The literary era since 1979

The next day, Jiahe.

Zou Wenhuai asked his secretary to invite He Guanchang to his office and asked him about Fangyan's whereabouts in person:
"How is it? Has Mr. Fang arrived in Hong Kong?"

"According to the latest feedback, he has returned from the United States."

He Guanchang answered directly.

"Which hotel is he in? Send someone to invite him right away. No, you should go there in person on my behalf."

Zou Wenhuai was surprised and delighted, "Let A-long go with you, so that Fang Sheng can see our Jiahe's sincerity."

He Guanchang said helplessly: "It's probably too late. Someone has already got there first."

"Is it Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng from Xinyicheng?"

Zou Wenhuai has always wanted to bring Xu Ke's studio under Golden Harvest.

After all, Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng are the "Condor Heroes" of Cinema City. Xu Ke focuses on creation and is responsible for production and directing, while Shi Nansheng is responsible for financing, distribution, publicity and other matters. The cooperation between the two is a perfect match. If they can join Golden Harvest, it will be even more powerful.

"No, it's Fang Tai."

There was a hint of fear in He Guanchang's tone.

"what!"

Zou Wenhuai immediately became extremely alert, "Sixth Master and Mrs. Fang are also targeting him?"

“That makes sense.”

Ho Kwun-chang explained that Shaw Brothers Films had Golden Harvest in front and Cinema City in the back, and under the competition from two powerful rivals, its strength has long been reduced.

Zou Wenhuai nodded in agreement. If Run Run Shaw had not been so determined to stick to Shaw Brothers, Fang Yihua would have thrown away this heavy burden long ago and devoted herself to the TVB television business that she was most optimistic about, and would not have cared about the life and death of Shaw Brothers films.

"Yes, we can tell from the 'collective job-hopping of the five TVB tigers' that Shaw Brothers is really in trouble."

What Ho Kwun-chang mentioned is the old news that has caused a sensation in Hong Kong in the past two years.

The "Wireless Five Tigers" who were carefully cultivated by TVB, including Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Ken Tong, refused to renew their contracts. The reason was not only the issue of salary and benefits, but also that Andy Lau hoped to star in movies and enter the film industry, but TVB had always refused to let him take private jobs, and a conflict broke out between the two sides.

If it were Shaw Brothers in its heyday, wouldn't the TVB Five Tigers have to worry about not having movies to shoot? Would they have to worry about not being able to switch from TV to movies?
The bottom line is that Shaw Brothers Films has long been on the decline and is probably only one step away from closing down.

"Do you think Mrs. Fang went to see Mr. Fang this time because she wanted to ask him to come out and help Shaw Brothers survive?"

There was a gleam in Zou Wenhuai's eyes.

He Guanchang nodded at first, but then shook his head and laughed, "Can Shaw Brothers be saved now? I'm afraid even gods can't save it. Even if Fang Sheng is a world-famous writer, an Oscar-winning screenwriter with a place in Hollywood, what can he do alone?"

Zou Wenhuai said: "What you said makes a lot of sense."

"I think Mrs. Fang met Fang Sheng not necessarily for Shaw Brothers movies, but also for his TV series."

Ho Kwun-chang reminded, "Didn't Radio Hong Kong's film "Once Upon a Time in China," based on Fang Sheng's novel, become a big hit?"

Zou Wenhuai said seriously, "Whether it's a movie or a TV series, we can't let Fang Sheng get on board Shaw Brothers. Otherwise, our plan to bring A-Long into Hollywood and Golden Harvest's plan to use Fang Sheng to enter Hollywood will all go down the drain."

"In my opinion, given Sixth Master and Mrs. Fang's fussy tempers, the cooperation with Mr. Fang may not be successful."

Ho Koon-chang was full of confidence, "Otherwise Bruce Lee would not have abandoned Shaw Brothers and joined Golden Harvest."

When Bruce Lee was mentioned, Zou Wenhuai sighed, "It's a pity that he is no longer with us. We are now doing our best to support Bruce Lee, isn't it because we hope that he can become the second Bruce Lee and lead Golden Harvest back to Hollywood?"

Ho Kwun-chang said: "Speaking of Ah Lung, he is currently brooding over the issue of 'Police Story'."

Zou Wenhuai said: "We told him that Golden Harvest has a very strict contract with the director. We have no right to change the director, so we can't just let him do what he wants. After all, Hollywood audiences may not like his style of kung fu comedy."

"But he felt that this 'James' was an amateur leading professionals, and the actions he designed were neither outstanding nor exciting enough."

Ho Kwun-chang said: "Ah Long has a feeling that this movie 'Police Story' will fail, and may even be worse than the previous 'Cannonball Run'."

Zou Wenhuai raised his hands helplessly, "You adopted son!"

Ho Kwun-chang said that Cheng Long hoped that he, as his godfather, would come forward to help the company obtain the editing rights for the Asian version of "Police Story".

Based on the original film content, they plan to find a screenwriter to fill in some details, replace some inexplicable scenes, and then re-shoot the final fight scene, try their best to make "Dynasty" watchable and restore some reputation and influence.

"Well, let's do as he says."

Zou Wenhuai's eyes suddenly lit up, "Wait, I think we should ask Fang Sheng to be the screenwriter, what do you think?"

