Hong Kong in the late 1960s was at the intersection of the old and new Times, not only having weathered the influx of hundreds of thousands of people from the mainland in the 1950s who brought their families with them, but also entering a twenty-year development period that would lead to Hong Kong's future prosperity.
It can be said that this was the best of Times; only those with ambition, ability, and sufficient effort would eventually become rich and successful, becoming trendsetters in the great Times.
Huo Yaowen, reborn, felt like a trendsetter of the Times, but he constantly reminded himself that this was the best of Times, and also the worst of Times.
After the Hong Kong film "Chasing the Dragon" became a big hit in his previous life, Huo Yaowen once wrote a script for an online movie with a 1970s triad background.
At that time, the boss who invested in this movie was a rich second-generation who liked gangster film themes, and to ensure that Huo Yaowen, an unknown professional screenwriter, wrote a good script for this theme, he gave him a full hundred thousand yuan.
One hundred thousand yuan didn't sound like much, but considering it was just for a script, and an online movie script at that, which could be finished in half a month at most, it naturally made Huo Yaowen, an unknown screenwriter and struggling writer whose circumstances weren't great, overjoyed.
To write a good script for this theme, ensure it could be broadcast online without being 404'd by the broadcasting authorities, and also make a name for himself as a screenwriter, the usually frugal Huo Yaowen uncharacteristically spent money on a plane ticket to Hong Kong.
In the Hong Kong University library, he found many old newspapers, magazines, and various historical documents, and even had long conversations with several elderly people who claimed to have been influential in the 1970s, cutting from one end of the street to the other with a watermelon knife, learning a lot about the lives of ordinary people in Hong Kong in the 1970s and the various situations they faced.
Huo Yaowen stayed in Hong Kong for nearly half a month, spending over ten thousand yuan, and finally completed the script for the online movie titled "Hong Kong 1968."
The theme was definitely the gangster theme that the rich second-generation boss liked, but instead of using the famous Limpy Ho and Lei Luo as a gimmick, it told an inspiring legendary story of how an ordinary '49er' in the late 1960s rose step by step from the lowest rung of the gang to become a leader.
It must be said that the rich second-generation boss simply loved this style; films about Limpy Ho and Lei Luo had long become tiresome, and a brand-new, original '49er' character seemed to ignite the second-generation boss's yearning and longing for that special era in Hong Kong.
Too much digression.
Huo Yaowen had specifically researched historical materials from the late 1960s and around the 1970s and 1980s, knowing a little about almost everyone from political elites and tycoons to street vendors and hooligans.
Therefore, Huo Yaowen knew that this was the best of Times for ordinary people to get rich, and at the same time, the worst of Times for ordinary people to suffer bullying.
The Four Great Detectives were still on duty making money, the drug lord Limpy Ho was still arrogant, triad gangs fought to the death, corrupt Royal Police, business tycoons who became legendary figures, and various literati, celebrities, and gentlemen who emerged, all contributed to the good and bad, the sorrow and joy of this great Times.
...
Huo Yaowen and Ming Zai took a ferry from Hong Kong Island back to Kowloon Peninsula, then transferred to a bus to return to Tsz Wan Estate in Wong Tai Sin District, located halfway up Tsz Wan Shan.
Tsz Wan Shan, yes… that's right, it's the Tsz Wan Shan that Little Stutterer mentioned, "My Big Brother is Brother Feihong of Tsz Wan Shan, with three thousand subordinates."
Tsz Wan Shan is one of the main peaks of Kowloon Peninsula, and in the past decade, many Uk Tsuens have been built in the Wong Tai Sin District on its Mid-Levels.
Hong Kong's Uk Tsuens, also known as public housing, are synonymous with cheapness; the people living here are basically poor, paying a small amount of rent each month, and a family of a dozen or so people can live here stably.
Even in the 21st century, it is still home to a large number of poor people facing difficulties.
Since the great fire in the 1950s, Tsz Wan Shan has built nearly fifty Uk Tsuens, each averaging about ten stories high, gathering nearly a hundred thousand people, making it the largest Uk Tsuen in Hong Kong.
With such a large population, and with the people here generally being the lowest-income residents of Hong Kong, the area is a mixed bag, a den of iniquity, with all sorts of people, attracting a large number of idle individuals and troubled youths!
This also led to the sensational Tsz Wan Shan Thirteen Protectors youth gang organization incident that rocked All of Hong Kong ten years later, when the second wave of All of Hong Kong's baby boomers came of age, and Tsz Wan Shan became famous for it; later, the movie "Young and Dangerous" largely drew inspiration from this background.
Currently, Tsz Wan Shan, or rather Tsz Wan Estate, is still relatively harmonious; although there are many idle people like Ming Zai who don't study or work and live off their parents, the gang forces haven't fully extended their reach here yet, as it's a famously poor area in All of Hong Kong with not much money to be made.
This also means that the idle people here haven't become true criminal elements, only occasionally engaging in petty tricks like petty theft; they don't dare to commit major crimes, let alone collect protection fees.
Step outside, and relatives, friends, and neighbors are everywhere; if any child does something bad, it immediately spreads like a whirlwind throughout the entire Uk Tsuen, and then the whole family won't even dare to leave their home! They'd rather be a shrinking turtle than hear others gossip behind their backs.
