Exciting 1979!

Chapter 306 Vivian Chow's "First Love"

After signing the contract, Wei Ming asked Shangguan Xiaobao curiously.

"Mr. Wong Yuk-long should already know about this. What was his reaction?"

Although Huang was his new boss, Shangguan Xiaobao was happy to see him suffer a setback.

He laughed and said, "Of course he wants our deal to fall through, but there's nothing he can do, you offered more than him."

Wei Ming nodded. It seemed that he and "Qin's Moon" had put some pressure on the godfather of Hong Kong comics.

If Wong Yuk-long wants to dominate Hong Kong and list his company, he must bring "Bruce Lee" under his wing. He also has to appease Shangguan Xiaobao and can't be forceful.

But it's not necessarily the same for Wei Ming, this mainland guy. After all, he's a violent thug who dared to hire someone to cripple Ma Rongcheng just because he became independent. So we have to nip the crisis in the bud and make the people who follow us feel safe.

Looking at the company, which had been in business for seven years, Shangguan Xiaobao, reflecting on the seven-year itch, shook hands with Wei Ming and said, "I hope that 'Good News' can flourish under your leadership."

Wei Ming suggested, "From now on, it will be called 'Madman's Comics'."

The Xiao Bao and Xiao Wei brothers felt deeply sorry that, apart from these apprentices, there would be no trace of them left in the company.

After signing the contract, the aunt accompanied Wei Ming and Liu Rulong to meet with the remaining employees. The first thing to do was to stabilize morale.

Besides a dozen or so apprentices in their twenties, there are also about a dozen older full-time employees who are in charge of every step of the comic book process, from conception and scriptwriting to production and distribution.

Previously, "Good News" was published weekly. Although it didn't make much money, it could promote and publicize those standalone comics. The money was mainly made from popular standalone comics like "Bruce Lee".

Now that the two bosses have taken those established IPs to Jade International, the entire company is inevitably worried, especially the young and middle-aged employees who have families and careers.

Wei Ming immediately raised salaries by 10%, which reassured the older employees who were feeling uneasy.

Because Ma Rongcheng had already discussed with his fellow apprentices that following Wei Kuangren would allow them to become chief writers faster, the apprentices Niu Lao, Feng Zhiming, and Li Zhiqing were all in a stable mood.

They couldn't stay calm until Wei Ming produced the script for "The Storm Riders".

Originally, Wei Ming had planned to use "Chinese Hero" as practice, but he discovered that the story had already been proposed by Yulang International and was being tested in the newspaper, so he decided to go all out with his big move.

"Storm Riders" is the most representative Hong Kong comic. It can be said to be the most influential work in the Chinese-speaking world besides "Young and Dangerous," although "Young and Dangerous" is mostly associated with negative influences.

The World Alliance, a powerful ruler who dominates the world, the Three Kingdoms return to their origin, the Golden Carp is no ordinary fish, it transforms into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds, Nie Feng, the God of Wind, Bu Jingyun, the God of Death who never cries, the peerless sword, and so on.

Wei Ming only revealed a small part of the story, but these brand-new settings and cool skills left the young people in awe.

Although the mainland is poor, it has a profound cultural heritage; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to nurture a young genius like Wei Ming, the madman.

Next, in order to familiarize himself with the comic style of each of Shangguan's disciples, Wei Ming gave them a task.

"The story begins with a scene of Xiong Ba and Nie Feng's father, Nie Renwang, fighting at the Leshan Giant Buddha. Now, please use a scene to depict this battle in your mind."

Fighting on giant sculptures is an old tradition in Ma Wing-shing's comics; the Statue of Liberty and the Leshan Giant Buddha are both victims.

At this point, the youngest member, Li Zhiqing, asked, "What does the Leshan Giant Buddha look like?"

The other senior brothers laughed, but their laughter soon faded because they didn't know what the Leshan Giant Buddha looked like, and most of them didn't even know where Leshan was.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is also known as the Lingyun Giant Buddha, so the place where the fire qilin lives is called Lingyun Cave.

"The Giant Buddha is located in Leshan, Sichuan. It is as tall as a twenty-story building and is carved into the mountainside..."

