Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Zhang Shuai'an currently has a little over a thousand Hong Kong dollars in his pocket. One thousand of them is a royalty check advanced from Jin Yong, and the other few hundred are from his cameo role in "Handcuffs," though he has already spent some of it.

He Jiatong also had about three hundred yuan on him, some of which was given to him secretly by his aunt.

With the little money they have, they could probably only afford one or two drinks at a nightclub before it's all gone.

Upon entering the Ocean Palace, He Jiatong was immediately struck by the exquisite decor, the opulent gold color scheme, and the bustling scene of men and women in their finery.

He racked his brains but could never have imagined that the nightclub was such a decadent and luxurious place.

Zhang Shuai'an had traveled from the future and was an actor himself. He had been to these kinds of places before and had watched countless videos online, so he was basically immune to the scene before him.

Ling Zhijian was also glancing at Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong from time to time.

He Jiatong's performance was exactly what he expected. This was the normal reaction of a country bumpkin coming to the city. Many stuntmen had the same expression when they first came here.

Zhang Shuai'an's performance, however, greatly exceeded Ling Zhijian's expectations. Not only did the young man's face show no surprise, but it even had a hint of disdain, as if he had seen much more upscale places.

"What a load of cargo!"

Huang Zhiqiang also noticed Zhang Shuai'an's expression and muttered something under his breath.

A short while later, a voluptuous woman dressed rather revealingly, yet appropriately concealing herself, strolled over and inquired, "Welcome, gentlemen. Do you have a reservation, or do you have other plans? Would you like me to recommend a place?"

"I don't need you anymore, I've already agreed." Ling Zhiqiang waved his hand at the woman. "It's not like it's the first time I've come. But, I'll call a few pretty girls over to take center stage later."

"Alright, then have a good time." The elegant woman smiled and turned to leave.

He Jiatong's gaze followed the woman's buttocks for a long time before Zhang Shuai'an patted her, causing her to look away.

"What, you've taken a fancy to this madam?" Huang Zhiqiang, who was standing next to her, found He Jiatong's reaction interesting and reminded her, "Don't let her young age fool you, she's been in this business for a long time and is very experienced. She's the madam here now. If you want to seduce her, you'll have to pay a hefty price."

He Jiatong's Cantonese wasn't as fluent as Zhang Shuai'an's, and she didn't understand what "执翻剂" meant.

The original meaning of "执翻剂" refers to selecting or preparing a dose of Chinese medicine at a pharmacy. Its extended meaning is similar to "to have sex".

The classic usage is from one of Zhang Jiahui's movies, where an older woman says to him, "My husband went back to his hometown, and when he has time, he'll have some fun with you." It roughly means, "My husband went back to his hometown, so he'll have some fun with you when he has time. You're lucky."

Zhang Shuai'an explained to He Jiatong in a low voice, which immediately made him blush.

Now Huang Zhiqiang was even more excited, grinning as he tried to take advantage of the situation: "Are you still a virgin? Hahahaha! Call over two horny guys to properly entertain this little kid."

He Jiatong was so embarrassed that she looked to Zhang Shuai'an for help.

Zhang Shuai'an said softly, "Don't be shy, Brother Qiang is just joking with you. If Brother Qiang really spends money to find you two or three top girls to spend the night with, you'd better toast him properly later."

"Hey, you can talk!" Huang Zhiqiang immediately stopped teasing He Jiatong.

The girls here, even just having drinks with a top-notch dancer, would cost several thousand. If you hired two to keep He Jiatong company overnight, that would cost tens of thousands. He and He Jiatong are not related; how could he possibly be a sucker for that?

With that money, he might as well go to a brothel and have a good time for several days.

Since he didn't want to be the sucker, he naturally felt embarrassed to tease He Jiatong anymore.

"I'll only cover your minimum spending requirement; you'll have to figure out the rest yourselves."

Ling Zhijian wasn't a rich man, so naturally he wouldn't be taken advantage of.

He hadn't expected Zhang Shuai'an to be so adept at handling interpersonal relationships, so smooth and sophisticated that he didn't seem like a young man under twenty at all.

He then lowered his voice and said, "Later, I'll take you to meet two big shots in the industry. If you can please them, I'll spend tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on you in one night."

Zhang Shuai'an was genuinely curious: what kind of person could Ling Zhijian consider a big shot?

They followed Ling Zhijian at a leisurely pace, circling around for a short while, until they arrived at a large dance hall.

On the stage in the center, a woman was singing, followed by a row of beautiful young women dancing, and a band playing music on the side.

Below the stage, there were all kinds of booths, the ones further forward were the most luxurious.

Ling Zhijian led them to a luxurious circular booth in the third row, where five or six people were already seated, each sitting in a boss-like posture, looking very domineering.

"Mr. Wu, Brother Ming, Director Luo, Brother Xiong..."

Ling Zhijian waved to the people in the booth from afar.

When those people saw Ling Zhijian, they all smiled and responded.

Mr. Wu, one of them, stood up, shook hands with Ling Zhijian, and said with a smile, "Ah Jian, it's been a while. Have you looked down on us old friends? Or have you found another way to make money?"

