Exciting 1979!

Chapter 298: The movie premiered to a packed house on its opening day! Giving the Hong Kong film industry a small but powerful shock.
Ni Kuang is usually quick-witted, but faced with a situation like this, he had no choice but to leave. The Ta Kung Pao reporter who was standing next to him also captured the scene of him running away with his wife.

Although such reports on bodily fluids and urination are not in line with the style of Ta Kung Pao, they could be placed in its subsidiary newspaper, Xin Wan Bao, which has a more down-to-earth style.

Moreover, with so many interesting things happening in Liyuan today, writing just one or two articles wouldn't be enough. This reporter also plans to submit articles under a pseudonym to some other local tabloids.

Not only can I earn more royalties, but I can also receive an extra reward from Comrade Wei Ming. Why not?

Although the only official reporters were these two from the left, there were hundreds of people present, and everyone had a mouth. All sorts of legends about Lai Yuen, Elephant Tiannu, Zhao Debiao, heroes have always emerged from among the young, and Ni Kuang began to spread in tea restaurants, living rooms, buses, and offices.

Meanwhile, some tabloid reporters, sensing the urge, have already begun gathering related information; ordinary people love these outrageous news stories.

After Wei Ming finished dealing with everything at the zoo and shook hands with A-Kun, he saw Lao Gui touching Tian Nu's nose and saying something. Finally, he waved goodbye to it.

"What are you talking about?" Wei Ming asked the old man.

The old ghost said, "I said that its living space will become bigger and more comfortable in the future."

"can you?"

"It all depends on how successful your hype is. Hopefully, the owner here will realize Tiannu's value," Old Ghost said. His active cooperation with Wei Ming stemmed not only from their grandfather-grandson bond but also from his desire to help Tiannu improve his living conditions.

"Would you like to come to our shop for a meal later? We have all kinds of classic snacks from both the north and south of China."

"Do you have douzhi (fermented mung bean juice)?" Wei Ming asked.

Old Gui thought for a moment and reiterated, "We have all kinds of classic and delicious snacks from both the North and the South."

Very good, we've excluded douzhi (fermented mung bean juice). Those snacks that weren't included should look for the reasons within themselves.

Wei Ming smiled and said, "Let's finish these two days. I still need to take Biaozi and the others to deal with some interviews and program recordings. I need to teach them what to say when facing the media."

"Then you'd better hurry. Your pen pal really wants to meet you. He heard you invested in Holiland and has been coming to help out at the store after school these past few days, just wanting to see you," Old Gui reminded him, he was really worried about this grandson.

Wei Ming could understand the eagerness of meeting online friends, but after experiencing it so many times, she didn't have any particular expectations. What could a 14-year-old girl expect?

However, Lao Gui's reminder was timely. He remembered that he had promised Amin a song, and he had to think carefully about which one to copy tonight.

Regardless of whether we have a chance to meet during this trip to Hong Kong, I will definitely give her this song.

~
The next day, before newspapers and magazines could even begin to fully capitalize on the situation, the aftereffects of yesterday's elephant tug-of-war incident were already emanating from the media.

Xia Meng suddenly called Wei Ming to tell him some good news.

"Mr. Qiu Degen promised to lend us the two theaters at Liyuan and Songcheng to show movies, and you really kept your word!"

Chiu Te-ken was once a cinema tycoon, owning more than a dozen theaters at his peak. However, as his business grew, the theater business had to give way to real estate. Now, he only retains two theaters in two tourist attractions, Songcheng and Liyuan Amusement Park, which can show movies and hold performances.

This morning, Qiu Degen, who was having breakfast, saw a report in Wen Wei Po about the spectacular elephant tug-of-war at Liyuan Zoo.

Seeing the huge crowds in the photos, Chiu Te-ken felt disoriented. Was this really Lai Yuen Zoo, or Ocean Park Hong Kong?
Lai Yuen hasn't been this lively in a long time. Before acquiring Lai Yuen, he still attached great importance to the amusement park industry. He immediately called to ask what exactly happened yesterday and what the elephant tug-of-war was all about.

Logically speaking, adding just an elephant tug-of-war entertainment activity shouldn't have caused such a sensation.

So the zoo manager recounted the whole incident to the big boss, including how the famous writer Ni Kuang was the first to stand up, promising to eat excrement and then skipping out on the bill.

