Chapter 00234: Visitors from America
# Visitors from America
Chapter 234
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 234: Visitors from America
Ding-dong!
Ding-dong!
"Coming, coming!"
Early that morning, the doorbell rang, and Fu Mingxian scampered over to answer it.
The moment the door opened, she threw herself forward without even looking.
"Brother!"
"Ah, still so full of energy today!"
Chen Qi pretended to stagger back from the impact, then affectionately ruffled her hair.
Fu Mingxian pouted and whined, acting spoiled beyond belief.
He had been coming over nearly every day—sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for dinner—but never missing at least one meal.
The familiarity between them had grown so much that she had long dropped the formal "Xiao Chen" and now simply called him "brother."
"Xiao Chen’s here? Come, hurry up and eat!"
Shi Hui had already set the table.
Fu Qi emerged from the study, sighing as he held a copy of Ta Kung Pao.
"Troubled times indeed. The world feels so unstable—like chaos could break out any moment."
"What’s the news now?"
"See for yourself."
Chen Qi took the newspaper.
Getting mainland news in Hong Kong was difficult, so he mainly relied on left-leaning papers.
At a glance, the bold headline stood out: "North China Military Exercise by the People’s Liberation Army Proceeds as Scheduled!"
He didn’t even need to read the article to understand the situation and sighed.
"Truly troubled times."
This year, Poland’s political situation was in turmoil, with pro-American voices growing louder.
To prevent Poland from shifting alliances and to intimidate the West, the Soviet Union had recently conducted a massive military exercise—"Zapad-81"—an earth-shaking display of force.
Ten army groups were mobilized—some said 500,000 troops, others claimed 120,000—but regardless, it was an overwhelming tide of steel.
With Brezhnev in power, the Soviets even invited NATO officials to observe, ensuring maximum intimidation.
It was the largest military exercise in human history.
After eight days, the conclusion was clear: Within eight days, Soviet tanks could roll right up to the Eiffel Tower and occupy all of Europe.
NATO was terrified.
China, too, felt the pressure and responded with its own military exercise near Zhangjiakou, deploying 110,000 troops, 1,327 tanks and armored vehicles, 1,541 artillery pieces, 475 aircraft, and 10,606 trucks…
Later generations often spoke of China’s peaceful era, but the truth was, while full-scale war was avoided, regional conflicts never ceased.
The West’s shadow loomed large, and moments of crisis were countless.
Chen Qi knew things would be fine, but the couple didn’t.
They were so worried they could barely eat.
To lighten the mood, he changed the subject.
"Uncle, aren’t we supposed to pick someone up at the airport later?"
"Ah, right! I almost forgot. Let’s eat quickly and head out."
Only then did Fu Qi hastily take a few bites of his congee.
After a rushed breakfast, the two left.
Chen Qi was now treated like family.
Great Wall had two company cars—both high-end—and one had been specially assigned to him.
The accompanying executive had even moved into the Clearwater Bay studio to work alongside them.
Xiao Geng became his full-time driver, and Xiao Mo his full-time bodyguard.
They got into the car and headed for Kai Tak Airport.
Chen Qi had arrived in August—already a full month in Hong Kong.
The city was still sweltering, with shorts-clad legs and fashionable beauties everywhere.
Soon, they reached the airport.
Before long, an international flight from America landed, and the person they were waiting for finally appeared.
A woman in her thirties, wearing sunglasses, dragging a large suitcase, her high heels clicking sharply.
She introduced herself: "Mr. Fu, Mr. Chen, nice to meet you. You can call me Jessica."
Chen Qi didn’t react, but Xiao Mo rolled his eyes internally—clearly Chinese, yet calling herself Jessica…
They got into the car, intending to let her rest at the hotel and discuss business the next day.
But she said, "No need for the trouble. I’m only staying one night and leaving tomorrow. Just give me the relevant materials, and come see me tonight."
"..."
Luckily, Chen Qi had prepared the documents.
Jessica took them and started reading right there in the car.
He couldn’t help but internally roll his eyes again—Come on, it’s not like we’ve never met Americans before.
This act is too much. Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.
He simply dropped Jessica off at the hotel.
---
Chen Xiangmei now worked for Reagan.
She served as Vice Chair of the White House Export Council, National Chair of the Republican Ethnic Minorities Committee, and Chair of the Republican Asian Committee—holding considerable political influence.
She was also a writer, having published around forty books, making her a notable figure in American literary circles.
This time, she had sent Jessica to Hong Kong purely as a favor to Liao Gong, not out of real interest.
And Jessica hated this trip.
A pointless mission—Mainlanders making a movie and looking for American actors? What nonsense could they possibly produce? She just wanted to get it over with and leave.
In her hotel room, Jessica took a shower, unpacked, and lazily flipped through the materials while lying on the bed.
"Orphan’s Grudge? What kind of title is that?"
"A couple working in Hong Kong adopts a child from a British church orphanage… Okay, the premise is somewhat fresh. What’s the child’s secret? A nun… GOD!"
Jessica sat up abruptly when she reached the part where the little girl caused a car crash and then bludgeoned the nun to death with a hammer.
"A horror film? Is she some kind of psycho killer from Crystal Lake?!"
This was a reference to Friday the 13th, released the previous year, featuring the infamous slasher Jason Voorhees.
Jessica grew more and more restless.
She stood up, pacing the room as she read.
When the twist was revealed—that the little girl was actually a Japanese child suffering from a rare condition—she froze.
"An American couple adopts a Japanese child. The Japanese child kills a British nun and the American adoptive father. Then, with the help of a Chinese volunteer, the American mother kills the Japanese child and saves her own kid…"
"HAHAHA!"
She suddenly burst out laughing.
"Who would’ve thought—such talent in tiny Hong Kong—no, in mainland China! This is interesting!"
As Chen Xiangmei’s assistant, she naturally had a sharper political instinct than most.
And Chen Qi’s script wasn’t subtle—it was blatantly catering to American tastes.
She skimmed through the production details.
Everything was ready—they were just waiting for the final piece.
"Worth the trip after all."
---
Night fell quickly, and the two men returned for their meeting.
Jessica, staying only one night, had brought several outfits.
She now wore a sleek business suit, sipping coffee with an air of effortless sophistication—enough to make any gaohua (high-class overseas Chinese) green with envy.
"What kind of American actors do you need?"
"A mature couple in their thirties—they can’t look too young since they’re supposed to be parents of two. Decent acting skills, fame doesn’t matter. We can’t afford big names anyway."
"And two children—a younger girl and an older boy, both under ten."
"What about pay?"
"I’m not sure about Hollywood’s current rates," Chen Qi admitted.
"Two years ago, Jane Fonda became the highest-paid actress with $2 million per film. This year, Barbra Streisand doubled that—$4 million."
"Salaries in Hollywood are skyrocketing. You can halve that number repeatedly to get the range for different-tier actors."
"Do you want a $500,000 actor? Or a $250,000 one?"
"Is there a $10,000 option?"
Pfft!
Jessica nearly choked.
"Even converted to HKD, $10,000 is barely over 50,000—that’s low-budget even for Hong Kong! You can’t possibly be this stingy?"
(End of Chapter)