1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

The next day, the sky was bright.

Huo Sheng packed his luggage quickly and moved into the TVB dormitory, officially starting his working life.

He was unaware that Wai Ka-fai had staked his entire career on it, even though it wasn't particularly valuable to begin with.

But since I've already decided to take on the work of three or four people all by myself, I can't slack off.

And since there's still no news from Wai Ka-fai, and I'm just idling around anyway, this is all I can do—

Huo Sheng, with a pen in his mouth, hunched over the table, writing intently.

The rooftop iron gate was slammed open with a clang, and Ding Hai strode out, followed dejectedly by his fourth son. Dust swirled in the wind, and the Hang Seng Index electronic screen flashed a red rebound curve, creating a stark contrast with the Ding family's pale faces…

"Outside the office's floor-to-ceiling windows, the rooftop of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is clearly visible. Fang Zhanbo sits at his desk with black and white photos of Fang Jinxin and Luo Huiling in front of him."

What Huo Sheng is writing now is called a "scene script" in the industry. It is completely different from the script outline that he showed to Liu Qingyun, which was more like a novel.

The script outline is like a story, with a smooth timeline, one chapter after another, making it easy to read without straining your brain. Lau Ching-wan could tell what story this script was about at a glance.

The scene scripts he's currently writing don't follow any of that; they're entirely based on the camera angles.

Perhaps in the scene script, the Fang family is sitting together eating New Year's Eve dinner in one scene, but in the next scene, only Fang Zhanbo is left sitting in the empty house, lost in thought.

Even though ten years have passed, the scenes that occurred in the same location were put together to make it easier for the director to translate them into a script.

Moreover, the scene script is extremely dull, lacking character interpretation, psychological activities, and lengthy background explanations. It relies entirely on dialogue, with action and scenery descriptions as secondary elements. It is plain and straightforward, and those with slightly weaker imaginations will find it particularly boring.

This really tests the screenwriter's professional skills, comparable to building a tree in the air and staging a TV series in their own mind.

Fortunately, Huo Sheng's professional skills are undeniable; he writes with lightning speed and without stopping.

He stayed home for five whole days, pushing the script all the way to the crucial scene where Luo Huiling confesses her feelings to Fang Jinxin. Three knocks on the door interrupted his train of thought.

"Professor Huo, are you inside?"

A crisp, dry, but unfamiliar voice came from outside the door.

Huo Sheng was a little curious, so he got up and opened the door.

A young girl was standing outside the door.

She sported trendy long, straight, center-parted hair, a royal blue fringed suit with a large lapel, and a shiny velvet turtleneck underneath. Her outfit was heavily influenced by Kathy Chow in "No Regrets in This Life," making her look capable and stylish.

Huo Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

"I am your assistant, Ning Wan."

The girl bowed slightly and smiled, "Teacher Huo, I didn't have your contact information, so I came to visit without permission."

Huo Sheng slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing that he hadn't bought a pager yet, no wonder the other party couldn't find him.

He smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to make a special trip to see me."

"You're welcome, Professor Huo."

Ning Wan waved her hand and smiled, "I'm your assistant, here to help you with your work during this time. Feel free to ask me to do anything."

It seems that Wai Ka-fai has already finalized the plans, and the "The Greed of Man" production team is gradually getting things moving, with even his assistant already in place.

He nodded and smiled, "You don't need to keep calling me teacher, just call me Huo Sheng."

ha?

Ning Wan was somewhat taken aback by these words.

Although the other person may look younger than you, the screenwriting industry is very strict in terms of seniority. No one will use age to pressure others; what matters is the work and professional title.

Moreover, Huo Sheng was practically her direct superior—even if he arranged for her to come and clean the dormitory every day, Ning Wan had no choice but to obey unconditionally.

As it turned out, the other party not only didn't seem to want to order her around, but also appeared quite polite.

Ning Wan was still a little unsure, but she said more respectfully, "This is not appropriate. You are the chief creator of the team."

Having said that, Huo Sheng no longer stood on ceremony, tacitly agreeing, and smiled, "What brings you here today?"

Ning Wan only received the notification this morning when she went to work, which arranged for her to report to the set of "The Great Era".

She inquired around and learned that it was her idol Wai Ka-fai's film crew, which made her quite excited. However, when she went to find Wai Ka-fai, he told her that the screenwriter this time was not him, but a guy named Fok Seng.

Who is Huo Sheng?

Ning Wan clenched her teeth and didn't ask, afraid that Producer Wei would think she was ignorant and didn't even know who "Huo Sheng" was.

So, Ning Wan just took an address and came over.

Upon meeting, I was surprised by Huo Sheng's youth, but I still calmly went through the procedures.

"Mr. Huo, Producer Wei wants to discuss two things with you. One is to introduce you to our team's executive director and assistant director; the other is to hold our first production meeting to finalize the follow-up preparations."

Director Wai Ka-fai has already been found. That's the good thing about TVB's production system; once a project is approved, it's very convenient to find the right people and resources.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Huo Sheng nodded knowingly, put the pen and notebook on the table into his pocket, and followed Ning Wan out of the dormitory building, heading towards the western production area.

This is the main production location for TVB dramas. Inside, there are tall mobile sets, simple shooting studios, and staff members bustling around, moving props and adjusting equipment.

The two chatted as they walked, but didn't talk about work anymore. They mainly got to know each other better.

After all, in the days to come, Ning Wan, as the assistant, would have to spend every day with the founder, and building a good relationship was something she had to do.

During their casual conversation, Huo Sheng also learned a lot about his assistant.

Ning Wan is from Lantau Island. She graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong two years ago. With a proper academic background, she successfully entered TVB through the exam and is currently the youngest script assistant at the station.

To become an assistant at this age, although not as good as Huo Sheng and Wei Jiahui, is already a step ahead and can be considered a talented screenwriter. With a little training, he can be a good helper.

Huo Sheng pondered to himself as he followed Ning Wan into the Weizuo Building and arrived at a large cubicle.

Ning Wan stopped and pointed to the sign at the door, smiling, "Teacher Huo, we've arrived. This is our crew's temporary office space."

Huo Sheng looked closely and saw that a prominent "The Great Era Production Crew" label had been pasted on the wall outside the cubicle.

Wai Ka-fai is very efficient; the venue was ready in just a few days.

If this were Huo Sheng's production company from his previous life, it probably would only be enough to organize a mobilization meeting...