Chapter 46

(Continuing to request votes!)

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

While others might think Wu Cheng was trying to deceive, Ren Dahua felt that what Wu Cheng said was not without reason. All along, he had given people the impression of being a tough and masculine young man, which had helped him do quite well in the modeling industry. However, it was precisely because of this tough and masculine aura that his development as an actor was not very smooth.

At this time, what was popular was humorous and witty, such as the humor of the Xu family, or the comedic kung fu films of Hong Jinbao. All the popular elements were comedic.

In short, without comedy, there was no market. Even someone like Chow Yun-fat had also been comedic. But Ren Dahua had fewer comedic roles, mainly due to his aura. If it came to playing a gang boss, Ren Dahua was definitely a top choice. The same went for playing a tough criminal or a police officer.

Therefore, Wu Cheng said that his aura was not suitable for this era. But police and gangster films would eventually appear, which was why Wu Cheng said what he did.

"I think what you need to do now is to calm down and hone your acting skills," Wu Cheng continued. "You might think I'm trying to deceive you... but I believe that as a male actor, the span of your career can be very long. And an actor with good skills will shine in a way that no one can overshadow."

Ren Dahua was silent, as he was unsure of what to do.

Wu Cheng did not insist that he make a decision right away. He said, "You can go back and think carefully about what I've said. If you trust me, come to our Donglong International. We might not have a leading role for you right now, but there will be opportunities to hone your skills. When we start filming police and gangster films, it will be the time for your acting career to set sail."

Ren Dahua left, but Wu Cheng felt that he was somewhat interested, just unsure of what to do. After all, he was only around twenty years old.

However, Wu Cheng was not too worried. After all, even if he did not intervene, Ren Dahua would not become famous until the 1980s, and it was not until the 1990s that he would truly become a major star.

The third person to enter was a man in his late twenties with a fierce appearance. He looked even more terrifying when he smiled than when he did not. Therefore, when this person appeared, both Shenglong and Zhao Yazhi had peculiar expressions, looking at Wu Cheng, wondering why he would choose him.

However, Wu Cheng recognized him from his appearance. He was one of the four famous villains in the Hong Kong film industry! Thinking of the villains he had played, even the timid would feel a chill. But in reality, this famous villain was actually very amiable.

It was just that his appearance was too fierce. Before Wu Cheng came to this era, this one of the four famous villains had already passed away, and it was said that his later years were rather bleak, though Wu Cheng did not know why.

However, from his resume, it seemed that this man had once been a millionaire, but his company went bankrupt in just a few days... This reminded Wu Cheng of some rumors about him from the future.

It was said that he had a company worth millions, but due to his gambling addiction, he lost everything in just three days. From nothing to something, and then back to nothing, life was unpredictable, and there was no time to be happy before it turned into sorrow! Of course, there was no time for sorrow either, as life always forced you to face reality. When you were hungry, you had to find a job!

So, he came!

"Hem, hem, everyone, my name is He Jiaju..." the famous villain introduced himself. "I once successfully ran a company, but due to some personal reasons, the company went bankrupt. However, I believe that with my abilities, I can be a competent manager in the human resources department..."

Wu Cheng smiled and said, "Do you mind telling us what personal reasons led to the bankruptcy of your company in such a short time? If you do, consider my question unanswered."

He Jiaju closed his eyes in pain, then opened them and shook his head. "There's nothing I can't say. If you really want to know, a quick check would reveal the truth. I can only blame myself for being too successful and overconfident, not listening to others' advice, and thus falling into a tragic situation! In just three days, I lost my company. But rest assured, I have sworn never to touch those things again."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yazhi frowned and said, "How can we believe you won't repeat your mistakes?"

He Jiaju smiled bitterly. "My assurance may not be strong, but I believe time will prove everything. Of course, it's understandable if you don't trust me now."

Wu Cheng smiled and said, "As you said, time will prove everything. I can give you the time to prove yourself. It's up to you whether you have the heart to do it. Are you willing to come work for Donglong now?"

He Jiaju was taken aback, blinking his eyes. "Is that it?"

Wu Cheng smiled and said, "If you had refused to answer, I wouldn't have hired you. A person who can't face their past is not someone I would easily employ. However, you're right, everyone makes mistakes, and the ability to correct them is a virtue! I'm not averse to giving you a chance, it's up to you whether you can seize it. What? Not interested in coming to Donglong?"

"No, no, if I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have come today!"

