Exciting 1979!

Chapter 318 Wei Ming's true identity has finally been exposed! (Seeking monthly votes!)
On the first day of the release of "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young", 333 35mm copies were running around like crazy. The film distributors were so busy that they barely had time to breathe. The huge number of copies was not wasted at all, and there were even some that were not enough. The public's demand for entertainment and cultural life was really too strong.

73-year-old Lao Liao also watched the movie with his colleagues as soon as it was released. Unexpectedly, before "Shaolin Temple" was even filmed, a copy of "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times" was served first. Comrade Xia Meng is really decisive and efficient, more efficient than Zhang Xinyan.

The movie did not disappoint Lao Liao, who loves martial arts films. He had not read the original novel or comics, but he had seen most of Hong Kong martial arts films, from the era of Chang Cheh and King Hu to Bruce Lee, and now Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

So Lao Liao is an expert. Whether in terms of the intensity of the fight scenes or the entertainment value, this movie is no less than those top Hong Kong martial arts films, and more importantly, it has educational value.

Heroes have emerged from among the young throughout history, and ambition knows no age. This is of great educational significance to teenagers. I suggest that primary and secondary school students across the country take a look.

After watching the entire movie, Lao Liao asked a young man next to him, "How did this movie perform in Hong Kong?"

“Great, excellent!” The young man was well-prepared. He replied, “The film has basically finished its run in Hong Kong, with a final box office of HK$1150 million, surpassing Jackie Chan’s ‘The Young Master’ and second only to the Hui Brothers’ ‘Security Unlimited’, ranking second in Hong Kong’s film history since its opening to the world!”

"Oh, it actually has higher box office numbers than Jackie Chan, a local star?" This surprised and delighted Lao Liao.

The young man pushed up his glasses: "It probably wouldn't have been this high, but the screenwriter of this movie, Comrade Wei Ming, is very intelligent and capable. Later, there were news about him all over the Hong Kong media, which also made 'Heroes Have Been Born Since Ancient Times' rise in popularity."

Old Liao laughed heartily: "This young Wei is truly a hero among the young. I met Jin Yong yesterday, and he mentioned this kid to me in private. I thought that 'The Road to Awakening' was already quite remarkable, but I didn't expect that even foreigners would be amazed by his talent."

The young man didn't know how to respond; he had never heard of Wei Ming being famous abroad.

Lao Liao added, "I'd like to meet with the creators of 'Heroes Have Always Been Young.' They deserve encouragement and recognition. Could you arrange it?"

"Ok."

~
That evening, Wei Ming, the unsteady young hero, parked his motorcycle downstairs at Uncle Ping'an's house.

Wei Ping'an has already bought the plane tickets for Wei Ming and his son, as well as A Long and Xiao Ying. As for international friends and Hong Kong compatriots, they can arrange their own tickets.

Uncle Ping An gave a few more reminders about the precautions for this trip to Shanghai, which can be summarized in one sentence: If they don't return it, then forget it, we'll just buy it ourselves next time.

Wei Ming nodded. He really wanted to say that he had already bought one set and was considering buying another.

“Your aunt also has something to say to you, Editor-in-Chief Lü, come here for a moment.”

“Acting editor-in-chief, it’s the acting editor-in-chief,” Lü Xiaoyan walked over with a smile. “Xiaoming, our matter has been resolved. At first, the editor-in-chief didn’t agree.”

"So how did they eventually agree to it?"

Lü Xiaoyan said, "I told the president that if he didn't agree, Wei would go and cooperate with other publishing houses in the long term, and he would also take Xiao Zheng with him."

"It seems the publisher is still reluctant to give up my sales figures."

"Of course! The first print run of 'Black Cat Detective' was 100 million copies, which sold out very quickly. It outsold even 'Children's Literature' magazine, generating a lot of profit for the publisher."

Next, Lü Xiaoyan will participate in the preparation of "King of Fairy Tales" as the acting editor-in-chief, and she also brought Zheng Yuanjie over.

Xiao Zheng is great; he can be used as both an author and an editor.

