Exciting 1979!

Chapter 271 The Three-Year Term, Sheryl's Promise

Zhu Lin finally realized that Wei Ming was always wearing the watch Melinda had given him, which was clear evidence that their feelings for each other were still unresolved.

So the first thing she wanted to do in 81 was to get this guy a new watch.

There's a watch that's become very popular recently, and it's a foreign brand called Casio, from Japan.

This brand makes electronic instruments. They previously made calculators and printers, and then entered the field of electronic watches.

The reason it became so popular is because of the movie "Astro Boy" which aired on CCTV at the end of last year.

The animation was given to CCTV for free, but it was required to air an advertisement for Casio watches associated with Astro Boy. Through prime-time advertising on more than 900 million television sets across China, the brand became popular in the country.

Moreover, those who can afford a TV can also afford a watch, so it's a case of targeted advertising.

Zhu Lin saw this watch while watching TV with his parents, and the next day he ran all over the major shopping malls in Yanjing and finally bought it.

It costs over two hundred yuan, no receipt required, and is a bit of a luxury item. It also looks rather complicated, with a calculator on top of the watch and a lot of buttons. Even after reading the instruction manual once, I only got a general idea of ​​what it was like.

Although it's also a digital watch, it's much more expensive than those digital watches from Hong Kong that cost only a few tens of dollars. It also has more functions, including a calculator, weekday and date display. The salesperson also said that the battery can last for three years, making it easy to replace the battery later.

After buying the ticket, Zhu Lin happily went to the Beijing Film Studio and confirmed with director Zhao Huanzhang that she would play the role of the second sister-in-law. Her scenes in "The Mourning" had already been filmed, and she was ready to go to Shandong with the crew to experience life and immerse herself in the new role at any time.

"How about three days from now?" Director Zhao said. "You need to come back to the Shanghai Film Studio with us first, and then the crew will head to Shandong together."

Zhu Lin was surprised by the tension. Director Zhao had planned to experience life before the Lunar New Year and start filming afterward. The film had already been delayed long enough because it wasn't well-received.

So Zhu Lin, who was planning to go to Tuanjiehu to meet her jerk today, had to stand him up.

She needed to go home that night to tell her parents about this important matter and talk to them about it. To this end, she even asked the director for a copy of the script.

However, Zhu Lin knew that Wei Ming would definitely go to Tuanjiehu to wait for her, so she went there in advance, left the watch there, and also left him a note.

~
As soon as Wei Ming got off work, he went to Tuanjiehu and saw this Casio C-80 calculator-style watch, which is considered a high-tech product in this era.

Okay, now he has three watches. He can put Melinda's one away for now and wait until she comes to China. From now on, he'll wear this watch and Xue Jie's Shanghai-brand watch in rotation.

Wei Ming was very happy to receive Lin Jie's gift. He put the gift away, put on the Shanghai brand badge, and went to the Beijing Film Studio to find Gong Xue. At this time, Lin Jie should be at her own home, so the Beijing Film Studio was safe.

Of course, Wei Ming's official purpose was to go see director Wang Haowei and also to meet and chat with the main actors.

“Your cousin Wei Xi is indeed a promising talent. How about we meet with him tomorrow?” Director Wang Hao praised Wei Xi’s acting talent after watching “The Herdsman”.

Of course, we still need to meet them in person, since kids change quickly, and they might go from handsome to unattractive in a year.

Wei Ming: "Okay, I'll go back and call my uncle. Also, I'd like to talk about the movie score."

“I know you understand music, Xiao Wei.” Wang Haowei smiled. “On the Hopeful Fields” and “The Same Song” were both popular hits across the country that year.

Wei Ming humbly replied, "I only know a little about it. I don't know if Director Wang has heard of 'Only Mother is Good in the World'?"

Wang Haowei nodded: "I have some impression. It seems to be a song from an old Hong Kong movie called 'Orphan's Wanderings'."

"That's right, I think this song matches the theme of our movie very well."

"I can't quite remember the lyrics anymore."

Wei Ming immediately wrote it down and had Xue Jie, who was standing next to him, sing it. She was a pretty good singer.

