A Friend to Neither Side

Jiang Fengqi returned to the Free Association and met with Tong Yuejuan. He was honest enough to hand over the suitcase directly. Tong Yuejuan opened it in front of him, gave it a quick scan, and knew roughly how much was inside. She picked up two stacks and tossed them to him. "This is your compensation for the trouble!" "P-President!" Jiang Fengqi was new here, after all, and a little flustered. He asked quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't. Would it really be proper for me to take this?" "If you don't take it, how can I take it? If I don't take it, how can the Government Information Office take it? And if the Government Information Office doesn't take it, how will you and I ever get ahead?" Tong Yuejuan lectured him earnestly: "We are in troubled times. The Communists have established diplomatic relations with the United States, international tensions are running high, and the pressure on Taiwan has multiplied. As president of the Association and a member of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, I bear the duty of cultural united-front work. "The funds allocated to us each year are limited, yet the Association's expenses keep growing. Hong Kong cinema prospers year after year and stars keep emerging—all of them are targets of our united-front work. Without funds, how are we supposed to carry any of it out? "The Left is on the rise again. A single film, *Tai Chi*, has seized the top spot, and the Government Information Office is very unhappy. I've already organized a team to prepare a film glorifying the stranded KMT troops in Thailand and Burma to counter it—and all of it costs money! "So I'm not taking their money. I'm using their money to do the Party and state's work!" Incidentally, the work glorifying the stranded KMT troops in Thailand and Burma was based on a novel called *Alien Land*, written by Bo Yang—the same man who wrote *The Ugly Chinaman*. It wasn't made into a film at the time; production was delayed until 1990. Hearing this, Jiang Fengqi felt much better. He picked up the two stacks of cash as if they were scalding hot and stammered, "Then, then I'll..." "This is nothing major. As my assistant, you'll see plenty more from now on. Off you go for now!" "Okay!" Jiang Fengqi left. Tong Yuejuan put the suitcase away, glanced at the *Wen Wei Po* again, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the wastebasket. She knew perfectly well that Cinema City was relatively innocent, but the Government Information Office tolerated no impurities and regarded the Left as venomous snakes and scorpions. If she spoke up for Cinema City, taking a little money for her trouble was only proper—what was there to discuss? ………… Meanwhile, let us return to the other thread. Casting for *Orphan* was still underway. Every so often, parents brought their children in, but most of them were disappointingly ordinary. That day, a few more young girls arrived at the Clear Water Bay Studio. The auditions were still one by one. Chen Qi was a little distracted, because he had been clutching a particular file the whole time, eager to see the person in the flesh. At last it was the fourth group's turn, and a girl came in whose hair was so extraordinarily thick and fluffy that it seemed to envelop her entire head. "My name is Qiu Shuzhen. I'm thirteen this year. I like singing and dancing, and I have no acting experience." She was slender and well proportioned, and the legs showing below her skirt were very pretty. Young as she was, she already showed some of the traits of a sexy little wildcat: big eyes, small rabbit-like front teeth, baby fat still in her cheeks, and a chin that had never been surgically refined, so her whole face was a little round. "What grade are you in?" "I just started secondary school." "How are your grades?" "Uh, not very good." Qiu Shuzhen lowered her head, looking a little timid. Her parents were both from Guangdong and had come south to Hong Kong to seek their fortune. They had hoped to become bosses, but in the end they could only work as laborers. There were many children in the family; she was the fifth, and the burden on her parents was especially heavy. She did poorly in school and would go out to work as soon as she finished secondary school... After asking a few questions, Chen Qi had her dance a short piece, then sent her out. "I think she's good. With makeup, she should have that jarring contrast of a child putting on adult airs and deliberately trying to seduce men." "Put her on the shortlist for now. We'll decide after training." Fu Chi also thought Qiu Shuzhen had great potential. Anyone who wasn't blind could see it. Girls who only blossom as they grow up are the exception; actresses are usually striking from childhood. Soon they had seen all the candidates. Fu Chi was delighted to have discovered three promising prospects at once—Yuan Jieying, Zhu Yin, and Qiu Shuzhen. He asked, "Has Cinema City agreed to lend us Tsui Hark?" "Not yet. Maybe we haven't applied enough pressure." Chen Qi gathered his things, stood up, and said with