At that time, the Leshan Giant Buddha was not very well-known among mainland tourist attractions, after all, it was located in a remote area and its development was relatively late. However, during the tourism development process, films and television works such as "The Mysterious Buddha" and "Storm Riders" played a very important role in promoting it.

Wei Ming felt that language might not be intuitive enough, so he took a piece of paper and started drawing with a pen.

Despite his decades-long experience as a third-level artist, Wei Ming has still managed to sketch a simple scene of the Leshan Giant Buddha, and it has a style reminiscent of the early 20th century.

Everyone was surprised; they never expected that a literary talent could also paint, and the quality was quite good!

Of course, the Leshan Giant Buddha itself is also awe-inspiring for teenagers who grew up in Hong Kong, and may even inspire a longing for it.

Wei Ming: "Alright, you can begin now. When you integrate your characters into the scene, you can add your own style. I will write the story for you based on your own style."

Upon hearing this, the young men immediately forgot their sadness at their master's departure and began to rub their hands together eagerly. However, they hoped even more that Wei Ming would choose them to be the chief writer of "Storm Riders," since the story was already well-developed and seemed to be of high quality.

While they were painting, Wei Ming asked A Long to paint one as well, and then he chatted with Wei Lingling on the side.

"Auntie, have you been to the Langning factory?"

"Not yet. We can go after we get back from Shanghai and finish up our work. There's a manager from Taiwan there."

Wei Ming: "So you came back from the United States all by yourself? Without any close associates? Wasn't it tough being alone?"

Wei Lingling laughed and said, "What? Don't want to go back to the mainland? Want to work with me? I welcome you. Although Langning Factory is not a top company in Hong Kong, it still has a better future than your comic book company."

Wei Ming: "No, no, no, I wanted to introduce you to an assistant. I have a friend..."

He talked about Lizhi and even showed her a photo.

These are old photos of Lizhi, which are quite simple, and none of them show her below the neck.

So in Wei Lingling's eyes, she was just an average-looking girl from mainland China, nothing special. She couldn't compare to Amin in terms of looks, and she didn't think Wei Ming would be interested in such a pretty woman.

So Wei Lingling was very curious: "Why did you help her?"

Wei Ming: "They're all from the mainland, so we'll help them if we can. Otherwise, these young girls are easily led astray by the impact of the capitalist world."

These words reminded Wei Lingling of the experiences she had met with some Asian immigrant girls in San Francisco, and her nephew's concerns were not unfounded.

“I don’t keep idle people around me,” Wei Lingling asked. “If you want me to use her, what qualities does she have?”

This is the start of the interview, but it's through myself as the middleman.

Wei Ming thought for a moment: "She is from Shanghai, has a high school education, can speak Mandarin and Shanghainese, and knows some basic Cantonese. Moreover, she is very ambitious and is currently learning English on her own."

Wei Lingling: "In other words, I can't speak Cantonese very well and I can hardly speak English. My business is mainly in Hong Kong and the United States, which is a disadvantage for me."

Although Wei Ming really wanted to help Li Zhi, he couldn't lie, so he nodded and said, "Your summary is very accurate."

Wei Lingling said, "How about this, I'm planning to rent an apartment near the factory and I need a personal assistant to take care of my daily needs. If she's willing, she can come for an interview. If I can see significant improvement in her, I wouldn't rule out taking her a step further in the future."

There's a huge difference between an assistant and a personal assistant; you could call them a nanny or a live-in housekeeper.

But her aunt offered the possibility of advancement, which Wei Ming felt was a great opportunity for Lizhi. He just didn't know if she would accept it.

"Okay, I'll talk to her. I'm planning to take my employees out for dinner later, do you want to come?"

"No, I still need to look at houses. If it weren't for your help, I probably would have moved by now."

"Looking at houses? Wait a moment."

Wei Ming made two phone calls using the company phone. The first call was to Lao Gui from Holiland, where he told him about his aunt's need to find a house.

Old Gui has lived in Hong Kong for so many years that he's practically a local. His rental properties are definitely more reliable than Wei Ming and Wei Lingling's. Wei Ming called him over to help repair the relationship between the father and daughter.

The second call was to the supermarket where Lizhi worked; she was just about to change shifts.

