The literary era since 1979

Hong Kong, Causeway Bay.

Newly opened specialty shops can be seen everywhere on both sides of the street, selling almost all kinds of fashionable clothing and accessories.

Famous specialty stores such as Lee Garden, Chow Tai Fook, Luk Fook Jewellery and major department stores all attract tourists to stop and shop.

Before leaving Hong Kong, Fang Yan took Gong Xian and Fang Yan to select gifts for Yang Xia, Fang Hong and others, and "looted" them with large and small bags.

Li Bihua was not empty-handed either. She glanced at the jewelry on the street stall, but her eyes kept glancing at Guo Chongyuan standing beside her.

"Mr. Fang, if you need a car, I can ask the radio station to arrange it. You don't need to trouble Mr. Guo."

"This is not just a driver, this is also a bodyguard."

Fang Yan said with a smile: "You are all as beautiful as flowers. I, a flower protector, can't keep you all."

Guo Chongyuan quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, it's better to have more people. The public security is too chaotic now."

Fangyan deeply agreed with this. Although there was no Chen Haonan, the leader of Causeway Bay these days, the streets were not safe.

In particular, not long ago, the thief king Ye Jihan robbed the King Fook Gold Shop in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Dickson Watch Shop in Central at gunpoint.

The original plan was to stroll around Tsim Sha Tsui and take a look at the house I bought in Tsim Sha Tsui, but now I have to change my itinerary.

"It's okay, I can protect myself."

Li Bihua took out a pair of large scissors for "self-defense" from her bag.

Guo Chongyuan was stunned, but Gong Xian and Fang Yan smiled at each other, "Your style is very similar to the style of a friend of mine in the mainland. When she goes out, she also carries a rolling pin and a pair of large scissors with her."

"Really!"

Li Bihua was very interested and never expected that there were people who shared the same interests with her.

"Her name is Su Ya. Like you, she is also a Confucius with a sword hanging from her waist. She is good at both literature and martial arts. Ordinary men can never get close to her."

As he spoke, Fangyan glanced at Guo Chongyuan playfully.

Guo Chongyuan smiled awkwardly and said, "I didn't expect Miss Li to have such a side."

Gong Xing asked, "You two seemed so familiar with each other just now, Bihua, you and Mr. Guo have known each other for a long time, right?"

Guo Chongyuan said that he first met Li Bihua at a literary seminar organized by Ming Pao.

There was a name tag in front of each guest, and Li Bihua’s name tag clearly read her real name, “Li Bai”.

Fang Yan, Gong Xing and the others were very surprised, "Li Bai?"

Guo Chongyuan was very excited, "Yes, to be as famous as the great poet Li Bai, is really the envy of others!"

Li Bihua's response was also interesting: "So you want to be named Li too, sir?"

Guo Chongyuan was choked and didn't know how to answer. Fortunately, Fangyan saw that the relationship between the two seemed to be only separated by a veil, so he "conveniently" poked him, "Your thoughts are as avant-garde as your writing style. I have only heard of a woman taking the husband's surname, but it is rare for a husband to take the wife's surname."

"Yes, marry into the family!"

Li Bihua said that her family used to have a tradition of changing the surname of the wife who marries into the wife's family.

Seeing that the topic was going off topic, Gong Xian pulled it back in time: "In other words, you two have known each other for a long time?"

Li Bihua did not shy away from saying that she had a column in the Oriental Daily called "Boiled Water"

Guo Chongyuan also opened a current affairs column there and often came to her for advice on his articles, and they became familiar with each other after a while.

"No wonder I just put it on your account when I broke the vase last time."

Fang Yan said, "Mr. Guo, last time you said 'Without a ring on your hand, you must be waiting to be married', was it intentional or accidental?"

Facing Li Bihua's gaze, Guo Chongyuan shrank his head guiltily: "The last vase incident was planned by me, in order to confirm whether Editor-in-Chief Li is married..."

"you!"

Li Bihua glared at him, but her face showed more shame than anger.

Fangyan and the other onlookers were very tactful and left them enough space to get along with each other, and shifted their attention to the stalls on both sides.

I saw passers-by all gathered in front of a small stall, pointing and talking to the vendor:
"Handsome boy, you look like Liang Jiahui!"

"I am him, please come and visit and take a look at my goods."

Liang Jiahui grinned.

Gong Xing uttered a sigh, "Isn't he the one who co-starred with Liu Xiaoqing in "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Empress Dowager Cixi"?

Fangyan moved closer and it turned out to be Liang Jiahui, whose acting skills were so superb that he could be called the "Actor of a Thousand Faces".

