Exciting 1979!

Chapter 214 Sister-in-law Light Bulb

"Hey?"

As soon as A Long returned to the guesthouse after dinner, he received a call. Unexpectedly, it was from A Ming, and he even asked him to go out for dinner.

Aaron was touched: "But I've already eaten it."

"Peace Hotel, are you coming?"

"Oh, are you sure? Then I'll go!" Aaron thought that he would not go to ordinary small restaurants, but this is the Peace Hotel.

But why didn’t A-Ming tell you earlier? This guest invitation was too sudden.

Aaron was not originally included in Wei Ming's dinner plan. There were only him and Sister Xue in the plan.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes, and I happened to run into Gong Ying sketching on the Bund.

After all, she was Sister Xue's sister, so Wei Ming politely invited her to eat together.

A smart sister-in-law should have said "I've already eaten, so I won't go", but Gong Ying wasn't so smart, she said "Okay, okay!"

Now Wei Ming was at a loss. He could take her with him, but he still wanted to stay with Sister Xue in the afternoon and evening. What would it mean to have a third wheel around him?

Gong Xing felt very embarrassed. The Peace Hotel was so expensive, and it would cost more to bring more people. Besides, Aying was indeed a bit of a hindrance. Her presence made it impossible for him to say many things.

Wei Ming laughed: "It's more lively when there are more people, and we can try more dishes. How about I call another friend?"

Fortunately, he was experienced in this area and decided to use the "light bulb hedge" tactic. He called a male friend over and had him restrain Gong Ying to gain space for himself and Sister Xue.

Aaron was the only candidate, so he immediately called a pay phone to get someone.

Next, they waited for Gong Ying to finish the painting she was doing before they slowly walked towards No. 20 The Bund.

When she saw the sign of "Peace Hotel", Gong Ying finally understood why her sister was so angry. It turned out that this was not just an ordinary restaurant, the standards of this restaurant were too high!
But is it appropriate for you two ordinary friends to eat at this kind of restaurant? Or is your relationship not that ordinary?
Now Gong Ying couldn't leave anymore. She had to see what was going on. She was not greedy. At worst she could come back and invite the customer back, but she had to go to a cheaper one.

Wei Ming and her sisters went in first, and then went downstairs when they thought Aaron would be here soon.

As soon as he left, Gong Ying immediately approached her sister and asked, "Second sister, when did you make the appointment?"

"No, it's just that Xiao Wei went to the Shanghai Film Studio today to look for Director Xie Jin, and when we met, we had dinner together."

"Let's have dinner together in a place like this?" This felt more like a date that had been planned in advance.

Gong Xing looked at Wei Mingyuan's back and whispered, "Little Wei is very greedy. He wanted to eat here when he first came to Magic City. I couldn't stop him."

Gong Ying believed this for the time being. She recalled: "The last time I saw him was also on the Bund, when I was sketching. What a coincidence. And it's been less than a year. I feel like he has matured a lot in a year. The last time I saw him, he was just a child."

Wei Ming: Nonsense, I was still a virgin last time!
Gong Xing didn't think so: "In fact, he has always been very calm, not like a man of his age at all, but sometimes he can be a little jumpy."

Gong Ying thought: Could it be that he is pretending to be mature and sophisticated because of his sister?
"Sister, do you like him?" Gong Ying asked directly.

Gong Xing naturally didn't admit it: "Don't talk nonsense, we are just ordinary friends."

Gong Ying smiled: "I didn't ask about your relationship, I just asked about your attitude towards him."

"I admire him, and even worship him a little. I'm even proud to be his friend, that's all." Gong Xing didn't dare to admit it. After all, there was a huge age gap between them, and she felt a little inferior inside.

The two sisters were chatting when Wei Ming met Liu Rulong outside.

"You are finally here. Come on, come on, there are two beautiful ladies coming to dinner with us."

"Ah? Then I haven't even cleaned up yet." Aaron was wearing the clothes he wore for work at the Shanghai Film Studio. He was fiddling with paints and didn't even wash his hands thoroughly.

Wei Ming: "No need to pack up. You are not here to pick up girls. Let me make two simple points. The two girls opposite are a pair of sisters. You know Gong Qian. The other one is her younger sister. After dinner, you should find a way to lure her younger sister away, so that Gong Qian and I can be alone together. OK?"

"OK!" A'long agreed readily, then questioned, "Ah Ming, don't I already have a sister-in-law? The one in Yanjing."

Wei Ming patted A Ming's shoulder and said, "Yanjing is Yanjing. Isn't this the Magic City?"

Aaron seemed to understand, but with their relationship, even if Wei Ming was a scumbag, he would be willing to be his wingman.

The two of them entered the Dragon and Phoenix Hall of the Peace Hotel, and after they sat down, Wei Ming introduced them to each other.

