Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 129 Why does the hat look a bit green? (3rd update, please subscribe)

The screenplay for "Blood Simple" is one of the Coen brothers' representative works, and it is also known in China as "A Simple Noodle Story".

Yes, Zhang Yimou's terrible film "A Simple Noodle Story" was copied from "Blood Simple." However, the two screenwriters he hired were utterly incompetent, he himself wasn't good at this genre, and he hired a completely unsuitable cast, resulting in a utterly awful, melodramatic film.

Zhang Shuai'an made some localized adaptations to the storyline and characters. The general plot is as follows:

Bar owner Madian has been struggling financially lately due to poor management. To make matters worse, he discovers his new wife, Elsa, seems to be having an affair. He hires a private investigator, Zeng Jian, to investigate. Zeng Jian, also facing debt, tries to get more money after taking photos of the infidelity, but is instead reprimanded by Madian.

Madian also learned that his wife's affair was with his employee, Lei Li. So he first warned Lei Li, saying that Aisha was someone who was good at pretending to be innocent and was fickle, and that she would dump him sooner or later.

Lei Li wouldn't listen, and Madian angrily said he wouldn't pay him a single penny of his wages.

That afternoon, Madian drove to Raleigh's house intending to teach the adulterous couple a lesson. However, Elsa broke his finger instead, forcing him to flee in disarray.

Afraid that Madian would hurt them again, Elsa went to the black market and bought a gun and three bullets, but the guy selling the gun sold her blank bullets instead of genuine ones.

After returning home, Madian grew increasingly angry, so he paid a private investigator to kill the adulterous couple. The investigator, Zeng Jian, was in a hurry to pay off his debts, so he agreed. He secretly broke into Lei Li and Aisha's house, inadvertently found a gun, checked that it had three bullets, and casually put it away.

Not long after, he took the photos to Madian to report. Madian had just returned from fishing and casually placed the fish on the table, inadvertently covering the detective's lighter. He saw the photos of the adulterous couple shot dead and felt nauseous. He went to the bathroom to vomit for a while and, without thinking, switched the photos.

Detective Zeng Jian urged Madian to give him the money. Madian opened the safe, took out the money, and casually put the photo inside. After taking the money, Zeng Jian asked Madian if he had revealed that he had hired a hitman. Then, he pulled out Aisha's pistol and shot Madian dead.

Zeng Jian actually lied to Madian. He didn't kill anyone; he only tampered with the film to make it look like the two had been beaten to death. His initial plan was to kill Madian, then double-cross him and frame Elsa.

When Zeng Jian left, he threw the pistol on the ground, but forgot about the lighter that the fish had pressed down on.

A short while later, Lei Li quietly sneaked into Madian's office. His salary had been docked recently, and he planned to steal some money as compensation. He accidentally kicked a gun on the floor, and it went off.

He then noticed that his boss, Madian, was sitting in the chair, shot in the chest. He reached for the pistol and realized it was the one Elsa had bought for self-defense. Mistakenly believing Elsa had killed him, he tried to cover up the crime.

He took the body to the outskirts, intending to dispose of it or bury it, but unexpectedly discovered that Madian was still alive. This was because the bullets Aisha had bought were counterfeit. In a panic, he had no choice but to bury the body alive.

Lei Li thought he had cleaned up the mess for Elsa, but Elsa looked completely bewildered. He suddenly began to suspect that Elsa didn't love him at all and was just using him to get rid of Madian. So he put down her gun and left in disappointment.

While burning some evidence, the detective discovered his lighter was missing. He sneaked back to the office, only to find that Madian's body was also gone. As he was prying open the safe to retrieve the photographs inside...

Elsa is here too.

The detective had no choice but to hide.

Aisha saw the office was in a mess, and the safe had been smashed. She knew the combination, so she checked the password one by one, but panicked just before opening it. She was convinced that Lei Li had come to ask Madian for money, and the two had gotten into a fight, which had caused this mess. She decided it would be better to go find Lei Li in person and ask him directly.

The detective couldn't find the lighter and suspected Elsa had taken it, so he followed her.

Elsa went to Rayleigh's place to get the truth from him. She got the words, "He was still alive when I buried him," and Elsa was so frightened she ran away.

To explain where the money went, Madian made up a story and recorded a phone call, which he then sent out the next day, saying that someone had broken into his office and stolen money from the safe. He then left a message for another employee nicknamed "Old Black," asking him to warn the other employees.

Lao Hei received the recorded phone call the next morning. He and Lei Li were good friends, and when he learned that Lei Li's boss had deducted his wages, he assumed that Lei Li had stolen the money.

So Lao Hei drove to Lei Li's house and told Lei Li that his boss had called him that morning, saying that the money in his insurance account had been stolen. Lao Hei advised Lei Li to run away quickly before his boss got angry.

Lei Li was immediately dumbfounded. His boss had died last night, so how could he be calling him this morning? He subconsciously wondered if his boss had survived being buried alive and had returned.

