Global Film Emperor

Chapter 169 The First Day in Hong Kong

"Good afternoon, Master Jia, Uncle De, Uncle Huai. Let me introduce you. This is Lu Ze, the actor I found."

"Good afternoon, Master Jia, Uncle De, and Uncle Huai."

Lu Ze greeted the three of them first. Young Master Jia is seventy-one years old this year, forty-four years older than Lu Ze. According to seniority, it wouldn't be a loss for him to call him "Master".

However, Lu Ze always felt a sense of unreality when he met Jia Changwei. Although Jia Changwei was not yet born when the course ended, it was still quite magical to meet the descendant of the course's protagonist for the first time.

Lu Ze had previously learned about Jia Changwei. When Jia Changwei was fifteen, Liang Yushu died of illness. Like Jia Helong back then, he was filled with curiosity and longing for this prosperous island.

After bringing Liang Yushu's ashes back to his hometown, he followed the same path as his father and smuggled himself to Hong Kong. However, he was much luckier than Jia Helong, because at that time, his father was already making a name for himself in Hong Kong.

Although there was no such thing as paternity testing at the time, judging from his appearance, he was definitely Jia Helong's son. However, Jia Helong had already married his third concubine and had six children. Moreover, Jia Helong did not acknowledge him as his son.

This was also Jia Helong's cleverness; by not acknowledging that this was his son, he saved Jia Changwei's life, preventing him from suffering the same fate as his four stepmothers and more than a dozen half-siblings, who all died tragically, leaving the Jia family with only one heir.

Although Jia Changwei did not formally acknowledge his ancestry at that time, everyone knew exactly what was going on, so his path in Hong Kong was much easier. Until he returned to the motherland, he was finally entitled to die a natural death.

"Okay, Ah Ze, right? Please have a seat. Is this your first time in Hong Kong? Have some tea."

The other two elderly people were quite kind. They nodded to Lu Ze and pulled out a chair for him to sit down. They seemed to be very benevolent elders.

Only Jia Changwei, that old man, seemed to have a bad attitude towards Lu Ze. Perhaps in his mind, even if Lu Ze were to act, he couldn't possibly portray a character like his father well.

To put it bluntly, he agreed to make a biopic about his father, but felt that Lu Ze couldn't capture his father's charisma.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Ze sat down next to Song Qingmin. A woman in her forties or fifties served tea and pastries. Song Qingmin was very hospitable, pouring Lu Ze a cup of tea and inviting him to try the pastries.

After a cup of hot tea, leaving a lingering fragrance in his mouth, and then a bite of soft and sweet square cake, the taste was a bit too sweet for Lu Ze. However, in this environment, with an old-fashioned ceiling fan gently blowing a breeze overhead, it was indeed very comfortable, and Lu Ze began to like this kind of life.

"Amin, when will filming start?"

Young Master Jia couldn't resist asking about the movie, his gaze lingering on Lu Ze—everyone understood what he meant.

"I've consulted a doctor; it'll be ready to go in a week."

Superstition is still very prevalent in Hong Kong. People have a strong belief in gods and ghosts. The younger generation is okay, but the older generation is absolutely convinced of it, especially in the Hong Kong film industry. No matter what they do, they have to consult a master for a fortune telling.

Young Master Jia nodded and said nothing more. Although he didn't like the actor Lu Ze, it wasn't Hong Kong in the 80s or 90s anymore. Back then, even if you signed a contract, if a big shot wanted to replace an actor, the actor had to return the pre-arranged fee and then pack up and leave.

But this approach won't work now. This isn't the chaotic society under British rule anymore; everything must be done according to the law. Besides, Lu Ze isn't without powerful backers. In fact, ten Jia Changweis combined couldn't beat Rongchuang's single hand. If we don't give Lu Ze face, we have to give Song Qingmin face; and if we don't give Song Qingmin face, we have to give Rongchuang Group face.

Although Young Master Jia remained silent, the atmosphere was still quite harmonious. The other two old men had no objections to Lu Ze. After giving Lu Ze a cigarette, the five of them chatted about recent events, smoking cigarettes, drinking tea, and occasionally popping a piece of pastry into their mouths. They were quite happy.

Lu Ze listened, and since there was no language barrier, he could understand what they were saying. However, the group was talking about Hong Kong stocks, which Lu Ze was not familiar with and had no interest in.

They chatted until 2 p.m., when Song Qingmin, citing the need to prepare for the film crew's production, took his leave with Lu Ze. After saying goodbye to Uncle Ya, the two got into Song Qingmin's Mercedes.

"Director Song, I'm actually quite curious, why did you choose me?"

Fasten his seatbelt and ask a question. He was genuinely curious, or rather, didn't understand why they had invited him from the mainland to film a biographical movie about a Hong Kong triad boss that everyone knew.

