Exciting 1979!

Chapter 378 Lizhi's Temptation

Ah Long's considerations came from the bottom of his heart. He hoped that his parents-in-law and good brothers could witness his happy event, as it wouldn't be perfect without any of them.

Wei Ming sighed, "I don't even know if I was in Hong Kong at that time."

Ah Long said, "Then let's do it in Shanghai. It's easier for my parents to go back to the mainland than for our parents to come to Hong Kong."

Wei Ming laughed and continued talking about "The Legend of the Condor Heroes": "Master Jin only granted the copyright to one copy of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, right?"

"Well, I think it's better if you handle this kind of thing. You have a lot of influence, so you might be able to get the Condor Trilogy, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, and The Deer and the Cauldron all together."

He felt that the most valuable parts of Jin Yong's martial arts novels were these six long novels.

Wei Ming shook his head: "It would be enough if we could get the entire Condor Trilogy. Although adapting other people's novels into comics can take advantage of the popularity of the original works, it is not cost-effective. We only have the comic copyright, and we have to share the money with the original author when publishing the single volumes. Moreover, there is almost no derivative value."

He would only consider collaborating with Jin Yong during the magazine's development phase. Once he dominated the Hong Kong comics scene, it wouldn't be as meaningful. The Condor Trilogy would probably be enough to serialize for several more years, which would be sufficient.

Ah Long pondered for a moment: "What you said makes sense. Then Li Zhiqing can let someone else take over the drawing of The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber after he finishes drawing The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

Wei Ming: "Do you have anyone else available here?"

Ah Long shook his head: "Not yet."

Although several comic apprentices still lack representative works, Li Zhiqing's style and abilities are irreplaceable.

Wei Mingdao said, "So we should start training new talents, and we also need more works. Now that you've been to Japan and seen the three major shonen weekly magazines, have you thought about turning 'Madman Comics' into a weekly magazine?"

Hearing Wei Ming mention this, A Long perked up: "Think about it. Actually, I think weekly serialization is the most suitable for comics. Half a month is too long and it's easy to wear down the readers' enthusiasm. However, with our current manpower and story creation capabilities, publishing a weekly series would definitely sacrifice quality."

Wei Ming: "Then we can use all the company's profits to train newcomers. We can hold some comic events to discover potential comic talents or storytellers among our readers. I can afford to not make a profit for a long time."

Ah Long nodded: "The Hong Kong comics market, even including Taiwan, is far smaller than Japan's. It may not be able to accommodate the three major weekly comics magazines, but it can still accommodate one. Let our Madman Comics be the only weekly comics magazine in Hong Kong!"

Wei Ming felt that this kid had become even more of a chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) since going to Japan, so he gestured with his hand: "Easy, easy~"

Ah Long sat down and picked up a copy of "Dr. Slump" from the table: "After going to Japan, I realized that Akira Toriyama is already a top manga artist in Japan. Fortunately, there aren't Toriyamas everywhere in Japan, otherwise we would really have no chance to make it. However, in the Japanese manga scene, many manga artists with skills close to Toriyama's can get their work published by the three major weekly manga magazines. That's so enviable."

Wei Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Many famous Japanese manga artists started as assistants, which is a special kind of master-apprentice succession. Geniuses like Akira Toriyama who debuted as manga artists without ever working as assistants are actually a minority. So if you see a promising talent, you can keep him by your side as an assistant, and in the future your school will be able to branch out."

For example, Eiichiro Oda (Black Thief King) was mentored by Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin), and Nobuhiro Watsuki was mentored by Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go).

Ah Long laughed and said, "I'm currently focusing on training Liangzi. He can help me with a lot of the work on 'Qin's Moon,' but I'm too embarrassed to let him call me master."

Liangzi was Ah Long's classmate at the Beijing Film Academy, and the only one of the three classmates who decided to stay in Hong Kong.

Wei Ming thought for a moment and said, "Tell me, once Liangzi is trained, could you work on two projects at the same time, 'Qin's Moon'?"

Because Wei Ming only trusts Ah Long with one project, as no one else can match his ability and trust.

“Dual production, huh?” Ah Long said with a crooked mouth. “My paintbrush can keep up, but can your story keep up?”

