Exciting 1979!

Chapter 277 This wind blew to Hong Kong
Upon hearing the number of additional prints, the room fell into a brief silence, followed by enthusiastic cheers, with everyone holding back two words.

"Brilliant!"

The initial print run was 60, with an additional 40 printed, for a total circulation of 100 million! The total sales value was one million yuan!
This marks the first time since the last issue that "Harvest" magazine has reached a circulation of over one million copies. Although it's a bit less than the 110 million copies of the previous issue, there are still two more issues of "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes".

If all 100 million units are sold out, I can hardly believe how many units will be issued in the next and the one after that.

After making the announcement, the vice president rushed to the printing plant. He needed to get them working overtime to finish as much as possible before the Chinese New Year. The Spring Festival was a great opportunity for word-of-mouth to spread, and he couldn't let readers want to read it but not be able to buy it.

Wei Ming only experienced a circulation of over one million copies when "The Shepherd's Spring" was published in "People's Literature".

In today's literary world, only People's Literature and Harvest can reach the million-view mark among pure literary journals.

Wei Ming even asserted that even if "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" had been published by the other three great Dan actors, it would have been difficult to achieve such a high level of success, after all, the foundation was still much weaker.

~
Old Western-style houses on Huating Road.

Today, Gong Ying went to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio to pick up Liu Rulong after get off work. The two returned here together, and then they saw a woman peering into their house from the doorway.

She was tall, fair-skinned, and large-breasted, and quite good-looking. She resembled Chi Lian from her and Ah Long's comics. If she were even prettier and dressed more elegantly, she would truly look like someone who had stepped out of a comic book.

Who are you looking for?

Lizhi turned around and saw two strangers, so she said, "I'm here to see my classmate Bai Mingzhu. Who are you?"

Gong Ying remembered that the original owner of this house was surnamed Bai. She said, "Your classmate no longer lives here. This house has been sold."

Lizhi knew, of course, that the house had been sold and that her classmate didn't live here anymore. She had just wandered over here out of boredom, hoping to meet a handsome young man who was rich and wealthy.

As a result, they did not get what they wanted.

"Sold?" Lizhi feigned ignorance. "Then who owns this house now? Are you the owners?"

"It belongs to my sister. If there's nothing else, we'll go in first." Gong Ying was getting impatient with the woman who was asking so many questions.

Looking at Gong Ying's face, Li Zhi realized that she must be Gong Xue's sister. She had met this big star that night, and in just a few months, Gong Xue's fame had soared.

However, she absolutely refused to believe that a newly famous actress could afford such an old-fashioned house; it must have been the man next to Gong Xue who paid for it.

The man looked to be about my age, and his family background was probably incredibly powerful. Gong Xue was definitely his mistress, probably someone his family didn't approve of, someone he could only keep outside the home.

Yes, that’s definitely the case!
With this guess, Lizhi did not look down on Gong Xue; on the contrary, she thought he was quite impressive.

For women, their looks are their most valuable asset; if they can be exchanged for a lifetime of luxury, that's not bad at all. Just like those once-popular movie stars during the Republic of China era, they often colluded with high-ranking officials and nobles.

For example, she had heard a lot about the story of the movie queen Hu Die and Dai Li. Moreover, Dai Li had died long ago, but Hu Die was not only alive, but also living a carefree life abroad. She had the last laugh and was simply a role model for women.

Seeing that Gong Ying opened the door but didn't go in, and just stared at her, Li Zhi helplessly ended her fantasy, smiled apologetically, and left.

As soon as the two entered the courtyard, Gong Xue opened the door to greet them: "Aying, Along, you came back together?"

"Second Sister!" Gong Ying rushed over happily. "You're finally back! Is your aunt... Xiao Hong, here?"

"Oh, she went to see a movie, she should be back soon."

"What about her brother?"

"I went to Harvest magazine."

"So you've already met?" Gong Ying gave a knowing smile, which made her older sister blush.

Next, Gong Xue chatted with A Long. She was also very concerned about her sister's love life, but A Long seemed to be very taciturn and shy.

Actually, he was mainly scared. Only when Sister Xue came back did he realize that he had done something terribly wrong by helping Ah Ming deceive Ah Ying's sister.

