Chapter 381

These few were all old neighbors of Niu Lao. The grudge between Niu Lao and them started when Niu Lao borrowed their beloved "Little Rascal" (Dragon Tiger Gate) comic book and then moved away. The three neighbors remembered him for a lifetime.

After being greeted with a few punches by the old neighbors, Niu Lao hugged his head and shouted: "Ah Hu, Ah Bao, Big Bear, give me some face! My boss is here!"

The three young men only then noticed Wei Ming and Liu Rulong who got out of the car. Both were dressed appropriately and looked elegant, appearing completely out of place in the Kowloon Chengzhai.

Wei Ming was tall and big, and one look showed he had an amazing physique. Although Liu Rulong looked like a weak scholar wearing glasses, the eyes blocked by the flashing lenses seemed to imply that he was a ruthless character.

The three stopped for the time being, but they still refused to admit defeat: "Your boss is very powerful, is he as powerful as my boss~"

Wei Ming walked closer, and the three immediately took two steps back, just because they were all skinny dogs about 1.7 meters tall, and one of them was only a little over 1.6 meters. Wei Ming, this northern big man, appeared too tall.

However, Wei Ming was amiable on the surface: "I don't know which one is the boss of the three of you?"

"Our boss is Sammo Hung!" the three said proudly.

"So you are in the martial arts industry. That means you are filming movies. You are literary and artistic workers, colleagues!" Wei Ming smiled even more cordially. In Wei Ming's view, being able to risk danger and hardship to work in the martial arts industry was much more progressive than being a small gangster, showing that they still had the effort to try to climb out of the quagmire.

"Colleagues? What should I call you?" Ah Hu, the leader, asked.

Niu Lao immediately ran to his boss's side: "This is our Boss Ming, this is Boss Long. Have you heard of them? He is a guest of the Governor of Hong Kong, a ruthless person who snatched 200 million from the hands of major tycoons!"

Wei Ming knocked on his head: "What snatched? That's called fundraising, a matter of mutual consent." And there wasn't 200 million~

Now the three understood who had come. It was impossible not to have heard of such a big battle back then, and several of them had even heard Wei Ming's songs.

Understanding the conflict between them, Wei Ming asked: "Do you still like reading comics now?"

"Like it."

"It's okay."

"Read it when I'm bored."

Wei Ming: "Have you heard of 'Madman Comics'?"

"Of course, I buy every issue!"

From their expressions, Liu Rulong knew that these were die-hard fans.

Wei Ming clapped his hands: "That's simple. Niu Lao, send the single volumes of your 'Force King' to these brothers later."

Niu Lao rubbed his shoulders: "You read my magazine, don't you know that my hands are very precious now? Be careful, I'll stop updating 'Force King' and leave you with nothing to read."

Big Bear, the shortest one, said: "Is that Niu Lao who draws 'Force King' really you? I thought it was the same name!"

The other two were brothers, one Ah Hu and one Ah Bao. Hearing that their former neighbor had become a cartoonist, they were also filled with sighs. When they were young, they all fantasized about becoming martial arts masters and heroic figures in comics, but unfortunately, they were now just the most inconspicuous small characters in the Hung family class.

Seeing that they were all residents of the Kowloon Chengzhai, Wei Ming proposed: "Can the three little brothers accompany us inside to stroll around the Kowloon Chengzhai? I'll treat you to a meal."

"Why are you like those foreigners, treating the Kowloon Chengzhai as a scenic spot." Ah Bao couldn't help but complain.

I heard that foreign artists like the Kowloon Chengzhai very much, and they wrote various letters hoping to preserve it when it was demolished. An American cartoonist even said, "I would rather it be the pyramids that were demolished."

It seems that's really the case, but they are somewhat like Lord Ye who loved dragons; if they were thrown in to live for a period of time, their thoughts would probably change.

Wei Ming took a pack of cigarettes from Niu Lao and gave them to the three.

The three teenagers looked at each other. Being able to eat with a celebrity like Wei Ming was something they could brag about, so they agreed.

However, Ah Hu said: "At most, we'll accompany you for half a day. We still have to attend our boss's birthday tonight."

"Is today Sammo Hung's birthday?"

"Yes."

Wei Ming asked: "Then have you thought about what birthday gift to give the boss?"