Wei Ming said frankly, "I'm sorry, but my relative has high standards. She needs an assistant who is fluent in Cantonese and good at English. However, I kept praising you for being hardworking, ambitious, and even planning to learn English on your own. That's why she's willing to give you a chance and let you start as a personal assistant. I don't know if you're willing."

"What does a personal assistant do?"

"It means living and eating with her, serving her daily needs. Although you also need to do chores, you are the boss's confidant and can learn a lot from her."

"Huh? Eating and living together!" Lizhi's face flushed instantly, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is your relative male or female?"

"Of course she's a woman, I call her Auntie."

Hearing this, Lizhi breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Then where is she now?"

"Right in my comic book company."

"Did you buy it?"

"Yes."

Lizhi: "Tell me the address, and I can have the interview right now."

She was both interviewing the new boss and interviewing Wei Ming to see if he really had a new company.

Since she's been so kind in helping me find a job, she must have feelings for me. Now that she's witnessed the talent of the great writer Wei, Lizhi isn't opposed to further developments.

Little did she know that there truly are selfless good people in the world, and Wei Ming was simply helping others out of a sense of joy.

With Ah Min in Hong Kong, his eyes at most only give Li Zhi a sideways glance.

Wei Lingling originally wanted to go directly to see the house, but Wei Ming kept her waiting until she arrived at Lizhi's place.

The moment Lizhi saw Wei Lingling, she felt ashamed of herself. She was so fashionable, so beautiful, and had such a strong presence. Wasn't she her ultimate goal?
Wei Lingling's first impression of Lizhi was: she didn't think much of her face, but when she stood in front of her in person, she was surprisingly stunning.

Tall, big, and fair-skinned—absolutely gorgeous!

She even began to rethink her nephew's motives for helping others.

Wei Lingling asked a few simple questions, such as whether she could cook and clean. These were not difficult for Lizhi. Having grown up without parents, she definitely needed to master the necessary survival skills. In fact, she was quite good at making Shanghainese cuisine.

In addition, graduating from high school is considered a high level of education in Hong Kong, so even when Wei Lingling was recruiting an administrative assistant, she didn't expect to hire a college graduate.

"How much did you earn each month before?" she asked again. "Five hundred, five hundred, but that was during my probation period. The boss said I'd earn 800 after three months of probation," Lizhi replied.

Wei Ming felt a toothache upon hearing this. This meager salary was comparable to that of apprentices at comic book companies, but at least those apprentices could learn technical skills.

Wei Lingling said, "The internship period is one month, with a monthly salary of 1000. After becoming a full-time employee, it will be 1500. However, there are no fixed rest days. When I take a day off, you can take a day off too. If I can see your progress, I might promote you to administrative assistant in the future. It's not impossible for your salary to double then."

"Thank you, thank you, boss!" Upon hearing about the salary, which was comparable to her father's, Lizhi only wanted to join Boss Wei's team immediately.

Wei Lingling said, "You can start working today. Come with me to look at houses later. Your salary will start from today."

"I'm fine!"

After the interview was completed, Lao Gui arrived, and Wei Ming immediately led them downstairs and handed the two women over to him.

Wei Lingling reluctantly let him get into the car, and Li Zhi was confused about the relationship between this old man and the beautiful boss, as well as what role Wei Ming played in it.

However, Wei Ming said that when working as a personal assistant, one should remember "three more and one less": more observation, more listening, more doing, and less talking.

She obediently followed the two to Kwun Tong District, where the factory was located, and she planned to rent a house near the factory.

~
Meanwhile, the young cartoonists at Kuangren Comics have already completed their assigned assignments.

"Come, come, come," Wei Ming said, inviting everyone to enjoy the show.

Ma Rongcheng's brushwork is delicate and realistic. He copied Wei Minghua's background in the most realistic way, showing his excellent basic skills. This cartoon captures a clash between the two evenly matched opponents, reflecting his ultimate imagination of Xiong Ba's Three-Part Return to Origin Qi and Nie Renwang's Snow Drinking Mad Saber. In two words, it is dazzling!
Niu Lao's style is very violent and unrestrained. The head of the Leshan Giant Buddha was cut off. Xiong Ba stood at the severed head and looked down at the corpse of Nie Renwang floating in the river. His blood stained the river red.

