1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 314 No one understands the epidemic better than me

'To avoid being denied entry, it is advisable to prepare injection paper when traveling, and travel agencies should advise customers to get the injection before departure.'

'Eight new clinics in Hong Kong and Kowloon provide free vaccinations. Citizens who experience diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps should seek medical attention immediately.'

'Three men and two women were suspected of having cholera in Hong Kong today and have been sent to an isolation ward for observation and testing...'

All the entertainment news this year combined is not as hot as the cholera outbreak in mid-July.

In the past, there were only three to five cases of cholera in Hong Kong throughout the year, which would have made the front pages. But this year, for some reason, the number of cases exceeded 30, which touched the hearts of many people.

Even the fourth page of the People's Daily newspaper in the mainland has a special column to keep an eye on the safety of our fellow Hong Kong compatriots.

Zhai Yuan just returned home.

Then I saw Zhai Yao holding a newspaper and reading the contents to Zhao Meizhen.

"The most effective way to prevent cholera is to pay attention to personal, food and environmental hygiene, pay special attention to eating in public places, and avoid close contact with infected people..."

Zhao Meizhen listened solemnly and told the maid, "Maria, when you have time, go to the supermarket and buy some disinfectant. Remember to cook dinner for half an hour longer, and don't put raw or cold food on the table... Forget it, don't go into the kitchen. I'll do it myself later so I can feel more at ease."

Zhai Yuan stood at the door and watched this scene, and found it inexplicably funny.

Sister Zhen is also becoming more and more careful about her life. When she lived in public housing, she was reluctant to throw away rotten food and often doubted her life. This medicine is more effective than enema. Now she is becoming more and more particular.

Good.

"No need to go to the kitchen. I brought some seafood back from Guanji Restaurant. We'll eat together tonight."

Zhai Yuan walked into the living room and said something. Seeing Zhao Meizhen and Zhai Yao turned their heads to look at him, he shook the lunch box in his hand.

Zhai Yao's eyes lit up, and she stood up and asked, "Do you have pan-fried cod?"

"Yes, we also have hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Yao smiled and wanted to unpack, but was stopped by Zhao Meizhen.

Zhao Meizhen was as if facing a formidable enemy: "You bastard! Why did you bring food back from outside? The news said that we can't eat and drink in public places, throw it away quickly!"

“Over a thousand dollars.”

Zhai Yuan smiled and told the price of the ingredients in his hand.

Zhao Meizhen hesitated and struggled. Finally, she simply turned her head away from Zhai Yuan's lunch box and waved her hand, saying, "Throw it away! If there is a virus, the whole family will be in trouble!"

Zhai Yuan hasn't spoken yet.

Zhai Yao rolled her eyes and leaned over with the newspaper: "No, mother, you see it's written in the news that Guanji Restaurant is a dining place designated by the Department of Health for citizens."

Zhao Meizhen was startled: "Really?"

Zhai Yuan was also stunned for a moment, and leaned over to look at the newspaper in his sister's hand.

What caught my eye was a photo of Josephine Siao, with the caption "Ann Hui's new film will start shooting soon, Golden Horse Award-winning Best Supporting Actress Josephine Siao will join the cast."

Zhai Yao read out the words one by one: "The Department of Health advises all citizens that the seafood at Guanji Restaurant is very safe."

"Are you kidding me? These two words look exactly the same, how can they have two pronunciations?"

"Homophones, that's normal, I learned that in school."

Zhao Meizhen squinted at Xiao Fangfang's photo and said, "But this woman is obviously the Eight-Colored Lin Yazhen. What does this have to do with the Department of Health?"

Zhai Yao looked up at Zhai Yuan without blushing or feeling any nervousness.

"Ah! No wonder I ran into Lin Yazhen at Guanji Restaurant today. It turns out she was supporting the Department of Health."

Zhai Yuan said this thoughtfully, and immediately received a look of praise from Zhai Yao, which said, "You are a very sensible young man."

