Chapter 300

Yuen Biao was still looking forward to the mainland-style action shooting techniques. However, as the big brother of the Hong Kong stuntmen, Sammo Hung was also very familiar with the Yuen Clan stunt team. As far as he knew, the action team for this movie was actually the Yuen Clan stunt team.

As for the craftsmanship of the Yuen Clan stunt team, Sammo Hung felt it was just so-so. Having seen too much, it wasn't much of a surprise, especially since it seemed to be Yuen Cheung-yan who was in charge this time. Sammo Hung felt his talent in martial arts direction was not as good as his brother Yuen Woo-ping.

This movie had Mandarin dialogue. From the beginning, it explained the story background of opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming. This theme was also common in Hong Kong, and the audience could easily relate to it.

Because they had studied art with their master since childhood, and their master was a Peking opera martial arts master from Beijing, the Seven Little Fortunes brothers had been listening to their master's Beijing dialect since they were young, so listening and speaking were not a problem at all.

The beginning of the story was a scene by the river. One look and you could tell it was shot on location. The scenery was filmed very beautifully, which was something Hong Kong films lacked.

Even if they could shoot in Taiwan, without the top-notch aesthetics of King Hu, they couldn't capture this effect.

Tsui Siu-ming was also filming in the mainland for the first time. Immersed in the magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland, he only felt his heart and mind broaden.

The movie started with Donnie Yen and several other martial arts team members playing Qing court lackeys arresting Wang Ermao, the son of the Heaven and Earth Society's chief helmsman. The main villain, Tie Biao, only showed a double-door-wide back and did not take action himself.

Jackie Chan whispered to Sammo Hung: "This should be that King of Tough Guys. He feels even wider than your back."

Sammo Hung: "He should be as wide as two Yuen Wahs."

The skinny Yuen Wah on the side thought to himself that he definitely couldn't flip as well as he could.

The coordination of this scene was very brilliant, with many characters and a tense atmosphere. This was all ground out by time. In Hong Kong, film production schedules were usually very short, while in the mainland, it was common for a movie to be filmed for half a year. Even with Tsui Siu-ming's high work efficiency, this movie was filmed for four months.

Afterwards, the real protagonist, "Big Husband" Wu Jing, wearing a small melon-skin cap, appeared.

Although he had been learning martial arts from his father since childhood and had a good foundation before entering Shichahai, it was a pity that he didn't have any fight scenes in this movie. He was purely a talker, and the dialogue was dubbed later, making him look exceptionally slick for his young age.

However, his appearance added a lot of humor to the movie, and there was constant laughter in the theater. This was also the film philosophy of Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan: integrating comedy elements into kung fu movies. No one would dislike laughing heartily.

The first fight scene that truly performed brilliantly was the cooperation between the two brothers, Big Leopard and Small Leopard, as well as the combination of the old Granny Huang and the young Jiang Hai.

Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan whispered to each other about the performance of these three young actors.

"Not worse than us when we were young," Sammo Hung said.

Jackie Chan felt that they were actually stronger than they were at that time. It felt like they came from a professional martial arts team; every move was very beautiful. Coupled with Yuen Cheung-yan's design, the children were able to defeat the big with the small through weapons and props, which was quite worth watching.

"There are many people in the mainland, so naturally there are many talents," Jackie Chan said, "It's not that easy for us to find such outstanding young action stars now."

Sammo Hung nodded. He had already achieved success and fame, so he definitely wouldn't let his three sons follow his path; it was too hard. As for other people's children, why should I give you a chance? So naturally, you couldn't see such tough kids in Hong Kong.

The subsequent plot was escaping all the way, chasing all the way, fighting and killing on one side, and making fun on the other. The funny character Big Husband had a heavy role and seemed to be a protagonist.

And when they were deep in a predicament and seemed unable to escape, the real heroine, the little wife, appeared.

"Good boy, you even called your mother."

When the villain stared lecherously at Huang Jiaoyan, Wu Jing flicked his braid and said triumphantly: "She is my wife."

The audience in the theater was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, but as they laughed, they were conquered by the little wife's superb skills.

An expert knows if there is one as soon as they make a move. Yuen Biao said to Corey Yuen: "This woman is so good at fighting!"

Corey Yuen glanced at Yuen Qiu in front: "And beautiful."

The young landlady at this time already had that temperament. She pouted and hummed: "What's the use of being beautiful? Has she ever been a Bond girl?"

