All Geared Up

"It's a long story. Credit goes to a young comrade named Chen Qi, the screenwriter of Romance on Mount Lu." "Ah, Romance on Mount Lu was well done!" Liao Gong, who oversaw the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, smiled and said, "I watched it once myself, then organized a screening for everyone here. The theme of overseas Chinese returning to build up the motherland was very good. Go on, keep talking!" Wang Yang had no desire to take credit for another's work and recounted the whole affair matter-of-factly. Liao Gong listened with keen interest, chiming in with questions from time to time. "It seems your studio has turned up a remarkable young man! That's a wonderful sign. A new era brings new problems, and we need young people like him to step forward... So, what did you two come to see me about today?" "We want to import Tai Chi and invite the main cast and crew to Hong Kong for the premiere. We're hoping you might approve a few extra slots for us. We'd also like to organize some promotional events, and more people will make for a livelier showing." "When will it be released?" "Around the Spring Festival." "A prime slot! With a movie of this caliber, you might very well reverse your decline in one fell swoop and stage a grand comeback..." Liao Gong paced around the room for several turns, then declared decisively, "Since we're doing it, let's make it grand. Submit your guest list—no more than ten people—and we'll treat it as a cultural exchange between the two regions. You've gotten my hopes up now, so let me wish you every success right out of the gate!" "Thank you for your support!" Wang Yang and Fu Chi were overjoyed. They had come precisely for those travel quotas; arriving with too small a delegation would have looked shabby. Just as they were about to take their leave, Liao Gong waved them to a halt. "Wait, wait, leave the tape behind. I'll watch it again when I have some free time." After the two left, he returned to his office. Lost in thought, he hesitated for a moment before suddenly instructing his staff, "Go fetch me a basin of water!" His subordinates assumed he wanted to wash his face and thoughtfully brought hot water. Liao Gong tested the temperature, found it a bit too hot, and diluted it with cold water until it was lukewarm. He shooed everyone out of the room, closed the door, and—just like countless young boys—began swirling the water with his hands... He was an avid wuxia fan himself. Having studied martial arts under Sun Yat-sen's bodyguard, Ma Xiang, he possessed a special fondness for action cinema. Alas, domestic productions lacked punch, forcing him to rely on Hong Kong films, with Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury being his absolute favorite. Many senior leaders shared his tastes; they were men who had shed blood on the battlefield, and quite a few were trained martial artists. "Oh, this idea really is quite ingenious!" After swirling the water for a while, Liao Gong withdrew his hands, thoroughly satisfied. He picked up the telephone and dialed Zhao Yimin—a veteran revolutionary who also practiced martial arts, though his official position was too sensitive to name aloud. "Old Zhao, if you're free, come over to my place to watch a movie... It's thrilling, absolutely thrilling!" "If Monk Xu weren't stuck down in Nanjing, I would've invited him too... Haha, excellent, it's a date!" Knowing that nobody else had seen Tai Chi yet, he could hardly wait to invite his old comrade over for an exclusive screening. He even toyed with the idea of sending it into Zhongnanhai, but decided against it for now—better to wait until Wang Yang and his team proved its worth with actual box office numbers. * * * China Film had no authority over any of the promotional activities for Tai Chi in Hong Kong, as the region fell outside its jurisdiction. Fang Yurong wouldn't join up with them until they reached Berlin. Even then, her attention would be monopolized by Return of the Swallows, leaving her little time to mind Tai Chi—which was precisely the outcome Chen Qi wanted. Otherwise, how could he act first and report later? The ten-person roster for Hong Kong was finalized: Li Wenhua, Chen Qi, Gong Xue, Li Lianjie, Wang Qun, Yu Hai, Yu Chenghui, Ge Chunyan, Ji Chunhua, and Xiong Xinxin. The group arrived in Beijing one after another from Zhejiang and moved into the Beijing Film Studio guesthouse. Li Lianjie, convinced he had grasped Chen Qi's hidden meaning, set his heart entirely on joining Beijing Film Studio. He made a point of being proactive, frequently showing up before Li Wenhua to make a good impression. Traveling abroad in this era was an enormous headache, requiring endless background checks and procedures. Over the following