Exciting 1979!

Chapter 282 Wei Ming, what's Wei Ming?!

During the meal, Lao Wei started telling the younger generation about their land distribution. Because of his high status in the village, Lao Wei was also a member of the land distribution group and played a crucial role in stabilizing the situation.

Based on the principles of fairness and impartiality, the process begins with a lottery, where each person is allocated a certain amount of good and bad land. Then, following the principle of voluntariness, individuals can also negotiate and exchange land privately.

In the end, after drawing lots, Lao Wei found someone to exchange the land. The land he got was all next to his cousin Fan Chunhua's, totaling less than six mu. Two mu were good land and a little over three mu were bad land. From now on, these lands would be handed over to Aunt Chunhua to manage. As long as he and Xu Shufen paid their grain tax, the rest would be hers.

Chunhua was overjoyed and couldn't wait to wean Qi Dongqiang and get her land ready. Even Teacher Qi Kexiu, who never worked in the fields, finally started doing farm work.

To ease their burden, Lao Wei even paid for them to deliver to the brigade, and they received Xiao Erhei, the strongest donkey, from the brigade's livestock shed.

This is a young male donkey that doesn't need much rest; it's as strong as three Qi Kexiu.

Wei Ming also reported some good news: "My 'The Lion King' has been published in the UK, and Xiao Hong has also written a book about Rubik's Cubes, which Macmillan Publishers in the UK has decided to publish and is currently translating."

"Ah, brother, does that mean I can earn foreign exchange too?" Wei Hong exclaimed excitedly.

Wei Ming nodded.

"How much can I earn?" she asked again.

Wei Ming: "Tens of thousands of US dollars shouldn't be a problem."

Grandma was shocked, "What? A ten-thousand-yuan household!"

Old Wei: "Mom, that's US dollars, that's 10 yuan!"

Wei Ming remembers that the first book on solving the Rubik's Cube sold millions of copies worldwide. If it could really reach that number, tens of thousands of dollars wouldn't be a problem.

Yunyun asked with a smile, "So, Xiaohong, what do you want to do with all that money?"

After her initial excitement, Xiaohong felt a little confused: "Oh right, what am I supposed to do?"

It seems unnecessary to buy a house. With two houses and more than a dozen rooms, there's no room for me anywhere.

Wei Ming had already made arrangements for her: "This money won't be transferred to you directly. I'll have Melinda open an account for you overseas so you can use it when you go abroad to study."

“Ah, studying abroad!” Parents are a little worried when it comes to studying abroad.

Wei Ming told them not to worry: "If Xiao Hong goes abroad to study, I will definitely go with her. It's so chaotic abroad, how can I feel at ease?"

Upon hearing that their son was also going abroad to accompany him in his studies, and after learning that he and Melinda had been exchanging letters, the elderly couple couldn't help but wonder if he was still hung up on his first love and was thinking of rekindling their old flame.

But what about Gong Xue and Zhu Lin?

Having a foreign daughter-in-law certainly brings prestige, but those two children are also wonderful; we can't let them down.

In fact, Wei Ming went abroad to experience life, write more works that have international influence, and expand his international reputation.

With prestige, he will have more room to maneuver in dealing with Sister Xue and Sister Lin's affairs, and he will eventually return to China.

He had been abroad in his previous life, but it wasn't all that special. However, he could take Sister Xue and Sister Lin out to see the world if he had the chance.

The next day, Wei Ming went to the Beijing Film Studio and began to secretly meet with Sister Xue under the guise of preparing for the film "Mom, Love Me Again".

Later, Wei Ming took her to the Friendship Store and bought her some things to take with her on the road. He also mentioned the good news that The Lion King was being published in the UK and earning foreign exchange.

Gong Xue already knew that the little man's entanglement with the foreign girl was getting deeper and deeper, and that she and Sister Lin had to keep an eye on him.

~
Although Wei Ming only told a limited number of people about the overseas publication of "The Lion King", the China Youth Daily soon reported the good news.

"Fairy Tale King Wei Shenmo Sets Sail Again, Shakespearean Fairy Tales Conquer Britain!"

Zhu Wei, a reporter from China Youth Daily, brought good news about the first publication of "The Lion King" in the UK, which is even larger in scale and better in reputation than "Jumanji".

