Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, and Wu Ma were also in the private room.

Zhang Shuai'an naturally sat down, then gave He Jiatong a wink, and he sat down as well.

In the lobby downstairs, there are carts constantly moving around. Just call the cart to stop what you want to eat, grab what you want, and the waiter will note what you take.

The private rooms are slightly different; at least there's a handwritten menu with several new items not available in the main hall.

The manager arrived shortly afterward, waiting for Zhang Shuai'an to place his order.

Looking at the menu, Zhang Shuai'an suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you have civet cat stewed with soft-shelled turtle penis?"

"Huh? What stewed whip?" The manager was dumbfounded; he had never heard of it before.

"Pfft!" Jackie Chan, who was standing next to him, spat out the tea he had just drunk, spraying it all over Hung King-po's face.

Yuen Biao also choked.

Hong Jingbao looked at Zhang Shuai'an speechlessly, then turned and glared at Jackie Chan.

"Sir, please don't joke around. We don't have this in our store."

The manager smiled awkwardly: "Besides, who eats this so early in the morning?"

"I was just kidding."

Then, Zhang Shuai'an naturally ordered a few dishes, each in duplicate.

"Mr. Zhang is quite humorous." Jackie Chan wiped his mouth and handed Hung King-po two pieces of paper: "If you really want to eat this stewed hairy penis, I'll ask around and see where you can find it."

"I was just saying it offhand. It seems to be a specialty of Guangzhou. I've heard it's not only delicious but also very nutritious."

Zhang Shuai'an guessed what Jackie Chan wanted to see him about, so he wasn't in a hurry. If the other party didn't speak first, he would pretend that he really came to have breakfast.

"Is it really that nourishing?" Yuan Hua suddenly asked.

Zhang Shuai'an glanced at "Leopard Strong" and said with a smile, "I've only heard about it, I'm not really sure."

Yuan Hua grinned and said, "I definitely want to try going to Guangzhou sometime."

Jackie Chan chuckled silently, then patted Yuen Wah on the shoulder.

Wu Ma, Yuen Biao, and the others also looked at each other with a hint of sympathy.

Yuan Hua suddenly realized what was happening and retorted, "What are you laughing at? I'm perfectly fine, very strong. I just like good food, is that wrong?"

Jackie Chan comforted him, "It's alright. Modern medicine is very advanced; you're lucky!"

Seeing that he couldn't explain himself, Yuan Hua turned to Lin Zhengying and said, "Ah Ying, you explain for me."

Lam Ching-ying was taken aback for a moment, then said irritably, "I'm not gay, why would I bother explaining this to you?"

"Alright, enough joking around."

After everyone finished laughing and the atmosphere became more relaxed, Hong Jingbao directly reminded him, "Ah Long, let's get down to business. Otherwise, if we finish eating early, they'll have to go back to work."

"Alright, then I won't waste any more words." Jackie Chan cleared his throat and said directly to Zhang Shuai'an, "Anzai, let me be frank, I watched your performance in 'Handcuffs,' and it was quite good, especially the action design in the group scenes, which suited my taste perfectly."

I'd like to ask you to join the cast of "Junior Brother Takes the Field" and help design the fight scenes. What do you think?

"Where are you at with filming 'Junior Brother'?" Zhang Shuai'an didn't rush to answer, but instead inquired about the film's shooting progress.

Jackie Chan replied, "We've filmed more than half of the scenes. The remaining scenes are expected to be completed by the end of October, and the film is scheduled for release in December, around Christmas."

This timeframe seemed to contradict his memory. Zhang Shuai'an vaguely remembered that "Junior Brother Takes the Field" should have been released during the Spring Festival, which was February 1980.

Did something happen in between that caused the film to be delayed?

Zhang Shuai'an considered it for a moment, then said, "I probably won't be able to stay with the crew until the end of October. I have my own things to do during that time."

"I see." Jackie Chan frowned slightly; he always liked to do things perfectly.

Therefore, when he was filming, he basically required the entire crew to cooperate with him around the clock. Of course, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team also had the highest salaries among stuntmen.

Zhang Shuai'an said, "Brother Long, I need to eat too. I have to take on some acting roles and gigs in between, otherwise I won't be able to pay the rent."

Jackie Chan looked puzzled: "Oh, didn't you just become a huge star because of a movie?"

