1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 643 Crown Prince Rong

Zhu Lin found it absurd.

But Jiang Xian was mentally prepared for all of this.

Hong Kong at this time was undoubtedly in its golden age, but behind the gold lay a dark veil.

When Mrs. Heung recalled Hong Kong during that era, she made a particularly good point: "In those days, loyalty was faster than the law."

She certainly has the right to say that.

Not only the Xiang family, but also her act of going to the meeting alone for Anita Mui has been talked about by people to this day.

That was already 92. Anita Mui was at the peak of her career, a superstar singing "Intimate Lover" and "Sunset Song" on stage.

That day at a KTV in Kowloon Tong, Anita Mui was looking forward to enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with her friends. Unexpectedly, the next room was occupied by film company boss Wong Long-wai. Upon learning that the diva Anita Mui was in the next room, the drunken boss asked Mui to go over and offer a toast and sing.

Such "unwritten rules" are not uncommon in Hong Kong.

But Anita Mui was really tough.

Previously, she and Mrs. Xiang and others played at a disco until 1 a.m. and were reluctant to leave. They then went to a Japanese restaurant to continue drinking. As a result, they ran into Huang Jun, the big brother of the Sun Yee On triad, who led his underlings to clear the place in a domineering manner—paying the bill and kicking out customers, just so that his brothers could have a meal together.

With such a scene, who would dare to say a word?

But Sister Mei dared to be "fearless" and sat directly in the newly vacated seat, and even though she was drunk, she refused to give up her seat.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Seeing this, the younger men asked her to toast their boss, thinking that this would smoothly resolve the awkward situation. However, Sister Mei, who was quite drunk, accidentally dropped her wine glass into the steaming udon noodles in front of Huang Jun.

"Is this the end?" Many onlookers were secretly sweating, but Huang Jun had his principles: "Don't touch women." His underlings stopped, but who knew that our heroine would grab her boss's clothes and ask him where he was from, and even tear a corner of his clothes.

The matter escalated, and it was said that Huang Jun threatened to spend millions to buy two lives that night, one of which was Anita Mui. Many friends in the industry pleaded for her overnight. Fortunately, Mrs. Xiang stepped in and hosted a "reconciliation dinner" to quell the storm based on their long-standing friendship.

According to sources, "If the Xiang family hadn't saved Huang Jun, this situation would have been very difficult to resolve."

It's the same this time.

She politely declined.

Huang Langwei first sent someone to invite Anita Mui to drink with him, but Anita Mui refused. Then Huang Langwei threw out a million-dollar check and asked to "buy her singing voice".

Anita Mui coldly replied, "I am not a courtesan."

Then came the iconic moment: the drunken Huang Langwei raised his hand and slapped Anita Mui across the face. When his assistant rushed forward to stop him, he kicked her to the ground. Anita Mui's diamond earrings were knocked off by his slap.

Anita Mui called Mrs. Heung in tears, saying that she had been slapped and was being held captive, preventing her from leaving.

This led to the story of Mrs. Xiang going to the meeting alone.

At 2 a.m., Mrs. Xiang entered the room without bodyguards, carrying a Hermès handbag, and said to everyone in the room in Teochew: "If you want to touch Sister Mei, you have to ask the Xiang family first."

One sentence instantly froze the tense situation.

It is said that at that time, Mrs. Xiang had just suffered a miscarriage. Despite her weak body, she negotiated with Huang Langwei for three hours with a knife at her side, and finally settled the matter by saying "things between the underworld should be settled between the underworld."

It's quite poignant to think that this woman, who would later be known as the "Godmother of Hong Kong's entertainment circle," attempted suicide by overdosing on pills at the age of 18 after being sold into a dance hall by her mother. Now, she is risking her life to protect Anita Mui.

What's even more like a movie is that this story doesn't end there.

It is said that five days later, when Wong Long-wai was enjoying fried crab at a seafood restaurant in Yau Ma Tei, he ran into Chan Yiu-hing, who was known as the "Tiger of Wan Chai".

Chan Yiu-hing turned out to be a loyal fan of Anita Mui. As soon as he heard that Wong Long-wai was there, he grabbed a cleaver from the kitchen without saying a word, rushed to Wong Long-wai's table, and hacked him to pieces.

This is a true story, because the image of the blade embedding in the shoulder blade was captured by paparazzi and made the front page of the Oriental Daily the next day.

Even more outrageous, after Huang Langwei was admitted to the hospital, while he was receiving an IV drip late at night, two masked men broke into his ward with handguns and fired three shots at him.

It is said that at the moment the bullet pierced his heart, Anita Mui's "Rouge" was being replayed on the hospital room TV.

The drama of this scene was so absurd that even Wong Jing exclaimed it was more ridiculous than his own films.

This absurdity is simply the norm nowadays.

Because this matter wasn't over yet, a few months later, when Chen Yaoxing went to participate in a racing competition, six people suddenly appeared and fired several shots at him.