Although Li Zhiqing was young, his painting style already showed signs of future generations. He painted landscapes very beautifully, with the beauty of an artwork. Then, he replaced the two main characters, Xiong Ba and Nie Renwang, with two small dots. He said embarrassedly, "I didn't have time to paint the people."

Feng Zhiming, who was still quite young, had limited time to draw many details, but he did draw Nie Renwang's Snow Drinking Saber in great detail, making the "sword" the main subject of the entire painting.

Huang Guoxing is a comedic cartoonist who is on par with the master of nonsensical comedy, Gan Xiaowen. Since the boss allowed them to improvise, he did so. During the final battle, the Leshan Giant Buddha came to life, grabbing Xiong Ba with one hand and pinching Nie Renwang with the other, with the accompanying dialogue: "You dare to mess with the Buddha! You're asking for death!"

Everyone burst into laughter upon seeing the painting, while Ah Long diligently took notes, recording the characteristics of each person.

After all the apprentices' works were displayed, Wei Ming asked them who they thought painted the best.

The most popular candidate is Ma Wing Shing, followed by Cowman.

This is good, as Wei Ming can conveniently hand over the work to Ma Rongcheng.

"Finally, let's take a look at the work of Deputy Editor-in-Chief Liu Rulong."

Ah Long's final presentation elicited a collective "wow" from the crowd, who were absolutely amazed!

Everyone had roughly the same amount of time and read the same text descriptions, but Ah Long had a lot more details. Others usually only had Nie Renwang and Xiong Ba drawn, maybe with Yan Ying added at most.

Ah Long's painting also includes a young Nie Feng.

The scene is divided into three parts from top to bottom: Xiong Ba, who is standing on the top of the Buddha's head, embracing Yan Ying with a victorious air.

In the middle is Nie Feng, who is peeking out from Lingyun Cave with a sorrowful expression.

At the very bottom, at the foot of the Buddha statue, Nie Renwang knelt on one knee, holding a large sword in one hand. But he was not surrendering; instead, he roared to the sky, his eyes bloodshot, his muscles bulging, as if he was about to unleash a final burst of power, using himself and his sword to reclaim his dignity as a man.

Not to mention the exquisite composition of this painting, it is also very effective in evoking the viewer's emotions; even such small figures manage to express subtle facial expressions.

Even if he knew the topic in advance, in the same amount of time, the content of someone else's painting was far superior to his.

The comic apprentices, who were initially somewhat resentful of their boss's good friend, were now speechless.

I heard that this Vice President Liu is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and also studied at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the place where "Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother" and "Havoc in Heaven" were born. Now it seems that he is indeed quite capable.

This assessment not only allowed Wei Ming to grasp the strengths and styles of each apprentice, but also established A Long's authority, killing two birds with one stone.

Next, we'll have a good meal and drinks to build up our strength for the launch of "Madman Comics".

The restaurant we ate at was Yung Kee Restaurant, famous for its "Flying Roast Goose," and considered one of the more upscale restaurants on Hong Kong Island.

While eating, Wei Ming discussed the business direction of "Madman Comics" with A Long and several management talents.

At the same time, Wong Yuk-long of Jade International held a grand welcoming ceremony to welcome Shangguan Xiaobao and Shangguan Xiaowei to join Jade International. From then on, the two giants of Hong Kong comics, "Dragon Tiger Gate" and "Bruce Lee", were both under the ownership of Jade International.

However, amidst all the splendor, Huang Yulang couldn't help but worry about Wei Ming, the troublemaker. He wasn't sure if he could suppress him once "Qin's Moon" was released.

Just then, Wong Yuk-long's eldest disciple, Kei Man-kit, knocked on the door and came in with a tabloid.

"Master, look here, there's news about Wei Ming, that mainlander."

Wong Yuk-long took it and glanced at it. It turned out to be a satirical news article. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was revealed by one of the parties involved, Karl Maka.

The story is about Wei Ming going door-to-door to sell scripts, but because he was not satisfied with the price, he boasted that he could earn millions by writing a single song. The editor made no attempt to hide his contempt for the unrealistic fantasies of mainlanders.

Although he was also from mainland China and had fled to Hong Kong as a child, and had a very hard life growing up, Wong Yuk-long couldn't help but laugh after reading it, and felt even more contempt.

