1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 272 Before the game
"Xiao Zhai, I remember there were twenty-six of you here this time, right?"

Zhou Xuejun found Zhai Yuan early in the morning, and the two went downstairs to order a bowl of tofu pudding. While asking the boss to bring a few more fried dough sticks, he began to ask.

Zhai Yuan poured the pickled mustard into the bowl and scooped two spoonfuls of chili oil and mixed it with the tofu pudding. "It's the 26th, right? What's wrong?"

"It's rare for people in the South to eat like you. I went to Hong Kong before and saw them adding sugar to their tofu pudding. It made me numb."

Zhou Xuejun chuckled and pulled out a plastic bag from his briefcase. Inside was a pile of colorful cards. "Here, twenty-six tickets for Workers' Stadium. Entrance is at six this afternoon. Don't miss out and waste them."

Only then did Zhai Yuan remember that he had suddenly decided to go to Workers' Stadium to join in the fun yesterday.

"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten."

Zhai Yuan took the plastic bag and took a few glances at it.

The ticket design for Workers' Stadium is quite simple. It is a long strip of cardboard divided into two areas. The left side has the words "Workers' Stadium" printed on it in blue, and the right side has the stand seat numbers written on it in white. There is a red stamp in the middle for the start time, and the four eye-catching words "No bags allowed" are handwritten in pen at the top.

Zhai Yuan had never watched a serious football game, so he asked curiously, "Why are you not allowed to bring bags?"

Zhou Xuejun joked, "I'm afraid you Hong Kong people can't stand losing, so I'll put two bricks in my bag and throw them on the court."

Zhai Yuan saw that this guy was quite confident and guessed that the Chinese national football team was indeed quite good in the past two years, otherwise the fans would not have said this.

"How much are the tickets?"

"150 each, for ."

"Come on, I'll give you four thousand and you can treat me to a bowl of tofu pudding."

"to make!"

Zhou Xuejun laughed twice and didn't bother to be polite with Zhai Yuan.

In order to get tickets for this group of Hong Kong compatriots, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles also had to talk to the Sports Committee, and finally squeezed out more than 20 seats, which were bought with real money.

Zhou Xuejun added: "I'll issue you an invoice later. In fact, the ticket price for Workers' Stadium is not that expensive on normal days. Five or ten yuan is the highest. For this World Cup qualifier, the organizers have raised the price to a crazy level."

Zhai Yuan didn't feel anything: "It's not bad."

Zhou Xuejun snorted, "You speak Yanjing dialect so fluently that I almost forgot that you are a big boss in Hong Kong. A hundred or so yuan for the ticket is really not expensive for you."

Zhai Yuan ate and chatted with him. After eating two bowls of tofu pudding, he broke out in a sweat and burped while rubbing his stomach.

They had agreed to go watch a game together in the afternoon, and they said goodbye in front of the restaurant.

Zhai Yuan returned to the hotel with his packed breakfast and knocked on Li Saifeng's door.

It was Weng Meiling who opened the door. Moon Lee and Wong Siu Fung were sitting on the bed in the room. They turned around and looked at him.

Zhai Yuan had originally planned to maintain his relationship with Moon Lee alone, but seeing the current situation, he knew that it was probably hopeless.

He handed the lunch box inside: "I brought some breakfast for Ah Feng. I didn't know you were here, otherwise I would have bought two more."

Wang Xiaofeng, who was sitting at the head of the bed, said with a smile: "The Ah Feng that Mr. Zhai is talking about must be me!"

Zhai Yuan didn't know how she, an artist from ATV, could be so close to Moon Lee and Barbara Yung, two women from TVB. He smiled and said, "Of course it's you. Does the salty tofu pudding suit your taste?"

Wang Xiaofeng immediately frowned and waved his hands repeatedly, as if he wanted to take it away quickly.

Moon Lee walked over briskly, took the lunch box with a smile, said thank you quietly, and then asked, "Would you like to come in and sit down?"

