in2ebook 117. The surname of the family is Zhou.
117. The surname of the family is Zhou.
Zhou Hongyi quietly transferred the Paramount Ballroom to his own pocket, while Manyu, sitting in the audience sulking, remained completely unaware.
After seeing off the two former shareholders, Zhou Hongyi was in a great mood. He walked to the bar, tapped the counter like Manyu, and said, "Give me and this lady a glass of our most expensive wine. It's on me."
The bartender paused for a moment, glanced at Manyu, and then obediently took a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and poured it into a glass.
Zhou Hongyi directly asked him for the wine bottle, poured another glass and handed it to Manyu, clinking glasses with her and saying, "Miss Manyu, you are my lucky star. With you around, business is always successful. I hereby announce that from today onwards, Manyu is the manager of the Paramount Ballroom. When I am not here, all affairs here will be managed and decided by you. Of course, if anyone does not obey your orders, my brothers Zhou Hongyi are also somewhat skilled in martial arts. Xiaodao, from now on, the security here is in your hands."
Chen Xiaodao, who followed behind, was also excited. He took the wine glass handed to him by Zhou Hongyi, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "Don't worry, Boss Zhou. If anyone dares to cause trouble at our Paramount in the future, I'll go in with a white knife and come out with a red one, and stab them right through the heart."
Manyu and the bartender next to her were dumbfounded. Seeing the two of them drinking and laughing, she asked somewhat confusedly, "Young Master Zhou, what do you mean by this? What do you mean by making me the general manager of Paramount? Are you drunk?"
Zhou Hongyi turned to her with a smile and said, "Too much to drink? No, no, no, Miss Manyu, I'm perfectly sober now. Just now in the private room upstairs, I signed an equity transfer agreement with your boss. That means I, Zhou Hongyi, am now the largest shareholder of Paramount, which means I'm the boss. As the boss, don't I have the right to appoint a manager? Or do you not want to be the manager?"
"What? You've become my boss?"
Manyu's mouth opened wider and wider, and her eyes widened even more, while the bartender almost dropped his glass, catching it hastily. He felt as if he had heard something incredible.
Zhou Hongyi continued, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Brother Xiaodao. Just now, it was Chief Liu of the Axe Gang who vouched for me and acted as a go-between, which allowed me to complete the handover with your previous bosses, Ms. Ye and Mr. Zheng. We hit it off immediately. Although Ms. Ye is a woman, she's incredibly capable and decisive, signing the contract on our first meeting. I love people like that who don't procrastinate. So, Manager Manyu, stop standing there! Get our girls moving and interacting more with the customers. Tomorrow, our Paramount will be implementing new management policies. I want to make this the most dazzling new star in the entire Bund, the entire Shanghai, and the entire East!"
Zhou Hongyi stood there with his arms outstretched. Manyu felt like she was dreaming, as if she were floating on clouds. Judging from his expression and Chen Xiaodao from the Axe Gang's, they didn't seem to be lying. But... Zhou Hongyi and this Chen Xiaodao had just fought tooth and nail at the Miss Rose beauty pageant semi-finals not long ago, leaving them bloodied and battered. How come they looked like good friends today, arm in arm, drinking and clinking glasses? Was she still half asleep, or had the world changed too fast?
Manyu's doubts didn't last long. After work that evening, the former manager read out Ms. Ye and Mr. Zheng's farewell letter. The letter stated that their shares had been transferred, the Paramount had changed hands and was now owned by the Zhou family, and the former manager, who was Ms. Ye's person, would be going abroad with her to continue managing her business. Therefore, Manyu officially took office as the newest manager of the Paramount.
She then seemed to wake from a dream and said, "Young Master Zhou, what great things have you been doing all day without saying a word? It's only been a few days, and now we're like boss and subordinate. I can hardly keep up with your speed."
After returning home, Zhou Hongyi spent the entire night developing a new marketing strategy for the Paramount Ballroom. Of course, to create a fresh and innovative experience, this needed to be visually apparent in the environment. Therefore, he decided to temporarily close the business for internal functional adjustments and renovations.
During the renovation, Zhou Hongyi specially commissioned a huge canvas to be made and hung on the exterior of the Paramount Ballroom. The canvas had a line of large characters written on it: "Sorry, people of Shanghai, I'm late. I'm really looking forward to meeting you all in XX days."
The number XX days can be changed every day. This kind of marketing method may be common in the 21st century, but in that era, it became the most talked-about news in Shanghai as soon as it appeared.
Did you know? The Paramount Ballroom has closed down.
"Of course I know. Not only is there such a huge sign on its exterior wall that says 'Sorry we're late,' but who are we? And why are we late?"
"I'm afraid it's just some hype, but I did hear that the owner of the Paramount has changed."
"Your information is too outdated. We all know that the current owner of the Paramount Ballroom is Mr. Zhou, who wrote several classic songs for Maggie Cheung and Princess Elizabeth, and is also the director of the Jing'an Second Branch Bureau."
"Director Zhou is truly multi-talented. I wonder what new tricks he'll come up with now that the Paramount Ballroom is in his hands."
"So, I'm getting more and more excited now. I really look forward to seeing what the Paramount will look like when that huge canvas is torn off."
"What else could it be but singing and dancing?"
Hearing someone say that, the passersby around him cast disdainful glances at him. "If everyone thought like you, what would be the difference between people? Who is Mr. Zhou? He's at the forefront of fashion in Shanghai. Have you ever heard his comments on those beauties' swimsuit figures? He's incredibly sharp and professional. If you don't understand, just shut up."
The man was so embarrassed that he could only slink away. Zhou Hongyi's advertisement didn't last long. He worked day and night to manage the Paramount by dividing it into different areas. The first floor was still the main hall for dancing and singing. The main renovations were in the private areas, such as booths, member rooms, premium member rooms, and top-tier royal VIP member rooms.
He divided his private rooms into different tiers, with each tier offering a tiered system of decor, service, and, of course, price. He also incorporated the membership system, a practice that would later become commonplace.
First of all, his Paramount Ballroom wasn't meant to make money off the poor. After all, 80 percent of the world's wealth was controlled by 20 percent of the population, and that was no exception in those days. So Zhou Hongyi's goal was to make money off the rich.
Secondly, he trained the girls and waiters at the Paramount Ballroom every day, requiring the greeters to have the same height and figure, to wear the same clothes, and to provide bilingual service. When they came in, they had to say "May I help you, sir?" in perfect London accent.
In addition, a private butler will be arranged for each distinguished member. As soon as the guest enters the Paramount, the private butler will accompany him throughout his stay. They will learn about the guest's preferences and habits in advance, prepare drinks based on the guest's past consumption records, arrange the guest's favorite entertainment programs, and meet the guest's various requests at any time.
Finally, there are the performances. In addition to the most common song and dance performances, Zhou Hongyi also arranges operas, plays, and even stand-up comedy shows. Furthermore, his hall is also rented out at high prices to wealthy individuals, which is known as a private event, greatly satisfying the needs of wealthy people to hold private parties, wedding ceremonies, business receptions, and so on.
Zhou Hongyi will also occasionally stage some very distinctive themed performances at the Paramount Ballroom, such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Valentine's Day. Each themed performance will be extremely fitting to the theme, from the decorations to the girls' outfits. For example, at the swimsuit party, everyone must wear swimsuits; at the Christmas party, everyone must wear Christmas clothes; at the Valentine's Day party, everyone must wear matching outfits; and at the New Year's party, everyone must wear festive red clothes. In short, the main focus is on an immersive consumption experience.