Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 309 Zhongli Ti

Early the next morning, Zhang Chen received a call from Boss Yang.

"Brother Zhang, are you free now? Let's go out for morning tea together..."

Half an hour later, the two appeared in a teahouse.

The teahouse was antique and Zhang Chen originally thought that Boss Yang would take him to some famous place, such as Daoxianglou or Peninsula Hotel, but that was not the case.

It's just an ordinary teahouse, but it looks old.

Although it’s called morning tea, it’s actually almost noon.

There were quite a few people in the restaurant, but Boss Yang obviously had a fixed seat here.

Zhang Chen noticed that there was an empty table in the crowded hall, and the two of them sat down directly at it.

"What do you want to eat today, the same as usual?" The waiter came over and greeted him warmly. It could be heard that Boss Yang must be a regular customer here.

Sure enough, Boss Yang introduced it to Zhang Chen: "I come here often. Don't be fooled by its shabby appearance. The food here is just as good as those big restaurants..."

Hong Kong people love to eat and know how to eat. Zhang Chen believes 100% in what Boss Yang says.

"I still have the same dishes. You can order whatever you want..."

Handing the menu to Zhang Chen, Boss Yang gestured for him to order whatever he wanted. Zhang Chen had no idea what this meant as he had never had dim sum in his two lives.

Looking at the menu, the names of the dishes on it are familiar to me, such as pineapple buns, steamed chicken feet, shrimp dumplings, barbecued pork buns...

I have heard the name many times, all from Hong Kong movies and TV series, but I have never eaten it.

“This, this, this, this…”

Zhang Chen took the menu and ordered a lot of things. He was ready to try everything he had never eaten before.

After listening to the menu, Boss Yang smiled and said, "You ordered a lot, but it's just right, there will be more people coming later..."

Zhang Chen thought how could it be a lot? You probably don’t know how much we northerners eat.

He had seen everything on the table. Although there were quite a few steamers, there were only three or two in each, which was not enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

As for the shrimp dumplings, he could make ten baskets by himself like it was a piece of cake.

"You said someone else is coming, who is it?"

Zhang Chen was asking around when Boss Yang said, "Yes...Oh, someone is here~"

As he said this, he waved towards the door. A woman at the door saw them, smiled and waved, then walked over.

"This is Miss Zhongli Ti. She lives nearby, so I called her over..."

Boss Yang introduced with a smile and Zhang Chen's eyes widened.

Zhong Liti, a popular star, starred in "Bodyguard from Beijing", "King of Destruction", "All's Well, Ends Well 97"...

Boss Huang mentioned her before, but I didn't expect her to have such strong execution ability. Now I get to meet her in person.

"This is Director Zhang Chen, you should know him."

Zhong Liti smiled brightly upon hearing this: "How could I not know? I've been making a living in the mainland recently, and Director Zhang Chen's name is well-known..."

"Inland?"

"Yes, I filmed "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" a few years ago..."

Oh, Zhang Chen then remembered that Zhongli Ti seemed to have played Madam Ma in Zhang Da Huzi's version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". To be honest, her performance was not very good. Among several versions of Madam Ma, only Xue Li played the best.

Zhongli Ti took her seat and the dishes they ordered were served one by one.

What can I say about the food for morning tea? The portion is not big, but it is exquisite and tastes good.

The three of them ate and chatted, not talking about serious things, mostly some gossip in the circle~
"Director Zhang is very famous in the mainland. Taken broke 100 million in five days. Li Ti, I've introduced him to you. It's up to you whether you can seize the opportunity."

After listening to what Boss Yang said, Zhongli Ti immediately picked up the teacup and said, "Director Zhang, I have been looking for a job in the mainland recently. I hope you can take care of me in the future. Today, I will use tea instead of wine to toast you..."

Her Mandarin was not very good and she spoke haltingly, but Zhang Chen couldn't understand her Cantonese. After trying several times, the three of them simply communicated in English.

"Ms. Zhong, if you want to develop in the mainland, you'd better practice your Mandarin. If you don't speak fluent Mandarin, it will be difficult for you to get good opportunities..."

"Yes, yes, I understand. I have also been learning recently..."

This sentence is spoken in Mandarin. Although it is not standard, it is quite decent. It seems that simple ones require practice.

We ate and talked, and the morning tea took more than an hour to finish.

Outside the teahouse, Boss Yang said, "I have something else to do later, so I won't be able to accompany Director Zhang. Let Li Ti be Director Zhang's tour guide this afternoon, and I'll leave the car to you..."

I don’t know what Boss Yang said to Zhongli Ti in advance, but the other party didn’t seem to object. Instead, he looked at Zhang Chen with a smile.

Boss Yang left in another car, and the driver said respectfully: "Mr. Zhang, Boss Yang said that everything will be arranged by you this afternoon, so what we are going to do next is..."

The driver was very respectful, and Zhongli Ti's beautiful eyes also looked over, full of water.

When Zhang Chen saw his appearance, for some reason, he suddenly remembered the words in "Dream of Red Mansions": Women are made of water.

Well, this woman must be very wet~
"Miss Zhong, do you want to watch a movie? I heard that "Election" directed by Johnnie To is released, and I want to go and see it..."

"Oh, Director Du's "Underworld", I haven't watched it yet~"

The driver opened the door, the two got in, and the car started steadily.

In the back row, Zhongli Ti came up naturally, put Zhang Chen's arms in her arms, and rubbed them.

Feeling the soft touch on his arm, Zhang Chen was a little distracted and couldn't help but glance at the towering figure. Seeing Zhang Chen's appearance, Zhongli Ti smiled and didn't seem to mind at all. Instead, she hugged him tighter with both hands.

