1928: The rise of giant merchants

"Then are you willing? Miss Ruan. If I help you pay the liquidated damages, will you be willing to work in my film company?"

Ye Luo took a sip of tea and looked at her with a smile.

"Coco is Zhang Damin." Ruan Lingyu was moved, but immediately shook her head in frustration, "He would really do that kind of thing!"

She first fell in love when she was 16 years old, and her ignorant past has now become an eternal pain in her heart.

It was like a thorn in her life that was difficult to pull out.

"Silly sister, if you are from the Second Young Master, why are you worried about Zhang Damin?" Shi Jianqiao hugged Ruan Lingyu distressedly and whispered, "Not to mention Zhang Damin, even the Zhang family, can they stop the Second Young Master? ?”

"Zhang Damin is just a small character. Don't worry, Miss Ruan. Even if you don't want to come to my film company, I will help you deal with this guy as a friend." Ye Luo opened a pack of cigarettes and pulled out one, " Mr. Zhang is dead, and the Zhang family will no longer be able to gain a foothold in Shanghai. If I don’t do anything, there will be many people staring at this piece of fat."

"Then can the second young master also sign a contract with Sister Hu Die? She, she is being forced to work very hard now." Ruan Lingyu did not dare to look up at him.

Ye Luo felt happy, and it couldn't be better than having two movie queens supporting the show.

He smiled and nodded: "If Miss Hu Die is willing, of course you can, but my film company has not been officially established yet, so you may have to receive a few months of dead wages."

"Sister Hu Die must agree! She still has your photo, Second Young Master!" Ruan Lingyu got excited and spilled the beans. She quickly covered her mouth and blinked her smart eyes.

Shi Jianqiao turned to look at Ye Luo, his eyes meaningful.

However, during the Republic of China, passion was an indelible label on men, and women didn't care. She was not surprised that a rich, powerful and talented man like Ye Luo would marry several concubines.

"In this case, without further ado, let's go to Tianyi Film Company to ask for people now." Ye Luo stood up, the fatigue on his body swept away. Once it came to commercial work, his energy began to become infinitely abundant. A true workaholic.

Shi Jianqiao wanted to persuade him to rest for a while, but seeing how anxious and interested he was, he had no choice but to sigh and nod in agreement.

The three of them got into the Ford V8. Ding Li happened to drive Zhang Damin away. Seeing that Ye Luo was about to go out, he immediately took the initiative to become the driver.

"Second Young Master, how should we deal with Zhang Damin?" Ding Li asked solemnly, "I think he is a little confused from smoking. Maybe he will do something to damage Miss Ruan's reputation."

"Ali, after you send us to Tianyi Film Company in a moment, you can go directly to Ye's Security Company, tell my brother about the situation, and then spread the word to all the media companies on the beach, who dares to publish anything about Miss Ruan? If they receive negative news, I will destroy their company.”

Ye Luo gently patted the back of Ruan Lingyu's hand and said comfortingly,

"Don't worry, Miss Ruan, they will still give me this little bit of face."

Ruan Lingyu was deeply moved when she heard this. This kind of powerful man made her feel safe and made her truly realize how much power this usually amiable next door neighbor had in Shanghai.

"Okay, then Zhang Damin." Ding Li asked in a low voice.

Ye Luo shook his head and indicated that he would talk to Ding Li alone later.

He didn't want to talk about how to mess with her ex-boyfriend in front of Ruan Lingyu, which would be embarrassing.

Ding Li understood and stopped asking questions.

The car soon arrived at Hongkou Yokohama Bridge. The HK area is now occupied by the Japanese Concession, and many places and buildings have a certain Japanese flavor.

After the massacre in the provincial capital of Shandong Province, anti-Japanese sentiment was at an all-time high, and Japanese goods stores opened by Chinese businessmen were unable to survive. Only in the Japanese Concession, shops run by the Japanese invaders themselves could still do some business.

But it is completely different from before the tragedy.

The brutal acts of the Japanese invaders not only annoyed the Chinese and disgusted the foreigners, but also made their own people feel irritated, because many Japanese businessmen also wanted to come to China to make money. When the war started, only warlords would laugh.

