Exciting 1979!

Chapter 438 The Young Lady's First Stage

Given ATV's current advertising revenue, a two or three-minute ad break in a program is nothing. He also understood the concept of title sponsorship; it's simply adding a brand name before the program, nothing special.

If it's a really good idea that can help ATV regain some ground in its competition with TVB, Chiu Te-ken feels he definitely won't lose out.

"However, Mr. Qiu, you asked this so suddenly that I wasn't prepared. How about this, after I finish filming this movie, I'll give you a detailed proposal, and then we can talk about the details of the collaboration."

"Okay, then I'll wait for good news."

When Wei Ming got home that night, he told Lao Gui about the program sponsorship and advertising. If the program could last for three years and be broadcast every weekend, it should be enough to make Holiland a national fast food brand in Hong Kong.

"Oh dear, we need to hurry up and shoot the commercial!" Old Gui wasn't worried about whether his grandson's idea would impress Qiu Degen, but started worrying about the commercial itself. Actually, he had wanted to shoot a TV commercial for a long time, but TV commercials were expensive.

"Why don't we have Amin act in this commercial? She's the heiress of Holiland, after all, so she can be her own spokesperson," Lin Ni suggested.

If we take into account the shares that Lao Gui gave to Wei Ming, then Zhou Ma is actually the largest shareholder of Holiland, holding 40%, while Lao Gui and Wei Ming together hold 50%.

Wei Ming shook his head: "Amin doesn't like to be in the public eye, so let's find someone else. But I can help you shoot TV commercials, which will save you a lot of money. I can shoot a few commercials in the evenings between filming."

Old Gui didn't stand on ceremony with Wei Ming, after all, Holiland was also his business.

Wei Ming further reminded: "If this really works out, remember to replace the advertisements with some creative and innovative ones every now and then, so as to avoid audience fatigue or even resistance to the products."

"I know, I'll just hire a professional advertising company to handle it."

"Yes, you could try contacting Wong Jim," Wei Ming recommended.

Wong Jim was not only a great songwriter, but also a master of advertising. His slogan, "Open a bottle of Rémy Martin and good things will naturally follow," made Rémy Martin the most prestigious foreign liquor in Hong Kong.

When the American cosmetics brand Revlon entered the Chinese market, James Wong helped it come up with a Chinese name, "露华浓" (Lu Hua Nong), which instantly made this affordable brand seem high-end.

A few years ago, Wong Jim and his girlfriend Lam Yin-nei jointly opened an advertising company called "Wong & Lam," which quickly became the seventh largest advertising company in Hong Kong.

The next day, Amin went out with Xiaohong as usual. The Hang Seng Index had been falling for the past few days, and the two of them had made a lot of money. Weihong had also been thinking more about the stock market and planned to make some moves on a certain stock today.

During a break from filming, Wei Ming told Li Zhi about the Langning Toy Factory advertisement.

"Transformers also need promotion in Hong Kong. You can advertise on ATV then."

"Advertisement? Brother Amin, do you need actors for advertisements? Actually, I've done advertisements before."

Suddenly, Li Jiaxin appeared behind Wei Ming and Li Zhi and volunteered himself.

She did indeed shoot commercials, and because of her good image, she improved her family's life by shooting commercials before she officially debuted as the Miss Hong Kong winner.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Okay, I'll look for you then."

Teacher Wei doesn't want to admit that she's a good person, but she is indeed kind. At least she didn't intentionally take advantage of Li Jiaxin when she asked her to shoot the advertisement.

But Lizhi was alarmed, worried that Li Jiaxin was trying to take advantage of Wei Ming.

Where's Vivian Chow? Why haven't we seen her lately?
If she were there, at least she could make Li Jiaxin behave herself a bit!

She has never wished for Vivian Chow to be by her side as much as she does now. Fortunately, filming at Chungking Mansions will only last three days, with tomorrow being the last day.

Wei Ming finished work early today and didn't linger outside much. He went home to go shopping and see a movie with Amin, only to find that the whole family, including the Zhou family, was about to go out together.

They asked where I was going.

