Chapter 300: The First Encounter with Zhou Hui

Yuan Biao was still anticipating the distinctive Chinese martial arts filming style, but as Hong Kong's top action choreographer, Hong Jinbao was well acquainted with the Yuan family troupe; according to him, the action team for this film was actually from the Yuan family.

As for the Yuan family's craft, Hong Jinbao thought it was nothing special—after seeing too much, it wasn't particularly surprising, especially since it seemed Yuan Xiangren was handling the choreography this time, and Hong Jinbao felt Yuan's talent as action director fell short of his brother Yuan Heping's.

The film was in Mandarin, opening with a clear exposition of the anti-Qing, restore-Ming storyline—a theme common in Hong Kong, making it easy for audiences to relate.

Having trained under their master since childhood, and with their master being a Beijing opera martial arts instructor from Yanjing, the Seven Little Fortunes had grown up speaking Beijing dialect and had no trouble understanding or speaking it.

The opening scene took place by a river, clearly shot on location, with breathtaking scenery—a quality Hong Kong films lacked.

Even if Taiwan could provide locations, without a master like Hu Jinquan's refined aesthetic, such effects were impossible to achieve.

Xu Xiaoming had never filmed on the mainland before; surrounded by his homeland's magnificent landscapes, he felt his spirit expand.

The film opened with Zhen Zidan and several other martial arts team members portraying Qing enforcers hunting down Wang Ermao, the son of the Heaven and Earth Society's leader, while the main villain Tie Biao appeared only as a broad back, never lifting a hand himself.

Cheng Long whispered to Hong Jinbao: "That must be Boss Wang—he looks wider than your back."

Hong Jinbao: "He's probably twice as wide as Yuan Hua."

Beside them, the thin Yuan Hua thought to himself: He definitely can't flip better than me.

The choreography of this scene was brilliant—crowded with characters, thick with tension, honed over time. In Hong Kong, film shoots are usually short, but on the mainland, four to six months is common; even with Xu Xiaoming's efficiency, this film took four months.

Then the true protagonist appeared: Wu Jing, wearing a small papaya hat, the "Great Man."

Though he'd trained in martial arts since childhood under his father and already had strong foundations before entering Shichahai, this film gave him almost no fight scenes—he was purely a talker, and his lines were post-dubbed, making him seem unnaturally slick for his age.

Yet his entrance added abundant humor; the audience laughed continuously—a core philosophy shared by Hong Jinbao and Cheng Long: blending comedy into kung fu films, no one could resist hearty laughter.

The standout first fight scene came from the coordinated efforts of the Big and Little Leopard brothers, and the pairing of the elderly Huang Po Po with the young Jiang Hai.

Hong Jinbao and Cheng Long whispered to each other about the performances of these three young actors.

"Not worse than we were as kids," Hong Jinbao said.

Cheng Long thought they were even better—like professional martial artists, every move polished, enhanced by Yuan Xiangren's design, using weapons and props to let the children overcome larger opponents, making it highly entertaining.

"The mainland has more people, so naturally more talent," Cheng Long said. "We can't easily find such outstanding young action stars anymore."

Hong Jinbao nodded. He was now successful and would never let his three sons follow his path—it was too grueling. As for other people's children, why should he give them a chance? So Hong Kong naturally didn't see kids this skilled.

The plot then became a continuous chase: fleeing, pursuing, fighting, and joking. The comedic character "Great Man" carried heavy screen time—seemingly the true protagonist.

When they were trapped, seemingly with no escape, the true heroine, the "Little Daughter-in-Law," appeared.

"Good kid, you even brought your mother!"

As the villain leered at Huang Jiaoyan, Wu Jing flicked his braid triumphantly: "She's my wife."

The audience paused, then burst into laughter—but soon fell silent, awed by the Little Daughter-in-Law's extraordinary skill.

A true expert's move reveals everything. Yuan Biao told Yuan Kui: "This woman can fight!"

Yuan Kui glanced at Yuan Qiu ahead: "And she's pretty."

The young Landlady already carried that aura; she sneered: "Pretty? What good is that? Has she ever been a Bond girl?"