Then there were the bodybuilders from St. Paul's Co-educational High School, 50 gangsters, and finally the four-man group from "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young," who brought the whole audience to a climax, especially Zhao Debiao, who seemed like a god descending to earth.

The report included a photo of the four men with Tiannu, with the tall Biaozi sitting directly on Tiannu's head, like a warrior riding an elephant.

Qiu Degen immediately praised the manager's competence.

The manager, thinking of Lao Gui's ghostly eyes, didn't dare to take credit: "Actually, it wasn't my idea. It was the crew of the 'Heroes Have Always Been Young' who took the initiative to propose the collaboration."

"They actually suggested it themselves?" Are all film crews this clever these days? Chiu Te-ken asked again, "Which company makes this movie? Shaw Brothers or Golden Harvest?"

"It's a new company, Bluebird Film Company, founded by Ms. Xia Meng, the eldest princess of Great Wall Film Company."

People of Qiu Degen's age could not possibly be unaware of the three princesses of the Great Wall, with Xia Meng being particularly famous in Hong Kong.

"Oh, it's Ms. Xia Meng." Qiu Degen immediately offered to have his manager contact Qingniao, and he would lend them his two theaters to show movies.

Remembering Lao Gui's advice, the manager added, "Boss, could we improve Tiannu's living conditions? Her original place was too cramped, and it's showing signs of turning red."

"You can handle this yourself." Qiu Degen then hung up the phone.

Others might not dare to associate with left-wing filmmakers, but Qiu Degen is not afraid of any Freedom Society. Does that Tong Yuejuan dare to make him write a guarantee?

As a result, the number of cinemas that could screen "Heroes Have Always Been Young" increased from 8 to 10.

Two are on Hong Kong Island, three are in Kowloon, and the remaining five are in the New Territories.

When Wei Ming asked Xia Meng to help make a few clothes, she thought the child was being whimsical. She never expected that he would actually succeed. Now, more people can see their movie.

At that time, the first thing to consider when making a film in Hong Kong was how to get more viewers to see it, because most cinemas only showed films from the film companies they exclusively cooperated with, making it very difficult for small film companies to survive.

What Xia Meng didn't expect was that the influence was not limited to that. The day before the movie was released, several media outlets suddenly reported on the heroic deeds of "Unparalleled Warrior Zhao Debiao".

When people mention him, they always mention "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" and the one kilogram of elephant dung that Master Ni Kuang owes.

"Devilish Muscle Men Battle Divine Elephant Slaves! The Lai Yuen Tug-of-War Competition Shakes Hong Kong!"

A shocking incident! A muscular man's clothes ripped off, terrifying the elephant tycoon!

A muscular man suddenly appeared out of nowhere! Look what he did to the elephant!

The father of Wesley threatened to eat shit, witnessed by a thousand people!

"The King of Fighters Arrives! A Northern Master Claims He's Unrivaled in Hong Kong!"

Although only Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po can truly be considered major newspapers, the headlines of other tabloids resonated with the public, resulting in significantly higher sales than usual.

Hong Kong hasn't had such an interesting and lively scene to watch in a long time.

Biaozi felt a little smug when he saw the embarrassing headlines on the tabloids that Wei Ming had Zhen Zidan collect, and he planned to take all the newspapers back to Yanzi to see.

"But I never said that he was invincible throughout Hong Kong," Biaozi said.

Wei Ming, holding the newspaper, said, "I never said that. I didn't submit this article."

It turns out that many of these articles were personally written by Wei Ming. Some newspapers hadn't even realized it yet when they saw Wei Ming's submission under a pseudonym. They found it interesting and published it without paying any fees since he hadn't even left his contact information.

Zhen Zidan asked worriedly, "Won't this provoke a conflict between us and the Hong Kong martial arts community?"

Biaozi asked, "Will that have any impact?"

Zhen Zidan thought for a moment: "The worst-case scenario is that they might come and challenge you while we're promoting the movie."

"That's it?" Biaozi immediately relaxed. It was just a martial arts competition. Before leaving, his advisor had taught him a lot of practical combat techniques.

Although Wei Ming had confidence in Biaozi's combat abilities, he had trained him himself, and the child was not yet born. He had to ensure Biaozi's safety, so he gave Biaozi some more instructions on what to do if he encountered a challenger.

~
At that moment, in a convenience store in Wan Chai, Li Zhi, dressed in tight-fitting work clothes, had just seen off a customer.