He drove to the office and found it in disarray. He reached for the safe and opened it without thinking. Inside, he found a photograph that Madian had hidden.

It was the image of him and Elsa lying in bed, shot and killed, that made him realize there was a fourth person, though he didn't know who it was.

He then noticed the lighters hidden under the four fish and took them as well.

Elsa left Ray's house and went to Old Black's house, wanting to confirm with him whether Madian was really dead. Old Black categorically denied it, saying that his boss had left him a message that morning. Old Black knew about Elsa and Ray's relationship and comforted her, telling her not to overthink it.

After returning home, Elsa had a nightmare in which Madian came to her and said that even after Rayleigh killed him, he would never let her go. Then she collapsed, spitting blood.

Elsa woke up with a start and found that Rayleigh had indeed come to her house, standing quietly in front of the French windows in the living room. Rayleigh said he felt someone had been following and investigating them. Remembering her dream, Elsa assumed Rayleigh wanted to kill her, so she turned on the light.

Ray told him to turn off the lights immediately. Aisha panicked even more, saying that if he dared to do anything reckless, the neighbors would find out. Ray was desperate; this woman actually suspected him of wanting to kill her.

Lei Li said, "I love you."

Elsa replied, "I love you too!"

Lei Li asked, "Then why are you afraid?"

Elsa suddenly said, "Madian might not be dead."

Lei Li just wanted to laugh, because he had already checked the burial site. This woman was indeed very good at feigning innocence.

Just as he was about to say something, a gunshot rang out.

The bullet pierced through the French windows and struck Lei Li in a vital spot in the abdomen. Before he died, he asked Aisha to turn off the lights.

Unfortunately, it was too late; the second shot rang out.

Elsa panicked and hid, smashing the light bulb with her high heels.

The detective, gun in hand, entered the house, hoping to retrieve the photos and lighter from Ray, but found nothing. He could only continue searching for Elsa.

Taking advantage of the room's unique layout, Elsa stuck the detective's hand into the windowsill with a knife!

While the detective was struggling, he went to get his pistol, the one Lei Li had brought back last time.

There was only one bullet left inside.

The detective smashed through the wooden wall, took out his knife, and went through the hole, intending to kill Elsa.

As he reached the door, a gunshot rang out, and the detective collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, Elsa shouted, "I'm not afraid of you anymore, Madian!"

Detective Zeng Jian found it utterly absurd upon hearing this; this stupid woman actually thought it was Madian who had come to kill him.

So he said, "Mrs. Ma, when I go to the underworld and meet your husband, I will tell him this."

Aisha realized the voice wasn't her husband's and her eyes went blank.

Detective Zeng Jian lay down under the sink, his eyes fixed on the water pipe beneath it. Suddenly, a look of terror and regret flashed in his eyes.

First, he finally remembered that the lighter was under the fish. Once the lighter was retrieved, the police would only have photos and wouldn't be able to find him. He had done something incredibly stupid and even lost his life.

Secondly, his father was a fishmonger, and he grew up surrounded by fish. However, his father was a source of great anxiety for him, often pushing him into the pond and threatening to drown him. Therefore, he has always been afraid of water and fish. It was for this reason that he never bothered to look at those fish.

By a twist of fate, each of them met their end.

The story ends here.

The day.

Zhang Shuai'an then called Di Bona.

That evening, a private car drove up to the vicinity.

Zhang Shuai'an made sure no one was following him, then got into the car, only to find that the driver was Di Bona herself.

"Sister La, why did you come in person?"

Zhang Shuai'an was stunned for a moment.

"miss you!"

Debona leaned closer and said earnestly, "I've already given the servants at home the day off, so it's just the two of us."

"Okay then." Zhang Shuai'an nodded.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Shuai'an looked at the distant sea and said with a smile, "How come I didn't notice how beautiful the night view was when I came here last time?"

Debona pulled him into the house: "Don't look at the night view yet, look at me."

Two hours later, another car drove into the yard.

Xie Xian got out of the car with a puzzled look: "What's going on? I haven't seen Aunt Qing or the others at all?"

He honked the horn twice and shouted, "Deborah, are you there? I don't see anyone here."

As soon as he said that, the bedroom light suddenly went out.

Xie Xian was puzzled and called out twice more, but no one responded, so he stepped into the house.

Upon opening the door, she was shocked to see Debona drinking tea with a young man in the living room.

Why does it feel like the hat on my head is faintly glowing green?

"What's going on?"

Xie Xian frowned deeply and demanded, "Deborah, who is he? What are you doing so late at night?!"

"Mr. Xie, you're back!"

The young man turned his head and immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Zhang Shuai'an?" Xie Xian naturally recognized the rising star in front of him: "What are you doing in my house?"

Zhang Shuai'an replied with a smile, "I actually came to find you, but I didn't expect you to be here. I was just about to chat with your wife for a bit and then leave, but I didn't expect you to come back."

Debona rolled her eyes at Xie Xian: "What else? Did you think I was having an affair?"