Chapter 396: Hong Kong Investor (Requesting Monthly Votes!)

"As If an Old Friend Has Come," performed by Nina Hsu, lyrics and composition by Wei Ming!

After five songs, Xu Shufen and Wei Lingling were eliminated, but Amin felt she and Old Ghost would likely lose too—TVB seemed intent on a big news story; five songs couldn't possibly be enough!

Moreover, these five songs are all hidden gems from the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies, clearly a direct challenge to the rival Hong Kong Radio.

After Nina Hsu finished her performance and left the stage, host Ho Shouxin joked with Shen Dianxia: "Isn't today just a Wei Ming song appreciation night?"

Shen Dianxia: "Actually, I like all his songs except Ah Le's. There are over a dozen—if ten get selected, the ones left out will be so embarrassed."

The camera focused on Lin Zixiang, Kwan Kuk Ying, Kwan Ching Kit, Wang Mingquan, and Ah Le, Chen Baixiang, looking utterly innocent.

With the announcement of the sixth award-winning song, Zhou Hui and Old Ghost were also eliminated.

"'A Real Man,' performed by Lin Zixiang, lyrics and composition by Wei Ming!"

"Six already!" Amin was even more excited—she'd fully commit to TVB and the Top Ten Golden Songs from now on; even if her own song had no chance, her mood improved.

But people like Wei Lingling and Old Ghost, with deeper thoughts, wondered: wouldn't this situation be over-praising Ah Ming?

Already six songs—what if all ten were his? Could the Hong Kong music scene even accommodate Ah Ming?

Old Ghost thought Sir Run Run Shaw was too shrewd to do something that would damage the authority of the Top Ten Golden Songs.

Lin Ni guessed seven; Lao Wei and Li Zhi guessed six.

Ni Nai began to worry: what if no one guessed right, and everyone lost their bets for nothing?

Fortunately, the seventh award went to Lo Wai's "Crimson Cotton," composed by Chung Chiufung, lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong.

This song had previously topped the Hong Kong Radio Dragon-Tiger Chart and was one of Lo Wai's most important signature works.

Seeing this result, Old Ghost and Wei Lingling breathed easier—though Ah Ming now stood out prominently, he hadn't yet overshadowed all other trees.

The eighth song was "Impression," written, composed, and performed by Xu Guanjie.

Moreover, this song had just won the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies—the first song to win both awards, highlighting Xu Guanjie's status as the original Cantopop god.

When Xu Guanjie took the stage, the audience applauded enthusiastically—partly for his actor persona.

"The Best of Both Worlds" had become wildly popular, far exceeding everyone's expectations.

Who could have imagined that "The Best of Both Worlds," which had already earned 10 million in box office before the three new Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and left-wing films even premiered, was still the hottest movie on the market, outperforming all three new releases in daily box office?

Cheng Long was at home watching TVB; when he saw Xu Guanjie, Lin Fengjiao, who was feeding him grapes, noticed he suddenly stopped opening his mouth.

He didn't have any issue with Xu Guanjie—he just felt he'd been utterly defeated in the Lunar New Year slot.

Losing to Xu Guanjie and Michael Hui's Hong Kong 007 was one thing, but now even "Dragon Boy" was being overshadowed by the mainland's "Shaolin Temple," with newspapers and media everywhere discussing someone named "Li Lianjie."

After Xu Guanjie, the ninth award went to "Season of the Wind," a classic by Sally Yeh, composed by Lee Yashang, lyrics by Tong Zhengchuan.

"A cool breeze gently blows, quietly entering my collar. Summer steals away, unheard."

Although Wei Ming's "Ups and Downs" for Sally Yeh was also a classic, either song winning was unquestionable—many even felt both deserved to be in the annual Top Ten.

So, would the final song be "Ups and Downs"?

The answer was no.

But this one was also a song Wei Ming had contributed to.

"Let's give a warm round of applause to Yip Chun Tong and his 'The Great Wall Never Falls,' composed by Lai Siutin, lyrics by Wei Ming—congratulations!"

This result surprised many—"The Great Wall Never Falls" was undoubtedly a great song and had also won the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies, making it the second song to win both major awards.

But this was the theme song of "The Master of Kung Fu," the most popular drama on ATV last year, which had completely overwhelmed TVB at the time.

It was unexpected that Sir Shaw would place this song first.

Actually, it made sense—the Top Ten Golden Songs was Wei Ming's idea, and Lai Siutin had now been poached by him; giving priority to their collaboration wasn't strange—it actually enhanced the authority of the Top Ten Golden Songs.

"Seven! Seven songs!" Lin Ni was even more excited than Zhou Hui—because she'd won!

She claimed all eight hundred-dollar bills for herself.

At this moment, Hong Kong audiences were debating which award show's results they trusted more: the Top Ten Golden Songs or the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies.

"They picked so many songs by Wei Ming—I think TVB's selection is unfair."

"But I've listened to more of the songs chosen by the Top Ten Golden Songs—I can't penalize him just because too many great songs came from one person!"

"I agree—even if all ten were Wei Ming's, I'd have no problem. I listen to the songs, to the singers—whether the songwriter is one person or ten doesn't matter."

