Chapter 354: A Record-Breaking Million-Dollar Box Office Film
"Alright then," Wei Zetao said. "I'll begin production of the facial tissue packaging right away. Everything will be made in Taiwan and shipped out as finished products."
"Good," Yang Wendong replied with a smile. "Let Taiwan know to scale up capacity a bit. This product has massive market potential."
The demand for pocket-sized facial tissues was practically limitless. If this market could be established, even securing a small portion of it would be enough to give him a dominant position in the paper industry.
"Understood," Wei Zetao agreed.
Nearly every product that Yang Wendong had personally overseen had become a hit. No one doubted him anymore—because the moment they saw these new items, they immediately wanted to own them. They were simply too convenient.
On July 12, Yang Wendong received a batch of pocket-sized facial tissues from Taiwan and brought some home.
The women in the house lit up at his introduction. "These would be so useful when we go out or travel!"
"Exactly. So I brought some home for you to try," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "Right now, Taiwan is only doing small-batch production. They're not on the market yet. Only insiders can get their hands on them."
The small tissue packs weren't technically complex to produce. If the Changxing paper mill could make toilet paper, it could easily make tissues—just with slightly stricter sanitation. The only thing left was waiting on Dongsheng's packaging equipment.
Like instant noodles, tissues needed to be machine-produced. Manual labor, even if free, was simply too inefficient.
Bai Yushan laughed. "Great! Then we need more. When the kids go out, they go through tissues so fast, but carrying a full-sized tissue box is such a hassle. We're always trying to find half-used packs to bring along."
"Alright, I'll bring more tomorrow," Yang Wendong promised.
At that moment, Su Yiyi asked, "Dong-ge, I heard your film company is shooting The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong?"
"Yeah, and it's nearly finished," Yang Wendong nodded. "After Zou Wenhuai joined, this was the first film he chose to direct. He wanted to use the novel's popularity to make a big splash right out of the gate."
Yang Wendong had always had a good relationship with Jin Yong. They had collaborated many times before, and Yang Wendong had even acquired the short-term rights to many of his novels, including film, TV, and audio adaptations. But long-term rights? Jin Yong was too shrewd for that—he wouldn't sell them.
After Zou Wenhuai joined Changxing Film, he knew that martial arts stories were all the rage in Hong Kong. If he could successfully adapt a popular novel, it would surely be a hit. And there was no better starting point than a Jin Yong classic.
Su Yiyi asked curiously, "But Condor Heroes is so long—how do you fit all of it into a single movie?"
"You don't. You butcher it," Yang Wendong laughed. "Honestly, the adaptation barely resembles the original. But what can you do? Jin Yong understands the limitation. I even invited him to help adapt it—it's a tough process, but he agreed."
In the original timeline, Jin Yong rarely got involved with adaptations of his work. But Yang Wendong's influence was hard to turn down, and so Jin Yong lent a hand.
"Oh, well if Jin Yong is involved, that's fine," Su Yiyi said. "When's the release date?"
"On the 18th—just six days from now," Yang Wendong said.
"So soon?" Bai Yushan said in surprise.
Yang Wendong laughed. "Why is that surprising? Most Hong Kong films are written, shot, and released in a couple of weeks. This one's been in production for over a month—it's actually a more serious project."
Hong Kong's film industry was famous for its lightning speed. Some productions started with little more than a concept and filmed as the story developed. Because film was expensive, scenes weren't reshot unless something major went wrong. Actors had to get it right the first time.
That's why martial arts films required highly trained actors—mistakes were costly. This period of intense professionalism laid the groundwork for the dominance of Hong Kong martial arts cinema in the '70s and '80s.
Su Yiyi and Bai Yushan didn't know much about these inner workings, so they just said, "Let's go see it next week."
"No need to wait. I'm going to Changxing Film tomorrow to watch a preview. You're welcome to come with me," Yang Wendong said with a grin.
"Really? That sounds great!" the two women said in excitement.
From the side, Bai Yujie, who was also visiting, asked, "Can I come too?"
"Of course," Yang Wendong said without hesitation. "The more the merrier."
The next day, July 13
In front of a six-story office building in Tseung Kwan O, Zou Wenhuai stood waiting with the core team of Changxing Film.
A few minutes later, a convoy of seven or eight Mercedes-Benz cars arrived. The bodyguards opened the doors, and Yang Wendong and his family stepped out.
"Yang Sheng, Madam Yang," Zou Wenhuai greeted them immediately.
Yang Wendong smiled. "I brought a few extra guests. We're here to see your first film."
"No problem at all," Zou Wenhuai replied cheerfully. "Let me introduce our core team—these are Changxing Film's department heads. Some are from Shaw Brothers, others I poached from Cathay."
"Good," Yang Wendong nodded. "Now that your team's in place, just keep building steadily."
Even though he was a time traveler who had seen countless Hong Kong films—from Stephen Chow to Chow Yun-fat—he hardly remembered the plots anymore. And even if he did, 1980s and '90s storylines wouldn't work in this era.
So he let Zou Wenhuai's team handle all production decisions. He was only interested in results.
"Let's head inside and start the screening," Zou Wenhuai said.
"Alright." Yang Wendong nodded.
Under Zou Wenhuai's guidance, the Yang family and a few assistants went to the fifth floor, where a private screening room had been set up. Any halfway serious film company had such a room—it was essential for editing and review.