If Amin and Zhu Lin's affair were exposed, Amin might be stabbed and stabbed, but he would definitely be covered in blood too. Just thinking about Aying's reaction when she found out terrified him, and when he was terrified, he didn't want to talk.

Gong Xue simply assumed it was just his personality and didn't pay much attention. At this moment, Gong Ying started discussing with her the matter of going to Yanjing after the New Year.

"Oh?" Gong Xue glanced at A Long. "Is it developing this fast?"

Gong Ying said, "I just want to go and see. If it's a good fit, I'll stay. If not, I'll stay with my parents."

What kind of work do you do?

"I've discovered that I seem to have some talent in costume design." As she spoke, Gong Ying went to get the character design sketches for "Qin's Moon." She participated in the modification of all the characters, from the main actors to the supporting actors, and all of them were clothes.

After her revisions, these characters became much more memorable and distinct.

Gong Xue nodded as she read. This was a comic style quite different from the current mainland style. It looked very beautiful and should be very attractive to young people. Just as she was about to see Chi Lian with her large breasts and long legs, a bouncy little girl returned. It was Wei Hong.

She was initially a bit playful, but when she saw Gong Xue sitting upright on the sofa, she immediately became obedient: "Hello, Sister Gong Xue."

This posture is called "living under someone else's roof"; she always thought the house belonged to Gong Xue.

Gong Xue quickly put down her drawing to respond to Wei Hong, and even warmly pulled her to sit down next to her and chat with her, making it very clear that she wanted to improve the relationship between the two women.

Besides Wei Ming, her competition with Zhu Lin also included his relatives and friends; Xiao Hong's status was quite high.

Wei Hong was somewhat flattered. Not only did they take in her and her brother, but they also showed them great care and made her feel right at home. She and her brother should really thank Brother Long. He must be doing this because of her future brother-in-law.

Ah Long: ...

"Xiao Hong, what movie are you watching?"

“Oh, the Peking Opera film ‘The Legend of the White Snake,’ I think it was made by Shanghai Film Studio. It looks quite lively, and with subtitles, I don’t have to worry about not understanding it,” Wei Hong said. The last theatrical film that left a deep impression on her was “The Magistrate of the Seventh Rank.”

This film is still very strong. In 81, it was the only film that could rival "The Joyful Reunion" in terms of reach and audience numbers, and both were produced by the Shanghai Film Studio.

Originally, the Shanghai Film Studio had a clear advantage in the film industry in 81. However, now the Beijing Film Studio has "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times," which is also a top-grossing film of the year. Moreover, it was released before "Shaolin Temple," giving it a first-mover advantage. The final outcome is really hard to say.

It was getting dark when Wei Ming strolled back. Seeing that everyone was there, he reiterated the matter of attending the concert the next night, mainly for Gong Xue, as everyone else already knew.

After dinner, neither Gong Xue nor Gong Ying showed any intention of going home.

After returning to Shanghai, Gong Xue didn't go home. She just wanted to spend more time with Wei Ming and then pretended to have just returned home after a couple of days.

Gong Ying knew her sister was going home today and had told her parents beforehand that she would be staying overnight at her best friend's house.

Tonight, the two of them will naturally share a room, the one between Wei Ming and Wei Hong.

Wei Ming turned on the desk lamp to revise the manuscript, hoping to have a beautiful woman by his side. Unfortunately, he waited for a long time but Xue Jie did not come in. In fact, he had already finished reloading his ammunition and could now make his second move.

However, Wei Hong was on the second floor, and Gong Ying was lying next to the bed. How could Gong Xue have the nerve to sneak into Wei Ming's room at this time? She was chatting with her sister about some private matters.

"What? You've been drawing all these past few days and haven't done anything else?"

"At most, we'd hold hands, and that was it," Gong Ying said honestly.

Gong Xue advised, "Ah Long is still young. You are older than him, so you have to be responsible for guiding him."

I'm not saying anything too outrageous, but at least a hug is necessary.

Gong Ying immediately asked, "Then, did you guide Wei Ming?"

Gong Xue immediately fell silent. Although Xiao Wei was young, he was experienced in many things, while Gong Xue was completely on the defensive.