Not to mention his performance in movies like "Prison on Fire" and "New Dragon Inn", just the role of "Zhou Chaoxian" in "Black Gold" was obviously the protagonist, and he was just a supporting villain, but he turned it into a one-man show of a gangster boss.

Instead, Liu Dehua was crushed into a small Karami with no sense of existence. I have finished speaking. Who is in favor? Who is against?

No one would have expected that this promising young man would have fallen to the point of selling things on the street in Causeway Bay.

"You are……"

Liang Jiahui looked at the person in front of him blankly, and suddenly his eyes lit up, "You are Fang Yan, Teacher Fang, right?"

Fangyan raised his eyebrows, very surprised.

Liang Jiahui said that when he was filming in the mainland, he often heard Liu Xiaoqing, Li Hanxiang and others mention the name of "Fangyan". When he returned to Hong Kong and Taiwan, he would occasionally see photos and news about Fangyan in the newspapers, so how could he not know Teacher Fang?
Seeing a copy of the third volume of Once Upon a Time in China novel on his stall, the dialect felt even more familiar:

"Why are you setting up a stall here?"

"Teacher Fang, this is a long story."

Liang Jiahui sighed softly.

Originally, thanks to the movie "The Last Emperor", he won the Best Actor award at the 3rd Hong Kong Film Awards last year, becoming the youngest winner of the Hong Kong Film Awards and a shining new star. However, he was targeted by Taiwan and asked to write a letter of repentance.

Otherwise, it will be completely banned in the Hong Kong film industry.

At that time, the Formosa Film Market was one of the largest box office for Hong Kong films, and no film company dared to offend this financial sponsor easily.

As a result, he was kicked out of the film industry for refusing to write a letter of apology, and had to make a living by setting up stalls.

"Good job! You have guts!"

Fangyan patted his shoulder with satisfaction.

Liang Jiahui was quite stubborn, "I am filming for my own country, what have I done wrong? What is there to repent for?"

Seeing that he refused to bow his head, Gong Xing was full of admiration and secretly pulled the corner of Fang Yan's clothes:
"Yanzi, can you think of a way to help him?"

"I know it well."

Fangyan squatted down with a smile and glanced at the stall. A variety of handicrafts came into view.

Liang Jiahui explained: "In the past, I was not a student who pursued learning, but my father was more open-minded. He once told me that if you really don't want to study, you can learn a craft. You can be a blue-collar worker if you don't want to be a white-collar worker, but you must be a skilled worker. So I met a group of friends who are engaged in design and art. Some of them are done by me, and some are done by them."

“These are pretty good.”

Fangyan picked and chose, and said with a smile: "Are you still willing to film?"

"Of course I would! If someone asks me to do it, I will go and take the photo!"

Liang Jiahui nodded and said, "Director Li said that he will shoot a sequel to "The Last Emperor" next year, and specifically asked me to play 'Puyi'."

Fang Yan said: "Then you have to read "My First Half of Life" more." "Yes, yes, I went to Sanlian Bookstore specially to buy it." Liang Jiahui said.

Fangyan asked: "If you were asked to play the role of Yaca Su in Once Upon a Time in China, would you be willing?"

Liang Jiahui also saw the news that Xu Ke and Fang Yan were filming "Huang Feihong", but he did not agree immediately:

"Teacher Fang, if you let me act in this, your film won't be able to enter Taiwan."

"This movie couldn't get in in the first place, and we don't need the box office there!"

The dialect doesn't take it seriously.

Liang Jiahui was very excited, "Then I'm willing to act!"

Fangyan was amused, "Why don't you ask how much the pay is?"

"I'll take any offer, as long as there's a role to play."

Liang Jiahui said that in addition to setting up a street stall, he also has an extra part-time job, dubbing radio dramas recorded by Hong Kong Television.

This job was introduced by Jiang Jianian, a producer at Hong Kong TV Station.

"A hero meets a good man in trouble."

Fangyan winked playfully.

Liang Jiahui's face turned red, which was rare. He silently helped Gong Xing and others to select and pack the handicrafts, and gave them a 20% discount when they collected the money.

"Thank you. I'll remember your discount."

Fangyan gave him a mysterious smile, ready to help him again.

However, no money was given directly. It is better to teach people how to fish than to teach them how to fish.

So on the next day, he was introduced to the editorial department of Wen Wei Po, and was able to open a column under the newspaper, just like what Li Bihua and Guo Chongyuan did in Oriental Daily. He could write articles and earn royalties, which was equivalent to an extra source of extra income.

Liang Jiahui was so excited that he was speechless and kept saying "thank you".

Fang Yan patted his shoulder and said, "I bought a few houses in Causeway Bay and need someone to help take care of them. I was going to entrust it to someone else, but since you live in Causeway Bay, I want to ask you to do this. I don't know if you..."