"It's nothing, I just think you're suitable. I'm a director, so of course I pay attention to all kinds of film awards. When you were at the Golden Rooster Awards, I thought you were very suitable, and even your temperament was quite similar. I met Mr. Jia once when I was a child. It's not easy to find such a burly actor with good acting skills."

This is also Song Qingmin's predicament. He originally wanted to find a local Hong Kong actor to play the role, but embarrassingly, he had to admit that the veteran actors in Hong Kong are generally not tall.

The older generation of actors in Hong Kong are all around 1.75 meters tall. Even if there are a few tall ones, their appearances don't match. As for the younger actors, there are quite a few around 1.8 meters tall now, but they are generally too thin. If they were to gain weight, these actors might not be willing, and even if they were, it would take a very long time.

Song Qingmin could have waited, but he watched the Golden Rooster Awards. A tall, strong man went on stage to accept the Best Actor award, and Song Qingmin's eyes lit up.

Tall, strong, and a Best Actor winner, his acting skills are beyond question. After more than a month of evaluation, Song Qingmin decided to give up and tried to communicate with Lu Ze's agent.

Lu Ze seemed to understand, nodded, and didn't say anything. The car slowly started moving, and Song Qingmin said something else.

"Are you coming back to the hotel with me now, or are you coming with me to the film set?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd really like to go to the film set."

"There's no trouble at all. My shift has already started working. Let's go."

Zhao's Film City is really far away. It took Song Qingmin more than an hour to drive there. As the only film and television base in Hong Kong, Lu Ze's first impression was that it was not large in scale, really small.

Not only is it smaller than film and television bases in mainland China, but it's also not as bustling as mainland film and television cities, where a group of people are always waiting for work at the entrance.

On the contrary, due to the current downturn in Hong Kong's film and television industry, the production rate has greatly decreased, and there are very few film crews. Entering the film city is not as lively and noisy as it is on the mainland. Instead, it is very quiet, with only occasional shouts coming from a distance, which should be the director scolding someone.

Lu Ze followed Song Qingmin to an old Hong Kong-style street. It was much older than the actual streets outside, but it was well-maintained and perfectly recreated the scenery of Hong Kong in the 1940s and 50s.

Lu Ze looked around and asked if it was allowed to take pictures. He often saw such scenes in old Hong Kong movies, but it was a very rare experience to immerse himself in them.

Although Song Qingmin is almost sixty years old, he has a really good personality. He took Lu Ze's phone and even took a few photos for him. If he were a director, he would definitely have photography skills. Even when he was just taking pictures with a mobile phone, he took really good ones.

"Director, you said you'd be here around 2 PM, but it's already 3:30!"

When the members of the Song family troupe saw Song Qingmin arrive, they also complained. They were all part of Song Qingmin's team, and the longest-serving members had been working with him for decades, so they naturally spoke very intimately.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, let's have some tea~ I'll treat you to a tea restaurant tonight! Let me introduce you to the actor, Lu Ze, do you know him?"

"A Golden Rooster Award-winning actor, how could I not know him? Hello, Mr. Lu, just call me Ah Kun. It's just a tea restaurant? Never mind, never mind, you're so stingy. Is this sign even okay?"

After chatting and laughing for a while, work continued. Lu Ze observed from the side. His previous film crews had never had this concept of an old team, so he couldn't join the conversation for a while.

However, he discovered that although the crew members joked around with Director Song, none of them were lazy. On the contrary, they worked very quickly. They knew Song Qingmin's preferences and basically didn't need to ask. All the sets were built around Song Qingmin's preferred shooting techniques. He guessed that Song Qingmin would really enjoy filming with this kind of setup.

Finally, Lu Ze couldn't resist the urge to help, so he stepped in to move things and hammer nails. His long-suppressed desire to exercise was finally released, and in short, Lu Ze had a lot of fun.

But the staff were dumbfounded. Lu Ze was a movie star, after all. His efficiency made them start to question their own lives. One of them even went up to Lu Ze and quietly asked him a question.

"Mr. Lu, when filming in mainland China, do the male lead also have to do physical labor?"

Although he caused quite a few laughs and worked up a sweat, Lu Ze quickly built a closer relationship with the staff. They truly realized just how approachable this newly crowned Best Actor was.

At six o'clock in the evening, they ate at a tea restaurant, but it was one of the famous ones in Hong Kong. It was probably still cheap, but for Lu Ze, who was used to prices on the mainland, it was quite expensive.

After having a few drinks and laughing and joking around, most people were slightly tipsy. Song Qingmin then called a taxi for Lu Ze and took him back to his hotel.

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(End of this chapter)