It was only today, after not seeing each other for so long, that I couldn't help myself and took the initiative. That afternoon, she was on top.

As the two sisters were whispering to each other, they heard a cat meowing coming from the balcony. It was Wei Ming who had finished revising his manuscript for the day and was now in heat.

Gong Ying was confused and thought a stray cat had really come to her house, but Gong Xue immediately realized that it was Wei Ming who was causing trouble.

She responded with two "meows," meaning: No way, it's hopeless.

Sure enough, the cat's meowing stopped abruptly, leaving Gong Ying speechless. "You two are really good at this!"

It feels like my sister has been completely taken advantage of by her husband, leaving not even bones behind.

"Ah Ying, go to sleep, it's getting late."

"Sister, one last question," Gong Ying said, "Did Wei Ming take him home to meet Mom and Dad before he left?"

If it weren't for Zhu Lin, Gong Xue would have insisted on letting Xiao Wei meet her parents, even if it meant begging. Her parents were always worried about her marriage, and this would put their minds at ease.

But she couldn't now, as that would violate her agreement with Zhu Lin and be considered cheating. So she could only cover for Wei Ming: "I was the one who said we shouldn't meet first. I'm currently in the prime of my career and don't want the news to focus on my love life. If I bring him home, the neighbors will all be watching, and it will definitely spread everywhere, with all sorts of rumors. It's so annoying to think about. So let's let everyone focus on my work instead."

Gong Ying never expected her sister to be so career-minded. Poor brother-in-law, he spent money to buy a house and produced works to promote her, but he still couldn't get a formal title.

It's true that being a man is difficult, but being the man behind a female celebrity is even more difficult.

Thinking about it this way, my sister is actually quite a jerk.

Just as I was about to criticize her older sister, Gong Xue closed her eyes. The afternoon's exercise had been quite tiring, and she'd spent half the morning in the car. She'd also just taken a hot shower, and was feeling perfectly sleepy.
The next day, Gong Xue still showed no intention of going home. After Gong Ying and A Long went to work, Wei Ming was about to have a bad idea when he saw Xiao Hong getting in the way, but Gong Xue said, "Xiao Hong, let's go shopping together."

Wei Hong: "Great! I also want to buy some trendy items from Shanghai to take back to my hometown."

Wei Ming: What do you mean? Are you saying you don't want me anymore?
"Just stay home and revise your manuscript properly, don't waste any time." She winked at Wei Ming as she spoke.

What she meant was: Be obedient.

So Wei Ming stayed home and focused on his work. Around three o'clock in the afternoon, the two returned. Gong Xue looked normal, but Wei Hong was so tired that she was swaying back and forth. It was the first time she had realized that shopping could be so tiring!
Today, the two of them swept through several major department stores in Shanghai. Apart from not buying clothes, they bought a lot of other food and household items. Wei Hong had never done such intensive shopping before, and she paled in comparison to Gong Xue.

Having already eaten out, Wei Hong returned to her room, closed the door, and immediately lay down, falling asleep quickly.

At this moment, Gong Xue winked at Wei Ming again, and Wei Ming quickly pulled him into his room.

~
The most amazing thing was that when they went to the Shanghai Stadium to see the concert that night, Gong Xue still walked like the wind, while Wei Hong seemed to have been blown by the wind.

Although women have a natural talent for shopping, there is a difference between mature women and little girls.

This Shanghai concert is no different from the one in Yanjing. It will also be recorded and broadcast on Shanghai TV, so that people all over the city can hear popular songs from outside.

Shanghai ranks among the top cities in the country in terms of its capacity to accept such ideas.

The highlight of the event was Masashi Sada singing the Chinese version of "Declaration of a Man". People in China will be very happy and fond of foreigners who can speak a few words of Chinese in the future, and this time it will only be even more so.

Fortunately, there was no roof here, otherwise the cheers of 18,000 spectators could have blown it off.

After singing, Masashi Sada specifically thanked Wei Ming, the great writer who wrote the Chinese lyrics for the song.

Recently, Wei Ming has been getting a lot of exposure in Shanghai newspapers because of "The Road to Awakening". He'll get even more exposure today.