Seeing that Wang Xiaofeng and Weng Meiling had no intention of moving away, Zhai Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, "No need. I have other things to take care of. I came here just because I was afraid you were hungry."

When Maggie Cheung heard him suddenly switch to bubbling sounds, she shuddered unconsciously.

Wang Xiaofeng, who was standing by, kept rubbing her arms and saying she couldn't stand it anymore.

However, the person involved, Moon Lee, still liked this, especially since she was the only one among the three women in the room who received this treatment.

Before leaving, Zhai Yuan said, "Gather downstairs this afternoon for the company's team building. Please watch football. Aung, remember to wear a hat and mask..."

The door is closed.

Wang Xiaofeng jumped off the bed barefoot: "Team building, what's so fun about playing football?"

Weng Meiling said: "It seems like the mainland team is playing against the Hong Kong team."

Wang Xiaofeng curled her lips and said, "The Xiangjiang team is done. Any of the one billion people in the mainland can beat them."

They knew even less about football. At most, they knew that Hong Kong had a star football team formed by Chen Shilong, Zeng Zhiwei, and Tan Yonglin. They thought that Hong Kong's provincial and municipal teams were probably at this level.

Weng Meiling nodded in agreement and said, "Grandpa is a bit of a bully."

Moon Lee did not join in the conversation about football and just opened the lunch box.

Wang Xiaofeng stretched her neck to get closer and saw that the tofu pudding inside was not only sweet but also had a few pieces of pastry on it. She rolled her eyes and said, "Tsk! Salty tofu pudding again?"

Moon Lee smiled sweetly, handed the cake over and asked, "Do you want some?"

Wang Xiaofeng waved her hand: "Mr. Zhai bought it specially for you, how can I be so lucky as to enjoy it?"

Maggie Cheung sighed and said with the tone of someone who has experienced it: "Men are only so considerate when they are pursuing you. Once they succeed in getting you and going to bed with you, they will immediately become like a different person."

Li Saifeng was affected by her emotions and suddenly felt that the tofu pudding in her mouth no longer tasted good.

Wang Xiaofeng laughed at the side and said, "Not necessarily. I used to live with a boyfriend for three years. He would get up early every day to cook dinner and wake me up. He would pick me up from the set after get off work and clean the house when he got home. He was like a housewife."

Weng Meiling asked curiously, "Why aren't you married?"

Wang Xiaofeng shrugged and said in a nonchalant tone: "I was a heavy smoker and drinker at the time, and his parents didn't agree. Then I made pornographic films and worked as a dancer in nightclubs. No matter how good a man is, I couldn't stand it!"

Both Maggie Cheung and Moon Lee were silent.

After spending the past two days together, they have a general understanding of Wang Xiaofeng's experience and feel quite a bit of sympathy for her.

This woman, who was about the same age as them, was born in a shanty town in Tiu Keng Leng, Hong Kong. She came from a typical poor family where her parents favored boys over girls. She was often subjected to domestic violence since she was a child, and even tried to hang herself at the age of 6. Fortunately, the rope broke halfway through the attempt and she survived. However, her parents beat her again when they found out, and their attitude did not change at all.

When she was 14 years old, Wang Xiaofeng started working to support her family. Naturally, she hung out with a group of gangsters. Smoking and drinking were the norm. She even once went out to fight with the gangsters and accidentally killed someone, so she was charged with murder. Although she was not convicted in the end, she became more self-destructive.

Later, she finally made some money as a dancer and excitedly took it home to her parents, hoping for a word of praise. Instead, her parents scolded her and said she was bringing ruin to the family.

It was not until two years ago that she was discovered by a scout and joined ATV as an artist that she gradually climbed out of the mud pit.

Maggie Cheung has become much more open-minded recently.

It's not just because after coming to the mainland, I discovered that so many fans care about me, but another reason is that I was shocked by Wang Xiaofeng's experience.

This woman, who is two years younger than her, is so miserable and still trying hard to climb up. What does her own problems matter?
Wang Xiaofeng sighed and said regretfully: "If only I had met my ex-boyfriend this year."

