Huayu93: From Selling Magnetic Cards to Entertainment Tycoon

Chapter 19 The Opening of the Video Hall

The audio-visual store's stock was sourced by Li Si'an himself from Wudaokou.

Hu Jianhua's shop is located diagonally opposite the Wudaokou Shopping Mall. The storefront is small, but the interior is surprisingly spacious.

The three shelves were crammed full, with cassette tapes of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers placed in the most prominent position. The covers were colorful, featuring artists such as Sandy Lam, Jacky Cheung, Emil Chau, Andy Lau, and Faye Wong, all lined up one by one.

Li Si'an walked around the store, and Hu Jianhua stood up from behind the counter. He was in his forties, tall and thin, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and spoke with a slight southern accent.

"You are... Zhou Weidong's nephew?"

"Yes. Hello, Uncle Hu."

Hu Jianhua nodded, and without much pleasantries, led him directly to the warehouse. There were more than a dozen boxes of cassette tapes stacked on the ground, with traditional Chinese characters printed on the boxes.

"This batch just arrived, Sandy Lam's 'Love, Sandy,' by Rock Records in Taiwan. It hasn't been released in mainland China yet."

Hu Jianhua squatted down, opened a box, and handed him a box. The cover featured a close-up of Sandy Lam's profile against a dark background, with the words "Love, Sandy" displayed vertically.

"This one will sell well," Hu Jianhua said. "The songs 'Scars' and 'For You I Endured the Cold Wind' were both written by Jonathan Lee. Take as many as you like."

Li Si'an flipped through the cassette tape. The cassette case was sturdy, and the printing was clear; it wasn't the kind of blurry pirated copy.

"How much is one plate?"

"Here's seven dollars and fifty cents. Go back and sell it for twelve to fifteen dollars, depending on the location."

Li Si'an did the math in his head: he made four or five yuan per round, which was a decent profit.

"Anything else?"

Hu Jianhua opened a few more boxes. The cover of Jacky Cheung's "True Love Selection" features Cheung standing sideways, dressed simply in a white shirt and black trousers.

This album sold 122 million copies in Taiwan, making it the best-selling Mandarin album of 1995.

Wakin Chau's "Love Follows" by Rock Records, with its title track "Unbreakable Affection," was among the top ten hit songs of the year.

Faye Wong's "Faye's Melancholy" is a cover of Teresa Teng's album, produced by Cinepoly Records.

Other albums recommended by Hu Jianhua include Phil Chang's "It's Hard to Explain," Jeff Chang's "Tolerance," and Andy Lau's "True Forever." These were all chart-topping albums on the 1995 "Golden Melody Chart."

Li Si'an also took twenty CDs, and also selected some compilations of older singers. There were CDs by Teresa Teng, Julie Sue, Tsai Chin, and a few compilations of Hong Kong's top hits.

Hu Jianhua then moved another box from the corner, opened it, and found it filled with colorful "cut-out tapes"—cassette tapes by Western singers, with a cut on the edge but no damage to the tape core.

These were imported as plastic waste, and once they arrived in China, they were recycled by vendors. If you're lucky, you can buy some that are still in good condition.

"College students like this stuff," Hu Jianhua said. "Bonjovi, Guns N' Roses, Michael Jackson, take some back and try them out."

Li Si'an flipped through the albums and picked out a few in good condition: Bon Jovi's "Keep the Faith," Guns N' Roses' "Use Your Illusion," and Michael Jackson's "Dangerous." She also picked up a few albums by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

"I'll give you a disc for 3.5 yuan. You can sell it for 8 or 10 yuan when you get back."

Li Si'an added another twenty tapes of bootleg tape.

When it was time to pay the bill, Hu Jianhua pressed a few buttons on the calculator.

"Cassette tape plus cut-out tape, 1630. It's your first time ordering, so I'll round it down to 1600."

Li Si'an counted the money and handed it over.

Hu Jianhua put the money into the drawer and handed him a business card with a landline number and pager number printed on it.

"Call me when you're done selling out, and I'll ship the goods to you. You won't have to make multiple trips."

"Okay. Thank you, Uncle Hu."

It took Li Si'an and Chen Nan half an afternoon to put the cassette tapes back on the shelves.

Chen Nan placed Sandy Lam's album in the most prominent position on the shelf, next to Jacky Cheung's and Emil Chau's. Faye Wong's album was in the second row, and Phil Chang's and Jeff Chang's were in the third row.

Tapes by Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers occupied two entire rows of shelves, while bootleg tapes were placed separately in a small cardboard box next to the cashier, with a note on it that read: "Original European and American bootleg tapes, 8 yuan per tape."