a smile, "I'm going to the newspaper office again. One way or another, I'll make that baldy and that four-eyes come begging to me!" ………… On the set of *Aces Go Places*. Because of this incident, Cinema City felt as if someone had smeared a faceful of shit on it—disgusted, stifled, and with no way to vent. Mai Jia learned his lesson: no matter what else he was doing, he had to get a leftist newspaper every day. "Has *Wen Wei Po* arrived yet? *Wen Wei Po*!" "What about *Ta Kung Pao*? Not that either? Come on, hurry it up! Don't you know this is urgent?" "The newsstands aren't even selling it yet. Just wait!" That morning, the crew started work before dawn. Mai Jia began clamoring for the newspapers the moment he arrived, but they had not been delivered yet, so he had to start filming. Sam Hui was there today too. Naturally he knew about the matter, but he did not want to be tainted by it in the slightest, so he did not mention it at all. The Hui brothers were the most loyal champions of local Hong Kong culture. Michael Hui's Cantonese films and Sam Hui's Cantonese songs directly elevated the status of Cantonese to a certain extent—Cantonese songs had once been considered unfit for polite company; singing in English was the height of fashion... "Cut!" Zeng Zhiwei called out, and Mai Jia came off set. He said hurriedly, "The papers must have arrived by now, right? Let me see!" "..." When Mai Jia saw everyone's hesitant, evasive manner, his heart lurched. He snatched up the newspaper and saw that the bastard had started running his mouth again—this time he hadn't even bothered to take a photo: "Mai Jia is from Taishan in Guangdong, and Huang Baiming is from Heshan in Guangdong. We Chinese regard ancestor worship as a matter of the utmost importance. They told me without reserve how much they miss their native soil. Their parents have been in Hong Kong for many years and have not gone back to tend the ancestral graves or burn paper offerings for so many years; they feel deeply unfilial. When their feelings reached their peak, they could not hold back their tears, and I was moved as well. So I have already arranged with the two of them that they absolutely must go back to pay respects to their ancestors, see their hometown, and see the motherland in this new era..." "You plague-ridden bastard!" Mai Jia slammed down the newspaper and cursed furiously: "You damn mainlander—are you determined to destroy us?" "Boss! Boss!" Just then, someone came running over and said, panting, "The company wants you back—the Free Association people are here again!" "I—!" Mai Jia completely lost it. He wanted to curse up a storm, but he was too furious to speak; he only kicked and pounded the props like a madman and waved his fists, looking ready to go berserk. ………… "You still haven't handed in your letter of guarantee, and now you've caused trouble again? Meeting with mainland personnel in Hong Kong was bad enough—now you're actually going to the mainland? Do you even know how the word 'death' is written? Are you begging us to blacklist you?!" "We're innocent! Utterly innocent, Mr. Jiang!" "We truly have no intention of going to the mainland. Hong Kong is so good—why would we ever go to the mainland? Please put in a good word for us. We'd be endlessly grateful!" Only two days later, when Jiang Fengqi came to Cinema City again, he was already an old hand. He could carry a suitcase of money back without batting an eye, while silently cursing: No wonder everyone scrambles to come here—Hong Kong people's money is far too easy to make! After he left, Mai Jia said decisively, "We can't go on like this. The Association will extort us dry. Let's ask Zhang Aijia for help!" Zhang Aijia was also a lead in *Aces Go Places*. She was Taiwanese, from an illustrious family, and her maternal grandfather had happened to serve as director of the Government Information Office—exactly the right connection. "That will cost money too. Even if she doesn't want any, smoothing this over will still require some palm-greasing." "Then we pay. What else can we do?" "And what about the Left?" "Let's arrange another meeting with that big shot. Ask him to spare us and stop making trouble for us!" Mai Jia felt as if even his bald head had turned a dark greenish-black. Other people got a black omen between their brows; his whole crown had gone black. The Left was making trouble, the Association knew nothing but extortion, and going around the Association to the Government Information Office would cost money too. Who could they afford to offend? Never mind Cinema City—even Shaw Brothers at its peak had to lick the boots of the Right to get distribution in Taiwan. The only difference was that Shao Yifu had greater influence and a little more room to bargain. And however formidable Jackie Chan was, didn't he still have to go obediently to Kinmen to entertain the troops? They thought they had thrown in their lot with the Right, but in reality they were merely buying a temporary ID card. Everyone was in it to make money—if not for money, would they really be doing it for the Party-state?