1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 455 President Zhai said, there needs to be internet.
The name Jamsil Gymnasium comes from Jamsil-dong in Seoul, which North Korea calls Vijamsik Station.

Before the division between North and South, this area was a commercial center for silkworm breeding used by the dynasty, and the name of the region has remained unchanged to this day.

After South Korea won the right to host the Olympics in 1981,

North Korea once requested that the competition events be moved to a joint event in the North.
However, no consensus was ultimately reached.

So at the end of November last year, a woman named Kim Hyun-hee planted a bomb on a Korean Air plane, killing more than 11 people, in an attempt to threaten South Korea into canceling the Olympics and intimidate delegations from other countries to attend.

However, judging from today's grand occasion, last year's military intimidation does not seem to have had any effect.

Entry to the stadium stopped at 10 a.m., and the stadium was already packed with 100,000 spectators.

On the central grass field, over a thousand South Korean athletes formed the Olympic rings, with national flags fluttering in the wind.

Zhai Yuan has seen it all, and in this day and age, no event can compare to the grand spectacle of 08. The $2 million South Korean ceremony was nothing special to him.

However, this scene greatly excited Zhao Meizhen and the others.

"Wow! This is the first time I've seen so many people. Even the competition to be the first to offer incense at the Tin Hau Festival wasn't this lively."

Zhao Meizhen looked around and patted Zhai Yao, who was holding a camera, hard: "Yao Yao, take a picture of your mother too, so we can hang it in the living room when we get back."

Zhai Yao snapped a few photos, and Zhao Meizhen's serious expression at the beginning gradually turned into a beaming smile.

Zhou Haimei, Yu Feihong, and Zhou Ping also joined in the fun, and the girls frolicked and played together.

Finally, they pulled Zhai Yuan along, intending to take a family photo as a memento.

"Cousin, shall we take a picture together?"

"Huh? This is the first day you've met me? Do I have a habit of taking pictures?"

When Zhai Yuan glanced at her, Zhou Haimei's excitement was immediately dampened.

"Displaying fish, shrimp, and crabs!"

Zhai Yao glared at the big shot, then pulled Zhou Haimei and said, "Sister Haimei, ignore him, let's film it ourselves!"

In the days before selfie sticks, Zhai Yao had to stretch her arm to hold up the camera and rely on her sense of touch to frame the two sisters, Zhao Meizhen, Zhou Haimei, and Yu Feihong, in the shot.

"123... Not a peace sign, that's so old-fashioned! A heart gesture~"

Zhai Yao imitated the moves popularized by Girls' Generation and corrected everyone's poses for photos.

Zhai Yuan curled his lip, "Tch! Isn't it still just copying mine?"

"123, Zhi~~~Shi~~~"

Just as the shutter clicked, Zhai Yuan suddenly slid sideways and lay sprawled across Zhao Meizhen and several girls' laps, baring his teeth as he burst into the frame.

Click!

……

10:30,
Surrounded by 100,000 spectators, the crowd that formed the Olympic rings gathered together to form a circle.

Park Se-sik, chairman of the Seoul Olympic Games Organizing Committee, walked into the circle and delivered the opening address.

Next, IOC President Samaranch delivered a welcoming address.

Finally, it was President Roh Baek-ma's turn. He delivered a passionate speech on the podium, saying, "Our world has overcome numerous obstacles and finally converged from all directions under the sky of Seoul," thus officially opening the ceremony.

As the live television broadcast was delayed, a fleet of speedboats cut through the waves on the sea, with performance troupes standing at the bows as they crossed the ocean.

Inside the stadium, the performance troupe members have entered one after another.

Boom!
The drummer, with a white headscarf and wearing short clothes, vigorously pounded the drumhead.

Below, women dressed in ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) gently tapped the edges of small drums with a tai chi (yin-yang) pattern.

As soon as the drumbeats subsided, the interlude of suona and cymbals began again.

South Korean actors, holding up curtains, entered the stage to the mournful sound of suona horns and began to dance Nongak.

There was thunderous applause.

Audiences in Hong Kong and mainland China, however, found it somewhat awkward; the combination of suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) and cymbals, along with the shamanistic-like dance...

Zhao Meizhen couldn't help but whisper, "It sounds like funeral music, it's bad luck!"

Zhou Haimei and the others nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, but the South Koreans around them all had solemn expressions, so they could only keep their faces tense and dare not show any unusual expressions.

Immediately afterwards, the sounds of drums and suonas filled the air, and the third program began.

Actors dressed in hanbok, wearing official hats and holding aloft dragon flags with four-clawed golden dragons and the Chinese characters for "Peace Under Heaven" written on them, passed through a procession flanked by curtains...

The entire opening ceremony program clearly showed the influence of Han culture. In the end, the crowd dispersed and regrouped to form a "welcome" in both Korean and English, marking the end of the half-hour opening ceremony performance.

Lu Baima and his wife reappeared on the podium and, amidst applause and cheers, announced the entry of delegations from various countries.

