Exciting 1979!

Chapter 317 Gong Xue and Zhu Lin's Relay Race: One Set After Another

Wei Hong, who was still in the growth spurt of her teenage years, looked at Li Zhi in front of her as if she had been struck by lightning. How could Li Zhi be so well-nourished!

"I'm Mr. Wei's assistant, you can call me Nina." Wearing high heels, Lizhi walked ahead with a swaying gait, exuding the air of a Hong Kong elite woman.

"And a foreign name too!" Wei Hong thought, feeling impressed but not understanding. Suddenly, she had a bright idea: "Hello Nina, you can call me Red."

Lizhi smiled and said: "What a corny English name."

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Wei Lingling was still in her pajamas, having just gotten up, exuding the air of a languid beauty.

"Xiao Hong, you're here! Have you had breakfast yet? ... You ate so early? Then have some more with me while I change my clothes."

"Okay, Auntie."

Lizhi was taken aback. She asked softly, "You call our boss 'Little Aunt'?"

"correct."

Lizhi then asked, "What is your relationship with Wei Ming?"

“He’s my brother,” Wei Hong emphasized, “my biological brother.”

“Little Red, you can call me Sister Li,” Lizhi suddenly became amiable. “Actually, I’m quite familiar with your brother. It was your brother who introduced me to be President Wei’s assistant.”

"Oh, Sister Xiaoli, you can just call me Xiaohong." Wei Hong smiled, but she didn't have a very good impression of Lizhi. She was arrogant at first but then became obsequious. She still preferred Lizhi's unruly attitude just now. She hoped that Lizhi wasn't her sister-in-law.

"Xiao Hong, why didn't your brother come?"

"He's busy with work. He's a prolific writer; he likes to write whenever he has time. Sister Xiaoli, your Mandarin is so good! We have Hong Kong students at our school, but none of them speak it as well as you."

Lizhi said awkwardly, "Actually, I wasn't born and raised in Hong Kong. I grew up in Shanghai and only recently immigrated."

"Oh."

Wei Lingling came out and led them to have breakfast. It was Wei Hong's first time having breakfast in such a grand restaurant. Surprisingly, many of the diners were foreigners. This looked much more professional than the English Corner at Peking University.

This scene greatly inspired Wei Hong's urge to use English.

While eating breakfast, Wei Lingling asked, "Xiao Hong, where are you planning to take us for a stroll?"

Wei Hong countered, "You've been to the Forbidden City, would you like to go to the Great Wall?"

Wei Lingling: "It's so hot today."

Wei Hong: "Xiangshan is not good either, the maple leaves haven't turned red yet. Have you guys been to Wangfujing and Xidan?"

Lizhi seized the opportunity and said, "We went to Wangfujing on our first day here, and yesterday I went to Xidan by myself."

Wei Hong: "The most popular clothing store in Xidan right now is Oriental Plaza."

Lizhi: "I know, I went too. It was just so-so, nothing compared to the big shopping malls in Hong Kong."

Wei Hong whispered, "That's where my brother owns it."

Lizhi quickly replied, "But compared to other shops in Yanjing, it's far superior, incredibly advanced, and fantastic!"

Wei Lingling became interested: "Why does your brother own a clothing store?"

“It’s mainly his two friends who run the business. My brother is just the major shareholder. His main focus is still on creative work.”

Wei Lingling wiped her mouth. This model was so much like DreamWorks. It turned out that this wasn't the first time he had done this kind of hands-off management.

"Since you've already visited Wangfujing and Xidan, why don't we go to Dashilan? You can experience some traditional culture there."

Wei Hong's suggestion was unanimously approved, and then she began to recall which bus to take.

Wei Lingling smiled and said, "No need for public transportation, the hotel's car can take us there."

Wei Hong exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, a car!"

~
The Daguanlou Cinema was almost full, with long queues of people waiting to enter and buy tickets.

Wei Ming still had some influence here; the tickets had been prepared long ago, and now he handed the mask to Gong Xue.

"Put this on."

"what?"

"To prevent you from being recognized, I don't want to become public enemy number one." Although wearing a mask in the middle of summer is conspicuous in this day and age, given Gong Xue's current fame, the probability of being recognized by openly taking a young man to the movies is too high.

The key point is that the young man also plans to take Zhu Lin to see a movie this afternoon. Wei Fenfang in "The Herdsman" and Shui Lian in "Joyful Reunion" are both popular roles that are considered national daughter-in-laws. Now, people in the newspapers are already comparing these two good daughters-in-law.

