1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 40 Inspection

Julie looked completely bewildered.

However, by this time, Xu Shengjie and she had already entered the bar.

"Jeff, over here!"

Roger spotted him immediately, along with Julie beside him, and waved to them.

"Ah Jie, you played beautifully the night before last."

"Damn, you beat that nigger like a girl."

"Jeff, you've really brought glory to our country! This girl is hot."

"Hey, Ah Jie, you've been doing pretty well lately, beating up foreigners and chasing foreign girls. You're really making us Chinese proud."

People greeted him, whether they knew him or not.

There were Hokkien, Shanghainese, Cantonese, and Mandarin, all mixed up, making Xu Shengjie a little dizzy.

He took Julie's hand and walked to the bar counter, greeted Zhang Ping'an, Roger, and the others, then asked the owner behind the counter, "Sixth Senior Brother, where are the Eldest Senior Brother and the others?"

"Hey, it's been a long time... Senior Brother is upstairs talking to someone, he'll be right there."

"Who is it that made the eldest brother personally come?"

"He's from Hong Kong Island, I think he's some kind of director, your colleague."

Xu Shengjie's outrageous remarks at Madison Square Garden about his plans to become a director have already reached Chinatown.

Reactions in Chinatown were mixed, with some in favor and others against, but 90 percent of people believed that Ah Jie was just hyping up NewBee.

The sixth senior brother's surname was Song, and his given name was Song Dechang. He was in his thirties, almost forty years old.

He was usually a very kind person, but Xu Shengjie knew that he was a double-flowered red stick of the Dong'an Gang in Chinatown, and he was very fierce.

Julie, my girlfriend.

"This is my senior brother... well, I mean elder brother. We studied under the same master."

Julie greeted Song Dechang politely.

Xu Shengjie then introduced Zhang Ping'an and others.

Originally, everyone was speaking Cantonese, but now that there was a foreign woman, Zhang Ping'an and the others switched to English.

Older generations of Chinese Americans don't speak much English because most of them rarely leave Chinatown.

However, the new generation of Chinese Americans are mostly proficient in English, and there is a continuous stream of Chinese people leaving Chinatown.

"I always thought that people in Chinatown didn't speak English."

"How could that be... Chinatown is just a part of America. We live in this country, and we need to integrate."

"Why don't you all wear queues?"

If such words came from a foreigner, there's an 80% chance Zhang Ping'an and the others would make him incredibly attractive, and might even resort to violence. But since Julie is a foreign woman, and a very feisty one at that... they had no choice but to forgive her.

"What era are we living in? What you're talking about is from a hundred years ago."

That's what you media outlets say. In fact, since the beginning of this century, very few people have worn queues anymore... That's their custom; we are Chinese, we don't have that habit."

"Then why did you all wear queues back then?"

"They were armed with knives, ready to shave their heads, and with a group of unscrupulous writers fanning the flames, everyone was terrified."

"Then why weren't you afraid anymore later?"

"Where there is oppression, there is resistance."

"Wow, you Chinese people have a lot of rebellious spirit."

Julie seems to have a million whys, constantly asking questions.

Some topics are taboo in Chinatown. However, out of respect for Xu Shengjie, everyone patiently explained.

"Of course they had a spirit of resistance, otherwise how could the Chinese have fought 1 against 17 on the peninsula back then?"

Xu Shengjie interrupted Julie's question, "Sixth Senior Brother, a dry martini, please."

"For those under 21, only juice, ice water, and milk are available."

Zhang Ping'an and the others burst into laughter.

Julie laughed out loud. "So Jeffrey usually comes here to drink milk?"

Xu Shengjie blushed and said in a low voice, "Don't be so smug. You're not even as old as me. If I drink milk, you have to drink milk too."

"Oops..."

Julie realized what was happening too.

At that moment, the competition started on TV.

A group of people walked in from outside, and they were all acquaintances.

Cheng Mouren, Wang Dajun, Chen Jiu... In addition, there were several other faces that Xu Shengjie was familiar with.

Wang Ji, Wu Junmei, Mai Wenyan, Li Qinqin...

It must be said that there were quite a few Chinese actors in New York during this period; some made it big, while others were in a sorry state.

Wang Ji needs no introduction; the TV series "A Native of Beijing in New York" made her a star, and she is reportedly preparing to return to China to further her career.

Mak Man-yin is now involved in Hong Kong's entertainment circle, working as an entertainment columnist for the North American edition of the Sing Tao Daily, and has temporarily established herself in the industry.

After these people came in, they sat down in the corner.

Wang Dajun then mysteriously walked to a corner of the bar, whispered a few words to someone, and then returned to his seat with a happy expression.

"Why is that old servant here?"

Xu Shengjie lit a cigarette and took a sip of ice water.

Julie ordered a glass of juice and listened to everyone chatting.

Xu Shengjie asked in confusion, "Does he know Zi Hua Yang?"

"What lottery Yang? Old Yang stopped running a lottery stall a long time ago. He now runs an off-the-beaten-path stall in Las Vegas."

"At this time of day, it's definitely for betting on football."

Xu Shengjie was taken aback upon hearing this.

After being blacklisted by Brothers Pictures in his previous life, he specifically studied the history of Brothers Pictures' rise to power.

I won't talk about Wang Er.