Wang Haowei nodded: "It feels like all the memories from back then have come back. I remember the original singer's voice was that of a little girl, right?"

"That's right, the original singer is Josephine Siao, who was the lead actress in this movie. She was only about ten years old at the time, and I think this song is more suitable for a little girl to sing."

Wang Haowei: "Do you have any recommendations?"

Wei Ming smiled sheepishly and said, "Then I will recommend someone without regard to kinship. Wei Xi's younger sister, Wei Le, is a very good singer. She originally sang 'Where is Spring?'"

Wang Haowei also laughed: "The Wei family is full of talented people. Let's bring them over tomorrow as well."

Wei Ming: "In addition, I have prepared three original songs for this film, all of which praise maternal love."

"Three poems?" Wang Hao was astonished that they were all on the same theme. Was this person's creative passion really that strong?
Wei Ming said, "Actually, these songs were already created when the script was being written, and they all follow the plot."

"Oh?" Wang Haowei thought of "The Shepherd's Spring," which seemed to be in the same creative mode, with the story and music going hand in hand.

However, the protagonist of "The Shepherd's Class" is a music teacher, and the story itself is related to music, so the combination is very clever, and the novel and the music album complement each other.

Wang Hao asked, "Did you bring these three songs?"

Wei Ming: "Two of them have both lyrics and music, and the other one only has lyrics. I have asked teacher Gu Jianfen to help compose the music, and it should be finished soon."

The song that Gu asked to write was "Mother in the Candlelight." Since they were acquaintances, Wei Ming didn't want to take away her masterpiece, so he wrote the lyrics and found her. He believed that even though it was six years earlier than expected, it still wouldn't be difficult for her.

~
Zhu Lin returned to the staff dormitory of Yanjing Institute of Technology. Her parents were watching the news. She didn't say anything at first, until the news mentioned the new marriage law that officially came into effect on January 1st.

Xiao Wei actually guessed it. The new marriage law stipulates that the legal marriage age is 22 for men and 20 for women, which means Xiao Wei will have to wait three more years to get married!
This left Zhu Lin somewhat frustrated, as he was already in his early thirties three years later.

The new marriage law also contains two important pieces of information. One is that it incorporates family planning into the law, which means that a large number of only children will be born in the 80s.

Another point is that the legal grounds for divorce have been substantively stipulated, such as "divorce is permissible in cases of irretrievable breakdown of marital relationship and ineffective mediation".

In the past, divorce required five stamps and the approval of many departments, but now only one stamp from the civil affairs department is needed, simplifying the divorce process.

Upon seeing this news, Zhu's mother began to nag about her daughter's marriage again: "Now the country is advocating for late marriage and late childbirth, and our Linlin can be considered to be responding to the country's call."

Zhu Lin immediately replied, "Then how about I just find someone to marry first, and then get a divorce? Anyway, getting a divorce is easy these days."

Upon hearing her daughter's words, Zhu's mother immediately conceded: "You're kidding me. Getting married and then divorcing is worse than never getting married at all."

Mr. Zhu added, "Yes, yes, no rush. Let's choose carefully and take our time. Linlin, why did you decide to go home today?"

"Dad, Mom, I've taken on another film role. I might go to Shanghai in a couple of days, and then to Shandong, which is near Jinan. Maybe I can even go back to my hometown to pay respects to our ancestors."

"Back to Jinan? What show is it?" Mr. Zhu asked curiously.

Zhu Lin immediately pulled out the script for "Joyful Reunion": "This is it, it's very well written. I play the second sister-in-law in it, take a look."

Mother Zhu took it over and saw that the script started with the wedding of Chen Renwu, the second son of the Chen family, and his new wife was named Xue Shuilian, who was also the second sister-in-law.

Zhu's mother's face lit up with joy. Could it be that her daughter actually wanted to get married, so she specially chose this script to experience the joy of marriage in the movie?

As you continue watching, the Chen family is rife with disputes, mainly between the eldest sister-in-law, her mother-in-law, her sisters-in-law, and her sister-in-law. It feels very real and the dialogue is excellent.

As a native of Shandong, Mr. Zhu could tell at a glance that the author was a genuine Shandong native, more so than the author Wei Ming who wrote "Er Niu".

