Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

"What's going on?"

Zhang Shuai'an quickly returned to the booth and found that Wu Siyuan, Huang Zhiqiang, Xu Xiaoming, and others were gone, leaving only Ling Zhijian and director Luo Wen. The female companions were also nowhere to be seen.

Ling Zhijian calmly peeled peanuts and sneered, "Fighting over dancers, that's common among martial arts instructors."

Zhang Shuai sat down and then asked, "Where are Mr. Wu and the others?"

Ling Zhijian continued, "Boss Wu said he had a headache and went home first, but all the expenses were put on his tab. Director Xu and the others went to mediate the fight. We should just sit and watch the show and not get involved."

"Where is He Jiatong?" Zhang Shuai'an realized that He Jiatong was nowhere to be seen either.

Director Luo Wen replied, "He also went to the restroom. You were gone for about five minutes, and he went there too. Didn't you run into him?"

"Don't worry," Ling Zhijian said casually. "He went to the other side of the toilet. He said he was taking a dump and won't be back for at least half an hour. Go watch the movie."

Zhang Shuai felt a little relieved, poured himself a glass of wine, and actually started watching the show: "What's the name of that guy with the cross-eyed look who fights really hard?"

"Fish Head Yun, Liu Wen." Ling Zhijian followed Zhang Shuai'an's gaze and saw a person. He introduced him with a smile: "Don't look at him because he's short and ugly. He's Bai Biao's younger brother. He started fishing a long time ago."

He contracted meningitis when he was one year old. Although he recovered, his eyes became crossed and his IQ was slightly lower than average.

He's a veteran; he started as a stuntman in 69 and joined Golden Harvest in 71, becoming one of Golden Harvest's first stuntmen. Even Jackie Chan has to call him a senior.

A couple of years ago, while working on set, the director asked him to jump from a three-meter-high building. He wasn't prepared at all, and he just jumped.

Zhang Shuai listened quietly. He had a vague impression of Bai Biao, who was nicknamed "Guo Jing Specialist" because he had played Guo Jing three times in a row.

The first two times were in 1976, in the TVB drama series "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," which made him very popular. The last time was in 1995, in the TVB remake of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," where Yang Guo was played by Louis Koo.

Zhang Shuai'an then asked, "Who is that person with the impressive leg skills and pretty looks?"

Ling Zhijian glanced around and spotted the person Zhang Shuai'an had mentioned among the dozen or so people locked in combat. He replied, "That's Dong Wei. He also started as a stuntman in his teens and just officially joined our Shaw Brothers at the beginning of the year. However, he usually hangs out with Hong Jingbao and the others."

Zhang Shuai'an nodded. It was indeed him. Dong Wei had really left Shaw Brothers and joined Sammo Hung's stunt team.

"Don't let his young face fool you, he's two months older than Jackie Chan, and he's the second senior apprentice among the male students in the Pink Chrysanthemum Peking Opera troupe."

Yu Zhan Yuan's "Seven Little Fortunes" actually had many members who came and went. Hong Jing Bao was not the first to become a disciple, but everyone recognized him as the eldest brother.

Zhang Shuai'an didn't really know much about the team behind Pink Chrysanthemum.

Zhang Shuai'an couldn't help but ask, "Who is the senior brother over there at Pink Chrysanthemum?"

"See that guy who's the fiercest when he's looking for someone? His name is Lam Ching-ying."

Ling Zhijian casually pointed and explained to Zhang Shuai'an, "He's usually very quiet and inflexible. He's also loyal and a man of his word. When filming, he's meticulous and a perfectionist."

However, once he drank, he was completely different. He would attack anyone he saw, striking with great force, showing no mercy even to his own family. Therefore, there's a saying: "Don't mess with a tiger or an eagle, don't mess with a drunk Lam Ching-ying."

Zhang Shuai'an had heard about this before he traveled through time.

Hung Ching-pao once explained why Lam Ching-ying was like that. He said that Lam Ching-ying's family was poor when he was young, and he had to work as a stuntman at a young age to earn money to support his family.

But he's too upright, inflexible, and quiet, keeping everything bottled up inside and never confiding in anyone. Such a person harbors a deep-seated anger. Once drunk, his pent-up frustration explodes; he becomes ruthless, unrecognizable to family and friends, and willing to attack anyone. The best way to deal with him is to hang him up with wires.

