Chen Chong turned his attention to the electronic game market, and he had no choice but to turn his attention to the electronic game market.

He needs money, a lot of money.

Now he doesn't have to worry about the three companies under his command. The magazine is in Wan Chai and the film production company is in Kwun Tong. It is inconvenient to run around. Chen Chong wants to merge the two departments together to work, which requires at least five or six hundred square meters of office space. In Hong Kong, where every inch of land is valuable, this requires a large amount of rent.

The magazine is fine, it is on track, and the money burning speed is acceptable.

However, film production companies cannot always be empty-handed.

As a producer, Chen Chong has a very clear understanding of the current film production environment in Hong Kong during the filming of "Crazy Job".

Overall, Hong Kong's film industry is very imperfect.

The equipment is not advanced enough, the supporting facilities are incomplete, and the level of key processes is poor.

For example, cameras and lenses are often used when going back and forth, and some expensive ones with special uses are not available.

For example, Zeng Lizhen rented a half-new photography lifting and mobile car, which surprised Ann Hui as if she had won the Mark Six lottery. This was the first time she came into contact with this kind of thing, and this thing is just an ordinary thing in Hollywood.

The quality of the films washed by Hong Kong printing companies was too poor. Chen Chong was very curious about why Hollywood films of the same era were very bright and bright in color, while Hong Kong films were very dark and yellow in color? After staying in the printing workshop for a few days, he finally understood that the utilization rate of the potions used during printing was different. Hollywood may have replaced it with a few times. In order to reduce the cost, Hong Kong has been using them until it was really impossible to replace it with a new one.

Moreover, after the production of "Crazy Job", the preservation of film was also a big problem. In the past life, it was because of the poor preservation and the film was covered with mold and sticky spots, resulting in a blurred impression, which greatly affected the observation of later film enthusiasts.

All these things made Chen Chong have the idea of ​​building a self-built set.

However, building a studio is a very huge project. Not to mention the land issue required by the studio, just cameras, lenses, and photography vehicles can make the current bankruptcy.

Chen Chong also wanted to build a printing workshop, editing room, a demonstration cinema, and a constant temperature and humidity film warehouse... all of these cost a lot.

Although the sales of Rubik's Cube are increasing day by day and a lot of orders have been coming to North America, Chen Chong still feels that the money is too slow.

So he must do everything possible to attract money.

Today, this is the first time Chen Chong has seen James. He is not sure about his background and dares not invite him to change jobs rashly. He plans to go to Los Angeles in a while. In addition to buying photography equipment, he also has to go to Silicon Valley to find some low-cost and high-return investment opportunities, and to inspect the North American electronic game market and then form a game production company.

...

The next day, Chen Chong made an appointment with Yu Muyun to interview Li Zhuozhuo together.

Chen Chong would naturally not let him go for a film history expert like Yu Muyun, so he asked him to open a column in "The First Movie Review" to write about the history of films.

"I was born in Hong Kong in 1905 and later went to Beijing with my family. At that time, my family was very wealthy, so I went to Beijing Women's High School and studied for several years..."

"About 1932, I went from Tianjin to Shanghai and defected to my uncle Li Minwei. I happened to meet director Bu Wancang. At that time, Lianhua Company had just been established. They wanted to make a movie adapted from a Western drama. I could speak English. Director Bu Wancang asked me to audition. When I tried it, I thought I was pretty good, so I signed a contract with me, and then I got into the movie industry..."

"After two years, I returned to Hong Kong and filmed two dramas with director Guan Wenqing and director Wu Chufan. After staying in Hong Kong for more than a year, I ran back to Shanghai again..."

Li Zhuozhuo spoke very slowly, but his mouth was clear and organized. Chen Chong sat aside, listening to the old events in the film industry in Shanghai in the 1930s, he felt a sense of vicissitudes of white clouds and impermanence.

Looking at the time, Li Zhuozhuo had been talking for more than an hour. After all, he was an old man in his seventies. Chen Chong was afraid that she would not be able to do anything, so he pressed the pause button of Pressman placed on the table. (Note 1)

"Mother-in-law, let's get here today." Chen Chong said: "You always have a good rest, and we will continue next time."

"Okay, okay." Li Zhuozhuo was probably a little tired, and said, "I'll come here early next time. I haven't been nagging with me, the old woman, for a long time."

