Huayu 1995

Chapter 15 The Birth of a New Word
Next, we need to deal with the three guests in the private room.

in fact……

Of the three people, Su Chao recognized Lin Xue at first glance.

This guy is already in his thirties, and his appearance is very close to what he will look like on the big screen in the future.

Another one should be Wai Ka-fai.

The third one was a woman, and Su Chao was certain he didn't know her.

Unexpectedly, it was people from Milkyway Image who sent him the flower basket.

That's true. Income and consumption levels are high in Hong Kong, so spending money in mainland China is a complete game-changer. Sending a flower basket worth two hundred dollars is nothing to them.

In a few years, when Milkyway Image becomes increasingly impoverished, Wai Ka-fai may very well regret his generosity today.

"Handsome guy, you sing pretty well."

Lam Suet went to Hong Kong in 1978, and more than ten years have passed, but his Mandarin is still quite good.

However, this time he spoke Cantonese, to take care of Wai Ka-fai, who was traveling with him.

As for the other woman...

She was Lin Xue's neighbor in Tianjin, ten years younger than him, and had already accepted his advances.

If all goes well, I can take her to Hong Kong for our wedding next year.

In other words, Lam Suet returned to the mainland to find his wife.

As for why he wanted to find a girlfriend from the mainland, it was naturally because he was too poor and couldn't find one in Hong Kong.

A few trips to the mainland are all it takes to settle a marriage – the cost-effectiveness is simply too high.

Besides, the girl is ten years younger than him.

Wai Ka-fai came to the mainland with Lam Suet to relax after his falling out with TVB and the box office failure of his first film, "Peace Hotel".

"It's good that the bosses like it, but it's a pity that the song 'A Lifetime of Love' can no longer be sung."

When dining with guests, the worst thing you can do is to have a dry, uninteresting conversation.

Su Chao immediately unleashed a royal flush.

Even Wai Ka-fai, who had been in low spirits, was drawn to the attention.

"why?"

Lin Xue poured Su Chao a glass of wine.

“Lowell Lo’s song ‘My Life’s Love’ is too sentimental and sad, and it doesn’t fit the tone of the nightclub.”

Su Chao pretended not to know the two people.

In fact, Milkyway Image will not be officially established until next year. At present, it is just that Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai, and Yau Nai-hoi swore an oath of brotherhood at the wrap party of "The Odd Detective" and said that they would do something big.

The company name they discussed was not Galaxy Image.

Instead, it is called Golden Scales.

Who exactly to target and how to target them are all unknowns at this point.

Fat actor Lam Suet only had minor roles in movies like "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky," and was more often seen as a production assistant, a frequent collaborator with Johnnie To.

He only became famous after "The Longest Nite" and "The Mission".

Although Wai Ka-fai is the creative director of TVB, having written the scripts for Andy Lau's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and Tony Leung's version of "Police Cadet '84," and directed Adam Cheng's version of "The Greed of Man," making him a prominent figure in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, he mainly works behind the scenes.

It would be a miracle if Su Chao knew them now.

"You still know Lowell Lo?"

Wai Ka-fai joined the conversation, explaining that they needed to pay extra for the people they invited to accompany them for drinks.

If we don't chat, we might as well.

"How could I not know? You can often see him in Hong Kong movies. He is not only a good actor but also a talented composer. He composed Andy Lau's song 'If You Are My Legend'."

Su Chao also listed several roles played by Lowell Lo.

At first, Wai Ka-fai and Lam Suet were focused on his fluent Cantonese and impressive conversational skills.

They were surprised to find that this young man's knowledge of Hong Kong films far exceeded their expectations.

It's one thing for a film like "A Better Tomorrow" to be so common, but he can even talk to Wai Ka-fai about Chu Yuan, Jacob Cheung, and King Hu.

The ideas were very avant-garde, and Lin Xue nodded frequently, but in fact he didn't understand them at all.

"What do you call it?"

Wei Jiahui sat up straight, no longer treating Su Chao as an ordinary karaoke bar employee.

"My name is Su Chao, and my English name is Lance. You can just call me Su Chao or Lance."

"OK, kid, ever thought about making movies?"

Wai Ka-fai smiled.

"Ahem~ I don't know much about making movies. I'm better at coming up with stories. I think we can imagine it like this: we tell a story in the normal way, but that's not the end. At some point in the story, we assume another possibility, and then we rearrange the story according to that possibility."

When discussing the movie's story, Su Chao started to reveal his secrets.

Milkyway Image's first film was "The Birth of a Gangster," a relatively obscure but actually very high-quality film.

It could even be said that this film laid the foundation for Milkyway Image's cinematic style for the next decade or so.

Su Chao is unable to write the script for this movie right now.

But at least he knew what the structure of "The Birth of a Word" was.

“Lance, wait a minute, this idea is interesting. Krzysztof Kieslowski, yes, that's him. I remember he made a movie called ‘Song of Chance,’ in which the choice between catching a train or not leads to three different life outcomes…”

"Oh dear, I thought I came up with it first."

Su Chao looked regretful.

"Haha, you've done very well, really very well, your idea is great..."

Wei Jiahui was somewhat excited.

This sudden change in her previous slump left Lin Xue completely bewildered.

To his further dismay, Wai Ka-fai told him to ask the waiter for a set of paper and pen.

Although his status was far lower than Wai Ka-fai's, he was still a guest.

Why should he be the one running errands?

Fortunately, he has always had a good temper, and he obediently went to get the paper and pen.

“I’d thought of a story before, but it always felt too ordinary. But after you mentioned it today, it suddenly sparked an idea! I have to write it down right away…”

Wai Ka-fai seems to be planning to write scripts in nightclubs.

Simply outrageous.

