Exciting 1979!

Chapter 244 Gong Xue and Zhu Lin are friends

This time, since it was indoors and the door was locked, I wasn't as nervous as last time when it was outdoors.

However, the handkerchief was still the same handkerchief, and Wei Ming suspected that Sister Lin kept it specifically for him to use.

If she uses this regularly, then I absolutely love it.

Before leaving, Wei Ming also previewed the new star concert after the Mid-Autumn Festival: "I will have a new song released at that time."

Zhu Lin expressed his anticipation for the new song, but said he was too weak to see him off and let him go on his own.

Wei Ming felt sorry for his sister; she must want it too, but the soundproofing didn't allow it, so she had to keep it to herself.

I'll have to urge Master Lei again later. Maybe he can have all his apprentices renovate their own properties together, and he'll pay them extra.

Mei Culture: I'll pay double!
The two met at the Overseas Chinese Apartment. Yunyun called out "Big Brother" and quickly went upstairs.

Mei Wenhua, on the other hand, looked depressed and dejected, too ashamed to face anyone.

Damn it, we failed!
He felt that the street-facing environment made him too nervous, so he wanted to renovate the house as soon as possible so that at least there would be a bed.

~
The next day, after hearing the requests from both employers to speed up the process, Master Lei decided to assign the Zhao family's team to these two companies, since the Zhao family wasn't in a hurry.

Master Lei also gave a deadline: "We'll work overtime during the National Day holiday, and we should be able to finish the job."

Wei Ming thought to himself that there were still half a month left, and he could just bear with it.

Today he received another remittance slip from Hong Kong. The Cantonese lyrics he wrote for Tam Yung-lun's "Flower in the Water" were approved, and he also received a share of the sales revenue from the Mandarin album, totaling HK$3000, which Ah-min sent to him.

Wei Ming's foreign exchange reserves have increased significantly, and since he had nothing else to do, he went to Rongbaozhai at noon to buy another of the store's finest paintings.

This time he went straight to the point. After arriving at the VIP reception room, he expressed his desire to buy Li Keran's "Thousands of Mountains in Red", which could also be called "Thousands of Mountains in Red, Forests Dyed in Layers".

This is Li Keran's most important landscape painting masterpiece, taken from the poem "Qinyuanchun: Changsha" by the great man: "The mountains are red all over, the forests are dyed in layers of color, the river is clear and blue, and a hundred boats race against each other."

Its bold use of red is unique in landscape painting, and this painting is one of Rongbaozhai's most treasured works.

After a moment of silence, Manager Yu instructed the staff to serve tea, and then went to the warehouse.

Wei Ming stood up and looked at the paintings on the wall that had replaced Qi Baishi's "Hidden Leaves and Hearing Sounds: Flowers, Insects and Grasses Album," including Pan Tianshou's "Lotus Painting" and Qi Baishi's fan painting "Wild Geese," all of which were masterpieces by the two masters.

Seeing that the shop assistant wanted to introduce and promote the painting to Wei Ming, Wei Ming smiled and said, "I have already chosen the painting. Does your shop have any famous calligraphy works?"

He has recently been practicing calligraphy and would like to find someone to copy his work for him.

"Oh, we have Mr. Qi Gong's copy of Huaisu's Autobiography here."

Huaisu was a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, known as the "Sage of Cursive Script". His masterpiece is the "Autobiographical Essay".

Wei Ming shook his head: "I can't handle cursive script yet. Do you have any running script?"

He prefers the natural and unrestrained running script, such as the "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion," considered the finest example of running script in the world.

The shop assistant thought for a moment and said, "The best existing calligraphy works were originally in our Rongbaozhai, but they have already been handed over."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "You mean Mi Fu's 'Poems of Tiaoxi'?"

"Teacher Wei, you know about this too?" the waiter asked in surprise.

Wei Ming, after all, had such a neighbor, and there were so many great professors at the university; he must have known something.

Mi Fu, one of the four great calligraphers of the Northern Song Dynasty, has only two extant calligraphic works: one is the "Shu Su Tie" in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and the other is the "Tiaoxi Shi Tie".

In the 60s, a young man from Northeast China went to Yanjing to sell his paintings, which were bought by Rongbaozhai for 1400 yuan.

Back then, Sha Zhu's monthly salary was 38.5 yuan, which wasn't too expensive. This kind of first-class national treasure was equivalent to three years of Sha Zhu's salary.

