1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

Three days is neither a long nor a short time.

Liu Qingyun never appeared at the Golden Sparrow Tower again, while Huo Sheng continued his monotonous life, working at the bar every night and returning home in the early hours of the morning. He would then hunch over his desk, desperately piecing together those fragmented memories until he was too tired to go to bed.

I worked day and night for three days straight, and I'm almost done writing the biography of a minor character who only appears in four episodes.

Before Huo Sheng could even begin to worry about whether Liu Qingyun had handed the notebook to Wei Jiahui, the landlord downstairs came to find him.

"Ah Sheng, you have a phone call."

The landlord called out from outside the door, knocked three times, and left, not caring whether anyone was inside or whether they heard him.

These days, many young people don't have pagers, and it's common for landlords and newsstands to answer the phone for them, though it's mostly voluntary service—they just knock on the door and leave.

Huo Sheng was still catching up on sleep when he heard this. He hurriedly put on his clothes and quickly walked to the spacious room on the second floor that faced south.

After thanking the landlord, he took a deep breath, picked up the phone, and asked as calmly as possible, "Hello, this is Huo Sheng. Who is this?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before it was answered.

"It's me, Lau Ching-wan."

His tone sounded very relaxed. "Did I disturb your rest?"

"no."

"I think you're probably sleeping, but I still wanted to let you know as soon as possible."

Liu Qingyun spoke a little faster than usual, "Ah Sheng, you'd better prepare in advance."

"Did Wai Ka-fai agree?"

"That's right!"

Lau Ching-wan is quite excited right now. Regardless of whether the script will actually be broadcast next year's anniversary month or whether he can get the role of Fong Chin-bo, he can already see enough hope. Wai Ka-fai's exceptional approval means that the script has enough value, and the fact that he submitted the script means that he and Fok Sing are already in the same boat.

If all goes well, this will be one of the most remarkable steps in his acting career.

After all, the lead role in anniversary dramas is usually reserved for TV Kings like Alex Man and Felix Wong, not for a nobody like him.

This excited Lau Ching-wan upon receiving Wai Ka-fai's message, and he immediately contacted Fok Seng, saying with slight excitement:

"Just as expected, when Producer Wai first received the script, he didn't even lift his eyelids. However, he did read it after my insistence. It seemed like he thought I was neglecting my duties... But not long after, he asked me to take you to see him."

He paused for a moment as he spoke, "Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, could you come to the TVB headquarters? I don't know if it will affect your rest, but I think the earlier the better."

I can go now without any problem, but you can't say that!

Huo Sheng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be there at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"That's great."

Liu Qingyun also breathed a sigh of relief. Mainly, he and Huo Sheng weren't very familiar with each other. He had already gone to great lengths to save face, and if Huo Sheng disappeared or made any other requests, it would be very difficult for him.

As for the idea of ​​running away with the manuscript, Lau Ching-wan really didn't dare to even consider it—

At that time, Hong Kong was still influenced by Britain, and its copyright laws were very strict. Manuscripts and the like were considered theatrical works and were automatically protected by copyright. If Huo Sheng had a backup plan to guard against him, he would be ruined.

Now that everything is settled on Huo Sheng's side, he immediately turned his attention to other issues: "Producer Wei agreed to meet with you because your story is indeed compelling."

Be prepared, he might ask very detailed questions, about the characters' motivations, the historical context, and even details of financial operations. He has very high standards for the work.

"I understand, don't worry."

Huo Shengdao.

Although he had to piece together everything about "The Greed of Man" from memory, his professional background gave him confidence that there wouldn't be any problems.

Moreover, in order not to let Wai Ka-fai doubt the source of inspiration for "The Greed of Man", he went to the library in the past few days to look through old newspapers and check the relevant events of the stock market crash at that time, although information from the early 1970s is not easy to find.

"See you at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, remember to dress formally!" Liu Qingyun reminded him again.

"good!"

The other end of the phone hung up, and a busy tone came from the receiver. Huo Sheng clenched his fist beside him.

The process went smoothly, and I finally had a chance to get a proper job. I no longer had to work day and night and worry about not being able to pay next month's rent.

The first step into integrating into this world has finally been taken—congratulations!

He had a pleasant expression on his face, and the landlord, who was fanning himself by the phone, glanced at him curiously.

In the landlord's memory, this tenant always went to the stock exchange with an excited expression, stayed there all day, and then came back with a gloomy look on his face.

I heard a while ago that she found a job in a nightclub, but I didn't expect her to seem so much more cheerful now.

He put down his fan, leaned forward, and asked curiously, "Ah Sheng, is there some good news?"

Huo Sheng, who was already preparing to go back, smiled and said, "I'm preparing to change jobs."

"That's great news." The landlord was also quite happy, since the building wasn't well soundproofed and he left late and returned early every day, which disturbed other people's sleep.

"Where is the job located? Is it a night shift? Is there insurance? What are the benefits like?"

"At TVB."

Huo Sheng hesitated and asked, "The benefits and compensation should be alright, right?"

Huo Sheng really didn't know what Hong Kong's social insurance was like in the 90s. After all, a place like the Golden Sparrow Tower wouldn't care whether you slept under a bridge or in an apartment when you got old.

"Oh?"

The landlord looked at Huo Sheng in disbelief for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You're going to work as an extra at TVB, right?"

"He's not an extra," Huo Sheng smiled, "he's the screenwriter."

"Aren't those jobs only those with formal training can do?" The landlord asked incredulously. "Sheng, I must warn you, no matter what job it is, if you can't pay the rent, I won't keep you."

The landlord, who was in his fifties, probably thought Huo Sheng was desperate for a job and made up this lie in hopes that Huo Sheng would give him a few more days' grace when he collected the rent next time.

Huo Sheng responded, feeling there was no need to explain in detail, and left with a smile and a nod.

If things go smoothly, he'll leave quickly without the landlord even having to tell him. If he were to set a small goal for himself, he'd like to live in a house with a private bathroom.

As he walked back to his room, he calmly reviewed the preparations he had made over the past few days—the script outline, character biographies, and the approximate scene scripts for the first three episodes.

Seeing that everything was neatly arranged and without any mistakes, the obsessive-compulsive person felt much more at ease, lay back down on the bed, and closed their eyes.

He secretly hoped that tomorrow would be a sunny day, so that his life would also go smoothly.