Wei Ming took out several notebooks from his bag: "This is from 'Qin's Moon,' this is from 'Storm Riders,' and this is from 'Happy Ghost.'"

Writing this is simple; it won't take a week, three days is enough.

Ah Long flipped through it: "This is way too brief, it's practically an outline."

"Otherwise, what's the point of supporting those screenwriters? They share in the profits from screenwriting with me."

Ah Long accepted the scripts and continued to dream about the weekly magazine: "When it becomes a weekly magazine, it will be published every Saturday, so that teenagers will stay at home and read comics on weekends instead of going out to become gangsters. It will also reduce unstable factors in society."

Wei Ming said, "Why Saturday? Let's do it on Monday."

"on Monday?"

"Yes, on Mondays and weekends, there's no one to talk to when reading comics, and there's no fun in competing for them. How can you spread your influence like that?"

After pondering the principle for a moment, Ah Long couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "It has to be you!"

Afterwards, the two discussed how to recruit and train new talents to expand the team of comic artists. They even considered poaching artists from Wong Yuk-long. When they got excited, the office was filled with strange, chuckling laughter.

Wei Ming also told A Long about becoming the chief consultant for CCTV's "Journey to the West". Speaking of "Journey to the West", A Long said: "If this subject can be written in a new way, it is actually better than the original. It has natural popularity, and you don't have to worry about the original author's share of the profits. There is also room for copyright operation."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "That's for sure~"

They talked until almost 2 a.m. before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The first person to arrive at the company the next morning was Xu Jinjiang. He wasn't from Kuangren Comics, but A Long had given him a job drawing covers, which would allow him to earn a little extra income and make the covers of Kuangren Comics more artistically compelling. He could earn a few hundred yuan a month with two issues.

He is currently working on the cover of the January 1982 issue, which features a fresh start for the new year. Several popular manga characters will appear on the cover, and the two are discussing the design.

Wei Ming reminded Ah Long, "You didn't go home yesterday, remember to go back at noon."

Ah Long nodded and said, "I'll call Ah Ying. We can find a restaurant downstairs for lunch and have a date at the same time."

Xu Jinjiang hurriedly said, "Brother Ming, I brought Ah Long some steamed buns for breakfast, but I didn't expect you to be here too. Why don't you share them?"

Ah Long said, "You can eat it all. I still have instant noodles here."

"There's instant noodles? I'll just make some then. It's been a long time since I've had any." Wei Ming reached out to rummage through the noodles. He had only eaten them twice in Hong Kong. They were sesame oil flavored, and the taste was nowhere near as stimulating as braised beef or pickled cabbage in later generations.

Wei Ming was listening to the two of them discuss the cover design plan while he was holding his noodles. More people came to work one after another. They were the company's only two female employees, Ah Zhen and Ah Zhu.

Ah-Zhu is the receptionist and clerk, the face of the company, while Ah-Zhen is responsible for the scriptwriting and some copywriting work for "Happy Ghost".

This also serves as a stimulus to male-centric comic book companies, igniting their fighting spirit.

However, Wei Ming's appearance became a stimulus for the two of them, and they both lingered around Teacher Wei.

Fortunately, Huang Guoxing arrived at that moment, and Wei Ming called him into A Long's office.

"Xingzai, how many more issues of 'Sha Wujing's Diary' are left to finish?"

"Teacher Wei, I have two issues in reserve, and I'll finish in two or three more chapters."

It is, after all, a short story.

Wei Mingdao said, "Then you should consider new works. Do you have any ideas?"

Huang Guoxing shook his head and said with a fawning smile, "I'm just waiting for the big boss to carry me."

Gan Xiaowen and he are the face of the company's comedy comics. Now that Gan Xiaowen's "Fight Back to School" is doing very well, he is also envious.

They are all young after all, and it is unrealistic to expect them to create good stories on their own. It would be good enough if they could draw well, so we should follow Wei Ming's ideas.

"Okay, I'll write you a notebook this time I come to Hong Kong."

"Isn't it funny?" Huang Guoxing was more concerned about this.

"How would I know if I haven't even written it yet?" Wei Ming laughed and said, "It's about on par with 'The Schoolboy'."

