Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Meanwhile, Yang Che called Liu Dehua, complaining unhappily that he had to talk to Wang Fei first.

"You're making me sound like a gigolo, someone who has to talk to the head of the household before I can get anything done."

Liu Dehua panicked upon hearing this, as he had never thought that someone like Yang Che would care so much about such a thing.

At this moment, he thought, what if Yang Che couldn't stand his pride like Zhao Wenzhuo and broke up with Wang Fei? What would he do then?

Some even wondered if the money he used to invest in various films and television dramas in mainland China belonged to Wang Fei.

No, where would Wang Fei get so much cash?

Thinking of this, Liu Dehua said in a low voice, "The media said that when you and Wang Fei ate together, she always paid the bill."

"Hmm? Haha, that's true, but no, I sometimes bring takeout home too."

"......."

"What's up, Brother Hua? I'm free right now. Shall we meet and talk if you're free?"

"Sure, sure, I'll come find you when I have time. Where are you?"

"I was on the street..."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Che took a taxi to a bar.

The taxi driver recognized him immediately and smiled kindly at the rearview mirror.

Yang Che returned the smile.

After walking a few steps, the car radio mentioned his visit to Wang Fei on set yesterday, saying that Wang Fei looked shy when reporters asked her about her "marriage," suggesting that good news might be on the horizon.

That's fucking ridiculous.

The gray-haired driver started glancing frequently at the rearview mirror.

Yang Che chuckled: "Entertainment reporters in Hong Kong have absolutely no professional ethics."

The driver said in his Cantonese-accented Mandarin, "All crows are black!"

"Yes, I was biased."

As they were talking, they arrived at the agreed address. Yang Che walked along a small doorway leading down the stairs to the underground. Although it was underground, there were still a few rays of sunlight, and dust swirled among them, creating a dreamlike feeling.

A bar in a semi-basement.

Yang Che looked around and his eyes lit up. He recognized this bar; it was the one where Leon Lai said, "I really want to hit someone today."

Liu Dehua, who was sitting at the bar, turned around after being reminded by someone, quickly stood up, and went to greet them with a friendly smile and outstretched arms.

"Ah Che, long time no see."

The two gave each other a light hug, and Yang Che said with a smile, "Long time no see, Brother Hua! I wish your new album great success!"

"Wow, you actually knew I was going to release a new album."

"Is your boyfriend attractive?"

"Haha, thank you, thank you. It's just a pity we didn't get to hear your song."

"I'll definitely do it next time."

"I'll take that seriously, haha. Come on, let me introduce you. This is Alan Mak, and this is Felix Chong. They are both very outstanding young screenwriters in Hong Kong. By the way, this bar belongs to Chong."

Yang Che raised an eyebrow and shook hands with each of them.

"Greetings, both of you."

"Hello, Mr. Yang!"

"Hello, Mr. Yang!"

Yang Che knew what was going on as soon as he came in, because he knew Zhuang Wenqiang. Mak Siu-fai just thought the face was familiar, as he was a familiar face among the supporting actors in Hong Kong films.

After the four were seated, Lau Tak-wah stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Last year, Alan Mak submitted a script to my company, Teamwork Motion Pictures. This is it. You can take a look. It's excellent, but I'm ashamed to say that Teamwork Motion Pictures is out of money."

Yang Che smiled as he looked at the four characters "The Infernal Affairs" on the cover: "Didn't you find anyone else?"

Mak Siu-fai paused for a moment and said, "We've looked, Ah-keung, Wah-ge, and Wong-king have all helped us look, but no one is willing to invest."

Surprised by the old man's frankness, Yang Che smiled and asked, "Can you tell me why?"

"Due to the financial crisis and the sluggish film market, film bosses see no return on their investments..."

Yang Che waved his hand, interrupting Mak Siu-fai: "Infernal Affairs, Hell of Inferno, is it about undercover agents? A police thriller?"

Alan Mak and Felix Chong exchanged a glance and then nodded: "Yes. Mr. Yeung is indeed capable. One reason why the bosses don't invest is that Hong Kong films have overdone this subject matter, but 'Infernal Affairs' is different. I told Ah-Keung that if no one invests in it, I will retire from the film industry."

Zhuang Wenqiang continued, "Mr. Yang, Infernal Affairs is truly different. I've been in the industry for many years now. When Ah Hui asked me to help him review the script, I was busy preparing for my wedding and had no time to help him. But my fiancée happened to read it and strongly suggested that I participate in the revisions. After I read it, I postponed the wedding and spent more than half a year polishing it with Ah Hui..."

Yang Che nodded repeatedly as he listened. This statement was half true and half false, just like antique dealers always tell stories, but 99.99% of those stories are fabricated, even by the most authoritative experts.

Then, Alan Mak and Felix Chong, working in perfect harmony, began to explain the script's story. Yang Che listened intently, because in China, probably only he and Liu Heping could achieve perfect consistency between the script and the final film. Well, no, some lousy directors could also achieve consistency, since all they know how to do is yell "Action!" and "Cut!"

To Yang Che's surprise, the overall storyline is consistent with the final film. The difference is that their current story has a lot of fight scenes, which are still the old Hong Kong movie style.

During this time, Liu Dehua was called over twice by his assistant, and finally left with great apologies.

Yang Che laughed and said that Brother Hua owed him a meal...

After listening, Yang Che asked, "Is Han Chen's gang affiliation Wo Shing Wo or 14K?"

Mak Siu-fai coughed lightly: "No specific reference, just a vague explanation."

Yang Che nodded: "That's good. It will be easier to write a sequel later."

Mak and Chong exchanged another glance. This young boss really knows his stuff. Of course, in Hong Kong movies, gangsters always say nice things about whoever pays them.

For example, "We've reached an agreement with Lao Xu, and Lao Xu is patriotic." Lao Xu is Lao Xiang, after all, the film "Election" was invested in by Lao Xiang's family, so it depicted a bunch of messy affairs of the Wo Shing Society. So, Lao Xu, dressed impeccably, stood on the stage to sing for Deputy Director Shi, and he was even singing a hymn. Was that satire? Yes, but more importantly, it was to show his attitude: Boss, look, I'm upside down, you can tease me as you please.

Unlike Wo Luen Shing and their ilk who are always "stirring things up," you, Deputy Director Shi, should really see who the good guys are.

Suddenly, Zhuang Wenqiang's eyes widened: "Huh? What does Yang Sheng mean?"

Yang Che smiled very kindly, like a villain.

"The story is good, but more importantly, Brother Hua called me. He has a quota with me, haha. But you two, the script needs to be changed. Fewer action scenes are better, don't let the title 'Infernal Affairs' be in vain. For example, the rooftop..."

The two men immediately became excited, especially Alan Mak. He had been writing the script for more than three years since he read Wu Baige's "The King of Masks," and he had been looking for investors for three years. Today, someone finally agreed to invest.