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

In Hong Kong, at night!

Fu Qi remained seated at his desk in the study, silently smoking, two thick scripts clutched in his hands, their covers worn and wrinkled from his constant handling.

This was brought from the mainland by Ah Yang. He said it was a gift from that young man from Yan Film Studio to Great Wall Film Company.

Fu Qi was quite surprised at the time.

When A-Yang relayed what the young man wanted to say to them, Fu Qi was even more astonished and amazed.

It turns out that while they were fighting alone in Hong Kong, there were people on the mainland who understood them and even wrote two scripts to support their fight.

Fu Qi read the script!

A story called "Human Horror" tells of a scam and conspiracy:
[The character Zhu Hongli is a shop assistant at the Blissful Paper Craft Shop and was raised by his second uncle. Zhu Hongli's friend Ma Linxiang, after years of wandering, is brought back one night by a coffin-carrying team, along with his pregnant wife Li Yueying.]

Ma Linxiang's suspicious death aroused Zhu Hongli's suspicion, and on the day of mourning, he disguised himself as a paper effigy and sneaked into the funeral hall to investigate.

It turns out that Ma Linxiang was not dead. He conspired with a sorcerer and others to fake his death and steal burial goods from his ancestral grave, but he was actually killed by his accomplices.

Ma Linxiang's restless spirit begged Zhu Hongli to avenge him. Unable to withstand the ghost's persistent harassment, Zhu Hongli had no choice but to agree.

Ma Linxiang's soul borrowed Zhu Hongli's body to seek revenge, but by the time he completed his mission it was already dawn, and Zhu Hongli's soul was unable to return to its own body and was taken to hell by the underworld officials.

Under the guidance of her second great-uncle, Zhu Hongli's fiancée, Xiaoyun, prepares to engage in a fierce battle with the underworld officials on the seventh night after his death, attempting to retrieve Zhu Hongli's soul...

The other script is supposed to be a series called "The Ghostly Man," which is about:
In the opera troupe, the mischievous martial arts actor A-Gui often dressed up as a ghost to scare people, and even the troupe's star performer, Xin-Shao-Jia, was often tricked by him.

Once, when Ah Gui was pretending to be a ghost to scare people, he encountered a real ghost—a Chaozhou ghost—and was so frightened that he wet himself.

Uncle Sheng, an experienced old man, learned that the Chaozhou ghost had been dismembered in life and his vengeful spirit lingered after death. So he and A-Gui decided to find all the remains of the Chaozhou ghost and let him rest in peace.

Unexpectedly, they dug up the corpse of another evil spirit by mistake. In an instant, the opera troupe was thrown into chaos by the evil spirit. The evil spirit not only created all sorts of terrifying phenomena in the opera troupe, but also possessed Xin Shaojia and wreaked havoc on the opera troupe.

In order to scare away evil spirits, Uncle Sheng decides to dress up as a Taoist priest with Ah Gui.

They set a trap in an attempt to capture the evil spirit. After a fierce battle, they finally subdued the spirit by using the statues in the opera troupe, then blew them up, and peace was restored to the troupe.

To be honest, both scripts are related to ghosts, but nowadays, there are very few movies about ghosts being released in Hong Kong.

This made Fu Qi a little undecided, especially since they were old leftists!
Although Hong Kong has the right to independently film and distribute movies, it is also affected by mainland policies and has never made a movie related to ghosts.

What's wrong now?
Is the mainland opening up at such a rapid pace?

That young man actually brought them two scripts, both of which were related to ghosts and gods, which is feudal superstition.

In mainland China, it would absolutely be impossible for it to pass censorship.

However, in Hong Kong, there's no such thing as censorship; almost anything can be filmed and released, as long as it's not a movie with strong political overtones.

The problem is that there are currently no films in Hong Kong that fall into this category, so it's hard to say whether there's a market for them.

Without a market, Great Wall Film Company, which was already struggling, will face even greater difficulties.

So even though Fu Qi received the script, he was deeply moved.

However, he hesitated and considered it for more than a week before making a final decision.

"How much did you smoke this time? I've never seen you so serious and meticulous about the original script before!" Madam Shi Hui pushed open the door and almost coughed from the smoke inside. She asked with concern, somewhat annoyed.

Then I went to the window and helped open it to let some fresh air in.

Fu Qi waved his hand, his gaze returning to the script.

There's a line in "The Dead and the Dead" that left a deep impression on him: "No matter how bright the light of Hong Kong is, it can't shine into the corners of the heart."

These words were like a needle, gently pricking him.

In recent years, Great Wall Film Company has indeed been relegated to the sidelines, relegated to a corner of the Hong Kong film industry.

