1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

The story begins in the late 1960s.

During this period, a large number of mainlanders migrated to Hong Kong, causing a surge in population and leading to a deficit. Faced with heavy living pressures, citizens had little expectation of the Hong Kong British government—in this money-driven city, "pursuing personal wealth" was the top priority.

Among all financial speculation projects, the stock market is undoubtedly the barometer and arena of the economy.

At that time in Hong Kong, there was only one stock exchange, the Xiangjiang Club.

Hong Kong was dominated by the British, who held absolute power. Chinese businessmen hoped to raise funds by listing their companies on the stock exchange, but their listing applications were repeatedly rejected by the British, causing dissatisfaction among many powerful Chinese businessmen.

Fang Jinxin and Chen Wanxian were the leaders among them.

Unwilling to accept that Chinese people have always been in a passive position in the financial field, they joined forces with a group of insightful individuals to establish a stock exchange belonging to the Chinese community—the Chinese Exchange.

The establishment of the exchange has made the market even more active.

During that period, the external environment was stable and there were continuous positive internal factors. Global funds poured into Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index surged by as much as 7 times, and trading volume soared by 16 times. Some people even shouted, "I only want stocks, not cash."

The stock market surged like a stampede of horses, reaching one climax after another, and the public became increasingly enthusiastic.

"Shark fin rice porridge" originated from here.

At the same time, this was also an era rife with corruption.

Driven by greed, Chen Wanxian, chairman of the Chinese stock exchange, secretly colluded with Chief Detective Long Chengbang and notorious tycoon Zhou Jisheng to engage in insider trading and turn the exchange into a tool for making huge profits.

One day at work, Fang Jinxin discovered in his office that Huanghe Industrial Company had secretly slipped him a sum of dirty money, which deeply saddened him.

Back then, he strongly advocated for the establishment of the Chinese Association, hoping that promising companies would go public to raise funds to develop Hong Kong's economy and provide a place for ordinary citizens to invest.

But now, on one side are the chairman and shareholder committee members who treat the stock exchange as a tool for making money, and on the other side are profit-driven, hot-headed stock investors.

Currently, no matter which stock is listed, it will be snapped up by investors at 20 to 30 times the price, far exceeding the value of the stock itself.

The stock market is not far from crashing.

……

Upon seeing this, Lau Ching-wan couldn't help but sigh—this opening was very similar to the Hong Kong stock market during this period, with the same economic prosperity attracting citizens to flock to the stock market, and the dream of finding gold almost drowning everything, as if gold was everywhere.

Unfortunately, the sudden Gulf War shattered the dreams of stock market investors.

This will likely resonate with many viewers, making it a good subject matter choice.

However, the grander the historical context, the more complex the human nature becomes. As a young man, Huo Sheng probably couldn't possibly depict all the entanglements of the various characters in this era.

Moreover, it involves complex economic knowledge, which is not something a waiter can possess.

It's a pity. It looks like a really good subject matter. With an experienced screenwriter, it could definitely have become a great drama.

Liu Qingyun muttered to himself, but his hand couldn't resist continuing to flip through the pages.

……

Fang Jinxin has an old friend of thirty years named Ding Xie, who is the son of Fang Jinxin's wet nurse, Granny Li, and they grew up together.

Ding Hai has practiced martial arts since childhood and is exceptionally talented. He even won the title of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Boxing Champion.

However, the title of boxing champion did not bring Ding Hai a good life—his wife left him, and he lived in a dilapidated house with his four sons.

His wife left him not because of poverty, but because of Ding Hai's stubborn personality.

What kind of obsession is it?

For example, on one occasion, Ting Hai's son was caught stealing, and Fong Chun-sun went to the police station to pick him up. Upon returning, Ting Hai called his son to him and, in front of Fong Chun-sun, said:

"You were the one who let your brothers steal food; you have guts, that's true!"

Fang Jinxin, standing nearby, was astonished by this bizarre method of discipline and helplessly muttered, "Crazy."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ding Xie's son grabbed a chair and smashed it at Fang Jinxin.