When they heard that Liu Rulong was from the Film Academy, the two sisters were in awe. When they heard that he was studying animation and was interning at the Shanghai Shanghai Film Studio during the holidays, the two sisters also talked about their childhood memories of the Shanghai Shanghai Film Studio.

In the past, when there was no television, when they watched movies, they would often see a short film from the Shanghai Animation Film Studio at the beginning. The adults found it annoying, but they watched it with great interest.

It was also the first time that A Long met Gong Xing in person. She was indeed very beautiful and fashionably dressed. She was not as bright and elegant as Zhu Lin, but she had delicate features and a sweet smile. She was impeccable. No wonder A Ming couldn't help but feel sorry for Sister Lin.

As an art student, Aaron couldn't help but analyze it from an aesthetic perspective.

Although the younger sister next to her is also a beautiful girl and the two sisters look alike, there is still a clear gap between the younger sister and the older sister.

However, Aaron noticed that there was an oil painting board turned upside down at Gong Ying's feet, and paint could be clearly seen on her cuffs.

"Did you draw this?" Aaron asked curiously.

"Yeah, I just drew it for fun." Knowing that Aaron was a professional artist, Gong Ying felt a little embarrassed.

"May I have a look?"

Wei Ming couldn't help but give Aaron a thumbs up, well done, have a good chat with her!
"Sister Ying, just let him take a look. A'long is a disciple of Mr. Guan Shanyue and has a very high level of artistic accomplishment."

Although he was a master of traditional Chinese painting, Gong Ying had also heard of him. She shyly turned over the drawing board and started chatting with Aaron.

Although Aaron is usually rather dull, he can talk endlessly when talking about his expertise and areas of interest. Although he did not major in oil painting, he can do it too, and his level is not inferior to Gong Ying.

They chatted about their own things while Wei Ming and Sister Xue whispered while ordering food. They didn't look at the prices, they only looked at which dishes they liked.

Sister Xue was embarrassed to order a big dish, so she asked for seasonal vegetables. Moreover, she is an actress and needs to maintain her figure, so she has a small appetite and doesn't eat much meat or fish.

Wei Ming loves to eat big fish and meat, which are his source of energy.

So he ordered local shredded eel, eight-treasure gourd duck, crystal river shrimp, and marbled beef cubes.

I can't just order meat dishes, so I ended up ordering tiger skin vegetarian goose. For the main course, I'll have crab roe buns, two trays to lighten my appetite first.

Six dishes were enough for four people, so we didn’t order more. After all, there were two girls and one of them had eaten, so I was the only one who had eaten.

"As for drinks, here are Coca-Cola, one bottle for each person." In the Friendship Store in Yanjing, a bottle of Coca-Cola costs 45 cents, but here it costs one dollar a bottle, which is not bad. Ordinary people can't buy it without foreign exchange coupons.

Gong Xing felt warm in his heart when he thought about the foreign exchange he had in his hands, but he had not yet decided what to buy.

Finally, Wei Ming did the math and found that it was less than 30 yuan, which was much more expensive than the Quanjude meal he had when he first came to Beijing. It is indeed the most expensive restaurant in Shanghai.

Gong Ying also looked at the menu and roughly calculated the prices. Wow, it was almost equal to her monthly salary.

She has now found a job as a graphic designer. She has just started working and the salary is not high, about 30 yuan a month, which is enough for a meal here.

While waiting for the food to be served, Gong Xing asked Wei Ming quietly, "Where's the surprise you mentioned?"

Wei Ming glanced at the two light bulbs and lowered his voice: "Let's talk after dinner."

The meal was very pleasant. The two girls, who didn’t eat much, ate a lot. Aaron, who had just finished lunch, didn’t indulge his stomach. Who says you can’t eat anymore after you’re full?
In addition, the portions of food in the South are not large, so we basically finish our meals and there is no food waste.

In the end, the four people left the Peace Hotel with burps, all because of that Coke.

Before leaving, Wei Ming asked the staff how much it would cost to stay at the Peace Hotel for one night.

A-Long asked, "Aren't you going back to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio Guesthouse with me tonight?"

Hearing this, Gong Ying thought to herself: But my sister must go home and sleep with me!
Wei Ming smiled and said, "Ask in advance. If there is no guest house to take you in, you can come here for one night."

Staying here for a night is slightly more expensive than staying at the Baiyun Hotel in Guangzhou, but it is still affordable. As long as I can continue to earn foreign exchange from abroad, I will be able to afford high-end hotels in the future.

But after all, it is not as comfortable as living at home. I just don’t know what the price of old villas in Shanghai is now.

The old villas in Shanghai are similar to the courtyard houses in Beijing. They were previously owned by wealthy people, but with the trend of going abroad, the transaction volume has increased.

