1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 280: There is no sect in the world that does not follow Zhai

The spring breeze of reform is blowing everywhere.

In the 1980s, the mainland was bathed in the spring breeze of reform and opening up, which also initiated in-depth cultural exchanges between Chinese and foreign films.

but.

There are still very few commercial films with strong genres.

In fact, it's not just the film level, literary culture also lacks fantasy.

On the contrary, scarred and rural literature has sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and this has been reflected in movies, with the focus tending towards period dramas.

The most suitable Peking Opera-themed movie to be shot at this time is actually "Farewell My Concubine".

But this movie is so special.

Regardless of the subject matter or filming, Zhai Yuan didn't want to get involved in this film at this time.

Putting aside the film's special historical background, Cheng Dieyi's feelings for Duan Xiaolou alone would not be recognized by the market even in Hong Kong at that time, let alone the more conservative mainland background.

As for filming, all the current directors of 91, including Wang Jiawei, may not be able to reach the level of Chen Kaige in his prime.

Although Director Chen’s peak period was short…

Another reason is that Hong Kong filmmakers feel they cannot produce films like those produced in mainland China.

"Later, there was a play called 'The Great Warrior' which was also passable, but unfortunately Gao Xiaosong's storytelling skills are too poor. Now there is no time to re-edit it, so it is better to make 'Swordsman and Danny'."

When Zhai Yuan walked into the backstage of the theater, he was still thinking about the differences between these opera films.

He had no interest in promoting the quintessence of Chinese culture. No one could revive Peking Opera. However, after all, he had accepted Mr. Zhang as his teacher, so he had to at least make a living in this industry. Otherwise, how could he justify the scolding from his peers for accepting him as his disciple?

"Let me introduce to you all, this is Mr. Zhai Yuan from Hong Kong."

After entering the backstage, Zhou Xuejun revealed his identity as a literary association member, and immediately introduced Zhai Yuan next to him, adding at the end: "As everyone knows, Mr. Zhai, as a fellow Hong Kong businessman, has always loved the traditional culture of the motherland. This time, with the help of the literary association, he also formally became a disciple of the famous Peking Opera artist Mr. Zhang Fuqi."

The opera actors who had been mocking Zhang Fuqi backstage not long ago were all dumbfounded.

The old man's expression didn't change much and he kept smiling. His grandson Zhang Jianhua was finally proud of himself and straightened his back with a grin on his face.

The CCTV leader took over Zhou Xuejun's words and continued to add: "In order to promote the quintessence of Chinese culture, Mr. Zhai came to the mainland specially and funded the recording of this CCTV Peking Opera Competition. I hope everyone will actively participate."

A group of Peking Opera actors then realized that they had been on the wrong side from the beginning. The shows were funded by Mr. Zhang's apprentices, so why bother trying to curry favor with the director? Wouldn't it be better to just curry favor with the Zhang family directly?

All of a sudden, everyone cast eager glances at Zhang Fuqi, calling him "Uncle Master" or "Master".

In the old society, actors were called the lowest class, and a big part of the reason was that this profession was closely tied to red-letter politics and profit was the top priority. In order to be able to perform in brothels, even the prostitutes there would address them as aunts or uncles. At this time, except for a few old artists who were proud of their status, the actors who looked down on Zhang Fuqi the previous second have basically all turned against him.

Zhai Yuan watched the face-changing scene with great interest, secretly thinking it was a pity that he appeared too early, otherwise this would have been a great material for a cool novel.

Zhang Fuqi was humiliated in public. General Zhai led the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and CCTV to rush over and knelt on one knee: Welcome back, Dragon King!
Tsk!
Zhou Xuejun nudged Zhai Yuan with his elbow: "What are you thinking about?"

Zhai Yuan came back to his senses: "I'm thinking of a very new way of writing a play."

The two heavy bombs dropped by the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and CCTV were enough to shock the Peking Opera actors backstage.

Zhai Yuan dropped the third bomb: "In addition to the TV program, my company will shoot a movie about opera in the early Republic of China next year, which will be screened in Hong Kong and even the United States. This movie will show a lot of Peking opera civil and martial arts scenes. My teacher, Mr. Zhang Fuqi, will serve as the artistic consultant. Of course, everyone knows that the old man is over 100 years old and has limited energy, so when the actual shooting begins, we still need the help of the predecessors in the opera industry. Those who are willing to sign up to participate or guide the movements can sign up after today."

When a group of Peking Opera actors looked at Zhang Fuqi again, they were almost drooling with envy.

Being able to appear on TV is already the ultimate goal for many actors these days, and making movies is considered a great art that is unimaginable.

