Exciting 1979!

Chapter 296 The Best Granddaughter-in-Law Candidate

From Lao Gui, Zhou Huimin learned that Wei Ming had come to Hong Kong; he had actually come!

The 14-year-old girl, filled with the excitement of first love, was completely flustered and couldn't sleep all night, her heart pounding with the anticipation of becoming a family with Wei Ming.

What's the difference between Ah Ming investing in Holiland and investing in Holiland's heiress? We're all in the same boat, aren't we family?

She even wondered whether Ah Ming decided to invest because of his kinship with Lao Gui, or because he often heard about Holiland from her letters and therefore catered to her interests.

At this Holiland shareholders' meeting, Liu Bin, who had made meritorious contributions by lying low and also held management responsibilities, officially received half a share of the company's stock based on his outstanding performance and enjoyed Holiland's highest salary.

As Lao Gui once said, "What was the most valuable thing in the 20th century? Talent!"

Therefore, he felt that it was reasonable for Abin's salary to be higher than his and Zhou Ma's. In short, this made Liu Bin, a socialist college student in the 1960s, feel that "there are good people in capitalist families".

Wei Ming is the third largest shareholder, holding 25% of the shares with a mid-term investment of tens of thousands of US dollars.

The Zhou family mother and daughter and the old ghost each account for 35%.

Whether Wei Ming joins forces with Lao Gui or Amin, he can directly control Holiland.

However, Wei Ming was unaware of this share allocation. He simply asked Lao Gui to calculate the funding gap, and he would cover it. He didn't care how many shares would be exchanged; he could decide how much to give.

It's just something I did for fun. It's just a fast food restaurant; I'm not counting on it to make money to get married.

~
While Holiland was dividing the cake, Wei Ming was visiting Li Hanxiang's house, which was the important matter he was concerned about.

Li Hanxiang's two daughters, Li Dianlang and Li Dianxin, were both present.

Director Li, nicknamed "Li the Blackie," is tall but not particularly handsome. His daughters are not exactly beautiful either, but the two sisters are in their early twenties, and youth is their greatest asset. With the influence of their family, they dress fashionably and beautifully, so they always have a high opinion of themselves.

My mother told me that a guest who was supposedly from mainland China suddenly came to our house. They were expecting to see a country bumpkin, but instead they saw a tall, handsome guy who was 183 cm tall.

He reminded the two sisters of Chow Yun-fat, who became famous in Hong Kong with "The Beach" and was a rare tall man among Hong Kong stars. However, compared to this man, Hui Man-keung was outshone in both appearance and demeanor.

Wei Ming came to discuss the scripts "The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan" and "The Empress Dowager" with Li Hanxiang. There wasn't much to talk about. Li Hanxiang was very satisfied after reading the scripts, which far exceeded his expectations and met his expectations in every aspect.

Wei Ming thought to himself, "That's true, after all, Li Hanxiang himself was deeply involved in the original timeline script."

As for the subsequent filming and casting, that was discussed with China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio; there wasn't much to say to Wei Ming.

As soon as Wei Ming entered the house, Director Li invited him into his collection room to admire his cherished collection of many years.

“I don’t usually let just anyone see it,” Old Li said with a hint of arrogance.

Because the room wasn't big enough, it felt cramped, and everything you could see was an antique, such as a Yongzheng blue and white dragon-patterned celestial globe vase, a Liao Dynasty green-glazed leather flask, and a large glazed jar from the Lushan kiln.

Even if the chairs they sit on look ordinary, they are antiques from the Ming Dynasty, and may well have been the favorite of some high-ranking official.

The problem is that he only takes in money and rarely spends it, which infuriates his wife. All the family's money is being spent by this old geezer on junk.

Wei Ming couldn't help but compare his collection with Lao Wei's in the courtyard house. Why did he feel that Lao Wei's collection was more exquisite?
Leaving the collection room and entering the study, a neat stack of manuscripts lay on the desk in the middle, one of which, when opened, resembled a script.

“Oh, this is the script ‘Wu Song’ written for Shaw Brothers.” Old Li said proactively. He has a great fondness for classical literary works. For example, the complete illustrated edition of ‘Jin Ping Mei’ from the Kangxi era, which he had previously tried to use to seduce Wei Ming, is considered a masterpiece among his collection.

Although that story wasn't filmed directly this time, a film about Wu Song will definitely include his sister-in-law and the official, or perhaps it will use Wu Song's character to film Jinlian?
"So who would you like to play Wu Song?" Wei Ming couldn't help but have some ideas when he saw the script.

Li Hanxiang shook his head: "It's not up to me to think about it. Of course, it's the company that assigned me. The boss wants me to see if I have any chemistry with Zhang Che's protégé, so the lead role will most likely be played by Ti Lung."