“I told Editor-in-Chief Hou of Children’s Literature that you and Xiao Zheng’s two works will continue to be updated. When our Fairy Tale King is officially launched, we will put a big line in Children’s Literature: ‘To find out what happens next, please go to Fairy Tale King.’”

Lü Xiaoyan has already stopped considering herself a member of "Children's Literature". It's only because it's a sister magazine that it can drive traffic to you like this. It's like the difference between QQ and WeChat.

Wei Ming added, "The first issue of the new magazine must have some highlights. I've already decided what story to write in that issue."

"What should I write?"

"How about we catch one ear?"

After a moment's thought, Lü Xiaoyan said, "Okay, this is good!"

Children all over the country are eagerly awaiting the capture of One-Ear. If this exciting story is promoted properly, it will definitely have a high appeal to young readers.

Lü Xiaoyan then asked, "So, has there been any progress on the new story you mentioned?"

Wei Ming nodded: "Don't worry, the story is already in my mind. It's a story based on folk legends, similar to 'The Legend of the Heavenly Book'. I'll start writing it once I'm done with this busy period."

~
The next day, Liu Rulong and Gong Ying took a bus directly to the airport.

Wei Ming and Lao Wei rode their motorcycles to the Yanjing Hotel, intending to travel with their aunt in the hotel's car.

"Mr. Wei Ming." Wei Ming and Old Wei were waiting in the lobby when someone called him from behind.

Wei Ming turned around and quickly stood up: "Mr. Cha." He then introduced his father, but Old Wei wasn't familiar with Jin Yong; he didn't like reading books.

Seeing that Jin Yong and his family of three were carrying luggage, Wei Ming asked, "Are you getting ready to go back to Hong Kong?"

Jin Yong shook his head: "The matter in Yanjing is over. I'm preparing to take the children back to our hometown of Haining."

As he said this, the old man looked somewhat forlorn. He had already met with the chief designer and believed that his father's case would soon be cleared of wrongful conviction. But after all, the man was gone, and all he could do was look forward.

As for introducing his novels to the mainland, that's a minor matter.

The real issue they discussed was Hong Kong's future and how to ensure a smooth transition. His trip to the north has been closely watched by many Hong Kong tycoons, whose decisions regarding his travel plans may even influence their decisions about whether to stay or leave.

My trip north was also to convey Beijing's views on Hong Kong to the people in Hong Kong.

Jin Yong and Wei Ming sat in the lobby and chatted for a while. Jin Yong said, "The first article I wrote after coming to Yanjing has been faxed back to Ming Pao. I don't know if it has been published yet. It was about you."

"Including my arrogant remarks?"

Jin Yong laughed heartily: "Not a single word was missed."

Wei Ming: "Unfortunately, I don't have any outstanding science fiction works yet, and Ni Kuang would definitely disagree."

"I couldn't find that article about Jurassic Park. It seems the publication's circulation wasn't high."

"Indeed, the circulation of Science Fiction World is probably less than 100,000 copies. Its influence is mainly in Sichuan. I was inspired to write this novel after seeing a large number of dinosaur fossils in Zigong, Sichuan."

"To be chosen by a foreign publisher, it must have something special. Please send me a copy when you do. Although I haven't read it, I would like to reprint this novel on behalf of Ming Pao. Is that alright?"

“Of course,” Wei Ming said, hoping to extend his influence to the Hong Kong literary scene. “There are two Jurassic Park movies, do you want both?”

"Let's try one film first to see how it goes. I also want 'The Legend of the Heavenly Book' and 'The Spring of the Shepherd's Class'. I also wanted 'The Herdsman', but Wenhui Daily beat me to it."

Wei Ming: "Even 'The Shepherd's Spring' won't do; we've already promised to give it to Wenhui Daily."

Wei Ming gave "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" to Ta Kung Pao, and in return, he agreed to have his other animal series published in Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po. They helped him a lot when promoting the film.

Jin Yong nodded: "Alright then, let's have another one called 'The Game of the Brave,' making a total of three, all by Wei something."

Afterwards, Jin Yong took Wei Ming's account in mainland China and suggested: "If you have any works in the future, you can consider publishing them first in Ming Pao. Ming Pao has good sales throughout Southeast Asia."