This year, Wang Xiaofeng shined among the new actors in the film industry. The film "The Wrong Mandarin Duck" starring her was highly praised by film critics. Now she has been signed by Jiuyi Entertainment and successfully escaped from the sea of suffering. Moon Lee imagined a Qiong Yao drama and asked tearfully, "Can't I go back to find him?"

"You bastard! He's already emigrated, where can we find him?" Wang Xiaofeng waved her hands and said, "In a word, the most important thing about boyfriends and girlfriends is money. Women without money are like me. When they meet someone they like, they have to work as a dancer to support their family. Men without money are even more helpless. They can only watch their girlfriends become dancers."

Wang Xiaofeng smiled at Li Saifeng and said, "Zhai Yuan treats you well. It's better than marrying a poor guy in the future, or a rich guy who is sixty years old and can't even raise a flag!"

Weng Meiling disagreed, saying, "Zhai Yuan is very fickle..."

Wang Xiaofeng raised her hands and cursed, "If I'm worth over 100 million by the time I'm 20, I'll have to hire a gigolo every night. In other words, if I run into a rich young man at 20, not only will I have fun but I'll also get money. Is that true love? Foolish!"

Moon Lee was indoctrinated by this thought, and she was in a daze, pinching the cake, with her big eyes full of wisdom...

…………

Wang Xiaofeng's idea is quite popular among young girls in Hong Kong.

At this time, there was a woman in the film industry who had similar ideas.

In a gym on Hong Kong Island.

Twenty-three-year-old Rosamund Kwan was sweating profusely on the treadmill, her temples wet with sweat and sticking to her forehead. She was only wearing a sports bra and tights, and her exposed skin was crystal clear and shiny.

The treadmill dashboard showed that she had been exercising for seventy minutes.

The female personal trainer and best friend beside her couldn't stand it anymore, so she handed her a glass of salt water and said to her, "Jia Hui, it's just a filming, there's no need to risk your life like this, right?"

Rosamund Kwan slowed down, took the water cup and took two sips, panting slightly, "This time I'm going to the mainland to film a drama for Jiuyi. Maybe I can meet their boss Zhai Yuan. I specially set aside half a month to exercise and leave a good impression on them."

The female personal trainer said in a long tone, "So you want to go fishing for rich guys... Weren't you still having a hot relationship with Chen Shilong some time ago?"

"His wife is too troublesome. She keeps an eye on me like a thief. In fact, I never take the initiative."

Rosamund Kwan wiped her sweat and said unhappily, "Besides, he can't give me any good roles. The heroine of the movie "Summer Lucky Stars" that is being filmed is Wu Huizhong, and he only lets me play a cameo role. I am also taken advantage of by a bunch of monkey guys. They asked me to go into the bathtub without wearing underwear and get wet to seduce me. That's why I refuse to continue to play with them."

The female personal trainer asked: "Will Jiuyi be willing to be your leading lady?"

Guan Zhilin smiled and said, "Yes, Xu Qi is the director and let me play the leading female role."

The female personal trainer exclaimed, "You've finally made it."

Although Rosamund Kwan is from a film family, her parents' resources were all in the former Great Wall Film Company and they couldn't help their daughter much.

Therefore, in the few years since her debut, she has been stuck in the supporting role circle. In TV dramas, she is overshadowed by Ni Shibei and Wen Xueli, and in movies, there are women like Zhong Fuhong and Wu Huizhong.

So when Wang Jin, his former bootlicker, came to her and asked her to play the role of Thirteenth Aunt in the 1991 film "Once Upon a Time in China", Guan Zhilin agreed without hesitation.

However, he did not go to the mainland with the crew, but made an appointment to go there in June. He went to the gym in advance to lose the fat on his belly that had accumulated due to the recent lack of filming.

After getting off the treadmill, Rosamund Kwan did several sets of stretching exercises accompanied by a female personal trainer.