Zhang Shuai'an explained simply, "I didn't receive a single penny for this drama. Otherwise, why would Boss Shao have taken a liking to me?"

Hong Jingbao also came to his senses and lightly slapped the table, saying, "I knew it. With Shao Daheng's stingy nature, how could he possibly let an outsider play the male lead?"

He then gave Zhang Shuai'an a thumbs up: "Kid, you're really brave and capable. You'll definitely be successful in the future."

Jackie Chan immediately slammed his hand on the table and said solemnly, "I'll cover all your food and lodging for the time being. You can stay at my place. My house is quite big, with plenty of empty rooms. I can't even fit them all in by myself."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuai'an immediately tensed up: "Brother Long, it wasn't me either..."

"What are you thinking!" Jackie Chan looked at Zhang Shuai'an speechlessly, interrupting him: "The brothers of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team all live there. If the actors in the crew get tired from filming, they also rest there."

"If you need money, that's easy!" Jackie Chan immediately took out a cash checkbook from his bag: "I'll write you 100,000 right now. Take it and use it first. If you need more, just ask me."

He quickly wrote a few strokes and handed them to Zhang Shuai'an.

He Jiatong's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Jackie Chan is really rich. He can just casually sign a check for 100,000 yuan for someone.

"I can't accept something for nothing!" Zhang Shuai'an didn't accept it. "It's better to make things clear so that we don't cause any trouble later."

Jackie Chan said nonchalantly, "It's just 100,000 yuan, what's the trouble? You call me Brother Lung, and I'll give you some pocket money, what's wrong with that?"

Hung King-po kicked Jackie Chan and said irritably, "You've got too much money to burn, huh? Why don't you just give it to me? Do you think everyone falls for your act?"

"Anzai, don't overthink it, I really didn't mean anything by it."

Jackie Chan couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly and explained, "I've always treated my brothers this way. Their food, drinks, lodging, and even going out to call prostitutes are all paid for by me."

Zhang Shuai'an was certainly aware of all this, and he also knew that it was because of the blurring of lines between public and private matters that the members of Jackie Chan's stunt team became increasingly arrogant. In the end, during the filming of "Project Eagle," some members forced Jackie Chan to pay extra money, leading to an irreconcilable conflict between the two sides.

After filming wrapped, Jackie Chan disbanded his stunt team and formed a new team with a few loyal core members. At that time, he abandoned the gangster-style loyalty model and started to operate under a company system.

"How about this, I'll offer you 25 to be the assistant director of 'Junior Brother Takes the Field'."

After only a few seconds of consideration, Jackie Chan made his decision instantly.

He originally intended to hire Zhang Shuai'an as the action director to help him refine the action design, which would only cost him a few tens of thousands of yuan.

Then I suddenly remembered the news I saw this morning. Zhang Shuai'an doesn't even care about luxury cars worth tens of thousands of yuan, so he probably wouldn't be tempted by cars worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Jackie Chan's generous personality shines through here; since he needs to use someone, he'll pay them well.

Zhang Shuai'an is talented, knows how to write screenplays, and is handsome. He might even be able to play a cameo role... After considering all factors, he offered him the position of assistant director.

In later generations, assistant directors actually had little power on set. Most of the time, they served tea and water to the director and even helped pick up and drop off the director's children at school.

However, Jackie Chan himself is the director of "Young Master", so Zhang Shuai'an has the final say on how much control he can have on set.

"OK, no problem." Zhang Shuai'an was immediately tempted when he heard the price; he was desperately short of money right now.

He continued, "I have one more small condition. Could you take my brother along? Just give him any position in the crew so he can make a living too."

"That's easy, a piece of cake." Jackie Chan waved his hand; to him, it truly was a trivial matter. "Here's what we'll do: now that it's settled, you'll come with me to Golden Harvest to sign the contract later, and then start filming this afternoon!"

That's really efficient!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the manager walked in: "Excuse me, guests, two people have come downstairs. They say they have something important to discuss with one of you."

Jackie Chan turned to look at Sammo Hung: "Sanmao, you invited someone else too?"

Hong Jingbao shook his head: "Did they say who they were looking for?"

The manager replied, "They said they're looking for a Mr. Zhang! They want him to come down and discuss some things."

Of all the people present, only one had the surname Zhang, which was naturally Zhang Shuai'an.

The question is, who is the person downstairs, and how would they know he was here?