1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Nothing more was said that night, and dawn had broken out in Bolin!
The plane tickets back to China have been booked. Around 5 p.m., Cheng Xuemin and the others can stay in Bolin for most of the day.

With nothing else to do, Cheng Xuemin suggested that everyone take a good stroll around Bolin.

I'll also buy some imported items to take back to my family!

The young comrades Zhu Lin, Gong Xue, and Li Lianjie all praised it, as did Deputy Factory Director Xie Jin and Zhao.

It's not easy to travel abroad or visit Bolin.

If we don't bring back something meaningful as a souvenir, wouldn't this trip to Bolin be a waste?
Director Hu Jian of China Film Group originally wanted to try to pull some strings with the organizers to ask if they could at least give out some souvenirs or something!

But just as he was about to leave, the Japanese film company, Yamato, came knocking on his door again.

Hu Jian felt it was inappropriate to keep the Japanese dragging on any longer, so he excused himself from the situation and asked Cheng Xuemin to deal with the Japanese for a while.

Fortunately, Cheng Xuemin was also good at foreign languages, so he could communicate with the Japanese.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xuemin's face lit up with joy. He had been worried that the Japanese would relentlessly pursue Director Hu and expose the Tai Chi matter.

That's perfect!
Cheng Xuemin really wanted to have a good talk with these old Japanese devils who were used to getting free meals.

"Old Xie, come along and help vet Cheng, make sure he's not fooled by the Japanese!" Director Hu was still a little worried, fearing that Cheng Xuemin was too young and lacked relevant diplomatic experience, so he asked the veteran comrade Xie Jin to go along and give him some guidance.

Xie Jin couldn't help but laugh. Old Hu was worried that Xiao Cheng didn't have much experience.

If you, Lao Hu, were to take this position, we would be condemned as traitors to the nation.

Despite his inner delight, Xie Jin nodded knowingly and gave a reply.

……

On a sofa in the hotel lobby, Taro Sato, the representative of Japan's Yamato Film Company, was anxiously fiddling with his briefcase.

Seeing Xie Jin and Cheng Xuemin approaching, he felt a sudden jolt of fear!
He clearly arranged to meet Hu Sang from the China Film Group, so why didn't he see Hu Sang come along?

On the contrary, the young creator of Tai Chi, whose name should be Cheng Xuemin, is the one who...

A bad feeling crept into his heart, but he immediately stood up, put on a fake smile, and reached out to shake hands with Xie Jin, whom he had dealt with before, but Xie Jin ignored him!

"Mr. Sato, our Director Hu is out of the hotel on business, but he has instructed our Tai Chi chief creator, Comrade Cheng Xuemin, to conduct the next round of negotiations with you!"

"Hu Sang isn't here?" Although Sato Taro had already guessed it, he was even more surprised when Xie Jin said this!

"But it doesn't matter, we've already made an agreement with Hu Sang!"

"Mr. Cheng, please take good care of me!"

After bowing deeply to Cheng Xuemin again, Sato Taro took out an agreement from his briefcase, pushed it in front of Cheng Xuemin, and continued:

"This is the preliminary cooperation plan that Hu Sang and I have drafted. Please take a look, Mr. Cheng!"

Then, speaking fluent Chinese, he continued to explain, "We are willing to act as the global distributor for 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' and 'Tai Chi' free of charge. All you need to do is provide copies, and we will cover all the advertising costs."

Cheng Xuemin didn't even open the agreement. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his eyes full of mockery, and asked, "Mr. Sato, do you think we look like fools?"

Sato Taro's smile froze, and he asked guiltily, "Cheng-san, what do you mean by this? We genuinely want to promote cultural exchange between China and Japan; we have no ulterior motives whatsoever."

"No selfish motives!" Cheng Xuemin sneered, picked up the agreement, flipped through a couple of pages, and pointed, saying, "The agreement states that 'Party B has perpetual distribution rights' and also stipulates that 'Party A may not authorize any third party.' Is this what you call no selfish motives? You want to take our copyright for free and then resell it to other publishers to make money, right?"

Sato Taro's expression changed instantly; he hadn't expected Cheng Xuemin to be able to understand their Japanese contract terms.

But he still tried to remain calm and said, "Mr. Cheng, this is just a preliminary draft. We can discuss it further. If you agree, we can add more money, five hundred thousand US dollars, how about that?"

Knowing that these are the creators of Tai Chi, they have been secretly selling distribution rights to film companies in other countries for the past two days.

So since Hu Jian from China Film Group asked him to talk to him, he must have already figured out their intention to get the Tai Chi copyright for free.

But I still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking, what if a miracle happens?