The brother and sister sang in unison, which frightened their illiterate old mother.

Dinner was finally resolved amicably.

The dinner table.

Zhai Yuan asked Zhai Yao: "Didn't you go to school today?"

Zhai Yao nibbled on the crabs that were airlifted in and said with a satisfied smile, "The foreigners from the Municipal Bureau came to our school to inspect the safety and hygiene of the canteen. We have a day off today."

Zhao Meizhen picked up some food for Zhai Yuan with chopsticks and said with a look of dismay: "The tuition fee is so expensive, but they just give us a holiday. I think they are deliberately trying to cheat us out of money!"

Zhai Yuan was amused and agreed, "That makes sense!"

"Yeah, mom, I can see the problem right away. Besides, summer vacation is about to start in two days. This kind of private school is really a rip-off!"

"You're right!"

Zhao Meizhen was praised and showed a smug look on her face, as if she had seen through the essence of the matter.

Zhai Yao curled her lips, thinking that the boss was a bootlicker.

Then the flatterer boss took the initiative to say to her: "Go to school tomorrow and help me get the phone number of your school's board of directors. I have something to ask them."

Zhai Yao's face changed slightly: "I didn't skip class. The school is really on holiday today. You don't need to call and ask."

"No, a friend in the mainland asked me to help arrange for his daughter to study in Hong Kong..."

When Zhai Yuan said this, he looked up at Zhai Yao's nervous face, as if he understood something.

He narrowed his eyes and continued, "By the way, as a big boss, I also have to pay attention to your study problems."

…………

The next day.

Zhai Yuan is on his way to the company.

There are fewer pedestrians on the street, and the entrances of shops and markets seem a bit deserted.

Along the way, we also saw that several theaters of the Xinbao Cinema Chain had removed the promotional posters of "Vampire Family" and "Royal Sister".

Arrived at 91 Entertainment.

Shi Nansheng knocked on the door and entered the office, reporting: "Hong Kong has now been identified as an epidemic area. Tourists from outside cannot enter, and local citizens dare not gather. The average attendance rate of theaters in Hong Kong has dropped by 60%. Jiahe and Xinbao Cinemas have decided to postpone the release of new films and re-release them after the epidemic area is announced to be lifted."

Zhai Yuan said: "I saw it on the way here. If they withdraw their films, we will withdraw them too. Otherwise, how can we say we are competing with them? We should use some old films to replace them."

Shi Nansheng nodded: "I have already communicated with Manager Qian yesterday. I will call him now and send a statement to the audience."

"Okay, I feel much more at ease having you, Sister Nan, in the company."

"It was Mr. Zhai who gave me the opportunity~"

Shi Nansheng and Zhai Yuan praised each other for business, but they both felt that coming to Jiuyi Entertainment was the right choice.

In the past few years, she worked under Mai Yongxiong and Huang Boming. Now, when these two people see her, they have to smile and call her Sister Nan.

The world is unpredictable.

"I had hoped to make up for my previous losses during the summer vacation, but now we have the cholera epidemic and I don't know when it will be over."

Shi Nansheng rubbed his brows and said, "I'm afraid the company's financial report this year won't look very good."

"It doesn't matter. If everyone is closing down, doesn't that mean no one is closing down?"

Zhai Yuan smiled and joked, then after a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Sister Nan, how much do you think the box office for Sex and Zen will be?"

"Based on the current situation, if the epidemic can be lifted in about a month and audience expectations are raised, the box office of this movie may be higher than a normal summer release. However, considering the cost loss caused by the reduced attendance during this period, overall it may not be as good as a normal release."

Shi Nansheng said after careful consideration: "Based on the experience of the marketing department, the local box office performance of "The Sex and Zen" should be no less than 1600 million."

Zhai Yuan frowned and said, "If you calculate it this way, this drama is not as good as "Irresistible Passion"."

When Crazy Passion was released, it cost less than 200 million yuan, but it earned 1300 million yuan at the box office. In comparison, Sex and Zen cost 500 million yuan to make, and although Shi Nansheng's estimate was inaccurate, it was still not ideal.