"So we can't celebrate the New Year at home again this year?" Zhu's mother asked with some worry. Last year, she couldn't celebrate the New Year at home because of "The Traitor," and the two of them felt that the New Year didn't have much of a festive atmosphere.

Zhu Lin: "Don't worry, filming won't start until after the New Year. Before the New Year, I'll just experience life and participate in labor. I'll be back during the New Year."

After hearing what she said, her parents finally agreed. Her mother then advised her not to work too hard: "Mom doesn't expect you to become very famous. The most important thing is to enjoy what you do."

But Zhu Lin didn't think so. He wanted to at least outshine Gong Xue. Thinking of Gong Xue, he wondered if he would run into her when he went to the Beijing Film Studio tomorrow.

After the evening news ended and the weather forecast was checked, Mr. Zhu eagerly awaited the broadcast of "The Dirty Dozen," but the new episode that was supposed to air today did not appear.

~
"What's going on?" Old Wei flipped through the channels. "Yes, it's this channel, why is it showing a different show today?"

When his son came home, Lao Wei told him about it.

Wei Ming remembered something like this: it seems that "The Dirty Dozen" was complained about. He didn't know if it was a complaint from the public or an order from higher-ups, but anyway, it was considered a purely entertaining film with fighting and nonsense, with little artistic value, so it was taken off the air halfway through.

It had a total of 26 episodes, but only 16 episodes were aired before it was announced to be over. However, it was obvious to everyone that the story was not finished. It couldn't even be considered an appendix; it was an eunuch's eunuch!

However, the country also has its own difficulties. As more and more unemployed people stay in the cities, the urban security situation has deteriorated sharply, and the social crime rate is approaching that of 50 years ago when the country was first founded.

At this time, the appearance of such a violent and bloody drama means that the blame is placed on him. This is also an important reason why purely entertaining martial arts films such as "The Mysterious Buddha" were criticized even before their release.

Wei Ming explained the ins and outs to Lao Wei, and then went to call Uncle Ping An.

Wei Ming told Uncle Ping An about taking Xi Zi and Le Le to the Beijing Film Studio for an audition, while Aunt Xiao Yan chatted with him about the new marriage law.

Besides feeling sorry that Wei Ming can't get married in the short term, I also feel a bit sorry that he can't give Xizi and Lele a younger brother or sister.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ming suddenly had some inspiration based on the new marriage law, and returned to his study to quickly write a new "Black Cat Detective" story.

This time, Chief Black Cat didn't encounter a murder or theft case. Instead, a tribe of sheep from the Green Green Grassland reported to the chief that the rabbits in their area had eaten all the grass, leaving them with nothing to eat but dirt.

"Sheriff, look! I'm so skinny my lamb chops are showing!" the old sheep said, pointing to his chest and abdomen.

So Officer Black Cat went to investigate and found a rabbit couple surrounded by dozens of baby rabbits. Officer Black Cat and Guard White Cat reluctantly became caregivers, looking after the little rabbits while explaining the terrifyingly fast breeding rate of rabbits. One of the gray female rabbits, named Judy by Wei Ming, was the smartest and bravest among her siblings. Because Officer Black Cat took such good care of her, she aspired to become a police officer who fights evil and promotes good.

This can be seen as Wei Ming planting a little Easter egg for his future works. In a while, he will also create an elegant and cunning red fox. Although he is a swindler, he only swindled one ear, so he was sentenced to one year in prison with a suspended sentence.

In the end, Chief Black Cat's solution was to divide the rabbits and sheep into different areas, creating "Rabbit Village" and "Sheep Village," allowing them to graze separately.

In addition, an electronic screen was erected at the entrance of Rabbit Village to monitor the rabbit population and warn the rabbits with the alarmingly rapidly increasing numbers.

Faced with the food crisis in Rabbit Village, the sheriff did not resort to violent abortions. Instead, he invited experts to use technology to cultivate high-yield carrots and hydroponic vegetables that do not require soil to cope with the food crisis in Rabbit Village.

This is an ideal state in the world of fairy tales, but the real world is obviously not so ideal.

