The 1980s were an era of great splendor and glory for Hong Kong. With the reform and opening up of the mainland, Hong Kong served as a bridgehead for China's economic exchanges with the Western world. Its economy took off, industries prospered, and the stock market soared. It can be said to be a golden decade.
When I got off the plane, I looked around and saw high-rise buildings everywhere, a prosperous scene.
Tao Yumo sat in the back seat of the car, looking at the street scenes on both sides of the street, his eyes were exhausted.
Although she often read news about Xiangjiang and glimpses of the city in newspapers, magazines or TV, and often watched those movies about Xiangjiang, it was only after she arrived that she realized that she was still shocked by the high-rise buildings here.
"There are so many high-rise buildings in Xiangjiang!"
"The place is small, so we can only build it higher." Lin Chaoyang replied.
The street scene outside the car window is lively, with busy shops and busy people. On one side are office workers in neat suits, and on the other side are poor people carrying poles to make a living.
Prosperity is prosperous, but it is also true that living there is not easy.
"Hong Kong is such a big place, and the population has been growing rapidly in recent years. It is impossible not to build high-rise buildings. Now the newly opened buildings are already thirty or forty stories high." Li Hanxiang introduced casually.
Before returning to Xiangjiang, Li Hanxiang had already made arrangements for Lin Chaoyang's family. After getting off the plane, they got into a commercial vehicle and went to the house with Li Hanxiang and his wife.
Kai Tak Airport is located in Kowloon City. After leaving Kai Tak Airport, the commercial vehicle drove all the way to Ho Man Tin, located in the southwest of Kowloon.
During the Qing Dynasty, only a few residents lived here. Because most of the land at that time was owned by a landowner named Chen Hewen, it was named Hewentian.
In the 1930s, this place had been reduced to a cemetery, and in the 1950s, it was turned into a resettlement area to house people who had fled from the mainland.
It was not until the government development and construction in the 1960s that this area gradually developed into a purely residential area.
The car finally drove into a community called "Oriental Garden".
"This place was acquired by Taikoo in 1967 and built in 1968. They are all twelve-story buildings and are very comfortable to live in.
A few years ago, when property prices were high, my wife originally planned to sell it, but I was a little reluctant to let it go. As a result, the housing prices plummeted, so we just had nothing left here."
The real estate industry in Xiangjiang has always been cyclical. It is common for prices to rise and fall within ten years. By the time the real estate market reached its climax in 1981, housing prices had increased by 400% compared to the price in 1976.
But soon, as the international trade environment declined, and China and Britain entered negotiations on the Hong Kong issue in 1982, citizens had a crisis of confidence, and housing prices in Hong Kong began to collapse rapidly from 1982.
It was not until the end of 1984 that China and Britain jointly issued a joint statement, completely confirming the return of Xiangjiang. The property market in Xiangjiang bottomed out and rebounded, and there was hope for price increases at the beginning of this year.
The car was parked downstairs in the residential building. Li Hanxiang added: "This parking space was given by Taikoo when I bought the house. If you use the car later, you can park it here."
After getting out of the car, Li Hanxiang led several people upstairs.
The Oriental Garden courtyard is full of 12-story small high-rise residences. The courtyard has a high greening rate, shady trees, and a clean and elegant environment. Tao Yushu suddenly thought of the environment of an overseas Chinese apartment.
Several people entered the unit door, and the entrance hall was paved with dark brown marble and ceramic tiles on the walls. Lin Chaoyang vaguely saw the commercial housing in the mainland more than thirty years later.
Li Hanxiang and his wife led several people to the seventh floor. The house is a three-bedroom residence. In the words of Xiangjiang people, it is a thousand-foot mansion. When converted into square meters, it is about 103 square meters.
The interior of the house has been renovated for more than ten years. It is kept clean and tidy, so it will definitely be no problem to live in.
Li Hanxiang’s wife’s name is Zhang Cuiying. She came to Hong Kong with Li Hanxiang in the 1940s, and they had four daughters together.
She and Tao Yushu were both from Yanjing. They chatted about the scenery of their hometown and quickly became familiar with each other. She introduced with a smile:
"Lao Li asked me to tidy up the house a long time ago. There is a living room, two bedrooms, and a study room here, which should be enough for your family.
The developer of this community is British-funded Swire, which has a good reputation. Both the living environment and property services are relatively good, and the environment is quiet.
A few years ago, the surrounding area was relatively deserted, but now the living facilities are very convenient."
Tao Yushu stood on the balcony and took a look at the scenery outside. The temperature in the morning and evening in March in northern China was still a bit low, but here in Xiangjiang it was already full of spring scenery and the temperature was suitable.
As far as the eye can see, there are lush trees, dotted with some residential buildings.
The environment here is indeed more livable than the busy street market we just drove through.
"Lao Li, sister-in-law, thank you very much for your thoughtful consideration." Lin Chaoyang politely thanked you.
"Stop saying these words, we are all good friends and help each other!" Li Hanxiang said.
Zhang Cuiying then asked Tao Yushu to explain some details of her life.
Li Hanxiang asked Lin Chaoyang, "You don't have a driver's license here, shall I send you a car during this period?"
Lin Chaoyang quickly refused, "It doesn't have to be so troublesome. Just take the bus or subway."
While the two were talking, Zhang Cuiying led Tao Yushu to purchase some daily necessities and get familiar with the surroundings. Tao Yumo also followed out with her child in her arms.
Lin Chaoyang and Li Hanxiang stayed at home and chatted about their arrangements in Hong Kong.
Lin Chaoyang's main purpose of coming to Xiangjiang this time is to get an identity for Tao Yushu. The work has been arranged. Next, let her go to New Kunlun Pictures to adapt to the environment here.