She was talking about the 1974 international blockbuster 007 series movie "The Man with the Golden Gun," in which she played a female fighter role with very few scenes. Since then, she had self-deprecatingly called herself a Bond girl.

There were some female action stars in the Hong Kong film industry, such as Cheng Pei-pei and Hsu Feng before Yuen Qiu, and Michelle Yeoh and Hu Huizhong after Yuen Qiu.

And the more outstanding one at this time was the 21-year-old Kara Wai, whose looks and skills were both good. She had cooperated with directors like Chang Cheh, Li Hanxiang-hsiang, Chor Yuen, and Lau Kar-leung. Looking at this woman using swords with both hands on the screen, they felt that if she were brought to Hong Kong, she might become a peerless pair of beauties for a time alongside Kara Wai.

After the martial arts-superb little wife appeared, her combination with Big Husband firmly attracted the audience, and the subsequent hard battles were also led by her.

Because Wei Ming had the intention of letting Biaozi's Yan'er play this role when he created it, he gave her many highlights. Director Tsui Siu-ming also liked the hardworking and professional Huang Jiaoyan very much during filming, filming her to be both beautiful and cool, full of charm.

When Sammo Hung noticed that Jackie Chan's eyes were shining, he reminded his junior brother: "It seems that this actress's husband is the King of Tough Guys."

Thinking of Zhao Debiao's figure, Jackie Chan chuckled: "I'm just purely appreciating."

If I am double-boned, then Zhao Debiao is probably four-boned. It felt like the other party could stand there and let me hit him, and I wouldn't be able to knock him down.

The little wife was not only skilled in martial arts but also had a group of good friends in the pugilistic world. Later, she also used her connections to call on friends in the pugilistic world to resolve a crisis, and the whole process of fighting was dazzling.

During this period, the main villain Tie Biao only made a few brief moves, and every time he made a move, someone had to die, but he didn't have the standard villain's face.

Although he looked fierce, what he kept muttering in his mouth was always the vast imperial grace and handling affairs with heart. When facing ordinary people who were not rebels, he would also reveal the side of a normal person, speaking very gently and reasonably, looking like someone who had received higher education.

Such villain shaping was still somewhat fresh today, and it also allowed several martial arts actors to see a different kind of literary acting skill.

If Biaozi's acting skills could be a little better, like Hu Jun's, that would be even more wonderful.

And the final battle took place in the picturesque Jiuzhaigou. Just a few empty shots made the audience marvel and aroused their longing for the beautiful mountains and rivers of the mainland.

It really is mainland location shooting! Jackie Chan's eyes were also shining. Although he felt that the most important thing about kung fu movies was to fight beautifully and innovatively, it was undeniable that such beautiful scenery also had a clear bonus to the quality of the film.

And the stunning degree of the final battle did not live up to this fairyland-like scenery. Lord Tie Biao finally unleashed his full strength, killing several important characters of the protagonist group alone, and also injuring the little wife, Big Leopard, and Small Leopard. His hard-training kung fu had almost no flaws. In the eyes of the audience, it felt like the actor himself was really that good at fighting.

At this time, Jackie Chan's look at Huang Jiaoyan was no longer amorous, but rather sympathetic. Being his wife must also be quite suffering.

Of course, the audience must be looking forward to justice winning, so in the end, Big Husband used wisdom to make Tie Biao disheveled and go crazy, briefly losing his mind. Only then did he gather everyone's strength to pull this man with the highest combat power in the whole film into the lake.

Because Big Husband discovered that Tie Biao's body density far exceeded that of ordinary people because his hard-training kung fu was too domineering, just like a big iron block. So he had stayed far away from places like rivers and lakes since he appeared, and he would rather take a carriage than a boat. His footprints were also deeper than ordinary people. These were all hinted at earlier.

So when the audience saw this scene, they all showed "Oh oh oh" expressions.

Tie Biao also knew his weakness, so he practiced swimming desperately, but a big iron block, unless made into the shape of a ship, would be difficult to float on the water even if he knew how to swim.

When Tie Biao entered the water, it was like falling into a quagmire, and his power was greatly reduced. Big Husband and several little partners desperately restricted him from escaping the lake, and soon Tie Biao sank completely into the water.

The beautiful Five Flower Lake returned to calm. The whole film is over!

"Good!" I don't know who took the lead in cheering, and the scene immediately gave the film high affirmation and respect.

Even Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, who came here with a critical attitude, applauded along with the crowd after seeing this scene.