Unfortunately, The Mask was already created last year. Wei Ming saw it in Frankfurt, otherwise this idea would have been perfect for Huang Guoxing to develop, and they could have sold the Hollywood rights to it later.

The other cartoonists arrived one after another. Wei Ming met with them, offered a few words of encouragement, and then prepared to leave. Then, the sound of high heels clicking could be heard.

Wei Ming looked in the direction of the sound and the first thing he saw was a pair of beautiful legs in black stockings.

Then Wei Ming heard the sound of many people swallowing.

"Sister Xiaoli!"

Feng Zhiming, a teenage comic apprentice, immediately went over to see, and the others also craned their necks to look, their initial focus gone.

Because of the business dealings between Langning Toy Factory and Kuangren Comics, Wei Lingling brought Lizhi with her when she came here once, and Miss Lizhi's beautiful image was deeply etched in the hearts of these male comic artists.

Ah Zhu, the receptionist, curled her lip and said, "You slut, you're just relying on your chest. I could have that too if I squeezed."

Actually, Lizhi's outfit wasn't really that revealing; it was just a short skirt, stockings, and a white blazer—a normal urban woman's outfit. Plus, she's become increasingly good at dressing up, and her figure is so outstanding that she can pull off any outfit with exaggerated curves.

What a disgusting body!

She was carrying two bags and smiled gently, "Our boss, Mr. Wei, asked me to deliver a batch of toys to everyone. Displaying them at the company will make everyone feel better... Ah, Mr. Wei, you're here too!"

Wei Ming smiled slightly, her eyes narrowed. She felt that Li Zhi had seen her long ago, and that the first thing she did after entering was look for her. She only started speaking after confirming her location.

Wei Ming walked over and glanced at the toy in the bag: "It's a historical cat."

"Yes, it will be officially released this month, and I'll also bring a few for all the comic artists."

The bag on the left contains the plush version, which is larger, while the bag on the right contains the plastic version, which is smaller.

Wei Ming asked her to put both bags of toys on the table and let everyone choose.

As a result, all the plush toys were chosen first. Those who didn't get a plush toy rummaged through the plastic toys and asked, "Do you have Qin Shi Huang?"

Seeing that there were none, they took a Kuafu cat, and ended up with a few plastic historical cats that no one wanted, so they were placed in the public area.

This thing is good for displaying, while the plush one is good for hugging, sitting, or leaning against.

Wei Ming watched all this and said, "Alright, I have something to do, I'll be going now. Ah Long, you don't need to see me off. I'm staying at a hotel tonight, so don't leave the door open for me."

Lizhi quickly caught up with Wei Ming: "Teacher Wei, are you going to the toy factory? Can you give me a ride?" Wei Ming: "No, I'm not going."

"Where are you going? I can be your driver," Lizhi said as she chased after him. It was about 20 degrees Celsius outside, and a little chilly.

Wei Ming looked at her short skirt, stockings, and high heels: "Can you drive?"

“I recently got my driver’s license, and Lingling always says that driving is very useful.”

Wei Ming then asked, "Won't that interfere with your work?"

"I'm still a personal assistant, and Lingling always says she won't be home for lunch, so all I have to do is cook dinner. You introduced me to such a great job, so let me give back to you, okay?"

Are you sure you can drive properly?

“There has never been an accident,” Lizhi assured.

Then Wei Ming tossed her the car keys.

After getting into the car, Wei Ming had just fastened his seatbelt when he heard Li Zhi staring at the ground and muttering to herself, "Clutch, brake, accelerator."

Wei Ming quickly pulled out the key: "Are you sure you haven't been in a car accident?"

Lizhi: "I haven't driven more than twice since I got my driver's license, so I've definitely never been in an accident."

Wei Ming understood: "So it's because you don't drive much. Let's get out of the car and switch places."

He didn't want to lose his life at the hands of this woman, and high heels were inherently unsafe.

After they drove away, Liu Rulong upstairs said, "Alright, you've completely bewitched. Time to get back to work!"

Apart from the two women, only Xu Jinjiang was seriously studying the cover of the next issue; women were like fleeting clouds in his mind.

~
On the bus, Lizhi, her two beautiful legs clad in stockings, asked, "Teacher Wei, where are you going? I can be your secretary."