However, considering that this person will one day go to a temple to write "Running on Karma," it doesn't seem like a big deal that he's doing this in a nightclub now.

"Excuse me, what do you do for a living?"

Su Chao asked with an innocent look on his face.

If Wai Ka-fai knew Su Chao's background, he would definitely appreciate Su Chao's acting skills and might even be able to arrange a role for him.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Wei Jiahui..."

"You're the director of 'The Greed of Man,' oh right, and your new film 'Peace Hotel'... I'm sorry, I watched a pirated DVD of your new film."

Su Chao seemed incoherent.

It really feels like I've just met Wai Ka-fai. "Now I finally understand why movies flop at the box office."

Wai Ka-fai sighed.

"I will definitely support the original version next time. I never expected to meet Teacher Wei here. It is my great honor."

Su Chao shook hands with the other person.

180 Advanced Director experience points can be exchanged for 1800 Intermediate Director experience points and 18000 Junior Director experience points, worth 180 million RMB.

Damn it, why don't you just rob it?

However, being able to directly gain high-level experience points is indeed good news.

Others need talent and effort to do things, but Su Chao just needs to accumulate experience points or add stat points.

The second item was the script "Running on Karma," priced at a reasonable 100,000.

However, the experience points were more expensive than the script, which was something Su Chao hadn't anticipated.

The third item was still the script.

The script this time is called "Dark Flower," and its original price was 120,000, but the system gave it a discount.

The original 120,000 was crossed out and reduced to 60,000.

A 50% discount is still a bit too little.

A 0.5% discount is about right.

Unfortunately, Su Chao couldn't afford anything.

He also discovered something.

That is, the pricing of goods in the system store is very strange.

The price wasn't based on real-world "compensation," otherwise "The Longest Nite" would never be as valuable as "Running on Karma."

Because the script for "The Longest Nite" in 1998 was written by Yau Nai-hoi, his script royalties were limited, and Milkyway Image was in dire financial straits at the time, so it was impossible for them to give him much money.

However, "Running on Karma" was actually the work of Wai Ka-fai, a big name in the industry.

By 2003, Galaxy Impression had already partnered with China Star and had figured out a way to survive by combining artistic expression with commercial monetization.

Putting aside the quality of the film itself, it wouldn't be surprising if his scriptwriting fee was one or two times higher than that of Yau Nai-hoi.

Moreover, there is the factor of inflation to consider.

It seems the system's pricing is entirely arbitrary.

Lin Xue brought over paper and pen, and Wei Jiahui pushed all the drinks, tea, and snacks aside and lay down on the table to start writing.

I would occasionally chat with Su Chao for a few minutes.

Sister Hong hesitated for a moment at the door of the Qingyu'an private room, then beckoned a waiter over.

Soon the waiter brought in the fruit platter.

After I came out, Sister Hong pulled me aside and questioned me.

"Is everything alright inside?"

For most customers, hiring someone to drink with them usually lasts about half an hour.

Damn, Su Chao has been inside for almost two hours.

Forget about losing her virginity, she's about to give birth.

"There's nothing wrong inside!"

The waiter lowered his head slightly, not daring to look Hong Jie in the eye. The boss's intimidating power in the karaoke bar was evident from top to bottom.

"what are they doing?"

Sister Hong breathed a slight sigh of relief. After all, it was Su Chao's first day here. If the guest went too far, he might be scared away.

"They seemed to be huddled together writing something."

The waiter wasn't quite sure; he was also stunned when he went in.

"Write something? What about Su Chao?"

Hongjie was completely baffled. Casablanca is a karaoke bar, right? Could it be that someone would bring their child here to do homework?

"Su Chao, oh, the new singer, he's here too. He's chatting animatedly with a male customer, their heads close together and slumped on the table. Sister Hong, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

The waiter clearly had a bias.

Singers in nightclubs often give them benefits in exchange for favors, and over time, factions are formed.

It can only be said that where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

"It's none of your business, go about your business."

Sister Hong waved her hand, no matter how hard she racked her brains, she still couldn't figure out what Su Chao was talking about with that person.

That's from Hong Kong!

But there's nothing to worry about.

They've been talking for almost two hours; if something were really going to happen, it would have happened already.

"Teacher Wei, I have to go. I still have work at the karaoke bar, and I have to play a minor role tomorrow."

Su Chao apologized, feeling rather embarrassed.

"Playing a minor role? You're playing a minor role?!" Wei Jiahui could hardly believe his ears.

Lin Xue also stared wide-eyed at his small eyes.

He no longer dared to regard Su Chao as an ordinary resident singer.

He was able to have a lively and engaging conversation with a big shot like Wai Ka-fai, even getting into heated arguments, and what's more, he actually won the argument.

This person said he was going to be an extra.

Who dares to believe it!

No wonder the mainland entertainment industry can't take off; talented people are being buried like this.

"Yes, singing in nightclubs is just a part-time job for me. My main profession is acting."

Su Chao remained very calm.

"Let me take a moment..." Wai Ka-fai looked down at the script, which was already basically complete.

Hong Kong film scripts are generally quite rudimentary.

They call them "flying paper boys".

Such a rudimentary script, if executed at his own pace, could be perfected in about two or three days, assuming the initial concept was roughly complete.

but……

It only took two hours today, and it's almost done.

Ten times more efficient!
"Are you interested in coming to Hong Kong with me and becoming my assistant? It won't be long before you're able to write your own screenplay. If you want to be an actor, there are plenty of roles for you to play. You can even become a director if you want..."

Hong Kong is very xenophobic.

As a native of Hong Kong, Wai Ka-fai doesn't think much of the actors who have worked in mainland China for over a decade.

Not to mention a pure-blooded mainland boy like Su Chao.

This shows how much of an impact Su Chao had on him today.

(End of this chapter)