Chapter Eighty-two: Journey to China

  Song Tang looked at Zhang Long in front of him, actually Zhang Long was not particularly tall and big, at least not as tall and big as Song Tang, with a height of 1.75 meters, his skin was slightly dark, but the muscles on his body were bulging, looking very fierce, giving Song Tang a lot of pressure.

  Although Song Tang had no experience fighting with others before, he was not nervous. Zhang Long first made a please gesture, and Song Tang knew that he had no experience and was not like Zhang Long, whose martial arts skills were all tempered through actual combat training. So now Song Tang did not decline, and directly went to test Zhang Long's strength, but at the beginning, Song Tang did not use his full strength because he did not understand Zhang Long's depth.

  As soon as Song Tang rushed over, Zhang Long's eyes lit up and he shouted loudly: "Good!", then raised his hand to block Song Tang's attack. After that, he made a side kick towards Song Tang's lower abdomen. At this time, although Song Tang had no experience in fighting against enemies, his extraordinary intuition, which was far beyond that of ordinary people, suddenly took effect, and he secretly sighed: "Not good!"

  Zhang Long saw that his move was dodged by Song Tang, and he couldn't let go of such an opportunity. He then moved swiftly like a swimming dragon, closing in on Song Tang, who had no choice but to retreat again.

  "Ah, still lacking experience!"

  Although Song Tang felt that his physical quality was not inferior to Zhang Long's, and he had been practicing Bagua Palm and Wing Chun for many years, at this moment he just couldn't muster up the strength, leaving him only able to defend himself without being able to counterattack, feeling stifled.

  In this way, the two men came and went, probing each other for a while before starting to exchange blows. Zhang Long would often not even make a move, and Song Tang would have to defend against several attacks before barely breaking free. Because Zhang Long had practiced mostly lethal techniques, he couldn't use his full strength when facing Song Tang, although he was able to force Song Tang to retreat repeatedly. However, this also allowed Song Tang to gradually adapt to the rhythm of their exchanges. As Song Tang gained experience, what initially required several moves to counter a single attack from Zhang Long slowly became a back-and-forth exchange between the two men, with both defense and offense, although Zhang Long still had the upper hand.

  "Stop it! Stop it!" After about half an hour of fierce fighting between the two, Zhang Long was the first to give up.

  "Thanks to Dragon Brother for letting me go." Song Tang knew that if it weren't for Zhang Long's mercy, with his own zero combat experience as a rookie, he wouldn't have lasted long.

  "Haha, you're not bad either, but it's just that you lack experience. If you practice regularly, you'll be able to surpass me in no time." Zhang Long said with a smile, waving his hand at Song Tang.

  "Bang bang bang~~~"

  Just then, Song Tang's grandfather walked up to the two of them, smiling and saying: "Little Tang's skills aren't bad at all, he can actually fight Little Zhang to a draw! Little Zhang is one of our army's top soldiers!"

  "Grandpa, this is all thanks to Dragon Brother letting me win." Song Tang said with some embarrassment after hearing his grandfather's praise.

  "Modesty is a good thing, but it can't be excessive. To achieve such results in the first battle against the enemy is already quite good. I still have some insight." The old man smiled at the two and waved his hand.

  “。。。”

  "Hello, Grandpa." Zhang Long bowed and said respectfully.

  "Alright, Little Zhang, since there are no outsiders here, we don't have to be so polite. This world will eventually belong to you young people, we're all old and unlike you young folks who have vitality and drive!" Grandpa said with a sigh.

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Grandfather, you don't look old at all." Song Tang said.

  "It's no use, old age is just old age. Ah, Little Tang, I think you're quite skilled, are you interested in joining the troops for some training?" Grandpa said with a serious expression, looking at Song Tang.

  “。。。”

  Hearing his grandfather's words, Song Tang was taken aback and didn't know why his grandfather would ask such a question. After thinking for a moment, he then refused his grandfather's proposal.

  "Never mind, Grandpa, I shouldn't stay away from the company for too long."

  "Since that's the case, I won't force you. From your mother, I've also learned some things about you. It's okay to develop yourself abroad, but you must always remember that Chinese blood is flowing through your veins, and don't forget that you are a Chinese person." Grandfather looked at Song Tang's eyes with a serious expression.

  Having heard this, Song Tang finally understood why his grandfather had made such a proposal earlier. It was because his grandfather was worried that he would become estranged from his own country after staying abroad for so many years. Thinking of this, Song Tang's expression became firm as he said, "Don't worry, Grandfather, I still know this!"

  The old man looked at his resolute nephew in front of him and smiled with relief in his eyes.

  Today is the 30th of December, also known as New Year's Eve. For Song Tang, it has been a long time since he spent Chinese New Year with his own family. Unbeknownst to him, basking in the warmth of kinship, looking into the eyes of his loved ones filled with kindness and blessings, Song Tang felt his eyes moisten.

