The literary era since 1979

September 4, dusk.

A plane from Yanjing to Hong Kong arrived at the airport. Fang Yan had already dealt with all the matters that needed to be dealt with in the mainland. He passed through the VIP channel and walked out of the exit. He quickly found Pan Yaoming in the crowd and walked straight towards him.

"Why don't you come back with the crew of Farewell My Concubine?"

"No, there's too much to do."

"That's really a shame."

Pan Yaoming said that when Zhang Guorong, Zhang Yimou, Gong Li and others returned to Hong Kong, they were warmly welcomed by almost the entire city of Hong Kong, just like the reception of the Chinese women's volleyball team back then. Not only did they arrange a "Watergate", they also specially arranged floats and a "city parade".

"It's like the Chinese national football team has made it to the World Cup."

Fangyan smiled.

"It's more than just making it to the World Cup, it's winning the World Cup!"

As they walked, Pan Yaoming said, "This is an Oscar-winning film. It is unique in the entire Chinese-language film industry!"

Fangyan asked in detail, and learned that after "Farewell My Concubine" won the Oscar for Best Picture, the Ming Tianxia Company that produced the film immediately cooperated with Hong Kong cinema chains such as Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers, and Golden Princess, and re-screened the film in cinemas across Hong Kong the day after the award ceremony.

Pan Yaoming said that "Farewell My Concubine" was not only re-screened in Hong Kong, but also landed in movie theaters in Taiwan.

"Maybe it can even be nominated for this year's Golden Horse Awards. This is also the first mainland film to be nominated for the Formosa Film Awards, right?"

"I don't care."

Fangyan curled his lips. "Farewell My Concubine" was shortlisted for the Golden Horse Awards, which is an honor for the Golden Horse Awards.

Pan Yaoming shook his head and laughed, then opened the trunk and asked him to put the luggage in it.

"Where to? Should I send you to Repulse Bay, or..."

"It's getting late, let's find a place to eat."

Fangyan looked up at the sky. It was full of rosy clouds, as if it was on fire, sometimes glowing red, sometimes glowing yellow.

"I expected you to say that."

Pan Yaoming said that he had already booked a table at the Central Hotel in Sham Shui Po.

The restaurant has been open in Hong Kong for more than 30 years. The decoration is simple and nostalgic. Even the notice outside the restaurant is hand-written with a brush. The dim sum selection in the restaurant is also nostalgic, such as roast pork rolls, three-treasure buns, clay pot rice...

In the aisle, the shop assistant was pushing a dim sum cart while loudly shouting the name of each dim sum.

Pan Yaoming poured tea for the two of them and said, "Tell me, what have you been busy with in the mainland? You even missed the celebration party for the Oscar for Best Picture."

Fang Yan was silent for a moment before he said, "You should know Mr. Wang Meng, right?"

"As the Minister of Culture, who doesn't know this?"

Pan Yaoming was very surprised. "You stayed in Yanjing, is it because of Minister Wang?"

“It’s related to Teacher Wang, but it’s more related to People’s Literature.”

Fangyu said seriously, "Old Pan, I may be transferred to People's Literature as editor-in-chief."

Pan Yaoming was stunned for a moment, then blurted out: "Why did you suddenly transfer me back to People's Literature?"

Fang Yan explained: "It's just like the reason why I was transferred to Hong Kong Joint Publishing Company, to help the local community in an emergency."

Pan Yaoming was puzzled. "People's Literature" was a national literary magazine. Could something major have happened?
The dialect succinctly describes the various problems currently facing People's Literature, especially the continued decline in sales.

"The degree of commercialization of literature in the mainland is not as high as that in Hong Kong. Many magazines and publishing houses still use the previous operation and management model, and it is difficult for them to adapt to the market-oriented transformation. Moreover, literary journals that mainly publish serious literature can hardly meet the readers' demand for popular literature..."

“Is the situation of People’s Literature so serious?”

Pan Yaoming frowned.

“It’s not just People’s Literature. Most literary magazines are beginning to go downhill.”

Fangyan looked solemn.

"From the look of you, you've already made up your mind."

Pan Yaoming stopped trying to persuade him, as he was very clear about the importance and status of People's Literature in his heart.

Fangyan said nothing, and the atmosphere at the table gradually became heavy, with a hint of sadness of parting with good friends.

Pan Yaoming was eating tapioca pearls. "When are we leaving?"

"The appointment will probably come at the end of this year or early next year."

Fangyan tried to lighten the mood by joking: "When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you, Lao Pan, to take over my position."