"This... a job as a tinker, someone of his status might not agree to it, right?"

Ho Kwun-chang was undecided, "Besides, Mr. Fang is a man of letters, action direction and scene design are probably not his strong points."

"You are totally wrong. Xu Ke's "Huang Feihong" has always promoted the "new style of martial arts" mentioned by Fang Sheng, which shows that he has a unique understanding of action movies." Zou Wenhuai said, "We can use "Dragon Detective" to test him out."

He Guanchang said: "We should be careful about this kind of temptation and never let Mr. Fang feel that we are offending him."

"It's natural."

Zou Wenhuai instructed that someone be sent to closely monitor Fang Yan's whereabouts and to inform him as soon as he finished talking with Run Run Shaw and Fang Yihua.

…………At this moment, Fang Yan and Fang Yihua were sitting in the same car, and the scenery outside the car window was flying by.

"I didn't expect Mr. Fang to speak Cantonese so well."

"I often traveled to eastern Guangdong and Hong Kong, and over time, I learned a little bit by myself."

The two chatted for a while, and Fang Yihua once again showed her kindness: "It's hard for Mr. Fang to accompany me to this remote place in the New Territories."

"Mrs. Fang and Uncle Six have invited me so kindly, how can I refuse?"

Fang Yan said: "But since they invited me to TVB so enthusiastically, I'm afraid it's not just a simple visit. There must be something going on."

Fang Yihua did not say it directly, but wanted to wait until she met Run Run Shaw, and then the three of them sat down and talked slowly.

Fangyan didn't ask any more questions and patiently came to Tseung Kwan O in Sai Kung. The TVB headquarters was right next to Shaw Studios.

Both sides of the gate were filled with TVB City staff, and TVB's contracted artists could be vaguely seen in the crowd.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa."

Amidst the applause, Wang Mingquan walked up with a smile on his face, handed over the flowers, and said in Mandarin:
"Teacher Fang, welcome to TV and Radio City."

"Thank you."

Fang Yan started reminiscing about the past and said, "Since the 84 Spring Festival Gala, we haven't seen each other for more than a year, right, Comrade Mingquan?"

When Wang Mingquan heard the word "comrade", his heart surged, "Yes, it's been a long time since we last met. Today we finally meet again."

Afterwards, with Fang Yihua's deliberate introduction, familiar faces appeared one by one in Fang Yan's eyes.

Chow Yun-fat, Zhao Yazhi, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Felix Wong, Maggie Cheung, Liu Jialing...

There are both already famous stars and new stars who are being cultivated, as well as former Miss Hong Kongs and students from TVB training classes.

Obviously, Fang Yihua wanted to give TVB's artists a chance to show their face. What if they were chosen by Fang Yan?

The woman greeted him politely. The man, although reserved, was more relaxed and greeted him with a smile. He opened his mouth and called him "Mr. Fang" and closed his mouth and called him "Teacher Fang".

The dialect was used throughout the show, but the leader of the Five Tigers of TVB, Andy Lau, was nowhere to be seen. It turned out that the rumors were true and he had been banned.

Fang Yihua said a few words to the secretary in a low voice with a sullen face, then his face changed and he said with a smile:
"What do you think, Mr. Fang?"

"With handsome men and beautiful women, and a wealth of talent, and with Uncle Six and Mrs. Fang at the helm, the future of TV Broadcast City will surely flourish."

Fangyan said some polite words.

"Haha, then I'll accept Fangsheng's good words."

Fang Yihua's frown relaxed and she raised her hand, indicating to go towards the elevator.

Just when everyone arrived in front of the elevator, they heard a "ding" sound, and a graceful figure jumped out rashly from it.

Fangyan took half a step back to avoid a collision with the person who was coming.

"Zu Xian!"

Fang Yihua didn't bother to scold him and apologized to him first.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

While waving his hands, Fangyan looked at Wang Zuxian, who was as frightened as a quail. She had short hair, thick eyebrows, brown eyes, and a confused look in her eyes.

"me……"

Wang Zuxian felt aggrieved and wanted to seek justice for herself, saying that someone was deliberately making fun of her by reporting the wrong time for the reception.

However, Fang Yihua did not give her a chance to defend herself. When she was about to scold her, she was unexpectedly interrupted by Fang Yan.

"You look familiar, like the one in Director Xu's "Working Emperor"..."

"I am 'Amy' in 'Working Emperor'!"

Wang Zuxian's watery eyes suddenly lit up.

"So the heroine on Director Xu's poster is you. I'm glad to see you here."

Seeing that Fang Yan helped to smooth things over, Fang Yihua didn't know what to say and just asked Wang Zuxian to follow her into the elevator.

"Whoo~"

Wang Zuxian breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the man who saved her from being scolded, looking at him in a daze.

Is he the "Mr. Fang" that is talked about by word of mouth and discussion throughout TVB, Shaw Brothers, and even the whole of Hong Kong?

I can't help but recall the stories and comments about him in Taiwan's literary circles and media. It's really a mixture of love and hate, sourness and jealousy.

Thinking about how she almost ran into Fangyan's arms, her cheeks turned slightly red. He didn't seem much older than her... (End of this chapter)