Literary Master 1978

Hong Kong people celebrate Christmas and New Year's Day. At the end of December, the whole city seems particularly lively and busy, and so does Lam's Films.

First, the film "Autumn Fairy Tale" directed by Ann Hui started shooting. The film is said to have an investment of 10 million Hong Kong dollars, and invited Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung. It is definitely a big cast in the current Hong Kong film market.

With such a large investment, the box office of 20 million can only guarantee the capital. To make money, it must rely on foreign income.

Fortunately, after the release of "A Better Tomorrow", Chow Yun-fat has become very popular in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.

As long as the movie is not made into a pile of shit, making money is not a problem at all.

After the start of "Autumn Fairy Tale", Wang Jing's new film "Best Friend" is also preparing to start shooting. He is launching a new film with the momentum of "The Romance of the Condor Heroes", which has also attracted the attention of many peers.

Not only peers, but many newspapers and magazines are also very concerned about the developments of Lam's Films. Now paparazzi have begun to appear downstairs of Prince's Building.

In addition to these two directors, Lam recently added another director.

Johnnie To jumped from Cinema City to Lam Films, eager to show himself, and he came to the company with a script that day.

Tao Yushu was of course very happy about his enthusiasm. Just as she opened the script and was about to read it, her mobile phone on the table rang.

"Mr. Huang, I have already informed Mr. Mai about this matter. We at Lam also want to develop, and we are not deliberately poaching from your Cinema City.

Your Cinema City is full of talents, and Ah Du is not very famous, and he hasn't had a movie for more than half a year..."

When Johnnie To heard Tao Yushu calling the person on the other end "Mr. Huang", he immediately became a little restless.

After hanging up the phone, Tao Yushu smiled at Johnnie To.

"Mr. Huang thinks highly of you and doesn't want to let you go!"

"Yes, he talked to me before I left. But Mr. Huang doesn't have much say in the company, and the box office of my last movie was not ideal."

Johnnie To explained, and then asked: "Mrs. Lam, I won't cause you any trouble, will I?"

Tao Yushu looked relaxed, "We are all in the film industry, and personnel turnover is normal. We are in the same industry, and we are originally in a competitive relationship. What is there to cause trouble or not."

Since the sequel of "A Better Tomorrow" failed to be negotiated, the relationship between Lam and Cinema City has become subtle.

Although it has not reached the level of hostility, it is obviously impossible to return to the previous relationship.

Johnnie To saw this and said nothing, but continued to explain the script to Tao Yushu.

In Cinema City, making comedy films is the homework of every director. As long as you are not so awesome that the three bosses think you can make a movie independently, then you must make comedy films.

Johnnie To could have copied the development trajectory of Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam in Cinema City and become one of the pillar directors.

Unexpectedly, the third film of "Happy Ghost" failed at the box office, which made him lose the opportunity to star in a solo film. It was a serious blow to his development in Cinema City.

At this juncture, Lam Films sincerely invited him to join, and Johnnie To would certainly not refuse.

The script given to Tao Yushu this time had nothing to do with comedy, and it was not written by him, but by his former colleague and good friend Zheng Zhongtai, the short and fat man who appeared at the celebration banquet that day.

Zheng Zhongtai coveted the generous treatment of Lam, but Johnnie To was worried that the two of them would cause dissatisfaction in Cinema City if they left together, so he asked Zheng Zhongtai to wait.

After listening to Johnnie To's explanation of the situation, Tao Yushu smiled and said, "Lam is in need of screenwriters now. It is of course a good thing that Mr. Zheng can come here. There is no rush in time, and it is convenient for him to see him. I will take a look at this script first. You come to the company next Tuesday and we will talk in detail."

After seeing Johnnie To off, Tao Yushu handled affairs in the company for half a day. After get off work, she put Johnnie To's script into her bag and returned to Mid-Levels.

In the evening, Lin Chaoyang was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. Tao Yushu brought the script back to him and said, "Can you help me take a look at this script?"

"Ah Lang's Story? Where did this script come from?"

"It was brought by Johnnie To. One of his colleagues also wants to come to our Lin Group. This script is considered... a token of his loyalty?"

Tao Yushu's tone was somewhat playful. Lin Chaoyang also chuckled, then pretended to read it for a while and said to her:

"The script is good. You can start a new film for Johnnie To."

Tao Yushu always trusted her husband's vision. When she heard him say that, she felt relieved and counted the shooting cycles of the company's projects on her fingers.

In order to avoid a rush of shootings, she planned to start shooting "Ah Lang's Story" in February.