The headquarters of Tianyi Film Company is a rather grand building. It is still brightly lit at night. It seems that many movies are being shot.

The security guard at the door reached out to stop them, but after seeing Ruan Lingyu, he smiled and nodded to get out of the way.

The security guards these days are all social veterans with good eyesight, and there is no such thing as the kind of plot in mindless novels where a dog looks down on someone and is beaten violently.

As soon as they saw the license plate of Ye Luo 8888, any fool would know that it was the second young master from Shanghai Beach. If he dared to block his way, he would lose his life.

Entering the building, a traditional flavor hits your face.

Tianyi Film Company and Mingxing Film Company each go to two extremes.

The former strives to pursue traditional-flavored works. Boss Shao Zuiweng even set a rule for the company: "Pay attention to old morals and ethics, promote Chinese civilization, and try to avoid Europeanization."

This is nothing. Paying attention to tradition is a good thing, but his so-called emphasis is to completely abandon the concept of Western film industry and stick to the rules.

Zhang Shichuan of Mingxing Film Company is greatly influenced by Western culture. He likes to shoot movies that are a mixture of European petty bourgeoisie style and Chinese life. He dislikes traditional styles very much.

Their two extreme creative techniques were the reasons for the final decline of the two major film companies.

Unexpectedly, Shao Zuiweng decorated the interior of the company in such a retro style.

When the war broke out in 1937, he rushed to transfer all funds and equipment to Xiangjiang.

News of Ye Luo's visit soon reached Shao Zuiweng's ears, and he immediately rushed from his villa. By the time Ye Luo and the others were directed to the lounge, Shao Zuiweng had already arrived.

"Haha, the second young master is here, why don't you call me in advance?" Shao Zuiweng saw Ruan Lingyu among the three, and probably understood the origin of Ye Luo, but he still came over with a smile on his face and ordered someone to serve tea. Pour water and give snacks.

"It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to say hello to Boss Shao." Ye Luo smiled and took a sip of tea, "Boss Shao won't blame me, right?"

"How is that possible? It's my honor for the second young master to come to my company." Shao Zuiweng has a close relationship with Huo Tianhong, but after all, he is just a businessman and has not joined the Qinggang. Now that Ye Luo is flourishing in Shanghai, he does not want to offend, nor does he want to offend him. Dare to offend, "Second Young Master came here with Ah Ruan this time. Is there anything going on?"

"Then I'll make the story short. I heard that Miss Hu Die is still auditioning? Ask her to come with you." Ye Luo waved her hand and said with a smile, "She is also my friend."

"Okay, Lao Liu, go and call Hu Die over!" Shao Zuiweng shouted outside.

The sixth brother he called was his sixth brother, the most famous of the Shaw Brothers, Run Run Shaw.

After a while, young Run Run Shao came to the lounge with Hu Die, who was wearing a gorgeous cheongsam and was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Seeing Ye Luo, Hu Die let out a cry, covered her chest with her hands, and lowered her head in embarrassment.

The audition just now was for a rather sexy film, so she had to wear a bold cheongsam dress. She didn't expect that her "indecent" posture would be seen by her sweetheart.

"Hello, Second Young Master." Run Run Shao was happy to see him and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello." Ye Luo nodded slightly, then looked at Shao Zuiweng, "Ah Ruan is the top star of Tianyi Film Company, right?"

"Yes, the second young master also watches movies?" Shao Zuiweng smiled and nodded. It seems that this young and promising second young master has fallen in love with two movie stars. There are many things like asking popular female stars to accompany him, but Shao Zuiweng usually does it. Help them block it.

It's not because he has good intentions, but because he is afraid that he will be screwed by the rich and unable to continue to be his cash cow.

"I'm a fan of Ah Ruan, and I still have her autograph at home." Ye Luo nodded with a smile, and then said, "I won't mince words. I heard that Ah Ruan and Tianyi signed a contract, and if they want to jump out, they have to compensate. Liquidated damages of 50,000?"

Shao Zuiweng immediately became vigilant.

Are you going to buy it directly and take it home to hide it in a golden house?

He looked at Ruan Lingyu, whose eyes were evasive, but she obviously agreed with Ye Luo's approach.

"Second Young Master, what does this mean?"