My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 955 It's a human, not a god.
Brother Jie is nothing more than someone who has dedicated himself to his work for many years, and he has a group of brilliant people around him who treat him like a fool.

We need to find a way to break through this situation.

When Wei Dong recounted the new lives of several basketball players, he was indeed filled with longing for them.

Those who are not famous or locked in can easily move around.

He's a top athlete who's been bringing glory to his country and performing on the world stage since he was six or seven years old; how could he give up so easily?

Even when it's retired and out of fuel, it can still be used for a while.

Later, Xiao Ming faced difficulties getting accepted by the NBA and receiving support from various professional teams.

He's practically trying to break free all by himself now, and you can imagine how difficult that is.

This will prevent Wei Dong from confronting Wei Dong head-on.

Of course, the idea was to use the traditional Hong Kong wedding methods.

Even if he's not in a hurry to change his nationality, as long as he finds a wife like Lina who works outside the system, there are a million ways to have his income paid to his family through his wife.

Money can solve 99% of the problems.

But judging from Brother Jie's current situation, his lover is probably also in the system, and he vaguely knows about this.

So we won't mention it now.

Let's just talk about the beautiful scenery and the movies.

The next day, after passing through the dam locks, we traveled along the deep and beautiful Three Gorges for about 200 kilometers to reach the Qutang Gorge.

The bright orange speedboat gliding through the spring scenery of the towering canyons on both sides was truly wonderful.

Moreover, there were few boats at this time, and the narrow river flowed out like a flat road in front of us.

There's a special kind of exhilarating feeling when speedboats travel through the water.

Because of the frequent descriptions of the beauty of both sides of the strait as picturesque, it was later referred to as an art gallery.

The most intense visual impact comes from a fast-moving scene.

Fortunately, there was an experienced technician on board who was familiar with the Yangtze River waterway. He repeatedly reminded the crew that the speed should not exceed thirty knots when turning.

Otherwise, it might really fishtail when it goes high speed...

Because the ship was fully enclosed, everyone pressed themselves against the glass windows to admire the unique peaks and rocks on both sides of the river.

In recent years, the North Metropolis Group and others have been particularly emphasizing that famous scenic spots across the country can be included in movies, hoping to evoke a sense of resonance among Hong Kong audiences with the beauty of the country. They praised the films and took many photos on the observation deck at the stern of the ship.

They reserved the VIP cabins for Wei Dong and Brother Jie to describe their "imagined" new kung fu films.

Wei Dong has lived here for decades, and he's tired of seeing videos and photos of it, even though he's never actually visited it.

Jay was completely captivated by the new world depicted.

Leung Ka-fai remained silent and listened from the side.

The plot of "Shaolin Temple" is actually quite rough.

The Shaolin series that Jay Chou later made all followed this formula of landlords, bullies, warlords, and foreigners.

But when someone presents the same formula in a captivating way, like telling a story, it becomes truly engaging.

Only by combining excellent filming techniques and editing skills can a popular film character be created.

The righteous and upright Wong Fei-hung, the mischievous and growing Fong Sai-yuk, and the reserved yet eccentric Zhang Sanfeng—these few alone are enough to secure their place in film history.

Like most mainland viewers, Wei Dong had no idea who these two "Top Ten Youths of Eastern Guangdong" were.

However, this does not prevent the formation of a deep impression.

Wei Dong couldn't quite articulate the details of his experience, but he could describe it as something completely different from current Hong Kong martial arts films, including those made by Jackie Chan.

Just by watching short videos, you'll know that what makes him hailed as the "Kung Fu Emperor" is the stylish and captivating martial arts moves that every director and expert dreams of.

Regardless of the various revelations about stunt doubles and fight choreographers stealing credit, and no matter what directors or screenwriters want to show off their talent.

It cannot be denied that when it comes to martial arts, Jay Chou is almost unique in his ability to create something cool, elegant, and beautiful.