Wei Hong said, "I was watching a movie. Today I passed by a movie theater and saw that 'The Great Air, Land and Sea Exercise in North China' was going to be shown in Hong Kong. I told my grandfather, and then he invited everyone to go see it together."

Lin Ni complained, "I didn't want to go, but they insisted on giving me a lecture."

Wei Ming and Xiao Hong had already received their education in Yanjing. This documentary was based on the military exercise of 100,000 troops in Zhangjiakou last September and was broadcast that year. Now it is Hong Kong's turn to broadcast it in left-wing cinemas.

"It's good to see. Look at things now, and then look at the new military exercises decades from now. You'll see how significant the country's progress is." Wei Ming went with everyone and let Amin ride in his car.

Actually, the film had a pretty good attendance rate in left-wing theaters. Although it was a documentary, because there had been rumors recently that the Hong Kong British government was going to talk to the mainland about the handover, ordinary people also wanted to see how strong the mainland really is now.

Britain just won the Falklands War recently. If Britain doesn't intend to return Hong Kong, and if negotiations fail, will there be a war between China and Britain?

So even some people who don't have a strong affinity for mainland China are watching this movie, such as Ni Kuang.

After watching it, even his son, Ni Zhen, who had gone back to Hong Kong for the summer vacation, noticed that something was wrong with his father.

The documentary is called "North China Land, Sea and Air Exercise" in Hong Kong, but in mainland China it is called "The Great Wall of Steel"!
When 100,000 people appear on camera, when their resolute expressions appear on screen, when tanks and planes slowly drive by and glide quickly, anyone with thoughts of resistance will change their mind.

When Wei Ming rewatched this film, he had a thought: could it be that the mainland was using this film to put pressure on Hong Kong?

Because I've been hanging out with Wei Hong in the stock market these past few days, I know the real reasons behind the market downturn. So I've been thinking, if the mainland's takeover of Hong Kong results in an economic recession and many families going bankrupt because of stock speculation, is that really a good thing?
Today, seeing those soldiers and those weapons, Ah Min feels a real sense of security. If China had such strong military power back then, perhaps her grandparents wouldn't have had to leave their hometown, and Hong Kong wouldn't have fallen into ruin.

After leaving the movie theater and returning home, while relaxing in the cool air of the apartment complex downstairs, Amin told Wei Ming about the changes in her thoughts over the past few days. Wei Ming smiled and patted her head.

"His awareness is getting higher and higher. In mainland China, he should at least be a member of the Communist Youth League."

Amin asked with a smile, "Will they give out a red scarf?"

"You even know this."

"Of course." She even became proud.

Wei Mingdao said: "In the thirty years since the founding of the country, so many efforts have been made to enhance this sense of security. Therefore, more money has been invested in improving this sense of security. Back then, Mr. Jin Yong did not understand why atoms were more important than pants. It was because he was afraid of being bullied. You could call it the fear of insufficient firepower. But that will not be the case in the future. Investment in the economy and people's livelihood will also increase."

Amin listened attentively, and Wei Ming continued, "Moreover, there will be another obvious benefit to the handover, which is that the triads will disappear from Hong Kong."

"Ah, really?"

"Definitely. When the army enters the island, they will wipe out all the monsters and demons."

"That's great!" Amin laughed. "I hate those gangsters the most. I'm usually too scared to go out alone at night."

Wei Ming thought to himself, "I wouldn't dare to do that even in Beijing or Shanghai."

However, things will be much better in two years. In fact, although Wei Ming was afraid of 83, he was also looking forward to 83 coming soon. He liked the era when he could go out at night and walk on the street without worrying.

Actually, the person who was most moved by this documentary was Lao Gui. He was a veteran who experienced the three historical stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Liberation War, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Especially during the two years on the Korean battlefield, he knew all too well the gap between China's weapons and equipment and those of the United States at that time.

This huge disparity meant that many of his comrades did not return alive. Whenever he dreamed of the tragic events of those two years, he could not help but shed tears.

Fortunately, we now have our own airplanes, tanks, artillery, and nuclear weapons. With the country's strength increasing, there will definitely be many more new weapons in the future that will give soldiers and civilians a sense of security!

