Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

At first, everyone was confused by Zhang Shuai'an's choreography, but once he started moving, it was truly spectacular. It was a revolutionary concept in action design.

"You're actually quite something!"

Chen Huimin was stunned and stepped forward to press Zhang Shuai'an's shoulder: "This fighting style is really exciting to watch. It's a pity that the previous scenes have already been filmed, otherwise, we would definitely reshoot them using this method."

Zheng Qiying stood aside, his face turning pale and then flushed, trying to find fault but unable to find anything wrong with it.

This kind of high-density offensive and defensive transitions, this kind of clever use of the environment, is indeed much better than his old methods.

Zhang Shuai'an took the towel He Jiatong handed him, wiped his sweat, and looked at Zheng Qiying: "How was it, Director Zheng? Was my scene design okay?"

"So what if he fights well? It's only a two or three-minute scene, it won't have much impact on the movie."

Zheng Qiying snorted coldly and said rather unconvinced, "If you're so capable, wait until you're qualified enough to direct a movie before you talk."

That's actually true.

Two minutes of screen time doesn't play a crucial role in the overall movie.

Therefore, many people were excited for a while, but soon stopped caring much.

"The way you looked just now did resemble Bruce Lee a bit."

Chen Huimin said with some surprise, "Although it only captures one or two tenths of his essence, it's still far better than many people who imitate him."

Zhang Shuai'an gave Chen Huimin a strange look, thinking to himself: You've also imitated Bruce Lee quite a bit.

Miao Kexiu, who was in the distance, was also somewhat surprised. She was a close friend of Bruce Lee and knew his appearance very well. Just now, she had indeed seen a few traces of Bruce Lee in Zhang Shuai'an.

This kind of shadow is real and emanates naturally, completely different from those who deliberately imitate touching their noses or make strange noises from time to time.

After this scene, everyone in the crew became more polite to Zhang Shuai'an. Brother Kang was also happy to take He Jiatong along to run errands and do odd jobs, so they could earn some pocket money. They were temporarily accepted into this small circle.

Zhang Shuai'an had nothing to do in the following scenes. He didn't play any extras or do any work. Instead, he would chat with Miao Kexiu from time to time, trying to get more star points from her.

"[Miao Kexiu is in a good mood and has gained 10 Star Points.]"

Miao Kexiu has a good impression of you and has gained 15 Star Points.

... "

The woman named Ah Huan also came over and said apologetically, "Um... Mr. Zhang, I misunderstood you before, I'm really sorry."

She awkwardly handed over an apple, saying, "Here, have this. Consider it my way of apologizing."

Zhang Shuai'an took the apple from her hand, and a notification sounded in his mind:

"Damn it!"

Zhang Shuai'an gritted his teeth, thinking that he might just win a big prize.

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained the permanent buff [Eternal Essence]. After use, your energy consumption will be only 50% of that of a normal human for a very long period of time."

[Note: Abundant energy is key to a man's success.]

This is great!

Zhang Shuai'an couldn't help but grin; it was practically a godsend for working overtime.

Wait a minute, we've already time-traveled, why am I still thinking about working overtime?

"Shuai An, what are you thinking about? Why are you smiling so slyly?"

He Jiatong leaned closer, her mouth still stuffed with half a steamed bun.

"It's nothing." Zhang Shuai'an patted his shoulder. "Why did you call me over?"

He Jiatong replied, "The filming is all finished, and we're getting ready to pack up and leave. Brother Kang asked me to call you over to settle our wages for today."

In this era, unless you're a signed artist, everyone else is paid daily.

Many stuntmen live day to day, squandering their money as soon as they get it. They have no time to think about long-term commitments; if they don't get paid within a day, someone will cause trouble.

If you don't get paid daily, who knows if your production crew will run away halfway through? Stuntmen have neither a company nor a union, so they have absolutely no job security.

That's why many action stars think about building their own teams and supporting their own stuntmen, like Jackie Chan and Hung King-po.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Zhang Shuai'an.

He followed He Jiatong to find that Brother Kang.

Brother Kang's real name is Zheng Kangye. He's been working with Chen Huimin for many years and is both an actor and a production assistant.

Right now, I'm in charge of paying the stuntmen.

"He Jiatong, you played a few minor roles and did some odd jobs, here's 200 yuan for you."

Kang Ge could read, so he wrote a few strokes on the thin booklet in his hand, then counted out two banknotes from the money pocket tied to his waist and handed them to He Jiatong.

"Two...two hundred dollars?" He Jiatong's eyes widened in surprise. "You can earn two hundred dollars just by doing this casually? Money in Hong Kong is too easy to earn!"

In 1979, the average wage in China was around 30 yuan, with higher wages in economically developed cities. For example, the average wage in Shanghai was about 50 yuan.

He Jiatong's father works at the local fertilizer factory, earning only 35 yuan a month, which is enough to support his family.

However, in Hong Kong, stuntmen earn a starting daily wage of HK$300.

"What, you think it's not enough?"

"You just got ashore after swimming, and you've never acted before, so giving you two hundred is already more than enough."

Kang Ge couldn't help but glare at He Jiatong, thinking that she was complaining about the low price, since the starting price for a proper stuntman is 300 yuan a day.

He Jiatong was startled and hurriedly explained, "Brother Kang, that's not what I meant! I didn't think it was too little, I just thought it was a bit too much."

Kang Ge ignored He Jiatong and turned to Zhang Shuai'an, saying, "Anzai, you've played a character with a name, lines, and action scenes. The starting price is 300 yuan, and you've also designed some action scenes... I'll give you 666 yuan for good luck, may everything go smoothly."

"So many?" Zhang Shuai'an was a little surprised. This price was already quite high; it was almost enough to hire a professional supporting actor in the industry.

"The extra 300 dollars is a red envelope from Min-ge," Kang-ge replied casually. "Later, you'll take my car back to Kowloon. We only go as far as Shek Kip Mei. Whether you need to visit relatives or get your ID cards, you'll have to go by yourselves."

As he spoke, Brother Kang gave each of them a cloth bag so they could carry their money.

Zhang Shuai'an took the money, didn't count it, and put it away directly.