After the concert, Gong Xue and Gong Ying were going home. This was a last-minute decision they made because they had just realized they had been filmed by the TV station, and their parents might see them. So today was the day Gong Xue "returned" from northern Jiangsu.

With Ah Long driving them, Wei Ming chatted with Masashi Sada backstage for a while.

He revealed that he would be staying in China for a while longer: "Maybe we can meet again."

Wei Ming thought to himself, "They're here, they're here!"

As expected, he revealed to Wei Ming that his family business would be collaborating with CCTV to produce a documentary about the Yangtze River, and he would personally serve as the director and lead actor, traveling with the crew from Shanghai to the source of the Yangtze River. He also planned to compose a song about the Yangtze River.

This was a decision that would burden him with decades of debt, but it must be said that the documentary was made to a very high standard, and if it wasn't made now, it wouldn't feel like 1981 in a few years. It is a very precious record of the events.

Wei Ming patted him on the shoulder: "I wish you success. My mother is from Sichuan, and the Yangtze River flows through there. From what I've seen of the cultural and natural scenery, it's truly beautiful."

When Sada finishes paying off his debts and focuses on making music, they might be able to collaborate again.

The next day, Wei Ming and Gong Xue met again, but there was no fighting.

Wei Ming put on the old-fashioned gramophone in the living room and started dancing ballroom dance with Gong Xue. She even wore high heels.

Following their example, Ah Long and Ah Ying also jumped up clumsily.

Although Xiaohong felt that her brother and Gongxue's relationship was somewhat ambiguous, she was eager to join them, but unfortunately, she was left out.

Wei Ming: "Wait a minute, I'll teach you later."

In the past, most college students knew how to ballroom dance, but when Wei Hong went to college, dancing in public places was already prohibited, so she didn't have the opportunity to learn.

The dancing time was only a short half-day.

After lunch, Wei Ming delivered the final 120,000-word manuscript to the editorial department of Harvest magazine. In the afternoon, the three of them would take the train back to their hometown for the Chinese New Year.

I didn't take a plane this time, because even if I did, I would still have to spend a whole day traveling by train, car, and motorcycle. So I simply bought three sleeper train tickets, hard sleeper.

At the train station, both Gong Er and Gong San came to see them off. Looking at the two sisters, Wei Hong felt that Gong Xue was more reluctant to part with them than Gong Ying. What a warm and hospitable host!
When Sister Gongxue arrives in Yanjing, I will definitely let her stay at my home!
Before boarding the bus, Wei Ming went to buy magazines and newspapers to pass the time on the way, as usual. He then saw passengers flocking to buy "Story Club".

After a year, "Story Collection" had become a bestseller in places like train and bus stations. These short stories were more suitable for travelers than pure literature magazines like "Harvest" and "Contemporary".

During a chat with He Chengwei, he mentioned that "Story Club" is preparing to be revamped and become a monthly magazine.

However, the most urgent task now is to improve the quality of the articles and solidify the brand and reputation.

Today, at the editorial meeting of "Story Club," He Chengwei criticized an editor for selecting a vulgar article titled "Xu Fu in Japan."

Because of the immense popularity of "The Terracotta Warriors," many stories surrounding Qin Shi Huang became very popular in the latter half of the 80s.

"This madman Qi is just riding this wave of popularity. He wrote several articles about Qin Shi Huang, but none of them were accepted. Later, he changed his approach and started writing about Xu Fu, saying that Xu Fu sailed east and stayed in Japan, and even became the ancestor of the Japanese. It's not that this kind of writing is bad, and I enjoyed reading it, but it's too vulgar. It's as if he went to Japan and had nothing else to do but travel. Such articles are absolutely unacceptable!"

Next, everyone started discussing recent hot topics, and they all mentioned the Republican era, thanks to the popularity brought about by the TV series "The Road to Awakening".

Previously, this period of history was somewhat sensitive, but Wei Ming opened a door with a groundbreaking masterpiece.

One editor suggested: "Shanghai actually has a strong advantage in terms of subject matter. We can definitely organize some stories about Du Yuesheng, Huang Jinrong, and Wang Yaqiao, which the general public will definitely love to read."

"I agree!"

“I have a story about the Axe Gang and Wang Yaqiao here. Let me write one.”