The core of Brothers Pictures is actually Wang Dajun.

He once revealed his family history on a TV show, saying that he earned $100,000 while working as a food delivery driver and doing odd jobs during his time studying in New York.

Can you save $100,000 by working odd jobs as a food delivery driver?

At that time, information was not readily available, and people believed it to be true, thinking that America was a land of opportunity. This led to the belief that even washing dishes could make one rich, which attracted a large number of Chinese people to abandon their homes and businesses and come to America like moths to a flame.

It's just a huge gap...

Most of these people eventually became Gao Hua.

Xu Shengjie, in any case, didn't believe it. In his view, Wang Dajun was most likely involved in shady dealings or had received sponsorship from some organization, and was just back in China to show off. One hundred thousand US dollars was over eight hundred thousand RMB in the 1990s, which was no small sum.

Coupled with his background as a so-called "son of a high-ranking official," and his collaboration with Feng Xiaogang, Brothers Pictures rose to prominence.

He graduated this year!

It seems like he returned to China this year in his past life.

Xu Shengjie immediately realized where his $100,000 came from.

Could it be...?

"Tommy, ask Old Yang what that old servant wants with him?"

Tommy nodded, got up and left.

Song Dechang, sitting behind the counter, smiled and looked at Xu Shengjie, saying, "Hey, what mischief are you up to now?"

"No, I'm just curious!"

Xu Shengjie then shifted his gaze to the television for a while before whispering with Julie.

It was at this moment that a man in his early thirties and several Chinese people came down from the bar.

"Senior Brother, Ah Jie is here!"

Song Dechang quickly greeted them.

The man looked over, and his eyes lit up when he saw Xu Shengjie.

He led his men forward, and Xu Shengjie quickly stood up, opened his arms to greet him, "Erwin, it's been a long time."

"You good-for-nothing, you never come to see me."

Not only do they not come to see me, they don't even go to chat with my dad.

You don't know, Dad has mentioned you several times this month, saying things like, "Why doesn't Ah-Jie come to see me? Why doesn't he come to talk to me?"

Xu Shengjie's nose tingled with emotion, and he quickly said, "It's my fault. I'll go visit him in the next couple of days."

"Hehe, you were fighting at the gym the other day, and that sweeping kick you did was really good. The old man was so happy, saying you haven't fallen behind in your skills."

"Of course I won't miss it."

Xu Shengjie smiled.

"Come on, let me introduce you."

This is a friend from Hong Kong Island, a very talented director, Director Fung Pak-yuen.

The videotapes you watched a few years ago, "Looking Back in Anger" and "The Greed of Man," were both his work. Aren't you going to be a director? You could consult Director Feng... He has a TV series filming in New York next year, you can go and learn from him then."

In a great era, is the director ruthless and unforgiving?

Those were two Hong Kong films that Xu Shengjie really loved in his past life.

"Old Feng, this is my junior apprentice. He used to hang out in Chinatown, and now he's a writer."

A few days ago, he made a bet with Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden about making a movie. "If you have time, give him some pointers."

Erwin, who is also Xu Shengjie's senior brother Woodward, pulled Xu Shengjie to introduce him to the man behind him with slightly thinning hair, but still stubbornly keeping his hair parted to the side.

"Master Wu's apprentice, I've heard so much about you."

However, my film won't be shot until next year. If you're interested, you can come to the set to watch anytime then.

His words carried a hint of arrogance.

Perhaps in this famous director's eyes, Xu Shengjie is no different from those petty thugs in Hong Kong.

If it weren't for the fact that you're going to film "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," "Princess Agents," and produce "Chinese Paladin," I wouldn't even bother with you.

Xu Shengjie then remembered Director Feng's identity, smiled, and didn't respond.

"This lady has a good appearance. Would you be interested in acting?"

My film next year happens to be shot in New York.

Feng Baiyuan didn't care about Xu Shengjie's indifference. When his gaze fell on Julie, his eyes lit up.

He switched from Cantonese to English in a flash and said to Julie with a smile.

Julie, with her characteristic temperament, curled her lip, raised her middle finger at him, and cursed, "Fuck you!"

Xu Shengjie then said quietly, "Julie's father is Mr. Jon Voight, a famous Hollywood actor with a lot of influence."

"Forehead……"

Feng Baiyuan's expression immediately changed.

Although he comes from Hong Kong Island, he is no stranger to Hollywood.

Jon Voight, a three-time Oscar nominee and winner of the Best Actor Oscar, also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama. He is a Hollywood director and screenwriter, and the man that Downey will later refer to as an "envoy".

Although Fung Pak-yuen holds some status in Hong Kong, in the United States...

Beside him, Erwin still wore a gentle smile.

His gaze turned somewhat cold, and he patted Feng Baiyuan on the shoulder with a smile: "The child is just a kid and doesn't understand, don't take it to heart."

Feng Baiyuan also realized that he had just said the wrong thing.

He quickly tried to change his mind and salvage the situation.

Filming a Chinese production crew in New York is no easy task; you need to manage every aspect.

He had originally asked Mr. Shaw of TVB to establish connections in Chinatown.

But his old habit flared up, and he forgot that New York is not Hong Kong!

Just then, the bar door was pushed open.

A team of police officers rushed in, and the leader shouted, "Police inspection, everyone stand still!"

……