…………

Zhai Yuan's "Damadan" is scheduled to be filmed next year, which is a big promise.

The current cash flow on Jiuyi’s books is no longer sufficient to support the production of a new play.

However, it did not affect the next few days.

Actors from the opera troupe came to visit, carrying brown sugar and eggs, and the threshold of Zhang Fuqi's house was almost broken down.

The name Zhai Yuan also became the signature of the opera industry.

Overnight, countless Peking Opera actors who he had never met before came to his door, knelt on the ground when they met him, and respectfully called him "Uncle Master", "Master Master" or even "Grandmaster".

Later, there was an actor in the crosstalk circle named Hou Yuehua. Although his artistic level was mediocre, he entered the television circle and filmed TV dramas. As a result, all the crosstalk artists in the world at that time tried to curry favor with him in order to make a living.

Zhai Yuan's current situation is even better than before.

"No, I have to go."

Zhai Yuan lived in Zhang Fuqi's courtyard for two days, but he couldn't stand the Peking Opera artists who came to pay their respects every day, so he planned to go back to the foreign guest hotel to have some peace and quiet.

Lin Zhengying and his entourage also said goodbye. After visiting their master and forefathers, it was time to return to the set to continue filming.

Zhang Fuqi and the two old men, Sun and Yu, did not try to persuade him to stay, as they all knew that Zhai Yuanzhi was no longer in Peking Opera.

"Our industry has long been in decline. A group of people in the Peking Opera Theater study performances every day, but they don't even have a performance venue."

Zhang Fuqi said to Zhai Yuan with a smile: "What you did this time is like throwing a stone into a pool of stagnant water. Although it may splash a little water for a short time, it will eventually return to the stagnant water."

Zhai Yuan half-jokingly said: "The old man is very open-minded, but you should not be too pessimistic. If someone throws a stone into this stagnant water every few years and gives the actors a living, Peking Opera can still survive and will not be swept into the dustbin of history."

Zhai Yuan left.

The courtyard soon returned to its former peaceful life.

The number of guests coming and going also decreased.

Zhang Jianhua came back from the TV station that day and said with a little anticipation: "I wonder when Xiao Zhai will come to live here again."

Zhang Fuqi glanced at him and said, "It's already a great honor for them to stay here for a few days. It's also a way to repay our favor of accepting us as a disciple. We won't have much interaction in the future."

Zhang Jianhua certainly understood this truth. Looking at the gifts piled up in the inner room, he couldn't help but sigh: "From 49 to now, our family has never been as lively as it is now."

"If the fire is too strong, it will turn into ashes." Zhang Fuqi leaned back in a rattan chair and fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan. "Do you think they came here for our family? In terms of Peking opera level, we can't catch up with the Tan and Ma schools, but now the opera industry ranks our Zhang school first. They are not the descendants of Zhang, but the descendants of Zhai."

…………

Zhai Yuan enjoyed the treatment of a master for two days in the opera industry. Even though he could only hum a few lines of a popular opera, he was still praised as being as good as Mei Lanfang. "Whether it's the Zhang style or the Zhai style, this way I can repay the favor of Mr. Zhang Fuqi, and this trip to Yanjing has solved another problem."

Sitting in a newly bought Santana sedan, Zhai Yuan reviewed what had happened in the opera industry in the past few days and felt that it was about time to stop there.

The work that needed to be arranged has been arranged, and I have also been given opportunities in TV and movies. The rest has nothing to do with me anymore.

Driving on the streets of the capital.

The brand new Santana attracted a lot of attention along the way.

Zhai Yuan suddenly thought of a classic rumor about Santana in later generations.

It is said that German car companies sell Santana to the mainland at a price of only tens of thousands of yuan, but unscrupulous mainland businessmen raise the price to 200,000 or 300,000 yuan. They make it sound like there are no capitalists overseas and all are conscientious businessmen.

Zhai Yuan held the steering wheel and pondered: How about setting up a magazine company after returning to Hong Kong to provide articles specifically for the overseas versions of "Zhiyin" and "Yilin"?
In this new timeline magazine, our children can carry weights and walk to the end of the summer camp, can combine four cups of 25-degree warm water into one cup of boiling water, build sewers that can last a hundred years, and can find spare parts wrapped in oil paper in a small warehouse within three meters. Even our flies will collect honey, just because the environment is so beautiful, and the dishes must be washed seven times...

Export some inspirational quotes to overseas in advance.

The car drove to the airport.

Zhai Yuan walked down, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the car door, puffing away.

In early November.