Later, Rongbaozhai authenticated it as genuine, then restored it and obediently handed it over to the state. It is now in the Palace Museum. Wei Ming had visited the Palace Museum many times in his previous life, but had only seen it once.

He and his colleague were chatting idly when Manager Yu returned, carrying a scroll about half a meter long.

After the assistant helped the manager open the scroll, the red color remained as vibrant as ever, and layers of mountains rushed towards Wei Ming, piercing his eyes.

Wei Ming closely admired the details and inscription of the painting, appreciating the master's unique brushwork and ink techniques.

He loved the red color so much, then shook his head: "It's a good painting, but this isn't the one I wanted. Manager Yu, doesn't Rongbaozhai have two versions of 'Thousands of Mountains Ablaze with Red'? Why are you only showing me one?"

Manager Yu smiled and said, "Teacher Wei is indeed an expert, but that painting is not for sale."

Li Keran actually painted seven versions of "Thousands of Mountains in Red". These seven paintings are largely the same, but they are also different in terms of size, inscription and layout.

The first two paintings were created while he was recuperating in Guangdong. One is kept in his own home, and the other was donated to the National Art Museum of China. Wei Ming had seen them before when he visited the exhibition. Both paintings are about three square feet in size.

Later, when Master Li lived in Badachu in the Western Hills of Yanjing, he painted four more paintings, two large and two small. This time, he used half a catty of vermilion from the Palace Museum to paint them, making the colors even more vivid and eye-catching.

The smaller ones are three square feet, and the larger ones are ten square feet.

Of the two smaller ones, one was still in Li Keran's own collection, and the other was sold to Rongbaozhai for 80 yuan, which is the one Wei Ming is looking at.

Of the two larger paintings, one was donated to the Yenching Academy of Painting, while the other was likely sold by Master Li himself and later auctioned for nearly 300 million yuan.

The last piece, which is also the largest, was painted by Li Keran at the invitation of Rongbaozhai in 64 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is definitely a treasure of the store.

Therefore, unless Rongbaozhai goes out of business, such a masterpiece of special significance will definitely not be sold.

"Are you really not selling? I can pay more."

Manager Yu smiled slightly and resolutely refused to sell.

"Alright then, how much for this smaller one?" Wei Ming had no choice but to settle for second best. This one was 75cm long and 46cm wide. Apart from not being big enough, its artistic merit was absolutely unquestionable. Wei Ming felt that it would be very pleasing to the eye to hang in his home.

Manager Yu held up three fingers: "Three hundred US dollars."

That's equivalent to $100 per square foot, which is very expensive. No wonder it's used to generate foreign exchange; they're really ruthless. They treat everyone who uses foreign exchange equally.

"Alright, but Manager Yu, could you please keep an eye out for me? If any private individuals want to sell 'Ten Thousand Mountains in Red,' I can buy it, and I can even pay in foreign exchange."

Besides the one in Wei Ming's possession, there are three other versions of "Thousands of Mountains Ablaze with Red" circulating outside of official circulation. If he could, Wei Ming would love to acquire them all, just for the dazzling red.

Manager Yu thought to himself, "You still have foreign exchange? How long are you going to live off that one book?"
Manager Yu also knew that Wei Ming was Wei something. After all, Wei Ming had to have a source to be able to produce so much foreign exchange. Wei Ming was afraid that the other party would think too much, so he revealed it to them.

In the end, Wei Ming spent $500 to pack up and take away Li Keran's "Thousands of Mountains Red and Forests Dyed in Layers of Color", Pan Tianshou's "Lotus Painting" that he had just seen, Qi Baishi's insect painting "Wild Geese Red", and a couplet in Qi Gong's running script.

The price of calligraphy works is far less than that of paintings. Qi Gong's couplet was practically sold for free, since Wei Ming had spent a lot of money at Rongbaozhai, and it was all foreign exchange.

He's one of the few writers today who can afford to spend foreign exchange so lavishly.

Although the deal was made, Manager Yu felt empty inside. Wei Ming had bought high-quality items from Rongbaozhai, some of which were by deceased painters and were considered non-renewable resources.

Will he buy up all the treasures at Rongbaozhai in the future?
In fact, Wei Ming only picked what he liked, and the things sold at Rongbaozhai were relatively reliable, saving him the trouble of distinguishing between genuine and fake products. He also didn't have time to wander around the streets looking for bargains, so he liked coming here.

Wei Ming put his things back at the Overseas Chinese Apartment before going to work.

