Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 91 Dinner Invitation (Please Subscribe)

The filming of "Shanghai Bund" is progressing quite smoothly.

By the end of the year, about two-thirds of the scenes had been filmed, with only some outdoor scenes remaining.

For a significant portion of the film, since a suitable location couldn't be found in Hong Kong, it had to be shot in Macau.

The weather was somewhat gloomy that day, as New Year's Day approached.

Zhang Shuai'an arrived at the pier in Ling Zhijian's car. Today, he was going to Macau with the film crew to shoot several scenes between Xu Wenqiang and Feng Chengcheng.

It's not easy to shoot on location, so we gathered them together and filmed them all at once.

To be honest, this was his first time visiting Macau, both in his past and present lives.

In fact, the scene where Hui Man-keung and Fung Ching-ching meet in the snow had already been filmed once before in a small alley in Kowloon Tong, but the effect did not meet expectations.

Therefore, this time Zhao Zhenqiang plans to find a more "Republic of China style" alley in Macau to shoot again.

The location scouts arrived in Macau two weeks in advance and have already found several decent outdoor locations. Once they get to Macau, we can start filming there.

It takes about an hour to travel from Hong Kong to Macau by ferry.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shuai'an and his group were surrounded by a wave of people as soon as they disembarked.

Dozens of people, mostly young men and women, had gathered outside the pier, holding banners of support and photos of Zhang Shuai'an and Zhao Yazhi.

"Anzai, we love you!"

"The Great Song Dynasty Detective Bao Heitan, and the Handsome God of Hong Kong, An!"

"Zhao Yazhi, you are my goddess!"

"Ah An, look at me! I want to have your baby!"

"...

'

"What's going on?" Zhang Shuai'an looked bewildered. He could buy fans in Macau without spending any money. Could it be that Ling Zhijian acted on his own initiative?

"Wait a minute, I'll go ask first." Zhao Zhenqiang didn't let Zhang Shuai'an and Zhao Yazhi disembark rashly, but instead called over the Shaw Brothers employees who had arrived earlier to ask about the situation.

After clarifying the situation, he returned to the cabin and said to Zhang Shuai'an and Zhao Yazhi, "Our itinerary has been leaked somehow. Now there are more than two hundred people outside, all here for you and Azhi."

Zhao Yazhi chuckled lightly: "Judging from the voices, most of them are girls. They're probably all here for Ah An."

Zhang Shuai'an asked, "Do people in Macau watch TVB too?"

"Of course," a local from Macau on the same ship said with a smile. "We grew up watching TVB dramas."

TVB was founded in 1967, and it's been 12 years now, which is enough time for a generation to grow up.

"There aren't many people."

Zhao Zhenqiang said, "After you get off the ship, deal with the fans, and then get in the car when it arrives."

Zhang Shuai'an and Zhao Yazhi are naturally fine.

The crew disembarked and walked out of the dock together.

The fans surrounding the area screamed.

Zhang Shuai'an smiled and waved to them, his expression natural, but his tone was a little awkward: "Hello, fans from Macau, I'm Zhang Shuai'an."

Among the surrounding crowd, the girls all let out sharp, explosive sounds.

Last time at the restaurant, the number of fans gathered was several times that of this place, but more than half of them were temporary actors that Zhang Shuai'an had Ling Zhijian hire.

Now, most of these dozens of people are his genuine fans.

Zhang Shuai'an was indeed a little excited.

"I am Zhao Yazhi." Zhao Yazhi had obviously seen this scene before, and waved to the fans with a faint smile.

I signed autographs and shook hands with some fans in the front row.

When the car arrived, they got in and went to their accommodation.

Shaw Brothers' style of doing business naturally wouldn't involve luxury hotels; they would just stay in ordinary inns.

After putting down my luggage, I rested for an hour.

Zhao Zhenqiang immediately took everyone to the filming location to prepare for filming.

The selected locations are all alleys with a distinct Republican-era feel, where there isn't much foot traffic.