"We've just released two movies, and now we're releasing a new one. Does the company still have that much money?"

Lin Chaoyang didn't care much about the company's financial situation. Tao Yushu smiled and said, "You're really a master who doesn't care about worldly matters. You're only concerned about the long-term."

After teasing Lin Chaoyang, she started to speak seriously.

"Even if we put aside all the funds needed for "Autumn's Fairy Tale" and "Best Friend", we still have nearly 20 million Hong Kong dollars in our account. The local box office dividends of "The Romance of the Condor Heroes" have already arrived.

This movie performed well overseas. Ah Fa is really popular now. At least 15 million can be returned overseas. He has made a great contribution.

Now in Hong Kong, making movies is really profitable."

At the end, Tao Yushu couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of her heart.

"Yes."

Lin Chaoyang's eyes fell on the newspaper on the coffee table, which reported the thrilling game process of Liu Luanxiong's third stock market sniping a few months ago.

In two years, he sniped the stocks of three Hong Kong-listed companies, and each company was a behemoth for him.

With these three stock market sniping, Liu Luanxiong quickly became famous in the Hong Kong business world, but his reputation was not so good.

And Liu Luanxiong's three snipings, spending hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, making a big move, and even sacrificing his own reputation, what did he gain?

In November 1985, he sniped Nengda Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chuang's Group, and made a profit of 6.54 million Hong Kong dollars;

In April 1986, he sniped Chinese Land and became the largest shareholder of Chinese Land, but the profit is unknown.

In December 1986, he sniped China Gas Co., Ltd. and sold 8 million shares of China Coal at a high price of HK$20.2, making a profit of HK$34 million.

If the previously estimated stocks are included, the profit is nearly HK$100 million.

Liu Luanxiong sniped the stock market three times, gambled his life and property, and the highest profit was the China Coal sniping war, but the profit was only nearly HK$100 million.

Not as good as the total profit of a hit movie "The Truman Show" or "A Better Tomorrow".

Lin Chaoyang was distracted when he heard Tao Yushu say again:

"It's a pity that Golden Harvest and Xinyicheng are too unruly. The second overseas income of "The Truman Show" and "A Better Tomorrow" has not been given to us, otherwise there should be 30 million in the account now."

"Their style of doing things will not last for a few years."

Lin Chaoyang was not very angry about the arrears of overseas income.

He knew the character of these two companies from the beginning, and the previous income was given to him to win him over.

Now that the two companies have no intention of cooperating with him, they naturally cannot settle the overseas income so easily, even if the money is what Lin's Film deserves.

But it doesn't matter, everyone uses each other. Now Lin's reputation has risen and its development momentum is rapid. The two companies did this to a large extent because they felt threatened by Lin.

"Today, Wong Jing called me..."

Tao Yushu talked about Wong Jing calling her because Johnnie To changed jobs.

Lin Chaoyang said: "The film market in Hong Kong is so big. When a company develops to a certain stage, disputes are inevitable."

As the company develops, Tao Yushu can feel this constraint more and more. She asked thoughtfully: "Do you think that the internal problems of Xinyicheng seem to be a bit serious now?"

The contradictions between the three giants of Xinyicheng are no secret in the current Hong Kong film industry, but the development of Xinyicheng has been in full swing in recent years, and everyone doesn't think there is anything wrong.

"Why do you say that?"

"Two things.

The first is that Zheng Zhongtai is an old employee of Xinyicheng. He wrote the scripts for films such as "Wei Sili" and "Why Me". Logically, he is highly valued by the company and should not change jobs so easily.

But he came to our Lin's just because A-Du wanted to change jobs.

Either he didn't get enough money from Xinyicheng, or the internal conflicts between them made Zheng Zhongtai feel that he couldn't stay there anymore.

The second thing was the phone call from Huang Baiming today.

A-Du came to Lin's, and I informed Mai Jia in advance.

Whether Mai Jia told him about this or not, it exposed the communication problems between them."

Listening to Tao Yushu's logical analysis, Lin Chaoyang gently put his arm around her shoulders and joked, "You are really a female Zhuge!"

"I'm talking to you about serious matters." Tao Yushu hit him.

"I have something to say to you, the donor."

Tao Yushu rolled his eyes at Lin Chaoyang, "What are you saying?"

"Cinema City fell, and Lin's family was full."

Hearing this, Tao Yushu's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood what he meant, and asked: "Tell me in detail."

"This kind of thing is not worth telling to outsiders, let's go into the bedroom and talk."