"Do you think these can be sold?" Chen Nan patted the dust off his hands.

"Why not? Have you ever heard of 'The Wounded'?"

"Never heard of it."

"Then go back and listen to it." Li Si'an pulled the cassette tape from the shelf and stuffed it into her hand. "It's for you."

Chen Nan glanced at the cover and put it in her bag.

"You're not stingy with your own people, though."

"Of course."

The video store opened on a Saturday in late July.

There were no flower baskets or firecrackers on the opening day. Even the signboard was painted by Li Si'an himself—white background with red characters, the six big characters "Mong Kok Audio-Visual Store" were neatly hung above the roller shutter door.

When the original owner was a child, her grandfather forced her to practice calligraphy for a few years with a rattan cane. Her handwriting wasn't very good, but it was neat and legible.

Chen Nan stood at the door for a long time, then said, "Have you practiced your handwriting?"

"I've been trained. My grandfather forced me to do it with a rattan cane."

"Then why is it written like this?"

"Why don't you do it?"

Chen Nan didn't reply, but pushed the door open and went inside.

Business was slow on the first day. Occasionally someone would come in, take a look around, and leave.

Most of the cassette tape buyers were young people, wearing jeans and sneakers. They would stand in front of the shelf for a while, pick out a tape, pay, and leave. They sold about ten tapes a day and earned less than fifty yuan.

Chen Nan sat behind the counter, fanning himself with a fan.

"this one?"

"What's the rush? It just opened, nobody knows yet."

"When will you let people know?"

"Take your time. Reputation can't be rushed."

Li Si'an spoke casually, but she knew exactly what was going on. During summer vacation, the school was empty; all the students in the neighborhood had gone home, so it was normal for business to be slow.

Once school starts and students from Beijing Dance Academy, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Minzu University of China, and Capital Normal University return, with thousands of students, there's no need to worry about not having enough tapes to buy.

In the days that followed, the record store operated quietly. It sold a dozen or twenty cassette tapes a day, more on weekends, and after deducting the cost of goods and utilities, the profits were just enough to cover food expenses.

Cut-out tapes sold quite well. Those college students who played rock music knew their stuff; they couldn't resist the words "original European and American version." They sold for eight yuan a tape, and sometimes they could sell five or six tapes a day.

Li Si'an wasn't in a hurry. This shop wasn't originally designed to make quick money. He was waiting for school to start, and also waiting for television.

My uncle has already taken care of the supply channels for the video recorders.

Zhou Weidong contacted a friend he knew from his previous gigs and got a Panasonic video recorder—a smuggled item—for a significant price lower than in stores. Li Si'an didn't ask the exact cost; he just gave his uncle whatever amount he was given.

But the television project was never finalized.

A brand new 34-inch Sony Trinitron is too expensive, and you can't find a used one at all. These things are in very high demand; as soon as they appear in the secondhand market, they're snapped up, and you can't even see a trace of them.

Li Si'an asked Chen Nan to help her search in various secondhand markets, but there was still no news after several days.

One afternoon in early August, Li Si'an was sitting behind the counter flipping through magazines when the wind chimes by the door rang.

Chen Nan pushed open the door and came in, carrying a plastic bag in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Nan-jie? Didn't you go to the flea market?"

"I'm off." Chen Nan put the plastic bag on the counter, took out two bottles of Beibingyang soda from it, pried one open and took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "I have something to tell you. The person I'm looking for has found a way."

Li Si'an closed the magazine.

"What channel?"

"A television. A 34-inch Sony Trinitron."

Li Si'an's eyes lit up.

"Where?"

"Don't worry. They said they have one, it's pretty new, it came from customs. It costs nine thousand."

Nine thousand dollars.

Li Si'an didn't say anything, leaned back in her chair, and mentally processed the situation.

I don't have much money on hand—buying and renovating the house cost me the lion's share, and the music store's inventory cost me over a thousand. Add to that my daily expenses, and I only have a little over ten thousand left in my savings account. After spending nine thousand, I'm left with just over a thousand.

But a 34-inch Trinitron is a rare find. If you miss this one, who knows when you'll get the next one?

"Where is he?" he asked.

"It's in Chaoyang, a secondhand warehouse. If you want to see it, I'll take you there tomorrow morning."

"OK."

The next morning, Li Si'an went to Chaoyang with Chen Nan.

The warehouse was in an inconspicuous courtyard outside the East Fifth Ring Road, with a rusty iron gate and a dilapidated bread cart parked in front.

A man in his forties came out to greet them, wearing a floral shirt, a gold chain around his neck, and slicked-back hair.