Even though Hong Kong martial arts films later followed the path of finding people from the Beijing Martial Arts Team and brought in one handsome martial arts team after another, none of them reached his peak in kung fu performance.

Brother Jie leaned back on the sofa, becoming more and more relaxed, and listened very carefully.

Because ordinary netizens and movie fans in later generations will understand the advantages and disadvantages better than he does now.

He finally admitted that his first self-directed and self-acted film was released during the Spring Festival last year, and it was overwhelmed by Stephen Chow's "God of Gamblers," with the Hong Kong box office not even reaching six million.

I have a bit of a disdain for the kind of silly, comedic performances by Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat, but I have to admit that their style is popular with audiences.

Compared to the final box office of nearly 50 million for "God of Gamblers," it actually suffered a huge loss.

So during this time, he returned to Pingjing under the pretense of recuperating from his injuries, but he was actually fuming.

They longed to break free and create their own world.

Leung Ka-fai, who longs to return to acting in mainland China, was surprised to find such frustration and indignation at someone desperately trying to break free from the system. Wei Dong was able to offer a conciliatory perspective: "Nothing is perfect. Actors like Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, and Jay Chou have to establish their own style and completely define their own films to survive. The restrictions within the system are painful; their pay is low, they can't decide the subject matter or content of their films, and even the different release channels significantly impact their work."

“You are different. You, Chow Yun-fat, and even Leung Chun-wai are all versatile. You can integrate into any subject matter, director, or style. Just focus on the role and tell the story well. So you can perform well in any environment.”

Liang Jiahui, feigning frustration with a slight Cantonese accent, said, "Sigh, I always said I'm a jack-of-all-trades."

Brother Jie quickly and earnestly comforted him: "No, no, the chess king really acted very well and received a lot of praise from the leaders. Moreover, his sense of proportion was just right."

The usually irreverent and irreverent Leung Ka-fai had to become more serious and explained the current structure of the film company. There were basically no fixed contracts; instead, the main creators received dividends through shareholder arrangements. As an investor, Wai-tung only needed to recoup his investment...

Even Jay Chou, who has never met a tycoon in mainland China, was a little puzzled: "I've been focused on filming these past two years, so what exactly do you do?"

Wei Dong leaned back on the sofa and pointed to the summit of Kuimen Gate, which was already in sight outside: "Go there and you'll see."

He got up and went to the front cockpit to remind them to turn right, but the water depth at the fork in the road was not in the old shipyard's memory.

They also had to lower a small inflatable raft from the stern, with a propeller and a depth sensing chain attached, to scout ahead.

The difference is already noticeable now.

The Baidi Scenic Area, which used to be sparsely visited, is now crowded with tourists curiously peeking out from the small docks on both sides, most of whom are going to climb the walking trails.

There's a small pier in the mountain valley that's the only one that's worth spending ten yuan to take the cable car.

The tourist boats that shuttle between the three points are not the two 20-person boats brought from Hong Kong.

It can also be packed with people peering over their noses.

Wu Shengyun made arrangements and gave reminders along the way, and the staff of the tourism company, as well as the director of the Zi Bureau, were waiting on the shore.

Li Erfeng, dressed in a suit and skirt, led the team with the air of a bandit's wife, and even chatted and laughed with Director Zi.

Wei Dong was somewhat surprised by this promotion, but he remained silent.

She tucked her son into the baby carrier on her chest and carried her daughter steadily off the boat.

Dong Xueqing affectionately linked arms with Li Erfeng, then gently pouted and twisted her arm, mainly because she envied her son who was already a year and a half old!
Director Zi exclaimed in amazement at the luxurious speedboat, which resembled a "giant ship": "Is it for Kuizhou? It will definitely boost Kuizhou's tourism economy!"

Even Jay Chou glanced at him after hearing that tone, and gave Liang Jiahui a meaningful look, telling him to listen and think it over.

