1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

In Hong Kong, there is a group of people whose numbers are extremely large.

They are usually married with children, stay at home full-time, and firmly manage all the big and small affairs of the household. What to watch on TV, what to eat for dinner, and where to go for tea on weekends are all decided by them.

Such people are commonly referred to as "housewives".

They are the absolute mainstay of Hong Kong's viewership, skilled at writing letters and fond of shipping couples. If the screenwriter writes a tragic ending for the male and female leads, they can flood the television station and the Broadcasting Authority with complaints that very night in protest.

In short, this is a group of serious and adorable viewers with quirky ideas, exceptional fighting spirit, and very loyal relationships.

Mrs. Chen was one of them.

She stayed up late last night.

As a model housewife, she originally had a very regular schedule, waking up at five o'clock and turning off the lights to go to bed at nine-thirty sharp.

But last night at TVB's anniversary gala, Andy Lau's speech was so witty, Jacky Cheung's singing was so beautiful, Leon Lai was so handsome, and Aaron Kwok's dancing was so energetic that she ended up watching the whole thing without realizing it.

This severely affected her mental state the next day.

When the alarm clock rang, she was still in a daze, yawning all the way to the pork stall. She didn't come to her senses until it was time to pay, mistakenly paying ten dollars instead of one, and was chased by the proprietress who called her "Mrs. Chen" several times before she came to her senses.

I walked back in a daze, carrying my shopping bag, and stopped on my own when I passed the newsstand.

She saw those handsome men and beautiful women who were in excruciating pain on the acupressure mat on stage last night appear on the cover of Ming Pao Weekly.

Next to it was a line of text: "Exclusive set visit to the anniversary drama 'The Greed of Man'".

The Hong Kong Television magazine next to it featured Adam Cheng on the cover, with a gloomy expression and the headline "This Time I'm Not a Hero."

"Why is there an extra charge?"

She held both books in her hands and checked the prices.

"I've been adding it for ages," the newsstand owner said without looking up.

Mrs. Chan was a little conflicted, but in the end she reluctantly chose the Hong Kong Television magazine with Adam Cheng on the cover, put 12 dollars on the stall, and left with the magazine.

Back at her apartment, she tossed the vegetables into the sink. Unusually, she didn't rush to clean up. Instead, she leisurely boiled some water, made a cup of hot tea, leaned back on the sofa, and immediately opened a magazine.

Mrs. Chan is a fan of Adam Cheng, or rather, there are very few housewives in Hong Kong who don't like Adam Cheng.

He was elegant, refined, and dashing; handsome in a righteous way without being greasy. He was the "perfect man" in the hearts of housewives of this era.

But this time, Adam Cheng on the cover of Hong Kong Television looks different.

His hair was shaved short, his eyes were sinister, and the corners of his mouth turned down, making him completely different from the dashing heroes of the past.

She stared at the face for two seconds, then turned to the interview inside.

"...I've played chivalrous heroes for so many years that I've almost forgotten I can play other roles. This time, I took on the role of Ting Hai because I wanted to scrape off that layer of paint from myself."

Dante Crab isn't entirely a villain; he lives in his own world of reasoning, feeling the whole world owes him something. This kind of person is hateful in the play, but off-screen, look up and see that bastard downstairs who argues with his wife every day and still thinks he's completely right—isn't that Dante Crab?

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Chen smiled, holding her teacup.

Mr. Wang downstairs smashed his own TV last month, and the whole building could hear his wife screaming. The next day, he complained to the neighbors that his wife was being unreasonable.

Is this Ting Hai?

The reporter from Hong Kong Television was highly skilled, turning a promotional article into something very interesting. She read it word by word and vaguely felt that this drama, which was titled "Stock Market Fluctuations and the Coldness of Human Relationships," was quite intriguing.

Although she doesn't understand stocks, she is quite knowledgeable about human relationships.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Zhang from next door stood at the door with a plate of freshly baked egg tarts.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat back down on the sofa, talking about their children and husbands, but eventually the conversation veered back to the television.

Mrs. Zhang picked up her teacup, beaming with excitement: "I've been watching a period drama lately called 'I Love Toothbrush Su,' it's hilarious."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chen secretly curled her lip. Zhang Weijian was greasy and lacked any sense of steadiness.

She opened the Hong Kong Television magazine she was holding and spread it out on the coffee table: "Did you know that TVB is airing its anniversary drama 'The Greed of Man' tonight?"

"How many points?"

"It's prime time. I heard Adam Cheng plays a villain in it. It would be a shame to miss it."

"What? Adam Cheng is playing a villain?"

Wang Tai was shocked.

"Yes, they said they used the stock market to buy up their entire family."

Do you know anything about stocks?

"Of course I only need to look at it if I don't understand it. If I did, I'd just cook it myself!"

Mrs. Cheung smiled, took a bite of the egg tart, stared at Adam Cheng's photo in the magazine for a while, and nodded, "I'll take a look tonight too."

……

7:30 p.m.

Mrs. Chen had already cleared away the dishes, boiled a pot of hot water, and made a cup of tea, placing it on the coffee table.

Her husband hadn't finished work yet, and her son was doing his homework in his room. She was alone in the living room, with the TV on but not playing "News Perspective" on TVB Jade.

She leaned back, picked up her teacup and blew on it, suddenly remembering that the last time she watched a drama like this was "No Regrets in This Life".

Back then, I was sitting in this spot, drinking the same cup of tea, at the same time. The only difference was that back then I was waiting for dawn, and this time I'm waiting for Adam Cheng, who's also involved in stock trading.

After enduring several of Huang Yidao's deaths, the opening credits of "The Greed of Man" finally started playing on the screen.

Zheng Shaoqiu's face flashed by, followed by a scene of a stock trading hall, and finally settled on the three characters "The Great Era".

The story begins in the stock exchange, where Adam Cheng's gloomy face appears directly in the center of the screen. The dark gray tone of the entire screen, combined with the wildly fluctuating Hang Seng Index, creates a strong sense of tension.

Meanwhile, Adam Cheng, also known as Ding Xie, was staring intently at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's screen displaying rapidly changing numbers. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his forehead, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke: "...Technical adjustment! It's just a technical adjustment, don't be afraid!"

His expression and tone were terrified, and his words were incoherent, instantly attracting Mrs. Chen's attention.

But when she focused her attention, she noticed that Ding Xie's expression seemed to be more than just fear; there was also a kind of terrifying obsession, like a gambler who had lost his last chip and was still telling himself that he would definitely turn the tables in the next round.

Mrs. Chan was somewhat surprised, not expecting that Adam Cheng would play such a role.

The scene then moves to Ding Hai leading his four sons to the rooftop, with a hazy gray sky behind them and cars and people shrunken like ants below.

The eldest son, Ding Xiaoxie, was trembling; the second son, Ding Yixie, had tears on his face; the third son, Ding Wangxie, kept his head down and remained silent; and the youngest son, Ding Lixie, had completely white lips and was gripping the seams of his trousers tightly with both hands.

Ding Hai stood at the front, leaning on the rooftop and looking down: "Kindness may be taken advantage of by others, but not by Heaven. You've followed me for so many years, and I haven't taught you anything else, but you can't let others see your bad side!"

The four sons were still trembling.

Ding Hai led them one by one to the edge of the rooftop, raised his head, and roared at the gray sky:

"Eighteen years later, he'll be a hero again!"

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Chen couldn't help but mutter to herself, "This person... isn't going to push his own son off the cliff, is he?"