The fear of insufficient firepower will be a thing of the past!
Then came another piece of good news: Liao Gong wrote an open letter to Comrade Nicholas, persuading and appealing as a childhood friend and classmate, and it seemed that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait saw the possibility of breaking the ice.

When the Wei brothers in Hong Kong and Taiwan saw the report, they were both moved to tears, finally seeing the possibility of returning to their hometown in their lifetime.

Wei Muchun, in particular, learned about Nicholas's true thoughts after seeing the letter through his status as a veteran. He knew that hope was right in front of him and that he must live a few more years and take good care of his health.

Starting today, stop drinking!

~
Old Wei, who was in Gouzi Village, couldn't feel the joys and sorrows of the two elderly people. He had just picked up all the college entrance examination students in the village, and his three-day mission was finally completed.

Because of him, all the students ate well and rested well. Moreover, he had previously taught them to be like Brother Wei Ming, "worrying about the world's troubles before enjoying its pleasures." Guess what? That was the topic of the college entrance examination Chinese essay!
The students praised Lao Wei for successfully predicting the exam questions, and all five kids used Wei Ming as an argument when writing their essays.

Moreover, before Lao Wei returned home, he was stopped by reporters from the provincial capital who wanted to take his picture and interview him.

This information was leaked by County Chief Qin, and the reporter from the Hebei Daily came. Now, Old Wei is going to become famous on his own, leaving his son behind.

He launched into a long, rambling speech, providing the reporter with a wealth of material. On his way back to the provincial capital that same day, the reporter wrote an article titled "Like Father, Like Son: Wei Ming's Father's Philanthropic Journey!" The article contained no mention of the word "liberation."

When they returned to the village, the elementary school's final exam results were released, and Old Wei personally presided over the award ceremony, where in addition to scholarships, there were also generous prizes.

Moreover, this year Qi Delong ranked among the top three in his class for the first time, earning a study abroad opportunity based on his own abilities.

"We're planning a trip to Shanghai this time, but I'm going back to Hong Kong soon, so please wait a bit. Teacher Wei Ming will make the arrangements when he returns from Hong Kong. So don't go too far this summer. If we can't find anyone, we'll fill the vacancies from the lower-ranked students."

He feared that if he didn't return to Hong Kong soon, his son would also be coming back by the time he got back.

So the next day they set off back to Beijing, preparing to go to Hong Kong again.

~
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Wei Ming had finished filming his scenes at Chungking Mansions. That evening, he knocked on Li Jiaxin's door, and her mother answered.

Li Jiaxin hurriedly ran out from behind: "Brother Ming."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "We're going to shoot an advertisement today, let's go."

"Yeah."

"It's so late," Mrs. Li frowned. Wei Ming: "Of course, we should all go together."

"What about the pay?" Mrs. Li asked.

Wei Ming: "Two thousand yuan."

Li's mother was very satisfied with the price, considering it was only for one night of filming, and she had also heard that she could eat her fill at Holiland.

This is a new store that is about to open. In addition to Li Jiaxin, there are also Xu Jinjiang, Xia Wenxi and Da Sha. These three main characters will also be the main actors in the advertisement, which can be regarded as a small perk that Wei Ming gave them.

Although Da Sha is ugly, the way he eats hamburgers is very appetizing, and he follows the path of a big eater.

The four of them, along with the well-trained store manager and employees, filmed three commercials in one night. The crew members were all in high spirits and worked hard until midnight. Wei Ming then gave them extra chicken legs.

Zhang Yimou discovered that Teacher Wei could be so interesting when shooting commercials, especially his methods for capturing the details of food, which broadened his horizons as a photographer. He really is an all-rounder!

The three advertisements were filmed from three different angles. Some focused on the delicious taste, some on the convenience and time-saving aspect, and one emphasized that eating Holiland was fashionable. The female lead was none other than the beautiful Li Jiaxin.

Wei Ming also came up with two advertising slogans for Holiland: one was a broader one, "Deliciousness is in my heart, all at Holiland."