The editors of "Story Club" are not only editors, but also often have to write themselves, because many of the submissions are stories in plain language, completely lacking in literary beauty, and they all have to be reorganized and rewritten into text.

~
Wei Ming and his group set off on the afternoon of the 3rd and wouldn't get home until the evening of the 4th, which would be Lunar New Year's Eve.

Old Wei and Xu Shufen returned with their grandmother at the end of last month. Uncle Ping'an and his family of four also returned, but they were two days later.

After Lao Wei returned, he bought a pig from the village. He divided one pig between his two brothers' families and also gave a pig's leg to his cousin Fan Chunhua's family, who had just given birth to her second son.

Their youngest son was born at a bad time, right when the family was being controlled. Although he was born, they were supposed to be fined. Later, Qi Kexiu went to the county and, thanks to his aunt Wei Ming's connections, the fine was waived.

Fines may be waived, but punishments cannot.

Qi Kexiu was taken to the hospital that day for tubal ligation, and his legs have now fully recovered.

However, the child did not know what sterilization was, and Qi Delong always thought that his father had become a eunuch. This incident cast a great shadow on his mind, and he even had the idea of ​​never getting married in the future.

If it weren't for his uncle's pig leg, he wouldn't have been happy this New Year.

The arrival of Xizi and Lele also brought Qi Delong a lot of joy. Last night, when they went to the village to watch a movie, they even watched a film called "Good Things Take Time". Xizi said that it was her mother Xue who starred in it.

There wasn't much excitement to see today; everyone was busy preparing for the New Year. My mother was carrying the howling Dongqiang on her back and still had to cook for the whole family. My father didn't do anything, saying he was tired.

Hmph, you damned eunuch!
Qi Delong couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he chose not to watch: "Mom, I'm going to my uncle's house for dinner!"

My uncle is incredibly generous these days, completely unconcerned about how much meat he eats at his house; it seems like they can never finish all the meat.

However, it's so late, and my uncle and Ping An haven't started eating yet.

Xizi said, "My older brother and sister haven't arrived home yet."

Qi Delong suddenly realized, "I knew something was missing. Turns out my older brother hasn't come back yet!"
Old Wei would go to the door to check every now and then, saying that he would be home by the 30th at the latest, wondering if the trains would be closed that day.
As soon as Lao Wei entered the house, Qi Delong said, "Uncle, please sit down. I'll go wait for Ming and the others."

Less than half an hour later, Qi Delong shouted, "Motorcycle, the motorcycle is back!"

Family reunion is the greatest meaning of the Chinese New Year.

This year is another year of reunion for the Wei family in Gouzitun, not counting the elderly Mr. Wei who lives in Hong Kong.

~
Lao Gui and Liu Bin don't have any family members around them this year, but they have business partners.

The two of them, along with Zhou's mother and daughter, chose to watch a movie to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

After a simple New Year's Eve dinner, I went to see the recently popular movie "Modern Bodyguard".

This is a film produced by Golden Harvest, in which all four Hui brothers, both literary and martial arts heroes, participated. It was directed by Michael Hui and Ricky Hui, written by Michael Hui and Sam Hui, and starred Michael Hui, Ricky Hui, and Sam Hui. It became a hit in the box office as soon as it was released, and has now broken the Hong Kong box office record previously held by Jackie Chan's "The Young Master".

Even on New Year's Eve, the movie theaters were still packed with people.

After watching the movie, the four of them returned to their public housing estate, chatting and laughing. They were now the most successful people in the public housing estate, but they still couldn't afford the expensive apartments outside.

Liu Bin still lived with his Uncle Gui. He saw a newspaper in the mailbox by the door, took it out and handed it to Uncle Gui. It was the "Newspaper" that he had subscribed to.

Old Gui loves reading newspapers. He reads all kinds of newspapers, including Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Pao, and Oriental Daily News, from left to right. He considers Xinbao to be more neutral.

Today's newspaper, The New Paper, features a column by Cai Shengsan, in which he unexpectedly mentions a long novel from mainland China.

The title is "Also on Talking about <The Right Path in the World is Full of Vicissitudes>"
……

(Guaranteed minimum today!)

(End of this chapter)