And when the lights came on, someone immediately recognized Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, who were in the lead. They were the leading figures in Hong Kong action films today.

After being recognized, the two took the other Seven Little Fortunes and left the scene immediately. Wei Ming, who was in the same show, hurriedly picked up the camera in his hand and took a photo. Fortunately, he captured Yuen Biao's face, Jackie Chan's nose, and Sammo Hung's back.

The "Good" just now was called out by him. After going back, he immediately wrote another short essay about his fictional Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung coming to watch "Heroes Shed No Tears," feeling inferior, and leaving in a gloomy mood after cheering.

At the same time, other brothers brought by Wei Ming were also scattered in different cinemas to watch the audience's response and attendance.

Hype is effective, at least it increased popularity, giving the film box office a good start. Only when the momentum is up is it convenient to brag more and do more actions.

The next day, this short essay by Wei Ming was published in a small tabloid. The title was "Truth with Pictures! Seven Little Fortunes Watch 'Heroes Shed No Tears' and Cheer Wildly, Feeling Inferior!" written by Wei Ming.

At the same time, Li Hanxiang-hsiang also published an article in "Oriental Daily News," where he serialized "Thirty Years of Detailed Explanation," talking about the "Wu Song" script he was creating and the candidates for the protagonist.

"I heard that a tough guy who can shake an elephant with great strength recently came from the mainland, so I specially went to watch their movie yesterday. Whether this tough guy named 'Debiao' can really shake an elephant, I don't know, but he really looks like he can beat a tiger to death. I think I have found the most suitable candidate for Wu Song!"

Li Hanxiang-hsiang, who had long since lost his glory, suddenly did such a thing, immediately pushing Zhao Debiao and himself to the forefront.

Of course, he wouldn't really choose Biaozi; he was just helping to hype, and also hyping himself. So "Wu Song" became popular before it was filmed, attracting a lot of attention.

This time it was Jackie Chan's turn to go find senior brother Sammo Hung.

"Senior brother, this tabloid says it too ugly. Where are we feeling inferior? I have already inquired. The person who wrote the manuscript has no name and no address. It is likely an action taken by the film party. The Northerners are too bullying!" The young Jackie Chan was still very impulsive, but he was also cautious, so he first consulted with his senior brother.

The senior brother was more cautious than him: "Isn't there still 20% that is not done by them? It's not easy for us to do anything."

"Then are we really not going to do anything?"

Sammo Hung chuckled. Don't look at him being fat; he is very shrewd.

He patted his junior brother's shoulder: "I saw on the news that they will hold a creator meeting tomorrow night at the Nanhua Cinema to perform kung fu for the audience. All the leading actors will be there."

Jackie Chan's eyes lit up: "Senior brother, you are going to smash the venue!"

Sammo Hung: "What venue am I smashing? I told Master Lau Kar-leung about this with added oil and vinegar."

Jackie Chan immediately slapped his thigh: "Big brother, you are still the best!"

People like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung learned opera and never thought of themselves as martial arts people, but there was such an outlier as Lau Kar-leung in the Hong Kong film industry. He considered himself a direct descendant of the Southern School Hung Ga and felt that he was a martial artist more than a filmmaker.

Now that the Northerners have hit the door, and the attitude is so arrogant, can you, Master Lau, as a representative of the Southern martial arts world, sit idly by!

On the third night of the film's release, after Wei Ming and Biaozi finished recording the TV show for ATV, they rushed to Nanhua Cinema to attend the audience meeting.

That night, Wei Ming, Biaozi, Wu Jing, Donnie Yen, and director Tsui Siu-ming accompanied the audience to watch the movie at Nanhua Cinema. There were also kung fu routine performances by Wu Jing and Donnie Yen, all of which were very wonderful.

However, what the audience cared about most was the "King of Tough Guys" Zhao Debiao.

"Why doesn't this Mr. Zhao come down and play a few moves?" Offstage, Lau Kar-leung questioned, surrounded by brothers and disciples.

Donnie Yen immediately whispered to Wei Ming to introduce who this person was. Wei Ming certainly knew; it was the Lau Clan stunt team, and wasn't the one next to him his sworn brother Gordon Liu?

Tsui Siu-ming was a junior in the circle. Seeing the senior Lau Kar-leung come out to make things difficult, he was a little surprised. Lacking experience in dealing with such emergencies, he asked for the first time: "Master Lau, is there any misunderstanding here? Why don't we sit down and talk slowly."

Lau Kar-leung said seriously: "I just want to ask, did this Mr. Zhao say that Southern Hung Ga is not worth mentioning."