Ling Zhijian laughed and said, "Mr. Wu, you're the big boss, you've made a fortune. I'm just a lowly production assistant, what fortune could I possibly have?"

Zhang Shuai'an glanced at him and immediately recognized him as Wu Siyuan, a pivotal figure in the Hong Kong film industry who bridged the past and the future. Without him, Jackie Chan would probably still be struggling under Lo Wei's control.

That "Ming-ge" is none other than Tsui Siu-ming, a powerful figure and an early all-rounder in the Hong Kong film and television industry. He can act, sing, write, direct, and produce, and will be a mainstay of RTV in the future.

For example, in television dramas, his representative works include the 1981 TV series "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia," as well as the subsequent "Chen Zhen" and "Huo Dongge," all of which were once very popular and extremely popular in mainland China. There was also a minor hit like "Going to Tiger Mountain Again."

He is equally accomplished in the film industry, having written, directed, or produced works such as "The Cotton Robe," "Wesley's Untamed," and "Beijing Bicycle."

The "Director Luo" refers to Luo Wen, not the singer. He was born in 1950 and joined Shaw Brothers Studio as a makeup artist at the age of sixteen. Later, he was recruited by Ng See-yuen to work as a director in his film company.

From a directorial perspective, his box office performance and technical skills are actually quite average. His relatively better works are Chow Yun-fat and Joey Wong's "Righteousness Over the Sky" and Zhang Weijian and Aaron Kwok's "Lun Wenxu's Old Man Points at Liu Xiankai".

However, by this time, Director Luo was already a pillar of Siyuan Pictures and held a high position in the industry.

When Zhang Shuai'an first heard the name "Brother Xiong," he thought it might be Mak Dang-hung from RTV (Rediffusion Television). But upon closer inspection, he realized it was clearly not him.

This Brother Hung is Leung Siu-hung, the younger brother of Leung Siu-lung, and is also a highly experienced stuntman.

When Zhang Shuai'an saw his face, the only thing he could think of was the Qinglong Martial Arts School director who was brutally beaten by Jin Shan Zhao in the movie "Ip Man".

There were two other people I had absolutely no recollection of, and I'd never even heard of their names.

Huang Zhiqiang had obviously met these people before, so he greeted them after following behind Ling Zhijian, while Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong stood outside, waiting for the introductions.

"Who are these two?" Wu Siyuan, being a friendly person, couldn't help but ask Ling Zhijian when he saw Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong.

Ling Zhijian quickly replied, "This one is Zhang Shuai'an, the screenwriter and male lead of a new TVB drama. The other one is He Jiatong, who is currently learning to work as a production assistant from me; she's practically my apprentice."

"He's so handsome, he's born to be an actor." Xu Xiaoming's eyes lit up when he saw Zhang Shuai'an. "Why go to TVB? Come to RTV! Boss Shao has been getting crushed by our dramas lately."

Huang Zhiqiang then said with a smile, "Director Xu, you'd better be careful. This kid once boasted that his script could beat 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' which is why Boss Shao made an exception and gave him the opportunity to play the male lead."

Zhang Shuai'an glanced at Huang Zhiqiang, wondering if this man was petty and wanted to get revenge on him, or simply didn't know how to talk and was just setting off firecrackers.

Fortunately, Xu Xiaoming wasn't a petty person. After hearing this, he laughed heartily and said, "Young people should have this kind of ambition. If you can really overturn the ratings of 'Reincarnated', that might not be a bad thing."

"Reincarnated" is a drama produced by Michael Mak and Siu Sang, with Tsui Siu-ming serving as assistant director. Tsui Siu-ming's breakthrough will depend on next year's "The Land of Love" and the year after's "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia".

"Mr. Wu, Director Xu, Director Luo, Brother Xiong..."

Zhang Shuai'an and He Jiatong greeted everyone one by one, their manners quite appropriate, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Sit down." Wu Siyuan also admired Zhang Shuai'an's appearance and said to him, "Your looks and physique are indeed very suitable for the big screen. Why don't you make a movie with me? You'll have a brighter future."

Zhang Shuai'an said calmly, "Thank you for your kind words, Director Wu. I am still a newcomer, and everything will have to wait until the new drama airs, so as not to delay Mr. Wu from making money."

Most of the companies that sign with Ng See-yuen now are not valued.

Let's wait until "Young Detective Bao Qingtian" becomes popular before making any decisions. Then we can have some support wherever we go.

Wu Siyuan was just in high spirits; he wanted to mentor promising newcomers, and he has indeed mentored quite a few.

Seeing Zhang Shuai'an's caution, he didn't say anything more.

However, the atmosphere quickly shifted elsewhere, as the dancers on stage had already finished singing a song.

"Send two large flower baskets to Miss Amei."

Wu Siyuan called over the waiter standing to the side and gave him instructions.

Sending a flower basket is essentially a tip. A small flower basket costs 3,000 yuan, a medium-sized flower basket costs 5,000 yuan, and a large flower basket costs 12,000 yuan.

Some stuntmen might spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at night to patronize their favorite dancers.

When Zhang Shuai'an heard the title "Miss Amei," he looked up at the stage and realized that the singing dancer looked somewhat familiar.