things to prepare. Unlike you, I can’t just hide in the office all day. And where is Fatty Nam? Didn’t he know the company was opening today? I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

Today was the opening of Dragon Clan Pictures, founded by Yan Xu and Wang Jing. The company had a total investment of seventeen-point-five million dollars. Yan Xu had contributed fifteen million and held eighty-five-point-five percent of the shares. Wang Jing had contributed two million and held eleven-point-five percent. Nam Yin had invested five hundred thousand and held the remaining three percent.

The founding of their new company caused a tremendous stir throughout the industry. Yan Xu was at the height of his momentum, while Wang Jing had an extensive network of connections. More importantly, Wang Jing’s father, Wang Tin-lam, held an eminent position in the industry. His former students and old acquaintances were scattered throughout every corner of the business, and almost everyone was obliged to show him some respect. Those senior men and women were especially willing to look after his son.

“I haven’t been idle. Take a look at this!” Yan Xu said, tossing a notebook from the desk to Fatty Wang.

“What is this?” Wang Jing hurriedly set down the cola in his hand and caught the notebook flying toward him.

“Huh? It’s a screenplay. The Deluxe Pursuit of Girls? You wrote this?” Wang Jing glanced at the words on the cover and asked Yan Xu in surprise.

“Of course. What did you think—that I spent every day doing nothing but playing around? We are a film company, so naturally we have to produce films. I intend to make this the company’s first picture. Take a look and tell me what you think.”

“The title is pretty good. As for the rest…” Fatty Wang flipped through Yan Xu’s screenplay, and before long he was completely absorbed in it. The script suited his tastes perfectly. Its style was practically identical to that of his Frog Prince films.

“It’s fantastic!”

Wang Jing quickly finished the entire screenplay and slapped his thigh.

“Ah Xu, this script is wonderful. It will definitely be a hit when it is filmed. How did you come up with it? So many of the ideas are hilarious.”

“A script written by me, of course it won’t be bad. And this is our company’s first shot—we have to begin with a success.” Yan Xu looked at the excited Wang Jing.

He had thought for a long time before choosing this screenplay as the company’s first production. There was not much time left before the end of the year, and the Christmas and New Year release periods were fast approaching. Many companies had their eyes fixed on those two lucrative seasons, and Yan Xu was no exception. However, compared with the fiercely competitive New Year period, he intended to focus primarily on Christmas. That meant they had only two months for this new company to hand in a satisfactory answer sheet.

“Ah Xu, can I discuss something with you?” Fatty Wang clutched the screenplay of The Deluxe Pursuit of Girls tightly in his hands, a hint of pleading in his eyes.

“What is it? Why are you being so coy?” Yan Xu looked at Fatty Wang. Wang Jing was rarely like this.

“Could you give this script to me?”

Fatty Wang genuinely loved the screenplay. Its style seemed to have been tailor-made for him.

“This script was meant for you in the first place. You know this kind of film inside out. I could never capture that feeling myself.” Yan Xu smiled faintly.

This screenplay was Wang Jing’s breakthrough work and the first of his films to gross more than twenty million dollars. It was through this series that Wang Jing began to thrive in the industry. His filmmaking style was particularly well suited to this kind of picture, and he handled it with complete ease.

“It was meant for me all along? Then what are you going to make?” Wang Jing’s face lit up with excitement. The film suited his tastes perfectly, but if Yan Xu was giving him this screenplay, what would Yan Xu shoot?

(To be continued...)