"Five hundred thousand US dollars?" Cheng Xuemin shook his head as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world and asked with amusement, "Mr. Sato, do you know how much the North American rights to 'Tai Chi' sold for?"

"Ten million US dollars!"

In front of the Japanese, Cheng Xuemin displayed the arrogance of a petty person who had achieved his goal. He held up one finger and emphasized again, "A full ten million US dollars!"

"There were also 800,000 from Britain, 800,000 from France, and even 1.5 million from South Korea!"

"You're offering $500,000 to buy global rights? Do you think Chinese filmmakers are easy to fool, or do you think you Japanese are too clever?"

Taro Sato broke out in a cold sweat, and was utterly shocked by the data that this young Chinese man had revealed!

Ten million US dollars were sold in North America?

Other hawkish countries, such as France, also contributed $800,000, and even South Korea contributed $1.5 million.

Their film company, Daiwa, is indeed optimistic about the Chinese film Tai Chi, so they want to follow past practice and get their hands on it for free.

They then resell them to North America, to South Korea, and to Southeast Asia!

But I really didn't expect that the global copyright of Tai Chi would sell for such an astronomical price!
Moreover, this young Chinese man has now figured out the state of the international market, so it's no longer possible for him to fool people with the guise of "cultural exchange."

So now we can only go with the second option!
Sato Taro gritted his teeth and said, "Cheng-san, since that's the case! Our Yamato Film Company will offer one million US dollars, and we only need the rights to the Japanese domestic market, how about that?"

"Too late!" Cheng Xuemin leaned back in his chair, his tone calm and slightly mocking, and said, "I've already sold the Japanese rights to 'Tai Chi'."

"It was sold to your American 'friend,' Mr. Brian's company. He paid five million dollars, five times more than your one million."

"Five million?!" Sato Taro jumped to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound, and asked in utter disbelief, "Impossible! Brian is just a small company owner, he can't possibly come up with five million!"

"You can call him and ask!" Cheng Xuemin shrugged indifferently, and continued, "But I advise you not to call!"

"Brian has already partnered with Columbia Pictures and is preparing to sell the Japanese rights to 'Tai Chi' to your Yamato Pictures!"

"Oh, no, it should be that we're practically forcing you to buy it. Because if you don't buy it, Yamato Pictures' movies will never be able to enter the North American market."

Sato Taro's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He finally realized that from the very beginning, these Chinese had seen through his true intentions.

While having Hu Jian of China Film Group hold them back, they also colluded with the American Brian to set them up, and then used the North American market to blackmail Yamato Pictures.

This tactic of "using someone else's knife to kill" is even more ruthless and decisive than directly refusing them!

If Brian joins forces with Columbia Pictures to take down Yamato Films, then Yamato Films will really have no other choice.

We can only accept our fate.

It truly proves the old Chinese saying: "Too clever by half!"

"You...you are destroying Sino-Japanese friendship!" Sato Taro trembled with rage, but could only use "friendship" to mask his fury. "I'm going to complain to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that you have broken your promise and gone back on your word!"

"You're the ones who broke your promise!" Cheng Xuemin stood up, his eyes icy. "When you wanted to get the copyright for free, why didn't you talk about friendship?"

"Now that we've been outmaneuvered by the Americans, we're using friendship as a shield. Don't we find that ridiculous?" Cheng Xuemin waved to the waiter next to him. "Please ask this gentleman to leave. We have other things to attend to."

When Sato Taro was "asked" to leave the hotel by the waiter, he was still shouting "I want to file a complaint," but no one paid any attention to him.

Xie Jin watched his retreating figure and couldn't help but laugh, "Xuemin, your move was too ruthless! You've completely outmaneuvered the Japanese!"

“To deal with people who want to get something for nothing, you have to use ruthless methods.” Cheng Xuemin shrugged and said, “But it’s still a bit unpleasant that Brian made six million.”

When the two returned to their room, their aunt, Gu Qiuna, also came to say goodbye. She had to rush back to the United States to help Cheng Xuemin with the chart promotion and release of his new song, "Yesterday Once More."

Upon hearing about Taro Sato, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brian isn't stupid. He knows the potential of the Japanese market, which is why he dared to spend five million US dollars to buy the rights."

"However, it might not be so easy for him to force a sale to Yamato Pictures... Yamato Pictures has its own theater chain in North America, and they might fight him to the death."

"It's more like a fight to the death, otherwise letting that foreign devil Brian make money would be even more painful than me losing money!" Cheng Xuemin laughed rather unkindly. This is truly satisfying!
We said goodbye to my aunt and invited her to come back to China for the Chinese New Year. They were waiting for her in Yanjing!
Gu Qiuna was also reluctant to part with him, saying that when she returned to China for the New Year, she would definitely bring back a remarkable achievement for Cheng Xuemin.