Pan Yaoming waved his hand, "Come on, I still hope you can keep this position."

"How can that be possible?" Fang Yan said, "Won't that hinder your progress?"

Pan Yaoming disagreed. Although the position of editor-in-chief of Sanlian Bookstore was indeed very tempting, Fangyan offered too much.

Not only did he let me serve as the vice chairman of the foundation's Hong Kong branch, he also let me serve as the deputy general manager of Ming Tianxia's entertainment and film and television publishing company in Hong Kong, responsible for book publishing, distribution, sales and copyright management, and also managed my finances...

"Speaking of the company, Hong Kong will depend on you in the future."

Fangyan cast a meaningful look.

Pan Yaoming rolled his eyes. "It's easy for you to say that, you don't know how busy the company is right now."

One moment, it was said that Huang Yi was inspired by the dialect version of "Xuan-Yuan Sword" and wrote a martial arts novel set in the early Ming Dynasty, "Fu Yu Fan Yun". The next moment, it was said that Ma Rongcheng has now taken over as the director of the comics department and has started to create the "Feng Yun" comics...

"Then I might have to work harder for you."

Fangyan touched his nose awkwardly.

Pan Yaoming was just wondering when he heard his future plans for the company, such as cooperation between "Manga World" and "Children's World", serializing their respective works in each other's magazines, and even drawing on the Japanese manga magazine "Shogakukan" to set up a low-child animation magazine based on "Manga World", targeting children, elementary school students, and especially girls' comics.

Fang Yan said: "In addition, regarding the animation..."

"Slow down."

Pan Yaoming interrupted, "Animation? Are you planning to make the comics into cartoons and animated movies?"

Fang Yan said: "In order to open up the entire animation industry chain, animation is an inevitable step."

Pan Yaoming did not object, but Hong Kong's entertainment industry was very lame. Although its film industry was the best in Asia, it was quite backward in the animation industry. Although TVB had set up an animation department and invested in several film projects, it was still not as good as the mainland in terms of performance and ability.

Not to mention, Japan, which has already opened up an entire animation industry chain and is in its golden age.

"So I have this plan. We will act as a matchmaker and jointly produce a work with the US studio and Studio Ghibli."

A gleam of light flashed in Fangyan's eyes.

"What work? Is it the comic serialized in Manga World?"

Pan Yaoming immediately rejected his idea, "No, Miyazaki Hayao would not look down on these." Fang Yan said, "Do you remember that the Taiwan delegation repeatedly asked me to write a children's literature novel?"

"It's this one!" Pan Yaoming immediately understood, "You want to adapt the novel into an animated film."

Fangyan nodded and said that the next issue of "Children's World" magazine would begin serializing "Spirited Away", which would first arouse a wave of attention and discussion in the country. At the same time, he would go to Studio Ghibli to discuss cooperation matters with Hayao Miyazaki and others in person.

Pan Yaoming asked: "So you still want to go to Japan?"

Fangyan planned to wait for Gong Xing, Zhu Lin and others to return from filming in Bangkok before setting off for Japan.

Pan Yaoming asked, "When you asked for leave from Mr. Xiao, should you also tell him about your trip to People's Literature?"

"It's a bit too early. I want to wait until the time is right. What do you think?"

Fangyan took out a tissue and wiped his mouth.

Pan Yaoming stood up and touched his belly. "Okay, I'll tell everyone after your appointment letter is finalized."

After paying the bill, Fangyan did not rush home, but walked with Pan Yaoming on the neon-lit streets to help digest the food.

The two talked about interesting stories from Hong Kong's literary and entertainment circles, all the way to Japan.

"If you go to Tokyo, who will pick you up? Is it still Hikaku?"

Pan Yaoming stopped in front of a stall selling curry fish balls.

"I'll contact Kadokawa Lehiko."

Fangyan plans to stop by Dengeki Bunko and the bookstore under his name, and at the same time dispose of several properties in Japan.

"Oh, I should have listened to your advice and gritted my teeth and bought a house in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka."

Pan Yaoming sighed softly.

"Regret it?"

The dialect is used in a joking tone to ridicule.

"It would be strange if I didn't regret it."

Pan Yaoming's face was filled with regret and remorse. No one could have imagined that Japan's real estate market and land prices would rise so rapidly. One square meter of land in Ginza alone is worth 70 US dollars. In Tokyo, the "Tokyo Imperial Plaza", a mere one square mile of land, currently has a market price equivalent to the 42 square kilometers of California. The land price in the entire Tokyo exceeds the total land area of ​​the United States.