month, everyone passed the time in waiting—and that was with Liao Gong personally giving them the green light. Room 302. The radiator was blasting heat. As usual, Chen Qi kicked off his shoes and toasted his feet over it while leafing through a copy of the China Youth Daily. A news item caught his eye: "Shanghai Television introduces an innovative initiative, soliciting public opinions from local audiences to host the 1981 Spring Festival On-Demand Television Gala... Viewers can request programs by telephone or mail, and Shanghai TV will record a special variety show to broadcast on New Year's Eve..." "If it weren't for me, Sister Xue would probably be appearing on that very program, performing a female vocal duet with Zhang Yu." "Isn't this basically the predecessor to the CCTV Spring Festival Gala?" "Shanghai really is always ahead of the curve." Chen Qi muttered to himself. CCTV would stage its first official Spring Festival Gala in 1983. They had run similar programs before then, but those had been modest, tea-party-style gatherings on a shoestring budget. He recalled that the hosts for the 1983 Gala were Ma Ji, Jiang Kun, Wang Jingyu, and Liu Xiaoqing. The first two were crosstalk performers with silver tongues capable of livening up the room; Wang Jingyu was a comedic stage actor; and Liu Xiaoqing had been picked simply because she was wildly popular. "Now that's what I call an effective move. Who cares about shooting Justice Bao? Getting on the Spring Gala is the real game-changer." "I just need to launch two more projects—one box-office hit, one award winner, preferably something that wins overseas. That'll cement my golden touch for making stars. When the time comes, actresses will come swarming into my arms in droves, and by then, those little starlets will have grown up too..." Chen Qi always planned three steps ahead, mapping out every inch of his garden well in advance. Knock, knock! Just then, Ji Chunhua pushed open the door and said, "Brother Qi, Sister Xue is looking for you!" "Oh!" He got to his feet, walked out, and headed downstairs. Gong Xue stood waiting below, bundled in a thick padded coat, a knit hat, a scarf, and mittens, wrapped up snug as could be. Although she was technically allowed to visit his room during the day, she had never once done so, always sending someone else to fetch him. "What brought you out in this freezing weather? What's going on?" "..." Looking rather bashful, she gestured toward the small lane where they usually went on walks. Puzzled, Chen Qi followed her. There was no one else around. Gong Xue bit her lip and said, "The outfits were delivered. I tried mine on, and it looked quite nice... I wanted you to see it." "Huh?" Before Chen Qi could react, she unbuttoned her heavy padded coat to reveal a little black dress with a high collar. The cut remained conservative, leaving neither arms nor legs exposed, looking thoroughly dignified and elegant. Down on her feet, however, she was still wearing padded winter boots—a look both lovely and a little comical. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Does it look bad?" she asked anxiously. "No, it looks great, really! It's just the footwear that's off. A pair of high heels would make it look even better!" "I thought so too. High heels are definitely the way to go." "All right, button back up, hurry. It's freezing out here..." Chen Qi helped her straighten her coat. Seeing her shivering in the cold, he couldn't help sighing, "Silly girl. It's not like I wouldn't see it once we got to Hong Kong." "That's not the same! Anyway, I'm heading back!" Gong Xue bundled herself back up in her thick coat, returning to her bundled-up look from moments before. She gave him a wave and trotted quickly up the stairs. "Ah, what a wonderful big sister!" Chen Qi marveled to himself and headed upstairs as well, only to bump into a crowd of people shouting excitedly. Ji Chunhua was among them and called out, "Brother Qi, our clothes arrived!" "Oh! Go ahead and try yours on, then!" "Aren't you trying yours?" "Me? I've prepared my own!" "Pfft!" The entire room turned their heads in unison to shoot him looks of utter disdain. Traveling abroad for cultural exchange counted as a foreign affairs mission, which came with strict dress codes. In some cases, garments were issued uniformly; in others, people had to provide their own. This bunch was country through and through—none of them owned a single presentable outfit. Fortunately, Great Wall had made a tidy profit lately and, in the spirit of generous hospitality, waved its hand and covered all their clothing expenses. Chen Qi had declined the offer, opting to buy his own clothes instead. He was pretty excited himself—at long last, he'd get to dress up looking sharp and respectable.