After staying up all night to finish writing this story, Wei Ming could only sigh.

~
The next day, Wei Ming went to Peking University, but not to work; he went to class.

They mostly study at home for their correspondence courses, but there are some class hours that need to be completed. They usually attend classes three or four times a year, one day each time.

This was also the first time Wei Ming met his classmates, all of whom were employees of various units in Beijing.

As the most famous person present, Wei Ming naturally became their acquaintance. Wei Ming did not put on airs as a great writer, and even enthusiastically said: "We are the three most important people in life, and we can be considered classmates. After school, let's head to the canteen. It's on me!"

Everyone responded enthusiastically, and Wei Ming carefully memorized the names and workplaces of his classmates, as these were all his connections.

For example, someone who works in the housing management department might find it useful if they want to buy a courtyard house and carry out systematic livable renovations.

As for the instructor, coincidentally, he was Wei Ming's colleague at Peking University Library, and he also served as a lecturer in the Library Science Department, which made Wei Ming even more comfortable in this correspondence course.

Because she had to attend classes all day, Wei Ming didn't accompany Aunt Xiaoyan and the others to the Beijing Film Studio. She took her two children there by herself and easily secured job opportunities for them.

Gong Xue, as usual, acted out a scene with Xi Zi. The mother and daughter immediately got into character, crying their hearts out. Their performance was so moving that even directors Lü Xiaoyan and Wang Haowei couldn't help but be moved.

Fortunately, Director Wang doesn't have children and can still maintain some rationality; otherwise, it might have affected the subsequent filming work.

Lü Xiaoyan held Lele and cried loudly, vowing in her heart that even if Wei Pingan cheated on her and they divorced, she would still raise the two children herself.

Afterwards, Gong Xue treated them to a meal at the Beijing Film Studio. Coincidentally, not far away, Zhu Lin and the crew of "The Mourning" were having a farewell dinner.

During the meal, Gong Xue and Zhu Lin's eyes would occasionally meet, sparks flying.

Lü Xiaoyan was also considering whether to take the two children over to say hello to Zhu Lin, but she was afraid that Xiaoxue would misunderstand, since she was a staunch supporter of Gong.

So after finishing her meal, Lü Xiaoyan quickly took her two children and left, afraid of getting splattered with blood.

However, Zhu Lin took the initiative to walk up to Gong Xue and said, "Little Gong, I'm going to Shanghai soon. You're from Shanghai, so would you like to tell me what fun things there are to do?"

Gong Xue knew she had something to say to him, nothing more than making threats. Hmph, who's afraid of who!
She smiled gently and said, "Okay, let's talk in my room. The guesthouse just assigned me a room."

After entering the house and closing the door, Gong Xue looked at Zhu Lin, who was taller and fuller-figured than him, and asked.

"Is there anything Comrade Zhu Lin wants to say to me?"

Zhu Lin said, "Did you watch yesterday's news broadcast? It was about the new Marriage Law."

She shook her head, so Zhu Lin explained it to her and analyzed, "In other words, Wei Ming will have to wait three more years before he can legally get married."

"So?" Gong Xue asked.

Zhu Lin: "I hope you don't just focus on me. Don't forget there's another Melinda in England. She's not only been corresponding with Xiao Wei, but she's also repeatedly expressed her desire to return to China. Did you know that?"

Gong Xue, who had been trying to appear calm, was indeed starting to panic, because she didn't know, but Zhu Lin did.

Zhu Lin sighed, "Although I don't want to share a man with others, we have to join forces now, just like the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party back then. Let's drive the Japanese away first, and then talk about our business. What do you think?"

Gong Xue pursed her lips: "Anyway, I won't back down!"

Zhu Lin said, "How about this, we'll set a three-year timeframe. In three years, Wei Ming will be 22 years old. At that time, he will have to make a choice. Those who are not chosen will withdraw. But during this period, you might as well put aside your hostility towards me and let us join hands to fight against the foreign enemy. What do you say?"

Zhu Lin not only spoke, but also took Gong Xue's hands in his.

Gong Xue trembled slightly and tried to pull her hand back, but Zhu Lin held it firmly and she couldn't pull it away. She looked up slightly and met Zhu Lin's determined gaze.

