March 15, 1983, Tuesday.

Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, The Emperor Hotel.

An European-style suite, crystal chandeliers hung overhead, with three men and five women tangled on the sofa, a pile of high-end liquors in front of them.

"Thousands of mountains and rivers crisscross~"

"Fear not the fierce wind or the torrential rain~"

In the song.

Yong Ge had both arms full, and turned to Li Shize, saying: "Ah Ze, don't be upset. Your father won't recognize you today, or tomorrow, but he can't possibly not recognize you for the rest of his life. You'll eventually get your share of the family fortune."

Li Shize truly couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Two days ago, he was still named Gao Lidong, the operation manager of a certain P2P company in Guangdong Province in 2023. After a celebration party, he made arrangements with two young models who had overexerted themselves. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in Hong Kong in 1983.

He is a third-rate con artist.

His predecessor, pretending to be Li Chao's son who returned from America, tricked people in Hong Kong into giving him food and lodging.

The bald guy standing next to me, Yong Ge, is the legendary sucker, patsy, or big loser. He spent tens of thousands of yuan on Li Shize, just waiting for him to acknowledge his ancestor and then take back everything with interest.

"I was going to introduce a friend of mine to you, the illegitimate son of Li xji, but I later found out he was an imposter."

"And then what?" Li Shize's brows furrowed.

Yong Ge's eyes flashed dangerously as he said, "If I were Kai Zi, I would have already sold Ah Fei to the scorching country."

Li Shize suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Yong Ge was the big boss of the oil lamp and bustling district, notorious for his ferocity.

He turned his head to glance at himself in the mirror on the wall.

Gentlemanly with strong features, he's wearing a western suit that outshines even Liming. There's a touch of Chow Yun-fat about him. He naturally possesses the aloof air of a fallen nobleman. With such an appearance, he could eat soft rice without any pressure, like a swindler.

"Yong Ge, these past two days I've been thinking, why do I have to acknowledge him as my father, Li Xiaocheng? All these years he hasn't done even one day's worth of a father's duty. Is it just because he has money? I can make money too."

Cheating someone is actually quite easy, as long as you know what they want.

Yong Ge is over thirty years old, and his daughter is four years old. There's no hope of him being considered an uncle by seniority. He can still fight and lead troops for a few more years, but he desperately wants to find another path, wash his hands clean, and start a legitimate life.

In short, a middle-aged former triad member is facing a career crisis. What he lacks isn't money, but a legitimate path to keep making it.

"Sǎo…"

"From today onwards, don't call me San Shao, call me Mr. Li." Li Shize gulped down a cup of wine and continued, "It's not that he doesn't recognize me anymore, it's that I don't recognize him."

"Alright, Mr. Li," Yongge said impatiently. "If making money were really that easy, would there still be poor people in Hong Kong?"

"You're not saying it's that easy to make money."

Li Sizhe motioned for the dancers to leave, and only he, Yongge, and Yongge's younger brother Afu remained in the room.

Brainwashing has begun...

"Does making movies make money?"

"Make money." Yong Ge and Ah Fei said in unison.

Then why don't you make a movie?

Yong Ge and Ah Fei were clearly taken aback.

Li Shize asked only to stimulate the thinking of the two, and immediately seized the opportunity to answer: "It's because you don't have the capital. If we set up an investment company and sell a financial product to raise funds for filming movies, wouldn't the capital come?"

"Will anyone buy this?" Yongge's eyes seemed a little stiff.

"The higher the box office, the higher the revenue. The ceiling is 15%, a film can be made and released in about two months, two months of stable profit of 15%. Would you buy it? P2P is Li Shize's old line of business."

"That year, he made…” Yongge calculated for a long time.

Afei swallowed his saliva and said, "75p."

Li Shize said, "If it's doubled, you need to calculate compound interest."

Yongge glared menacingly and whacked Afei on the back of the head, snarling: "Use your brain! If you can't count, don't speak up. The other day, the accounts for Shezai Ming were off, and it's definitely because you messed up. You have three days to fix it."

Then he turned his head to look at Li Shize, and instantly broke into a wide smile.

"Zege, you continue speaking."

Since Azhe became Zege, Li Shize's voice has become much louder.

"We are not just selling a financial product, but a dream, a groundbreaking movie concept. We want to break the market monopoly and allow Hong Kong's nearly 5 million citizens, just like those big capital players, to share in the profits of the film market."

Li Shize directly poured all the ice cubes from the bucket onto the ground, placing the empty bucket in front of Yong Ge and Ah Fei.

"With the funds raised, we started making the movie."

Li Shize opened a bottle of whiskey and poured it into a bucket.

"Find a director and actors that everyone knows, it doesn't matter how the script is written or how the film is made. Offer discounted family packages, give away celebrity autographs, hold fan meetings, and hire some people to write reviews in magazines. The box office will go up naturally, the key is that it's completely legal."

After finishing the whiskey, Li Shize opened two more bottles of brandy and continued pouring them into the barrel.

"The first film was a huge success, all the investors made a lot of money from small investments. We'll capitalize on this momentum and make the second and third films. They'll be so eager they'll practically throw money at us!"

Then we can start a film production company, an artiste management company, a record publishing company, the snowball will grow bigger and bigger, gathering more and more funds, and then we'll open our own studio and buy a TV station.

Li Shize added two bottles of dry red to the ice bucket, stirred it, and poured himself a full cup from the bucket.

"Then we'll all be bosses, don't worry about you drinking a lot, just worry about your tolerance."

Brainwashing is over.

Li Shize drank it all in one gulp.

Yongge and Afei, with their four eyes, were completely dumbfounded.

The most direct way to brainwash someone is to shatter their knowledge system. Tell them things that are outside of their cognitive framework. Don't be afraid to exaggerate, and they will think you are superior.

A tiger father must have a tiger son, it makes sense that the father is the richest man in Hong Kong and the son is a business prodigy!

Li Shize had already planned everything. First, he would get Yong Ge and Ah Fei drunk, then hide away. When the storm died down after a few days, they would escape to Malaysia, assume new identities, and start fresh.

Luckily, Yongge is only a mid-level leader in the club. If he were a real big shot, with a kill order issued by the underworld, he probably wouldn't even be able to find a boat to escape.

"Cheers!"

Meanwhile.

The dancer who had been quietly eavesdropping at the door turned and left, heading to the manager's office to make a phone call.

"Hello, I'm Ajin from the Jade Imperial Palace. I'm looking for Chang Ge…"

One hour later.

"Zege, wake up! Keep drinking!" Yongge shook his head, sobering up a bit. He could still fight.

A Fei is only half drunk.

Only Li Shize was sprawled on the ground, like a shrimp, with his butt sticking up, snoozing. The plan had been perfect, but he'd switched bodies and underestimated his alcohol tolerance. Three cups down and he was drunk as a dead cat.

Just then.

Ji Changge swaggered in, puffing on a cigar and without invitation. Seven or eight underlings trailed behind him. Compared to Ji Changge, Yong Ge was just a minor player. Now, Ji Chang is the most powerful figure in Yau Ma Tei. He has stakes in more than half of the entertainment venues in Tsim Sha Tsui.

"Baldhead Yong, with a new money-making opportunity, didn't even tell his brothers. When there's money to be made, we should all share in it!"