Chapter 00064: Li Lianjie
# Li Lianjie
Chapter 64
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 64: Li Lianjie
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Come in!"
Early that morning, Chen Qi knocked on the door of the factory director's office.
Wang Yang was sipping tea with a smile.
"Have a seat. The guest will be here soon. What have you been up to these past few days?"
"Writing a story for Story Magazine!"
"Oh? Another martial arts piece?"
"Yes, it's called Invincible Mandarin Duck Legs!"
Chen Qi briefly explained the story, and Wang Yang nodded.
"Sounds interesting. I don't know where you get all these ideas about fighting and killing. Most people write one story a year, but you write three."
"Well, it's easier to write about fighting and killing. If you ask me to write something profound, I wouldn't know how..."
He paused and couldn't help but ask, "Old Director, do you know if the payment from Hong Kong will be in Hong Kong dollars or RMB?"
"Of course, it'll be in Hong Kong dollars!"
"What about Overseas Chinese Remittance Certificates?"
"Hmm... your situation is a bit special. I'm not sure. You'll have to ask the bank when the time comes," Wang Yang replied.
Overseas Chinese Remittance Certificates were quite famous.
Before the introduction of foreign exchange certificates, there was another type called Overseas Chinese Remittance Certificates.
When overseas Chinese sent foreign currency to their relatives in China, the bank would convert it into RMB and issue a certain amount of these certificates.
With these certificates, domestic relatives could buy many high-quality goods that were otherwise unavailable in the market—things like canned anchovies, luncheon meat, Klim powdered milk, instant coffee, and Western-style clothing.
Even during the toughest times in the country, this supply never stopped, and many people lived comfortably thanks to these certificates.
The preferential treatment for domestic relatives encouraged overseas Chinese to send more foreign currency, which was a way to attract foreign exchange.
Hong Kong dollars were also included in this system.
However, Chen Qi's situation was different.
His payment was for a script, and it came from a state-owned enterprise in Hong Kong.
Whether he would receive Overseas Chinese Remittance Certificates was unclear.
Unknowingly, it was already mid-November.
The Cultural Congress had ended, and Fu Qi and Shi Hui had returned to Hong Kong.
They had introduced another left-leaning director who would be staying at the Beijing Film Studio for a while.
After waiting for a while, the guest arrived.
A man in his forties, with a broad face and large ears, walked in with a brisk pace, exuding an air of an old-school intellectual.
He smiled as he entered.
"Old Director, I hope I'm not disturbing you!"
"Xinyan! It's been a long time!"
Wang Yang shook his hand warmly and pointed at Chen Qi.
"This is the young scriptwriting prodigy... and this is Director Zhang Xinyan!"
"Hello, hello!"
"Young and talented!"
This man was Zhang Xinyan, the new director of Shaolin Temple.
He had always been a left-leaning filmmaker and later directed films like The Yellow River Fighter and The Kung Fu Kid.
After some small talk, he got straight to the point.
"It's winter now, and the outdoor scenery isn't very appealing, so I thought I'd use this time for preparation. I've brought a few people with me to handle the initial tasks, mainly casting. We'll start filming Shaolin Temple next spring when the weather warms up."
"That's the most sensible approach. How do you plan to select the actors?" Wang Yang asked.
"I don't want to use Peking Opera actors this time. This is a martial arts film, so I want to find people with real kung fu skills. I know a young man from the Beijing Wushu Team named Li Lianjie. A few years ago, when the Chinese Wushu Delegation visited the U. S. and stopped in Hong Kong on their way back, they performed for a week. I filmed a documentary during that time."
Zhang Xinyan spoke enthusiastically.
"He was only 11 years old back then, but his kung fu was exceptional. He's probably around 16 or 17 now. I want to see how he's doing."
"If he was part of the delegation to the U. S., it means the country values him highly. Is he a national champion?"
"Yes!"
"That might be a bit tricky. The Wushu Team won't let him go easily unless you get approval from the National Sports Commission."
