Hong Kong 1980: Me and the Queen Swapped Clothes

Qin Ma said innocently, "Didn't you tell Aunt Xia that you wanted to go to the film set to see for yourself? Aunt Xia only agreed after you kept pestering her. Don't cause Aunt Xia any trouble. She's only in her twenties. She can't act like a big shot in front of those directors."

Fang Yanmei gasped in shock. She only knew that Qin Weiming's family was well-off, but she didn't expect that he would have influential relatives in the TV series. This Aunt Xia sounded very powerful, but she was only in her twenties.

Seeing Fang Yanmei's headache, Qin Ma was completely unfazed. Instead, she proudly instructed her, "When your Aunt Xia is filming TV, you should learn a lot from her, run errands whenever possible, and be diligent. It will make your Aunt Xia proud, you know? What if you get a chance to film TV too?"

Fang Yanmei forced a smile. Her biggest worry was that she had no idea how Qin Weiming and Aunt Xia had communicated. Now that it was her turn to go, it would be a miracle if she didn't slip up.

While worrying about being exposed by Aunt Xia, whom Qin Ma had mentioned, Fang Yanmei also thought of the original Qin Weiming and immediately realized something was wrong.

"Oh no, what if Qin Weiming is in Hong Kong? Won't he be exposed too? He can't even speak Cantonese!" Fang Yanmei suddenly thought of this and her heart skipped a beat. She even forgot to worry about herself.

She can sing Cantonese songs here, but the original Fang Yanmei had to go to different venues to sing every day to earn money. Now Qin Weiming is her. Qin Weiming can't even sing Mandarin songs well, so how can he earn a monthly salary to support his family?

……

Qin Weiming should be supporting his family.

As he walked down the street, he kept trying to get information out of Sister Chun, but apart from learning that Fang Yanmei usually sang at Dafei's bar and Liyuan Grand Stage, he knew very little else.

It was largely because Tan Meijin's treatment of Fang Yanmei was so notorious that the neighbors couldn't stand it anymore. Sister Chun, being a righteous person, kept urging her at the door, "Amei, do you want me to go in with you?"

Qin Weiming smiled. He had seen that Sister Chun was busy with her own things, and as a result, leading the way back and forth had wasted an hour of her time. "Sister Chun, don't worry, it's not like I'm new to getting Da Fei to pay me. Do you think the bar's business will be affected without me?"

"That's true, your songs are better than everyone else's. I'll head back now, but come visit the shop sometime." Sister Chun thought about it and agreed.

Qin Weiming immediately agreed: "I definitely will."

Looking at the bar in front of me, a bright blue signboard features a golden rooster slanted across the front, poised to take flight. Opposite the rooster are the four gleaming characters: "Golden Phoenix Bar".

During the day, the four characters "Golden Phoenix Bar" can be seen in neon light style, and they should even flash with colorful lights, making it very eye-catching at night.

As Qin Weiming entered the bar, someone came up to him: "Sister Fang, you're here. The boss is waiting for you on the second floor."

"Okay, thanks." Qin Weiming went up to the second floor. There was only one narrow door. She went in and found Dafei's room with a table and a sofa, as well as many bottles of foreign liquor.

"Boss, I'm here." Dafei, a middle-aged man in his thirties, had a lifelike blue fish tattooed on his arm. He was smoking and gestured to the red envelope on the table: "Eighteen thousand. You worked so hard last month. Did your mom lose the horse race? Or did your two older brothers get into trouble again?"

Qin Weiming didn't know how Fang Yanmei would respond, so he just smiled and said, "Boss, thank you."

Dafei stood up and blocked Qin Weiming inside the room. His big face was full of sincerity: "Amei, why don't you come with me? I have two venues under my management, so supporting you won't be a problem. You won't have to work so hard singing for money. How about I give you ten thousand a month? If you give me a baby, I'll give you another ten thousand a month."

While Dafei wasn't paying attention, Qin Weiming quickly opened the red envelope in his hand and glanced at it. The thin wad of money lay inside. Considering the current prices in Hong Kong, where an average person's monthly income is only three thousand Hong Kong dollars, this amount of money could be considered a high salary.

But think about what Fang Yanmei has sacrificed, working day and night in nightclubs, facing risks, and being relentlessly pursued by a greasy old man like Dafei.

He thought the money wasn't enough.

She also had to deal with Dafei's opportunistic and heartfelt confession.

"Boss, I've been in this business since I was four years old. I'm not some little girl who's only been around for four days or four months. You know, from Liyuan to this area, everyone has heard of me, Fang Yanmei. Otherwise, you wouldn't have hired me to stand up for you. I have a good voice, but I'm not pretty. I'm happy that you've taken a liking to me, but I can't be a burden to you. Everyone knows that my mother and brother are three big troubles, and you can't afford to support them."

No matter what, my mother gave birth to me and raised me. I've raised her for so many years, and even if you give me a thousand dollars, it won't be enough to feed her. She wants to gamble on horse races, and when she runs out of money, she goes crazy and burns me to the ground.

"Even if you sell all your brothels, it won't be enough for her gambling. You might as well sell me and let her continue gambling. Boss, let me go home. I need this money for my mom."

Qin Weiming's words were seven parts truth and three parts falsehood. He started by playing the victim, and Dafei, who had initially been blocking her, hesitated.

His eyes were filled with pity as he looked at the stubborn, aloof girl before him, who was as pure as a black lotus, yet there was also a trace of unwilling struggle: "Can't you just abandon your mother? That scumbag Qin Meijin, how much money has she taken from you over the past ten years? She's fattened your two brothers up like pigs, and starved you every day. You come here to me and I'll take care of you."

Qin Weiming gave another bitter smile: "Brother Fei, if your mother hits you, would you hit your mother back? Brother Fei, I know you're a good person, I don't want to put you in a difficult position. In this life, I'm just not that lucky."

Secretly pinching her palm, Qin Weiming's eyes reddened. The girl was still biting her lower lip, but her bright black eyes were still staring at Dafei without blinking, as if telling the story of how the two were destined to be apart.

Dafei's voice trembled: "I still have ten thousand here, Amei, you keep it, don't let your mother pay it. Sigh, from now on, my place will only be for you."

Qin Weiming hurried past Dafei, and just before closing the door, he threw out a sentence to Dafei: "Brother Fei, smoke less. You've been coughing more this month than last month. Drink more herbal tea."

The door closed gently.

Hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Dafei's eyes also reddened.

She was saddened that we were not meant to be, so she quickly moved away from me.

This feeling was really unbearable for Dafei. As a dignified man, he also had the urge to fight for Fang Yanmei, but when he thought of how Qin Meijin regarded Fang Yanmei as a cash cow, he hesitated.

If Fang Yanmei was willing to abandon her mother, Dafei would be willing to give it a try. But if she brought along such a bloodsucking mother, Dafei considered his two establishments and decided he'd rather keep the money to hire more women.