Wei Dong laughed it off: "We still need to go through procedures and travel from Jiangzhou to Shangzhou and Kuizhou, which consumes a lot of fuel and the boat tickets are not cheap. How's the situation lately?"

In fact, Dong Xueqing had all the data lists.

Director Zi is indeed quite capable: "In 1987, we received 150,000 tourists, generating 3.7 million yuan in economic revenue, and per capita income increased..."

It seems he's memorized a lot of figures during visits and inspections by leaders at all levels.

Wei Dong walked a few steps along the newly paved stone path and suggested that both sides be put to good use: "Restaurants, restaurants, tea shops, souvenir shops, and general stores selling local produce—try to make small shops so that more farmers can get involved and become wealthy. The current policy still allows this."

The main reason for speaking up was that they estimated that even if the reservoir stored water, it wouldn't flood this area.

Director Zi repeatedly said it was a great idea; he hadn't thought of it even after working here for over a year.

Taking advantage of the short walk of a few hundred meters, Wei Dong chatted casually and asked, "What are your plans for the future? Do you want to go to the city, retire comfortably, or go into business?"

Within the system, one should be more tactful. His directness made Director Zi hesitate for a moment: "It seems that the old...leader is about to retire. He just transferred Lao Fan to the city at the end of last year. Is there going to be a major reshuffle in Kuizhou?"

Wei Dong, who was no longer paying attention to the county level, tried his best not to laugh: "What, do you think you can take charge if there are many vacancies in Kuizhou?"

Director Zi quickly whispered, "Standing Committee member, Standing Committee member, as long as I can get into the Standing Committee, that's fine."

This was his original trajectory, but after a few more years, he seized the opportunity presented by the steady growth of the tourism industry and made it into the county leadership team.

Not everyone can withstand the test in those positions.

Wei Dong still wanted to retain as many helpers as possible at this stage: "Working within the system might restrict your abilities. The Shangzhou Tourism Corporation is a national brand. Kuimen is one point, the ancient town in the Lesser Three Gorges of Xiakou County is another, and finally, Xier Street in Shangzhou and Shibaozhai in Bazhou are like pearls strung together to form a pearl necklace. Would you like to come and lead this team?"

After all, this is a local tourism project, and it's difficult to find good tourism talent in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities, let alone whether people would want to stay here.

Hong Kong has tourism groups now, but it's unrealistic for them to stay here long-term; sending them over occasionally for guidance is fine.

So, apart from that, there is still a long way to go in cultivating young people locally to take on leadership roles. Those with even a little education who could go to university have all left, and the employees recruited locally really lack the ability to manage and build a large-scale enterprise.

So after going through all the options, this short guy was the only one that was usable.

The fifty-something-year-old Director Zi was still quick-witted: "How can we make this pearl necklace well?"

Wei Dong pondered along the way: "The problem with these scenic spots in the Three Gorges is that it's difficult for tourists to come. The nearest airport is Jiangzhou, but the new one won't be completed until 90. As for trains, there's no railway line from the Three Gorges to Jiangzhou, so the only option is to rely on boats."

This area was among the last in the country to be connected by high-speed rail and bullet trains, but it has too many mountains.

But once the highway is open, the tourism industry will have a lot of convenience.

More importantly, the situation of tourists flocking from all over the country will take another ten or twenty years to develop.

So let's get through this phase by relying on high-speed boats: "These high-speed boats cost tens of millions each. Daily driving, training and maintenance must be done by a specialized company. The cost per person is one or two hundred yuan. But let's think about it from another angle. Can we offer a 50% or 70% discount on a combined ticket for several scenic spots and use these boats to quickly tour them in one go? The scenic spots can earn money from the tourists' spending on food, drinks and souvenirs after they land. The shipping company can break even and recover the cost slowly over ten or twenty years."

Director Zi immediately turned around: "These are the roadside shops... Heavenly Bodhisattva! Is that Brother Jie?"

Now he's definitely decided to take charge of this tourism company.

(End of this chapter)