A slapping incident in a karaoke bar unexpectedly escalated into a life-or-death battle between several major factions.

The complexities and darkness of Hong Kong's entertainment industry were fully revealed in this series of events.

At that time, the entanglement between Hong Kong's entertainment industry and the triads was like twin vines.

Andy Lau was filmed with a man pointing a finger at his head.

Jackie Chan was hunted down for refusing to act.

Chow Yun-fat hired twelve bodyguards when filming.

Mrs. Xiang herself always keeps a satellite phone in her makeup case.

And Anita Mui, the main figure in this incident, fled to Thailand for half a year to avoid trouble.

These things seem incredibly unbelievable to later generations, like something out of a movie, but this was indeed the norm for survival in Hong Kong during that era.

And this is indeed no different from a movie, because Wong Jing once said:

"We're not making a gangster movie, we *are* the gangster world."

Jiang Xian had no intention of escalating the situation. After finishing their meal, he accompanied Zhu Lin back to the hotel. Not long after, Fu Qi called the hotel.

"I had already gone to bed when I suddenly heard about this."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Jiang Xian said somewhat apologetically, "I didn't expect this to happen. I'm sorry to have troubled you." "It's alright, as long as nothing unexpected happened. This place is different from the mainland; we need to be extra careful everywhere," Fu Qi instructed over the phone. "You and your wife should rest well. I'll send a car to pick you up tomorrow at noon and take you to see the person you need to see."

"it is good."

Jiang Xian hung up the phone, feeling a pang of emotion. He had only been here for a day and had already encountered such trouble. It was clear how difficult it must be for those who had stayed here to fight for a long time.

The following day, Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin got into the car and met up with Fu Qi at the hotel.

There was also a man who looked to be around forty years old present. Fu Qi introduced him to Jiang Xian:

"This is Mr. Chen Rongmei, the owner of Xinbao Cinemas."

"This is Mr. Jiang Xian from the mainland. Mr. Chen should have heard of him."

“How could I not recognize him?” Chen Rongmei was very interested as soon as she saw Jiang Xian. “I had a full schedule today, but as soon as I heard that Mr. Jiang wanted to see me, I immediately canceled all my plans. I have not only watched Mr. Jiang’s movies and TV series, but I am also a loyal reader of Mr. Jiang’s books, especially his book ‘The Game of Heaven’. I have read it again and again. I even brought it with me this time, hoping that Mr. Jiang would sign it for me.”

As she spoke, Chen Rongmei took a copy of "The Heavenly Game" from her subordinate. It was published by Writers Publishing House, and it was not easy to get one in Hong Kong. This showed that Chen Rongmei was not just talking, but was really interested in the book.

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind."

Chen Rongmei reciprocated with a gift, and Jiang Xian returned the favor. "I didn't know what gift to bring for Mr. Chen this time. Later, my wife reminded me to bring a set of my published works for Mr. Chen. At first, I was worried that Mr. Chen would not like it, and I was a little uneasy. Now I feel much more relaxed."

"Oh, what an honor, what an honor."

Both groups exchanged polite words and sat down.

This Chan Wing-mei is the owner of New Treasure Cinemas, now the fourth largest cinema chain in Hong Kong, a new chain that emerged from the "Big Three" Golden Harvest, Golden Princess, and D&B Cinemas.

Xinbao has two bosses: Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong, the second boss who ran away from Jin Gongzhu.

People in the film industry refer to them as "Prince Chen" and "Prince Zhong" respectively, because these two are descendants of the Chen Junyan family and the Feng Chengbing family.

Chen Rongmei's family, Chen Junyan's family, consisted of six brothers in the previous generation, whose ancestral home was Fujian Province.

In the 1920s, the eldest brother, Chen Qiaozhi, went to Manila to work alone and earned millions in just a few years. Later, Chen Junyan and his four older brothers joined their eldest brother and invested in clothing factories and grocery stores.

By the 1940s, the six brothers had become well-known wealthy businessmen in Manila, having established the famous Nan Yuan Trading Company.

In the 1960s, the sixth son, Chen Junyan, returned to Hong Kong to develop his career.

Back when purchasing a commercial building only cost a few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars, Chan Chun-yin returned to Hong Kong with at least ten million Hong Kong dollars to invest. Because he liked watching movies, he first bought a piece of land in Moreton Terrace to open the first New Metropole Theatre. He then bought land in Sheffield Road and Causeway Bay to expand the Paramount Theatre and the President Theatre.

When people in the Hong Kong film industry saw that a big fish had arrived, they all wanted to squeeze some money out of him.

At that time, Run Run Shaw went to deceive the young Chen Junyan, saying:

"Fool, you're opening three cinemas in the same district so quickly, aren't you just competing with yourself?"

"Besides, do you even have the film source?"