He Jiaju smiled, stood up, and shook hands with Wu Cheng, feeling deeply moved.

Throughout his journey, he had endured countless cold looks. When he was successful, people flattered and praised him, not minding his fierce appearance. But after those incidents, he had almost become a pariah.

Wu Cheng's trust deeply moved him. He did not think Wu Cheng was foolish; if Wu Cheng were foolish, he wouldn't have achieved such success. Instead, he felt that Wu Cheng, despite his young age, had the courage to achieve great things.

Being able to work with such a person was a great honor, especially when he could gain the trust of such a person, which made him even more motivated.

In a short time, the administrative manager and the human resources manager were determined, which made Zhao Yazhi and Shenglong feel relieved, believing that the subsequent recruitment would go smoothly.

However, the reality was far from their expectations. Wu Cheng even kept the new human resources manager, He Jiaju, to help with the interviews, but after a whole day, they still couldn't finalize a few candidates. This was a far cry from Wu Cheng's usual decisive and efficient style.

What could Wu Cheng say in such a situation? The previous two had already proven their abilities in history, but he was not familiar with the others.

Fortunately, He Jiaju had more experience in this area and gave Wu Cheng many suggestions.

Three days later, Wu Cheng finally found the right candidates among the dozen or so interviewees.

In the end, the market operations manager was Zhou Minyou, the administrative manager was Li Sufen. Originally, Wu Cheng had planned to give this department to Shi Nansheng, but he felt that Li Sufen was more suitable. Not only did Li Sufen have a good education and high experience, but Wu Cheng also believed that in the previous life, Shi Nansheng had done an excellent job in the distribution department of New World City. Wu Cheng planned to hand over the company's distribution department to her. The distribution department of a film company was a significant responsibility.

Faced with this adjustment, Shi Nansheng did not feel any discomfort; instead, she felt that Wu Cheng was placing more trust in her. She knew that while the administrative department had significant power, it was not as crucial to a film company as the distribution department.

The publicity department was still managed by Cen Jianxun, who also took charge of the performance department. The performance department had yet to find a candidate that satisfied Wu Cheng, so he planned to recruit a top talent.

In Wu Cheng's mind, the performance department would eventually be separated to form a talent agency. Among the talent agents in Hong Kong, the most capable person Wu Cheng knew was a woman, Chen Shufen, known as "Madam Chen."

Without mentioning other aspects, in the previous life, this woman had managed the careers of major stars like Leslie Cheung, Joey Yung, and Anita Mui. This alone set her apart from ordinary agents.

However, she was currently the head of the entertainment department at TVB, making it difficult to recruit her.

Therefore, Wu Cheng planned to find a time to personally approach her and see if he could persuade her. After all, there was no independent talent agency in Hong Kong yet, which should be quite attractive.

Additionally, Wu Cheng planned to have Wu Yusen direct "A Better Tomorrow" and did not want to remove his breakout film. However, upon investigation, he found that Wu Yusen was currently at Golden Harvest and had just directed a film, "The Princess Flower," which had grossed over two million in box office.

This would certainly elevate his status at Golden Harvest, making it difficult to recruit him.

Originally, "The Princess Flower" had a promising future, but it was affected by the "Five Lucky Stars," which stifled its momentum, causing Golden Harvest to be quite frustrated.

If Wu Cheng were to approach Wu Yusen at this time, the result would be predictable.

However, Wu Cheng thought that this might be a good time to contact Wu Yusen, as Donglong and Golden Harvest were still in the honeymoon phase. He could first approach him and see if it worked out. If not, he could find someone else to direct.

The remaining ordinary employees were left to the department heads to recruit, while Wu Cheng took a hands-off approach. In reality, Wu Cheng was extremely busy.

...

What Wu Cheng did not know was that while he was forming his company, the bald-headed Mai Jia was being invited by Zou Wenhui to consider joining Golden Harvest.

Wu Cheng had not overlooked the possibility of recruiting Mai Jia. After all, the former New World City was a top-notch film company that had left both Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers in the dust.

However, Mai Jia and Wu Yaohan had founded Pioneer Films, which made Wu Cheng reconsider signing them. Even if Wu Cheng invited them, they probably wouldn't easily agree, as Donglong International was still just a production company without its own distribution channels.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Golden Harvest acted quickly.

In fact, Golden Harvest valued Hong Jinbao more, but Hong Jinbao had been preempted by Wu Cheng, who had even taken Shenglong with him! So, choosing Mai Jia was a reasonable decision.

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