Exciting 1979!

Chapter 502 Two Golden Idiots

"Yes, the house contract has been signed."

In the car, Amin talked to Wei Ming about buying a house. She still felt a little excited. This was the first time she had spent so much money, and her mother had put the house in her name.

"How much did it cost?" Wei Ming asked.

Speaking of this, Amin sighed, "The same house, the same size, our family spent 720 million, while Gui Bo's only spent 680 million."

Wei Ming remembers that the initial asking price was 800 million, but in just over a month, it has dropped so much. He is grateful to the Chinese representatives who stood firm in the Sino-British negotiations. He guesses that the homeowner is also afraid that the Hong Kong dollar will completely collapse, so he is in a hurry to sell.

"Then why are yours so expensive?"

"Because Sister Ni said that their house was messed up by filming, so they successfully negotiated a lower price."

Wei Ming laughed: "We only paid 20 yuan in rent, but they managed to lower the price to 40 yuan. We made a killing on this deal."

Zhou Huimin said, "My mother originally wanted to spend hundreds of thousands to buy an apartment, but now she spent ten times that amount to buy a villa. She will have to hire a housekeeper to clean it. She was heartbroken at the time. Fortunately, Sister Hong helped me make money in the stock market."

Wei Ming then asked, "How much profit did you make on your initial $50?"

Zhou Huimin: "I have already earned 80, and the 50 principal was not all mine; my mother also contributed some."

$80 is now equivalent to more than 600 million Hong Kong dollars, enough to buy a villa, and Xiao Hong did it in less than a month.

Based on Amin's situation, Wei Ming could also estimate how much he had earned, which was probably less than 500 million US dollars, or about 4000 million Hong Kong dollars!
If it were someone like him, a complete novice in finance, he certainly couldn't have made such a huge profit, more than doubling it. It would have to be a professional like Xiaohong, who was born for this line of work.

Wei Ming was even more looking forward to the next few famous stock market fluctuations, and he recorded the relevant historical moments in advance.

"When are you moving?" Wei Ming asked again, showing his concern.

Zhou Huimin said, "Anytime is fine. That villa only needs a simple cleaning before you can move in."

Wei Ming then remembered something else: "Isn't the distance between home and school very far?"

My home is in Kowloon Tong, but the school is in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island, which involves going through a tunnel. It takes at least half an hour to drive there, and if there is a traffic jam, it is not unusual for it to take more than an hour.

Zhou Huimin nodded: "So my mother wants to transfer me to Diocesan Girls' School."

Diocesan Girls' School is a historic girls' secondary school established in 1860. It is located at 1 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, just a short drive from Vivian Chow's villa in Kowloon Tong. Gigi Fu is a student at this school and is also a fan of Vivian Chow.

As you can tell from the name, this school has outstanding academic achievements.

Wei Ming said, "You'll be in fifth grade when school starts, right?"

“Yes, Diocesan Girls’ School teaches in English, and I thought it would help me overcome the language barrier better. Maybe after graduating from secondary school, I can go to the United States to study with you!” Zhou Huimin said. Judging from her tone, although she was a little reluctant to part with her old classmates, she still agreed.

Hong Kong's current education system consists of 5 years of secondary school plus 2 years of pre-university studies, and 3 years of university education.

However, if you are going to study at a university outside of China, the two-year foundation program can be more flexible.

If a student meets the university's entrance requirements after graduating from Form 5, they can skip the two-year foundation program and go directly to university.

He gently held Amin's hand: "Okay, then I'll wait for you."

The car arrived at Wei Ming and Gong Xue's love nest in Causeway Bay. Now that Sister Xue was not here, he finally brought Amin here for the first time.

There was almost no trace of Gong Xue's life here; her clothes were all put away, and Wei Ming didn't bring Amin to the bedroom.

He turned on the TV and VCR, ready to watch the music video for the two of them, "Moonlight Over the West Tower." After filming, Wei Ming had let Xu Ke edit it himself; he hadn't seen it yet.

"Beautiful!" Wei Ming couldn't help but praise Amin as soon as she appeared in her red dress.

Amin nestled against Wei Ming's chest and immediately gave him a sweet kiss upon hearing his praise.

The music video is only five minutes long, and that's it. Although Amin can't be called a great actress, she portrayed the joy of being newlyweds and the anxiety of waiting for her lover very well. Good-looking people can play any role comfortably.

Wei Ming asked, "Did you film the scene you had a cameo in 'Home Alone'?"

“Yes, we filmed it,” Vivian Chow laughed. “They even cast me as a princess, and the Miss Hong Kong runner-up as my maid.”

"Zhang Manyu, right?" Wei Ming had only suggested that she make a cameo appearance, but he didn't expect it to be such a small role, and that she would even have scenes with Amin.

