1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

"Once they go down to the countryside and film on location, they won't be living as well as they are now!"

Seeing that Huang Jianzhong was about to call the person back, before he could finish speaking, Cheng Xuemin smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Right!"

After thinking about it, Huang Jianzhong nodded. Since they were still in Yanjing, they should indulge them a little.

Just as Cheng Xuemin said, once they arrived at the remote mountain village where the filming was taking place, it was clearly impossible to enjoy the same comfortable life as they did at Yan Film Studio.

During their time at Yan Film Studio, thanks to Cheng Xuemin, who acted as a major source of funding, they had access to tons and even thousands of kilograms of grain and meat coupons, which were more than enough to support their production.

So during this period, the Tai Chi crew ate very well, all thanks to Cheng Xuemin.

However, once they arrived at their destination, even if Cheng Xuemin brought those grain coupons and meat coupons with him, he wouldn't be able to use them!

They simply don't acknowledge it!

Things like grain coupons and meat coupons were almost always issued in one place. They weren't recognized across provinces, and sometimes they weren't even recognized across regions or counties.

The local area only recognizes local grain and meat coupons; they don't accept any coupons from outside the area.

Even if Cheng Xuemin had all the national grain and meat coupons, they might only be recognized in Beijing or major provincial capitals. But who would recognize such things when he went to the countryside and hid in the mountains?

It would be better to give them real cash; that would be much more practical.

So cherish the good days we have now!
"Ah Jie, we really want to take you to Hong Kong to film a movie!"

"If you can get there, without further ado, I can definitely make you a superstar like Cheng Long!"

The Tai Chi crew had a meal together in the canteen. All the crew members were having a lively time. After a few rounds, Yuan Heping, smelling of alcohol, patted Li Lianjie on the shoulder, who was sitting next to him, and said with a sigh.

"Master Yuan, who is Cheng Long?" Li Lianjie didn't drink alcohol, but she didn't take the opportunity to chug down her Arctic Ocean soda. She had heard Yuan Heping mention Cheng Long quite a bit, so she opened another bottle of soda with her teeth and asked, "I've heard you mention him a lot before. Is he very famous?"

"Ah Jie, he's more than just famous! Cheng Long is the hottest movie star in Hong Kong right now!" Old Six Yuan Changren seized the opportunity to instigate and coax, "I don't know if you guys have seen any of his movies!"

Do you know Drunken Fist?

"Yes, yes, we know. Before National Day, Brother Cheng organized us to watch the internal reference film from Yanying Film Studio. We've all seen it!"

When Yuan Changren mentioned "Drunken Master," Li Lianjie and the others nodded in agreement; they had seen it all!

Originally, films from Hong Kong were mostly used as internal reference films and screened within various film studios, with very few being shown in cinemas to the public.

That's why Drunken Fist was so popular in Hong Kong last year, breaking many records, but few people in mainland China knew about it or paid attention to it.

Li Lianjie and the others joined the Tai Chi film crew and needed to gain a basic understanding of martial arts films from Hong Kong. Therefore, Cheng Xuemin asked director Huang Jianzhong to give them, who were not supposed to be qualified to watch internal reference films, a lot of them.

Among them, "Drunken Master" was indeed still fresh in Li Lianjie's memory. When Yuan Changren casually mentioned it, Li Lianjie and the others immediately became excited and nodded repeatedly, saying that they had seen it.

"You've seen it, haven't you! The male lead in it is Cheng Long!" Seeing that they had seen it, Yuan Changren had even more to say, and continued, "Do you know how much box office Cheng Long's Drunken Fist earned when it was released in Hong Kong last year?"

"How much?" This successfully piqued Li Lianjie's curiosity, prompting her to ask repeatedly.

"Thirteen million in box office!" Yuan Changren held up one finger, his tone extremely excited, and emphasized, "Moreover, it is the first and only film in Hong Kong's history to break ten million in box office!"

Seeing his younger brother bring up "Drunken Master" again, Yuan Heping, standing beside him, was also full of pride, waiting to see Li Lianjie and the others' surprised reaction.

If this could inspire Li Lianjie to want to go to Hong Kong to make a movie, that would be wonderful.

However, what the Yuan brothers didn't expect was that Li Lianjie and the others would be greatly surprised when they heard that the box office was over ten million.

Jet Li and his team responded with a dismissive sneer: "Only thirteen million in box office? Is that a lot?"

"I don't think any random movie in China, if we're talking about box office revenue, will be less than ten million, right?"