Lin Chaoyang narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully, attracting Tao Yushu's charming eyes, and the couple went into the bedroom.

The conversation between the two was heard by Tao Yumo, who was coaxing Yan Yan to sleep. She said to Yan Yan in a faint tone:

"Did you hear that? We are all outsiders! You two brothers and sisters will have to rely on your aunt in the future."

Yan Yan looked at her aunt with a confused look and blew a bubble.

After New Year's Day, Tao Yushu's work was as busy as ever.

Lin Chaoyang had been idle for a few days and had his own things to do. Dong Qiao of Ming Pao Publishing House invited him to meet.

The two met at Lin Heung House in Central for morning tea. Morning tea was definitely not the purpose, but to discuss the publication of Lin Chaoyang's new novel.

Lin Chaoyang has cooperated with Ming Pao Publishing House for several years, and the relationship is quite harmonious. Ming Pao Publishing House is still the first choice for the publication of new novels.

"I have read the manuscript of "Parasite", and it is quite wonderful!

Although it does not have the shocking imagination of "The Truman Show", the exquisite layout, cold writing, and tragic ending are chilling and unforgettable."

As soon as they met, Dong Qiao gave a very high evaluation of the novel.

After ordering, he sighed again.

"I don't know if my idea is right. From "Parasite", I really see the difference between Hong Kong writers and mainland writers."

Lin Chaoyang took a sip of tea and asked, "What is the difference?"

Dong Qiao did not answer his question immediately, but asked: "Have you ever noticed what is published in the pages of various newspapers every Spring Festival?"

Lin Chaoyang said without hesitation: "A whole page with four big characters: Gong Xi Fa Cai."

"That's right. "Gong Xi Fa Cai" is printed on the full page of newspapers, "Gong Xi Fa Cai" is posted in stores, every household burns incense to welcome the God of Wealth, and the first thing people say when they meet is "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

When you go out for a dinner and order a dish, you want it to bring good fortune. Dried oysters and fried dishes are all said to be a good thing and make you rich.

People will die for money, and birds will die for food. This saying is vividly reflected in the people of Xiangjiang.

Fighting nervously, just to get more money, because it is connected with reputation, status and power. With money, you have everything.

The rich try every means to show off their wealth, while the poor don't want to look shabby when they go out.

Showing off extravagance, pomp, extravagance and extravagance, I don’t know when it has become the social custom in Hong Kong..."

Dong Qiao's tone is full of profoundness. As a writer, his insight and concern for society always exceed that of ordinary people.

Normally, Dong Qiao rarely cares about these things, but today I don't know if he was stimulated by the content of "Parasite". He went on and on about all the injustices in Hong Kong society today, and he was filled with righteous indignation.

For a pair of TV stars to get married, the wedding alone for the bride alone costs HK$100,000;

When a wealthy person treats a guest, there will always be abalone and shark's fin on the table, and only the crispy skin of suckling pig and roast duck will be eaten to show the generosity of the host;

The rich live in garden villas and bungalows on the mountainside, but the poor have no place to stand. They cannot afford to rent a house and can only rent beds.

Dong Qiao chatted for a long time, and after venting his anger, he looked a little apologetic.

"Sorry, Chaoyang, I just felt a little bit unhappy after watching your movie "Parasite"."

Lin Chaoyang had a faint smile on his face, "It doesn't matter. It resonates with you, which proves that my novel is very successful."

Dong Qiao nodded heavily, unable to hold back the excitement in his heart.

"Success, of course, success! Lao Jin's family is the epitome of the poor people in Xiangjiang!

Your novel is giving voice to the people at the bottom of Xiangjiang! "

Dong Qiao's heartfelt evaluation suddenly elevated the meaning of "Parasite", and he looked at Lin Chaoyang solemnly.

“That’s why I said, this is the difference between you and the writers in Xiangjiang.

They have lived in this society for too long and have blended into it, losing their insight into society and suffering.

But you are different. You have a keen and profound vision that transcends this society, without any bias or favoritism.

Chaoyang, to be honest, I used to think that I might have become numb to this society.

But now I understand that it’s not that I’m numb, or that people like me are numb.

But our society lacks "doctors" like you who can profoundly analyze the bloody reality before our eyes. "

Lin Chaoyang quickly said modestly: "You are serious, you are serious."

"Without exaggeration, your "Parasite" deserves all the praise!" Dong Qiao said sincerely, his eyes full of appreciation.

After praising the novel, Dong Qiao talked about today's business.

