1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 89: Decline of Cantonese Opera

Lee Theatre, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island.

Deng Leling hung up the phone and stood behind the side curtain of the stage. Her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed and worry appeared in her eyes.

Why would he be beheaded for no reason?
Zhai Yuan didn't tell her the details on the phone, so she couldn't help but start to think wildly.

The first thought that came to my mind was that the young men were jealous of the young gang members in the housing estate, otherwise why would they resort to knives and guns?

She used to be the wife of an inspector, so she naturally knew that in the poor areas, the children were the main force who used knives to kill people.

For whom? It must be the cousin Liang Zhichao often mentioned!
I never thought about the revenge in the underworld.

After all, even Deng Guangrong had entered Stanley, so naturally his disciples had already scattered.

With this attitude in mind, Deng Leling's worries disappeared immediately.

I couldn't help but grit my teeth.

Live it!

"Huh? There are rats in the theater?"

Next to the stage, an actor who was rehearsing passed by the side curtain and suddenly heard a creaking sound.

He looked around curiously and asked Deng Leling, who was closest to him: "Ah Ling, did you hear it?"

Deng Leling smiled at him perfunctorily, spread her jeans-wrapped thighs, and walked towards the center of the stage.

On the stage, a gentle-looking actor was directing the students in rehearsing a play.

Deng Leling walked up to him and smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, Jiaying, I have something urgent to do at home, so I have to rush back across the sea immediately. Please tell the captain when he comes back!"

Luo Jiaying, who is in her thirties, still has hair, but her hairline is already very worrying.

Hearing that Tang Lok Ling was leaving, he was a little surprised and said, "The leader has finally applied for a performance opportunity at Lee Theatre. It's a pity for you to leave now."

Lee Theatre was one of the most famous performance venues in Hong Kong at that time.

The theater was built in the 1920s. In order to make it easier for his mother to enjoy Cantonese opera, the opium king of Hong Kong at that time, Li Xizhen, chose the best piece of land closest to his home among the dozen streets he owned, and hired French engineers to design and build it.

When the theater opened, China's first movie queen, Hu Die, was invited to cut the ribbon to open the theater.

The first Cantonese opera performance was led by Kwan Tak-hing, the "Great Protector of the Law", who was later worshipped in a temple in Hong Kong.

After the theater was completed, the Hong Kong tram set up a special midnight line to carry audiences.

For a time, Lee Theatre was the most popular theatre in Hong Kong.

Less than a year later, Li Xizhen was shot dead in the street, and the family's reputation plummeted, and the Lee Theatre also lost its former glory.

It was not until the 1970s when the theatre was renovated and TVB, owned by the Lee family, hosted the Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant, with the finals held at the Lee Theatre, that the theatre was revived.

In the late 1970s, singer Roman Tam held the first concert in Hong Kong's music history here, and since then, Lee Theatre's business model has become increasingly diversified.

Movies, beauty pageants, orchestras, concerts, Cantonese opera, opera, and stage plays, it’s a big hodgepodge.

The actors who perform at the Lee Theatre today are all top-tier and first-tier stars such as Teresa Teng, Michelle Wang, Jenny Tseng and Roman Tam.

Cantonese opera actors rarely have the opportunity to show their faces again.

The troupe where Deng Leling is currently taking classes is called Da Luo Gu, a second-rate Cantonese opera troupe in Hong Kong.

At this time, Cantonese opera was in decline.

Apart from the recognized Cantonese opera troupe Chu Fengming, other troupes can mostly only perform in small theaters.

In order to promote a new play, the Da Luo Gu Theatre had the rare opportunity to apply for a performance venue at the Lee Theatre today, but only 60% of the tickets were sold, which meant they were losing money to gain publicity.

As a student, Deng Leling was not qualified to perform on stage today, but her talent is really too high.

I learned one act of "Leaving Langzhou" in three days. That's what the Ninth Girl Bai Xuexian did back then!
Therefore, the leader of the big Luogu troupe not only allowed her to perform on stage, but also planned to sign Deng Leling after the performance and make her a new generation of Cantonese opera star.

But she didn't seem to cherish this opportunity at all, and now she was ready to leave after receiving a phone call.

"Ah Ling, Jiaying is right. It's a pity for you to leave now." An older actress followed Luo Jiaying's lead and kindly reminded her in a low voice, "There are many girls in the group who want to replace you. Don't let others take away your opportunity!"

"Then ask them to do it for me." Deng Leling smiled and said indifferently.