Uh!
This was a real blow to the Yuan brothers; their internal injuries were exacerbated by the counterattack.

Yuan Changren choked on the alcohol several times, coughing repeatedly before finally catching his breath. He waved his hands and explained, "It's definitely not comparable to your mainland. You have a vast land, abundant resources, and a large population. Our Hong Kong is just a small place with a limited population. Having tens of millions in box office revenue is already breaking all sorts of records!"

"By the way, do you know who the director is who made 'Drunken Master,' which broke various records in the Hong Kong film industry?" Yuan Changren then threw out another question.

"Who is it?" Li Lianjie took another big gulp of soda, and casually added, "It can't be you guys, can it?"

"That doesn't make sense! Master Yuan, are you a martial arts instructor, or do you also make movies?"

When Li Lianjie casually mentioned it, Yuan Changren thought to himself, "Is it really that obvious?" But when he heard Li Lianjie's question, he could only twitch his lips and nod, saying, "It was my older brother who took the picture!"

Last year's "Drunken Master," starring Cheng Long, was indeed directed by Yuan Heping. I really didn't expect it to be such a huge hit, breaking Hong Kong's box office record for decades.

It was because of this film's record-breaking box office performance that they were qualified to apply to their former employer, Golden Harvest, to establish their own satellite company.

This film has always been a source of pride for the Yuan brothers, and it also propelled Cheng Long's fame to new heights.

"So, my older brother wasn't bragging to you earlier! He can make a big star like Cheng Long, and he can make you a big star like Cheng Long too!"

"Really, Ah Jie, we really have high hopes for you!" Seeing that Li Lianjie and the others' expressions had finally softened, Yuan Changren quickly seized the opportunity and once again urged them to join in.

Yuan Heping, who was standing next to her, nodded and continued to say to Li Lianjie, "When Cheng Long and I filmed 'Drunken Master,' we did break many box office records in Hong Kong. It might not be anything special in mainland China!"

"But that's a limitation based on population size, which doesn't affect Ah Long directly taking home three million in film fees at all!"

"Moreover, because of the success of Drunken Master, Golden Harvest signed Cheng Long to five more films in one go, with a salary of 3.5 million per film!"

"How many?"

"They signed five contracts in a row, that means... over seventeen million?"

"Does Hong Kong pay lead actors such high salaries?"

Li Lianjie, who was already quite interested and somewhat tempted, heard Yuan Heping say that Cheng Long had taken away three million yuan in film remuneration for a single film, Drunken Fist.

Then they signed five more contracts, each worth 3.5 million, so wouldn't that mean they made 20 million in profit?!

I'm a darling!
Twenty million! Do movie stars in Hong Kong earn that much?

They can easily earn tens of millions, so the little bit of US dollars and foreign exchange that Brother Cheng earns is nothing compared to them.

This truly startled Li Lianjie, causing her to spit out her mouthful of Arctic Ocean soda.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't corrupt the kids when we adults aren't looking!" At this moment, Cheng Xuemin, who was toasting the old factory director, noticed that the Yuan brothers had somehow joined Li Lianjie's table again.

Seeing Li Lianjie's commotion, clearly provoked, Cheng Xuemin quickly went over to greet them, clinked glasses with the Yuan brothers, and whispered, "There's a reason why Hong Kong can't produce high-grossing films!"

"Your movie only makes a little over ten million at the box office, and the production company only earns five or six million. But Cheng Long alone takes three million. With such high actor salaries, can your production company afford it?"

"If this continues, your Hong Kong film production company will eventually be overwhelmed and forced to cut costs. How can you still make good movies then?"

"If all the movies are bad, we won't make money and we'll have to keep cutting costs. Isn't that a vicious cycle?"

When the Yuan brothers saw Cheng Xuemin approaching, they quickly moved aside to make room for him. After listening attentively for a moment, Yuan Heping shook his head and said, "Little Cheng, you have indeed hit the nail on the head regarding the key to Hong Kong cinema!"

"But I don't think the actors' salaries are too high, and the vicious cycle you mentioned doesn't actually exist!"

"Because in addition to being shown in Hong Kong, we can also go overseas and be shown internationally to earn US dollars, especially in the Japanese and South Korean markets, which are still very large!"

Yuan Changren, standing beside him, nodded and interjected, "Besides, Jinma is also a major contributor, we..."

However, Yuan Heping tugged at his sleeve, preventing Yuan Changren from continuing.

Actually, the box office performance of their movies has two main markets: one is their local Hong Kong market, and the other is the Golden Horse Awards.