Zhao Debiao recalled that he seemed to have accepted an interview once, and the reporter asked him about his views on Southern kung fu such as Hung Ga, Wing Chun, and Choy Li Fut.

His answer at the time was: "No matter what fist, before saying you are powerful, ask my fist first."

It seemed a bit arrogant, but it was also his heartfelt words. I haven't fought you yet, so how can I evaluate it.

Fortunately, he had been trained by Wei Ming in advance and said to Lau Kar-leung: "Master Lau, you must have misunderstood. I am not targeting Hung Ga alone."

Looking at Biaozi's sincere expression, Lau Kar-leung was even angrier. What do you mean? Are you trying to say that everyone here is trash!

The forty-something Lau Kar-leung, who was in his prime, pointed at Zhao Debiao: "Boy, dare to accept my challenge?"

Wei Ming thought to himself, does this guy have any new movies to be released? Otherwise, he is also a big director, is it necessary?

Wei Ming exchanged a few words with Tsui Siu-ming and learned that Lau Kar-leung's "The Elders" would be released early next month, which was the one that helped Kara Wai win the first Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress.

Biaozi looked at Wei Ming for instructions, and Wei Ming nodded.

So Biaozi jumped down directly, and amidst the excited screams of the audience, walked to Lau Kar-leung: "Alright, remember to sign the life-and-death contract when the time comes. There are no rules in this contest. We will decide the winner and also decide life and death!"

With Biaozi's terrifying sense of oppression saying these words, Lau Kar-leung, who had the dual purpose of hyping and giving a warning, immediately backed down, fearing that he would be punched to death on the ring by this muscular tough guy, but he couldn't get off the stage in terms of face.

At this time, it was his sworn brother Gordon Liu who was young and vigorous, bravely blocking in front of his big brother and saying to Biaozi: "What are you fierce about? Please be respectful to my big brother."

Biaozi grinned and laughed, his eyes full of heat for the martial arts contest: "I am not disrespectful. The students and teachers at school all call me a martial arts fanatic. I can no longer find an opponent in Beijing. They are all unwilling to fight me. It is still interesting in your Hong Kong martial arts world. Now I just want to be beaten to death by you, or beat you to death, that's all."

Hearing these somewhat crazy words, Lau Kar-leung completely chickened out. I am driving a Rolls-Royce now, is it necessary to go head-to-head with this martial arts lunatic?

So he hummed: "Hong Kong is a society ruled by law. What are you talking about fighting to death? The most important thing for young people is to talk about martial arts ethics. A group of Northern barbarians who don't follow the rules, let's go!"

He called out and was about to leave, but Biaozi reached out to grab his shoulder. Lau Kar-leung jumped out suddenly as if he had been electrocuted.

"What are you doing? You want to sneak attack!" Lau Kar-leung rubbed his shoulder, his face bitter. What a great hand strength!

Not to mention himself, even if it were him, Lau Kar-leung, plus his own brother Lau Kar-wing and sworn brother Gordon Liu, I am afraid it would be difficult to take down this behemoth.

Biaozi was very innocent. He just tapped lightly on his shoulder.

At this time, Wei Ming walked up: "Master Lau, I am Wei Ming, the screenwriter of this movie. You suddenly ran over and said a series of confusing words. We are just very confused. What exactly do you want to do? This must be made clear."

"That's right, no one is allowed to leave until it's made clear," Biaozi said in a muffled voice, baring his teeth as if he wanted to eat these people from the Lau Clan stunt team.

Lau Kar-leung's momentum had already weakened, stammering, and finally said: "I... I am here to congratulate you. I watched the movie, it is very good. I even brought a red envelope."

As he spoke, he actually took a red envelope out of his pocket.

Originally, this was prepared for Zhao Debiao as medical expenses. As a result, not only did they not fight, but he was scared by this martial arts lunatic, so he could only send out the medical expenses as a congratulatory red envelope.

It was actually quite a lot, 5,000 Hong Kong dollars, which was enough for a broken van.

"So that's how it is," Tsui Siu-ming hurriedly went over to take the red envelope and smoothed things over, "Master Lau, please come on stage and say a few words, and give us some advice on the advantages and disadvantages of this movie."

Lau Kar-leung looked at Biaozi, who was staring at him, alright, this movie has no shortcomings at all.

Although so many audience members at the scene saw it, it didn't matter. When the time came, Lau Kar-leung only needed to find a few small tabloids to make up a set of rhetoric, and he could naturally fool it. That's right, I just came to congratulate!