"I'll try to talk to them first..."
After discussing this, Zhang Xinyan turned to Chen Qi and smiled.
"I read your script for The Wooden Robe. It's really well-written and would fit perfectly in Shaolin Temple. I'll be staying here for a while, so I hope you don't mind if I bother you to discuss the script!"
"Don't say that. I should be learning from you!"
...
In early winter, Beijing grew colder.
The areas around Shichahai and Houhai were popular spots for locals to enjoy themselves.
Once the lakes froze over, even more people would come to skate.
To the west of this area was the famous Shichahai Sports School, where the Beijing Wushu Team had its origins as a martial arts class.
Zhang Xinyan settled in at the Beijing Film Studio.
He was a man of action, and within a few days, he was already visiting the Wushu Team.
Chen Qi tagged along eagerly—he also wanted to check out the actors for the foreign film.
"Director Zhang!"
"Coach Wu!"
The Wushu Team's head coach, Wu Bin, greeted them warmly, though he wasn't particularly impressed.
In those days, cross-industry work was rare.
If you trained in martial arts, you stuck to martial arts.
Why get involved in film? But since the visitor was from Hong Kong, he had to show some courtesy.
"Please, come this way. Our team is training right now."
"After the recent National Games, our team performed well, and the kids have been a bit overconfident. Their training has slacked off. That won't do. In martial arts, if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind. They need to train hard every day."
Chen Qi chimed in at the right moment.
"Yes, I heard you won several gold medals. You're the best in the country!"
"You flatter us. We didn't win ten yet, but we're working on it!"
Wu Bin's eyebrows nearly flew off his face as he led them into the training hall.
A group of teenagers, both boys and girls, were practicing with bare hands or wielding double swords and other weapons, their movements sharp and powerful.
"See that female team member? Her name is Li Xia. She won gold in traditional weapons and compulsory routines at the National Games!"
"That one over there is Ge Chunyan, the captain of the women's team. She's amazing—a fifth-generation disciple of Baguazhang, a nineteenth-generation inheritor of Chen-style Tai Chi, and a second-generation inheritor of Hunyuan Tai Chi. Her Baguazhang is especially impressive!"
"That's Wang Qun, the captain of the men's team. He's excellent with the spear and won a national silver medal!"
Wu Bin pointed out several of his top students, his pride nearly overflowing.
Finally, he pointed to one young man.
"That kid is Li Lianjie. He's only 16, but he won five gold medals at the National Games! Five!"
With that, he called Li Lianjie over.
Officially, Li Lianjie was 169 cm tall, but he looked even shorter.
Dressed in a blue training uniform with short hair, he exuded energy.
When he saw Zhang Xinyan, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Director Zhang, what brings you here?"
"I came specifically to see you. How have you been?"
"I'm doing great! I just won five gold medals, and my salary even went up..."
"Hey, hey!"
Wu Bin quickly interrupted.
The kid was a martial arts prodigy, but he was a bit too straightforward.
You couldn't just talk about your salary like that!
Zhang Xinyan's eyes lit up.
Li Lianjie had the looks, the skills, and most importantly, the star quality.
Star quality was something intangible, the final piece of the puzzle that determined whether someone could become a big star.
For example, Wu Yue had the looks, the skills, and the acting ability, but he never quite made it big.
As Zhang Xinyan chatted with Li Lianjie, Chen Qi looked around, taking note of Wang Qun, Ge Chunyan, and others.
Then he spotted a girl and asked, "Coach Wu, who's that?"
"That's Huang Qiuyan. She's excellent at snake-style boxing and double swords."
So it was Huang Qiuyan.
Chen Qi nodded.
She was Li Lianjie's ex-wife.
There had been endless debates online about Li Lianjie—accusations of abandoning his wife and child, changing his nationality, and his involvement with the One Foundation.
But Chen Qi didn't dwell on it.
As long as these people were useful, he had ways to make them cooperate.
(End of Chapter)