Ding Xie watched as Fang Jinxin dodged the chair. Instead of scolding his son, he said to Fang Jinxin with a serious expression, "Do you know who I am? I treat you like a brother. If anyone dares to say a bad word about you in front of me, I'll punch them to death."

He paused, his expression changed, and his tone carried a hint of reproach:

"But after you became successful, how did you treat me, your friend of thirty years? You should reflect on that."

It was clearly Fang Jinxin who helped pick up the person from the police station, but Ding Xie told him to reflect on his actions. What kind of logic is that?

In psychology, this condition can be classified as paranoid personality disorder.

It's probably because Ding Hai's mother preferred the clever and kind Fang Jinxin in the early days, and always sided with Fang Jinxin in everything from childhood, while blaming her son.

He suffered setbacks again and again. Because he lacked the means to receive a good education, his family was destitute and he was often looked down upon. He could only make a living by fighting in underground boxing matches, so Ding Xie was very self-conscious.

To cover up these things, he would use many simple morals he heard from his mother to beautify himself.

They believe themselves to be kind and compassionate people, stubbornly blaming all failures on objective factors, and always having their own reasons for any outcome they don't want to accept.

For example, he always said that Fang Jinxin had wronged him because one year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he took his four sons to pay New Year's respects to Fang Jinxin at six o'clock in the morning.

As it turned out, Fang Jinxin didn't go home that night and had no idea about it, leaving them waiting at the door for two hours.

Ding Hai didn't knock or ask any questions; he simply took his son and left.

After that, he would tell everyone he met, "Fang Jinxin has changed since he got rich; he looks down on his poor friends."

Someone asked him, "Did you knock on the door?"

He shook his head.

Did you ask him about it later?

He sneered, "What's there to ask? I was standing in front of his house at six o'clock on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Didn't he know? Doesn't he realize it?"

After saying that, he added, "I've considered him a brother for thirty years. He treated me like this, but I have a clear conscience, and I won't hold it against him."

Then he really did move and stopped seeing Fang Jinxin.

This kind of behavior is like some people you know in life, those who are always right, always wronged, and always feel that the whole world owes them something.

However, Ting Hai is different; he is not the gloomy type who always has "I've been taken advantage of" written all over his face.

He was so frank, so open, that it was frightening.

There's no reasoning with him at all.

And this Ding Xie actually has a high school girlfriend.

The girl's name is Luo Huiling.

Her brother was beaten to death during a competition with Ding Hai. Ding Hai went to apologize to her, making the trip every day, rain or shine.

Luo Huiling was young, and seeing how sincere he was, she thought he was a good person who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment, so she started dating him.

But soon, she discovered Ding Hai's obsessive personality.

She wants to break up.

But every time she tried to speak, Ding Xie's reaction made her swallow her words back—

"Are you angry because I went to see my ex-wife?" he asked, his expression sincere. "I didn't go to see her because I missed her, no. The moment I saw her, I scalded her with boiling water, really."

Luo Huiling pressed herself against the wall, too frightened to speak.

Seeing her like this, Ding Xie sighed, raised his hands as if in surrender:

"Okay, I give up. I'll marry you. I'm not being irresponsible. I haven't earned enough money, and you haven't finished your studies... Since you don't mind, I'll marry you right away."

He paused, then his tone softened: "Don't say anything defiant anymore. I won't leave you."

-

In an instant, even Liu Qingyun, a burly man in his thirties, couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end!

A high school student like Law Wai-ling, guided by Ting Hai's logic, will probably never be able to escape him for the rest of her life...

You can't beat him because he's the boxing champion.

You can't win an argument with him because his reasoning is always self-consistent.

You can't escape him because he never thinks he's done anything wrong, so he'll never let you go.

Why? It's truly unlucky to encounter such a bizarre person in life. Especially for kind people like Fang Jinxin and Luo Huiling, to suffer like this is just plain bad luck!

However, this character is indeed quite interesting!