To the upbeat strains of Ode to Joy, the honor guard, carrying the Olympic flag, marched in perfect unison.

At this Olympic Games, delegations from various countries entered the stadium in alphabetical order according to Korean pronunciation, with announcements made over loudspeakers:

"First to come to us is Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games."

The Greeks were dressed in suits and looked quite stylish.

When the second country joined, the Africans, dressed in loose-fitting floral robes, stood in stark contrast to the former.

Zhai Yao and the others started another little meeting.

"Where is Ghana? Why are they even darker-skinned than South Asians?"

"Their clothes are so strange."

"Yes, they look like they came from a primitive tribe."

The third country to enter was Gabon, also in Africa, but with even fewer participants, only seven people.

Zhou Ping immediately exclaimed, "Look, these are even darker!"

The fourth and fifth delegations were still predominantly Black, representing Guyana and Gambia. It wasn't until the sixth delegation that the racial and skin color became more normal, with Guatemala appearing as a brown-yellow group...

As Zhai Yao and her group pointed and talked, some time passed, and several delegations passed by.

The host's voice came through the loudspeaker again:
"People's Republic of China".

The heavenly army has descended!

Zhai Yuan sprang up from his chair and looked at the rows of delegations dressed in white suits and red ties.

Song Tao of the men's basketball team acted as the rider, standing at the front of the team with his head held high.

The background music in the venue was switched to "Singing for the Motherland" at the right time.

The audience members scattered across the mainland were filled with emotion, singing along to the background music: "The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, the song of victory is so loud, we sing of our beloved motherland, from now on marching towards prosperity and strength..."

The singing touched the audience on this side.
Yu Feihong and Zhou Ping joined in the singing, followed by Tao Zongyi, Shi Nansheng, and the other adults.

My colleagues from Hong Kong who accompanied me were initially quite aloof.

Looking around, wow, even Boss Zhai was standing on his chair, waving and singing along, and everyone was eagerly swaying to his rhythm!
Watching the procession pass by,

Zhai Yuan sat back down and sighed with some regret: "What a pity, it would have been so impressive to play my patriotic songs here."

The mainland delegation soon passed through,
The delegation from Taiwan has also arrived.

"Chinese TaiPei".

White hats, blue suits, and yellow pants—looking down from above, the entire Taiwanese provincial team resembled a gang of axe-wielders.

“HONG KONG”.

The Hong Kong team finally took the stage as the delegation's journey came to an end.

"The Hong Kong team is out!"

This time, Zhai Yuan's Hong Kong colleagues, who were accompanying him, didn't need to heed his signals. They all stood up, showing their support for each other as locals. From a distance, they waved enthusiastically towards the Hong Kong delegation. In the crowd, Zhai Yuan spotted several middle-aged men walking at the front; they were basketball players from this year's Olympics.

Following closely behind was Girls' Generation, dressed in blazers and skirt suits.

The rest of the athletes were the last to participate.

Boss Zhai is powerful!

Ye Yuqing, Zhou Huimin, Li Saifeng and others waved miniature Olympic flags at the surrounding stands, their eyes unconsciously searching around the audience.

at the same time,

Whether it was the audience in Hong Kong at the scene or local residents watching the televised broadcast from Hong Kong, they all noticed this beautiful sight in the delegation...

……

The opening ceremony lasted for several hours, and apart from the appearance of the Chinese team, the only memorable part for Zhai Yuan was the release of white doves.

After President Lubaima's speech, the torchbearer lit the Olympic flame and released doves of peace. The well-trained doves had just landed beside the torch when...

The flames rose up!

Amid cheers and applause, there were also exclamations of surprise from Zhou Haimei and the others.

"Are there any white doves still trapped inside the fire, unable to fly out?"

"It seems so, they must have burned to death."

"Huh? It can't be that cruel, can it?"

Although the distance was far, the faint aroma of roasting pigeon meat could be smelled in the air...

Roasted pigeon over an Olympic flame!

Zhai Yuan shook his head with a tsk. It was from this year that the Olympics introduced new rules, prohibiting the release of peace doves.

However, one director in the Hong Kong film industry has followed this tradition.

Wu—White Dove—Yusen.

After the second half of the performance, including martial arts and folk dance,

The opening ceremony concluded with the theme song of this Olympic Games, "Hand in Hand."
It is hailed as the best Olympic song in human history.

Hmm... Although "Me and You" is not bad, there is still some difference between Liu Huan and the Korean duo.

…………

After the opening ceremony, the Olympic Games officially began.

Over the next few days, the 159 participating countries and regions showcased their talents.

It is worth mentioning that this Olympic Games marks the first time the United States and the Soviet Union have shared the stage since the start of the eight-year Cold War.

This is also the last time in human history.

After attending the opening ceremony, Zhai Yuan showed little interest in the actual competition.

While everyone else rushed to the stadium to watch the game, Boss Zhai stayed alone at the hotel, comfortably lying in bed and turning on the TV.