"Listen to me, I'll give you 50,000 yuan a month. You rent out three theaters to me for ten years. Shaw Brothers is famous for its abundant film resources. We'll rent them and show different movies every month, so you won't have to worry about film sources or audiences."

Chen Junyan had already planned to sign the contract, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he quickly called his five older brothers.

Chen Qiaozhi knew immediately that her sixth brother had been deceived by her sixth uncle:
"A fixed rent of 50,000 yuan for ten years? You must be a fool. If Run Run Shaw really wants to rent your theater, tell him to sign a three-year contract, and then consider renewing it after three years based on the increase in land value and ticket prices."

Just before going to the law firm to sign the contract, Chen Junyan told Run Run Shaw his elder brother's advice. When Run Run Shaw saw that the silly boy had come to his senses, he immediately refused to sign the contract and ran away.

Afterwards, Chan Chun-yan opened the Happy Theatre in Jordan and the Fu Du Theatre in Kwun Tong. The five theatres formed a first-class theatre chain in Hong Kong in the 1960s. They collaborated with Thai organizations to produce movies like "A Good Wife at Home". It was common for the theatres to be packed. Chan Chun-yan even specially invited Run Run Shaw to visit, which made Sir Run Run Shaw very envious.

In the mid-1960s, just as Chen Junyan was preparing to make his mark, devastating news came from Manila: his eldest, second, and third elder brothers had all passed away.

Chen Junyan had no choice but to give up the Hong Kong theater business and return to take charge of the Nanyuan Trading Company. The five theaters were then leased to several theater chains, including Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and Broadway.

Today, Chan Chun-yan is already in his sixties and no longer has the energy to return to Hong Kong to run a cinema chain. Therefore, he has recommended the second generation of his family to return to Hong Kong to continue to be involved in the film business, namely Chan Wing-mei.

Chen Rongmei was from the second wife's family. When the second generation of the Nanyuan family divided their property, these five theaters in Hong Kong were allocated to him. Therefore, he was known as the "Prince of Nanyuan" in the Hong Kong film industry.

However, the Chan family has always leased out their five cinemas instead of managing them themselves. This time, it's unclear how the Freedom Association persuaded him to return to Hong Kong to take charge, reclaim the leases of all the cinemas, and spend 120 million to buy another ten independent cinemas, thus establishing the New Treasure Cinemas chain, which is very powerful.

It was precisely the emergence of his New Treasure Cinemas chain that broke the previous pattern of three major cinema chains in Hong Kong. By the 90s, Hong Kong already had five cinema chains operating side by side.

Golden Princess, Jiahe, Yonggao, Xinbao, Dongfang.

As for the other boss of Xinbao, Feng Bingzhong, the Feng family has a deep-rooted influence in Hong Kong. Previously, he co-founded Golden Princess with Lei Juekun. Investment, distribution and overseas operations were all handled by Feng Bingzhong. Moreover, it was under his persuasion that Tsui Hark left Cinema City and decided to start his own film studio, which strengthened the satellite company lineup of Golden Princess.

He and Chan Wing-mei have a very good personal relationship, and he has been personally managing all five cinemas of the New Treasure Cinema Circuit.

However, only Chen Rongmei came today, and for Jiang Xian, getting Chen Rongmei was enough.

"I heard from Mr. Fu that Mr. Jiang wants to come to Hong Kong to do some film business?" Chen Rongmei asked.

"Yes."

Jiang Xian readily admitted, "I want to start an independent film production company in Hong Kong, but I'm unfamiliar with the place and people there. I know that films from small film companies can't get released on the three major theater chains: D&B, Golden Harvest, and Golden Princess. However, I heard that Boss Chen has one of them."

"My cinema chain has just been established."

Chen Rongmei was very interested in Jiang Xian. Xinbao had just been established and did not produce its own movies. He was short of "good generals" and how could he not covet Jiang Xian, who had written two famous Hong Kong film and television works, "Shaolin Temple" and "Huo Yuanjia"? But no matter how much he coveted him, he told the truth.

"In terms of scale and foundation, I'm afraid I can't compare to the three major cinema chains. How big of a film business are you planning to get into, Mr. Jiang?"

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Please give me your guidance, Mr. Chen."

“Mr. Jiang is new here and not very familiar with Hong Kong,” Fu Ming added.

Chen Rongmei lit a cigar, took a puff, and slowly said:
"Then let me speak, Mr. Jiang. I'm not trying to show off, I'll just say what I think. It's actually very difficult for an independent film company to survive in Hong Kong. D&B Films, Golden Harvest, and Golden Princess cinema chains monopolize the entire Hong Kong film business. If you want to produce independent films, you need connections overseas. In short, you need to be able to attract hot money. Only when hot money comes in can the film business take off. And that's not all. At the same time, you also need to be able to get released in theaters. If the release date is bad, no matter how good your film is, you won't earn a penny."

(End of this chapter)