At this time, 35-year-old Ti Lung's hairline had begun to recede, and he had not been a leading man for many years.

Wei Ming nodded. Old Li was also helpless. The film industry was no longer the era of him and Zhang Che. So later, the two of them chose to go north to make co-productions, trying to rebuild their glory.

Li Hanxiang did indeed produce two classic Qing Dynasty dramas, while Zhang Che's works, though not classics, still achieved considerable popularity in mainland China.

Just as Wei Ming was about to leave, Li Hanxiang brought up the issue of the price of the two scripts with him.

Since it was he who extended the invitation, he was supposed to pay in Hong Kong dollars, but he didn't know if the mainland partner would be willing to pay, so he hadn't settled the bill with Wei Ming yet.

Wei Ming generously stated, "When the payment is settled and in what currency is not important, but Director Li, could you do me a favor in a couple of days?"

"Whether or not I help promote your 'Heroes Have Always Been Young' is not a problem," Old Li grinned.

Wei Ming shook his head. If they just shouted directly, Old Li wouldn't have much influence now. They had to find another way.

~
Today, Wei Ming and Xia Meng confirmed again which competitors "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times" would be released in the same period.

Because the Hong Kong summer movie season hasn't started yet, there aren't many strong new films. Xia Meng previously mentioned that only "Ah Chan's Duty" from Ng See-yuen's company is relatively strong. "Ah Chan" is now a nickname used to mock mainlanders, but it was later adopted by mainlanders and given to Hong Kong people.

However, Xia Meng received some breaking news today: Hollywood's "Superman 2" will be released in Hong Kong simultaneously with North America; it's the series starring Christopher Reeve.

The first "Superman" movie, released in 78, made it into the top ten movies of 79 in Hong Kong, indicating that it had a certain level of popularity.

Xia Meng was not optimistic about this, but Wei Ming felt that "Superman 2" had come at just the right time.

"Aunt Xia Meng, could you help me make an appointment with reporters from Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po? I'd like to treat them to a meal."

Xia Meng nodded: "They will help us promote the movie, so it's only right that I show my appreciation. This is on me."

Another day passed, and Wei Ming had made all the necessary arrangements. There were still two days left until the official release of "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young".

Over the past day, Wei Ming drove his van around Kowloon and the New Territories, gradually getting used to the pace of driving in Hong Kong, but he has not yet set foot on Hong Kong Island.

Wei Ming also wanted to have a meal at Holiland near the University of Hong Kong, a meal of dumplings at Wan Chai Ferry Pier, and a meal at Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen.

Especially Holiland, Holiland's daughter, Zhou Huimin, would go to the store to help out after school, and even squeeze in a visit during lunch breaks, all hoping to meet the other shareholder. Old Gui saw this and was overjoyed. Apart from the age gap, Amin was the perfect candidate for his granddaughter-in-law in his eyes.

Beautiful, kind, artistically inclined, and not particularly intelligent—this is probably the kind of daughter-in-law a wealthy family would choose.

The key point is that this child is someone Old Ghost has watched grow from a child into a young woman; he knows her inside and out.

However, Wei Ming didn't seem to care much about this pen pal meeting; he was focused on his career.

As a result, Amin not only failed to see Amin, but later he couldn't even see Uncle Gui in the shop.

~
At the same Liyuan Amusement Park, Wei Ming, Biaozi, Along, Xiao Wujing, and Zhen Zidan arrived wearing T-shirts with the words "Heroes have always emerged from among the young."

Those seven elegant and graceful ink characters were still written by Wei Ming. Wei Ming, who usually practices calligraphy, may not dare to call himself a master calligrapher, but at least his work is decent and has a good structure.

Their appearance didn't attract much attention at first in the lychee orchard, until they arrived at the territory of the elephant "Tiannu".

The Asian elephant that this old man raised back then is now the star attraction and prized possession of Lai Yuen Zoo. In a small place like Hong Kong, you rarely see such a huge creature.

Its more than 20 years at Lai Yuen have become a memory for a generation of Hong Kong people, and many Hong Kong children are proud to have a photo with Tinno.

But in fact, Tiannu's background was also very tragic. In the 1950s, as a child, it came to Hong Kong with a Burmese circus. Later, the circus went bankrupt and could no longer support the family, so it was separated and sold. The baby elephant Tiannu was bought by Lai Yuen Zoo.

But as Tiannu grew larger and larger, and the number of animals in the zoo increased, its territory became smaller and smaller. Such a large elephant could only live in a space the size of a human three-bedroom apartment all day long.