Soon, the lights dimmed, and the movie began. The film ran for about an hour and a half, with Yang Wendong, his family, and several senior executives watching closely.
When it ended, Bai Yujie commented, "The plot is really different from the novel."
"To do it properly, it would have to be a TV series," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "Once our free-to-air TV station is running next year, I plan to adapt more works by Jin Yong and Gu Long."
Right now, Yang Wendong held the adaptation rights for both Jin Yong and Gu Long's novels. In an era when Hong Kong had little experience making TV dramas, these stories were the best possible material.
"That's good to hear. TV series are much longer anyway," Bai Yujie said with a laugh.
As everyone exited the screening room, Zou Wenhuai asked, "Yang Sheng, what did you think of the film?"
"Not bad. Definitely better than most of the others out there," Yang Wendong replied.
By modern standards, The Legend of the Condor Heroes still fell short. But compared to the current crop of plotless, action-only films, it was a clear step up.
Jin Yong's novels stood out because of their patriotism and strong moral themes—values that set them apart from Gu Long's work. The only real shame was that the movie couldn't fully capture the depth of the novel. It felt a bit rushed in the end. Still, for this era, it was more than good enough.
Zou Wenhuai smiled. "If Yang Sheng says so, then this film is bound to be a hit."
"You think you can beat last year's box office record for The White Snake Legend?" Yang Wendong asked casually.
That Shaw Brothers film had earned HKD 790,000—the highest box office total in Hong Kong history.
Since entering the 1960s, Hong Kong's economy had surged due to industrialization. As people's financial situations improved, they spent more on entertainment—causing a movie industry boom.
With Yang Wendong accelerating Hong Kong's industrial growth, it was only logical that the services sector would benefit too.
Zou Wenhuai considered it. "I think Condor Heroes is on par with White Snake, if not better. In terms of name recognition, sure, White Snake is a classic legend, but Condor Heroes is just as well-known.
Everyone who's literate in Hong Kong knows about Condor Heroes—many have read it. Jin Yong's fame is so great that Ming Pao sells over 30,000 copies a day, mostly because of his work. And we've got more cinemas than Shaw Brothers. I'd say our box office won't be any lower than HKD 790,000."
"Alright then. Let's aim to break the record," Yang Wendong said. "Get in touch with Qin Zhiye and have him push our media outlets to promote the film."
"Got it," Zou Wenhuai replied.
The next day, major dailies like Oriental Daily and Hong Wah Daily launched major ad campaigns for Condor Heroes. Commercial radio followed suit.
"Condor Heroes is now a movie?" several young people exclaimed at a newsstand in Central.
"For real? I've gotta see that!"
"Of course! Let's go together."
"We better buy tickets in advance—otherwise, we'll get bad seats. You don't want to be craning your neck in the front row, do you?"
"Yeah, let's go early."
June 18, opening day.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes opened in 32 cinemas across Changxing's theater network. Yang Wendong walked down from his office to Changxing Plaza. A huge crowd was already lined up.
Zou Wenhuai and Qin Zhiye were there too.
Zou grinned. "Yang Sheng, we already sold HKD 160,000 in pre-sale tickets. Even the midnight showings are sold out."
"That's encouraging news," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
In this era, you had to line up to buy movie tickets in person. If you didn't, you'd only get tickets to unpopular movies. Popular ones sold out fast.
"Are midnight showings cheaper?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Usually, yes," Zou replied. "But not this time. Demand is so high, people are willing to pay full price even for the late-night slots. Some young folks even prefer night screenings."
"Smart way to maximize screen time," Yang Wendong said.
Calabash Brothers was aimed at kids, so midnight shows weren't viable. That had limited its revenue.
"But that'll only last a few days," Zou said. "Once the hype dies down and people start seeing it during the day, we'll have to discount midnight tickets to keep those seats filled."
"Do what makes sense commercially," Yang Wendong said. "I'm not too worried. The movie industry already has mature business practices."
"Yang Sheng, Zou Sheng, I have some good news," Qin Zhiye chimed in. "Jin Yong has agreed to write a review once the hype dips. That'll bring in another wave."
"Haha," Yang Wendong laughed. "Honestly, Jin Yong is the biggest winner here. Once all his novels are adapted into film and TV, every Chinese person will know his name."
Just like anime and manga, novels became truly viral once they were adapted to screen. In his previous life, Jin Yong's fame largely stemmed from the TV adaptations of his novels.
Of course, that was because his stories were good to begin with. Society rightfully rewarded creators of knowledge, culture, and science. Humanity's progress was built on their work.
Over the next week, Condor Heroes remained hot. Jin Yong's review and ongoing media coverage kept interest high. Ads ran in malls across Central. Zou was determined to break the box office record.
June 25: total box office passed HKD 720,000.
June 28: it broke HKD 800,000, setting a new Hong Kong record.
July 5: it officially surpassed HKD 1 million.
Yang Wendong got the news right away and smiled. "So, you gave it one last push?"
"Yes," Zou admitted. "Without it, we'd have capped at around HKD 900,000 to 950,000. That would've still broken the record, but it wouldn't have had the same impact as a million.
We spent a bit more, but with this figure, our overseas licensing sales will go much better. We'll make it back easily."
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10