During the bubble economy, Japan was even so arrogant as to clamor for Tokyo to replace New York and become the world's financial center.

"Don't feel like you've lost out. Even though you didn't make much money in the property market, you did make a lot from stocks, futures, and foreign exchange speculation, right?"

Fangyan picked up the curry fish balls with a skewer and put them into his mouth to chew.

"Hey, Toefel Toefel, I'll be satisfied if I just follow you and drink some soup."

Pan Yaoming suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Yanzi, what do you think will happen next? The Nikkei index has already broken through 3 points. Many newspapers say that the Nikkei index is expected to break through the high point this year and rush to 5 points. Should we take advantage of the opportunity to invest more in the second half of the year?"

Although Fangyan does not remember whether the Nikkei index broke through 4 points, he clearly remembers that the Japanese economic bubble burst at the end of 89.

Only a few people smelled the crisis and withdrew at the last moment, while many more people were unable to extricate themselves from the happiness of the "bubble" and the fantasy of "Japan No. 1" in the first year of Heisei. The result was that the bubble burst, some collapsed, some jumped off buildings.

All-in is a kind of wisdom, but unfortunately, every time Japan goes all-in, the result is basically a crushing defeat.

So he pretended to think deeply for a while, and then said slowly: "It is best described by a sentence from A Dream of Red Mansions."

"Which sentence?"

Pan Yaoming pricked up his ears.

"It is really a flourishing scene, with oil boiling in a blazing fire and flowers blooming in profusion."

Fangyan pointed with a stick at the bustling street full of lights and wine.

"what do you mean……"

Pan Yaoming was shocked.

"It looks like a flourishing business, but in reality, it's nothing." Fang Yan smiled, "Otherwise, why would I only keep a few properties and office buildings in Tokyo? I sold all the others over the years while the property market was booming."

"I understand what you mean. I will start cashing out in the second half of the year and sell everything as long as the price is right."

Pan Yaoming looked serious.

"It is a great blessing to stop at the right time."

Fangyan patted his shoulder, and then he and he followed the same route they had just taken and returned to the parking space next to the Central Hotel.

Pan Yaoming drove him back to Repulse Bay. At this time, there were only the housekeeper Wu Ma, a group of nannies and Filipino maids in the huge villa.

Gong Xing, Zhu Lin and others have not returned yet. They are still in Cayman, Thailand, filming "In the Mood for Love" with Wang Jiawei, Zhang Guorong and others.

Fang Yan took a shower and then called Lin Qingxia's home. As expected, she had returned to Hong Kong from Hollywood.

"Beep beep."

As soon as the phone call was hung up, Lin Qingxia put down the script in her hand and ran happily to the bedroom on the second floor.

She walked quickly to the closet, carefully selected from a pile of clothes, changed into a brown silk suspender dress, and wore a thin white shirt. Then she came to the mirror, twisted left and right, and secretly thanked herself for not removing her makeup. At this time, her face was lightly made up, like a fleeting shadow in the autumn.

After a while, the doorbell rang "Ding Dong", followed by the sound of hurried footsteps "Dong Dong Dong" on the stairs.

As soon as the door opened, Fang Yan was immediately attracted by Lin Qingxia's outfit.

Seeing his fiery eyes, Lin Qingxia couldn't help but feel sweet in her heart. She was happy to dress up for her confidant and didn't forget to dress up carefully.

"Don't stand there, come inside."

"Ah."

Fang Yan walked through the entrance hall and looked around carefully. It was even more deserted than his own villa. It was empty and there was no one around.

"Tomorrow is May Day."

Lin Qingxia showed a sly smile, "So I made the decision to give the housekeeper and the nanny a holiday in advance. Now there are only two of us at home."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flew forward and gave me a solid hug, like a ray of sunshine in winter, warm and passionate.

They leaned on each other and started talking. It seemed as if they had thousands of words to say but could not express them all.

Fangyan took a quick glance and suddenly noticed the movie script on the table, on which were written the words "Red Dust".

"This is a script adapted from Sanmao's novel, and it is her first work as a screenwriter."

Lin Qingxia said that when Sanmao was writing the script, she locked herself on the fourth floor and wrote for several months before she finished it. After she finished writing, she called her to read the script, read every word to her, and even performed it for her. As Sanmao's good friend who was as close as a sister, it was natural for her to support Sanmao!
"Oh!"

Fangyan suddenly became interested.

Lin Qingxia said: "You are a great writer and screenwriter. Please take a good look at it for me and Sanmao to see where there is room for improvement." (End of this chapter)