Literary Master 1978

From Lin Chaoyang's perspective, the Taiwan Island in his eyes is indeed a small broken island, not a bald eagle, and they don't have the strength to exercise long-arm jurisdiction.

But for most Hong Kong filmmakers, the Taiwan Island, the largest vote bank and financial sponsor, cannot be offended, so the reporters were so shocked by his remarks.

Lin Chaoyang didn't have those concerns, he was neither a Hong Konger nor a filmmaker.

In addition, he didn't look down on the Taiwan Island regime and their things, so he didn't feel anything when he said those words in front of the reporters.

But the reporters, including the Hong Kong filmmakers, didn't think so. Who is Lin Chaoyang?

A mainland writer!

Even if his remarks were just personal remarks, they were still full of news. This time, there will be a headline tomorrow.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang was awakened by a knock on the door. The award ceremony ended at 10:30 last night, and it was already late at night after tossing and turning to sleep.

He opened the door and saw that it was Li Hanxiang.

"Why are you here?" Lin Chaoyang asked with a yawn.

"I'm here to give you the 'trophy'. Take a look at the 'bomb' you threw last night." Li Hanxiang slapped a pile of newspapers on the coffee table.

Since the 1970s, Hong Kong has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the world at that time. The public has a great demand for news. The news industry in Hong Kong has ushered in a big boom, and Hong Kong has become the second largest newspaper society in Asia after Japan.

Finance, social livelihood, entertainment gossip... As long as the public needs it, the businessmen in Hong Kong will spare no effort to meet it.

A small Hong Kong now has 60 Chinese daily newspapers, more than 30 weekly newspapers and 5 English newspapers. The highly developed newspaper industry has made Hong Kong one of the fastest news dissemination regions in the world.

What Lin Chaoyang said in front of the media reporters last night was already reported this morning.

And more than one newspaper reported it. Not only are there newspapers and weekly newspapers such as Ming Pao Weekly and Oriental Daily that are more entertainment gossip-oriented, but there are also serious daily newspapers such as Sing Tao Daily, Overseas Chinese Daily and Sun.

Lin Chaoyang counted them, there were no less than seven or eight newspapers.

Lin Chaoyang was a little amused at the end, "You Hong Kong media have such a low standard!"

"Entertainment Weekly's consistent style is to do whatever it takes to attract attention. None of this is important. What's important is that there are too many newspapers reporting your words now. You are now famous. You have taken away most of the limelight of the Academy Awards."

"How can it be so exaggerated!"

Lin Chaoyang shook his head helplessly, but he didn't take it seriously. Anyway, he is not a politician.

After chatting with Li Hanxiang for a few words, Lin Chaoyang asked: "You came here so early, not just to let me read the newspaper?"

"There are several interviews in the morning. Do you want to participate?

In addition, Dong Qiao of Ming Pao contacted me early in the morning and asked for your contact information, and I gave it to him."

The last time Dong Qiao wrote to Ming Pao Publishing House to say that he wanted to publish "Crossing Guandong", Lin Chaoyang proposed a high price of 20% royalties, and then there was no movement.

Lin Chaoyang came to Hong Kong this time without informing Dong Qiao in advance. He asked Li Hanxiang for his contact information. He must have watched the Academy Awards ceremony last night and knew that he was in Hong Kong. He probably wanted to talk about "Crossing the Guandong".

Just as the two finished talking, the phone in Lin Chaoyang's room rang. He picked it up and listened. It was indeed Dong Qiao.

After talking to Dong Qiao on the phone for a few words, Lin Chaoyang hung up the phone and said to Li Hanxiang: "I won't go to the interview. Dong Qiao asked me to go to Ming Pao Building to talk."

Li Hanxiang nodded and said: "Okay, then you go. Contact me if you have anything. Remember to tell me in advance before you leave. I'll give you a farewell party."

After the two finished talking, Li Hanxiang left, and Lin Chaoyang also washed and packed up and came to Ming Pao Building on King's Road in North Point.

This place was originally called Nankang Building. Ming Pao moved here in 1966. Later, Jin Yong bought the entire building in 1976 and renamed it Ming Pao Building.

After getting off the taxi, the street trams were clanging back and forth. The surrounding environment was a bit desolate, and it was at best a town-level urban construction.

Lin Chaoyang looked up and took a look at the appearance of the Ming Pao Building. The ten-story office building was not majestic. The dark green exterior wall was mottled and looked a bit old and inconspicuous.

The main entrance of the Ming Pao Building was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through. After entering, there was a two-meter square space, which could not even be called a lobby. There was an elevator inside, and there was a four-foot-high counter opposite, with an old man sitting behind him who was in charge of receiving and sending.

Lin Chaoyang stepped forward to introduce himself, and the old man pointed to the elevator, meaning that Lin Chaoyang could go upstairs by himself.

Looking at the loose management, it was hard to believe that this was the office location of one of the media giants in the Hong Kong newspaper industry.

The old-fashioned elevator had a narrow space and creaked up to the sixth floor. Lin Chaoyang asked around and knocked on the door of Dong Qiao's office.

Dong Qiao was a little surprised to see Lin Chaoyang, "Mr. Lin, long time no see! Why did you come up by yourself?"

"The old man at the door asked me to come up, so I came up." Lin Chaoyang said casually.

Dong Qiao shook his head helplessly, "This Cheng Bo!"

