Chapter 1343: A Terrifying Assertion

Three hours later, in a tea house.

"I'm used to sharing life's chicken soup and lessons, but many people dismiss them, always thinking such things could never happen to them. But in reality, things often turn out contrary to our wishes, far too often."

Zhao Fusheng sat there and said to Hong Sanmao, "Brother Hong, to be blunt, the decline of Hong Kong cinema is inevitable. It's not something one person or one company can change; it's the decline of the entire market."

The meal ended quickly. After eating, Hong Sanmao suggested going for tea, and Zhao Fusheng gladly went along. But this time, there weren't as many people—only Jiang Wen and Hong Sanmao, plus their assistants.

As for the others, they naturally weren't qualified to sit and drink tea with the three of them.

Those who were qualified wouldn't bother to join in the fun either.

As for Wu Jing, Zhao Fusheng invited him to visit his home sometime when they parted, and didn't keep him any longer.

But even so, the looks people around gave Wu Jing had changed. The Hong Kong stuntmen, including Zhou Zhaolong, all knew that from now on, they could no longer boss around this kid from the mainland.

The guy had backing!

Arriving at this tea house, Zhao Fusheng and the others chatted idly, and as they talked, the conversation turned to the decline of Hong Kong cinema.

In a good mood, and because Hong Sanmao seemed rough but was actually good at conversation, Zhao Fusheng went ahead and said a bit more.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng had more to say but held back: when articles peddling this and that can be mass-produced on an assembly line by stringing together a few hot keywords, and then mass-accepted, mass-moved, mass-forgotten, mass-outraged...

We must admit that we are still immature in mind. Throughout our long lives, the scarcest thing has never been generated.

Society is still like this. No one can accept their own mediocrity, so they wrap it up in ideals like a flower, and once force-fed, petals fly everywhere.

Accepting your own mediocrity is actually simple: take root deeply, absorb the nutrients of the soil. If you're a screenwriter, sit down every day and steadily churn out ten to twenty thousand words. What you write won't deceive you.

Writing articles is a gift from heaven; you can't lose your conscience.

But unfortunately, many practitioners in later generations have completely forgotten this.

The quality of scripts is getting worse and worse. They don't care about content, only about star power. Throw in a few trendy young idols and a few veteran actors, and they dare to start filming without shame.

Whether in Hong Kong or the mainland, under the浮躁 atmosphere of the entertainment industry, quality works are becoming fewer and fewer.

"Fusheng, according to you, where is the way out for Hong Kong cinema?" Hong Sanmao pondered for a long time before slowly asking Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Simple: keep your feet on the ground, stay close to reality."

"What do you mean?" Hong Sanmao was taken aback. Clearly, Zhao Fusheng's words were hard for him to understand.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "It means that if Hong Kong cinema wants to climb out of its slump, it must first abandon its old condescending attitude and learn. At the very least, though I'm reluctant to admit it, the current development of Korean cinema is worth learning from."

This was his honest opinion. Korean cinema began to develop rapidly around the turn of the millennium, and a decade later, it had forged its own path, leaving Chinese counterparts far behind.

This is something no one can deny. Although many Chinese people years later are unwilling to admit it, the facts are plain to see: the Koreans do have something worth learning from in this regard.

But clearly, Zhao Fusheng's words were hard for Hong Sanmao to accept.

This was evident from the expression on Hong Sanmao's face.

In fact, not just Hong Sanmao, even Jiang Wen showed a hint of surprise.

Obviously, he too disagreed with Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and didn't mind. If this were his past self, he might have argued endlessly over right and wrong. But now, with a psychological age of several decades, he had long lost such boring notions.

Even with good friends, it's the same principle. He had said what needed to be said as a reminder; whether they listened was their own business.

Many people like to use the excuse of 'for your own good' to constantly advise others on what to do, without considering that in the other person's eyes, your advice might be meddling.

After a long while, Hong Sanmao looked up at Zhao Fusheng and said with a bitter smile, "To be honest, Fusheng, if it weren't you who said those words just now, I probably wouldn't have believed them."

Though they hadn't known each other long, Hong Sanmao could see that Zhao Fusheng, this wealthy man, was different from other tycoons. He had no prejudice against the entertainment industry.

Having been in the entertainment circle for so many years, Hong Sanmao believed he could tell whether someone was putting on an act. At least with Zhao Fusheng, he felt respect and sincerity.

In short, Hong Sanmao could sense that although Zhao Fusheng didn't care much about the people in the entertainment circle, he held no prejudice against them.

That was rare.

Hong Sanmao knew well the reputation of the entertainment circle. Calling it a den of iniquity might be an exaggeration, but on second thought, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. In fact, in the minds of many bosses, they simply treated the stars in the entertainment circle as commodities.

Though this feeling wasn't pleasant, Hong Sanmao knew it was the truth.

Even those who had once been close to him, like Zou Wenhui and Pan Disheng, essentially treated him as a tool to make money.

Only Zhao Fusheng was different.

Ahem.

If Zhao Fusheng knew what Hong Sanmao was thinking, he would probably blush.

It couldn't be helped. He hadn't thought that far. The reason he treated Hong Sanmao and the others kindly was that Zhao Fusheng felt these people at least hadn't done anything bad.

That's why he treated them so well.

As for Hong Sanmao's beautiful misunderstanding, even if Zhao Fusheng knew, he wouldn't point it out.

After drinking tea for a while, Zhao Fusheng didn't stay any longer. He got up and took his leave. He had only met them by chance today anyway, and had no intention of recruiting Hong Sanmao.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Zhao Fusheng felt this was Ye Jing's job. There was no need for him to overstep. If he had to do everything himself, wouldn't Ye Jing go crazy?

Ye Jing was the general manager of the future film and television company. For recruiting a star like this, if the general manager didn't step in and made the boss do it—ha, that would be too much flattery for Hong Sanmao.