  At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Spring Festival Gala of China Central Television was held at the CCTV studio. Today, Song Tang also had the good fortune to come to the scene with his family members. Although Song Tang had been a guest at the Spring Festival Gala before, he was still relatively far away from the stage and didn't feel particularly good about it. At that time, it was basically commercialized to some extent, unlike now, when it is still keeping its original flavor.

  At 7:30 in the evening, Song Tang arrived at the scene with his relatives and sat down in the second row. The entire venue was almost fully seated, but the first row of seats were empty, which made Song Tang feel a bit puzzled. Time slowly passed by...

  At 7:50, just as Song Tang was wondering why no one had arrived in the first row yet, a group of people sat down in the front row. However, Song Tang's attention was completely captured by an elderly man walking at the front. The old man was about 80 or 90 years old, with white hair, but still looked very spirited and energetic. Although he wasn't tall, he appeared very stable and upright. Seeing this person, Song Tang couldn't help but feel a thrill in his heart. This was China's legendary figure, the country's founding contributor, the proposer of the "one country, two systems" concept, the leader who guided China's reform and opening-up towards prosperity and strength, and the chief architect of Chinese socialist society - Deng Xiaoping.

  Just as Song Tang was observing the old man, the old man suddenly felt something and turned his gaze towards Song Tang, then smiled at him. Song Tang saw this and was taken aback for a moment, before also smiling back at the old man. Behind the old man were some of the country's most important leaders in this era, with Song Tang's grandfather still among them.

  At 8:00 pm Beijing time, the Spring Festival Gala officially kicked off with hosts Liang Yanling, Li Qing'an, Zhang Yongquan, Zhao Zhongxiang, Ni Ping and Yang Lan.

  Although the 1993 Spring Festival Gala was a bit shabby compared to the later Song and Tang dynasties' lavish galas, it still couldn't stop people's enthusiasm and cheers. Almost every Spring Festival Gala has been a gathering of stars, with laughter non-stop.

  Feng Gong and Niu Qun's crosstalk auction, Zhao Ben Shang's sketch "Old Man Bids New Year" and other performances constantly triggered applause from the audience. Meanwhile, Guo Fu Cheng and Song Zuying's songs, as well as Jackie Chan's martial arts performance, also caused some fans to go crazy. In addition, there were also poetry recitals and magic shows at the Spring Festival Gala, which were a feast for the eyes.

  After more than four hours, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala finally came to an end with blessings from hosts Liang Yanling, Li Qing'an, Zhang Yongquan, Zhao Zhongxiang, Ni Ping and Yang Lan.

  After the New Year, Song Tang and his family ended their mainland trip under the reluctant gaze of Old Man Liu and others. However, overall, this mainland trip was not just about celebrating the new year, as Song Tang put it. The Chinese compatriots who accompanied him were mostly people who had silently supported the country's development and made contributions to the nation in recent years. This time, they came to the country not only to be recognized by national leaders for their contributions but also to participate in a grand national banquet. Finally, they discussed how these overseas Chinese could utilize their resources to provide greater assistance to the country's modernization construction in the future and signed a series of contracts.

  There were many people when they came, but when returning to the United States, there were not many people. Many people chose to stay in their own country and spend their later years. Song Tang's mother, Liu Ying, also chose to stay in China for a while before returning to the United States. Song Tang did not choose to follow the crowd back to Los Angeles, but instead boarded a plane bound for Hong Kong.

  Hong Kong, this modern metropolis, has the reputation of "Oriental Pearl", "Eastern Shining Pearl" and "Tourist Shopping Paradise". It is located in the south of Guangdong Province, on the east side of the Pearl River estuary. It is a hub for air and sea transportation in East Asia. Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, New Territories and more than 230 islands. The total area is 1,011 square kilometers.

  But this beautiful city that should belong to China is still occupied by the British, however fortunately it has been confirmed that with China's gradual prosperity and strength as well as the proposal of one country two systems, this modern metropolis has clearly defined the time for its return to the motherland.

  Unlike the mainland, Hong Kong has a long history of film development. Since the introduction of cinema in 1896, it has been nearly a century. During this period, many excellent films have emerged in Hong Kong, especially since the 1960s, Hong Kong is famous for its high-yield films. The region is also the third-largest film production base and the second-largest film export location.

  As Hong Kong entered the 1990s, its film industry entered a period of rapid development. Last year alone saw the establishment of several film and television companies, including Oriental Entertainment Holdings' Oriental Films, represented by figures such as Wong Kar-wai, and China Star Entertainment Group, represented by Charles Heung. However, Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and New Art City Film Company remain well-known in Hong Kong today.

  In the 1990s, a large number of movie stars emerged in Hong Kong, such as Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Anita Mui, all of whom were famous film stars of this era in Hong Kong.