However, in recent years, with the extensive development across Hong Kong and the arrogant and domineering behavior of the Four Great Detectives becoming the biggest umbrella for gang members, some gangs have gradually set their sights on Tsz Wan Shan, a Uk Tsuen with a particularly large number of young people, in order to expand their influence and manpower.
After all, the people living here, from the elderly to the children, genuinely want to make a name for themselves and earn money, and a small favor or benefit can turn these naive children into the most loyal henchmen of criminal organizations.
...
As soon as they got off the bus and walked out of the bus stop, several Aunties, around forty years old, noticed Huo Yaowen and Ming Zai, waved their hands, and with a wide grin, called out loudly, "Ah Wen is back!"
Huo Yaowen did not look down on or ignore these uneducated neighbor Aunties; instead, he politely walked over, greeting each of them with a warm smile: "Auntie Zhang, Auntie Li, Auntie Wang…"
Ming Zai, standing beside him, also repeated the greetings.
But compared to Huo Yaowen's greetings, Ming Zai seemed to be ignored.
Sure enough, Auntie Zhang put down her vegetable basket and looked at Huo Yaowen, who was wearing a white shirt, Western trousers, and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding a scholarly aura, and smiled, "Ah Wen, I heard from your Mother that you went for an interview to be a teacher at Hong Kong University today? How did it go? Did you succeed?"
"Oh, Old Zhang, isn't your wife talking nonsense!" Auntie Li, a Shanghainese woman, laughed and scolded, then smiled sweetly as she stared at Huo Yaowen, who was just in his early twenties, about the same age as her youngest daughter, and said, "Yaowen is the first person from our Uk Tsuen to be admitted to Hong Kong University. He's so smart and handsome, being a university teacher is more than enough for him!"
Auntie Zhang was very displeased to hear Auntie Li's quick retort, so she pouted and mimicked Auntie Li's accent, saying in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, you can even use fancy words now, huh?"
"You want to die, how dare you mimic my speech!" Auntie Li retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
Upon hearing this, Auntie Zhang was instantly enraged; normally, she would have already started a fight with this Shanghainese woman, but considering Huo Yaowen was there, and for the sake of her own daughter, she put her hands on her hips, deliberately tilted her head, and huffed, "What's wrong? I'm learning Shanghainese too, is that not allowed?"
"You try that again!" Auntie Li was furious, also putting down her vegetable basket, hands on hips, glaring at the other woman.
"What if I do?"
"You try that again!"
"What if I do?"
Seeing the two Aunties bickering again, Huo Yaowen chuckled inwardly, but maintained his warm smile.
He glanced at the very ordinary and heavily worn mechanical watch on his wrist, seeing that it was already past 11 o'clock and dinner at home was probably ready, so he spoke, "Auntie Li, Auntie Zhang, I'm going home to eat now; Mother is waiting for me at home."
Auntie Wang, who was standing by, unsure whether to leave or stay, nodded repeatedly when she heard Huo Yaowen say he was going home, "Go, go, I also need to hurry home and cook for the children.
Oh, by the way, Ah Wen, Auntie Wang bought fresh seaweed and spare ribs, so remember to come and eat later."
"Okay, Auntie Wang." Huo Yaowen didn't refuse, smiling and nodding in agreement.
He knew that Auntie Wang wasn't just being polite; at the very least, Ming Zai was still with him, and if it were just politeness, she would have also invited Ming Zai, not just him.
Ming Zai had long been accustomed to Huo Yaowen's special treatment, after all, Yaowen Ge had always been not only smart but also very handsome since childhood, especially with his glasses on, he exuded a refined scholarly aura unique to intellectuals.
Immediately, Huo Yaowen led Ming Zai, who had been standing beside him for a long time, back to his Uk Tsuen.
Auntie Wang, seeing this, naturally followed closely, afraid of being discovered by Auntie Li and Auntie Zhang.
Auntie Li and Auntie Zhang, however, continued to argue at the intersection for quite a while until the sun grew hotter and hotter.
They then realized it was getting late, and seeing that Huo Yaowen and the others had all left, they each grumbled, picked up their vegetable baskets, and went home.
Neighborly quarrels are very common in Tsz Wan Estate; after all, it gathers tens of thousands of people from all over, with different regions, customs, and dialects, and with so many people living together, conflicts are bound to happen.
It's better now; in the past, especially during the great influx of people to Hong Kong in the 1950s, that was truly chaotic.
Almost everyone only interacted, lived, and worked with people from their own village or region, and once a quarrel broke out with someone, at the height of the dispute, they would drag in their entire family, neighbors, and even people from the same village, hometown, or area; if an agreement couldn't be reached, it could easily turn into a big brawl.
But those are all things of the past.
Huo Yaowen remembered from his memories that about ten years ago, when he was only eleven and had just moved into the Uk Tsuen, the people in his current Uk Tsuen No. 8 had a dispute with the people in the neighboring Uk Tsuen No. 9 over placing sundries in the stairwell.
Goodness, everyone from Uk Tsuen No. 8 joined in, gathering with the people from Uk Tsuen No. 9 in the Uk Tsuen's square, nearly causing a huge melee.
It was only through the coordination of the Tsz Wan Shan Estate Management Association, which had just been established not long before, that a major incident of bloodshed upon moving into a new home was avoided.
It was also from this incident that the more than fifty Uk Tsuens in Tsz Wan Shan Estate are now managed separately to prevent similar situations from happening again.
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