Then he said to Lin Chaoyang: "Excuse me, I should go downstairs to greet you."

"It's not the first time we meet."

Dong Qiao poured Lin Chaoyang a cup of coffee and said jokingly: "You became the headline of our Hong Kong newspaper this morning."

"I didn't expect it either. I just said a few truthful words casually. I don't know why your newspapers in Hong Kong are so excited."

Lin Chaoyang almost said directly that your newspapers in Hong Kong have never seen the world.

"Newspapers in Hong Kong focus on entertainment attributes. Except for a few media that are serious about financial and political news, most newspapers and magazines have to attract readers' attention as their first priority."

Dong Qiao's summary was very accurate. He talked to Lin Chaoyang about the details of last night. After satisfying his inner desire for gossip, he took Lin Chaoyang to meet his boss Jin Yong.

Jin Yong's office is on the seventh floor of Ming Pao Building. It is divided into two rooms, one for office and one for study. The walls are painted in bright red and gold, and the chairs are also carved and painted with gold armchairs.

This is not the first time Lin Chaoyang and Jin Yong have met. They met when the mainland writers' delegation visited last year. At that time, Jin Yong also gave Lin Chaoyang a set of signed books.

Lin Chaoyang first expressed his gratitude to Jin Yong for the book he gave him last time, and Jin Yong also congratulated Lin Chaoyang on winning the award.

"It is rare to write a script for a historical blockbuster like "Behind the Curtain", and it is even rarer to be able to shoot it and shoot it so well.

The environment in Hong Kong is cramped, and the sets of my martial arts movies and TV series are so fake that I am too lazy to even look at them."

Jin Yong is from Zhejiang. When he speaks Cantonese in Hong Kong, he has a Jiangsu and Zhejiang accent, and when he speaks Mandarin, he still has a Jiangsu and Zhejiang accent.

Listening to his complaints, Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "The location shooting is indeed a shortcoming of the Hong Kong film and television industry, but the film and television industry here is more developed than our mainland. The two have their own shortcomings and strengths. The best combination is the best, which is why there have been co-productions in the past two years."

Jin Yong nodded slightly, "Mr. Lin's words are insightful, and that's what should be done."

Over the past year, as the negotiations between the Chinese and British governments have become clearer, the return of Hong Kong to the embrace is almost a foregone conclusion.

The atmosphere in Hong Kong is also undergoing subtle changes. The connection with the mainland, which was almost cut off by the British Hong Kong since 1967, is becoming closer and closer.

"I heard from Dong Qiao that Mr. Lin has a novel specifically about Go, which was recently made into a movie and will be released in Hong Kong?"

"That's true. The movie is a co-production and should be released in Hong Kong in a few months."

Jin Yong smiled and said, "I have to go and see it when the time comes."

Jin Yong has a hobby of Go, but his level is average.

Putting aside his identity as a businessman and writer, Jin Yong is a very good communication partner. He has a calm personality and speaks slowly. It seems that every sentence must be carefully thought out before it can be said, so these words are naturally decent and comfortable.

However, Lin Chaoyang's impression of him is limited to this. People like Jin Yong can always be polite, but it is difficult for others to have any influence on him.

After chatting with Jin Yong for a while, Lin Chaoyang took the initiative to leave. The two did not mention the publication of "Crossing Guandong" throughout the whole process.

When they returned to Dong Qiao's office, the two talked about "Crossing Guandong".

The only issue that both sides were tangled in was the royalty rate. Lin Chaoyang insisted on a 20% royalty rate. After Dong Qiao had some discussions with him, he agreed to his request.

"If I agree to your condition, I will probably get a cold face when I go to the boss' office tomorrow." Dong Qiao said with a wry smile.

"If you say bad things about the boss behind his back, be careful that I will complain about you." Lin Chaoyang joked.

Ming Pao's manuscript fees and royalties have always been known for their low prices in Hong Kong. Even famous writers have to cut their prices three times, but Lin Chaoyang is no longer a nobody in Hong Kong.

"The Death of Van Gogh" has been published by Ming Pao Publishing House for more than a year. If the previous version published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is added, the novel has accumulated sales of more than 40,000 copies in more than two years.

This is definitely a best-seller in the serious literary market in Hong Kong. It should be said that Lin Chaoyang has already gained a certain degree of popularity among the elite readers in Hong Kong today, and has his own group of fans.

Another important reason that prompted Dong Qiao to agree to Lin Chaoyang's conditions was the reports on Lin Chaoyang by major newspapers in Hong Kong this morning.

Dong Qiao didn't care how shocking Lin Chaoyang's remarks were. He only knew that with the nature of the Hong Kong media, they would not stop unless they hyped up those few words about Lin Chaoyang for a few days.

Li Hanxiang said that Lin Chaoyang had taken away most of the limelight of the Academy Awards. Although this was an exaggeration, it was not without reason.

After this wave of news, regardless of whether Lin Chaoyang's reputation in Hong Kong was good or bad, his fame was definitely known.

There is a saying in the entertainment industry in later generations that black and red are also red, and to put it bluntly, it is still the eyeball economy.

It is precisely because of this kind of fame that Dong Qiao is willing to make concessions on the issue of royalties.

With the previous accumulation and the recent news popularity, Dong Qiao has begun to look forward to the future release and listing of "Crossing Guandong".