Lin Chaoyang handed over the manuscript of "Parasite" to Ming Pao Publishing House after returning to Xiangjiang. During this time, the publishing house has completed the editing and proofreading of the novel. It is expected that the novel will be available on the market in another half month.

"We must promote it well this time when "Parasite" is published. I plan to write you a long review."

As Dong Qiao spoke, he handed two more sample books to Lin Chaoyang.

"Then I'll wait and see." Lin Chaoyang took the sample book and said with a smile.

"By the way, Chaoyang, don't you plan to adapt this novel into a movie?" Dong Qiao asked.

"I will definitely shoot it if I have the chance."

Dong Qiao's face was full of expectations, "I really hope your novel can be made into a movie. It will definitely be more shocking than the novel itself!"

Lin Chaoyang has known Dong Qiao for several years, but his behavior today is completely different from before, like a fanboy.

From his words, it is not difficult for Lin Chaoyang to see that Dong Qiao had such a big reaction. In addition to his heartfelt love for the novel, the most important thing is that the novel "Parasite" aroused Dong Qiao's inner feelings about Hong Kong society has an indisputable sense of responsibility.

The most important theme reflected in "Parasite" is the contradiction caused by class differences.

The semi-basement where the protagonist's family lives and the luxurious villa where the chairman's family lives intuitively show the huge material gap between the rich and the poor.

This gap is not only reflected in the material aspects such as living environment, food, clothing, housing and transportation, but also goes deep into the relationships, ways of thinking and values ​​between people.

The differences and contradictions shown in the novel are already very obvious in Hong Kong society at this stage, and will become more obvious in the days to come.

"Parasite" analyzes the contradictions at the bottom of today's Hong Kong society in a sharp way, which shocked Dong Qiao greatly.

He has always regarded himself as a social elite and always has a sense of responsibility for society.

This sense of responsibility is sometimes expressed in the form of condescending preaching, but it cannot be denied that their original intentions are good.

"We must take pictures!"

Dong Qiao warned Lin Chaoyang again, and Lin Chaoyang nodded.

Half a month later, with two days left before the New Year, "Parasite" was on the shelves of major bookstores in Hong Kong.

Thanks to Ming Pao Publishing House's half-month publicity, many Lin Chaoyang's loyal readers spontaneously came to the bookstore to buy this novel that morning.

Of course, the number of readers cannot be compared with the long queues in China, but the continuous flow of people and readers queuing up to check out are already rare sights in bookstores in Xiangjiang.

Also on this morning, "Ming Pao" published a special article on the front page - "A good medicine for Hong Kong society - on the novel "Parasite""

The article reads:

"I always had a familiar feeling when I first read "Parasite". After thinking about it for a long time, I realized that this feeling came from "The Metamorphosis" I read in junior high school.

Although this novel written by Kafka is very different from "Parasite" in content, it has similarities in narrative.

For example, the impact of poor material life on people's senses, and the two novels coincidentally write about people's isolation and indifference caused by the environment...

The mansion of the chairman's family represents wealth, status and power, while the semi-basement where Lao Jin's family lives represents poverty, humbleness and marginalization;

The recurring "smell" in the novel also represents class differences and the inescapable mark of poverty on the people at the bottom. The aversion of the rich to the smell of the poor reflects the estrangement and opposition between classes...

The entire society is immersed in superficial and illusory prosperity due to its extravagant pursuit of pleasure and wanton waste, making it difficult to extricate itself.

"Parasite" is like a dagger, using its sharp edge to pierce the most unbearable aspects of Hong Kong society, giving the most profound criticism to this decadent society.

All readers who have read this novel will have to think about such grand propositions as social justice and the differentiation of rich and poor. From this perspective, it will definitely become a good medicine for Hong Kong society. "

"Ming Pao" sells more than 100,000 copies a day. It is a major newspaper in Hong Kong and has always been sought after by all walks of life in Hong Kong society.

The article "A good medicine for Hong Kong society - Talking about the novel "Parasite"" had a huge impact on a large number of readers on the day it was published.

The decline of pure literature in Hong Kong has always been obvious to all sectors of society, and few writers can attract public attention with their pure literary works.

Even many famous writers have to add more popular elements to their works in order to make a living with words.

The appearance of Lin Chaoyang is an extremely strange exception. The book review of his new work published by "Ming Pao" as a front-page feature is enough to illustrate the importance it attaches to the work "Parasite".

At the same time, the high praise for this work in book reviews also made these readers have a strong interest in the novel.

On the second day after the book review was published, more readers came to buy "Parasite" in various bookstores in Hong Kong.