She referred to the 1974 international blockbuster "The Man with the Golden Gun," in which she played a female fighter with minimal screen time; since then, she'd jokingly called herself a Bond girl.

Hong Kong had some female action stars: before Yuan Qiu, Zheng Peipei and Xu Feng; after her, Yang Ziqiong and Hu Huizhong.

At the time, the most prominent was 21-year-old Hui Yinghong—good looks, solid skills, having worked with directors like Zhang Che, Li Hanxiang, Chu Yuan, and Liu Jialiang. Watching this woman wielding dual swords on screen, they thought: if brought to Hong Kong, she might rival Hui Yinghong as a legendary duo.

After the highly skilled Little Daughter-in-Law appeared, her partnership with the Great Man captivated audiences; the following major battles were all led by her.

Because Wei Ming had specifically written the role for Biaozi's wife, he gave her many standout moments; director Xu Xiaoming also greatly admired Huang Jiaoyan's hardworking, professional demeanor, filming her as both beautiful and fierce, radiating immense charm.

When Hong Jinbao noticed Da Bi's eyes gleaming, he nudged his junior: "That actress's husband is Boss Wang."

Thinking of Zhao Debiao's physique, Shuanggu Long chuckled: "I'm just admiring the art."

If he were Shuanggu, Zhao Debiao must be Si Gu—he felt like even if the man stood still, he couldn't be knocked down.

The Little Daughter-in-Law wasn't just skilled—she also had a network of underworld allies; later, she used her connections to rally support and resolve a crisis, with nonstop action that kept viewers glued.

The main villain Tie Biao appeared only briefly, each time killing someone, yet he lacked the standard villainous face.

Though he looked fearsome, he constantly muttered phrases like "The Emperor's grace is vast" and "Duty must be done"; when facing ordinary civilians not part of the rebellion, he showed human warmth, speaking politely and rationally, like an educated man.

This villain's portrayal was still fresh today, showing the action actors a new depth in dramatic writing.

If Biaozi's acting were even better—like Hu Jun's—it would be perfect.

The final battle took place in the picturesque Jiuzhaigou; just a few wide shots left the audience awestruck, stirring longing for the mainland's beautiful mountains and rivers.

No wonder it was shot on location! Cheng Long's eyes gleamed too. Though he believed kung fu films must prioritize beautiful, innovative fights, he couldn't deny such stunning scenery significantly elevated the film's quality.

And the final battle's brilliance lived up to the fairyland-like setting: Tie Biao finally unleashed his full power, killing several key protagonists, injuring the Little Daughter-in-Law and the Leopard brothers, his hardened body nearly invincible. To the audience, it felt as though the actor truly possessed such strength.

At that moment, Cheng Long's gaze at Huang Jiaoyan lost its romantic glow—he felt pity. Being his wife must be terrible.

Of course, audiences expected justice to prevail; ultimately, the Great Man used wit to defeat Tie Biao, knocking him into a frenzy, stripping his composure, allowing everyone to drag the film's strongest fighter into the lake.

The Great Man had noticed Tie Biao's extreme henglian training made his body density far beyond normal—like a block of iron. Hence, from the start, he avoided rivers and lakes, preferred carriages over boats, and left deeper footprints than ordinary men—all subtly hinted earlier.

When viewers saw this, they all made "Oh oh oh" expressions.

Tie Biao knew his weakness and trained hard to swim, but a block of iron, unless shaped like a boat, couldn't float even if he knew how.

When Tie Biao entered the water, his power drained like sinking in mud; the Great Man and his companions frantically restrained him from escaping, and soon Tie Biao sank completely.

The beautiful Wuhuahai returned to stillness—the film ended!

"Bravo!" Someone shouted first; the entire audience immediately erupted in applause and high praise.

Even Hong Jinbao and Cheng Long, who'd come to critique, joined the crowd in clapping.

When the lights came on, people immediately recognized Cheng Long and Hong Jinbao—the leading figures of Hong Kong action cinema.