When I stepped on the scale barefoot and saw the number clearly, I couldn't help but scream: "Oh my god! I'm still 120 pounds. Can I lose 100 pounds by the end of the month?"

The female personal trainer looked at her curvy figure with a wasp waist and slender legs and was quite speechless: "That's about it. If you lose any more weight, your C-cup will become a B-cup, like a matchstick."

Rosamund Kwan looked down at her cleavage, then raised her head and asked her personal trainer, "Would it be better if I ate a few more papayas?"

The female personal trainer smiled and said, "Papaya is useless. Why not wait until you catch that rich guy Zhai Yuan and let him do it a few more times to get the effect quickly..."

…………

Yanjing City.

Kaizi Zhai Yuan brought all the crew members and walked into the Workers' Stadium after checking their tickets at around six o'clock.

Xu Qi and the others were inevitably shocked by the magnificent condition of Workers' Stadium.

Hong Kong also has sports venues. There is no need to say much about the indoor venue Hung Hom, which was built not long ago. The largest outdoor stadium, the Hong Kong Stadium, covers an area of 5 hectares.

But compared with the Workers' Stadium, one of the ten major buildings in Yanjing City, which covers an area of 35 hectares and can accommodate people, the Xiangjiang Stadium still looks small.

"It would be nice to have the opportunity to hold a concert here."

Zhai Yuan looked at the venue which was almost the same as he remembered, and thought about making a few singers famous.

Zhou Xuejun, who was walking ahead, glanced back at him. "That's a nice thought. How much are you planning to charge for the tickets? Eighty or one hundred? It won't even cover the venue rental costs. We're definitely going to lose money."

Zhai Yuan thought about it and it made sense. People's consumption level is still a bit low now. Today's ticket price of 150 is already considered high. Holding a commercial concert is too advanced.

We have to wait until she reaches the level of Ah Mei in her prime to be able to hold a venue with 100,000 people.

It was a bit late when we entered the venue at six o'clock.

At a glance, there were crowds of people all around, and if you wanted to speak, you would have to shout to be heard.

Among the huge crowds, there were quite a few fans who came all the way from the mainland and unfurled banners that read "Support the Hong Kong Team."

Zhou Xuejun pointed to the group of Hong Kong fans on the other side and shouted at the top of his voice: "Don't switch seats over there, sit with our national football fans."

The surrounding mainland fans all looked up at Zhai Yuan and his team. When they heard that they were from Hong Kong, they crossed their shoulders and looked at him provocatively.

Zhai Yuan thought to himself that it was unnecessary for you to shout like that.

Before the game starts.

Zhou Xuejun had a confident expression on his face, and even took the time to pull Zhai Yuan aside and said, "You guys from the Hong Kong team have a good mentality. You even went to the Temple of Heaven as a group this morning. You probably knew you couldn't win."

Zhai Yuan asked: "What about our national football team?"

Zhou Xuejun said proudly, "The national football team held a meeting after breakfast to formulate tactics. I heard from the leaders of the Sports Commission that considering we're playing our fellow Hong Kong compatriots, we'll just have a casual friendly match. A draw wouldn't show the national football team's strength, and winning by a lot would upset the Hong Kong team, so we'll try to limit it to just two goals against you this time."

He wasn't the only one who said that.

The audience around them also seemed to be excited.

"Hong Kong is a small city, it can't produce many strong players, just play with him to preserve your strength."

"We're lucky this year. In the qualifiers, we're playing Hong Kong, and Brunei is playing Malaysia. If we qualify, we'll represent Asia in next year's World Cup."

"We should have qualified last year, but Saudi Arabia fixed the match and let New Zealand win, which forced us to play an extra play-off."

"Let's see. With Coach Zeng leading the team, Lu Jianren, Zhu Bo, Jia Xiuquan, and the others will probably be able to stand on the World Cup podium this year..."

Zhai Yuan listened to the discussions around him and was so moved that he almost cried.

When have our football fans ever been so confident?

(End of this chapter)