Today is the day that Rosamund Kwan arrives in the mainland. Zhai Yuan, who received the news in advance, naturally has to rush to the airport to pick her up in person.

Around six o'clock in the afternoon.

A Boeing 737 passenger plane took off from Pengcheng, Guangdong, and slowly landed at Yanjing International Airport.

Passengers poured out of the airport lobby.

Amid the surging crowd, a tall, fashionably dressed beautiful woman appeared in the field of vision.

The beautiful girl wore a pair of large sunglasses that covered half of her delicate face. She tucked her top into her trousers in Hong Kong style, which highlighted the lines of her legs under her jeans. She wore a pair of sports flat shoes, which was simple yet exquisite.

Zhai Yuan leaned against the car door and waved at her from a distance.

Guan Zhilin, who was still looking around, paused, took off her sunglasses, and walked over with a smile on her face.

"Hello Mr. Zhai, nice to meet you."

"Ms. Guan." Zhai Yuan looked at the outstanding woman standing in front of him and said with a smile, "You look slimmer than on TV."

Guan Zhilin raised her lips and said thank you: "Mr. Zhai is more handsome than the photo in the newspaper."

Business people are praising each other.

Zhai Yuan invited Guan Zhilin into the car.

In the car, Zhai Yuan glanced at the beautiful Guan who took the initiative to sit in the passenger seat, and his mind unconsciously recalled the messy rumors about her.

Like golf or something...

"Ms. Gao... Guan." Zhai Yuan coughed and said without looking away, "I'll take you to the hotel to rest today. Will we go to the set to officially start work tomorrow?"

Guan Zhilin leaned lazily on the back of the chair and said with a faint smile: "Okay, thank you Mr. Zhai."

Zhai Yuan asked: "Have you read the script of Huang Feihong?"

Rosamund Kwan nodded and said, "I have seen them all. I like the role of Aunt Thirteen very much."

Zhai Yuan asked again: "How do you feel about being the heroine for the first time?"

Rosamund Kwan smiled and said, "Just try not to cause trouble for the director."

The two of them asked and answered each other, and the conversation was as simple as boiled water.

When Zhai Yuan didn't ask, Guan Zhilin didn't say much.

After a few rounds of fighting, Zhai Yuan couldn't help but murmur in his heart: This shouldn't be the case. According to what Shi Nansheng and the others said, the beautiful Guan should be very warm and hospitable...

Until the car arrived at the hotel entrance.

Zhai Yuan had been looking forward to it for so many days, but the scene that he had imagined, where Guan Zhilin took the initiative to throw herself into his arms, did not happen.

A lot of people gathered at the hotel entrance.

The director of "Once Upon a Time in China", Xu Qi, and the crew members came to greet her. Liu Zhenwei and a group of martial artists also came over to watch the beauty.

Rosamund Kwan remained calm and kept a simple, polite and formal smile throughout.

After a few simple polite words to everyone, he said softly, "I'm sorry, I'm a little tired after sitting on the plane for too long. I want to go back to my room to rest first."

The beautiful girl walked into the hotel with her waist twisted.

Liu Zhenwei and the others immediately turned their eyes to Zhai Yuan, asking in a gossipy tone, "Oh, boss, no wonder you chose her as the leading actress. How was it? You went to the airport to pick her up in person. Did anything happen on the way? Was Miss Guan touched enough to let you go to see her tonight?"

Zhai Yuan thought about it and realized that Guan Zhilin didn't seem to have knocked on his head three times just now.

"Vulgar! Did I think all these years of studying were in vain?"

Zhai Yuan waved his sleeves in displeasure, glared at Liu Zhenwei and asked, "Which scene of Mr. Zombie is being filmed tonight?"

Liu Zhenwei smiled and said, "Zun Long and Lin Zhengying are back. It's just in time to shoot their zombie-fighting scene in the prison cell tonight. Luo Jiaying has already put on her zombie makeup. Would you like to visit the set, Mr. Zhai?"

Zhai Yuan recalled that this scene was probably the second time zombies appeared in the movie, and it was also the occasion for Lou Lan Guang's famous line "I am your captain Awei".

“You can go visit later.”

Zhai Yuan said something noncommittal, raised an eyebrow and asked, "I remember that Moon Lee doesn't need to be on the set for this scene, right?"

Liu Zhenwei was stunned for a moment, then nodded in understanding, and then quickly shook his head: "No need! Let her take a day off tonight."

“Eye-catching!”

Zhai Yuan patted Liu Zhenwei's shoulder with relief, then turned and walked upstairs.

(End of this chapter)