Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Zhang Shuai'an arrived at Ming Pao around 10 o'clock.

It was the busiest time for the newspaper, with many people coming and going, including publishers from Taiwan who came to pay homage to Jin Yong.

When Zhang Shuai'an walked into the Ming Pao editorial office again, his mood was quite different from the last time.

Last time I was full of anticipation, even a little apprehensive, but now I'm completely calm, just like walking into a shop while shopping.

Upon reaching the upper floor, Zhang Shuai'an first noticed that the female editor who had sat on the outermost seat last time was gone, replaced by Editor Yan, codenamed "Swallow."

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, you're here!" When Editor Yan saw Zhang Shuai'an, he was taken aback for a moment, then stood up to greet him.

Zhang Shuai'an smiled at him: "I came to deliver the manuscript and also wanted to see Mr. Cha."

Editor Yan pointed to the ceiling: "Your manuscript is now being handled by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lin. Just go upstairs and find him."

Zhang Shuai'an asked, "I have two friends who came with me. Would it be convenient for them to come in and sit down for a while?"

"Of course, the editorial department has a meeting room with free tea and drinks."

Editor Yan answered with a smile.

Zhang Shuai'an turned to He Jiatong and Ling Zhijian, who were following behind him, and said, "Brother Jian, A-Tong, you two wait here for me for a while."

"Oh, okay." The two looked at each other and nodded blankly.

Both of them were not highly educated, and when they came to the territory of these cultured people, they felt as if their bloodline was being naturally suppressed.

Seeing their expressions, Editor Yan didn't say anything sarcastic. Instead, he warmly led them to the reception room and poured them two cups of tea.

Zhang Shuai'an took the manuscript upstairs and knocked on the office door.

Lin Zhedong was the only one in the office at that moment.

Hearing the knock on the door, Lin Zhedong looked up and smiled when he saw Zhang Shuai'an: "Hey, Mr. Zhang, it's you! Haven't seen you in a while, you've become quite famous! You've become a popular leading man at TVB, I thought you'd stopped writing novels."

Zhang Shuai'an waved the manuscript in his hand: "I came here specifically to hand in the remaining manuscript, and also to talk to Cha Sheng about some things."

"The manuscript is easy to handle; just hand it over to me."

Lin Zhedong smiled and extended his hand to Zhang Shuai'an, adding, "A publisher from Taiwan has come and wants to publish your book. They're negotiating right now."

"Wandao Publishing House? Can Cha Sheng's books be published there?" Zhang Shuai'an was somewhat puzzled. In his memory, Jin Yong's books seemed to have been banned in Taiwan for quite a long time.

Lin Zhedong replied, "It was indeed banned before, but thanks to the efforts of Mr. Shen from Yuanjing Publishing House, it was officially unbanned this year. As soon as it was unbanned, Mr. Shen came to discuss the publication of the entire collection."

Zhang Shuai'an nodded, though he didn't actually know who this Boss Shen was.

"Let me take a look at the manuscript first, you can do as you please." Lin Zhedong poured a cup of hot tea for Zhang Shuai'an, and then carefully looked through Zhang Shuai'an's manuscript.

Zhang Shuai'an sipped his tea, slowly and methodically thinking about things.

"Broken Void" has a total word count of only 160,000 words, which is quite good for a debut work.

That's far from enough to make a name for yourself.

Zhang Shuai'an is considering what to plagiarize for his next work: continue to copy Huang Yi's "A Step into the Past" or "Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty"?

Of course, he actually prefers "Ghost Blows Out the Light," which coincides with the relatively superstitious and feng shui-obsessed habits of Hong Kong people.

The price for the next book will have to go up, and given Jin Yong's personality, he might not agree to a raise in royalties.

However, it doesn't matter. He can just run two instances later. Anyway, he doesn't need to come up with any ideas. He just needs to use Star Points to redeem the original work.

"Mr. Cha, thank you for your support. We will definitely do our best to promote your work."

A short while later, the door upstairs opened, and a middle-aged man spoke in a very humble manner.

Jin Yong spoke in a very gentle tone, smiling as he said, "You've put in a lot of effort to get my novels unbanned in Taiwan. Go back and prepare well, and I hope your publishing house will have a great start."

"By the words of Mr. Cha Ji."

The middle-aged man continued, "Also, I have already made a reservation at Yongji Restaurant. I would be honored to have you grace us with your presence at 6 p.m. this afternoon."

Jin Yong chuckled and said, "How could we let our guests spend so much? I'll make the order myself."

"This..." the middle-aged man said with some distress, "I just received the copyright from Mr. Cha, and I wanted to do my part!"

A woman nearby laughed heartily and said, "This is Hong Kong, Mr. Cha's territory. You think you can steal his host's position?"

Then a man's voice laughed and said, "Yinmeng is right, just listen to Old Cha."

After they finished chatting, they went downstairs together.

Zhang Shuai'an was sitting directly opposite the stairs, and soon he made eye contact with the group of people coming down.

This is a group of five people, three men and two women.

Zhang Shuai'an only recognized two men and one woman among them.

The two men were Ni Kuang and Huang Zhan. One of the women looked familiar, and based on the name he had just heard, he quickly deduced that she must be Hu Yinmeng.

This woman wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she possessed a unique charm that left a lasting impression at first glance.

If the timeline doesn't change, she will meet Li Ao at a friend's house in half a month, then have a whirlwind marriage and divorce, leaving behind a complicated and messy relationship that will last for decades.

When Hu Yinmeng saw Zhang Shuai'an, her eyes immediately lit up. This kid was really handsome, and his eyes seemed to be able to bewitch people.

It was the first time she had seen him, yet she felt a flutter in her heart.

Could this be the legendary love at first sight?

"Who is this handsome guy?"

Hu Yinmeng's heart was churning with emotion, but she kept a straight face, deliberately appearing very calm: "Someone this beautiful should be a star, how come you're in the editorial department of Ming Pao?"

"Yinmeng, you're absolutely right!" Wong Jim spoke first, pointing at Cheung Sau-on and saying, "This kid is the hottest young actor at TVB recently. His drama 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' had a rating of over 85%. It even beat RTV's 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' to a pulp."

"Then why is he here?" asked another woman with a refined air.

Ni Kuang replied somewhat reluctantly, "This kid can also write novels; one of his martial arts novels is currently being serialized in the Ming Pao supplement."

"And he's a handsome guy with both talent and looks." Hu Yinmeng couldn't help herself and walked up to Zhang Shuai'an, smiling as she said, "Handsome guy, my name is Hu Yinmeng, shall we get to know each other?"

Zhang Shuai'an was drinking tea when he saw her coming over to speak, so he immediately put down his teacup and said, "Hello, my name is Zhang Shuai'an."

The moment the handshake occurred, the system responded and displayed a character card with her personal information:

"【Name: Hu Yinmeng】"

"[Date of Birth: September 21, 1953]"

"[Debut Date: 1973]"

"【Occupation: Actor, Writer】"

Representative works include: "Where the Clouds Remain Unknown" and "A Man at the End of the World".

"【Star Rating: Two stars (decreasing by one star)】"

"[Star Potential: Rising Stage]"

"..."