"Many British parents even use The Lion King as their children's first literature introduction, cultivating their love for classical literature."

Finally, he mentioned the good news that "Jumanji" had been released in several other English-speaking countries, indicating that the influence of Wei's two fairy tales was still spreading.

He not only wrote his own articles, but also posted British media reports on "The Lion King" and related data to prove his point.

Of course, all of this information was given to Zhu Wei by Wei Ming.

This person understands journalism. He originally planned to wait until the hype surrounding Wei something died down before revealing the news that Wei something was Wei Ming. However, Wei something caused a new stir, so he temporarily suppressed the news that Wei something and Wei Ming were the same person.

Moreover, the more famous the two become, the more impactful the news will be when it's revealed.

In fact, The Lion King is not as popular in China as works such as Jumanji, The Legend of the Heavenly Book, and Black Cat Detective. Therefore, Zhu Wei referred to this novel as a "Shakespearean fairy tale" in his article.

Because the story structure is derived from Shakespearean tragedies, it is not popular in China, but it is very popular in Britain, which is not surprising.

At this time, Chinese people are eager to see recognition from abroad. Wei's two works have been published overseas, and their influence has covered more than ten countries. This is something worth mentioning.

Soon, other authoritative media outlets also reprinted Zhu Wei's article, and Wei's fame was approaching that of the well-known Wei Ming.

The reactions of these newspapers directly influenced readers. Some parents, seeing the high praise for "The Lion King" and its claims of literary enlightenment and popularity among British children, told their kids: "All you do is watch 'Black Cat Detective.' What kind of future will you have when you grow up? Catching mice? I'll buy you a copy of 'The Lion King.' Lions are more powerful than cats."

Previously, the number of copies of "The Lion King" published was not very large, so "Juvenile Literature" immediately printed another 100,000 copies of "The Lion King" and once again commissioned Wei to contribute articles.

When CCTV saw the immense popularity of "The Lion King," they recalled that a Japanese delegation had previously brought a batch of animated films to sell, including "Kimba the White Lion," which is about lions and is a work by Osamu Tezuka, the creator of the now-popular "Astro Boy."

CCTV then contacted the Japanese side again, preparing to import the animation at a low price or even for free.

~
Zheng Yuanjie was reading a copy of the Guangming Daily at that moment. In the culture section, he saw criticism of the Emei Film Studio's film "The Mysterious Buddha" and affirmation of Wei's fairy tale "The Lion King," which was dubbed "King of Fairy Tales."

The Guangming Daily is even more authoritative than the China Youth Daily; it also talks about the "King of Fairy Tales," so the King of Fairy Tales must be Wei something—that's officially confirmed.

In fact, 26-year-old Zheng Yuanjie also likes this title. He also writes fairy tales and recently wrote a novella called "Pipilu's Side Story". This is the first time his "own son" Pipilu has appeared in the public eye. The feedback from readers is quite good, and he has received more than a dozen letters from young readers.

However, since someone has already been crowned the "King of Fairy Tales," and I respect trademarks, I wonder if I can be called the "Little King of Fairy Tales" in the future. I also wonder if this "King of Fairy Tales," Wei, is older or younger than me.

He must be older than me. I've read several of Wei's works, and they cover a wide range of genres. He's clearly a very experienced author, at least in his thirties.

Today I should be able to find out how big Wei is.

After the bus arrived at the station, Zheng Yuanjie put away the newspaper and stepped into the editorial department of Children's Literature.

After working as a laborer for five years, Zheng Yuanjie was finally selected by the monthly children's literature magazine, which had been revamped, to become an editor, thanks to his prolific output of fairy tales.

It just so happens that Lü Xiaoyan came over today to ask the editor-in-chief for leave. She's taking her son out to film again, or more accurately, to experience life. Once the experience is over, filming will begin.

Moreover, this role is quite demanding, and I might be away for two or three months.

So the editor-in-chief asked Lü Xiaoyan to hand over her work to the new editor, Zheng Yuanjie.

"Xiao Zheng, you should hand over the work properly with Editor Lü and familiarize yourself with the workflow as soon as possible. She's the editor in charge of Wei something."