She is not very interested in becoming famous, she just thinks that playing different roles on stage is more interesting than killing time playing mahjong. As for whether or not to perform on the big stage, it doesn't matter.

What’s more, Cantonese opera doesn’t make money.

As strong as Chu Fengming was, he rehearsed a big play called "The Flower of the Imperial Concubine", but the total box office revenue was just over a million, far less than a flop movie.

Deng Leling loves profit more than fame. The share of money that Zhai Yuan gave her from the performance of "The Blind Girl" is enough to pay the performance fees of an ordinary Cantonese opera actor for a whole year.

The most important thing is that Zhai Yuan is now injured and hospitalized. I don’t know how serious his condition is or whether he needs someone to take care of him.

Thinking of this, she didn't hesitate any more and walked straight out of the theater.

The older actress looked at her departing figure, shook her head and said with regret: "Alas! Young people nowadays really don't know how to cherish. In the past, we had to sleep with the troupe leader just to have the chance to perform on stage."

Luo Jiaying couldn't help laughing when she heard her speak so bluntly.

Then he sighed, "In this era, fewer and fewer young people go to the theater to watch operas. Everyone buys tickets to watch movies when they go to the theater! Sometimes I think about changing my career, but unfortunately I don't have any way, otherwise I would definitely try to make movies."

"Pick! Look at how ugly you are. Your hair is almost falling out, and you are still making a movie?" The older actress said to Luo Jiaying half-jokingly.

Luo Jiaying scratched her hair, looking distressed.

My hair loss problem has become more and more serious recently. I need to find a Chinese medicine practitioner to treat it.

……

It was around six o'clock in the afternoon when Deng Leling rushed to the community hospital.

Pushing open the door of the ward, Zhai Yuan was lying on his side on the bed, already asleep with his eyes closed.

He was shirtless, with layers of bandages wrapped around his back. Even with his eyes closed, his brows were still slightly furrowed.

Deng Leling felt inexplicably nervous.

Fortunately, I'm still breathing.

She tiptoed to the bedside, pulled over a round stool and sat down, resting her chin on one hand, looking at Zhai Yuan from a close distance.

I thought to myself, this guy looks quite pleasant when he doesn't talk, but why is he so irritating when he opens his mouth, like a shrewd old man?

Deng Leling was able to remember Zhai Yuan's age only when she saw his still young face. When they talked on the phone, she always felt that the other party was the same age as her.

How come you are only seventeen years old?

Deng Leling bit her lip, looked at Zhai Yuan's sleeping face, and sighed with regret.

She stretched out a finger, gently touched Zhai Yuan's frown, and rubbed it twice.

Then her fingers slid down again, caressing his eyes, nose and lips.

"Do you believe it?"

Just when Deng Leling's white fingers rested on Zhai Yuan's chin, the voice that she hated suddenly rang out, like a hooligan's.

Zhai Yuan opened his eyelids and stared at me with a pair of dead fish eyes: "I fell asleep and you still harassed me, is it because your desire will be stronger when your mommy's sister comes?"

　I saw that some readers kept mentioning the club and felt that the club was written too weakly. I have also been criticizing my son Canghai, saying what crap he wrote and how he misled so many people!

　　In fact, the problem of society is divided into stages. The reason why the timeline of the book is chosen in 1982 is precisely because the problem of society in Hong Kong was not so serious at that time. The Independent Commission Against Corruption had just been established and the issue of affiliation had not yet been discussed. Moreover, Hong Kong had become the financial center of Asia. The value of New York City was there, and the foreigners were more afraid of problems than anyone else, so how could they allow society to emerge?

　　It was not until the ownership was negotiated that the foreigners saw no hope and replaced it with a stupid governor. Coupled with the emergence of a large number of gangsters, the chaotic image of the city emerged in everyone's impression. And this is still the safest city in Asia. Where can you go to seek justice?

　　You don't even need to read the Hong Kong government's policy addresses over the years. If you compare the crime-themed movies in Hong Kong over the years, you will know that movies that allude to real gangs only began to appear on a large scale after the 1990s. Before that, they were all about places like Formosa and Malaysia. Local crime themes mostly talked about social problems such as child gangs and MK boys and girls in poor areas, and did not talk about gangs, because Hong Kong's local gangs are too weak...

　　I think it's great that for this book we can talk about some small gossip, make some small movies, do some small industry, and make a bulldozer. Otherwise, as a post-2000s person, I have to write about fighting and killing, which I am not good at.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)