Chapter 00229: Caught Between Two Fires
# Caught Between Two Fires
Chapter 229
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 229: Caught Between Two Fires
Jiang Fengqi returned to the headquarters and met with Tong Yuejuan.
Being honest, he handed over the suitcase directly.
Tong Yuejuan opened it in front of him, quickly scanned the contents, and then tossed two stacks of bills toward him.
"This is your hard-earned share!"
"P-President!"
Jiang Fengqi, being new to this, was a bit flustered.
He lowered his voice and asked hesitantly, "Is it really appropriate for me to take this?"
"If you don’t take it, how can I take it? If I don’t take it, how can the News Bureau take it? And if the News Bureau doesn’t take it, how can you climb the ladder?"
Tong Yuejuan spoke earnestly, like a mentor guiding a student.
"These are turbulent times. The Communist Party has established diplomatic relations with America, international tensions are rising, and the pressure on Taiwan is mounting. As the president of the headquarters and a member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, I bear the responsibility of cultural unification efforts."
"The annual allocated funds are limited, yet the expenses of the headquarters keep growing. Hong Kong cinema is flourishing year after year, with new stars emerging constantly—all of whom are targets for our unification efforts. Without funds, how can we carry out our work?"
"The leftist faction is gaining momentum again. Their film Tai Chi has dominated the box office, much to the dissatisfaction of the News Bureau. I’ve already organized a team to produce a film glorifying the Kuomintang remnants in Thailand and Burma to counter them—and all of this requires money!"
"So, I’m not taking their money for myself. I’m using their money to serve the Party and the nation!"
As an aside, this film glorifying the Kuomintang remnants in Thailand and Burma was originally based on a novel called Strange Land, written by Bo Yang—the same man who wrote The Ugly Chinaman.
Back then, the film wasn’t made and was delayed until 1990.
Hearing this, Jiang Fengqi felt a little better.
He gingerly picked up the two stacks of money, stammering, "Then… then I’ll…"
"This is nothing major. As my assistant, you’ll witness much more in the future. Go on now!"
"Yes!"
Jiang Fengqi left.
Tong Yuejuan stored the suitcase away, then glanced at the Wen Wei Po newspaper before crumpling it up and tossing it into the wastebasket.
Of course, she knew that Cinema City was being unfairly treated, but the News Bureau was uncompromising, viewing leftists as venomous snakes.
If she helped Cinema City explain the situation, wasn’t it only right to take a little "hard-earned fee" in return? What was there to complain about?
…………
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The casting for Orphan’s Wail continued, with parents bringing their children in from time to time.
Unfortunately, most of them were mediocre.
One day, the Clearwater Bay studio welcomed a few more young girls.
One by one, they auditioned.
Chen Qi was somewhat distracted, as he kept clutching a particular profile in his hand, eagerly waiting to see the girl in person.
Finally, it was the fourth group’s turn, and in walked a girl with an unusually thick and voluminous head of hair, almost as if it enveloped her entire head.
"My name is Chingmy Yau. I’m 13 years old. I like singing and dancing, but I don’t have any acting experience."
Her figure was slender and well-proportioned, with particularly beautiful legs visible beneath her skirt.
Though young, she already showed signs of developing into a sultry little vixen—big eyes, bunny-like front teeth, a face still round with baby fat, and a chin that hadn’t undergone any cosmetic adjustments.
(Note: Childhood photos of Chingmy Yau are rare.
The one found here is from when she was about 16 or 17, and the styling isn’t the best, but it’ll have to do.)
"What grade are you in?"
"I just started secondary school."
"How are your grades?"
"Uh… not great."
Chingmy Yau lowered her head, a little timid.
Her parents were both from Guangdong and had come to Hong Kong to seek their fortune, dreaming of becoming bosses but ending up as laborers.
With many children in the family, she was the fifth, and her parents were under immense financial pressure.
Since her grades were poor, she would have to start working right after finishing secondary school…
After asking a few more questions, Chen Qi had her perform a short dance before sending her out.
"I think she’s good. With makeup, she could pull off that contrast of a child pretending to be an adult, deliberately seducing a man."
"Let’s keep her as a backup. We’ll decide after training."
Fu Qi also thought Chingmy Yau had great potential—anyone with eyes could see that.
Most future starlets already stood out from a young age; very few transformed dramatically after growing up.
Soon, all the candidates had been seen.
Fu Qi was delighted to have discovered three promising talents—Fennie Yuen, Athena Chu, and Chingmy Yau.
He asked, "Has Cinema City agreed to lend us Tsui Hark yet?"
"Not yet. Maybe the pressure isn’t strong enough."
Chen Qi tidied up and stood with a smile.