Wei Ming said, "There will be opportunities."

He also wanted to adapt Jin Yong's novels into comics, but it's too early to talk about it now. There's not even a trace of "Madman Comics" yet, and it has no influence whatsoever. It would be asking too much of him to adapt it at this point.

Old Wei grinned broadly, his son had earned foreign exchange for the country again!

Not long after Jin Yong left, Wei Lingling brought Lizhi downstairs. It was the first time Old Wei had realized that the girl had a beautiful assistant with her.

Lizhi will not repeat the mistake she made with Wei Hong. From the beginning, she was very polite to Uncle Jiefang and dressed simply, without any of the arrogance of Hong Kong people.

Wei Lingling saw everything clearly and understood perfectly. Li Zhi changed her clothes after learning that Wei Ming's father would also be traveling with them.

She was an open-minded elder and didn't interfere, but she felt that her nephew was so outstanding that he deserved better. She heard that he was also studying correspondence courses at Peking University and could take the postgraduate entrance exam in the future, thus making up for his lack of academic qualifications.

There were four seats left in the car. Old Wei wisely chose the front passenger seat. As for the three seats in the back, Wei Lingling said, "I'll sit by the window and take another look at Yanjing."

The boss said to sit on the side, but Lizhi dared not sit in the middle, so Weiming was sandwiched in the middle.

Along the way, Lao Wei kept turning his head to talk to his sister about his views on Beijing, and he also wanted to hear what San Francisco was like. He always felt that he had spent too little time with his sister and hadn't said enough to her.

Lizhi was talking to Wei Ming very close to him, while Wei Ming had his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed straight ahead, looking as obedient as a young boy.

~
"Ah Long, over here."

Outside the departure hall, they found Ah Long and Gong Ying, who had arrived earlier.

Gong Ying immediately noticed the busty woman next to her future brother-in-law; she looked somewhat familiar.

Lizhi at this time is almost a complete transformation compared to half a year ago. No wonder Gong Ying can't remember this woman who was lingering outside the old house. If it weren't for her chest, she probably wouldn't have any impression of her at all.

Lizhi recalled Gong Ying, whom she had met only once, and then thought of Gong Xue, a popular actress born in the 50s in mainland China at the time.

She had already inquired about Gong Xue's age, so she felt that Gong Xue posed no threat to her.

Once inside the waiting room, Wei Ming mainly stayed with A Long.

"So, what did your classmates say?" Ah Long said, "There are four classmates who draw comics with me. None of them want to drop out of school, and they can't make up their minds to do comics full-time. However, one of our young comic teachers wants to go to Hong Kong with me to start a business."

"Oh?"

“He had just broken up with his girlfriend, who ran off with a kid from a compound, and his parents were sick and in urgent need of money. I agreed to lend him a thousand yuan first, and he said he wanted to sell himself to me. Moreover, he was more skilled than me. The Shanghai Animation Film Studio wanted him before, but he couldn’t bear to leave his family. Now he has to give him up.”

“This is exactly the kind of talent we need. He can even help train Ma Wing-shing’s apprentices in basic skills.”

“That’s what I think too,” Ah Long added. “Although the other four classmates have many concerns, two of them are thinking of coming to Hong Kong with me for two months during this holiday to complete the sequel to ‘Qin’s Moon’ and broaden their horizons.”

“That’s fine too. We can ask Ta Kung Pao or Great Wall for help then,” Wei Ming said.

It's a bit of a pipe dream for their small comic book company to bring several mainlanders to Hong Kong. They would need an invitation from a left-wing organization. Fortunately, Wei Ming is also building up connections in Hong Kong.

Old Wei found the airport incredibly novel, and he was even more excited once he boarded the plane. Haha, he, Wei Jiefang, had finally flown on a plane!
"Xiaoming, take a picture of me and your aunt together."

When I get back from Shanghai, I'll go back to my hometown and have a good chat with my fellow villagers about what it felt like to be in the sky.

Shortly after Wei Ming and his group went to heaven, a train arrived in the capital from the far west.

After three days, Long Xiaoyang finally arrived in Beijing. He had barely slept a wink at night to keep an eye on his luggage, but the strong 18-year-old didn't feel tired at all. He went to find the bus with a surge of excitement.

