Chapter 00065: Foreign Exchange is Indeed the Boss
# Foreign Exchange is Indeed the Boss
Chapter 65
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 65: Foreign Exchange is Indeed the Boss
Soon, Chen Qi noticed another person.
He looked to be in his teens, somewhat aloof, practicing martial arts alone.
He had a handsome face, though it carried a hint of coldness.
"Coach Wu, who is that?"
"Oh, that's a Chinese-American kid. He loves martial arts. His mother sent him here to study last year. His Mandarin isn't great, so he doesn't mix much with the others. He mostly trains by himself. His name is Donnie Yen."
"How old is he?"
"Sixteen!"
Chen Qi glanced at Donnie Yen, then at Jet Li, and naturally, the scene of Wong Fei-hung battling Lan Yuan-shu came to mind.
Unfortunately, both were too young, their auras still immature, limiting the roles they could play.
Zhang Xinyan finally finished his conversation, and Wu Bin led the group away.
As soon as they left, a crowd of teammates surrounded Jet Li, bombarding him with questions.
"Who were those people? What did they want?"
"Hong Kong directors. They want me to act in a movie!"
"Wow, a movie! That's awesome!"
"I love watching movies. I want to act too!"
"Don't even think about it. The team won't allow it."
Jet Li had joined the martial arts team at eleven, performed for Nixon, shaken hands with Kissinger, and met high-ranking leaders.
He was no ordinary kid.
He scratched his head and grinned, already itching to make the leap.
Acting in movies was definitely better than staying in the martial arts team!
Donnie Yen watched from a distance, envious.
He overheard snippets of the conversation.
A movie? I want to act in a movie too!
"Alright, alright, enough chit-chat!"
"Back to training!"
The male team captain, Wang Qun, and the female team captain, Ge Chunyan, stepped in to restore order, urging their juniors to focus.
Deep down, they too harbored dreams.
Wang Qun later starred in films like The Heroine, Golden Dart Huang Tianba, Invincible Twin Legs, The Tai Chi Master, and Young Zhang Sanfeng.
He was skilled and had a good image, but sadly passed away at 48.
Ge Chunyan acted in The Martial Arts Story, Big Sword Wang Wu, and The Women of the Yang Family, eventually moving to Singapore to open a martial arts school.
In short, Zhang Xinyan's visit planted a seed of ambition in these young hearts.
In those days, careers were set in stone—farmers were farmers, workers were workers, athletes were athletes.
Crossing industries was seen as improper.
But there were two paths to break free from this rigid hierarchy: literature and film.
...
"Stubborn! Old-fashioned!"
"Film is such a great medium to promote traditional martial arts, yet they treat it like a plague. Unbelievable!"
An hour later, Zhang Xinyan stormed out of the sports school, cursing openly, furious.
He had tried every angle with the school leadership, but they refused to budge, even showing a hint of disdain.
Their attitude was clear: We're national champions, we've performed in the U.
S. and Japan.
What's a movie compared to that?
"Don't be upset. This is normal," Chen Qi consoled him.
"Jet Li alone can win five gold medals. He's a treasure wherever he goes. He's tied to the martial arts team, which is tied to the city sports committee. Losing him would mean losing a big chunk of their achievements. No one dares take that responsibility. You should try to meet with Comrade Liao and have him approach the National Sports Committee. Once they give the green light, the martial arts team will have to comply. Otherwise, even if you find actors elsewhere, they still won't agree."
"True, that makes sense."
Zhang Xinyan nodded, smiling.
"Chen, you're young, but you understand the ways of the world quite well."
"It's all thanks to the old factory director. I wouldn't know these intricacies otherwise."
"Haha, always so modest!"
Zhang Xinyan had spent a few days with Chen Qi and was very pleased with his performance.
The Shaolin Temple had two screenwriters who had laid out the main framework.
Chen Qi mainly provided input on the romantic subplot.
And his suggestions were spot on!
For example, how could the male and female leads be constantly together in a sacred Buddhist temple?
Chen Qi suggested making the female lead a shepherdess living at the foot of the mountain.
Just like that, a problem that had troubled Zhang Xinyan for days was solved.
Chen Qi didn't want to get too involved in The Shaolin Temple.
A screenwriting credit was enough.
The film's production cycle was too long—it started in 1979 and wasn't released until 1982.
Zhang Xinyan spent half a year selecting actors, then gathered them in Zhengzhou for training, which took another half year before filming even began.
The shoot itself lasted a year.
In that time, Chen Qi could have produced two films.
Moreover, his own foreign exchange film was also a martial arts flick.