"Yes, she has a great personality. We're already friends. I even tried to set her up with Liang Jiahui."

"What?!" Wei Ming was stunned. Matchmaking them up? Zhou Huai'an and Jin Xiangyu?

Amin said, "Ayu is a model now, so I asked Ahui if they've decided on the cover star for the next issue. I have a great beauty here, whether she can make it happen depends on them."

"I see." Wei Ming wasn't very optimistic. Although both of them were top-notch actors, the Goddess of Man had a very rich romantic history, and because she grew up in England, she preferred foreign boyfriends.

However, it's quite suitable to have her shoot the cover. Zhang Manyu is this year's Miss Hong Kong runner-up, and her popularity is even higher than the winner. Although she hasn't filmed any movies yet, she has filmed quite a few commercials. She is a good choice to be the cover girl for the second issue of "YES!" after Ah Min.

Of course, Wei Ming would prefer to see Zhang Manyu act: "Is 'Home Alone' her first acting role? What do you think of her performance?"

“Not bad, I feel she’s more talented than me,” Amin said objectively. “And TVB is going to give her a leading role in a TV series.”

"Oh~"

Speaking of the show, Amin laughed and said, "This show is also related to Ah Long."

"What's the relationship?"

“TVB is going to film a TV series about comics, so they asked Ah Lung to be a consultant, and they’ll even draw inspiration from him. I guess Ah Yu’s character will be Ah Ying,” Ah Min said with a smile.

The drama is called "Painting Rainbows". Wei Ming has never seen it before. The cast also includes Liu Qingyun and Lan Jieying.

If this is indeed the subject matter, Wei Ming needs to have a good talk with A Long and take this opportunity to further expand the influence of Madman Comics.

Next, Amin played a demo of the album "Mo Mo Mo".

She also told Wei Ming, "Our music company has already signed a contract with Mr. Hu Weili."

"Is he still in Hong Kong?" Wei Ming asked.

"He has already returned to the mainland and said he is going to start the resignation process."

Wei Ming nodded, and amidst the ancient and elegant music, Wei Ming and Amin's movements became increasingly intense.

After listening to one cassette tape, an hour had passed. Wei Ming helped Amin straighten her clothes and said, "Let me take you home."

"I'm hungry, I'll grab something to eat before I go back." Amin wiped her mouth with a tissue, her face still flushed.

"Good~"

Vivian Chow: "Also, 'The Shepherd's Spring' is going to be released in a couple of days, come with me to see it."

Although he had seen it countless times, Wei Ming still agreed. Just like a killer always likes to return to the scene of the murder, Wei Ming never tired of looking at his masterpiece.

Many viewers in Hong Kong are also waiting to see this film, which is the most anticipated mainland film in the Hong Kong film market this year.

Now, more than half a year has passed, and the mainland film with the best box office performance in Hong Kong is "The Xi'an Incident," which has already grossed 300 million. "The Shepherd's Class" is the film that will follow it.

As for Hong Kong local films, the annual box office champion has changed hands. "Winners and Sinners" narrowly overtook "Aces Go Places 2" and was taken off the screens with a box office of HK$2300 million.

Although it still falls short of the record for the highest-grossing film in history as the first "Aces Go Places" movie, Raymond Chow was overjoyed. He finally saw hope of suppressing the "Aces Go Places" series in China.

After sending Amin home, Wei Ming didn't stay at Lao Gui's house either, as it was getting a bit crowded there.

The next day, Wei Ming went to the set of "Home Alone" to take a look. The filming had already progressed to the second half, mainly focusing on the scenes between Xi Zi and Xu Jinjiang and Chen Baixiang.

Because Xu Jinjiang can speak Mandarin, he is also responsible for translating for Xizi. However, Xizi can now understand some simple Cantonese.

Huang Baiming really liked the very intelligent little boy Xizi, and even wanted to give Bald Guy a son in "Aces Go Places 3". Unfortunately, the script was already completed, so they can only wait for the fourth installment.

Wei Ming didn't disturb everyone's filming. He sat with Biao Zi, having neglected Biao Fei while running around lately.

"Ming-ge, you've returned to Beijing this time. 'The Legend of the Martial Arts' has been released, right? What are people saying about it?" Biaozi asked eagerly.

“It’s out, it was released at the end of last month,” Wei Ming laughed. “I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but Xiao Mei did. She said that its popularity has caught up with ‘The Shepherd’s Class’. You have the potential to become the next Li Lianjie. I also saw in the newspaper that someone praised the movie for its fighting, saying that it showed the spirit of the Chinese people. You are now the number one person in China to fight against foreign devils.”

Hearing this, Biaozi burst into laughter, feeling quite pleased. Then he asked another question: "Brother Ming, I also want to buy some gold. Do you know where is a good place to buy it?"