Zheng Yuanjie originally wanted to ask the editors about Wei something, but now he's become Wei's acting editor!

Lü Xiaoyan has more than just Wei Ming as an author. Although these are all writers she has painstakingly maintained, she doesn't know when she will be able to resume her work. For the sake of the writers, she can only share their contact information and personal styles with Zheng Yuanjie so that he can keep in touch.

Zheng Yuanjie listened very attentively and took notes from time to time. Although he only had a fourth-grade primary school education, his cultural level was not bad.

"Sister Lü," Zheng Yuanjie couldn't help but remind her after Lü Xiaoyan had finished speaking, "Isn't there Wei something else?"

Lü Xiaoyan waved her hand: "He has already finished writing the next three months' worth of 'Black Cat Detective,' so there's no need to worry about him."

Zheng Yuanjie: "If there are any problems with the manuscript, I need to contact him to make revisions."

Lü Xiaoyan pondered for a moment. Zheng Yuanjie thought that Lü Xiaoyan was worried that he would steal her top writer resources.

Lü Xiaoyan: Pshaw, you think you can steal my surname from me?

She was worried that the young editor was inexperienced and would always bother Xiaoming. Xiaoming had three pen names, so many articles to write, a job, a school, and so many relationships. How could he have time to deal with editors? In the past, if there were any typos in "Black Cat Detective," Lü Xiaoyan would fix them herself.

However, Zheng Yuanjie was a stubborn man and felt that he should still hand over "Wei something" in order to avoid not being able to find the person.

"Okay, I'll give you his contact information. Don't bother him unless it's absolutely necessary."

Zheng Yuanjie received a note from Lü Xiaoyan, which included her home address, phone number, and her real name, "Wei Ming".

Zheng Yuanjie found it interesting: "It's because it shares the same name as the author of 'The Right Path in the World is Full of Vicissitudes'."

Zheng Yuanjie's father is a military academy instructor, and recently he has been frequently mentioning this novel to him in a loud voice, which is very familiar to him.

Lü Xiaoyan started packing her things to leave: "What do you mean by the same name? It's the same person."

"Huh?" Zheng Yuanjie was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "Sister Lü, it's no fun if you tease me like this."

Lü Xiaoyan pointed to the editors around her: "Are you kidding me? Everyone knows that."

After saying that, she left without giving Zheng Yuanjie any time to react, leaving behind the words, "Xiao Zheng, if you don't understand anything, just ask your other colleagues."

Then Zheng Yuanjie looked at his old colleague beside him and asked stiffly, "Is Wei something really Wei Ming?"

"Yes, he's Lu Xiaoyan's husband's nephew."

"Everyone knows that." "Sister Lü used to love showing off her nephew, but she's toned it down a bit now that she's a team leader."

"I heard that Wei Ming is not even 20 years old yet?" Zheng Yuanjie asked blankly.

"I graduated from high school less than two years ago, so I'm probably around twenty."

The 20-year-old fairy tale king is also the most renowned new literary talent in the world today, helping People's Literature and Harvest magazines achieve sales of one million copies each!

He also dated a foreign student!

Zheng Yuanjie swallowed hard. Even he, who was usually quite arrogant, couldn't help but sigh, "Why was Ming born when Yuan was born?"
Suddenly, Zheng Yuanjie remembered that Lü Xiaoyan said Wei had already written the next three issues of "Black Cat Detective". He immediately went to find the editor-in-chief to review the manuscript!
If I can't watch "The Road to Awakening" in advance, I can't even watch "Black Cat Detective" in advance!

~
Lü Xiaoyan took leave to accompany her son to Sichuan. They went with Gong Xue, so Wei Ming and Sister Xue would have to part ways.

In early March, Wei Ming saw Gong Xue and the others off. Because there were outsiders present, they could only suppress their emotions, but they went crazy when no one was watching.

Unfortunately, it's Xuejie's birthday in a few days, but work is important, so we can't celebrate together.

As they parted, Gong Xue pointed to her wrist, which was empty, but there used to be a jade bracelet there, now hidden in the study of the courtyard house, meaning: that could be considered an early birthday gift from him.