Qi Wenjie immediately said, "Master, why should we worry about young people like this who talk big without any experience?"

Huang Yulang sighed: "But Liu Rulong under his command is indeed very capable. Their 'Qin's Moon' story and art style are very strong. Apart from me and my brother Shangguan Xiaobao, no one in the entire Yulang International can draw works of that level."

Qi Wenjie added, "Hong Kong can't cultivate comic masters of Master's caliber. We naturally need to rely on the Taiwanese market, but they come from the mainland."

These words were like a wake-up call. Huang Yulang slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten about this!

Although there is no free association in the comic book industry, because of its mainland Chinese origin, no matter how strong "Qin's Moon" is, it can forget about entering the Taiwanese market.

If they can make a big deal out of this, and even restrict all of their company's work to Hong Kong, they might survive, but it will be a mere existence.

After figuring this out, Wong Yuk-long was in a great mood.

Meanwhile, after finding a house she liked, Wei Lingling returned to her hotel and made a phone call to her uncle in Taiwan. After explaining her situation, she also mentioned to him that Wei Ming was planning to start a comic book business in Hong Kong.

~
Zhou Huimin was in a good mood, having just finished her final exams and preparing for summer vacation, until she saw the satirical report about Wei Ming in the tabloid.

"Tch, what do they know! These guys have no idea how powerful Amin is!"

Amin almost couldn't help but swear. In fact, on different pages of the same newspaper, there were reports that the world's hottest single, "Moonlight Shadow," had just received a gold record from the RIAA.

The RIAA's gold and platinum records are targeted at the European and American markets and have high standards. A gold record is based on 50 copies sold, and a platinum record is based on 100 million copies sold.

In Hong Kong, a platinum record is 5 copies, a gold record is 2.5 copies, and 50 copies is an unattainable dream achievement for the Hong Kong music scene.

Moreover, the gold record was achieved at the beginning of the month, when it had just topped the Billboard charts, so achieving a platinum record later on is not a pipe dream.

Just from the record sales revenue alone, Wei Ming can earn nearly a million Hong Kong dollars, not to mention the various licensing and derivative works. One song can even be worth more than all his income since his rebirth!
So Wei Ming not only didn't boast, but he also kept his words to himself.

This made Amin, who knew the truth, feel particularly distressed. He regretted that he had no way to speak out and could only give Amin a hug to comfort him.

Behind her mother's back, Amin called Wei Ming and the two arranged a time and place to meet the next day.

"Going to a bar? That's not a good idea, you're still too young."

"Let's just listen to music, not drink, okay?"

"Alright, I'll let you pick those songs."

Amin asked excitedly, "How many poems did you write in total?"

Wei Ming: "Five poems, or you could say seven."

Two of them have both Mandarin and Cantonese versions.

The other three songs include one in Mandarin and two in Cantonese.

~
That day, Wei Ming packed his bags, as he was leaving for London the next day. Tonight, he went to a bar that didn't look too chaotic.

He waited at the door for Zhou Huimin, who had been getting ready for over an hour.

"Sorry, I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"

"No, I just arrived."

"What do you think of my outfit today?" Zhou Huimin asked directly, seeking praise after seeing the amazement in Wei Ming's eyes.

Wei Ming: "I'm more interested in knowing how I did on the final exams."

“You…” Amin puffed out her cheeks, feeling that he was deliberately trying to annoy her.

After successfully getting angry, Wei Ming patted the little girl's head and said, "Come on, let's go inside."

Inside, a singer was performing. Wei Ming didn't recognize the singer, so he ordered two non-alcoholic drinks and then pulled out a piece of paper.

"These are the names of five songs. Do you want to look at the lyrics first before choosing, or do you want to choose a song just by looking at the title?"

Choosing a song based on its title is essentially the same as choosing blindly.

However, after seeing the playlist, Vivian Chow pointed directly to the name of the last song.

"I want this."

"Oh, 'First Love'~"

Wei Ming laughed and said, "You can look at the lyrics and sheet music before you choose."

"Nothing else is needed, this is fine." Amin hoped that Amin would give her his "first love," and she would accept it all, whether it was bitter or sweet.
(End of this chapter)