"My company is located in Lockhart Road. It is not large in scale. Your sister-in-law is in charge of it on a daily basis and has hired a clerk and a treasurer.
Now that Yushu has time, you can go sit with me and get familiar with the environment. After a while, I will ask someone to apply for her identity, which may cost some money."
New Kunlun Pictures is a small studio, and there are no less than a hundred film and television companies like this in Hong Kong.
The only difference between New Kunlun Pictures and those companies is that it has the great director Li Hanxiang behind it.
Lin Chaoyang nodded. You can actually get the identity in Xiangjiang for free, but it will take a longer time. Lin Chaoyang and his wife do not plan to stay in Xiangjiang for a long time. It is best to spend some money to solve the problem.
"What are your plans in the recent period?" Li Hanxiang asked Lin Chaoyang.
"Preparing a new novel."
Li Hanxiang asked again: "Really don't want to open a film and television company? You write the script, I will be the director, and we will invest together and make a lot of money."
When Lin Chaoyang came to Hong Kong, why did Li Hanxiang work so hard?
Isn't it just because you fancy Lin Chaoyang's ability that you want to drag him along?
Unfortunately, Lin Chaoyang was not as optimistic as he was, "Old Li, you may not like to hear what I have to say."
Li Hanxiang looked confused, and Lin Chaoyang said: "You, you are a little behind the trend now."
"What's the meaning?"
"Your areas of expertise are historical films and romance films. Haven't you noticed? In recent years, the popularization and popularization of Hong Kong films has become a general trend.
"Listening Behind the Curtain" seems to be successful, but in fact it has already explained the problem.
Without the support of foreign markets, "Watching Politics Behind the Curtain" can only be considered a small profit.
The risks involved in investing in a movie of this scale are huge. This one succeeded by luck, but the money you make may not be enough to lose a fraction of the money you make on the next one.
If you look at the films that top the box office rankings, the local box office is higher than yours, the overseas copyright buyout price is higher than yours, and the investment is lower than yours..."
Good medicine tastes bitter, but honest words offend the ears.
Li Hanxiang felt a little angry when he first heard Lin Chaoyang's words, but when he thought about it carefully, it made sense.
The success of "Behind the Curtain" can be said to be the pinnacle of Li Hanxiang's career as a director. Since then, he has been on a decline. One of the key reasons for this is the ban by the Bay Island, which has caused some investors to dare not invest in him.
In the following ten years, Li Hanxiang traveled around the mainland and Bay Islands, trying to return to the top, but unfortunately his time had long passed.
The few movies he made in those years were basically no hits, with no box office, no word of mouth, and no awards.
In this current time and space, "Behind the Curtain" is still a great success, and Li Hanxiang has made a lot of money from his investment in "Chess Master". He has been in a state of complacency during this period of time.
Although what Lin Chaoyang said today was unpleasant, it was a warning to him. Li Hanxiang frowned and thought for a long time, but he couldn't come up with any clues.
He loves the profession of directing, otherwise he would not be still struggling on the set at the age of 60 or 70.
It might be more uncomfortable for him to stop making movies than to kill him.
Li Hanxiang smiled bitterly and said: "What can we do? This is the field I am good at."
"I'm just reminding you. If you really want to invest, you still need to control the risks. Don't invest in your own films."
Lin Chaoyang's words made Li Hanxiang feel depressed and wanted to vomit blood. I don't invest in my own movies. If I invest in other people's movies, wouldn't it make people laugh if I say it?
"After all, you just don't like my small workshop, right?" Li Hanxiang said depressedly.
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Why do you look down on me and spend so much time talking to you?"
Li Hanxiang's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Then let's work together? What do you think?"
"I have an idea, but it's not mature yet. I'll wait until I finish writing my new work."
Li Hanxiang was interested and asked: "Adapt your new work into a movie?"
Lin Chaoyang nodded, and Li Hanxiang suddenly felt confident in his chest. The movies adapted from Lin Chaoyang's novels have achieved great success!
"Okay, then I'm waiting for your new work, so you have to hurry up!"
"Don't be afraid of being late for a good meal." Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.
In fact, he has been writing new works since the Chinese New Year, but there have been a lot of things during this period. It has been almost two months now and he has written less than 100,000 words intermittently.
Fortunately, the length of this novel is not long, and there are not many worldly things to disturb him during this period of time in Xiangjiang. Lin Chaoyang plans to finish the novel quickly during this period.
After Zhang Cuiying and Tao Yushu came back from shopping, Li Hanxiang proposed to have dinner, which was regarded as a reception banquet.
A group of people didn't go too far for the Jie Feng Banquet, so they found a Sheng Kee Restaurant near Ho Man Tin. After the meal, Lin Chaoyang and his family were sent back to the entrance of Oriental Garden.
"It's been a long journey today, so you guys should go to bed early. When Yushu has time, call your sister-in-law and go to the company at any time.
I have arranged a party on Sunday, Chaoyang, you want to come to it then."
After these instructions, Li Hanxiang left.
Tao Yushu looked at the car leaving and said, "Thanks to Lao Li and my sister-in-law, I don't know how much effort they saved with their arrangements."
Under Zhang Cuiying's advance arrangements, the residence in Oriental Garden has basically met the standard of move-in. Even the bedding has been purchased, so Tao Yushu doesn't need to worry about it at all.
She added: "They are so interested, are they aiming for you?"
Lin Chaoyang smiled and nodded, "There is no such thing as a free lunch. Lao Li has always wanted to cooperate with me again."
"Then what do you think?" Tao Yushu asked.
Lin Chaoyang looked at her, "It's not my idea, it's your idea."
Tao Yushu looked surprised, "What does it have to do with me?"
"Even if it's a joint movie, the most I can do is produce a script. What I really have to worry about is you."
Chapter completed!