Fortunately, it met its "father" a few years ago. The father truly loved it and taught it many skills, making it a star in the zoo and appearing in the news many times. It can be called a top celebrity in Hong Kong, like the elephant Jiang Tao.

Unfortunately, her father left not long after, and could only come back occasionally to see her and talk to her.

Dad came again today, and it's going to teach me new skills again.

Thanks to Lao Gui's connections with the relevant people in charge of the park, Liyuan Zoo launched a new project today - elephant tug-of-war!
With the opening of Ocean Park Hong Kong in 77, Lai Yuen Amusement Park has encountered an unprecedented crisis, with fewer and fewer visitors, and there have been no effective countermeasures recently.

The elephant tug-of-war did attract many tourists to the zoo area, making it look lively and noisy. However, that alone was not enough, as it mainly attracted the original audience of Liyuan Amusement Park.

Unless there's some particularly explosive event.

At this moment, Tiannu's keeper, Ah Kun, an apprentice brought out by Lao Gui, began to explain the rules to the tourists.

"If you buy a bunch of bananas for Tiannu, you can play a tug-of-war with him. Tie the bananas to the red dot on the rope. Tiannu the elephant is only three meters away from the red dot, but the person can be ten meters away from the banana. Whoever gets pulled across the line below the banana first wins."

At this point, a tourist asked, "What are the benefits if we win?"

"Then for the next month, all winners can enjoy free admission to Liyuan Amusement Park and Songcheng!"

This reward is quite attractive.

Then someone else asked, "Can as many people participate?"

"No more than 50 people, because our rope is only this long. But for every 5 people who exceed this number, we need to buy a bunch of bananas as a reward for our Tiannu. However, even if we lose, we can still take a photo with Tiannu."

Then the staff showed the price of the bananas. Wow, why don't you just rob someone? If you really get 50 people together, the price of bananas won't be cheap, and you might not even be able to win.

But if you win, you get 50 free monthly passes, which are also quite expensive!

Monthly passes! Who doesn't love monthly passes?

At this moment, a refined-looking man with glasses who looked like a university professor analyzed: "The average adult male weighs about 70 kilograms, while Tiannu weighs about 5000 kilograms, a difference of 70 times! Tug-of-war is ultimately about weight, so without 70 strong men, you can't even think about moving Tiannu!"

These words made many eager tourists hesitate. At this moment, a wise man stepped forward: "Why do we need 70 people? My wife, my son and I are enough."

This is a middle-aged man with a round face and glasses. If he had a small mustache, he would be a heartthrob in the gay community.

The middle-aged man's handsome 17-year-old son advised his father: "Dad, don't be so crazy. How could the three of us possibly move an elephant?"

His wife, Li Guozhen, looked at her husband with complete confidence.

Ni Kuang is a celebrity in the literary world and has even been associated with one of the Four Great Talents of Hong Kong, but not many people at the scene recognized his face.

Their son is about to study abroad, so today the couple took him out for a trip, revisiting the places they loved to visit when they were dating, to reminisce.

Unexpectedly, he encountered a merchant who came up with a new trick. Ni Kuang, who thought he was very wise after writing some so-called science fiction novels, did not explain to everyone why he said that. Instead, he directly bought a bunch of bananas and decided to be the first person to eat shit.

Wei Ming, the planner who was observing all of this from a short distance away, never expected that Ni Kuang would appear here. It really is a stroke of luck!
Of course he recognized that old face; after all, he was the future father-in-law of the goddess Vivian Chow. He wondered how Vivian Chow had gone blind.

Wei Ming couldn't help but fantasize about Zhou Yunu's legs, face, and figure, and swallowed hard.

At this point, Ni Kuang made another request to the staff: "But I have one request. We want to have a tug-of-war with Tiannu face to face. We don't want to be looking at an elephant's butt. That would be so disappointing."

Upon hearing this, many people at the scene, including his son Ni Zhen, understood. So that's how it is!

Ni Kuang was thinking, if you make an elephant face a banana and have a tug-of-war with them, is that still a tug-of-war?
That's called luring an elephant over with a rope tied to a banana, haha, I wonder which brilliant person came up with this idea.

The original plan was for Tiannu to have his back to the contestants and the banana.

At this moment, Ni Kuang suddenly made a request, and the zookeeper, A-Kun, glanced at the ghost master with unease.

Old Ghost chuckled inwardly, "You underestimate Tiannu's composure." He gave an OK sign.

The zookeeper then said, "Let me state upfront that we cannot guarantee there will be no injuries, but please trust Tenno's reputation for never harming anyone in decades. If there are no problems, then, get ready, go!"

……

(I haven't touched the computer for two days. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. That's all I can write for today. Thank you for your understanding. I'll definitely be posting lots of updates in a few days!)
(End of this chapter)