Gong Xue panicked and asked, "What if he refuses to choose?"

Zhu Lin: "Then neither of us will want him anymore. We'll both be 30 by then, and we can't let him hold us back any longer. Let him go to hell, right?"

Gong Xue thought for a moment. In other words, within three years, they would tacitly accept each other's existence, not give Xiao Wei an emotional vacuum, and not give Melinda from another country an opportunity to take advantage of him. At the same time, they would also deepen their relationship with Xiao Wei, hoping that he would make a choice that would benefit them after three years.

If you win the gamble, you'll be happy for life.

If you lose the bet, three years of hard work will be for nothing.

Gong Xue was a pessimist. She first considered the possibility of losing. In that case, she would definitely not be able to accept that Xiao Wei married another woman. In that case, the only thing she could do was probably to leave this place of heartbreak.

If all else fails, we can just go abroad.

Okay, I can accept this outcome. Things aren't bad abroad either, so I'll start learning a foreign language from now on.

So she looked directly into Zhu Lin's eyes and said, "Okay, I'll bet you three years."

In this one bet, they went all in on what little of their remaining youthful years remained.

Zhu Lin smiled. By making this gentleman's agreement, he could leave Yanjing with peace of mind. Otherwise, if Gong Xue unilaterally announced that she was dating Wei Ming, he would be in a passive position.

"Then don't act like you have some deep-seated hatred for me anymore. We can be friends, after all, it's not like I'm deliberately trying to steal someone else's partner. It's just that little men are too greedy."

"How could I possibly harbor such a deep grudge against you?" Gong Xue retorted, but she did agree with the latter part of the statement. They hadn't intentionally interfered in each other's relationship; the fault lay entirely with Xiao Wei, who was clearly deliberately concealing the existence of another girl.

But if you ask them to give up on this scumbag now, they won't be willing. They'll just hypnotize themselves: Xiao Wei is just young and hasn't settled down yet.

Zhu Lin pulled Gong Xue to sit down: "I'm not just talking about you. I also have problems, and we need to learn from each other. I was very jealous of you when I saw how well you acted in 'The Herdsman' and how popular you were. I don't know if you've seen my movie 'The Traitor'. I felt embarrassed when I watched it myself. My acting was terrible."

Gong Xue frankly said, "Actually, I had already seen it in Shanghai. There were indeed problems with the acting, but my first movie, 'Sacrifice to the Red,' wasn't good either. Besides, I had acted in stage plays for several years before. You hadn't acted before 'The Traitor,' right?"

"I've never acted, but I did dance in the cultural troupe."

"That's quite good for your first acting role," Gong Xue praised, showing a friendly side, which noticeably improved the atmosphere between the two.

So Zhu Lin boldly asked a question: "You, you two must have done it too, right?"

Zhu Lin first confessed to what he had done, then stared intently at Gong Xue.

At a time like this, there's nothing wrong with admitting it; denying it would only make us seem inferior to her.

"Yes, I have." Gong Xue nodded.

"When?" Zhu Lin asked again.

Gong Xue then felt embarrassed: "Why are you asking about these things? Doesn't it make you feel bad?"

Zhu Lin laughed and said, "If it had been earlier, I wouldn't be in pain."

Gong Xue was speechless. You even had to beat me to it: "I, I was the one who went to Shanghai to revise the manuscript this time."

Zhu Lin flashed a victorious smile and said, "Good morning!"

"When will you arrive?" Gong Xue asked as well.

"During summer vacation."

Gong Xue: It turns out that I was careless and lost Jingzhou while filming in Shanghai!

"So where are you?" Gong Xue pressed closer.

"Wait a minute." Zhu Lin didn't answer, but ran back to his room to get two cups and a bottle of Moutai.

"Why do you still have alcohol?"

Zhu Lin: "Xiao Wei left it with me. Since you want to talk, let's have a frank conversation and get to the bottom of things."

Gong Xue rolled up his sleeves, wrinkled his little nose, and said, "Who's afraid of who? Fill it up!"

……

(This chapter seems a bit sci-fi, but sci-fi is sci-fi, so be it~)

(End of this chapter)