When he saw the gold while delivering it to Uncle Ping An, he thought he could buy some as gifts for his wife, mother, and daughter.

Although the mainland opened up the sale of gold jewelry last year, the sales channels are controlled by the government, and the styles, designs, and quantities cannot compare with those in Hong Kong.

Wei Ming said, "If you don't mind the price-performance ratio, you can go to those big brands, like Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sang Sang. The quality is guaranteed, but the brand premium is also higher. If you don't care about the brand, I know a place where there are quite a few places selling gold, and the prices are cheaper." "Really?"

In the afternoon, the two drove to Sha Tau Kok, the northernmost point of Hong Kong.

Recently, Shenzhen and Hong Kong joined hands to invest in the renovation and reopening of Chung Ying Street in Sha Tau Kok. The street had been closed for a period of time due to tensions between the two sides.

Wei Ming introduced the history of Chung Ying Street to Biaozi: "It all started during the Guangxu era. Anyway, Hong Kong was ceded and the New Territories were leased. Then Sha Tau Kok in Shenzhen was divided in two by a street. One side was Hong Kong and the other side was Shenzhen. Merchants from both sides traded goods on that street."

“I think we’ve heard of it before when we came to Shenzhen to buy goods, but we’ve never been here.” Biaozi remembered that he and Xiaomei had a period of time as middlemen.

"The market probably hadn't reopened yet back then, it must have been this year. I heard it was quite lively, especially with a lot of gold shops. And since there were troops stationed on both sides, there was no need to worry about anyone robbing the gold shops."

Biaozi was telling Wei Ming this morning that he had heard about two jewelry store robberies in the month he had been in Hong Kong.

Wei Ming then asked him, "So how much money did you prepare?"

Biaozi chuckled and said, "Didn't you give me HK$20,000 in film fees? Then I went to the racetrack with Uncle Jiefang and had some fun. I was lucky, and now I have HK$100,000. I also met some old men."

Wei Ming advised, "Although horse racing is a sport, you must be very careful when betting on it. You could lose everything if you're not careful."

Biaozi hurriedly said, "Brother Ming, don't you know me? I don't even play poker much. I only dare to bet because I'm following Uncle Jiefang. I definitely wouldn't dare to touch it on my own."

"Good to know, HK$10 can buy more than a pound of it."

"Then let's buy a little over a pound! We can divide it among the three women when we get back. Oh, no, we should also bring some for my mother-in-law. A little over a pound isn't much."

Wei Ming shook his head: "I don't think you need to rush to buy so much. The price of gold is relatively high now, and buying too much at this time would be a waste of money."

"Huh? Is it high?"

“Great, the price is definitely going to plummet in the next two years,” Wei Ming told him. “Because the international economic situation is very good now, the return on investment in business is higher, and doing business is a better way to preserve value than buying gold, so the price of gold will definitely fall. You might buy it for 100,000 now, and it might not even be worth 50,000 next year.”

Biaozi: "Isn't this what people often call 'gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times'?"

Wei Ming snapped his fingers: "Wake up!"

As they were talking, they arrived at Chung Ying Street. They showed their relevant documents before entering. Wei Ming warned Biaozi, "We'll stay on this street. Don't go to Shenzhen, or we won't be able to come back and will have to go through the procedures to enter Hong Kong again."

Chung Ying Street is not large, about 250 meters long and only 4 meters wide.

One side of the street has signs in simplified Chinese characters, selling mainland goods that are of good quality and inexpensive, including vegetables and food.

On the other side are traditional Chinese characters, selling some goods that are rarely seen on the mainland. They are exquisitely designed and obviously not cheap.

The per capita income on both sides differs by tens of times, which is certainly not cheap for residents of Shenzhen, but quite a few mainlanders still go to Hong Kong stores.

Although it's expensive, if you buy in bulk and sell it inland, they can sell it for even more, so the profit margin is huge.

Wei Ming saw a store that specializes in all kinds of toys, including Transformers. He checked it and found it to be genuine, so there was no problem. If it were a pirated product, he would definitely have to call a police report.

Even if Transformers are expensive, there will definitely be no shortage of buyers in Guangdong. Wang Shi has already made over a million yuan by tinkering with corn from Northeast China.

The wealthy class had already begun to emerge, but it hadn't made a fuss yet. Decades later, when they started writing their memoirs with pride, the public realized how late they had awakened.

"Ming-ge, there's a jewelry store over there!"

The two went inside to take a look, and sure enough, the jewelry here was cheaper in terms of craftsmanship and had a wider variety of designs.

Besides gold, there were also jewelry and jade, and even several rough jade stones from old mines in Myanmar were placed on the ground.