Even Qi Baishi's album of insects and plants was taken back after Xuejie had looked at it. In terms of security, the Overseas Chinese Apartment, which is always occupied and has security guards, is more reassuring.

Oh, I just received a few paintings. I need to tell Sister Xue about them and invite her to come and appreciate them when I have the chance.

She admires the painting, and I admire her.

~
In the afternoon, at Dongzhimen Middle School, after school, Xia Lin, who had just transitioned from elementary to middle school, walked home alone with her schoolbag on her back. She had no friends and didn't want any.

She considered herself to be quite precocious and had little to talk about with her classmates whose thinking was still stuck in elementary school.

If I talk to them about Masashi Sada's Japanese music, do they understand it?

They just hum along to the TV, while Charlene's mother is a soprano singer.

When she got home, there was a man in the house. She thought he was her mother's boyfriend, and her face immediately fell.

Because of her father's bad class background, her parents divorced early on, and she changed her original name "Wang Fei" to Xia Lin, which was her mother's surname.

But she knew that her parents still had feelings for each other, but they had been forced to do so back then. Now that time had passed, he hoped to repair the family, not to reunite it.

However, her mother, Xia Guiying, enthusiastically introduced, "Linlin, this is Ms. Sha Qing, the editor of the Beijing Evening News. Come over and greet her."

"Is there something you need?" she asked.

Sha Qing laughed heartily. The little girl had quite a personality. He glanced at Xia Guiying.

Xia Guiying said directly, "You know about the New Star Concert held during the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?"

Wang Fei nodded. The newspaper had already published an advertisement announcing that tickets would go on sale on the 19th.

A few days ago, Masashi Sada's concert rekindled the passion for music among the people of Yanjing. Many people are eyeing this new star concert, and Wang Fei is already prepared to skip class to grab tickets.

Mother Xia Guiying continued, "Editor Sha came specifically to invite you to this concert."

"Huh? Me? You want me to sing 'Little Grass'?" Wang Fei was secretly delighted. She didn't need to fight for tickets anymore; she could listen to the song on stage.

Sha Qing smiled and said, "Our concert will last for two days, depending on the schedule. If you have enough time, you can sing a song, but the main song is not this one. Instead, it's a new song that Teacher Wei Ming specially wrote for you."

"Teacher Wei Ming? Is it especially for me?" Wang Fei's usually calm face showed excitement and disbelief.

She had never met Teacher Wei Ming, only heard his legends. His song "Little Grass" had made her a minor celebrity among her classmates. "Does he still remember me?" Wang Fei finally acted like an 11-year-old child.

"Of course I remember. To be honest, you weren't originally on our list, since you're too young and the occasion is too big. But when we asked Teacher Wei Ming for a song, he specifically asked to write one for you and Cai Guoqing."

Wang Fei was slightly disappointed. It turned out that it wasn't just written for me alone. Xiao Cai was also included. She and Cai Guoqing are now members of the Galaxy Choir and are old acquaintances.

Then she asked, "What about the song?"

Sha Qing said, "Tomorrow afternoon, we will meet in your choir's rehearsal room for the first rehearsal. Based on the music consultant's advice, we have decided that this song will be performed by the Galaxy Choir, with you and Cai Guoqing as the two lead singers."

Sha Qing had high expectations for this song. Writer Wei completed such a high-quality song in just three days, but because it was too grand, it was not something that two children could handle. So it could only be sung in a chorus format, highlighting the two main characters.

Wang Fei pouted and said "oh." Sha Qing got up to leave, as he still needed to go to Cai Guoqing's house to inform her.

Cai Guoqing's father is a baritone at the National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, so both of the children come from families with a strong academic background.

~
In the evening, Wei Ming and Zhu Lin came out of Qiao Feng's new home. Their family had accepted reality. A daughter is a daughter. If it doesn't work out, they can always secretly have another one when they go back to their hometown in Shandong.

If Wei Ming knew what they were thinking, he might glare at them.

On the way back to the Beijing Film Studio guesthouse, Zhu Lin was still remarking, "Being a mother really makes a difference. Mu Rong suddenly seems like an adult. She used to be quite impulsive."

"You talk as if you're so mature and composed," Wei Ming teased.

“In the past, my superiors at work thought I was mature and steady. If I weren’t filming now, I might have been promoted.”

However, Zhu Lin has no regrets. She was much happier when filming "The Passing of Time" started than when she was working.