He might even end up competing with The Shaolin Temple for actors!
...
Chen Qi returned to the Beijing Film Studio with Zhang Xinyan.
As soon as they arrived at the gate, the receptionist stopped him.
"Kid, you're finally back. The postman has been here several times."
"Are you Chen Qi? There's a package for you and a withdrawal notice. You need to sign for it."
"Sorry, I was busy today. Thank you!"
"No problem. This is a remittance from Hong Kong. Keep earning foreign exchange for the country!"
The postman, his heart glowing with patriotism, rode off on his bike.
Chen Qi brushed past the nosy receptionist and hurried back to the guesthouse with the mail.
He closed the door, opened the package, and found a thick stack of documents.
Then he glanced at the withdrawal notice and spotted the word "Great Wall."
This was the payment for The Cotton Robe script!
He felt a surge of excitement, no less than when he received payment for Romance on Lushan Mountain.
Hong Kong films might not value scripts much, but once accepted, the pay was definitely higher than in mainland China.
The going rate there was usually 10,000 to 30,000 HKD.
For a renowned writer, it could go up to 50,000.
As a newcomer, and with the leftist studios being poor, he expected around...
"10,000 HKD!"
Chen Qi couldn't help but jump a little.
He had guessed right.
He loved this feeling of starting from scratch and gradually earning money.
It was incredibly satisfying.
In 1979, the average exchange rate was about 100 HKD to 31.35 RMB.
So 10,000 HKD converted to just over 3,000 RMB.
He was one step closer to being a "ten-thousand-yuan household"!
Chen Qi couldn't sit still.
He hopped on his bike and raced back to Qianmen.
First, he went to the neighborhood committee to get a certificate from Auntie Wang, then home to fetch his household registration booklet, and straight to the bank.
In those days, remittances worked by sending a notice first.
You'd take the notice to the bank to withdraw the money.
Chen Qi walked up to a counter, pulled out the necessary documents, and said, "Hello, comrade, I'm here to withdraw money."
"One moment, please!"
The clerk took the notice and was startled.
The remittance was from Hong Kong, which wasn't unusual, but the amount—10,000 HKD—was eye-popping.
Hong Kong compatriots usually sent a few hundred HKD to relatives on the mainland.
Who sent 10,000? She grew suspicious.
"Comrade, what is this money for?"
"Payment for a script."
"A script??"
She was even more confused.
"I wrote a script for a Hong Kong company. This is my payment. The remitter is Great Wall, isn't it?"
"And your job is?"
"I work at the Qianmen Tea Cooperative. We sell big bowls of tea. I have a certificate from the neighborhood committee."
A tea seller earning foreign exchange? Reform and opening-up was truly miraculous!
The clerk still wasn't convinced and called over her supervisor.
The two whispered for a while, occasionally glancing at Chen Qi, then led him to a small room, smiling and asking him to wait patiently.
Ugh!
Chen Qi was speechless.
Were they treating him like a spy?
Sure enough, another guy showed up, looking tough, asking all sorts of questions.
In the end, he didn't say much, just made Chen Qi wait.
Just as Chen Qi was growing impatient, Jiang Huaiyan walked in.
"Director Jiang, what brings you here?"
"They came to the film studio, so of course I had to vouch for you. We were all shocked, wondering what you'd done. Turns out it was just script payment."
By then, the bank staff had also arrived, smiling.
"Young comrade, thank you for your cooperation. We hope you understand."
"No problem. Next time I come, I won't have to go through this, right?"
"Of course not. Everything's clear now."
"Do I get foreign exchange certificates?" Chen Qi asked, concerned.
"Uh..."
The staff looked apologetic.
"Honestly, your case is quite special. Although the remittance came from Hong Kong, it's from a Chinese-owned company. After reviewing the regulations, we concluded this doesn't count as overseas remittance. We hope you don't mind."
Just then, someone else chimed in, "Don't be discouraged. You're young and already writing scripts. Be bolder! Submit your work overseas, earn dollars, pounds. If you get remittances from abroad, you'll definitely get foreign exchange certificates!"
Another added, "Exactly! Most overseas remittances are for family support, building houses, or weddings. It's rare to see someone earning script payments. With your talent, why not earn more foreign exchange for the country?"
"Such high praise! I'm not sure I deserve it."
"You do, you do! A young talent like you, and so handsome too. Who else but you?!"
Chen Qi, who was usually the one boosting others' spirits, found himself on the receiving end of a flurry of compliments.
The financial folks were indeed forward-thinking, further confirming one undeniable truth.
"Foreign exchange is indeed the boss!"
(End of chapter.)