This question stumped the three: "When the boss has a birthday, he treats us to good food and fun. No one gives him gifts."

Wei Ming smiled: "If others don't give, you give, and you give it to his heart's content. What do you think the result will be?"

The three looked at each other. Wei Ming smiled and gave Niu Lao a few instructions, and then he drove away. Wei Ming looked at the three: "I'll prepare the gift for you, as a thank you for being a tour guide this time."

Big Bear hurriedly asked: "Then will you still treat us to a meal?"

Wei Ming laughed: "As promised."

The Kowloon Chengzhai is a mixed bag of fish and dragons, and it's easy to have problems without the residents inside leading the way.

Wei Ming first took a photo outside, and then the five walked into the Kowloon Chengzhai from an entrance on the west side.

Ah Hu said: "The Kowloon Chengzhai is mainly divided into two areas. The West District is where ordinary people like us live. The East District is more chaotic. Powder stalls, brothels, usury, gambling stalls, etc., are all over there."

Hearing him say this, Wei Ming wanted to go to the East District even more to see.

Liu Rulong asked: "Will there be disputes between ordinary residents and those who mix with the underworld?"

Ah Hu: "We generally don't interfere with each other. They won't force children to join the society, but they can't stop people from joining voluntarily. Many of our former partners are already members of the society, but everyone is still friends when they meet."

After entering, Wei Ming and Ah Long's first feeling was that it was dark and sunless.

No wonder foreign artists like this kind of place. For Westerners, how can a civilized society of high-rise buildings have such visual impact? Once this place is demolished, if you want to see this kind of suffering art in the future, you can only go to the slums of India to film it.

However, the slums in India are just large in area, while this place is also high. Looking at it during the day, it is a huge, irregular square. At night, when various lights are turned on, it should have a cyberpunk flavor.

Wei Ming's camera clicked non-stop. On the road, some people saw strange faces and asked, but they were all blocked by Ah Hu and the three, all of whom were acquaintances.

Ah Hu said: "Recently, there are more and more residents in the Chengzhai, many of whom are mainlanders and Vietnamese who fled here. Life is very inconvenient. We will definitely move out after we make money in the future."

Wei Ming asked: "Who else is at home?"

Ah Bao: "Mom and Dad, and Grandpa and Grandma, but they all went out to work during the day. Mom and Dad are outside the Chengzhai, and Grandpa and Grandma are in the Chengzhai."

Ah Long asked: "Are there factories in the Chengzhai?"

Big Bear laughed: "Maybe some of the snacks you are eating are produced in the Chengzhai."

Just now, walking all the way, they saw live and dead rats, open sewers, and used toilet paper thrown everywhere, and even dried feces. Thinking of the sanitary environment here, Ah Long swore never to eat snacks again. Maybe the water here tastes like shit.

The further they went, the darker the light became. Wei Ming put away his camera for the time being: "Ah Hu, can I go to your house to see?"

Ah Hu said: "Let's go to Big Bear's house. My house is on the 13th floor, and his house is on the ninth floor, which is easier."

The Kowloon Chengzhai has up to 14 floors, and there are no elevators. Usually, they climb stairs, so the grandparents of the tiger and leopard don't leave the Chengzhai easily, and they solve everything upstairs.

The Chengzhai is like a small society. There are not only factories here, but also restaurants, hospitals, and even churches. Many criminals were chased by the police into the Chengzhai. As long as they can endure loneliness and don't go out for a few years, there is no problem. Anyway, the police generally won't come in to enforce the law.

Finally, they climbed to the ninth floor, where the light was slightly better. Wei Ming teased the tiger and leopard brothers: "Although it's inconvenient for you to go up and down the stairs, the light must be very good."

They immediately laughed proudly: "Otherwise, we would be taller than Big Bear. It's because we got more sun when we were young!"

In Big Bear's house, only a seven or eight-year-old sister was watching TV. She was watching "The Female Black Knight Mulan Flower". The original author was Ni Kuang, the heroine was Angie Chiu, and the male lead was her future husband, Wong Kam-sun, who was not her second husband yet, but it was coming soon.

This seems to be filmed after Angie Chiu gave birth to her second child last year. She was already a mother, but she hadn't reached the peak of her beauty yet.

Looking at the girl watching TV intently, Wei Ming touched his pocket. Fortunately, he carried candy with him, so he hurriedly took two for the child.