"Can't you recognize me like this?" Gong Xue asked, putting on a mask outside.

Wei Ming: "I can still recognize you at a glance, but other people aren't as familiar with you, so it shouldn't be that bad."

"Then you don't need to wear it?"

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Who knows me?"

The two then went inside to watch a movie, sitting in a secluded corner at the back. It wasn't that they were planning to do anything wrong; they just wanted to avoid attracting attention.

From the very first tentative fight scene, the audience couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, that's so exciting!" This is extremely rare for mainland Chinese audiences.

Wei Ming thought to himself, "What's this? It's just an appetizer."

One of the highlights of this show is its plenty of action scenes, which are varied, entertaining, and engaging. In particular, Xiao Wujing's portrayal of Da Zhangfu, despite not having any serious fight scenes, still manages to defeat enemies several times through his cleverness, resulting in plenty of laughs.

Even though Gong Xue wasn't particularly fond of action scenes, she still enjoyed watching them immensely, especially the "Big Man" role. She felt that if Xi Zi were a few years older, she would definitely be more suitable for the part.

Later, when the fight reached a critical point, the husband's young wife suddenly appeared out of nowhere, adding to the drama and eliciting laughter from the entire audience.

This laughter is different from the everyday comedy of "Happy Family".

Gong Xue thought of Huang Qiuyan, whom he had seen just a few days ago. At that moment, the swallow was full of maternal instincts, while the swallow in the movie was like a beautiful tigress, taking center stage in the film.

It feels like this female action star's appearance has overshadowed the brilliance of Wei Fenfang and Sister Lin's Shui Lian from a while ago.

So beautiful! Gong Xue even had the idea of ​​learning martial arts to improve his health.

In the end, Biaozi finally gets his moment in the spotlight, fighting the main characters alone. He is both ruthless and tragic, and ultimately dies in a picturesque lake. He is both beautiful, strong, and tragic.

When Biaozi and Yanzi were fighting, Xuejie, who knew their relationship, couldn't help but feel a little distracted.

When Wei Ming whispered to her that Yanzi conceived her child while filming this scene, she became even more out of character, feeling as if all the audience members had become part of their play.

The 90-minute movie seemed to fly by. When it ended and the lights came on, the audience looked like they wanted more. Many were reluctant to leave and even made plans to watch it again with their friends.

Wei Ming was about to get up, holding Xue Jie's hand, when a spectator in the last row suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Teacher Wei?"

Wei Ming turned his head and said, "Oh, Editor Liang."

It turned out to be the old bachelor Liang Xiaosheng, what a coincidence!

The girl next to him was quite pretty; they were clearly dating, which was quite unusual.

Gong Xue quietly let go of Wei Ming's hand. She had acted in films at the Beijing Film Studio and recognized him as an editor from the studio's literature department.

The four of them left the movie theater together. The lights were brighter now, and Liang Xiaosheng vaguely felt that the woman next to Wei Ming looked familiar. However, since she didn't introduce him, he was too embarrassed to ask directly and just kept introducing his partner.

Wei Ming continued to play dumb: "Oh, sister-in-law, let me tell you, Editor Liang is a responsible and good man."

This greeting of "Hello, sister-in-law" made both Jiao Dan and Liang Xiaosheng feel awkward. Liang Xiaosheng didn't want to find out who the woman next to Wei Ming was anymore, so he grabbed his girlfriend and made an excuse to leave.

As soon as Liang Xiaosheng left, Gong Xue pulled down her mask to let in some fresh air, then quickly put it back on, because she saw Wei Hong.

Before Wei Ming could even see it, Gong Xue immediately pulled him around to look at the roadside sign.

"I saw Xiao Hong, and she was with two other women." Gong Xue only glanced at them, but the impression was strong. They were two stylish and beautiful women whose presence was more striking than his own mask on the street.

Wei Ming: "Oh, that's a relative of ours in Hong Kong. We have to call her aunt. The other one with short hair is her assistant."

"assistant?"

You can think of it as a secretary.

"Your aunt is quite something, she even has a secretary."

"That's right. She runs a factory in Hong Kong and has two bachelor's degrees from Stanford University in the United States. I'm going to Shanghai tomorrow to accompany her on business."

~
“Auntie, so you’re from Stanford University? Stanford is in San Francisco, right? How’s the math program at Stanford?” Wei Hong asked.