No wonder he's been in Hong Kong for so long, even his secretary knows.

Wei Ming looked her over; she actually seemed quite convincing.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked.

“I don’t…” Lizhi panicked a little and instinctively wanted to deny it, but when she saw Wei Ming look at her again, she said, “This morning, President Lingling and Aunt Nini called and talked about your coming to Hong Kong. They mentioned that you were coming to the comic book company, and then President Lingling asked me to deliver these toys to the comic book company.”

This explanation is about right.

He then asked, "How are the History Cats selling?"

"It's very good, especially the plush version. The factory is working overtime, and raw materials are coming from Guangdong every day. The toy guns and action figures we produced before didn't sell well, so we stopped making them a long time ago. All the inventory was given to Holiland. From now on, History Cat will be our flagship product."

Wei Ming asked, "Are the plastic versions not selling very well?"

Lizhi nodded: "Yes, and the plastic version was the main product at first. Because of the Taiwan headquarters, we had a price advantage in raw materials, so we produced a lot. We still haven't sold them all, and a lot of them are in the warehouse."

It seems that her aunt has talked to Lizhi a lot about things at the factory. She answered Wei Ming's questions very clearly. It's clear that her aunt is really going to groom her as a confidante.

Wei Ming said, "I'll go home with you tonight and give her some advice."

"That's great! Teacher Wei, you're so smart, you'll definitely be able to help Lingling!" Lizhi turned into a praise squad, praising her from the side.

"Where are you going now, Teacher Wei?"

"Bluebird Film Company".

Today is the 10th, and tomorrow "Seven Days of Wrong Love" will be released. In addition to the male lead Kenny Bee, the current promotional focus is also on the fact that screenwriter Wei Ming's first purely Hong Kong-produced film.

Wei Mingda's reputation as a talented man has spread throughout Hong Kong, but the public's recognition of him mainly comes from his music. Although his novels and essays have also been published in Hong Kong, the people of Hong Kong are restless and there are not many people who can calm down and read words. Now the sales of "Madman Comics" are about to catch up with "Ming Pao".

At this moment, Xia Meng had the two most recent issues of Ming Pao and Ming Pao Weekly on her desk.

Ming Pao has been promoting the movie "Seven Days of Wrong Love" for several consecutive issues, analyzing it from different angles and praising it based on leaked stills.

Ming Pao Weekly went even further, organizing a box office prediction campaign for "Wrong Wedding Night" to boost the film's popularity.

Upon hearing that Wei Ming had come to visit, Xia Meng quickly put away her newspapers and magazines to avoid being teased by the young man.

Upon seeing Wei Ming, Xia Meng couldn't help but tease him: "You came all this way, but why did you bring such a beautiful woman with you?"

Lizhi is the kind of stunning beauty who is immediately striking. Upon closer inspection, although her features are not particularly delicate and her temperament is not particularly outstanding, she makes a good first impression, and her figure is a big plus.

Wei Ming introduced Li Zhi: "This is my aunt's assistant. She lent her to me temporarily because she was worried that I was unfamiliar with the place."

"Please sit down, Ah Hua, pour water for the guests." Xia Meng gestured for the two to sit down and chat.

Wei Ming first inquired about the cinema issue. Xia Meng said, "We chose a slow release period. Apart from Shaw Brothers having a new film, the other cinemas won't be able to release anything until before Christmas. So, Golden Harvest is willing to rent cinemas to us for the next 10 days. With the support of left-wing cinemas and some independent cinemas, our release scale is not small."

Wei Ming nodded. It wasn't small, it was even quite big, but the release dates were too unfavorable. Whether it was Golden Harvest's "The Prodigal Son," Shaw Brothers' "The Mahjong Heroes," or Cinema City's "Reincarnated," they all chose to release on December 22, just before Christmas.

The three giants of Hong Kong cinema have begun to take shape.

This is the disadvantage of not having your own cinema chain; you can't compete for prime release dates. Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest had their own cinema chains, while Cinema City was backed by Golden Princess.

Bluebird can only rely on left-wing cinema chains while also renting out screenings that the three giants don't prioritize.