"Thank you, brother." The little girl didn't say much, but she was quite polite.

Looking at Angie Chiu on the TV, Big Bear suddenly became inspired: "The director of this show came out of our Chengzhai. I will also stand out like him in the future!"

Liu Rulong also knew this show, and he said: "The director is called Johnnie To, right?"

Ah Hu: "Yes, he used to be Big Bear's neighbor, a few years older than us."

Wei Ming said "Oh". It turned out that Johnnie To also came out of the Kowloon Chengzhai, but he had long entered another class and had become an inspirational model for the youth of the Chengzhai.

Afterwards, they shuttled back and forth between the eighth and ninth floors to systematically understand the ecology in the Chengzhai.

Soon they came to the Yamen area. Wei Ming proposed: "Let's go down and see, and then eat."

All places in the Kowloon Chengzhai are densely packed, and every inch of space is utilized to the extreme. There is only such a small open space in the middle, about 200 square meters, almost half the size of a basketball court.

In the past, the Kowloon Chengzhai was a blurred area of "co-governance" between the UK and the Qing government. The open space was the original location of the Qing Dynasty Kowloon Chengzhai Yamen. Later, the Yamen was gone, but the place was preserved.

Wei Ming saw many stone tablets here recording the history of the Kowloon Chengzhai. Wei Ming hurriedly took a few photos, and there were children playing nearby.

According to Ah Hu, there used to be an open-air market here, but now it is mostly used for gang negotiations or as a temporary martial arts gym. For example, the Choy Li Fut martial arts gym often occupies this piece of land.

After passing the Yamen area, that is the East District, which is also the commercial area of the Kowloon Chengzhai. The five walked in and first saw a video hall, where some large-scale works were played, and it was not limited to local Hong Kong works.

Afterwards, they went upstairs and saw several restaurants. When passing by one, they saw a bamboo cage outside the door. Ah Long leaned over and took a look, and then saw densely packed snakes.

Wei Ming laughed: "How about we eat snake soup today?"

In the north, and even north of Guangdong, you can hardly eat authentic snake soup. Wei Ming hadn't tried it since his rebirth.

Ah Long: "I have no problem."

The three Chengzhai youths were a little uneasy, but thinking that snake as an ingredient is actually very expensive and they don't get to eat it usually, they agreed.

There are many ways to cook snake here, including dishes and soups, as well as wine soaked in snake.

"For soup, let's have pigeon stewed with water snake, then a braised snake segment, spicy snake, secret crispy tender snake ribs..." Seeing that there was also dragon, tiger, and phoenix, Wei Ming declined politely. Cat meat is really unacceptable.

Seeing that there were normal chicken and pork, he ordered two normal ones. Finally, he ordered two catties of snake wine. The chef killed them on the spot, caught them directly, and killed them in front of them. This experience is also rare.

Just now they were all chatting about the Kowloon Chengzhai. After sitting down, Wei Ming asked them what movies they had filmed with Sammo Hung.

Ah Hu said: "We entered the industry late, so we participated in 'Encounters of the Spooky Kind', and there is another 'The Prodigal Son' that hasn't been released yet."

Wei Ming knew that it would be released before Christmas, and it could be considered to have some small competition with "Let's Make Laugh".

Big Bear asked: "Boss Wei, do you also film movies?"

Wei Ming: "I might film in the future. Maybe we will cooperate. Now I just write scripts for people. Have you heard of a movie called 'Let's Make Laugh' recently?"

The three shook their heads. That's right, they don't read newspapers. But soon after the new magazine "Madman Comics" came out, they would know. Madman Comics is aimed at these fish that slipped through the net of compulsory education.

Wei Ming: "You can go to the cinema to support it then. It's very good and has passionate scenes."

Hearing this, they were energized. Just now, when passing by the yellow video hall, they stretched their necks and wanted to go in and see.

"Then you came to the Chengzhai to write a story about the Chengzhai?" Ah Hu remembered that Wei Ming said he came to collect style, and he also asked what collecting style was.

Wei Ming: "I might write a story about the Chengzhai in the future, but this time I want to write a science fiction story."

The three found it hard to understand how the Kowloon Chengzhai could be linked to science fiction. They had only read Wesley-style science fiction, and forgot who they heard before that Wei Ming from the mainland looked down on Ni Kuang, one of the four great talents, so this was to write a science fiction work himself to challenge him!