Once recognized, the two, along with the other Seven Little Fortunes, quickly left. Wei Ming grabbed his camera and snapped a photo—luckily capturing Yuan Biao's face, Cheng Long's nose, and Hong Jinbao's back.

He'd been the one to shout "Bravo!" Back home, he immediately wrote a fictional essay claiming Cheng Long and Hong Jinbao watched "Heroes Born from Youth," cheered wildly, admitted defeat, then left in gloom.

At the same time, Wei Ming's other brothers were scattered across different theaters, observing audience reactions and attendance.

The publicity worked—it boosted awareness and gave the film a strong box office start; momentum allowed for more boasting and bigger moves.

The next day, Wei Ming's essay appeared in a small, conservative newspaper titled: "Photos Prove It! Seven Little Fortunes Watch 'Heroes Born from Youth,' Cheering Wildly, Admitting Inferiority!"

Meanwhile, Li Hanxiang published an article in his serialized "Thirty Years of Detailed Recollections" in the Oriental Daily, discussing his script for "Wu Song" and his choice of lead.

"I heard a giant from the mainland can shake an elephant. Yesterday I went to watch their film. I don't know if this 'Debiao' can shake an elephant, but he looks like he could kill a tiger—I've found my perfect Wu Song!"

Li Hanxiang, long past his prime, suddenly pulled this stunt, instantly thrusting Zhao Debiao and himself into the spotlight.

Of course, he wouldn't actually cast Biaozi—he was just promoting both himself and Biaozi; thus, "Wu Song" became a sensation before filming even began, drawing massive attention.

This time, Cheng Long went to find his senior brother Hong Jinbao.

"Senior brother, that tabloid's words are unbearable. Where did we admit defeat? I checked—the writer has no name or address; it's definitely the studio's doing. Those northerners are pushing too far!" Young Cheng Long was still impulsive, but cautious enough to consult his senior first.

His senior was even more cautious: "There's still a two percent chance it's not them. We can't act."

"So we do nothing?"

Hong Jinbao chuckled. Don't let his fatness fool you—he was sharp.

He patted his junior's shoulder: "I heard on the news they're holding a cast meet-and-greet at Nan Hua Theater tomorrow night, with live martial arts demonstrations—all the leads will be there."

Cheng Long's eyes lit up: "Senior brother, you're going to crash the show!"

Hong Jinbao: "I'm not crashing anything. I told Liu Jialiang about this—with embellishments."

Cheng Long slapped his thigh: "Brother, you're brilliant!"

Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao, and others were trained in opera—they never saw themselves as martial artists. But in Hong Kong's film world, Liu Jialiang was an oddity: he claimed to be the true heir of southern Hung Kuen, seeing himself more as a martial artist than a filmmaker.

Now that northerners had invaded their doorstep with such arrogance—could Liu Shi Fu, as the southern martial arts representative, sit idly by?

On the third night of the film's release, after finishing their TV appearance on Rediffusion, Wei Ming and Biaozi rushed to Nan Hua Theater for the audience meet-up.

That night, Wei Ming, Biaozi, Wu Jing, Zhen Zidan, and director Xu Xiaoming screened the film for the audience, followed by Wu Jing and Zhen Zidan demonstrating martial arts forms—all impressive.

But the audience's main focus was "Boss Wang" Zhao Debiao.

"Why doesn't Mr. Zhao come down and show us some moves?" asked Liu Jialiang, surrounded by his brothers and disciples.

Zhen Zidan whispered to Wei Ming about who this was. Wei Ming knew well—it was the Liu family troupe; the man beside him was his sworn brother, the Evil Sword Immortal.

Xu Xiaoming, a junior in the industry, was surprised by the senior's confrontation. Lacking experience with such incidents, he asked: "Master Liu, is there a misunderstanding? Why not sit down and talk calmly?"

Liu Jialiang said sternly: "I just want to ask—did this Mr. Zhao say southern Hung Kuen is worthless?"

Zhao Debiao recalled: he'd once given an interview where a reporter asked his opinion on Hung Kuen, Wing Chun, and Cai Li Fo.