Fortunately, the film's budget was not high, only a little over one million Hong Kong dollars. As long as the local box office reaches 500 million, it can break even, and with some overseas markets, it can make a profit.

The disadvantage of Bluebird compared to other companies is that it does not have the Taiwan market. Due to the special nature of this film, it also does not have the mainland market, and the hope of overseas is also slim. So it still has to rely on the Hong Kong local market.

"Are there any premiere events tomorrow?" Wei Ming asked.

Xia Meng shook her head: "As for the event, I'd like to go to the cinema tomorrow night to see the audience's reaction. Do you want to come with me?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "No, I have an appointment tomorrow night."

Lizhi's heart pounded: Was it me?
Xia Meng glanced at her again.

Wei Ming was also a little worried. He felt that Aunt Xia Meng didn't have any promotional strategies and was just playing the "wait and see" game. He was afraid that her low budget might backfire.

Actually, what she really cared about was "Boat People". She told Wei Ming, "The crew has already gone to Hainan Island to film. After 'Seven Days of Wrong Love' finishes its run, I plan to go visit the set. Do you want to come with me?"

Wei Ming still wants to go to Hainan to drink coconut juice, but he's not in the mood right now: "I'll see how things go. I'd like to go and see the world if I have the chance."

Aunt Xia Meng even asked Wei Ming to watch the movie in advance. She complained that some of the scenes directed by Tan Jiaming were too explicit: "I wanted him to cut them, but he refused."

Wei Ming asked, "Nothing was exposed, right?"

"That's not the case."

Wei Ming: "Then it doesn't matter."

The three then drove to the Great Wall Company's territory and watched the entire "Seven Days of Wrongful Love" book.

It's not quite what Wei Ming remembered. After all, the director is different, and the scale isn't as large, but the music quality is better, and there are still plenty of laughs. These are the things Wei Ming focused on improving during the scriptwriting stage.

Moreover, both actresses delivered outstanding performances, especially Cecilia Yip, who played a married woman in her early career and showed the potential to become a film queen.

Oh, but it seems the Hong Kong Film Awards haven't been held yet~
Wei Ming also saw the passionate scene that Xia Meng mentioned. Li Zhi was watching the screen while looking at Wei Ming, and her two stockinged legs were intertwined.

Director Tan, who later directed "After This Our Exile," truly lived up to his reputation. Passionate scenes are his forte, and he filmed them beautifully and with great tension.

Wei Ming felt that Xia Meng's estimate of 500 million was conservative.

Afterwards, Wei Ming took Li Zhi and Xia Meng to say goodbye and left the Great Wall.

After going outside, he first looked for a newsstand. When he saw that the Ming Pao group and left-wing media were promoting "Seven Days of Wrong Love," Wei Ming finally smiled and said, "So Auntie had it all figured out all along!"

However, he felt it wasn't enough. These were all conventional publicity efforts, and they didn't cost much money. He still needed to think of some unorthodox methods.

At the very least, the next issue of "Madman Comics" will feature an advertisement for the first time, an advertisement for "Seven Days of Wrong Love," and it will be a targeted advertisement aimed at hundreds of thousands of teenage readers. The image of Kenny Bee and Cecilia Yip passionately entwined will appear on the advertisement page in the middle of the magazine.

However, in order to protect the reputation of "Madman Comics", this advertisement will be presented in the form of realistic comics, rather than a screenshot from the film.

Who will draw this little advertisement? Wei Ming sighed. Only he had seen the film, so he had to do it himself. He would just not put his name on it.

Thinking about this, Wei Ming stared blankly at Li Zhi's chest. Ye Tong's figure was really nothing to look at. Maybe, maybe... Wei Ming struggled with his thoughts. Would this involve false advertising?

"Teacher Wei, Teacher Wei..."

Lizhi waved in front of Wei Ming.

Wei Ming: "Oh, let's go home. Should we buy some groceries first?"

"Yes, it is necessary, after all, you are a distinguished guest."

More than an hour later, Wei Ming and Li Zhi returned to Wei Lingling's rented two-bedroom apartment after buying some seafood at the mall. The sofa was covered with soft, plush historical cat figurines.

Upon entering the house, Lizhi immediately took off her clothes.
……

(Today's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)