The taste of snake meat is fresh, tender, smooth, firm, and chewy, with no fishy smell and a slight sweetness. As long as you don't think about the living snake, it's quite good to eat, and it was basically wiped out.

After eating the full snake feast, the five continued to explore in the East District. There are striptease performances to attract gamblers, and many drug addicts. You have to be careful when taking pictures here. The tiger, leopard, and bear also became more low-key.

After a circle, Wei Ming proposed to go to the roof to see. Ah Hu sighed: "If I had known, I might as well have gone directly to my house just now."

There were also people on the roof. Several half-grown children were flying kites upstairs. The tiger, leopard, and bear should know them. They greeted one of the older children, and the other party immediately ran over, with a railing in the middle, and he crossed over very smoothly.

Wei Ming narrowed his eyes. This hurdling action seems to be an old friend.

When he walked closer, it was really him! It turns out he has been very good at hurdling since he was a child~

Ah Hu introduced: "This is my neighbor Lin Jiadong. Ah Dong, call Boss Ming and Boss Long."

"Boss Ming, Boss Long." Lin Jiadong said shyly. From this 14-year-old face, Wei Ming could already see the shadow of the future Dongguan Boy. It turns out he also came from the Chengzhai.

While chatting, Wei Ming suddenly heard a violent sound coming from afar. He looked back and saw a plane flying towards this side, looking very close and big.

This place is very close to Kai Tak Airport. If it weren't for the safety of aircraft flight, the government would have imposed restrictions, and the highest building in the Kowloon Chengzhai would definitely not be just 14 floors high.

Wei Ming seized the opportunity, took out his camera, and hurriedly took a picture of the plane flying over his head from bottom to top.

Actually, it would be better to take it at the Yamen area below.

Watching the plane fly away, the three of tiger, leopard, and bear were also stunned. When they were young, they liked to count planes on the roof and fantasized about taking a plane one day.

However, more than ten years have passed, and they are still bugs in the dark corners, sigh.

"Alright, we should go back. You still have to attend the boss's birthday banquet." Wei Ming reminded the three young men. He had collected rich materials on this trip, which was very satisfactory.

At this time, Ah Hu proposed: "Boss Wei, you, can you take a photo for us? Here."

Wei Ming glanced at the clutter above the Kowloon Chengzhai: "Okay, strike a pose."

Not only did he take a group photo for the three of them, but he also took photos for the children like Lin Jiadong, and finally asked Ah Long to take a group photo for him and everyone.

When they went out from the West District entrance, Niu Lao was waiting for them in the car.

Wei Ming asked: "Is the stuff ready?"

Niu Lao said: "Ready. I said it was a gift for Sammo Hung. The deputy factory director in the factory also made a special version. Look."

Wei Ming took a look. There were three music greeting cards in total. The covers were the posters of Sammo Hung's three representative works: "The Monk and the Rice Pounder", "Enter the Fat Dragon", and "The Magnificent Butcher". The music inside was also different.

This kind of music greeting card is prepared to be officially put into the market before Christmas. Not only birthday greeting cards, but also holiday greeting cards should be made. Giving it to Sammo Hung now is considered a warm-up in advance.

The three tried it and expressed that it was interesting. Wei Ming took out his pen again: "There is still blank space here, you can also write a few words to express your blessings to the boss."

This was a bit difficult for the three elementary school students. In the end, Niu Lao taught them to write a few sincere blessing words, and everyone parted ways.

After returning downstairs to Madman Comics, Wei Ming also had to part ways with Ah Long and Niu Lao.

Ah Long let Niu Lao go upstairs first. He said to Wei Ming: "Yesterday my dad told me your prediction about the Sino-British negotiations. Originally, he was also planning to buy a building. Now, instead, he plans to raise funds from relatives in his hometown in Foshan and prepare to seize the opportunity to enter the property market."

Wei Ming knew that many of his relatives in his hometown had overseas connections and had foreign exchange.

Ah Long was just worried that his father would fall into it, so he confirmed it with Wei Ming again.

Wei Ming said: "Don't worry, the general trend is like this. We will definitely not be wrong if we follow the general trend."