"Okay, let's come early next time." Chen Chong put the recorder into his backpack, stood up, and asked, "By the way, mother-in-law, do Li Minwei still have relatives in Hong Kong?"

"Yes, my aunt is still in Hong Kong, but I heard that she is very sick." Li Zhuozhuo sighed and said, "She is also a person of seventy and eighty years old."

"Do you have her address?" Chen Chong asked, "We want to visit."

Chen Chong came to interview Li Zhuozhuo in person, on the one hand, to write a "oral history" column for the first issue of "First Movie Review", and on the other hand, to find out the traces of the beauty-lori, the little loli and other, the weird uncle likes the most.

...

"A Chong, thank you for bringing me here." When I went downstairs, Yu Muyun said gratefully: "I usually spend time collecting texts and materials, and I ignore these older generation filmmakers. After all, they are experienced in history. They are more detailed, and today I have opened my eyes."

"Brother Yu, you're dark under the light." Chen Chong said as he went downstairs: "Although the oral history is interesting, it is not objective enough and can only be used as a reference for written materials."

"Even if that's the case, it's still very helpful." Yu Muyun said: "After hearing Grandma Li's memories, when you go to find information, you will be much more efficient and targeted."

"That's right." Chen Chong nodded in agreement, and then said: "I'm going to see Li Minwei's widow. Will Brother Yu go?"

"He Wentian is not far from here, let's go together." The address of Li Zhuozhuo was right in He Wentian in Kowloon. "Lin Chuchu is the first female movie star in our country, so it's okay to visit it."

"Is Li Minwei's wife called Lin Chuchu?" The two stood on the street waiting for a taxi, and Chen Chong asked, "Is she the first female star in China?"

"Li Minwei has two wives, the original wife, Yan Shanshan. She was the first actress to make a movie in the history of Chinese film. However, she played a supporting role and died in the 1950s." Yu Muyun is worthy of being a master of film history. She talked about allusions with a sensation. "In theory, Lin Chuchu is considered a concubine. It is said that Yan Shanshan personally matched her with Li Minwei. The two women get along equally, so Lin Chuchu is considered another wife of Li Minwei. She is the first actress to star in the history of Chinese film."

It’s better to be a woman from the old society! How virtuous...

This Li Minwei is worthy of being the father of Hong Kong movies. Both wives personally acted in movies, which was quite rare in that conservative era.

Chen Chong chatted while thinking about it.

After getting into a taxi and reporting the destination, Chen Chong continued the topic of chatting just now and asked: "I heard that when Li Minwei passed away, the plaque of 'Father of National Films' was hung in the mourning hall. Is it true?"

"It's true." Yu Muyun nodded and said, "I have photos from that time. In fact, the three brothers of the Li family, Li Haishan, Li Beihai, and Li Minwei have all made great contributions to Hong Kong films. It's a bit exaggerating to say that Li Minwei is the father of national films."

Li Haishan was not very interested in making movies and was very interested in running cinemas. He led the investment in the construction of the first wholly owned Chinese cinema in Hong Kong; Li Beihai not only participated in the first Hong Kong movie "Stealing Duck", but also directed the first feature film "Zhuangzi Testing Wife", and then produced the first audio film in Hong Kong, and opened several film training classes to cultivate talents for the early Hong Kong film industry. The famous people became even more famous. Not only did they shoot many classics in the history of early Chinese films, but they also shot many documentaries with great historical value. Sun Yat-sen once wrote "The World is for the Public" to him to praise his contribution in film.

Along the way, Chen Chong listened to Yu Muyun's introduction to the various situations of the Li family and secretly sighed that if there were no war, with the wealth and influence of the Li family, he would be the first wealthy family in the Chinese film industry.

Ho Man Tian is a residential area in the southwest of Kowloon City. It is said that this place was owned by a man named Chen Hewen, so it was named "H Man Tian", which means Chen Hewen's land. The residents are mainly middle-class and are a well-known noble residential area in Hong Kong.

Chen Chong and his friends bought a bouquet of flowers from a nearby flower shop, and then found the destination according to the building number provided by Li Zhuozhuo, and rang the doorbell. After a while, a woman in her fifties and sixties opened the door.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Lin Chuchu's house?" Chen Chong raised the magazine reporter's certificate he had specially made before, "We are from the movie magazine. I heard that she is not in good health, so I came to visit her."