Wei Ming originally wanted to have Sister Lin help him have some fun again today, but he ran into someone when he took her back to her room.

A new guest at a guesthouse.

Zhu Lin immediately recognized the other person as Zhang Yu, who is currently the most popular actress in the film industry, almost surpassing Chen Chong last year. Several months have passed, and "Romance on Lushan Mountain" is still showing in second- and third-tier cities across the country.

Zhang Yu immediately recognized Wei Ming, the author of "The Herdsman." She had heard that he was the one who rejected her role in the film and helped Gong Xue take the lead. He was indeed handsome, much better than Guo Kaimin.

She didn't recognize the pretty woman next to Wei Ming, but Zhang Yu sensed a hint of gossip and even felt a little schadenfreude.

Because Zhang Yu ran into them, Wei Ming escorted Zhu Lin into the house and left. Zhu Lin felt embarrassed to keep him there and didn't know why Zhang Yu was there.

Zhang Yu came to audition at the invitation of Beijing Film Studio.

Beijing Film Studio is preparing a blockbuster film to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution next year. The film, titled "Zhiyin," tells the story of General Cai E and Xiao Fengxian and is co-directed by Xie Tieli, Chen Huai'ai, and Ba Hong.

The male lead is still Wang Xingang, who is both famous and has excellent acting skills. This time he did not refuse. Although there are romantic scenes between the male and female leads, it doesn't matter if there is a large age gap in this story.

They wanted to cast the most popular actress in the country for the female lead.

Chen Chong, who is currently the most popular actress, has decided to go abroad. Liu Xiaoqing's schedule conflicted with hers, so they turned their attention to Zhang Yu, who may not be as glamorous, but whose popularity skyrocketed with "Romance on Lushan Mountain".

Zhang Yu's audition went smoothly on the second day, and Director Xie was very satisfied with her.

Then, she had her colleague Da Shichang treat her to a meal at the Beijing Film Studio canteen, where she also met the mysterious woman she had met the day before.

Her name is Zhu Lin, and she is the female lead in "Regret for the Past." She is even more beautiful during the day, no less so than Gong Xue.

I've never heard of her before, how did she end up as the female lead in Shui Hua's new film?

Zhang Yu felt that she needed to have a good talk with Comrade Gong Xue after returning to Shanghai.

The film "Zhiyin" won't start filming until next year. It has been preliminarily confirmed that Zhang Yu will play Xiao Fengxian. Zhang Yu is going back to Shanghai tomorrow. She will also be working with Guo Kaimin on a film called "Xiaojie" produced by Shanghai Film Studio, which can be considered to maximize the benefits of their on-screen pairing.

"Is there anything fun to do in Yanjing these days?" Zhang Yu asked Da Shichang, as she planned to go out for a stroll that afternoon.

Da Shi thought for a moment and said, "You know Oriental Plaza, right?"

Zhang Yu: "I think I saw it in the newspaper. I heard that there are no counters blocking the way, so you can look around and try things on as you please, and there are also many Hong Kong goods."

“Yes, there aren’t any in Shanghai either,” Da Shichang said with a smile. “Unfortunately, I’ve been busy filming lately and haven’t been able to go see it yet.”

Zhu Lin remained silent, but she was still proud of Wei Ming; after all, it was our little Wei who owned it.

So in the afternoon, Zhang Yu went to Xidan alone and saw Gong Xue and Zhu Lin wearing her clothes on the poster from afar.

This surprised Zhang Yu greatly. Could it be that Gong Xue and Zhu Lin knew each other?

Because the two posters are facing each other, Zhang Yu even felt as if the two were gazing at each other with affection.

"Hmm," Zhang Yu shook her head and quickly went inside.

She also heard from the newspaper that the women's clothing sold in Oriental Plaza was the same clothing she wore in the movie "Romance on Lushan Mountain," and that it could be said that it took off by riding on the popularity of "Romance on Lushan Mountain."

However, she only wore them while filming, and after filming was over, she went back to wearing her usual clothes.

However, once inside, she discovered that women's clothing only made up about half of the store, with some other more ordinary clothes and some fashionable and beautiful women's clothing that she had never seen before.

These are the new women's clothing styles that Xintiandi launched after competitors started imitating the designs. They were all copied from fashion magazines sent by Amin.

It's not about copying directly. If we copied directly, no one would dare to buy many of the clothes, and there would even be a risk of being reported.