His reply: "Don't talk about your style's strength until you've faced my fist."

It sounded arrogant, but it was his honest thought—how could he judge without fighting?

Fortunately, Wei Ming had trained him. He told Liu Jialiang: "Master Liu, you must misunderstand. I wasn't targeting Hung Kuen alone."

Seeing Biaozi's sincere expression, Liu Jialiang grew angrier: What do you mean? Are you calling everyone here worthless?!

The forty-something, in his prime, pointed at Zhao Debiao: "Kid, dare you accept my challenge?"

Wei Ming thought: Is this guy promoting a new film? He's a big director now—is this really necessary?

Wei Ming whispered to Xu Xiaoming and learned Liu Jialiang's "Elders" was coming out next month—the film that won Hui Yinghong the first Golden Horse Best Actress award.

Biaozi glanced at Wei Ming for approval; Wei Ming nodded.

Biaozi leapt down, walked to Liu Jialiang amid the audience's excited screams: "Fine. Remember to sign the death waiver. This match has no rules—we settle rank, and we settle life or death!"

With Biaozi's terrifying aura delivering these words, Liu Jialiang, who'd intended only to stir hype and deliver a warning, suddenly hesitated—afraid he'd be punched dead on the stage—but couldn't back down publicly.

Then his sworn brother Liu Jiahui, young and bold, stepped forward: "Why are you so aggressive? Show respect to my elder brother!"

Biaozi grinned widely, eyes blazing with martial fervor: "I'm not disrespectful. At school, teachers and classmates called me 'Martial Obsessed.' In Yanjing, I found no one willing to fight me. Hong Kong's martial arts scene is more interesting—I just want to be killed by you, or kill you. That's all."

Hearing this mad speech, Liu Jialiang was thoroughly intimidated. I drive a Rolls-Royce now—why risk my life against this muscle man?

He snorted: "Hong Kong is a law-abiding society. Talking about life-or-death? Youth should uphold martial virtue. You northerners are uncivilized barbarians. Let's go!"

He turned to leave, but Biaozi reached for his shoulder. Liu Jialiang recoiled as if electrocuted.

"What are you doing? You're attacking!" Liu Jialiang rubbed his shoulder, face twisted in pain—what incredible strength!

Not even he, his brother Liu Jiarong, or his sworn brother Liu Jiahui could take down this giant.

Biaozi felt wronged—he'd only lightly rested his hand on the guy's shoulder.

At that moment, Wei Ming stepped forward: "Master Liu, I'm Wei Ming, the screenwriter of this film. You suddenly showed up and said something utterly baffling—we're just confused. What exactly do you want? You need to clarify."

"That's right! If you can't explain, none of you are leaving," Biaozi growled, baring his teeth as if he meant to devour the entire Liu family troupe.

Liu Jialiang's confidence had already faltered; he stammered, then finally blurted: "I—I came to congratulate you! I watched the film—it's excellent. I even brought a red envelope."

As he spoke, he actually pulled a red envelope from his pocket.

This envelope had originally been meant as medical compensation for Zhao Debiao, but since no fight broke out and instead he'd been intimidated by this martial arts madman, he'd been forced to hand it over as a congratulatory gift.

It was a substantial amount—five thousand Hong Kong dollars, enough to buy a beat-up minivan.

"Ah, so that's what this was about!" Xu Xiaoming hurried over to take the envelope and smoothed things over. "Master Liu, please come up on stage and say a few words—give us your thoughts on the film's strengths and weaknesses."

Liu Jialiang looked at Biaozi, who was staring at him unblinkingly. Fine—the film had no flaws whatsoever.

Though dozens of audience members had witnessed the scene, it didn't matter—later, Liu Jialiang could simply pay a few tabloid editors to fabricate a story and bury the discord. Yes, he'd come solely to offer congratulations!

The next day, reports began appearing frequently in the press, praising veteran kung fu film master Liu Jialiang for his endorsement and praise of the film "Heroes Born in Youth." Liu Master paid heavily for press releases to fully suppress any discordant voices. Wei Ming, meanwhile, made no further moves—the five thousand dollars carried considerable weight.