Liang Jiahui solemnly assured, "Teacher Fang, don't worry, I will definitely help you find a good house!"

Fangyan used this as an excuse to rent one of the apartments to him, and the rent was offset by the so-called management fee.

Liang Jiahui knew that this was Teacher Fang's good intention, so he declined again and again.

"Just stay here and settle down. If you can help me keep an eye on these houses, that will be a great achievement!"

Fang Yan smiled and said, "If you hadn't made that decision, you might have already lived in a mansion based on your salary as an Academy Award winner."

Liang Jiahui said firmly: "Teacher Fang, I will never regret this choice!"

"Okay, very spirited!"

Fangyan encouraged: "A dragon swims in the shallows or leaps in the abyss. Sooner or later, when it encounters a storm, it will fly into the sky again."

Liang Jiahui's eyes were filled with tears and he cried for a long time without being able to speak. He thought that he could never repay Teacher Fang's kindness in this lifetime!
…………

I took a boat from the Hong Kong River back to eastern Guangdong, and then took a train back to Beijing. As soon as I got off the train station, I rushed to Nanluoguxiang without stopping.

Fang Yan ran wild like a wild horse, striding into the yard, shouting as she ran: "Mom! Mom! We're back!"

Yang Xia, who was in the house, heard the noise and came out: "Oh, you've been out there for more than a month, and you finally want to come back."

"mom!"

Fang Yan carried a lot of bags and said coquettishly, "We have been thinking about you in the United States. Look, these are bought for you."

Gong Xing smiled and said, "Yes, Mom, many of the things here were picked out by Yan Zi specifically for you."

Yang Xia complained a few times about "wasting money", but the smile on her face almost never disappeared.

Fangyan put the things in the house, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the TV series "The Horse Shepherd" being broadcast on the screen.

“This TV show is so well made!”

Although Yang Xia couldn't tell the specific ratings, except for the Olympic events in which Chinese athletes competed, basically every household in Nanluoguxiang would watch "The Shepherd" on time. Although it didn't mean that the streets were deserted, it was at least an unprecedented response.

"Mom, you will never guess what we encountered this time?!"

Fang Yan took out her treasured red flag and talked casually about this national flag that was raised as China won its first gold medal in the Olympic Games.

Yang Xia looked incredulous: "Really? The one where Xu Haifeng won the championship?"

Gong Xing nodded with a smile and took out a series of photos with Chinese athletes from his bag, especially those with the Chinese women's volleyball team.

"That's great, that's great."

Yang Xia couldn't stop smiling, and then asked Fang Yan to call Han Yuemin and the others to share the joy of the moment.

"How are my sister and brother-in-law now?" Fangyan picked up the phone.

"Don't mention it, I'm too busy!"

Yang Xia said that since the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the suits and shirts produced by Han Yuemin have been selling like hot cakes.

Just like Jianlibao, it was selling like crazy. Fortunately, they rented a counter and a shop in Wangfujing Commercial Building. If it were changed to the previous tailor shop, it would probably be crowded with people every day. Even so, Han Yuemin's employees and equipment have been working day and night.

Unless there is a power outage, people can rest but the machines will not stop.

"Then I think I should call my sister first."

Fang Yan said: "She is probably still in the crew of Dream of Red Mansions."

"Mom, look, these are all bought for my sister and brother-in-law."

Gong Xing took out a large export box filled with various accessories and clothes, as well as fashion magazines bought from the United States and Hong Kong.

For example, VOGUE, ELLE, GQ, Harper's Bazaar...

"You should let them watch less of this."

Yang Xia curled her lips and said, "Stop messing around and spend more time researching your graduate students."

Gong Xing's cheeks turned slightly red. Seeing this, Fang Yan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Mom, why are you so anxious to have a grandson?"

"It's not just me. My mother-in-law is also worried." Yang Xia said, "We all need to hurry up while we can still take care of her."

Fangyan cleared his throat awkwardly and gave the little sister a look.

"Mom, what have you prepared for dinner tonight? How about I ask my brother-in-law to bring back some good wine and food?" Fang Yan understood what she meant.

Yang Xia rolled her eyes. "Eat, eat, eat. All you know is eating. Haven't you eaten enough outside?"

Fang Yan and Gong Xing smiled at each other. While waiting for the operator to pick up the call, Yang Xia suddenly thought of something -

Wan Jiabao asked him to go there as soon as he returned from the United States to discuss important matters.

"Did the gentleman tell you what the big deal was?"

"It's those Japanese who are living a good life. They said that 3000 of them were invited to visit China for exchanges!" (End of this chapter)