Living in a boarding school during this era was quite dull, with no mobile phones, no internet cafes, and not even a TV. Apart from attending classes, the students would spend their time playing poker in the dormitory.
But ever since a classmate returned and told them about a video hall near the school, going there to watch videos became their happiest time.
Feng Yu's small farm had a cinema, but it only showed domestic films during holidays, and hardly anyone watched them. The cinema's main function was as a hall for the farm, where parties and other events were held.
Feng Yu had gone to the cinema a few times, but all the screenings were organized by the school and were utterly boring. He only remembered the classic line: "Master the sciences and mathematics, and you'll have no fear in the world!"
So, those who really wanted to watch movies would go to the video hall. It had a 17-inch color TV, three to four rows of seats, and a ticket cost one cent per person, allowing them to watch for three hours, which was about two movies.
Feng Yu and his friends had been there a few times before, especially during the busy farming season when they didn't go home on Sundays. This time, when Wen Dongjun suggested it, everyone responded enthusiastically. It was the beginning of the school year, and everyone had some pocket money from home.
Seeing everyone's eager expressions, Feng Yu also got excited. This era was the heyday of Hong Kong martial arts and crime films, and of course, the "God of Gamblers" series was also shining brightly.
Many classic Hong Kong films that were hard to find online in the future were readily available in any video hall now.
In the video hall, over 80% of the movies were from Hong Kong. The remaining 20% were from Europe, America, Southeast Asia, and domestic films, but almost no one watched the domestic ones.
The video hall screened three sessions during the day and two at night. However, the second night session was not suitable for children.
This wasn't even the most profitable part of the video hall; renting video tapes was. With improved living conditions, some families had bought VCRs, but after watching a tape once, it was no longer useful, so few people bought them; they mostly rented.
Entering the video hall, the third session had just started, showing the classic crime film "A Better Tomorrow."
Everyone paid and squeezed into the first row, closer to the TV for a clearer view. The video hall owner sat at the entrance, reading a "Dragon Tiger Gate" comic. He had seen these movies dozens of times and had no interest in them.
Feng Yu bought 50 cents worth of sunflower seeds and distributed them to everyone, eating while watching. Although he had seen this movie several times in his previous life, it still felt enjoyable.
The door opened, and a cold breeze blew in. Feng Yu glanced over and saw three teenagers around 17 or 18 years old walk in.
"Damn, they made us do a big clean-up on the first day of school. I'm not doing it. Listen to me, come out to watch videos, and let others do the cleaning."
"Ha ha ha, let's get a couple of bottles of alcohol when we go back and have a drink tonight."
"Tonight? Let's go out for a meal first, then come back to watch videos. The night sessions are much better, way better than this one."
The three paid and chatted casually. The video hall owner tore off a small homemade ticket from a clip, marked with the time slot, and let them in, then returned to his comic.
"You guys, go to the back!"
Wen Dongjun glanced up but ignored them. "We came first, why should we move? If you want to watch, go to the back or go somewhere else!"
"Damn, are you little brats deaf? I'm talking to you!"
Wen Dongjun stood up. "We came first, why should we move? If you want to watch, go to the back or go somewhere else!"
"Hey? You little brats are pretty bold, talking to me like that? Looking for a beating?"
The video hall owner looked up. "No fighting, watch the video properly, or I'll kick you all out."
In this era, those who could run a video hall were often troublemakers, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to handle troublemakers.
"Brother Wang, don't worry, I'll teach this little brat a lesson!"
"Take it outside if you want to fight. If you break anything in my place, you can't afford to pay for it." The video hall owner clearly knew these three and didn't want to get involved.
Feng Yu saw that things were about to get ugly. These three were older, taller, and stronger than them. Although they had seven people, they would definitely be at a disadvantage in a fight. But if they backed down now, they might be bullied even more.
He noticed their ages and remembered what they had said earlier. These three must not be working, and at their age, the only place they would be doing a big clean-up was the vocational high school!
With this in mind, Feng Yu had a plan.
"My uncle is the head of the academic affairs office at the vocational high school, Xu Lianlu. You three are from the vocational high school, right?" Feng Yu stood up, feeling a bit like saying, "My dad is Li Gang."
"Xu Lianlu? Which Xu Lianlu?" One of the young men clearly lost some of his bravado but was still wary of being scared by a kid.
"Xu Lianlu, the head of the academic affairs office. How many Xu Lianlu are there in your vocational high school?" Feng Yu retorted.
"Sorry, didn't know you were Xu Lianlu's nephew. These are all your classmates, right? It was a misunderstanding, just a joke. Brother Wang, get ten bottles of soda."
The sodas were brought over, and the three teenagers gave each of Feng Yu's group a bottle, then sat in the last row, not daring to say another word.
Xu Lianlu would be transferred to the farm middle school as principal in two years, which is why Feng Yu knew. In this era, the tuition for vocational high school was not cheap, and the head of the academic affairs office had the power to expel students.
If these three beat up the head of the academic affairs office's nephew, even if they weren't expelled, they would be given a major demerit, and they wouldn't stand a chance of getting a job in any farm unit after graduation.
The others didn't know that Feng Yu had an uncle who was the head of the academic affairs office at the vocational high school, but Wen Dongjun knew it was a lie. However, tricking those three and getting a free soda was still satisfying!
After watching two movies, Feng Yu and his friends stood up, ready to go back to school. The dorm mates would be back, and they could play poker and chat about interesting things from the winter break.
"Brother, you're leaving? Come drink with us tonight, and then come back to watch videos. I'll treat you, and the night sessions are much better!" one of the teenagers invited.
"No, I have to go back to school. The teachers will check the dorms tonight."
Feng Yu was interested in the night sessions but wouldn't watch them at this age, nor would he watch them with those guys. However, Wen Dongjun was intrigued. At his age, he was curious about these things and had been looking for a chance to watch them.
"Xiao Yu, stay and watch."
Feng Yu quickly shook his head and whispered, "Let's go, there will be a lot of vocational high school students tonight. If we get caught, we'll be beaten to death!"
Wen Dongjun reluctantly left with Feng Yu but kept suggesting on the way back to school that they go to another video hall to avoid those guys.
Feng Yu sighed, "Impulsive youth."
"You guys, stop right there!"
PS1: Back then, video halls not only showed videos and rented video tapes but also rented comics. Unfortunately, there were few Japanese comics, and certainly no "Gekkan Shōnen Magazine" or "Gekkan Shōnen Jump."
PS2: Any recommendations for collections?