"I’ll head to the newspaper office again. I’ll make sure that bald guy and that four-eyed guy come begging to me!"
…………
On the set of Aces Go Places.
The incident had left Cinema City feeling as if they’d been slapped in the face with filth—disgusted, stifled, and with no way to vent.
Raymond Wong had learned his lesson and now made sure to read a leftist newspaper every day, no matter what.
"Has Wen Wei Po arrived yet? Wen Wei Po!"
"What about Ta Kung Pao? Not that either? Hurry up, please! Don’t you know this is urgent?"
"The newsstands haven’t even started selling them yet. Just wait!"
That morning, the crew started filming before dawn.
The moment Raymond Wong arrived, he began clamoring for the newspapers, but they hadn’t been delivered yet, so he had no choice but to begin shooting.
Sam Hui was also present that day.
Naturally, he was aware of the situation but didn’t want to get involved in the slightest, so he avoided mentioning it altogether.
The Hui brothers were staunch promoters of Hong Kong’s local culture.
Michael Hui’s Cantonese films and Sam Hui’s Cantonese songs had, to some extent, directly elevated the status of Cantonese—before, Cantonese songs weren’t considered respectable, as singing in English was the height of sophistication…
"Cut!"
Eric Tsang called out.
Once Raymond Wong stepped off set, he immediately demanded, "The newspapers must be here by now, right? Bring them to me!"
"……"
Seeing everyone’s hesitant expressions, Raymond Wong’s heart sank.
He snatched the newspaper and saw that the bastard had started spouting nonsense again—this time without even bothering to include photos:
"Raymond Wong is from Taishan, Guangdong, and Wong Bak-ming is from Heshan, Guangdong. We Chinese regard ancestral worship as a sacred duty. They confided in me their deep longing for their homeland, lamenting that their parents, having lived in Hong Kong for so many years, hadn’t been able to return to sweep their ancestors’ graves, feeling deeply unfilial."
"Moved to tears by their emotions, I, too, was touched."
"So, I’ve already arranged for the two of them to return to pay respects to their ancestors, to see their hometowns, and to witness the new era of our motherland…"
"Damn plague carrier!"
Raymond Wong hurled the newspaper away, cursing furiously.
"That damn mainlander is determined to ruin us, isn’t he?"
"Boss! Boss!"
Just then, someone came running over in a panic, gasping, "The company wants you back! The Free General Association people are here again!"
"Damn it!"
Raymond Wong was utterly enraged.
He wanted to spew the vilest curses, but his fury left him speechless.
Instead, he kicked and punched props in a frenzy, looking completely unhinged.
…………
"You still haven’t submitted your written guarantee, and now you’ve stirred up trouble again? Meeting with mainland personnel in Hong Kong is bad enough, but now you’re planning to go to the mainland? Do you even know how to write the word ‘death’? Are you begging us to blacklist you?!"
"It’s a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding, Mr. Jiang!"
"We truly have no intention of going to the mainland! Hong Kong is wonderful—why would we ever go to the mainland? Please put in a good word for us. We’d be eternally grateful!"
Just two days later, Jiang Fengqi returned to Cinema City, now a seasoned hand at this.
He could now pocket a suitcase full of money without batting an eye, all while inwardly sneering: No wonder everyone fights for this job—Hong Kong people’s money is too easy to take!
After he left, Raymond Wong declared firmly, "We can’t go on like this. The Free General Association will bleed us dry. Let’s ask Sylvia Chang for help!"
Sylvia Chang was also a lead actor in Aces Go Places.
She was Taiwanese, from a prominent family, and her grandfather just happened to have been the director of the News Bureau—a perfect connection.
"But that’ll still cost money. Even if she doesn’t take any, smoothing things over will require spending."
"Then spend it! What else can we do?"
"What about the leftists?"
"We’ll have to meet with that big shot again and ask him to go easy on us, to stop targeting us!"
Raymond Wong felt like even his bald head had turned greenish-black.
While others might have a darkening forehead from bad luck, his entire scalp seemed to be darkening.
The leftists were causing trouble, the Free General Association only knew how to extort, and bypassing the association to deal directly with the News Bureau would still cost money.
Who could they afford to offend?
Not just Cinema City—even at the peak of Shaw Brothers’ power, they had to suck up to the right-wing faction to get their films released in Taiwan.
The only difference was that Run Run Shaw had enough influence to negotiate better terms.
Even someone as powerful as Jackie Chan had to obediently perform for the troops in Kinmen, didn’t he?
They thought they had aligned themselves with the right-wing faction, but in reality, they were just paying for a temporary ID.
Everyone was in it for the money—what else? Were they doing it for the Party and the nation?
(That’s all for today…
Those who understand these two chapters will get it.
Better read them quickly.)
(End of chapter.)