As for why Hung King-po and the others didn't persuade Lam Ching-ying to quit drinking?

For martial arts stuntmen like them, life is unpredictable, and no one knows how long they can last. Drinking has become a rare source of joy in their lives.

If Zhang Shuai'an remembers correctly, Lin Zhengying eventually died of liver cancer at the age of forty-five due to excessive drinking.

A moment later, a scream suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Ah! Brother An, save me!"

Upon hearing the noise, Zhang Shuai'an immediately looked over and was shocked to find that He Jiatong had somehow gotten caught up in the melee and had already taken several punches.

"Don't go!" Ling Zhijian quickly said, "You'll get punched too. They don't discriminate between friend and foe when they fight."

Unable to stand idly by while He Jiatong was being beaten, Zhang Shuai'an left the booth and rushed into the crowd.

Sure enough, as soon as he approached the battle, someone immediately attacked him.

Zhang Shuai'an raised his hand and slapped away the other person's fist, but then two more people came over and beat him up.

He had no choice but to use Bruce Lee's physique and speed to attack these people's joints and knock them down first.

He then moved with ease, quickly reaching He Jiatong.

"Interesting. How come you know Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chun?"

Just as they helped He Jiatong up, someone rushed up to Zhang Shuai'an.

Zhang Shuai'an turned his head and saw that it was Lin Zhengying.

"Come on, let's fight!"

Before Zhang Shuai'an could react, Lin Zhengying's fist was already at him.

Zhang Shuai'an was startled and took two small steps back before releasing He Jiatong.

Before Lin Zhengying's next punch arrived, Zhang Shuai'an instinctively advanced instead of retreating, seizing Lin Zhengying's center line and cutting off his leg technique's path.

Lin Zhengying immediately changed tactics, reaching out and sticking to Zhang Shuai'an.

The two exchanged blows, and their fighting style was quite impressive.

However, this turned a fight into a friendly exchange.

The stuntmen who were fighting fiercely quickly stopped and made way for them, while the others smoothly switched to spectator mode, constantly stirring up trouble from the sidelines!

Yu Touyun asked, somewhat puzzled, "Who is this handsome guy? How come he's fighting Ah Ying to a standstill?"

Wu Ma replied, "He's a mainland boy who just swam here not long ago. He does have some skills, but we don't know exactly how good he is."

After fighting for a while, Zhang Shuai'an realized that he was starting to feel the strain, so he immediately changed his approach and started using techniques from Sanda and combat sports.

"You actually have a bit of Brother Lung's shadow in you?" Lam Ching-ying became even more excited, getting more and more carried away with the fight.

Zhang Shuai'an also discovered that he could absorb some of his opponent's fist techniques and moves during the battle, and thus enter the same state.

Yuen Biao, with an admiring look on his face, said, "Brother Sanmao, this kid's got some interesting. Do you think he can beat Brother Ying?"

Hong Jingbao said calmly, "That kid doesn't actually have much of a foundation in boxing. He's just physically strong. Young people have a lot of energy, and he could kill a teacher with a flurry of punches. Go and separate them."

"Me?" Yuen Biao's eyes widened as he pointed to himself.

Just then, someone shouted, "Stop! The police are coming!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the groups of martial arts instructors separated instantly, and even restored the overturned tables and chairs.

The broken bottles and other debris on the floor were cleaned up by the waiters in a very fast manner.

Lam Ching-ying, still under the influence of alcohol, continued fighting. Hung Ching-po, experienced in handling such situations, immediately stepped forward and said, "Ah-ying, I just received a call from Boss Zou. There are scenes that need reshooting tomorrow. You probably can't film like this. I'll go ask for leave for you!"

"No!" Lin Zhengying paused for a moment, then suddenly stopped, his face flushed. "I can handle it. Give me some time."

After saying that, he stumbled and rushed to the bathroom.

Hong Jingbao gave him a wink, and two people followed behind.

"Kid, your kung fu skills are a bit lacking, but you fought very well and you're physically strong too."

Hong Jingbao now truly looked at Zhang Shuai'an in a different light: "I won't repeat myself. Whenever you leave Shaw Brothers, come find me anytime, and I'll protect you."