Upon seeing Chen Nan, he spoke first.

"You're here?"

"They're here." Chen Nan gestured with his chin towards Li Si'an. "Go in and check out the goods."

The man in the floral shirt sized Li Si'an up and down, asked no further questions, and led them into the warehouse.

It was filled with all sorts of old appliances—televisions, refrigerators, washing machines—all dusty and grimy, like an abandoned electronics junkyard.

There was a large television standing at the very back against the wall.

Sony Trinitron, 34-inch, black casing, screen with a slight greenish tint. Although it was dusty, the casing had no visible bumps or scratches, and the screen was free of any marks.

Li Si'an plugged in the floral shirt and turned on the TV. The moment the screen lit up, she knew what it was—rich colors, clean lines, Trinitron's signature picture quality, instantly recognizable.

"Nine thousand," said the man in the floral shirt. "Where can you find this quality? It just came from customs, hardly used."

Li Si'an squatted down and looked at the nameplate on the machine. It was made in Japan in 1992. It had been used for three years, so it wasn't new, but it was well-maintained.

"Eight thousand five."

The man in the floral shirt shook his head.

"Nine thousand, no bargaining. Go ask around, do you have any 34-inch Trinitron cameras in stock?"

Li Si'an did not haggle further.

He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out nine thousand dollars, and handed it over. The man in the floral shirt took it, counted it twice, put it in his pocket, and helped them load the television into the car.

The back seat of the van was packed full. Li Si'an sat in the passenger seat, while Chen Nan held the TV in the back seat, afraid it would tip over.

The car drove back, crossing the East Fifth Ring Road, passing through Chaoyang District, and heading towards Baishiqiao. Chen Nan asked from the back seat, "Nine thousand yuan, aren't you worried about it?"

"It hurts to think about it. But it's worth it."

"Can your video arcade make back that money?"

"Designated ability".

Chen Nan didn't ask any more questions.

When the television was moved back to the store, Li Si'an and Chen Nan carried it step by step from the front door to the backyard. The television was too heavy, weighing over 80 kilograms, and the two of them were covered in sweat from the effort.

The cement floor inside the prefabricated steel structure in the backyard was completely dry. Li Si'an placed the television at the far end against the wall, put the VCR next to it, plugged it in, and connected the cables.

When the video appeared, the prefabricated steel structure room instantly brightened up. The 34-inch screen was sufficient for the video hall with only 40 seats.

"When will it open?" Chen Nan asked.

"tomorrow."

The video arcade opened the following evening.

There was no signboard, no signboard, just a handwritten notice posted at the entrance of the shop—in black and white on white paper, it read: "Backyard Video Room, 7 PM tonight, Jackie Chan's 'Rumble in the Bronx,' 5 yuan per person."

For the first showing, there were more than twenty people. People from nearby residential areas came out for a stroll after dinner, saw that a video arcade had opened, and since it was only five yuan, they came in to take a look.

Nearly half of the forty seats were empty.

But Li Si'an remained calm. When the movie started, the prefabricated steel building fell silent, with only the sound from the television and occasional laughter from the audience remaining.

During the scene where Jackie Chan jumps off the hovercraft, someone in the theater shouted "Bravo!" and others applauded. As the show ended, someone asked what was on the show the next day.

The next evening, before seven o'clock, all forty seats were filled.

Li Si'an stood at the back door and glanced inside. Every folding chair was occupied. People were also peeking in from the doorway, asking if there were any seats left.

Chen Nan blocked their way, saying that the store was full and they should come earlier tomorrow.

After the show ended, Li Si'an said to Chen Nan, "Let's add ten more chairs tomorrow."

"Forty isn't enough?"

"Look at those people at the door; those who can't get in are a loss."

On the third day, Chen Nan went to the secondhand market and brought back ten more folding chairs. Fifty seats, arranged a bit compactly, but still enough to walk around in.

It was full again at 7 p.m.

People still can't get in through the door.

On the fourth day, Li Si'an asked Chen Nan to pull ten more pulls. Chen Nan said, "Add more? The aisle is almost gone."

"Add. Sixty can sit down."

Chen Nan didn't say anything more and left.

Sixty folding chairs were placed down, filling the prefabricated steel building to capacity. The chairs were back to back, with only a narrow aisle in the middle, just enough for one person to walk sideways. Looking inside from the doorway, it was a sea of ​​heads.

That evening, all sixty seats were filled.

Li Si'an stood at the back door, looking at the sea of ​​heads inside, and smiled with satisfaction.

A TV that costs nine thousand yuan is worth it.