Watching the television screen as Soviet athlete Vladimir Artemov won another gold medal in men's gymnastics.

His agile figure was like the eldest brother's last dance.

Alas! Until the end of 1991, who would have believed that it could disintegrate!

At most, they felt that the Soviet Union had declined and its superpower status was waning.

Even the Soviets themselves hadn't realized what was happening; they were still lost in their oil dreams.
When I woke up,
Oh open!

Zhai Yuan yawned, lying on his back, and thought to himself, "If I can secure the telecommunications business in Hong Kong next year and lay a solid foundation, then it's time to go to the Soviet Union."

Thanks to the gambling ship Natural Selection and Ye Zhiming's shrewd and resourceful approach, he had already built up some connections with the Soviet Union.

However, Zhai Yuan never touched this network of relationships, which was also because he had a relatively smooth journey and had not encountered any opponents worth using.

On the other hand, although the Soviet Union was riddled with problems, it was not yet on the verge of collapse.

The oligarchs still hold some hope for their country.

After all, Gorbachev is still trying to patch things up and try to reform and prolong his life. The best time to enter the market will be when everyone's hopes for him are completely dashed and capital flees.

"Theoretically, if we had the ability to extend the Soviet Union's life by one or two years, the gains would be even greater..."

Zhai Yuan sorted out his thoughts, recalling the current situation in the Soviet Union, then shook his head and sighed: "It's too damn difficult, let's just take it one step at a time."

Those who steal the hook will be punished, and those who steal the country will be martyred.

As the 1990s approached, the influence of communications was enough for Zhai Yuan to gain a foothold in Hong Kong, but he was still no match for many wealthy families in East Asia. Therefore, the extent to which he could accumulate power and wealth depended entirely on the next round of micromanagement...

……

The Olympic Games in Seoul are still in full swing.

As an old friend of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Zhai Yuan also took the time to visit the mainland delegation and, together with the Hong Kong delegation, had an exchange with his own athletes.

Once they got to know each other better, they started complaining about the various shady dealings at this year's South Korean Olympics.

With biased refereeing evident in every event, South Korean athletes won gold medal after gold, while half a month into the competition, the mainland delegation only managed to win 3 gold medals and 7 silver medals.

Just a few days later, scandals broke out involving doping by athletes from Canada and Bulgaria...

The burning of pigeons with the Olympic flame served as a dividing line, marking a sharp decline in the overall quality of the Olympic Games.

While the Seoul Olympics appeared exciting to the audience, it was filled with omnipresent malice for the athletes who genuinely wanted to compete, and the organizing committee was the most controversial in the history of the Games.

9 month 17 day,
Wei Yixin and his wife Wei Lidanxia found Zhai Yuan, and the couple planned to return to Hong Kong ahead of schedule.

Before parting, Wei Sir patted Zhai Yuan on the shoulder and said, "The second Legislative Council election will be held in a few days. I need to rush back to preside over the proceedings. If you don't have anything else to do, please come back as soon as possible."

"Oh?" Zhai Yuan raised an eyebrow, having guessed something, and asked with a smile, "Is Inspector Wei planning to promote me?"

"The letter of appointment as Justice of the Peace in the New Territories that I previously promised you is intended to be issued at this time."

Wei Yixin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Also, if you are interested in entering the Legislative Council, you can be nominated this term. When there are directly elected seats in the next term, one of my directly elected seats will be for you."

"The premise is that we need to achieve some results, right?" Zhai Yuan said with a smile, and didn't talk about the topic any further. After a pause, he added, "Samsung still needs a few more days to prepare. During the Olympics, everything is slow. Once they have their team sorted out, I will return to Hong Kong as soon as possible."

Wei Yixin nodded upon hearing this.

It's clear that Zhai Yuan doesn't care much about either the Legislative Council or the Justices of the Peace.

Things are different now. At his current level, titles are just icing on the cake. If Zhai Yuan were to turn his back on Britain today, he could get a knighthood from Great Britain in no time if he wanted to, but it would only sound good and have no real meaning.

Only when one lacks strength will one display numerous titles, and it is clear that Zhai Yuan has now transcended this category.

At noon that day,

Wei Yixin boarded a plane back to Hong Kong to convene the second Legislative Council election meeting in Hong Kong.

The third day after the Governor of Hong Kong returned to Hong Kong.

After several rounds of negotiations, Zhai Yuan and Lee Kun-hee finalized all the details and conditions of their cooperation.

Following this, Samsung Group, together with South Korean telecommunications companies and the National Telecommunications Corporation, prepared to form a core team of more than 40 people.

There were still about two weeks left until the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

However, Zhai Yuan had no intention of staying here any longer.

9 month 20 day,
Zhai Yuan boarded a flight to Hong Kong, concluding his nearly month-long trip to South Korea.

Next stop, Hong Kong.

Mr. Zhai said, "We need internet!"

(End of this chapter)