In fact, they have reached a consensus that the Sino-British negotiations will lead to a collapse in housing prices. The question is, can it really rise back after the negotiations end?

Wei Ming laughed: "Let's talk about the Kowloon Chengzhai we just visited. If the Sino-British negotiations take place, the British government will inevitably clean up this special zone caused by their management before returning Hong Kong. Therefore, the living space of the society will become smaller and smaller in the future, and Hong Kong's investment environment will also be greatly improved, so housing prices will inevitably skyrocket!"

Wei Ming is talking about future facts. The cleaning of the Kowloon Chengzhai was written in the Sino-British contract. In the end, the Hong Kong British government spent 500 million to complete the resettlement of tens of thousands of people and finally razed the Kowloon Chengzhai to the ground.

Hearing Wei Ming's analysis, Ah Long was completely relieved. He also had to work hard to make money so that he could help his family when housing prices plummeted.

"So when do you plan to write the second comic story for me?" he asked.

Wei Ming started the car: "Let's finish writing for Huang Guoxing and Niu Lao first. Don't worry, I will definitely give it to you next year, and you will also become famous because of this work!"

Famous in the world? Watching the exhaust gas of Wei Ming's departure, Ah Long moved his fingers. His brush was already hungry and thirsty!

The Mazda finally arrived outside St. Stephen's College along Pok Fu Lam Road in Sai Ying Pun, but the middle school hadn't finished school yet.

Soon, some cars stopped one after another. It should be that they lived far away and came to pick up their children. Most students walked or rode bicycles home after school.

Wei Ming and Mao Mao Amin had already agreed the day before yesterday, so she didn't ride a bicycle after school. After coming out, she looked for the car first.

Finally, she found Old Ghost's Mazda on the side of the road and got into the car skillfully.

As soon as she got up, Mao Mao Amin put headphones on Wei Ming. Inside came Mao Mao Amin's version of "Fireflies". Although her Mandarin wasn't that smooth, she sang Mandarin songs quite clearly. In her previous life, she also had some representative Mandarin songs, and she had great influence in Taiwan.

Under the shade of the trees, Wei Ming and Mao Mao Amin listened to a song quietly and gave a sincere evaluation: "Nice to hear."

This song has some sad undertones, but Mao Mao Amin's voice is sweeter. After listening, she only felt happy and wanted to go to the mountain with her beloved to see fireflies.

"Let's go see fireflies again next year, okay?" Mao Mao Amin proposed.

Next year, ah. Next year in summer, he wasn't sure where he would be. He could only say: "I will try my best to come to Hong Kong to accompany you then."

With his words, Mao Mao Amin was enough. Next, they were going to have a date at the cinema.

And the three of tiger, leopard, and bear also arrived at Sammo Hung's 32nd birthday banquet.

There was no need to make a big fuss at 32, but this time Sammo Hung not only gathered all the people from the Hung family class, but several fellow apprentices such as Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao also came, and several monsters from Cinema City also came. Even Eric Tsang, the "traitor", was busy on the scene, and even invited reporter friends. The venue was very large, and a floor of the restaurant was directly booked.

Jackie Chan understood immediately. This is the big brother wanting to use his birthday as an opportunity to promote "The Prodigal Son" a few days later.

This movie is produced by Golden Harvest and produced by Bo He. Sammo Hung is the screenwriter, director, and actor. Other starring actors include Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-ying, Chan Fun-kei, etc. The big brother must have high hopes for this movie and hopes to break 10 million.

This year, two 10-million-level movies, "Security Unlimited" and "The Young Avenger", were released. Sammo Hung certainly wants to make a big profit. After all, he can account for 40% of the movie box office profits.

But in fact, he is just a high-level wage earner. In addition to enjoying 60% of the local profits, Golden Harvest also owns all the overseas market revenue. It will even owe Bo He's profits, and it will have to wait until the later establishment of D&B Films for Sammo Hung to become a giant.

The three small minions stood far, far away from the boss, feeling that they had thought too much before. The boss was surrounded by big figures, and their identities could not get close at all.

At this time, Sammo Hung saw that the people who came were almost there, so he pressed his hands, and the scene immediately quieted down.

However, before he could speak, he heard the familiar singing: "Congratulations on your longevity and heaven, celebrate your birthday happily! Every year has today, every year has today..."

(Guaranteed today~)

(End of this chapter)