"She is hospitalized in Kowloon Hospital." The woman said, blocking the door, without saying that Chen Chong and the others would go in, "I want to look there."

Kowloon Hospital was not far from here, Chen Chong asked about the ward number, and then the two walked towards the hospital.

"It seems that Lin Chuchu's living conditions in her later years are pretty good." On the way, Yu Muyun said with some envy: "I glanced through the door just now. The house is estimated to be 2,000 feet. There is such a big house in He Wentian, and the family is well-off."

"It may not be a good thing for the family to be well off." Chen Chong touched his chin and said, "That woman just now seems not a good person."

"I think so. If Lin Chuchu leaves, there will definitely be some storm among the younger generations."

When I arrived at the hospital, I found the ward where there was only a middle-aged man sitting at the head of the bed, looking after the old man on the bed.

I walked over and looked at the medical sign. It was Lin Chuchu, the old man had white hair and crane face, his eyes were deep, and he was sleeping with his eyes closed. He looked very unhappy.

Chen Chong asked a few words, and the man drew a picture beside his ear with his finger, indicating that he could not hear it. (Note 2)

Since this is the case, Chen Chong couldn't imagine that he put down the flowers, stood in front of the old man's bed, stared for a while, and then said goodbye to leave.

"In an instant, the beauty grows old." Walking out of the ward, Chen Chong sighed: "The romantic is always blown away by the rain and wind."

"Who said it was not?" Yu Muyun was also in a heavy mood and said, "That's why there is a saying that famous generals and beauties have never been allowed to see white hair in the world."

"Time is really a killer!"

The miserable look of several popular female stars in my mind thirty years later appeared in my mind, which made Chen Chong shudder...

After walking a few steps along the corridor, I turned a corner and happened to see the elevator door open and several people walked out of it. Among them, there was a girl of seven or eight years old holding a boy of three or four years old in his left hand and a lunch box in his right hand.

The future face could be vaguely seen between the little girl's eyebrows. Chen Chong was stunned, stopped and stood there.

"A Chong, what's wrong?"

Chen Chong waved his hand and said it was okay, then stopped the little girl and asked, "Little sister, what's your name?"

"Who are you?" The little girl was very alert, "Why should I tell you?"

"I am a reporter." Chen Chong shook the badge and asked, "Your name is Gigi Lai, right?"

"Yes." The little girl was a little girl after all, and she was not experienced enough, so she was cheated out at once. She asked, "How did you know?"

"I am a reporter, of course I know everything." Chen Chong looked like a weird uncle, and reached out to touch her little head, "Where is your mother?"

"She was parking and she was coming up right away."

"Then are we here to wait for her?"

"Not good!" the little girl said with cleverness, "We are going to see grandma, and we have to wait for you to wait here."

After saying that, the girl pulled her brother, walked around Shen Chong, and ran towards the ward.

This weird uncle did it too failed...

Chen Chong touched his head and said to Yu Muyun with a wry smile: "Now, children are so weird and difficult to serve."

Yu Muyun smiled in agreement and said, "A Chong, do you know her?"

"Grandma Li said she had a very smart little niece named Gigi Li. I saw that she looked a bit like Grandma Li's photos when she was young, so I asked." Chen Chong lies without changing his face and his heart was still beating, and then said, "Let's go back and take a look and ask about Lin Chuchu's condition."

Yu Muyun was completely unlucky, and the two walked back to the ward. The little girl and her younger brother stayed quietly in front of the hospital bed, very well-behaved. The middle-aged man sat aside for dinner. Seeing the two of them coming back, he stood up and smiled, saying hello.

After a while, a middle-aged woman who looked very capable came in. Chen Chong guessed that she was Gigi Lai's mother. She went up to talk for a while and asked about her condition. Only then did she realize that Lin Chuchu was terminally ill and had no time left.

After staying for a while, he said some comforting words. The two of them said goodbye. Before leaving, Chen Chong took out a business card and handed it to Gigi Lai's mother. He said solemnly: "If you need help in the future, you can call me."

Chen Chong saw that she casually stuffed her business card into her handbag, and couldn't help but sigh softly, saying, "Little Gigi, everything depends on your own luck." (Note 3)

—————————————————————————————

Note 1: Pressman is a small recording pen used by reporters, the predecessor of walkman.

Note 2: Gigi Lai's father was deaf when he was young due to meningitis and had insensitivity to his hearing.
Chapter completed!