International markets like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore are still a bit lacking compared to these two home markets!

But the Golden Horse Awards and the mainland don't get along, especially that damned Golden Horse Awards director, who insists that Hong Kong filmmakers have to choose between the two!

It's either right or left!
Once they are found to be leaning to the left and towards the mainland, they will be ruthlessly banned. This is the main reason why Hong Kong filmmakers dare not offend them.

After all, being banned means losing another home box office, and who would be willing to do that?

Therefore, this is why Yuan Heping went north to support martial arts instruction, but only dared to use an alias and did not dare to reveal his real identity.

Otherwise, if that damned woman from Jinma found out, they would be out of business in Hong Kong. At the very least, they would definitely lose the Jinma market, which is half of their territory!

"The Golden Horse and Golden Horse Awards in Japan and South Korea?"

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded, not continuing the conversation with the Yuan brothers, knowing that further discussion would be pointless.

Hong Kong cinema was bound to rise and fall sooner or later. The main reason was its over-reliance on overseas markets while neglecting the protection of the domestic market. Coupled with exorbitant actor salaries, Hong Kong's once-glorious film and television industry plummeted into an abyss.

Of course, the film industry is still in a period of rapid development, so it's pointless for Cheng Xuemin to talk about these things with them.

He then turned around, nudged Li Lianjie, and said, "And you, don't listen to their empty promises! They act like you can go to Hong Kong with them!"

"It took me a lot of effort to get your school leaders to let you film Tai Chi. Do you think they'll let you go to Hong Kong to film?"

Li Lianjie was extremely frustrated and said with a sullen laugh, "Brother Cheng, I just want to think about it! Can't I even think about it?"

"Give me a break!" Cheng Xuemin retorted irritably. What do you mean, "think about it"?

Instigated and misled by the Yuan brothers, Li Zicheng must have been so tempted by the three or four million yuan film fee that he lost all sense of direction.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll listen to Brother Cheng, I'll listen to everything Brother Cheng says!" Li Lianjie quickly rubbed her bald head again and then declared, "Anyway, I'll listen to you completely, Brother Cheng, you definitely won't harm me or let me suffer!"

"Focus on performing Tai Chi well first, and I'll take care of the rest of the arrangements!" Cheng Xuemin nodded, patted his shoulder, and reassured him, "Anyway, I won't say much else, but in the future, your opportunities to play the male lead in movies will definitely be no less than when you go to Hong Kong!"

Cheng Xuemin intends to keep Li Lianjie under his control and use her as livestock in the future. Isn't this guy a big fan of making movies?
Then let him film until he vomits!
Hearing this, Li Lianjie was overjoyed and grateful, and in one breath, she chugged down a whole bottle of freshly opened Arctic Ocean soda.

Cheng Xuemin was speechless when he saw the dozen or so empty soda bottles at his feet.

He then stopped paying attention to them and continued to persuade and appease them one by one. These would be the core of his film career in the future, so he definitely had to maintain stable relationships with them.

"This is?"

After the gathering, only Cheng Xuemin, the old factory director, and the Great Wall man from Hong Kong were in the old factory director's office.

He was in charge of escorting the Yuan brothers into Hong Kong last time, and he accompanied them out of Hong Kong this time as well.

However, before returning, Cheng Xuemin invited him into the old factory director's office and handed him two documents in front of the old director. The old director took them with a puzzled look and asked questions.

"I've learned quite a bit from the old factory director, and I know that your situation in Hong Kong isn't very ideal!"

"So this is just my humble attempt to do my part. I really hope you can hold onto the last stronghold of Hong Kong!"

"Honestly, the old factory director and I hope more than anyone else that you can rebuild your glory and reclaim everything you've lost in the past!"

The people from the Great Wall were still full of doubts and even more indignant. They thought, "You guys are all just spouting high-sounding rhetoric. We also want to hold our ground in Hong Kong!"

However, the current situation in Hong Kong is such that the old left has declined and is now confined to a corner, no longer possessing its former glory.

They've been strangled by the Golden Horse Awards and are finding it very difficult to move forward.

But you only care about making grand pronouncements and haven't provided any real support. If just shouting slogans could restore the glory of the old left, they could shout them in the streets every day.

Despite her inner grumbling, she still politely nodded and said, "Thank you for your encouragement. I will definitely take your words back with me!"

After saying that, he began to look through the things he had received, but his eyes widened in surprise!

This, this, this...

……

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