Her father, Li Yongxi, was working at a theater at the time, working as a stage actor. However, he also had a new wife and new children to support, and getting Lizhi to Hong Kong was already the limit of his ability. He couldn't offer much more help to his daughter, whom he had only met a few times. Lizhi found the sales clerk job herself. She was quite adaptable, after all, she was a tough girl who had run away from home at the age of eight, traveling alone from Xi'an back to Guangzhou, and then back to Shanghai.

Because the guest was being too lewd, staring at Lizhi for a long time, he accidentally left his newspaper here.

There were no customers at the moment, so she simply picked it up and started reading. This way, she could learn about Hong Kong and also improve her ability to adapt to traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese writing.

"It's horse racing again. These Hong Kong people really love horse racing." Lizhi complained, skipping over the reports about horse racing and flipping to the next one, which had the headline "The King of Horse Racing Arrives! Northern Master Claims He's Unrivaled in Hong Kong!"

Is it about the martial arts world?

Lizhi doesn't know much about this circle, and she doesn't know who Li Lianjie, the all-around martial arts champion in mainland China, is.

But it's more interesting than Marseille, right? She immediately started watching and learned that the so-called Northern master "Biao Wang" was the actor who played the main villain in the movie "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young".

He gained media attention because he won a tug-of-war against an elephant yesterday.

Lizhi, who has a high school education, thought to herself, "How can she possibly pull an elephant? That's ridiculous."

Oh, it wasn't just him alone. There was also a child and two short guys. He was the one who joined last and turned the tide of the battle. It's still pretty far-fetched.

But what Lizhi noticed was the name of the movie. Didn't that Peking University writer Wei Ming say that "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" was his screenplay? She even ran into him at Liyuan Park a couple of days ago.

Although he didn't respect his own charm enough, Lizhi was still willing to support the movie, after all, it was made by a fellow mainland Chinese.

As one of the "Northern Girls" in the eyes of Hong Kong people, Lizhi always wanted to integrate into their society, but she still felt a sense of familiarity when she saw things from the mainland. She went to see the movie "The Herdsman" when it was released in Hong Kong a while ago. Oh, this movie is also by Wei Ming.

I was hoping to talk to him about this movie last time, but he just disappeared.

Besides Lizhi, Zhou Huimin also saw the report at school. The male students saw it while reading a newspaper, and she borrowed it after hearing the title "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times".

Unfortunately, the entire article focused on the man who ripped off his clothes, without mentioning Ah Ming once, and he wasn't even among the four people in the group photo.

If it weren't for Uncle Gui's earlier mention of investing, she would have thought that Ah Ming hadn't come to Hong Kong, and that he was just too busy.

Wei Ming is indeed very busy. Tonight, he will be interviewed by Ming Pao. The interview is for the entire crew, but of course, the focus will be on Kuang Biao, who is said to be invincible in Hong Kong.

This morning, Jin Yong, the owner of Ming Pao, discovered while reading his former employer Ta Kung Pao that Bluebird's opening film was about to be released, and that it had become a city-wide sensation for winning a tug-of-war against an elephant at Lai Yuen. He immediately sent his reporters to interview the person in charge.

"Is this an interview with Mr. Ni Kuang?" his subordinate asked.

Jin Yong: "Of course it's Zhao Debiao!"

On the surface, he's just chasing trends and riding the wave of popularity, but what he's really thinking is anyone's guess. Even though he's been married three times, what man doesn't have a woman he craves more the more he can't have her?

By this time, Jin Yong had long since stopped writing, and Ming Pao had long since moved beyond the stage of relying on martial arts novels to boost sales. Now, each issue sells over 10 copies, and its users are mainly Hong Kong's elite class, who are also the most commercially valuable users among Hong Kong's 500 million population.

If Ming Pao could join the promotional campaign during the early stages of the film's release, it would definitely help spread the film's awareness.

Before the interview began, Wei Ming asked a question: "Was this report published in Ming Pao or Ming Pao Weekly?"

"Both will be published. Ming Pao will publish it tomorrow, while Ming Pao Weekly will have to wait until next week. Moreover, the focus will be slightly different; Ming Pao Weekly is more entertainment-oriented," the reporter replied honestly.

Wei Ming is no problem anymore; Lao Cha is too authentic!