The next day, the affirmation and praise of the movie "Heroes Shed No Tears" by the kung fu film senior Lau Kar-leung began to appear frequently in newspapers. Master Lau also paid a lot of manuscript fees, allowing this statement to completely suppress the discordant voices, and Wei Ming did not make any extra small moves. The 5,000 yuan weight was still quite heavy.

And this day, the rough box office for the first three days of the first weekend was released. Even someone as light and breezy as Xia Meng was a little uneasy after seeing it. When she called Wei Ming, her tone was undisguised excitement.

"The box office reached 3.1 million Hong Kong dollars in three days, far exceeding expectations, far exceeding expectations!" Now a ticket price is about 10 Hong Kong dollars, which means that Hong Kong, with a population of 5 million, already has 300,000 people who have watched this movie.

Originally, Xia Meng's expectation was a small loss of 3 million Hong Kong dollars, and then rely on overseas copyrights to break even and earn some hard-earned money. I didn't expect to earn back the cost in just three days.

With this momentum, it is not impossible for the local box office to break 10 million Hong Kong dollars. And now there are only two movies in Hong Kong with a box office of over 10 million: "The Young Master" and "Security Unlimited"!

One is Jackie Chan's early masterpiece, and the other is the joint work of the four Hui brothers.

"Little Wei, I have to thank you this time. You have made an indelible contribution to the box office of this movie!" Xia Meng said sincerely. She, who was originally just playing around, suddenly felt that she had quite a talent for being a producer.

"This is also my movie. Of course, I hope the box office can be higher. Aunt Xia Meng, you should send a message to the Beijing Film Studio as soon as possible. They are waiting for good news from Hong Kong to eat."

"Good, good, good, I'll send it right away. Let's have a celebration banquet for you in the evening!"

Wei Ming refused: "Doesn't this mean popping champagne halfway? Let's wait until the final results come out. Besides, I have an appointment today."

He promised Old Ghost to go to Ho-Lee-Fook to eat today.

And Old Ghost had also agreed with Vivian Chow in advance that she must come to the store to help tonight.

This day, Wei Ming drove his brothers from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to Hong Kong Island. Coming out was Wan Chai. The Hong Kong Coliseum was also about to be completed.

When he arrived here, Wei Ming separated from them because he didn't want his business with Old Ghost to be exposed. He asked Tsui Siu-ming to drive them to find a place to play.

"I'll take the bus myself."

When he arrived at Wan Chai Pier, Wei Ming first found a middle-aged woman selling dumplings with two daughters and ate a bowl of Wan Chai Pier dumplings. At this time, this Miss Zang was already quite famous in the pier area.

After eating, Wei Ming slowly took the bus to the University of Hong Kong. The Ho-Lee-Fook flagship store was opened nearby.

As for the Western fast food branch, he still planned to open it in the Central and Western District, where there were many rich people and many middle-class workers, and the market was promising.

Today, Mother Chow and Liu Bin went out to inspect the location of the new store, leaving Old Ghost to watch the store.

He waited for Vivian Chow but she didn't come, and waited for Wei Ming but he didn't come. He was a little anxious until he saw Wei Ming's arrival.

"You kid finally came!" Old Ghost hurriedly welcomed him in.

Wei Ming looked at the rich menu and felt a sense of Shaxian snacks. The variety was really complete, but they were basically snacks that could be served quickly and eaten quickly. Customers could usually finish their meals within ten minutes, so the turnover rate was very high.

"Give me a portion of egg noodles, let me taste the saltiness."

After eating, Wei Ming looked at Old Ghost, and Old Ghost smiled: "Try our honey-glazed barbecue pork again."

An hour later, Wei Ming held his stomach.

"Boss, I really can't eat anymore. Why don't we go out for a stroll." Wei Ming said to Old Ghost. He had already eaten seven or eight kinds, and there were dumplings as a base before.

Old Ghost was depressed. What's wrong with A-Min? She usually came to the store to help at this time.

"If you want to go, go yourself. I still have to watch the store." He said angrily.

Wei Ming stood up holding his stomach: "Then I'll go first. I still have serious business."

Just after walking out of the store door, he saw a basketball roll to his feet.

He picked it up and spun it on his fingertips.

"Thank you, this is my ball~" A female voice appeared behind Wei Ming.

Wei Ming turned around slowly while spinning the girl's ball...

(End of chapter)