Now that he knew Zhongli Ti's attitude, Zhang Chen's hands became restless. The other party's behavior spoke for itself.

It's nice to have some dessert after finishing a meal.

……

Haiyun Cinema, the flagship cinema of Golden Harvest Cinema Chain.

The car stopped at the door, and Zhongli Ti took him to buy tickets, wait for the show, and then watch the movie in a familiar manner.

This version of "Underworld" is not much different from what he remembered, it is still a story about elections.

The English name of "Underworld" is 'Election'.

This is considered Johnnie To's culmination work. He had originally planned to compete for next year's Cannes Film Festival with this film, but unfortunately he failed in the end.

After watching the movie, the two came out and chatted while walking.

"Do you like Johnnie To very much?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I saw that you were so focused when you were watching just now that you couldn't hear me calling you~" There was a hint of anger in Zhongli Ti's eyes.

I have to say, this woman is really charming.

Although she is not young anymore, her femininity becomes more charming as she gets older.

"Haha, is there? By the way, do you women like watching Johnnie To's movies?"

Zhong Liti tilted her head and thought for a moment before raising her beautiful eyes: "I don't think he's particularly attractive to us, but the male characters in his movies are all quite attractive~"

Zhang Chen also thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.

In this circle, there are many directors who can film women.

Xu Ke and Wang Jing are both like this. Zhang Chen himself is also good at taking pictures of women...

But the only one who can shoot men is Johnnie To.

Look at Liang Jiahui, who is full of heroism in "Election", and Andy Lau, who plays "Detective", who is sensitive and has sharp eyes. The "idol" aura always surrounds him, and also shows an artistic temperament in "Infernal Affairs". Wu Zhenyu is elegant and dangerous in "Gunfire".

He can always bring out the most hormonal side of men. This is probably his ability.

Each male actor shows a different temperament under his lens, and this is what makes Johnnie To so great.

The two of them walked outside while talking, but they were unexpectedly surrounded by a large group of reporters as soon as they came out.

"Director Zhang Chen, are you dating Zhong Liti?"

"Excuse me, Director Zhang, how long have you and Zhongli Ti been together?"

"Mr. Zhang Chen, did you just come out of a movie? What movie was it?"

The reporters were talking at once, chattering away for a while, and had no idea how to answer.

Zhang Chen blocked Zhongli Ti behind him, not as a flower protector, but simply as a man's subconscious reaction.

After waiting for a few seconds and feeling that there was no danger, he said in Mandarin: "You guys are talking so much, I think I understand what you mean, let's follow the old rules, answer three questions..."

The paparazzi didn't understand what the old rules were, but they knew that Zhang Chen was ready to answer questions. They became quiet for a moment and the microphones surrounded Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen then stood still, looked around, and said, "Let me explain first, Miss Zhong and I are not in a relationship. We just met today. Since I am not familiar with Hong Kong, Miss Zhong acted as my guide..."

After a pause, he said, "We did come to watch a movie. It was "Election" directed by Johnnie To. The movie is very good. I think it is the best gangster movie I have ever seen..."

Hearing Zhang Chen say this, the reporters around him immediately became noisy and rushed to ask questions one after another.

Zhang Chen immediately made a stop gesture, and then said: "My Cantonese is not very good. Whoever speaks Mandarin can ask questions, but we also agreed that we will only answer three questions, and we will be allowed to leave after three. After all, this is a public place, everyone should not create chaos, which will affect the businesses..."

At this time, the manager of the Haiyun Cinema also received the news and rushed out. He had met Zhang Chen before. After all, Zhang Chen and Liang Jiahui had come here for a roadshow a few days ago.

Seeing that the theater manager began to organize his men to maintain order, Zhang Chen called a reporter.

The reason why I chose him is that he is the only one among the crowd who speaks relatively good Mandarin.

When the man saw that it was him, he immediately pushed the microphone forward and asked, "Director Zhang, since you just watched "Election", what do you think of "Election", or do you have anything to say to Director Johnnie To?"

Zhang Chen laughed in silence. This guy obviously had some ulterior motives and wanted to bring trouble between him and Johnnie To.

It should be because "锵锵三人行" has not been aired yet, otherwise these guys would definitely know that their favorite person is Johnnie To, so how could they possibly argue?

"Like Director Du's previous films, the plot conflicts in Underworld develop very quickly. I have studied Director Du's films before. He likes to make the story burst out intensively and quickly in a very short period of time, so as to highlight the story and conflict of the film.

The decisions people make in a split second are the most fundamental emotional climax and inner choice of human nature. The twists and turns of "PTU" took only one night, the three cat-and-mouse games of "Infernal Affairs" took only 3 hours, and "Big Event" created a classic in half a day. The plots are so interlocking that it is dizzying, which makes people "enjoy watching it!"

Hearing all the compliments Zhang Chen gave, the paparazzi felt proud. Someone immediately asked in Mandarin, "What do you think of director Johnnie To's level?"

This is another question with ulterior motives.

These paparazzi reporters in Hong Kong are accustomed to asking questions with traps.

“Director Du is of course a very good director. In fact, I think he is very special.

There are a large number of craftsman-type directors in Hong Kong, and Director Du was originally one of them. But it can be seen that he has created his unique action movie rhythm, which is different from Hollywood and Hong Kong, from repetitive mechanical creations.

Many of Director Du's creative inspirations probably come from Kurosawa Akira, but he has developed a set of "sight and perspective" style that belongs only to him, which is particularly evident in "Underworld."

(End of this chapter)