On the first question, Biaozi first stated: "I never said that I was invincible in Hong Kong. Some media in Hong Kong are too irresponsible and just make things up. We always talk about facts. Before I have really defeated all the masters in Hong Kong, I will never say that I am invincible in Hong Kong. I can only say that in our Shichahai Martial Arts School, I am the best fighter, and Shichahai Martial Arts School is the best martial arts school in mainland China."

Wei Ming nodded in satisfaction, "That's settled then."

The reporter hissed, feeling that this was even more arrogant!
"So what martial art do you specialize in?" the reporter asked again.

Zhao Debiao glanced at Wei Ming and replied, "Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Force."

"What?" The reporter wondered if he had misheard; this kung fu sounded a bit unreal.

Biaozi repeated: "This Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength is a martial art that cultivates both internal and external strength. It is very niche, and no more than one person in all of China knows it. Once mastered, one can have the strength of an elephant."

"Uh, some people say that the reason you were able to beat the elephant in the tug-of-war wasn't because of your strength, but because you overwhelmed the elephant with your aura. What do you think about that? Is it because of that, this Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Force?"

Biaozi: "I don't know exactly how I won. I wasn't looking at the elephant at the time. I only had the rope in my hand. Also, I'm only at the minor level of mastery now."

So what are your expectations for your film?

Zhao Debiao: "Of course we hope everyone will go see it. It would be your loss if you didn't. Ms. Xia Meng said that if the box office is good, she will give us a red envelope."

"Have you ever thought about staying in the Hong Kong film industry and becoming a kung fu superstar like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan?"

"I never thought my wife would get pregnant. All I want to do now is finish this as soon as possible and go back to take care of her and see the baby born." Biaozi said this sincerely, not because Wei Ming taught him.

The reporter nodded, indicating that this story of a tough guy with a tender heart should definitely be included.

~
When this report was published in Ming Pao, "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" was officially released.

Jackie Chan had just returned from the United States. A few days earlier, Golden Harvest's "Cannonball Run" had been released in North America and was doing quite well at the box office. Although it was overshadowed by "Indiana Jones" which was released at the same time, it was still expected to make it into the top ten of the year.

Jackie Chan and Michael Hui both starred in the film, but Jackie Chan felt too embarrassed. This was not the kind of movie he wanted to make at all. He felt awkward just thinking that the movie would be released in Hong Kong a month later.

His good mood from the huge success of "The Young Master" in Japan was ruined, and he felt regret for his unproductive 1981.

After he returned, his senior brother Hung Chin-po showed him this article from Ming Pao: "These northerners are too arrogant."

Cheng Long's focus was: "Senior Brother, you are knowledgeable and experienced. Have you ever heard of the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Technique?"

Hong Jinbao: "Listen to his nonsense, it's definitely made up, but I'm very curious about this, so..."

"So you want to go to the movies with me, right?" Jackie Chan blurted out.

Hong Jinbao gently tapped Cheng Long on the head: "I was thinking we should also go and have a tug-of-war with the elephants. It's been a long time since the brothers have gotten together. I used to take you guys to Liyuan when you were kids. This is a chance to reconnect. I can't say we can get everyone together, but forty or fifty people should be fine, right? What do you think?"

Besides his sense of responsibility as the eldest disciple to maintain the bond between his fellow disciples, Hong Jinbao also realized the popularity of the elephant tug-of-war. The Liyuan Zoo has been packed with people these past two days. If the Seven Little Fortunes could participate, it would be a great form of publicity, regardless of who wins or loses.

He and Cheng Long don't need it, but the other brothers do.

Jackie Chan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "But we still need to watch the movie. How about this, we watch the movie today and go tug-of-war tomorrow."

“Okay, the movie is on you,” the senior brother decided.

The Peking Opera "Seven Little Fortunes" has a total of 7 characters, but the so-called "Seven Little Fortunes" of Hong Jinbao and Cheng Long is actually a 14-member male troupe, which performs in two fixed groups.

There were more than 70 fellow apprentices who studied under Master Yu Zhanyuan back then, but only a few of them made it big.

Today, the people I met to watch the movie with were all familiar faces in the film industry, such as Jackie Chan, Hung Chin-po, Yuen Biao, and Yuen Wah.

The Silver Metropolo Theatre was one of the better-built theatres by the leftists, and the Silver Metropolo Group, which later integrated the leftist film forces, originated from it.

When the brothers entered the movie theater, they found it was already packed.

"Wow, so many people!" Yuen Biao exclaimed. "I wonder how the action scenes filmed in mainland China are going~"

(End of this chapter)