With pressure from Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest in the foreground, and the strong rise of newcomers like New Union Group in the background, Great Wall's situation was becoming increasingly precarious, and its fortunes were declining day by day.

Last month's financial statements showed that, apart from the funds reserved for "Shaolin Temple" that could not be touched, the company's working capital was not enough to invest in a low-cost film.

Fu Qi originally wanted to follow the trend and make an urban martial arts film, since this is a specialty of Hong Kong films and it is not easy to lose money.

But the script that Cheng Xuemin sent was like a magnet, firmly attracting his attention.

"To take the picture or not to take it?" Fu Qi murmured to himself as he looked out at the rain outside the window.

If they proceed with the project, the market might not accept it, and the company might have to go out of business. If they don't proceed, they feel they are betraying Cheng Xuemin's trust, and even more so, betraying their own obsession with a "good story."

"What's there to hesitate about whether to film it or not?" Madam Shi Hui, seeing this, smiled and said, "I've read the script, and it's indeed a very novel and excellent script!"

"I also had someone assess it, and it's not even a low-cost notebook. The estimate is that it would cost around 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. No matter how tight our budget is, we can still scrape together that amount of money!"

"And we don't need to invite any big-name stars. We can just let Li Xuehua and a few other newcomers do it. I've met Xuehua before. She has expressive eyes, so she should be fine."

Li Xuehua is a newcomer signed by Great Wall Film Company last year. She came from TVB's training class. She is not stunningly beautiful, but she has a kind of approachable girl-next-door charm.

Fu Qi also recalled how she looked during her audition; she was so nervous that her palms were sweating, but once she got into character, her eyes shone like stars.

“Newcomers are paid less, and the sets are easy to set up, so it doesn’t cost much.” Shi Hui calculated the costs one by one and continued, “We can use existing costumes and props; we still have a lot of old clothes in our warehouse. This way, the cost can be reduced even further.”

Fu Qi looked at his wife's serious expression and suddenly smiled. His wife understood him.

Actually, he had already had someone calculate what Ahui was telling him, and it was indeed as Ahui said—the cost wasn't very high.

“Even if we lose money, it’ll only be three or four hundred thousand.” Shi Hui’s voice was soft, but it carried a sense of certainty. “But what if it succeeds? It will not only bring a turnaround to the company, but also let the audience know that Great Wall is not just about following trends in making films, but also about creating our own unique and novel stories.”

"Then let's shoot!"

With Madam Ahui's support, what worries could Fu Qi possibly have?
Just as his wife said, even if he lost money, it would only be three or four hundred thousand. No matter how poor and down on his luck Fu Qi is now, he can still afford to lose that amount of money.

But what if it actually happens, as Ahui said?
……

"Xuemin, compared to 'The Garland at the Foot of the Mountain,' I'd much rather have your script for 'The Cotton Robe'!"

On Mount Lu, Cheng Xuemin and his team spent three days reshooting all of Cheng Xuemin's scenes. Before Cheng Xuemin left, Lao Xie arranged a farewell dinner for him, using mostly the ingredients that Cheng Xuemin had brought up in his truck a few days earlier as a gesture of goodwill.

During this period, Xie Jin and his crew were on Mount Lu, which was considered a period of seclusion, and they didn't have much contact with the outside world.

However, the nationwide reading campaign launched by Haizi at the beginning of the month caused quite a stir. No matter how isolated Xie Jin was from the world, he was definitely still connected to the guesthouse here.

Therefore, Xie Jin and his group must have known that Cheng Xuemin's "Garland at the Foot of the Mountain" was being read by the entire nation.

Furthermore, the guesthouse also organized the entire film crew to read "The Garland at the Foot of the Mountain" together.

When it comes to the wreath at the foot of the mountain, Xie Jin, the staff at the guesthouse, and the entire film crew have the most boastful inside stories to tell.

After all, Cheng Xuemin's glorious deeds of going south to the front lines to offer condolences were mentioned in detail by Cheng Xuemin himself when the film "The Herdsman" was being made.

Therefore, Lao Xie can boast about many scenes in the book to everyone.

They also had a keen premonition that the higher authorities would soon take advantage of the nationwide reading craze to assign their film studio the task of producing and releasing a film version of "Garland at the Foot of the Mountain" as soon as possible.

This is a very honorable task. If the film is well-made and outstanding, its influence will be no less than that of the original author, Cheng Xuemin.

It's easy to imagine that once the higher-ups set the tone and assigned the task, those major film studios would definitely fight tooth and nail to secure the filming rights.

Xie Jin was no exception; he certainly hoped that this glorious task would fall to their Shanghai Film Studio, and that he, Xie Jin, would be the director.