"Things are different now, boss."

Shi Nansheng listened to him using past Category III films as examples and said, "When Crazy Passion was released, there was no rating system yet, and it was rare to see pornographic films in theaters. Moreover, you had a lawsuit with the Film Censorship Bureau and the Film and Television Bureau to build momentum. But now everyone is making Category III films. I estimate that the box office performance of Sex and Zen is entirely due to the quality of the film and the reputation we have accumulated."

Zhai Yuan nodded, thinking that this made sense.

After all, Hong Kong's box office is there. So far, only three or two phenomenal movies from 91 Films and Jiahe have achieved box office records of over 30 million.

Therefore, even if "Jurassic Park" were brought to the screen now, the box office would at most fluctuate around 30 million Hong Kong dollars.

Maybe not that high yet.

Because the data for Western film theaters this year has almost been released, "Rocky", "Alien 2" and "Mr. Robin" took the top three places in the foreign language films, but each of them only made 13 or 14 million yuan. "Rambo", which ranked fourth, did not even make 10 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong.

Zhai Yuan thought of this and knocked on the table.

He looked up and said to Shi Nansheng, "Then let's take advantage of this period of epidemic to sell "The Sex and Zen" in advance for a better price."

Shi Nansheng looked puzzled: "A better price? How do you sell it?"

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Send the copy to the Kuaibo company in Yuen Long and ask them to burn 100,000 copies of The Sex and Zen."

Shi Nansheng exclaimed in surprise: "The CDs are only selling for a dozen yuan each. If they are released in advance, people will be even less willing to go to the theater. Isn't this going to be a bigger loss?"

Zhai Yuan gave her a look that told her to just go for it: "Don't worry, no one knows more about the epidemic than me."

……

That afternoon.

Zhai Yuan returned home.

When he saw that Zhai Yao was not there, he asked Zhao Meizhen where she had gone.

Zhao Meizhen said with relief: "After dinner, she went back to her room and said she wanted to review her lessons. She didn't even watch TV. Yaoyao has become sensible now."

Zhai Yuan sneered.

I went upstairs and knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Zhai Yuan knocked on the door and said, "Open the door, I know you are in the room."

Zhai Yao's impatient voice came from the room: "I'm so annoyed! I'm studying, don't disturb me!"

"I asked you to get me the school board's phone number. Where's the number?"

There was silence in the room for a moment, and then a righteous voice was heard again.

"I forgot. I'll give it to you in two days."

Zhai Yuan sneered.

He turned around, went downstairs and called He Zilang.

"Hey, Langge, two things."

Zhai Yuan held his brother's phone and walked to the garden outside to light a cigarette: "Go to the Department of Health tomorrow and ask me how long this epidemic will last."

He Zilang asked on the phone: "I understand, Mr. Zhai, what is the second thing?"

Zhai Yuan glanced at his sister's room upstairs, and said with a smile: "Please ask for the phone number of the Diocesan Girls' Primary School Board of Directors for me. Go now, I'll be there."

hang up the phone.

Zhai Yuan leaned back in the garden lounge chair, waiting calmly for a reply.

Soon, Ho Chi-long called him back and gave him the private phone number of an independent school director of the Diocesan Girls' Primary School.

Zhai Yuan dialed the number and revealed his identity first.

The double buffs of the district councillor and the boss of 1024 are superimposed, and one can feel the other party's earnest attitude through the receiver.

"It's like this, Director Lin. There is a teenage girl in my company. She was studying in the mainland before. Now she has signed a contract with our 91 Entertainment and is coming to Hong Kong to film. You know that we always attach great importance to education. The lectures of the teachers in the Diocesan Girls' Primary School have also been recorded and distributed on CDs for free. We also provide the teachers with a sum of portrait copyright fees. Of course, this is also due to the good leadership of Director Xu Yu of the Education Department."