That day, the opening weekend gross was finally calculated. Even Xia Meng, normally so composed, grew visibly agitated when she saw the numbers; her voice crackled with unmasked excitement when she called Wei Ming.

"We've already earned 3. million Hong Kong dollars in three days—far beyond expectations, far beyond expectations!" With ticket prices hovering around ten Hong Kong dollars, that meant 300, 00 viewers in Hong Kong's population of five million had seen the film.

Xia Meng had originally expected a small loss of three million Hong Kong dollars, then hoped to break even and make a modest profit through overseas rights. She hadn't anticipated recouping the entire cost in just three days.

At this rate, a domestic gross exceeding ten million Hong Kong dollars wasn't out of the question—only two films in Hong Kong had ever broken the ten-million mark: "Brothers in Arms" and "Modern Bodyguards."

One was Cheng Long's early masterpiece; the other, a collaboration by the four Xu brothers.

"Xiao Wei, we owe you everything—you've made an indelible contribution to this film's box office!" Xia Meng said sincerely. She'd originally treated this as a lark, but now she suddenly felt she had a real talent for producing.

"This is my film too—I naturally want it to do well. Aunt Xia Meng, send a message to the Beijing Film Studio right away. They're waiting for good news from Hong Kong to go with their dinner."

"Alright, alright, I'll send it now. Let's throw a celebration dinner tonight!"

Wei Ming declined: "That's like opening champagne before the race ends. Let's wait until the final numbers are in. Besides, I have another appointment today."

He'd promised Lao Gui he'd go to Holiland for dinner today.

Lao Gui had already arranged with Zhou Huimin to come help at the shop tonight.

On this day, Wei Ming drove his brothers through the Hung Hom Tunnel to Hong Kong Island, emerging into Wan Chai—the Hung Hom Sports Centre was about to be completed.

Once there, Wei Ming parted ways with them; to avoid exposing his connection to Lao Gui, he had Xu Jinjiang drive them off to find something to do.

"I'll take the bus myself."

At Wan Chai Ferry, Wei Ming first found a middle-aged woman selling dumplings with her two daughters, and ate a bowl of Wan Chai Ferry dumplings. By now, this Miss Zang had become a minor local celebrity along the waterfront.

After eating, Wei Ming leisurely boarded a bus to the University of Hong Kong, where Holiland's flagship store was located.

As for the Western fast-food branch, it would still open in Central and Western District—there were plenty of wealthy residents and middle-class office workers, making the market substantial.

Today, Zhou Ma and Liu Bin had gone out to scout locations for the new store, leaving Lao Gui to manage the shop.

He waited and waited for Zhou Huimin to arrive, then waited again for Wei Ming—both were late, and he was growing anxious—until he finally saw Wei Ming appear.

"You finally showed up!" Lao Gui rushed to greet him.

Wei Ming looked at the extensive menu and felt a strong sense of déjà vu—it reminded him of Shaxian. The variety was impressive, but nearly everything was snacks: quick to prepare, quick to eat, so customers typically finished their meals in under fifteen minutes, ensuring high table turnover.

"Give me a fried egg noodle dish—I'll taste the seasoning."

After eating, Wei Ming glanced at Lao Gui, who smiled: "Try our honey-glazed char siu now."

An hour later, Wei Ming clutched his stomach.

"Boss, I really can't eat another bite. How about we go for a walk?" Wei Ming said to Lao Gui—he'd already tried seven or eight items, not to mention the dumplings he'd eaten earlier.

Lao Gui was frustrated. What was wrong with Ah Min? She usually arrived at this exact time to help out.

"If you want to leave, go ahead. I'm staying to run the shop," he grumbled.

Wei Ming stood up, clutching his stomach: "Then I'll be off—I've got other business."

Just as he stepped outside the shop, a basketball rolled to his feet.

He picked it up casually and spun it on his fingertip.

"Thanks! That's my ball~" A female voice came from behind Wei Ming.

Wei Ming slowly turned, still spinning the girl's ball…

(End of Chapter)