My teacher is Bruce Lee, who dominated Hollywood.

Chapter 72 First Force, Then Courtesy

"Reporting to Mr. Qin! My name is Chen Yuanlong!"

The young man's voice was loud and clear, revealing the fearlessness of a newborn calf.

The thought that this "professional corpse actor" would one day become a superstar no less than Bruce Lee gave Qin Han a strange feeling of time travel.

"Chen Yuanlong, a good name." He punched Jackie Chan in the chest. "As long as young people work hard enough, they'll always have their day!"

This compliment changed the way everyone around looked at them!

In the Hong Kong film industry, seniority is paramount. If you can catch the eye of a big shot, your opportunities will immediately be several times greater than others!

Jackie Chan, his face flushed with excitement, said, "Thank you for your encouragement, Mr. Qin! I will definitely work even harder!"

Seeing this, Bruce Lee walked over with a smile: "Han, what do you think of this kid?"

He looked the young man up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the young man's calloused hands: "Hmm, not bad, a hard worker."

Upon hearing his idol's comments, Jackie Chan stood up straight, struggling to suppress his laughter.

Bruce Lee laughed heartily, turned to the assistant director beside him, and shouted, "Make a note of this, and give him a few screen time."

The atmosphere on set became even more lively because of this little incident: wow, which young person wouldn't want to give a good performance if they had the chance to be on camera!

However, a sudden shout shattered the lively atmosphere: "Something's wrong! Mr. Qin!"

A stagehand rushed in from outside, nearly tripping over the cables on the ground.

"Something's happened at the casting call plaza outside! A bunch of thugs, whoever they are, are blocking the entrance to the recruitment booth!"

He was panting heavily as he pointed outside the door: "They said the thirty yuan daily wage offered by Jiahe was a scam, and they were cursing and swearing, saying they wanted to challenge Mr. Li to a duel to see if he was just a show-off!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Han quickly stopped Bruce Lee, who was about to lash out: "Leave this little matter to me." After saying that, he turned around and strode out.

The square outside the photography studio was now filled with smoke and fumes.

Twenty or thirty thugs, cigarettes dangling from their lips, swaggered over and occupied the recruitment point.

They squatted or stood, waving iron chains and wooden sticks, scaring the extras who had been queuing to sign up to hide far away in a corner.

"Hey! I have to say, Golden Harvest is shameless! Is they just issuing empty promises and lying to people?"

The leader was a huge, obese man who was standing on the registration table, spitting as he spoke.

"Thirty yuan a day? You're kidding me! They just want to lure people in to do hard labor without paying them!"

"And that Bruce Lee guy, he's hyped up to be some kind of god, but I bet he just couldn't make it in Hollywood and came back here! Let him show us what he's made of!"

The surrounding henchmen burst into laughter, and whistles rose and fell.

At this moment, Qin Han arrived at the square and looked at the group of clowns jumping around in the distance.

He knew Hong Kong all too well during that period; it was a melting pot of all sorts of people and rife with triads.

It's common for film crews to be extorted for protection money while shooting on the street, and many extras are even gang members themselves.

But usually, people are in it for the money. If someone is so brazen as to cause trouble, nobody would believe it's not orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.

"Take your pig's trotters off the table," he shouted at the fat man leading the group as he entered the square.

The fat man turned around, saw a handsome young man, and immediately sneered, "Oh, who's this? Bruce Lee, that coward, is too scared to show his face, so he sent this pretty boy to take the blame?"

"I am Qin Han."

The simple four words silenced the previously noisy crowd.

Today, Qin Han's reputation has spread throughout Hong Kong following the Battle of Santa Monica Beach.

"So it was you..." The fat man swallowed hard, forcing a smile. "What? Mr. Qin, are you going to stand up for Jiahe?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Who do you think you are, challenging my master?"

He walked up to the fat man and stared at him coldly: "I'll only count to three. If you don't come down by then..."

"Hmph! You pretty boy, what are you pretending for—" The fat man wanted to muster his courage again, but Qin Han had already made his move.

"Get down!" He grabbed his right foot, used his wrist to pull him down.

The mountain of meat, weighing over 200 pounds, instantly lost its balance and rolled off the table, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, the henchmen around him were about to rush forward when Qin Han suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with intense killing intent.

I was still seething with resentment from being tricked and almost dying, and now someone has come knocking on my door to let me vent my anger—perfect timing!

"Come on, one-on-one, or all at once?" Qin Han waved dismissively at the gangsters.

The fat man was completely disoriented from the fall, and his underlings, seeing Qin Han's fearless demeanor, dared not make a move without their leader's order.

Just then, the stuntmen on set all grabbed their gear and ran out.

Jackie Chan, leading the charge, brandished a chair: "Anyone who dares to touch Mr. Qin, just try it!"

Seeing that they couldn't get anything out of it, the group could only drag their leader, who was lying on the ground, away in a sorry state.

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in the square.

Qin Han looked helplessly at the young people behind him: "You guys... I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it, that's why I handled it myself. Now, sigh..."

Tomorrow's newspapers will likely feature another round of sensationalism.

Just as he was about to return to the film set, a middle-aged man in a gray long robe squeezed through the crowd and stood in front of Qin Han: "Mr. Qin, impressive skills!"

He smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, appearing completely out of place with his surroundings.

"I've been asked by someone to invite Mr. Qin for a cup of tea." With that, he handed over an elegant business card with both hands.

Qin Han took it and saw that the business card only had two simple words on it—Cai Lan.

This is one of the future "Four Great Talents of Hong Kong"!

Stroking the name on the business card, a smile appeared on his lips: This is Old Master Shao's backup plan?

Others would try diplomacy first and then resort to force, but Shaw Brothers did the opposite – they used force first and then diplomacy?

However, Cai Lan is indeed a fascinating person.

In this turbulent era, he was the one who lived the most enlightened life: regardless of his identity or status, his only loves were delicious food and beautiful women!

Moreover, he had a very close friendship with Jin Yong, the king of martial arts fiction who was in charge of Ming Pao.

If one could establish a connection with Jin Yong through Cai Lan, then this meal would be truly priceless.

"So it was Mr. Cai who invited me. I'll definitely accept." Qin Han put away his business card and smiled at the middle-aged man. "I've long heard that Mr. Cai is a master of gourmet food. Eating with him is definitely a good choice."

"Great! Mr. Qin is so straightforward!" The visitor was clearly surprised that the mission was completed so smoothly, and he smiled as he took his leave.

Back in the studio, Bruce Lee had just finished shooting a scene and was wiping away sweat in the rest area.

Seeing Qin Han return, he stepped forward and asked, "Who sent those people outside just now?"

"Who else could it be?" Qin Han sighed. "Someone from Shaw Brothers."

"Oh, right, I have a dinner engagement tonight, so I won't be eating with everyone." He handed Cai Lan's business card to Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee glanced at it, his face immediately darkening. "Cai Lan? He's one of Run Run Shaw's men. Ah Han, they were just causing trouble outside, and now they're inviting you to dinner. Isn't that a problem?"

Seeing the worry in his master's eyes, Qin Han felt a warmth in his heart: "Master, don't worry. Someone is treating us to dinner, and it's the best eater in all of Hong Kong. Why don't you go?"

"This is a good opportunity to probe the Shaw Brothers' true intentions and see what they're really up to."