“Of course it’s amazing,” Wei Lingling said proudly. “Stanford’s math department is one of the best in the United States. If you want to study at Stanford in the future, remember to tell your aunt. It might help you.”

"Auntie, you're so influential at Stanford?" Wei Hong exclaimed in surprise.

Wei Lingling: "I don't have one, but some people do. Universities abroad value recommendation letters a lot, and sometimes they value connections and networks even more than in China."

Wei Hong was completely unaware of this; she was still planning to use her undeniably high scores to gain admission to prestigious foreign universities.

~
Wei Ming got up early, intending to take Gong Xue back to the courtyard house to catch up on some sleep.

At first, Sister Xue felt shy, since it was broad daylight.

But considering we'd be parting ways tomorrow, I let him be.

As they were getting into the mood with the curtains drawn, Ginkgo, the dog outside, suddenly started barking, startling Sister Xue so much that she trembled like a leaf.

Meanwhile, the sheriff climbed onto the wall to observe the group of people outside.

Old Wei was a little embarrassed. Today, Qi Kexiu said he wasn't feeling well and needed to take leave, so he and another middle-aged female teacher didn't go far and took the students to visit the legendary Children's Palace.

This is the Yanjing Municipal Children's Palace, not the district children's palace. In 56, the government allocated the "Shouhuang Hall," the royal palace on the north side of Jingshan Park, to be used as the Yanjing Municipal Children's Palace. Therefore, it can also be regarded as an ancient architectural site.

The rural primary school students were deeply impressed. They had only heard about children's palaces in math problems, but now they finally saw one in person. These children, who were the same age as them, were cultivating their interests in art, music, invention, and even Rubik's Cubes. They had only learned about Rubik's Cubes from Sister Wei Hong yesterday.

After leaving the Children's Palace, everyone was thirsty, so Lao Wei bought them popsicles. But these things cool you down but don't quench your thirst. Since this place happened to be not far from his own courtyard house, Lao Wei brought them here to get some water and, incidentally, to show off what it's like to be neighbors with the emperor.

The door was locked from the inside. His first thought was that his precious son was inside, and that he might not be alone. Old Wei covered for him, saying, "Teacher Zhao, it must be my son inside writing in seclusion. He's probably so engrossed that he can't hear anything outside."

Teacher Zhao, who had taught Wei Ming, said regretfully and reasonably, "The worst thing to do at a time like this is to disturb them. We're not actually that thirsty, are we?"

The elementary school students shouted in hoarse, uneven voices, "Yes!" "We're not thirsty!" "Don't disturb Ming-ge's writing!"

Old Wei said with relief, "Then let's find a restaurant. You can get water at restaurants. I know one nearby. It's the first privately owned restaurant in Yanjing. Let's go try it. It's on me!"

inside the house.

Wei Ming pulled Xue Jie up: "Listen, the dog has stopped barking. Someone must have made a big commotion by passing by."

Gong Xue didn't believe it. Yinxing was very sensible; in this situation, it was most likely that her uncle or aunt had come.

Sweaty Xuejie looked at him with watery eyes: "You bad boy, there were people outside just now and you still didn't stop."

"The arrow is on the bowstring, it can't be stopped."

"Then you sped it up~"

"Your performance made me think you were motivating me," Wei Ming said shamelessly.

However, he guessed that it was either Lao Wei or his mother who came. It seems that he needs to arrange a comfortable home with Sister Xue as soon as possible, otherwise Sister Xue might not dare to come.

After cleaning her up, Sister Xue was about to leave: "Xiaoying is leaving tomorrow. I'll keep her company and ask her to take some things back to Mom and Dad."

To avoid putting too much pressure on Wei Ming, Gong Xue did not accompany him back to Shanghai this time.

~
As soon as Gong Xue left, Wei Ming made a phone call to Tuanjiehu. Zhu Lin had been waiting for him and had canceled all her plans for the day.

Wei Ming and Zhu Lin went to see a movie in the afternoon. This time they changed the cinema and the movie, watching "Joyful Reunion". They will watch "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" after they return from Shanghai.

Seeing the mask Wei Ming handed him, Zhu Lin wondered: I wonder if Xiaoxue has already worn it.

Wei Ming: No, Xuejie is in her safe period today.

Wei Ming had watched "Joyful Reunion" at least five times, but this was the first time he had seen it in an indoor cinema. In his previous life, he had either watched it in a rural open-air cinema or on a movie channel.