Another key point is the chicken: every bite is a premium chicken, prepared by experts.

Holiland is somewhat like a combination of KFC and McDonald's, excelling in both burgers and fried chicken. Moreover, it has launched several hit flavors of fried chicken, with spicy chicken wings being surprisingly popular.

There's a shortage of broiler chickens in Hong Kong right now, so Uncle Liu Bin is planning to partner with local people in Guangdong to open a broiler chicken farm. Chickens are so expensive in Hong Kong!

After filming the commercial, Li Jiaxin handed her home phone number to Wei Ming, whether she was trying to bait him or to get him to think of her when he needed advertising opportunities in the future is unclear.

The next day, the crew began filming scenes of the man pursuing the woman, which were mostly filmed on the street and on overpasses.

These scenes were numerous, and the goal was to capture the magical feel of Hong Kong. Wei Ming had very high standards for the visuals, and the high rate of film waste caused Zhang Yimou great distress, as these were all high-quality imported film!

Wei Ming also mentioned that he plans to use imported film when making the movie. It's a bit expensive, but the picture quality will be better.

He's a man of principle.

Because Xia Wenxi was running in the streets with her clothes open most of the time, while Xu Jinjiang was chasing her covered in blood, their crew even made it into TVB's social news. Fortunately, the reporters didn't realize it was Wei Ming's crew.

Meanwhile, accompanied by her good friends Wei Hong and Lin Ni, Vivian Chow was at the third day of the preliminary rounds of TVB's Hong Kong New Talent Singing Contest.

The judges for this competition were James Wong, Jenny Tseng, Teddy Robin, and Leslie Cheung. Amin knew James Wong, but not very well.

Moreover, the songs sung by the contestants were all very familiar, many of which were Ah Ming's works. Zhou Huimin even heard a performance of "First Love".

She patted her chest, thankfully, it wasn't as good as her singing.

Amin was still a little nervous backstage, after all, it was his first time participating in a competition, and some people had already recognized him.

"Zhou Huimin, are you Zhou Huimin?" The competition's emcee, Qi Meizhen, recognized her immediately from the crowd as she passed by the backstage preparation room. Tall and with a very unique temperament, she was hard to miss.

Jaime Chik was a classmate of Andy Lau and Tsui Kam-kong in TVB's training class. She has officially joined TVB and is considered to be given important responsibilities, working with Choi Fung-wah as the competition's emcee.

She also attended last year's charity concert and was deeply impressed by the little girl who was the first to appear in the chorus.

Vivian Chow nodded: "Hello."

“When I saw the list, I thought it was just people with the same name,” said Chik Mei-chun. “I didn’t expect you to be so kind as to participate in this competition. It’s a pity that the preliminary rounds are not broadcast on TV, otherwise it would have caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong.”

"It's summer vacation, so I'll find something to do."

Qi Meizhen had to work, so she only chatted briefly before running off again.

However, one girl suddenly burst out, saying sarcastically, "You're already so famous, why do you still need to participate in the competition? Okay, now there are only 29 spots left."

Amin was somewhat surprised by the hostile looks from the contestants, as this was a line of thinking she hadn't considered.

At this moment, Wei Hong and Lin Ni, as family members, had been arranged to sit in the audience. Just when A Min was feeling isolated and helpless, a female voice suddenly said, "It's not 29, it's 28."

The female contestant, who had just gone crazy, looked at the other person and said, "What, you have a powerful backer too?"

“No,” the woman, dressed in leather pants, was not particularly attractive and even looked somewhat fierce. She laughed and said, “I have the ability, so I believe I will definitely be selected. As for those who lack confidence and blame others, they might as well withdraw now to avoid making a fool of themselves on stage.”

Zhou Huimin glanced at the girl who had come to his aid with great emotion. She looked to be in her early twenties with prominent cheekbones, and at that moment she appeared rather handsome.

The female contestant, who had been challenged, was speechless. Just then, it was her turn to go on stage, and she quickly used her performance to escape the awkward situation.

Next, she will perform "Love Across Mountains and Rivers," another production by Wei Ming.