But I know it's best to just think about it, since the original author is now considered part of Yan Film Studio.

People who are close to the water get the moon first, right?

Of course, Xie Lao wasn't entirely without hope. He originally planned to take advantage of Cheng Xuemin's visit to the film set to undermine Yan Film Studio and rob Cheng Xuemin, the original author.

He persuaded Cheng Xuemin to give him the opportunity to direct the film, using connections.

But to his surprise, Cheng Xuemin brought him even more shocking news.

So, the explosive sales figures achieved by their Shanghai-based "Story Club" magazine in these two issues, coinciding with the bull's estrus, were actually fueled by Cheng Xuemin behind the scenes?

The popular historical novels that have recently become wildly popular, such as "The Cotton Robe" and "A Big Man and a Little Wife," were actually written by Cheng Xuemin behind everyone's back.

However, he failed to keep this pen name hidden, and it was exposed by someone with ulterior motives, even making headlines and being criticized.

Good guy!
Someone actually jumped out and used this as an article about Cheng Xuemin; that's really a good way to start a war.

Doesn't Cheng Xuemin have something big up his sleeve?
Newspapers criticized Cheng Xuemin for his self-degradation, saying that he would contribute articles to popular fiction magazines sold on street stalls for a few pennies, and that he would contribute several articles at a time. They said he would do anything for money and that he was a disgrace to the literary world today.

What those guys didn't know was that writing cheap fiction for a few royalties was a sign of self-degradation!

So what about us in Haizi sending Cheng Xuemin to make martial arts movies to earn foreign exchange and make US dollars?

Chongfa foreign countries?

Let's just wait and see what happens!

Xie Jin knew that Cheng Xuemin was ignoring everything now because he was holding back his ultimate move. Once the move was fully executed, it would dazzle the nation and shut those guys up.

Therefore, Xie Jin also became vulgar and depraved!

He wanted to take advantage of the remaining time to make one or two martial arts films adapted from popular historical novels written by Cheng Xuemin.

While Cheng Xuemin's "Tai Chi" was making a splash overseas, earning a fortune in US dollars, his popular martial arts film was also released simultaneously in China.

Xie Jin believes that his film will reach new heights and usher in a new era of martial arts films.

If things go well, he might even earn the glorious title of "Southern Xie and Northern Cheng, the founding patriarch of Wushan," with Northern Cheng coming first and Xie Jin coming second.

"Old Xie, I don't have any free time right now to write the scripts for these two!"

"So whether it's 'Wreath Under the Mountain' or 'Kapok Robe,' we'll have to wait for the year-end foreign exchange earnings situation to decide!"

"So you know, I don't have much time left! I really need to rush over to Chenjiagou down the mountain to check things out. Huang Jianzhong is still a bit too inexperienced when it comes to making movies!"

I spent three to five days on the mountain, plus the three days I spent at the symposium in the county town, so more than a week has passed.

Although the filming of Tai Chi in Chenjiagou is directed by Huang Jianzhong, it should go smoothly and there shouldn't be any major problems.

After all, for the key scenes, they had already filmed what needed to be filmed, together with the Yuan brothers from Hong Kong. They had also pre-designed the routines for the scenes that hadn't been filmed yet, and Huang Jianzhong's side just followed suit.

However, the presence of Cheng Xuemin himself on-site provided some reassurance.

"Alright, alright!" Xie Jin didn't say anything more after hearing this, and raised his wine glass to toast, saying, "Then I won't say anything else, it's all in this wine!"

"In short, I'm waiting to see Xuemin shine at the end of this year!"

"I have that confidence in you!"

Cheng Xuemin didn't drink much, but he was genuinely happy and got along very well with Xie Jin, so he clinked glasses with Xie Jin and said thank you, "Thank you, thank you, Lao Xie. I wish us both success and great success!"

"Alright, alright, see you in Yanjing next month!"

I made an appointment with Xie Jin to meet in Yanjing next month, because Xie Jin had also received an invitation to attend the literary and art congress to be held in Yanjing next month.

The literary and art congress was suspended for two or three decades due to special reasons.

This is the largest event in the literary and artistic circles since the reform and opening up. Literary and artistic figures from all over the country will be invited to participate, making it an unprecedented event.

Therefore, no one should be absent from this grand event.

Cheng Xuemin was no exception; he had been personally invited by his former leader, who had also given instructions that he should speak at the meeting.

After saying goodbye to Xie Jin and the others, Cheng Xuemin went straight back to Chenjiagou without daring to disturb the local Lushan County Committee.

Otherwise, I really don't know when I'll be able to get back to the film set and get down to business.

……

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