She has high hopes for the pop song "Yesterday Once More" in the North American market!

Cheng Xuemin led everyone on a day trip around Bolin, and almost everyone bought some souvenirs.

When we met up with Hu Jian, this old comrade actually managed to get some souvenirs from the organizers.

That's more like it!

It's one thing for the organizers of the Bolin Film Festival not to give out consolation prizes, but it would be even more disrespectful if they didn't even give out any souvenirs.

At 5 p.m., Cheng Xuemin and his group boarded a flight to Hong Kong, officially ending their trip to Bolin and returning to China!
Hu Jian sat by the window, watching Berlin gradually shrink outside, still talking about the release of "Romance on Lushan Mountain".

This trip to Bolin yielded no results, leaving the old comrade in a very low mood!

Cheng Xuemin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The struggle has only just begun!
Because he knew that this return to China would bring him not only honor, but also a more arduous task—to break the monopoly of China Film Group and bring more Chinese films to the world.

……

As the plane landed at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, dusk was falling.

Looking out the porthole, Cheng Xuemin saw the brightly lit Victoria Harbour in the distance, a stark contrast to the tranquility of Bolin.

Hu Jian sat beside him, his face still gloomy. Thinking about how "Romance on Lushan Mountain" had failed to win any awards in Bolin, he felt a tightness in his chest and had no heart to appreciate the beautiful scenery outside the window.

"Director Hu, don't overthink it. There might be good news from Hong Kong." Cheng Xuemin handed over a bottle of mineral water, trying to ease the tension.

Hu Jian took the water but didn't turn it on. He just sighed and said, "What good news could there be? If Great Wall Film Studio doesn't like 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' either, then we've really wasted our trip."

As soon as the group stepped out of the arrival hall, they saw a familiar figure.

Fu Qi from Great Wall Film Company walked towards them with a big smile and greeted them, "Director Hu, Teacher Cheng, Factory Director Zhao, Director Xie, you must be tired from your journey!"

Hu Jian was taken aback, not expecting Fu Qi to personally pick him up at the airport. His expression softened slightly: "Mr. Fu, you're too kind. It's too kind of you to make this trip."

"Of course!" Fu Qi smiled and patted Cheng Xuemin on the shoulder, then lowered his voice to announce the good news, "The movie 'The Haunted Cop Shop' has grossed over four million Hong Kong dollars in just over ten days in Hong Kong!"
Yesterday it just surpassed the Xu brothers' "Money Crazy" (a popular Chinese film), and at this rate, it could easily reach eight million before the Spring Festival!

"Four million?!" Cheng Xuemin was also somewhat surprised!
He originally estimated that "The Haunted Cop Shop" would be good if it could break three million, but he did not expect it to surpass the classic works of the Hui Brothers.

Huang Jianzhong, listening nearby, had his eyes light up and asked, "Mr. Fu, is this true? Our 'Human Scares Ghosts' actually has such high box office numbers?"

“Of course it’s true!” Fu Qi took out a box office report and handed it to Cheng Xuemin, saying, “Our theaters are still adding screenings, and the evening shows are basically sold out.”

"Audiences say that the comedic style of 'The Haunted Cop Shop' is fresh and much better than those old-fashioned ghost movies."

Hu Jian, listening from the side, felt even more uneasy!
Both films were written by Cheng Xuemin, so why did "The Haunted Cop Shop" be a huge hit in Hong Kong while "Romance on Lushan Mountain" flopped in Bolin? The contrast is too glaring.

He forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Fu, things will be much easier for you at Great Wall now!"

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to Teacher Cheng's help, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to produce such a good film!" Fu Qi nodded repeatedly, and seeing that Hu Jian was in low spirits, he quickly changed the subject, "Get in the car first, I've already booked a welcome dinner at the hotel, we can talk about anything while we eat."

I didn't dare ask them about their trip to Bolin, but judging from the expression on the face of the tour leader, Fujian, it probably wasn't good.

On the bus, Fu Qi took the opportunity of handing Cheng Xuemin a document to quietly ask, "Teacher Cheng, how are your results at Bolin?"

Cheng Xuemin glanced at Hu Jian beside him and shook his head, saying, "Not good!"

"Huh?" Fu Qi didn't know how to comfort Cheng Xuemin after hearing his words, so he could only nod and say nothing more.
Hu Jian, who was sitting next to him, looked even more disgusted!
Back at the hotel, at the welcome banquet, Hu Jian remained sullen and didn't say much.

Since neither of them was in a good mood, Cheng Xuemin simply said to Hu Jian:
"Director Hu, Gong Xue and I received an invitation from Guangzhou Pacific Music Company to record the album 'The Bloodstained Glory' on cassette tape. We were thinking of going directly to Guangzhou tomorrow, but it might take a few days before we can return to Yanjing."

