"Do you want to be a millionaire? Now there's an opportunity right in front of you. As long as you can win the upcoming contest hosted by ATV, you can receive a prize of one million Hong Kong dollars and become a true millionaire!" — Oriental Daily
"Knowledge is Wealth! Just as Mr. Lin said in yesterday's interview, for people, knowledge is wealth. Those who study seriously and work hard will be rewarded. ATV's upcoming show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire carries a brilliant message—it encourages more people to learn. Even if they don't win the million-dollar prize, the knowledge they gain will benefit them for a lifetime." — Ming Pao
"Who will be the next Lin Baicheng? Whoever wins the one-million-dollar prize in this contest will earn their first pot of gold and might become the next Lin Baicheng—amassing billions and reaching the peak of life!" — Sing Tao Daily
"Who will be the lucky one? Yesterday, ATV announced the launch of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, offering a grand prize of one million HKD. As long as contestants can answer 15 questions correctly, they will win. Each question comes with four answer choices. I can't help but wonder—if someone is incredibly lucky and guesses correctly every time, then even an ordinary person who knows nothing could win. So, who will that lucky person be? Could it be you?" — Daily News
"..."
The next day, every newspaper was reporting about the upcoming show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Even the interview with Lin Baicheng was overshadowed by this news. People cared far more about the million-dollar contest than the young tycoon himself.
The newspapers were right to focus on the show—early in the morning, people rushed to buy the papers. Nobody complained about how little space Lin Baicheng's interview received. All they cared about was discussing this high-stakes contest with a million-dollar prize.
No matter their profession, everyone who heard about it talked about it. The news spread across all of Hong Kong at an astonishing pace.
Who wouldn't want to win a million dollars? Just thinking about it made people excited. If they really won, they could stop working for life—they could buy several luxury apartments!
Those who had already watched the TV announcement the night before were excited but realistic. By morning, most people knew it wasn't that easy to win a million, so they were merely interested spectators.
However, after reading today's newspapers—especially articles like the one in Daily News—many people's hearts were ignited with hope again. Just like the article said: if you're lucky enough, even if you know nothing, you might still guess all 15 answers correctly and win the million.
Most importantly, anyone could join just by signing up. They didn't have to risk anything—only spend a little time. And time was something most people could afford.
As a result, many people who initially didn't plan to sign up started heading to the registration site.
Even though ATV had prepared in advance and temporarily assigned 20 staff members to handle registrations, they were still overwhelmed—too many people were signing up.
To maintain order, ATV had to call in stuntmen to help manage the crowds and even had background actors help with registration paperwork. Only then did the process remain organized.
Peninsula Hotel, that afternoon.
"Mr. Lin, you're being incredibly generous this time! A million dollars as the grand prize—most ordinary people couldn't earn that much in a lifetime," said Huo Yaohua as he flipped through the newspapers stacked beside him. Every paper was focused on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
"It's just a million dollars. It's nothing to those who don't care about money," Lin Baicheng said casually, sipping his tea.
"You can't say that. People who don't care about money are only a tiny minority."
Huo knew exactly whom Lin was referring to—wealthy families worth tens or hundreds of millions. But in a city of millions, those with assets over ten million were fewer than ten thousand—it was a very small percentage.
"Mr. Lin, this contest offers one million dollars to each champion. If multiple people win, won't the show lose money?"
"There won't be a champion every time. You know the question difficulty is controlled by the producers. If we don't want a winner, we can make the questions harder or more obscure. And even if someone gets lucky and wins, it'll only be a few."
Lin smiled. Losing money isn't ideal—but in Hong Kong, relying on advertising alone wouldn't be enough to cover the prize money. Even if one winner appeared per month, the show's income might still fall short—Hong Kong's market was just too small.
But still, the show must go on. Because what Lin wanted was stable ratings for ATV. Advertising could also promote his own products. If outside ads didn't make enough money—then he simply wouldn't sell them. Instead, he'd use the airtime to promote his own games and toys.
And if the show became successful, just like in his previous life, foreign TV stations might buy the rights. He wouldn't sell it for a flat price—he'd demand a share of the advertising revenue too.
"That makes sense," Huo nodded. In his mind, if the show kept losing money, Lin would definitely cancel it—no one runs a losing business forever.
But Huo was wrong. Lin planned to keep the show going until it wasn't popular anymore.
As time goes on, a million dollars will become less valuable. If the prize doesn't increase while inflation continues, the cost of running the show will drop. Meanwhile, advertising revenue will keep rising. Eventually, the show might even become profitable.
The two chatted a bit more before turning to the actual reason Lin invited Huo for tea.
Lin hadn't invited him just for afternoon tea—there was business to discuss.