Gong Xing asked: "Aying, don't you have to go to work next?"

Gong Ying said proudly: "I took a day off. I don't have to go to work all day today!"

Gong Xing thought to himself that he was doomed, he couldn't get rid of her today!

Wei Ming glanced at A Long and said, "If she doesn't go to work, then you can't go to work either."

Aaron blinked: "Brother, I want to go back and learn technology to revitalize Chinese animation!"
Wei Ming pulled A Long and said, "Why don't we go to Nanjing Road for a walk? Painters need to see more, right?"

Nanjing Road will certainly be bustling in the future, and now it is also the best in Shanghai. It is the earliest commercial street built after Shanghai opened its port. It has witnessed the development and changes of Shanghai and has a profound historical heritage. Both the Gong sisters said that there is no problem.

After walking a few steps, they saw the Magic City Art Exhibition Hall, which is the future Magic City Art Museum. It has not been renovated yet and has not been renamed.

The Gong sisters often came here with their father when they were young. Gong Xing’s class even organized an event when she was in primary school. She went to primary school in 60, when Wei Ming was not yet born.

Gong Xing introduced: "The exhibition works here include not only traditional Chinese paintings and oil paintings, but also prints, comic strips, and New Year paintings."

As soon as A-Long heard this, he became interested. Wei Ming came up with an idea: "Then let's go in and take a look."

So the four of them went in together, but after entering they separated because of their different interests. Wei Ming asked A Long to accompany Gong Ying to see the oil paintings, while Wei Ming walked around with Gong Xing and then sneaked away.

After leaving the exhibition hall, Wei Ming took Sister Xue's hand and started running, laughing as he ran: "Let them play, we'll go shopping."

And after coming out, Wei Ming took her to the bus with the nearest stop, ensuring that the two people would never be able to find them.

Although Gong Xing felt that this was not very fair, he found it quite exciting when he thought about it.

"So where are we going next?" The two of them cosplayed "The Graduate", and after the excitement, Sister Xue asked in confusion.

Wei Ming: "How would I know? I'm not a local. Is there anything interesting about the route this train takes?"

Gong Xing took a look and said, "Oh, this train passes by Hongkou Park, where Lu Xun's tomb is."

Gong Xing was able to please her. She knew that the pen name "Wei Kuangren" came from "Diary of a Madman".

Hongkou Park was later renamed Luxun Park. When Wei Ming heard about it, he slapped his thigh and said, "That's it. Let's go there for a stroll."

~
At this time in the Magic City Art Exhibition Hall, Liu Rulong accompanied Gong Ying to visit the oil painting area, and Gong Ying also returned the favor by taking him to visit the comic book area.

In 1922, Shanghai Literature and Art Library published "The Complete Illustrated Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which was the first story book in China to be described in the form of comic strips. Therefore, Shanghai's comic strip industry was very developed, especially in the s and s. There were many famous artists, which had a profound influence on the generation of Yang Songqiao, Liu Rulong's grandfather.

My grandfather once told Aaron that in 52, a comic strip worker training class was established in Shanghai, which recruited 200 people, and he was fortunate to be one of them.

When Aaron saw the comic books handed down from the older generation, he thought of his grandfather and read them more seriously and devoutly.

When Gong Ying was visiting by herself, she actually had some superficial glimpses, but A'long was watching so seriously that she held back her laughter and thought this little brother was quite interesting.

He himself looks quite cartoonish, chubby, with his feet turned inwards, harmless, like a panda. Now he is working in the comics and animation industry, and it seems that he can be directly published if he draws himself as a comic character.

A-Long brought paper and pen with him. He said to Gong Ying, "Sister A-Ying, I want to copy this painting. I've heard about it from my grandfather, but I've never seen it."

Gong Ying did not urge him: "Sure, take your time copying, I'll go find them."

However, after Aaron finished copying, Gong Ying came back with a frustrated look on his face.

"Aaron, we both seem to be embarrassed!"

Aaron: "Ah? No, I behave very decently."

"I mean my sister and Xiao Wei, they're gone!"

Aaron had expected this, he smiled and said, "They must have lost face by losing us, but it doesn't matter, we are all adults, we will definitely find our way home."

Gong Ying felt that this was premeditated, but she did not take the harmless A'long into consideration. It must have been the idea of her sister and Xiao Wei. These two people were definitely more than just ordinary friends!
"Along, tell your sister about Xiao Wei."

"In which direction?"

Gong Ying: “Emotionally.”

Aaron thought for a moment and said, "It is certain that he likes women~"

……

(Monthly tickets cost 11000 yuan for extra chapters, December's extra chapters have been cleared, today's guaranteed chapter will be made up tomorrow, people are no longer free to do what they want in middle age)

(End of this chapter)