Zhou Huimin looked at the girl who had just helped her and went over to chat with her: "Hello, my name is Zhou Huimin, you can call me Amin. Thank you for your help."

“My name is Anita Mui, you can just call me Ah Mui, it’s nothing.”

After introducing herself, 19-year-old Anita Mui asked, "Actually, I'm also a little curious. You could have just debuted and released an album. Many people have heard your songs. Why did you still participate in this competition? We go through all that trouble to participate in the competition so that we can sign a contract and release an album."

Vivian Chow said apologetically, "I didn't expect to take away other people's opportunities, but I only need to participate in the semi-finals, and I won't sign with a record company."

Anita Mui felt envious upon hearing this. No wonder she was a rich heiress. All she knew was that Vivian Chow was the heiress of Holiland, and Holiland was practically opening a branch right in front of their house. With such a huge business, she certainly wouldn't care about such a small amount of money as singing.

However, Amin never explained why she wanted to participate in the competition.
At this moment, the temperamental female contestant came down, looking embarrassed. She hadn't performed well and her score wasn't high. In the end, the top 30 were determined based on the combined scores of the four judges, so she definitely had no chance.

Soon it was Anita Mui's turn. She took the stage in a dashing manner and sang "It Seems Like an Old Friend Has Come." Jenny Tseng, the real star, was in the audience, but in reality, Anita Mui was the real star.

Ah Min thought Ah Mei wouldn't be nervous at all, but she trembled a little during her first line. However, she quickly recovered and showed a very experienced stage presence. The entire audience was drawn into her performance and emotions. Even Zhou Huimin felt inferior, realizing that she was far inferior in this aspect.

A male contestant next to him said, "Anita Mui is very talented; she's been singing for over ten years."

"Oh? You know her?" Amin asked.

Wen Zhaolun said, "I heard that she was born posthumously, with two older brothers and an older sister. She sang in nightclubs and amusement parks with her sister since she was a child. Although she came from an untrained background, she has more than ten years of performance experience."

An unborn child? Was she also an unborn child?

A look of sympathy and pity welled up in Zhou Huimin's eyes, and it seemed that because she had so many children, her family was not as well off as her own.

Although everyone was born after the death of their parents, their mother never let them suffer any injustice and took great care of them from a young age, until she met Wei Ming, at which point she could no longer protect them.

Anita Mui then left the stage with a high score, and the final ranking of the top 30 will be determined after all the performances are completed.

"Amei, can we go together after my performance?"

"What's up? Are you treating me to chicken?"

"Okay, let's go together. It's on me. Thank you for standing up for me earlier."

Anita Mui thought about it and figured that saving a meal would be good, so she agreed.

After she came down, it was Wen Zhaolun's turn, who was very talkative. This guy also performed well and had a good chance of making it into the finals.

After Deric Wan finished singing, he didn't leave, wanting to see Vivian Chow's talent. Actually, Anita Mui also wanted to see her.

Zhou Huimin's turn was quite far down the list. She waited for about an hour, almost until the competition was over, before it was finally her turn to go on stage.

She had originally wanted to surprise her old friends on the judging panel, but the emcee had already announced her name before she even went on stage.

"Next up is Zhou Huimin, singing a Mandarin song, 'Pink Memories'."

Of the four, only Jenny didn't know that Vivian Chow was participating in the competition. When she first heard it, she thought it was just a coincidence of names.

Zhang Guorong's agent told him that Huang Zhan and Teddy Robin had been spoiled by the production team, and that they would do everything they could to ensure Zhou Huimin's advancement.

Teddy Robin thought that with Amin's strength, advancing would not be a problem. However, Wong Jim was a little unhappy. So she was using connections? He wanted to see what kind of strength she had.

When Vivian Chow walked out in a pink ladylike dress, James Wong's heart melted instantly.

Forget about skill, just this appearance alone is worth at least five points.

When they heard this unfamiliar song and watched Vivian Chow's playful performance on stage, they felt as refreshed as if they had fallen in love on a summer day.

Comfortable, cozy, and relaxing!

Deserves full marks!

……

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