Zhai Yuan started by bringing up the Education Department, and then said, "Now that this little girl from the mainland has come to Hong Kong, I am very worried that she will be delayed in her studies because of filming. So I would like to ask, is it possible for her to study at the most outstanding Diocesan Girls' Primary School in Hong Kong while she is filming at 91?"

He was talking about what he had promised Zhou Xuejun from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles in Yanjing City last year, that he would bring his daughter Zhou Ping to Hong Kong to study.

Now that the mainland has just started reform and opening up, the policies have become much more relaxed.

However, the travel of civil servants is still strictly controlled. Only those who are at the department level or above or model workers in the unit are eligible to get a letter of introduction to fly.

Zhou Xuejun was at most a model worker. Due to his special status as a worker of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, he had come to Hong Kong several times. However, it was still quite troublesome for him to arrange for his daughter Zhou Ping to study in a capitalist school.

However, this matter is nothing in the hands of Hong Kong local tyrant Councillor Zhai.

After learning about the situation, the school director named Lin on the phone readily agreed: "Mr. Zhai, just let her come. I will reserve a place for a transfer student in Class A and ensure that everything is arranged properly."

After finishing the conversation, Zhai Yuan still didn't hang up the phone, and continued: "There is one more thing, Director Lin, my younger sister Zhai Yao is studying in your school, she should be in the sixth grade this year..."

I learned about Zhai Yao's situation over the phone.

Zhai Yuan hung up the phone, stood up from the recliner, and walked into the living room with three unsteady steps.

"Mom, what did you say happened to Yaoyao?"

"I said she is much more sensible now and knows how to go into her room to study."

"Well……"

Zhai Yuan nodded without comment, pulled Zhao Meizhen to sit on the sofa, took out his phone, dialed a number, and put the phone on the table.

Zhao Meizhen asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"

The call was connected quickly, and the voice on the other end was a middle-aged woman's.

"I'm Zhang, the class teacher of Class A, Grade 6, Diocesan Girls' Primary School. Where are you looking for me?"

"Hello, Miss Zhang. I'm Zhai Yuan. I just got your number from Director Lin."

"Hello, Councillor Zhai. Hello, is Yaoyao feeling better? She said she had a stomachache yesterday. I was afraid she had cholera so I asked her to go home and rest. The whole class was very concerned about her. Fortunately, Yaoyao came to school normally today..."

Zhai Yuan settled accounts with Miss Zhang on the phone.

According to incomplete statistics, from the beginning of this semester to now, Zhai Yao has asked for leave 12 times and missed classes 7 times without reason.

"She has also bullied other kids in the same class before. However, we have taken Yaoyao's situation into consideration. Although she is in the sixth grade, she is already an adult. She is also Councillor Zhai's sister. So we will try to resolve any conflicts at school and not cause any trouble for you, Councillor Zhai."

"Thank you, Miss Zhang. If you encounter this situation again in the future, don't worry about causing me trouble. Please be sure to call my home. The phone number is 8008208820."

After Zhai Yuan finished speaking, he rested his head on his arms and leaned back on the sofa cushion with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Looking at Zhao Meizhen next to her, her face was as gloomy as water. She stood up on her knees and walked upstairs.

Zhai Yuan was happy to watch the fun: "Oh, by the way, Miss Zhang, how are Yaoyao's grades in school?"

Teacher Zhang on the other end of the phone said a little embarrassedly: "This is my fault. Yaoyao's grades are not ideal now."

"Why is it not ideal?"

"…last in the class."

"Thank you Miss Zhang, I'm here to have some tea."

Zhai Yuan leaned forward and pressed the hang-up button, then looked up at Zhao Meizhen who was standing by to listen, and said sincerely, "It's ok, Mom. The feather duster is in the vase on your left. I also have a newly bought belt in my room. It's made of pure cowhide and is definitely strong enough. But it's stupid enough that Yaoyao ranks last in grades, so don't hit her on the head."

That night, Zhai Yao's screams echoed throughout Deep Water Bay.

(End of this chapter)