"Zhu Lin and Li Lianjie also want to go and see, you see..."

I heard from Gong Xue that Guangzhou Pacific Music Company was interested in producing an album cassette for them. Cheng Xuemin planned to stop by Guangzhou after returning from Bolin and take a look.

Since the contract and remittance slip are still on their way, Cheng Xuemin thought that going to Guangzhou first and then returning to Beijing would be about right.

Hu Jian was worried about how to report the situation of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" to Ding Daming, and he couldn't wait for Cheng Xuemin and the others to go back a few days later. He quickly nodded and said, "Okay! You guys go ahead and do your work! Lao Xie, Lao Zhao, and I will go back to Yanjing first tomorrow, and we'll meet up after you've finished dealing with your business."

The reunion is no longer possible; the exchange group for this trip to Bolin has disbanded right here in Hong Kong!
Moreover, once the contract, which is still en route, arrives in Yanjing and Taiji's actual foreign exchange earnings are made public, it's uncertain what the outcome will be for Hu Jian.

Who knows, they might have to fight Cheng Xuemin to the death?!

"The copyright has been sold for a total of 20.9 million US dollars, of which 10 million came from North America alone."

After everyone went back to rest in private, Cheng Xuemin finally had the opportunity to talk to Fu Qi about Taiji's performance at the Bolin Film Festival.

After all, Fu Qi was one of the few people who knew about the ten million military order!

"How much? Twenty...more than twenty million, US dollars?!"

Fu Qi was puzzled, because when the event ended, Teacher Cheng had given him a wink.

I thought he had something else to say!
Unexpectedly, this was the reason. Fu Qi was so shocked that his eyes bulged out, and he asked with extreme horror, "Teacher Cheng, you're not kidding, are you? That's US dollars!"

"Our Hong Kong film industry hasn't even produced a film with a box office of 20 million Hong Kong dollars, yet you sold the rights to one film for more than 20 million US dollars?"

He's been making films for over thirty years, and the most profitable film he's ever seen only sold its copyright for a few million Hong Kong dollars.

However, Cheng Xuemin's success during his trip to Bolin completely overturned his understanding of "making money from movies".

It's worth noting that over 20 million US dollars is equivalent to over 100 million Hong Kong dollars, which is more than the total annual box office revenue of Hong Kong films!

“Mr. Fu, it was a bit of a fluke! Fortunately, he lived up to everyone’s expectations and fulfilled the hopes of Liao Gong and the others!” Cheng Xuemin nodded with a smile, because they were all capable men under Liao Gong.

Fu Qi's Great Wall Film Company also hopes that the mainland film industry can be reformed so that it can give back to their Hong Kong side.

Therefore, we have always supported the pledge made by Cheng Xuemin and his team this time!
Seeing Cheng Xuemin repeatedly say he was lucky, I knew that although it was shocking, it was indeed done!

That's over 20 million US dollars!

Fu Qi was so shocked that he was speechless, and could only keep saying, "Teacher Cheng, you...you are truly...truly a force to be reckoned with! I am truly impressed!"

Fu Qi, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, abruptly changed the subject, his eyes filled with earnestness, and said, "Teacher Cheng, have you ever thought about developing your career in Hong Kong?"

"At that time, Great Wall Pictures will be willing to fully support you. Whether it's funding or distribution channels, we can discuss whatever you want!"

"Even... the overall situation of us left-wing filmmakers can be entrusted to you!"

Cheng Xuemin was stunned, not expecting Fu Qi to extend such a generous offer.

Hong Kong's left-wing filmmakers have long lacked a capable and visionary leader, and Fu Qi clearly recognized his talent and resources.

Moreover, Cheng Xuemin also knew that if the country wanted to generate foreign exchange, Hong Kong would definitely be the vanguard.

He will definitely come back here!

“Mr. Fu, thank you for your trust!” However, Cheng Xuemin hesitated for a moment before saying, “But I can’t agree to your request right now. There might be new arrangements from above after I go back this time. We’ll discuss cooperation again once things are settled.”

Cheng Xuemin was indeed somewhat tempted.

Hong Kong's film industry is more mature than that of the mainland, and its market is more open. If one can establish a foothold here, it will greatly help promote the industrialization of Chinese cinema.

However, he was also aware that his current status was special, and every move he made was related to the film reform in mainland China, so he could not make a decision rashly.

Fu Qi didn't press the matter, and nodded with a smile: "Okay! I'll wait for your news!"

"No matter when you want to come here, the doors of Great Wall Film Studio will always be open for you."

……

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