Although the nearby residents were curious, they did not interfere and simply watched quietly from the sidelines.

However, not long after they arrived, a large number of fans gathered nearby to watch.

Zhang Shuai'an was astonished as he watched the growing number of fans gathering nearby. Were fans these days really that powerful?

On second thought, Macau is a much smaller place, so it's normal for news to spread faster.

Zhang Shuai'an and Zhao Yazhi are professional actors with great professionalism, and they acted out a love scene as if no one else was around.

We filmed until the afternoon, taking a short break and having a boxed lunch in between.

After finishing their meal, just as they were about to continue filming, Ling Zhijian came over to Zhao Zhenqiang and whispered, "Producer Zhao, something's not right. There are gangsters loitering around here."

"A gang?" Zhao Zhenqiang was taken aback. He knew all too well what kind of people in gangs were like, and immediately looked troubled.

After a moment's thought, he said to Ling Zhijian, "Give them a red envelope containing five thousand yuan and say you're treating the brothers to tea."

This is also an unspoken rule in the Hong Kong film and television industry.

Even when Jackie Chan's film crew was harassed by gangsters while filming on location, they still had to give a large red envelope as a token of their goodwill; otherwise, filming would not be able to proceed.

A short while later, Ling Zhijian returned and said softly, "They said it would cost at least 100,000 yuan."

"Ten thousand? Why don't you just rob us!" Huo Yaoliang was so angry his nose was crooked. "Even the triads on Hong Kong Island don't have such a big appetite."

Ling Zhijian replied, "That person said this is their gang's territory, and if they want to film here, they can't even think about starting work for less than 100,000. If they don't pay, they can't start filming anywhere else either."

One of the geomancers spat and cursed, "We investigated long ago and deliberately avoided the territories of those gangs before choosing this street."

Another prop master said, "They're just trying to blackmail us."

"I'll go talk to them," Zhang Shuai'an suddenly said.

"No!" Zhao Zhenqiang quickly pressed Zhang Shuai'an down. He had already witnessed Zhang Shuai'an's martial arts skills at the opening ceremony, but this kind of thing could not be solved by force.

"Let's go back to the hotel first," Zhao Zhenqiang decided immediately.

The group hurriedly returned to their lodgings.

Before long, they noticed some people who appeared to be members of a triad organization loitering around the area.

"How can we film this?"

Zhao Zhenqiang couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. Ordinary fans were actually quite easy to persuade to leave, but members of the gang were like leeches that stuck to you and you couldn't get rid of them.

Zhang Shuai'an suddenly suggested, "Why don't we go to the local cultural and tourism department and ask them to take some measures? This way, we can consider it a contribution to Macau's tourism industry."

"Foreigners are difficult to deal with." Zhao Zhenqiang shook his head. "It's better to talk to Mr. He than to them. He's highly respected in Macau and can keep things under control."

Huo Yaoliang nodded and said, "That's really a good idea. Mr. He and Mr. Shao are also on good terms."

"We can give it a try," Zhao Zhenqiang said, "but we need to consult Mr. Shao first."

They took the hotel's phone and called Shao Yifu, explaining what had just happened.

"Let me make a phone call first."

After a moment's thought, Shao Yifu said, "I'll give you a few more days. Finish filming quickly and come back soon."

after awhile.

Shao Yifu returned the call and said calmly, "Just wait where you are."

Shortly after, a luxury car pulled up downstairs at the hotel.

A middle-aged man in a tuxedo stepped out of the car and said, "Hello, I am Mr. He's butler. I have been sent to invite Producer Zhao Zhenqiang, Mr. Zhang Shuai'an, and Ms. Zhao Yazhi to a dinner party."

The conversation only mentioned the three of them; naturally, the others couldn't go.

Zhao Zhenqiang instructed Huo Yaoliang and the others, "We'll go see what's going on. You all stay in the hotel and don't go out unnecessarily."

Zhang Shuai'an was also quite curious about this Mr. He. He never expected to have the opportunity to meet him now. Fate is indeed quite magical.

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