Then suddenly someone bumped into him in the crowded throng and grabbed his bag, trying to run away.

However, after running a short distance, the man threw down his bag and exclaimed, "Damn, what is this? It's so heavy!"

Long Xiaoyang calmly picked up his heavy bag, which contained two dozen bottles of Tianfu Cola. He hadn't even taken a single sip himself, but because his cousin had expressed curiosity about the product in his letter, he had brought it all the way from Chengdu for him.

On the same train, Japanese singer Masashi Sada, wearing sunglasses, got off the train from the sleeper car, followed by several members of the film crew.

They had just finished filming the documentary "The Yangtze River," but due to policy constraints, they were unable to see the source of the Yangtze River. Their filming journey from east to west, tracing its source upstream, came to an end in Sichuan.

Not only is the production team prohibited from going to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but all the footage shot must also be submitted to CCTV for review before it can be edited and produced.

Now Masashi Sada's team can return to Japan, but he needs to wait in Beijing for the approval process. After fulfilling the long-cherished wish of two generations of his family, Masashi Sada is somewhat confused. He seems to have overspent, and by a significant margin.

Damn it, I'm not going to have to live off debts from now on!
~
Upon arriving in Shanghai, Wei Lingling originally planned to stay at the Peace Hotel, but Wei Ming suggested, "Actually, Gong Ying's sister owns an old villa in Shanghai, which is usually unoccupied. Why don't we stay there?"

Gong Ying's sister, isn't that Gong Xue? Old Wei's mind raced. Could this old house belong to his son?
Well, kid, you've bought property in Shanghai!
When he arrived, Lao Wei found the old-style house quite novel. He felt that this two-story building was very fashionable and stylish, and it matched his imagination of the city's wealthy people better than the traditional courtyard house.

He couldn't help but ask, "Is this what the house my aunt left behind looks like?"

Wei Ming said, "That house is much bigger than this one. It's bigger, the yard is bigger, and it's three stories high."

Wei Lingling laughed and said, "Perfect, the three of us can each take one floor."

Wei Ming said to Li Zhi, "I have a close friend in Shanghai who is much older than me. He will help us with the paperwork. You can go back and visit your grandmother."

Lizhi said, "I'll go home first and come back first thing tomorrow morning. I'll show you the way."

She wanted to go home, and Gong Ying wanted to go home too, and she wanted to take A Long back with her. After landing in Shanghai, he finally showed a hint of nervousness, but Wei Ming definitely wouldn't go with him.

The second son-in-law must be with the second daughter.

Wei Ming went out to find a phone and called Lao Fei, inviting him to his house for a chat in the afternoon. Before Lao Fei arrived, Wei Ming continued drawing Transformers for his aunt.

Old Wei also saw the Transformers toy. After learning how to play with it, he became very interested and asked, "Can you transform animals into robots?"

"Sure." Beast Wars, but we're not in a rush to get that right now.

Seeing that Lao Wei was bored, Wei Ming told him to go out for a walk and buy him a few newspapers while he was at it.

He wanted to see the situation of the torrential rain in Sichuan. He remembered learning about this after the college entrance examination in 81, because Xiao Hong took the college entrance examination that year in the original timeline. He had a deep impression of her and heard that because the route was interrupted, the college applications of Sichuan candidates could not be sent out, so they filled them out again after the scores and cut-off scores were released.

Today is the 9th, the last day of the college entrance examination. I guess a major flood is already brewing. Xiaoyang should have arrived in Yanjing by now.

~
"Grandma, Second Aunt, Sister Yunyun!" When Long Xiaoyang arrived at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, she found only the three of them. Where was Cousin Ming?
Grandma said, "He and your second aunt's husband went to Shanghai. When they come back, you can meet them and then we'll go back to our hometown."

Xu Shufen looked at the TV and said, "Mom, maybe we shouldn't go back yet. I saw on the news today that it's raining quite heavily in Sichuan."

Grandma didn't care at all: "When has it ever rained in Sichuan at this time of year? It doesn't matter."

