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

After attending the wrap party, Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang embarked on a trip north.

The plane landed smoothly at Yanjing Airport.

Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang, carrying their suitcases, followed the flow of people down the gangway.

As soon as they got off the plane, a gust of cold wind hit them, causing them to stumble.

Li Hanxiang rubbed his hands together. "It's much colder here than in Hong Kong!"

Li Jiangbo tightened his trench coat and nodded. "Indeed, but this is more like late autumn!"

Li Hanxiang opened his mouth as if to laugh, but he gasped and his expression changed slightly. "Let's go! Miss Xia is still waiting for us."

The two followed the flow of people to the airport terminal, which was filled with the atmosphere of the 1980s.

Li Jiangbo didn't have time to appreciate it; he had important things to do.

Upon arriving at the arrivals gate, Li Jiangbo heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Li! Over here!"

Li Jiangbo looked up, his gaze piercing through the crowd. He saw Xia Meng wearing a wool coat, waving at them with two other people.

The two quickly exited the arrival gate, and Li Jiangbo and Xia Meng shook hands.

"Welcome to Yanjing. You must be tired from your journey."

Li Jiangbo laughed heartily and joked, "We've successfully reunited in Yanjing!!"

Xia Meng smiled and said, "Director Li is right, we're all Chinese! Let's get in the car first, it's a bit cold outside."

"Yeah, it is a bit cold."

As the car drove along the wide road, Li Jiangbo gazed at the scenery outside the window, while Li Hanxiang introduced the surrounding environment to him.

There weren't many pedestrians on Chang'an Avenue, and there weren't as many cars as on the streets of Hong Kong. The only thing that was there was bicycles, one after another, most of them being eight-inch models.

The pedestrians were all wearing various dark-colored clothes, with only the scarves and hats showing slight variations in color.

Xia Meng turned around from the passenger seat and asked, "It's very different from Hong Kong, isn't it?"

Li Jiangbo didn't turn around, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Yes! It's different. In Hong Kong, we look at the skyline, but here we measure the horizon. Only when the roots are deep can the building grow tall."

Xia Meng and Li Hanxiang both fell silent. They had both been to Hong Kong, where people were full of restlessness and capitalism, flaunting their wealth.

But they never considered that only by having deep roots can a person grow tall.

They drove in silence for a while before arriving at the Yanjing State-run Hotel.

After escorting Li Hanxiang and Li Jiangbo to their room, Xia Meng chatted for a while before heading off to do her own thing.

Only then did Li Jiangbo have time to look around the room: a bed with white sheets, a sofa, and a small coffee table—standard hotel amenities.

When it was time for dinner, the two followed Xia Meng to a small private room in the hotel cafeteria.

Xia Meng prepared a simple four-dish meal with soup, but worried that Li Jiangbo wouldn't be used to the food, so she replaced the noodles with rice and steamed buns.

To everyone's surprise, Li Jiangbo, holding two steamed buns in his hands, showed none of the airs of a Hong Kong director.

Xia Meng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled awkwardly, "It's just simple food, please don't mind."

Li Jiangbo waved his hand, "It's been a long time since I've had steamed buns, so it's nice to change things up."

After a satisfying meal, Li Jiangbo patted his stomach. "Mmm! I'm full. By the way, Miss Xia, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Xia Meng flipped through the notebook in her hand. "We're going to the Beijing Film Studio tomorrow to discuss business first. People from Xi'an Film Studio, Xinkunlun Film Studio, and August First Film Studio have all arrived."

Li Jiangbo was secretly astonished. What was going on? So many leaders had come.

He knew that New Kunlun Company was a Hong Kong leftist company, while the others were all leading companies in the mainland film and television industry.

In other words, he was just an inconspicuous, low-profile director from Hong Kong, and his involvement in this was all thanks to Li Hanxiang.

Thinking of this, Li Jiangbo nodded. "Director Li, has the budget been finalized? What percentage do I get?"

Li Hanxiang nodded. "The budget is out. This time, we're bringing everyone together to discuss investment sharing."

"Alright, Director Li, go to bed early. We have a tough battle to fight tomorrow!"

Li Hanxiang burst into laughter, which was undeniable.

Xia Meng comforted her, "Since you've come to talk in person this time, I think it will have a good outcome."

The next morning, Li Jiangbo, led by Xia Meng, arrived at the Beijing Film Studio.

I met with Director Wang of the Beijing Film Academy and we chatted for a few minutes.

Then, accompanied by the deputy director, they visited the Beijing Film Studio's soundstage, prop warehouse, and office building, and watched films produced by the studio in recent years.

After a simple lunch at the Beijing Film Academy cafeteria and a short rest, Xia Meng told the two of them to prepare for a meeting.

As soon as the two entered the conference room, they heard deafening applause.

Li Jiangbo smiled and looked around. He was shocked by what he saw.

The Beijing Film Studio was represented by Director Wang Yang, while the Xi'an Film Studio sent Deputy Director Wu Tianming and Production Manager. The August First Film Studio also sent its Deputy Director and Production Manager, and Xin Kunlun was represented by Xia Meng. This showed great respect to Li Jiangbo, the Hong Kong businessman.

After shaking hands with everyone present, Li Jiangbo and Li Hanxiang took their seats.

First, Director Wang spoke, setting the tone for the meeting.

Then, Li Hanxiang, as the director, reported on the theme of the co-production and the investment budget, among other things.

When Li Hanxiang mentioned that he wanted to film the history of the Eight-Nation Alliance burning down the Old Summer Palace during the Qing Dynasty, the leaders present began to whisper among themselves.

After Li Hanxiang finished speaking, everyone began to discuss the filming content.

Factory Director Wu asked, "This historical period was well chosen, but did Director Li consider the difficulties of filming it?"

Before Li Hanxiang could answer, Director Wang explained, "Director Li Hanxiang directed a film like 'The Beauty and the City' in Hong Kong. He has his reasons for choosing this one."

"What about the Old Summer Palace? It's in such a state of disrepair now. We can't possibly rebuild it, can we?"

Xiao Mu, deputy director of the August First Film Studio, asked, "How did they film it in Hong Kong? How could they film it so well?"

......

It would have been better if we hadn't discussed it at all, because once we started, the meeting room instantly turned into a marketplace.

They argued back and forth, neither side gaining the upper hand.

Li Jiangbo rubbed his temples; the noise was giving him a headache.

Just as I expected, there is currently no mainland Chinese film and television company that can directly engage in dialogue with foreign companies.

It wasn't until the establishment of the film co-production company in 1984 that the wave of Sino-foreign co-productions began.

It seems that this company was founded because of Li Hanxiang's movie "The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan".

Li Jiangbo also heard the suggestion to directly rebuild the Yuanmingyuan Garden for Li Hanxiang's use.

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Wang Yang from the Beijing Film Studio. Their eyes met, and Li Jiangbo politely nodded to Wang Yang.

Wang Yang nodded to Li Jiangbo, then turned around and started a new round of fighting.

The meeting recorder standing nearby was swinging his pen so hard it was smoking.

This made Li Jiangbo find it somewhat amusing, but he could only suppress it, and for a while he was struggling to hold it in.

Xia Meng, who was standing nearby, seemed to notice that something was wrong with Li Jiangbo and asked in a low voice, "Director Li, what's wrong?"

Li Jiangbo shook his head, but the upward curve of his lips betrayed him.

The meeting proceeded slowly; the selection of the subject matter and the on-site shooting plan were finalized in just one afternoon.

When it was time for dinner, Xia Meng had dinner with the two of them and then left.

That day, Li Jiangbo did nothing but listen to others arguing.