Actually, Wei Ming bought that pair of shoes as a birthday gift for Zhu Lin. Luckily, because they were so expensive, they didn't usually wear them out, otherwise it would have been a disaster.

~
A week later, Wei Ming finished writing the script for "The Empress Dowager's Reign Behind the Curtain," thus completing both Qing Dynasty drama scripts.

He wrote a letter to Li Hanxiang, sending him the original manuscript along with a copy for himself.

In his letter, he told Li Hanxiang, "If there is anything wrong with the script, we can discuss it in detail when we meet. I will be going to Hong Kong in June."

He had been making many trips to the Beijing Film Studio these past few days and finally got confirmation that "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" would be released in Hong Kong in June, and then at a later date in mainland China.

Before its official release, Emei Film Studio's "The Mysterious Buddha" was criticized repeatedly, and there were even rumors that it would be rejected. Wang Yang knew that the theme of the script for "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times" was very positive, and he hoped that the film would be released in Hong Kong first and then receive some good news to help it obtain policy leniency in the mainland.

"June, right? Great, great!"

Wei Ming first told his father the news.

When Lao Wei heard the news, his eyes reddened. He had lost his father for almost thirty years, and if he hadn't kept the old man's photos from when he was young, he would hardly remember what he looked like.

To avoid making Lao Wei overthink things, Wei Ming didn't show him the birthday photo of Lao Gui and Amin and her daughter. Lao Gui said that they were just business partners.

Old Gui regarded Zhou's mother as a junior in his heart. Although they were about the same age, she might have to call him "uncle" in the future.

~
"What, June!"

When Wei Ming told Biaozi the news, his first thought was of Yanzi's belly.

The idea from Qingniao Pictures is to invite Wei Ming, Wu Jing, and Huang Qiuyan—one screenwriter of the original work, and two lead actors.

Knowing that Biaozi and Huang Qiuyan had gotten married, they gave Biaozi an extra spot so he could go too.

But by June, Yanzi was eight months pregnant. With such a big belly, Biaozi was worried about her traveling by plane or train.

Wei Ming: "Then we won't bring Yanzi?"

"Let's not take them, the rest of us brothers can go." Biaozi suggested this plan after discussing it with Yanzi.

Yanzi felt very sorry for Hong Kong. Who wouldn't want to see how the capitalist world has become corrupt?

She wasn't worried that Biaozi would be corrupted, but she reminded him to keep an eye on Ming Ge, since he seemed to be the easiest to corrupt.

"How could you say that about Brother Ming? He said he wanted me to use the Hong Kong dollars he earned from writing the script to buy you some gifts in Hong Kong this time," Biaozi criticized. "Brother Ming is really good to his brother's wife."

Yanzi said, "I know Ming is a righteous person. I'm just worried that he might make a mistake. I've also read fashion magazines from Hong Kong, and the people there dress too provocatively."

“That’s true.” Biaozi nodded.

Yanzi: "Oh, it seems you've watched quite a lot of that stuff, haven't you?"

"Oh dear, it's all for work, for work~" Biaozi scurried around the bed, his 1.8-meter height making him as agile as a monkey.

Because there was an extra spot, Wei Ming started communicating with the Hong Kong side again, hoping that Ah Long could also go along. They could cover Ah Long's expenses themselves, and all they needed was an invitation.

Aunt Xia Meng was very kind to Wei Ming and agreed to his request. Now Liu Rulong could meet his father. He would then work hard to draw comics and take them to Hong Kong to see if there was a market for them.

Wei Ming told Lao Gui the good news about the trip to Hong Kong in June and asked him to pass it on to Uncle Bin.

But he didn't tell Amin that they were just pen pals, and that if his trip to Hong Kong was too busy, he might not visit her.

Ah Long recently had two pieces of good news.

Besides this good news, Mei Culture hosted a banquet at Hongbinlou Restaurant to celebrate the booming sales of the new spring collection at Oriental Plaza. Gong Ying deserves much credit for this success, and she has now firmly established herself in Beijing, with her monthly income exceeding 100 yuan.

Thanks to Gong Ying, Wei Ming, Biaozi, and Along all received invitations.

The difference is that all three of them brought their wives and girlfriends, while only Wei Ming brought his sister. What a failure.