~
Television news has already started reporting on the heavy rains in Sichuan, but very briefly, and it's not in the newspapers yet. However, Lao Wei brought back a copy of the China Youth Daily, which is selling like hotcakes.

"Son, son!" Old Wei shouted as he entered the house, "Look, people have found out you're Wei something!"

Wei Lingling glanced at the headline on the newspaper: "Young writer Wei Mingyue's shadow: The King of Fairy Tales, Wei something." The headline was quite evocative.

After Wei Ming went downstairs, he asked, "Is it the China Youth Daily? I've spoken to their editors. Anyway, Hong Kong already knows, and the mainland will find out sooner or later."

He picked up the newspaper and started reading. The article by reporter Zhu first cited foreign data and praised a foreign song called "Shadow Under the Moonlight". It praised the sensation the song had caused abroad, saying that it was the most popular song in many countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia for several weeks and that the global record sales exceeded one million.

Then they talked about the songwriter, Mr. Why, who is also the lyricist and composer of the song, and revealed that Wei's English name is Mr. Why.

"Our reporter has contacted children's author Wei Shenme and confirmed that the song was indeed written by him."

Now Wei Shenmo has even more of a halo around him, becoming a flag-bearer of cultural export. Even adults who don't read fairy tales have to admit they're impressed.

"In addition, we have learned that his new science fiction novel, Jurassic Park, has also been selected by a major British publishing company and is currently being translated, with global publication imminent."

"What the public doesn't know is that besides fairy tales, songs, and science fiction, Wei Ming is also highly accomplished in serious literature, and he has a more well-known pen name than Wei Ming, which is also his real name—Wei Ming. The most popular novel in the first half of the year, 'The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes,' was written by him..."

~
The editorial department of Harvest.

The editors were all eagerly passing around copies of the China Youth Daily, mainly reading the article about Wei Ming.

The editors exclaimed in disbelief, "Wow, this young Wei is amazing! How can a serious literary writer write fairy tales so well, and now he's even writing science fiction!"
It's not too surprising that he can write songs, after all, Wei Mingben has produced many excellent musical works.

Given the popularity of Wei's novels overseas, everyone guesses he must have earned tens of thousands in foreign exchange!

Li Xiaolin calmly watched them discuss his writer. Surprised? He already knew.

After a while, her editor-in-chief called her in, and there was a copy of the China Youth Daily on the table.

"It's been almost two months since 'The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes' ended. During this time, many readers have written to request a standalone edition, so we won't delay any longer and can start preparing for it. It will be officially released around National Day."

"How many should we print?"

"I heard that his 'Black Cat Detective' has a print run of one million copies and is ready to be reprinted at any time. I think the readership of 'The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes' will only be larger."

Got it, a million is the starting price.

"Okay, I'll contact Xiao Wei right away. He said some revisions will be needed before publication." Some of the comments from those old leaders were reasonable, and we should carry them out carefully.

However, Li Xiaolin soon returned from outside. This kid wasn't in Yanjing; he actually came to Shanghai!
~
Wei Hong knew that her cousin Xiao Yang was coming today, so she was eager to go back after the tour ended.

Qi Delong said, "Sister Hong, you don't want this newspaper anymore?"

"No, we still have some at home."

So Qi Delong took Wei Hong's newspaper back home, and as he walked, he read it, and as he read, his eyes lit up.

He caught up with his elderly father, Qi Kexiu: "Look."

"What are you looking at?"

Qi Delong: "Do you know anything about Wei?"

"A person's name?"

"Ah."

"Sounds familiar."

"There are several of his books in the school library, and he is also very famous abroad, earning a lot of foreign exchange. All my classmates regard him as an idol. Moreover, he recently wrote a foreign language song that became popular all over the world, earning him even more foreign exchange."

"Hey, this guy is really amazing. Although your brother Ming is also very famous, he can write songs and books, but he's only famous in China. Foreigners don't recognize him."

Qi Delong added, "I only found out today from the newspaper that Wei something is actually Brother Ming!"

Qi Kexiu: "..."

(Still asking for monthly votes, there will be more after midnight, I won't sleep until I finish writing!)

(End of this chapter)