Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

The day after returning to Beijing, Lin Qingxia couldn't wait to call her family in Taiwan.

In fact, as early as 79, the mainland had already opened up long-distance telephone services to Taiwan. Hong Kong did so even earlier, but the exact date is not clear.

These days, it's difficult to make a phone call from the mainland to Hong Kong, and even more difficult to make one to Taiwan.

First, the call needs to be transferred through a third location such as Hong Kong or the United States before it can reach Taiwan.

Secondly, telephones were not a common thing in mainland China these days. Ordinary households might not even have one; only some government agencies had them.

However, Lin Qingxia didn't need to worry about these things, since she came with Li Jiangbo and was staying at a hotel for foreign guests. Making a phone call wouldn't be a problem.

Foreign guests also have to wait in line to make a phone call at hotels.

The two waited in the room all morning before receiving a call from the front desk informing them that it was their turn to make a call.

Lin Qingxia took the microphone from Li Jiangbo and dialed a number with slightly trembling hands.

The operator's voice came from the other end of the phone. After Lin Qingxia said a few words, all that was left was a long wait.

Lin Qingxia finally felt relieved when the dial tone stopped and the familiar ringtone came from the other end of the line.

"Feed?"

Lin Qingxia immediately recognized her mother Ma Lanying's voice, and her eyes instantly reddened.

"Mom, it's me, Qingxia."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Lin's mother's excited voice came through.

"Qingxia! Is that you? Where are you? Have you found your sister?"

Lin Qingxia took a deep breath and briefly recounted her experiences over the past few days.

When Lin's mother heard that Lin Qingxia had suffered so much in her search for her older sister, she couldn't help but feel down. What made her even more upset was that the search had yielded no results.

She sighed heavily, "My child, you've suffered! It's alright, Mom doesn't blame you."

Lin Qingxia knew her mother was trying to comfort her. She might not be able to fully understand her mother's feelings, but she knew her mother must be very sad.

"Mom, I have a question for you. Did my grandfather have any other children besides my dad?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Lin's mother shouted:

"Old Lin! Old Lin! Come here! Your daughter is asking you a question!"

A moment later, an old and heavy voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Qingxia?"

"Dad, it's me. To make a long story short, I went to the place you mentioned, but nobody recognized you."

Before the person on the other end of the phone could react, Lin Qingxia continued, "So, we guess that Grandpa has probably moved. We've also come up with a plan: to place a missing person ad in the newspaper. That way, we'll see if we can find him."

Lin's father was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Dad, I think Grandpa and Grandma have passed away. So, I wanted to ask if you have any siblings, as we plan to start from that point."

Mr. Lin was taken aback. "Yes. I have a younger brother named Lin Weiyun, who is a few years younger than me."

Lin Qingxia nodded. "Dad, tell me more about Uncle. I think the more information we have, the easier it will be to find him."

"Good, good, good!" Lin's father said "good" three times in a row, and then told him all the information about Lin Qingxia's uncle.

Lin Qingxia listened attentively and took notes. She was afraid that if she made a single mistake, she wouldn't be able to find her eldest sister.

The call lasted about half an hour, and when Lin Qingxia hung up, the receiver was still hot.

Lin Qingxia handed the note to Li Jiangbo, "My dad said he has a younger brother named Lin Weiyun."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "Leave the rest to me!"

Lin Qingxia involuntarily tugged at Li Jiangbo's sleeve, "I'll go too."

"Okay! Let's go together then."

Li Jiangbo and Brigitte Lin left the hotel together.

Li Jiangbo planned to first go to Director Wang of the Beijing Film Studio, since he wasn't familiar with the television station. Having someone he knew would make things easier!

Half an hour later, the two arrived at Director Wang's office, led by a staff member.

In the office, Li Jiangbo recounted the incident.

After listening, Factory Director Wang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Director Li, I'll definitely help you with this! We're all Chinese, and when we're away from home, isn't it just a matter of you helping me and me helping you?"

Li Jiangbo thanked him repeatedly, "Then I'll have to trouble Director Wang."

"No trouble at all, it's no trouble at all. I'm quite familiar with the TV station. Let's go now, I'll take you there."

The three got into the car and headed straight for the television station.

The car stopped after about ten minutes in front of a gray building.

The three got out of the car, and Factory Director Wang led the two inside.

As soon as he entered the building, the security guard greeted Director Wang.

Factory Director Wang nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing.

Li Jiangbo saw all of this and thought to himself, "I've come to the right person by looking for Director Wang!"

But once they got upstairs, the three of them were a little puzzled.

What's going on? The office building is completely empty; it doesn't look like anyone's there at all.

Factory Manager Wang scratched his head. "Huh? Where is everyone?"

He led the two men forward and looked around. They found that the office doors on both sides of the corridor were open, but no one was inside.

Li Jiangbo followed behind him, and asked with some curiosity, "Is there some kind of event?"

Factory Director Wang shook his head. "I haven't heard about it! It's alright, let's go! We're on the next floor, the deputy director is on the third floor."

The three of them went up another floor. Just as they reached the third floor, they heard voices coming from the fourth floor.

The three of them looked at each other. Without any hesitation, they went straight up to the fourth floor.

When we got to the fourth floor, the sound became more and more obvious.

The three followed the sound and walked all the way to the door of a large conference room.

Factory Director Wang stood on tiptoe and peered inside, where he saw a group of people gathered together for a meeting.

He shrugged at the two of them. "Looks like we've come at the wrong time!"

Li Jiangbo also looked inside. "Is this a meeting? I wonder what important thing is going on."

The three of them stood at the door of the conference room and waited for a while.

A murmur of discussion could be heard from inside, but it was difficult to hear clearly because of the door separating them.

But Li Jiangbo could vaguely hear intermittent sounds, something about Japanese chicken, Journey to the West, and Director Yang.

These words go in one ear and out the other.

But to Li Jiangbo, it sounded like a raging storm.

He knew from the words "Japanese chicken", "Journey to the West" and "Director Yang" that they were discussing the filming of "Journey to the West", one of the Four Great Classical Novels.

He was a little surprised, though, since it was only June or July.

It seems that Journey to the West was put on the agenda in November or December of 1981?

Curiosity drove Li Jiangbo to lean closer to the door.

Factory Director Wang, standing nearby, was startled and quickly grabbed his arm, whispering, "Director Li, what are you doing? It's not good if someone sees us!"

Li Jiangbo gave an awkward smile and didn't approach the door again.

Just then, the conference room door suddenly opened from the inside.

A group of people came out from inside, and as soon as they stepped out, they saw Director Wang with three other people at the door.

They weren't surprised and greeted Director Wang one after another.

Factory Director Wang smiled and nodded, indicating that he was a regular here.

After a while, a round-faced, smiling middle-aged man came out.

Factory Director Wang's eyes lit up, and he hurried forward, "Old Wang! You've kept me waiting!"

The middle-aged man quickly realized what was happening. "Hey! Old Wang, what brings you here? Come on, let's go to my office for some tea."

Factory Director Wang laughed and said, "I only come here when I need something from you."

After saying that, he introduced her to Li Jiangbo and Brigitte Lin.

"This is Director Wang Feng."

"These two are Director Li Jiangbo and Ms. Lin Qingxia."

The two greeted Wang Feng and exchanged a few pleasantries before following him into his office.