Wei Hong was also quite disappointed. If it were during her vacation, she would definitely have gone to Hong Kong to see the sights. What a pity.

Wei Ming's plan is to find an opportunity to take his whole family to Hong Kong to reunite with his grandfather.

"Biaozi, just how good are you at fighting?" Wei Ming asked Zhao Debiao during the meal. "I heard Hong Kong is not peaceful, there are a lot of triads there."

Biaozi laughed loudly, his neck muscles bulging: "Brother Ming, although I've never won a martial arts championship, in terms of actual combat, even my master, Coach Wu Bin, would have to think twice."

Huang Qiuyan: "Cough cough."

Biaozi: "Your cough is the same thing. I'm half a head taller than Master and almost a hundred pounds heavier. We're not in the same weight class. I'm just respecting the elders; I've never really fought Master..."

Upon hearing this, even Wei Ming started coughing.

Biaozi asked in confusion, "This dish isn't spicy. Are your throats sore?"

Wei Hong looked at the middle-aged man behind Biaozi who exuded a great sense of pressure and asked, "Uncle, who are you looking for?"

Just as Biaozi was about to turn around, his chin was grabbed and his neck was firmly controlled by a thick arm. If he made any sudden movement, his head would be thrown backward.

"Master, Master," Biaozi said hastily, begging for mercy, even though he hadn't seen the people behind him. "Master, you're here for dinner too? When did you arrive?"

Little did he expect that his words of gossip about others behind his master's back would be overheard by the master.

Wu Bin chuckled: "Just like that line, 'Even my master, Coach Wu Bin, would have to think twice before he comes.'"

Biaozi said nervously, "I mean, we need to think about how to avoid killing me."

Coach Wu Bin: "Then what does the following sentence mean, which is about respecting elders, but has never really gotten serious with me before?"

“You weren’t really fighting, but even if you were, I wouldn’t be a match for you,” Biaozi added.

Seeing that her husband's head was not moving, Huang Qiuyan hurriedly tried to mediate: "Master, you don't know him. He's all talk and no action. He can't even beat me."

Seeing his beloved student, Coach Wu Bin finally smiled and said, "If I wasn't worried that Xiao Yan's child would be born without a father, I would definitely clean house today."

Coach Wu Bin had just finished speaking when he was suddenly slapped on the head. He cried out "Ouch!" and his hand was released at the same time.

Biaozi turned around and saw an old man with shrewd eyes standing behind Coach Wu. He was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Master, save me!"

Wu Bin also respectfully greeted him, "Teacher."

Yanzi also called out "Master".

The man who came was named Zhang Wenguang. He was 66 years old and was a leading figure in Chinese martial arts. He was also one of the founders of the martial arts department at Yenching University of Physical Education. He had already performed martial arts at the 1936 Olympics, and he had written countless works on martial arts theory.

Moreover, he is not only good at routine practice, but also skilled in combat and fighting, and has won the national martial arts championship and the national wrestling championship many times.

When Biaozi was a child, the old man liked him very much. Back then, Biaozi was sturdy and the old man thought he was a good wrestler. However, although Biaozi was still a baby, he had already fallen for Yanzi. But if he practiced wrestling, he wouldn't be able to see Yanzi often.

In addition, Biaozi grew too tall, so Old Zhang gave up on him.

I never expected Biaozi to grow so big. Although he is tall, he is still the type of person who is suited for wrestling. If he were to enter the arena, he would be unstoppable.

Biaozi and Wei Ming are about the same height, but Wei Ming's crotch is much higher than his. He has shorter legs and a longer body, which lowers his center of gravity and makes him more stable.

“Xiao Wu, don’t act like a master. Biaozi’s words make sense. He weighs two or three hundred pounds now and is all muscle. You’d have a hard time taking him down without weapons.”

Hearing the clerk's praise, Biaozi's eyebrows danced with joy.

He asked, "Master, is my master inviting you to dinner?"

Zhang Wenguang pointed behind him: "Not only me, but also a colleague from Shandong."

Only then did everyone notice that there was a bearded man behind them. Just by standing there, you could tell that he was skilled in martial arts and had the air of a master.

Wei Ming recognized him at a glance: Sword Saint Yu Chenghui!

(End of this chapter)