Therefore, some self-improvements are made, such as raising the neckline to prevent the cleavage from being exposed, and making the skirt longer to prevent the buttocks from being exposed.

Thanks to these new clothing styles, a fresh business model, and enthusiastic service that differs from state-owned stores, Oriental Plaza's sales remain high.

However, autumn has already arrived, and Mei Culture has begun to think about the issue of launching new autumn and winter clothing. The proprietress, Xu Yunyun, is still enthusiastic when she sees new customers.

"Hello comrade, what would you like to see..." Yunyun was speaking when she suddenly felt that the customer looked familiar. "Are you Zhou Yun?"

With just one sentence, all the sales assistants and customers in the store looked over, then gathered around, and then Zhang Yu couldn't move.

Zhang Yu didn't expect that the movie fans in Yanjing were even more enthusiastic than those in Shanghai. However, they didn't have cell phones or posters, so they couldn't get autographs or take photos with her. They just surrounded her and chatted.

In the end, it was Manager Mei who dispersed the crowd and personally received this celebrity guest. Zhang Jinling had come before, but she came when it was almost time to leave work in the evening, so there weren't many people there.

Zhang Yu mainly wanted to see fashion items she hadn't worn before, so she chose a pair of pants and a shirt. As soon as she came out of the fitting room, Mei Wenhua immediately began to flatter her.

Without thinking, Zhang Yu decided to pay the bill without trying anything else, feeling a bit uncomfortable with so many people watching her.

Mei Wenhua stopped her from handing over the money and offered it to her for free.

Zhang Yu: "This isn't a good idea." These two pieces of clothing are quite expensive, costing nearly a hundred yuan.

Mei Culture then took out a pair of women's low-heeled leather shoes, also from Hong Kong: "These are for you too."

Zhang Yu quickly declined, and she dared not accept it. Could this person be trying to date her?
She's not bad-looking, but not very tall. I heard this shop is a privately owned business, and such a big shop must be very profitable.

As she was lost in thought, Mei Wenhua said, "I was just thinking about whether I could take a couple of photos of you, Comrade Zhang Yu, and then hang them outside our shop as posters."

Seeing Zhang Yu's expression return to normal after her shyness, Yunyun, who was secretly glancing over, breathed a sigh of relief; she had been genuinely nervous just now.

Zhang Yu first asked Mei Culture, "Who are those two posters outside?"

Mei Culture: "One is Gong Xue, and the other is Zhu Lin; both are actors."

"Do you know?"

"Oh, friend."

Do the two of them know each other?

"They're all friends." Mei Wenhua felt a little uneasy after being asked such a question. Why was this woman so inquisitive?

"Oh, I really do know them?" Zhang Yu was slightly disappointed, then her attention returned to the shoes.

The quality is really good. These three items must cost at least two hundred. Zhang Yu didn't think it was a big deal. Those two were actresses too. If they made these, why couldn't she do them?

"But do you have a camera? I'm going back to Shanghai tomorrow."

"Yes, I just bought it." He had just bought a second-hand camera and kept it in the shop so that he and Yunyun could have more memories together.

Mei Culture's Kaka took two photos of Zhang Yu, showing her wearing a shirt, trousers, and leather shoes as part of her endorsement fee.

After all, this popular actress doesn't have a close relationship with her brother-in-law, so she can't skimp on this expense.

However, displaying Zhang Yu in public would definitely have a more sensational effect than displaying Zhu Lin and Gong Xue, since the other two were not yet famous, while Zhang Yu was already well-known.

When Yunyun went home that evening, she gave the film to Wei Ming to develop the photos and find an artist to draw a poster.

After hearing this, Wei Ming immediately praised Xiao Mei: "This money was well spent!"

Getting a top-tier female celebrity to endorse a product only gets you three pieces of clothing and shoes. You'll never get another chance like this unless the top-tier female celebrity is your wife.

The next day, Wei Ming washed the photos by hand and went to Daguanlou to have Master Wei draw a poster.

Another day passed, and Zhang Yu arrived in Shanghai. Without resting, she went straight back to the Shanghai Film Studio to report for duty, and was able to have dinner in the canteen that evening.

Gong Xue didn't go home today either. She was in a good mood because she had just received a letter from Wei Ming. He must have sent it before he received her letter, but she hadn't had time to read it yet.

Just as I was thinking of finishing my meal quickly so I could go back and check my letter, I saw Zhang Yu, whom I didn't usually interact with, sitting down opposite me with her rice bowl.
(End of this chapter)