Moreover, this was the first time he had seen the version starring Zhu Lin and Zhu Shimao. He watched it as a completely new movie and found it quite good. The plot was smooth, funny yet heartwarming, and educational.

Moreover, Sister Lin is beautiful even when playing a village girl, no wonder she and Sister Xue are competitors for the best screen daughter-in-law.

Outside the movie theater, after buying the tickets, Lao Wei said to the elementary school students, "One of the main reasons I brought you to see this movie today is that it is very educational and teaches you to be filial. Okay, line up and enter in an orderly manner."

After dinner, Lao Wei treated the students to a movie.

“Principal Wei, Principal Wei,” Teacher Zhao suddenly called out, “I think I just saw Wei Ming.”

Wei Jiefang: "That can't be, he's busy creating art right now."

The eldest nephew, Qi Delong, said, "Could it be that they've finished? I think I saw them leave from that direction too."

Teacher Sun: "Yes, yes, I thought I was seeing things. Qi Delong shouldn't have mistaken his brother."

Old Wei looked in that direction and said meaningfully, "Oh, then it's probably really over."

Qi Delong: "I also saw an older woman next to my brother. Although I didn't see her face, she must have been quite pretty."

Old Wei: Oh? So you haven't even started yet?

~
Wei Ming didn't plan to do it right away. After watching the movie, he took Sister Lin to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, ostensibly to check on the rehearsal of "The Tale of Two Donkeys". In reality, his purpose was quite impure and complicated.

The main cast currently rehearsing "The Tale of Two Donkeys" consists of members from the Beijing People's Art Theatre's training class, who are learning acting while using "The Tale of Two Donkeys" as a training exercise.

The students in this cohort are all old acquaintances of Wei Ming. One of Wei Ming's purposes in coming to the Beijing People's Art Theatre this time is to make old friends and new acquaintances.

In his previous life, Wei Ming was able to enter the screenwriting circle thanks in no small part to Sister Dandan. At that time, when she was filming a TV series, she required Wei Ming to be with her at all times, and Wei Ming was responsible for revising the parts of the script that did not conform to her language habits.

Although it was a bit domineering and not very polite to the original screenwriter, in the entertainment industry, if you're famous, everything you do is right.

And then there's Liang Guanhua, that chubby kid. Because of their friendship, Wei Ming later got to know Liu Heng, the author of "Zhang Damin the Talkative," through him, and thus gained another powerful patron, allowing him to walk on multiple legs from then on.

There are also girls like Wang Ji and Luo Lige, who had a crush on the handsome Wei Ming back then. Now that they see Teacher Wei Ming here, they are all big fans. Only Song Dandan is still a bit reserved, after all, she comes from a good family and has seen a lot, but she is also secretly observing Wei Ming and the women around him.

Zhu Lin had already taken off her mask, and many people recognized the popular movie star.

Wei Ming greeted Li Guangfu and then went inside to find the two elderly gentlemen, Yu Shizhi and Lan Tianye.

Wei Ming and Mr. Lan were from the same hometown and he was also an old friend of his grandfather. This time, Wei Ming brought some tonics for the old gentleman from Hong Kong as a token of his goodwill.

Mr. Yu Shizhi was the vice president of the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Mr. Cao Yu was over seventy years old and in his twilight years, so Mr. Yu Shizhi's position as vice president still had a lot of power.

Wei Ming wanted to ask on Zhu Lin's behalf if the Beijing People's Art Theatre could help resolve the issue of her job.

Wei Ming gave the stage adaptation rights of "The Tale of Two Donkeys" to the Beijing People's Art Theatre free of charge. Moreover, Zhu Lin was not an unknown or talentless person. He performed well in "Joyful Reunion," and his appearance was beyond reproach, even better than the newly recruited young people.

"But can Comrade Zhu Lin endure the hardships of stage plays?"

Zhu Lin gave a thumbs up: "I've always felt that actors who can perform well in stage plays are like this among actors, and I also have aspirations for this profession."

She also hopes to improve her acting skills.

Seeing the appreciative look in Yu Shizhi's eyes, Wei Ming quickly added a few words to make amends: "However, she has two films to star in next, and if she wants to settle down, she'll have to wait until these two films are finished."

So Zhi laughed and said, "Okay, we'll discuss it in a meeting later. But if Comrade Zhu Lin wants to act in a play, your name will put a lot of pressure on him."