Wei Ming asked Biaozi with a smile, "Do you want to try your hand at gambling on stones? If you find jade, you'll be rich."

Biaozi, unaware that Ming was testing him, quickly waved his hand, saying, "I don't have X-ray vision, I'm not playing, I'm not playing."

Wei Ming nodded in satisfaction. Although he was the protagonist, this was not "Golden Eyes" after all, and he kept his distance from raw stones.

After some careful selection, Biaozi bought over 30,000 yuan worth of gold jewelry and returned home laden with his purchases.

The two of them drove directly to Minglong Media, and Biaozi immediately started showing off the gold necklaces and rings on his hands to Liu Rulong.

Ah Long asked, "What was the average price you paid when you bought them?"

Biaozi: "Less than HK$130 per gram."

Ah Long slapped his forehead: "I bought it for over 140 yuan."

It turns out that after buying a house for his sister and his unborn baby, he gritted his teeth and bought tens of thousands of yuan worth of gold. He bought it at the very top of his life, but he was also a sucker.

Wei Ming felt that the price would probably drop below 100 in the next two years.

After chatting about gold, Wei Ming and Ah Long discussed the script for TVB's "Painting Rainbows".

Ah Long said, "Actually, I've already joined the scriptwriting team. The two forces in the script are actually allusions to Kuangren and Yulang. Recently, Yulang Comics has pulled itself out of the brink of bankruptcy by importing Japanese comics, but I can't let them have it too easy. I'll write this part of the story into the script, and I've also added a plot where a Hong Kong comics master fights against a Japanese comics artist."

Biaozi immediately understood: "Isn't this just like the fighting in martial arts movies? You're trying to become the Chen Zhen of the comic book world!"

Ah Long laughed and said, "Fighting the Japanese is always a storyline that audiences enjoy watching."

Wei Ming clapped and said, "It sounds very interesting. This should be the first TV series about the comic book industry. I hope it can expand the influence of comics and attract more people with aspirations."

Minglong had already finished get off work, and Wei Mingbiao invited him to dinner. Coincidentally, Liang Jiahui hadn't left yet, so he invited him to join them.

Wei Ming was very curious about how his conversation with Maggie Cheung was going.

Liang Jiahui shook his head: "It's good to be friends with Ayu, but as for being lovers, I feel there are quite a few differences in cultural customs, and there's not much spark between us."

To put it bluntly, Maggie Cheung wasn't particularly fond of him.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "The movie 'The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan' will be released soon. Maybe she will be impressed by your acting skills."

Liang Jiahui raised an eyebrow: "I hope so." Judging from his tone, he didn't seem to have given up on Zhang Manyu.

However, Wei Ming was quite curious: after the movie was released, although Liang Jiahui would be blacklisted, with "YES!" as a fallback, he certainly wouldn't be too destitute. Would he still be able to meet his future wife?

When Wei Ming returned home that evening, he found Amin and Xiao Hong there, both dressed in their pajamas, indicating they were planning to spend the night there.

Vivian Chow laughed and said, "I've already told my mom that I'll be sleeping with Sister Hong tonight, and we'll go to the movies together tomorrow."

Wei Ming: Then Sister Hong is quite superfluous.

"Okay, Xiao Hong, keep a close eye on Amin tonight and make sure she doesn't sleepwalk into other people's rooms."

Hearing this, Amin angrily elbowed him, realizing that he had hit the nail on the head.

Next, Wei Ming called Li Zhi: "Li Zhi, it's me."

"Ah Ming, what is it?" Li Zhi was flattered.

Wei Ming: "The Shepherd's Class will be released tomorrow. After the premiere, call and ask 'Film Biweekly' whether this film, produced by Hong Kong DreamWorks, can be nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards."

"Okay, what are you doing right now?"

Amin had already approached warily.

Wei Ming replied, "I'm getting ready to take a shower."

After imagining the scene, Lizhi sincerely said, "I want to see it."

Amin shouted into the microphone, "Amin, come over here and scrub my back! The water temperature is just right!"

Wei Ming hung up the phone with a smile, but Li Zhi's imagination ran even wilder.

Just then, Wei Lingling was about to take a shower, and Lizhi hurried over and said, "President Lingling, let me scrub your back."

Wei Lingling, who was busy with countless women, took off her bathrobe and said, "My beauty, come here."

She casually said to Lizhi, "Before you go abroad to study, let's move our house and let you stay in the multi-million dollar mansion for a couple of days."

Hearing this, Lizhi rubbed even harder.

The following day, Hong Kong's left-wing cinemas replaced "The Xi'an Incident" with "The Shepherd's Spring," and also rented out several Liberty Cinemas.

Meanwhile, media outlets such as Ming Pao and Film Biweekly have been generating buzz and anticipation for the film's release.
(End of this chapter)