Some of these people are readers of Lin Chaoyang, and some came because of the book review in Ming Pao.

The popularity of thousands of readers has allowed a serious literary work like "Parasite" to generate a response that exceeds the response caused by the release of ordinary popular literature, and sales have continued to rise.

Three days after the novel was released, sales have reached an astonishing 9,500 copies.

This number is not impressive in other countries and regions, but for a port city like Xiangjiang with a population of only a few million, it is almost a sales miracle.

The unprecedented popularity of "Parasite" has a lot to do with "The Truman Show".

Back then, "The Truman Show" won international honors for Hong Kong, and many citizens were proud of this film. Naturally, they had a great affinity for Lin Chaoyang and his new works.

In addition to being enthusiastically received by citizens and readers, "Parasite" also quickly attracted the attention of the Hong Kong literary community after its release.

The article "A Good Medicine for Xiangjiang Society - Talking about the Novel "Parasite"" in "Ming Pao" was written by Dong Qiao. Although there was a lot of praise in the article, it was not exaggerated.

Many colleagues in the literary world, after reading Lin Chaoyang's novel, looked back at Dong Qiao's article and felt deeply in their hearts.

In the past two decades, the rapid development of Hong Kong society has certainly created an economic miracle and benefited millions of ordinary people.

But what people cannot ignore is that a considerable number of citizens have been left behind by this rapid development.

Not to mention anything else, it's just the "semi-basement" where Lao Jin's family lives as described in the novel. Which Xiangjiang person wouldn't feel sad to see it?

For many people in Xiangjiang, even a semi-basement apartment is already considered “excellent” housing.

The economy has developed, but the wages of ordinary citizens have not been able to keep up with the increase in housing prices.

Over the years, the government and developers have been expropriating land, implementing high land price policies, and relying on land sales to maintain huge expenditures. To date, there are still tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in surplus inventory.

High land prices enrich the government and developers, but hurt the poor.

Over the years, waves of billionaires have appeared in Hong Kong, most of whom made their fortunes through real estate.

How much of the money these real estate tycoons earn is the hard-earned money of the people throughout their lives.

Even so, ordinary people who can buy a piece of land with their hard-earned money are considered the lucky ones in this city.

The abnormal housing prices of over a thousand dollars per square foot have left more people looking at the buildings and sighing.

On the one hand, tens of thousands of units are vacant and uninhabited; on the other hand, millions of people still live in dangerous wooden hut areas and slums such as the Kowloon Walled City.

There are also those vagrants sleeping under the corridors of the docks and overpasses, all of whom use their plight to tell the blood and tears history of the lower-class people in this city.

In those film and television works, Hong Kong in the 1980s seemed to be always so prosperous and peaceful, but no one paid attention to the scars behind this city.

In just a few days, many well-known writers such as Liu Yichang, Shu Xiangcheng, and Xixi successively published articles in many newspapers praising "Parasite".

The 1980s was not only the golden age of the mainland literary world, but also the golden age of the Hong Kong literary world.

After the "dark period" of the 1970s, the Hong Kong literary world has seen a rare opportunity for vigorous development since the 1980s.

A series of literary groups including the Hong Kong Literary and Art Association were established, and literary magazines such as "Literature and Art", "Contemporary Literature and Art", and "Suye Literature" were founded one after another. Young writers have emerged one after another, and the Hong Kong literary world is full of vitality.

In such a positive environment, the voices of these writers can be heard more clearly and truly by the public than before.

Among the many writers who published articles, Liu Yichang's articles published in Ming Pao have won recognition and praise from many readers.

He said in the article:

"In "Parasite", the father Lao Jin hid in the basement of the mansion and became a 'parasite'. The son wrote a letter saying that he would plan a new life, buy the mansion, and let Lao Jin walk out openly.

But all this is just the son's beautiful imagination. The collision between that beautiful imagination and the pale reality is a hundred times more shocking than the previous explosive killing.

After reading it, people can't calm down for a long time, as if they were swept by a sudden storm, leaving shock and contemplation all over the ground.

I thought Lin was a mainlander, and it was always difficult to get close to and care about Hong Kong society.

However, the profound analysis of Hong Kong society shown in the book "Parasite" is beyond the reach of many so-called "local writers" born and raised in Hong Kong.

He is like a sincere doctor who is persistent in using a scalpel. He accurately dissected the abscess of the gap between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong society, and nakedly displayed the complexity and struggle of human nature, the contradictions and oppositions of social classes in front of readers.

It's hard for us to flatter!"