Zhu Lin laughed and said, "Yes, it's because I share the same name as the Queen of Drama. Can I meet Teacher Zhu Lin later? My whole family loves her plays."

"What a coincidence, Old Zhu doesn't come here often, but he happens to be here today."

They were referring to Zhu Lin, the "Queen of Chinese Drama," who shared the same name and starred in major productions such as "Thunderstorm" and "Cai Wenji," and was even more senior than the two gentlemen, Yu Shizhi and Lan Tianye.

Later, Zhu Lin went to chat with Zhu Lin, while Wei Ming secretly approached Li Guangfu.

Upon meeting Wei Ming, Li Guangfu expressed his gratitude, saying, "Those young men from our hometown are amazing! They finally managed to persuade those holdouts in our courtyard. Why didn't they come during the winter break? I would have welcomed them just the same!"

Wei Ming laughed heartily: "You really don't care about my wallet?"

Li Guangfu laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about your wallet. Oriental Plaza is a business that makes a fortune every day. What's a little extra?"

Wei Ming: "I have already planned to expand the scholarship to local junior high schools and county high schools, and I plan to do it every year. In addition, I also plan to build bridges and roads, so there is still some pressure."

Actually, there was none at all, but Li Guangfu believed it: "Oh my, those two houses I just found out about are quite large."

How big is it?

Chatting with Li Guangfu about the topic of courtyard houses was also an important purpose of Wei Ming's visit today.

Li Guangfu said, "Actually, what I mainly want to recommend is a house in Nanluoguxiang. It's a two-courtyard siheyuan from the Qing Dynasty, about 700 or 800 square meters, and it's well-preserved. However, they require foreign exchange."

Wei Ming currently has more foreign exchange reserves than RMB, so that's not a problem.

"I'm going to Shanghai tomorrow. Let's go check it out when I get back. There's still one left."

"The other one is in Houhai, not far from Prince Gong's Mansion. It's much larger, a three-courtyard house, over a thousand square meters. I didn't ask for the exact size. Moreover, that house is owned by several brothers in the family. They are not on good terms; some want to sell, while others don't."

Wei Ming really needs to buy two sets now, one for Sister Xue and one for Sister Lin.

"Please keep an eye out for the other set as well."

"You want both sets?"

"Ah."

Li Guangfu laughed out of surprise: "You just said you were short of money, I shouldn't have believed you, Teacher Wei, that you were short of cash."

Wei Ming: "Actually, I didn't buy it; I was looking for it for a friend."

Yes, it's just for my friends. They'll just put their names on it.

Li Guangfu was skeptical.

The actor playing Ma Jie, the male lead in Group A of "The Tale of Two Donkeys," is not a newcomer to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, but Yang Lixin, who joined a few years earlier. This is also his first time playing a leading role.

Wei Ming chatted with him for a few more minutes and helped him analyze the role.

Yang Lixin praised Wei Ming's novel for its excellent dialogue.

“I feel that Ma Jie’s lyrics are exactly what we kids from Yanjing feel. When will you write another novel like that, Professor Wei?” Yang Lixin asked.

Wei Ming laughed heartily: "This is the style of the new book."

When can we expect to see it?

"Just wait, within the year."

If I weren't tied up with mundane matters, I could have published it this month; I'll just have to wait and see.

Zhu Lin said goodbye, and Wei Ming took her back to Tuanjiehu. They would have to take it slow, since they had used up a lot of energy in the morning and were starting up slowly.

~
When Qi Delong and his classmates returned to Grandpa Li's house, Qi Kexiu had already returned from "resting" at the movie theater.

After watching "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young", he felt incredibly refreshed and happy. It was truly a masterpiece by Wei Kuangren. Although the screenwriter was Xiaoming, he only managed to bring out about 70-80% of Wei Kuangren's talent.

When Qi Delong told him that they had gone to his cousin's courtyard house, Qi Kexiu's good mood was greatly dampened.

He asked, "Is the yard big?"

“We didn’t go in. Ming is inside creating something, and the door is locked from the inside.”

Qi Kexiu got excited: "Could it be that your uncle is putting on a brave face and using someone else's house to impersonate his own?"

Qi Delong frowned: "That can't be right. Can you please stop thinking about others like that?"

"That's not necessarily true. Your brother Ming spends money too much; he doesn't seem like someone who can save money. He'd be lucky to even buy an apartment, let alone two. What kind of family does he come from? Why doesn't he buy four?"

(It's almost the end of the month, please vote for me!)

(End of this chapter)