"Still, I think it's unreasonable that seven of ten are his—did Koo Ka Fai and Wong Jim really write zero unforgettable songs last year? Not a single one was selected!"

"I saw Koo Ka Fai and Wong Jim sitting together—they didn't look upset at all."

"You don't know—they're both judges for the Top Ten Golden Songs. Maybe they avoided selecting their own songs to avoid bias."

"I think they're trying to burn Wei Ming on the fire."

"Don't be so cynical—if that's true, why not pick all ten of his songs?"

"Enough arguing—there are still awards left to present!"

Similar discussions were happening in households across Hong Kong.

Next up were the Most Popular Male and Female Singers—this was what distinguished it from the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies, which awarded a lyricist, a composer, and then one top prize.

Here, they awarded one male singer, one female singer, and the top prize went to a song.

Unsurprisingly, the Most Popular Female Singer went to Sally Yeh.

Her 1981 songs "Season of the Wind" and "Ups and Downs" were top-tier masterpieces destined to endure as classics; her influence in the Chinese entertainment industry placed her firmly among the top three female singers.

The Most Popular Male Singer sparked some controversy, but not much.

The winner was Lo Wai.

Many thought it should've been Xu Guanjie, but Xu didn't dare claim he'd definitely beat Lo Wai.

As an idol, Xu was certainly stronger than the old veteran Lo Wai, but Lo was older and had classics like "Below the Lion Rock," embodying Hong Kong's spirit, with influence spanning from Mandarin to Cantopop eras.

In the future, when the Top Ten Golden Songs gained more influence, the winners of these two awards would be crowned "Heavenly Kings" and "Heavenly Queens."

Only one award remained: the Golden Song Award.

Zhou Hui stared intently at the TV screen, silently reciting the names of Wei Ming's songs: "Oriental Pearl," "Tomorrow Will Be Better," "Ups and Downs," "First Love."

The winner was: "Congratulations to 'Tomorrow Will Be Better,' to all the singers who performed it, and to Ah Ming, its creator!"

Tan Yonglin looked left and right—this song had more than one singer; technically, the lyricist or composer should take the stage, so he could accept it on behalf of all—but he thought it better to bring everyone up, so he pulled Chen You and Chung Chun Tao aside, then dragged in Chen Baiqiang and Zhang Guorong, and finally over a dozen people crowded onto the stage.

Zhou Hui nodded in satisfaction: "Perfect."

Lin Ni took back her daughter's last hundred-dollar bill: "I'm satisfied too!"

The program still had some remaining content: an explanation of the award rules.

The host admitted that due to time constraints, song popularity was determined primarily by fan letters, inevitably leaving gaps and shortcomings.

"Therefore, in 1982, TVB will launch a program called 'Golden Songs,' with weekly chart rankings, and we'll comprehensively evaluate songs based on sales, radio play, and public popularity—ensuring no good song is overlooked, even if it never topped any chart."

This was clearly a dig at the rival "Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies"—Wei Ming's many classics had been excluded precisely because they never reached number one on the Dragon-Tiger Chart, a major regret on their end.

But normally, this system worked fine—most good songs would eventually top the weekly chart; if they didn't, they weren't good enough. Who could have anticipated someone releasing over a dozen masterpieces at once?

Regardless of how many controversies the two award shows left behind, Wei Ming was unquestionably at the center of the conversation—no matter which award ultimately dominated, Wei Ming had already won.

Now, Hong Kong record companies all wanted to get close to Wei Ming, but even Tan Yonglin, who wanted Wei Ming to write songs for him, was too lazy to bother—he didn't make much money anymore, and now he'd only write songs for Amin to cheer her up.

The day after the awards, Wei Ming and Wei Hong finally arrived in Ping'an County after a long journey.

As soon as they stepped out of the bus station, they saw a familiar figure.

"De Long?"

"Brother, sister, you're finally back! I thought you weren't coming home for the New Year this year!" Qi Delong dropped his donkey whip and ran over to help carry their luggage. "Hey, where are Uncle and Auntie?"

Wei Ming: "Due to work requirements, they've been assigned to Hong Kong."

"What? Hong Kong?!" He was stunned—his school had maps of China and the world, and teachers had mentioned Hong Kong's prosperity.

"Did you come here specifically to wait for us?" Wei Ming asked.

Qi Delong: "Of course! I waited for days—I was afraid you'd have too much luggage and one motorcycle wouldn't be enough. Didn't expect it's just the two of you."

But their luggage was still heavy—thankfully, the donkey cart helped.

Seeing his cousin stare at the luggage, Wei Ming opened one case, pulled out a bottle of Coca-Cola, cracked it open on the donkey cart, and handed it to him.

This wasn't bought with foreign exchange coupons at Friendship Stores—it was bought directly at Wangfujing Department Store.

Since January this year, Coca-Cola had officially gone on public sale in Beijing's major department stores—Chinese people could now drink Coca-Cola.

Of course, at three times the price of Beijiangyang, most people just watched; a few bought a bottle to try it—and that was it.

"Brother, what's this stuff? So weird-tasting," Qi Delong frowned.