Exciting 1979!

Chapter 321 East Palace, West Palace, My Lord, Don't

One song wasn't enough, so Wei Ming put together another one, as a double insurance, which meant he stayed up all night and slept quite late.

When he woke up the next day, Biaozi was standing at the head of his bed, suppressing a laugh.

Wei Ming cautiously touched his back; thankfully, it was alright.

"Biaozi, what brings you here?"

"I've been here for a while, but I didn't disturb you because you were still sleeping."

"Why are you coming to see me instead of staying home with your wife?"

"Ming-ge, your timing is terrible. It would have been better if you had come back a couple of days earlier."

"What's wrong?"

"We went in a couple of days ago?"

"Where to? The police station?"

"Haizi! We're at Haizi!" Biaozi exclaimed excitedly. "A high-ranking leader surnamed Liao invited us. It was me, Yanzi, Xiaojing, and Director Yang Qitian. He also invited you, but unfortunately you weren't there. The leader said it was a real shame."

Oh, so his surname is Liao, and he likes watching movies so much, Wei Ming knew who he was.

"What did the leader say?" he asked.

"He didn't say anything, but the boss asked how many months pregnant Yanzi was and even wished us well on becoming parents."

The leader simply met with him because he admired and liked him, and offered some encouragement. This excited Biaozi so much that he rushed over to show off when he heard that Wei Ming was back.

He also asked Wei Ming, "So many viewers across the country love our movies, Brother Ming, don't you think I should continue to contribute to the film industry?"

"Don't even think about making any contributions within a year. Yanzi is going to give birth next month, and after that, she'll have to go through postpartum confinement and breastfeed. You, as the father, won't be able to relax either. You'll have to stay up all night and suffer along with her. If you take it easy, Yanzi will definitely argue with you."

Wei Ming acts like a know-it-all, and he even wants to go out and make movies; a normal life and work are just a pipe dream for him.

“I definitely have to wait until Yanzi is fully recovered before I go back to filming. We’ll film together then, and I’ll leave the child with my parents or her parents. We’re both retired anyway, so it’s like retired seniors getting a second job.” Biaozi was quite carefree.

Wei Ming said, "If you really want to make movies, I can take you to Hong Kong to film, and to film internationally in the future."

"Really!"

"I'll just draw you a picture of a bright future, you can have your cake and eat it first," Wei Ming chuckled.

Afterwards, Wei Ming asked Biaozi to take Long Xiaoyang to Oriental New World, as he still had to report back.

The two songs, with lyrics and sheet music, couldn't be explained clearly over the phone, so Wei Ming first sent an international fax to Melinda.

International fax is cheaper than international long distance, but it is also slower. Wei Ming first scanned and faxed the two songs, and then started queuing to make an international long distance call.

Although it was late at night in London, Melinda should at least be home, so she wouldn't have missed her call.

First, you need to fill out a form and pay to avoid exceeding the limit without money to pay, and then you can start queuing.

The people who made the calls before him spoke very quickly, explaining their points within a minute. Soon it was Wei Ming's turn.

He wanted to call London, which cost 50 yuan per minute. One minute was equivalent to a month's salary for an average person. Wei Ming simply took out 500 yuan, thinking that ten minutes would be enough to explain things clearly.

The phone rang, waking Melinda from her sleep. From the moment she answered the call, the sound was a little crackled because it was a long-distance call.

Wei Ming told her, "Please check your fax. I've sent you the two songs I wrote. One is more suitable for female voices, and the other is more suitable for male voices. You should be able to tell the difference from the lyrics."

Melinda instantly snapped to attention: "You actually wrote two songs! You wrote two songs in just three days!"

"I just got back from Shanghai yesterday, actually it only took me one night," Wei Ming boasted simply, earning Melinda a surprised scream.

Wei Ming also inquired about the adaptation of "The Lion King".

"It hasn't even started yet. You gave up the signing fee in order to seek more revenue sharing from the performances. You'll probably have to wait a while before you get your share of the money."

"It's okay, I don't need the money right now."

"Yes, in a few days the royalties for the North American publication of The Lion King will be transferred to you. It's $50,000, of which $20,000 will go to mainland China and $30,000 to Hong Kong."

"OK, OK."

When Wei Ming hung up the phone, the call had only lasted less than three minutes, and the call was charged based on three minutes.

After finishing this matter, Wei Ming went to the post office in their area again. His mother had accepted all the ordinary letters, and the rest were overseas parcels or money order slips.

He received Amin's package, along with a remittance slip from Guangzhou Pacific Audio-Visual Company, which was to pay Amin the royalties for his manuscript.
Well, Mr. Liao is still a man of principle.

In Amin's package was a cassette tape of "First Love" that she had recorded herself. It was an unofficial version, which she recorded for fun, singing and playing the guitar herself.

Perfect timing! I can take this cassette tape to Masashi Sada and let him listen to it.

In addition, Amin's letter also mentioned that Tam Yung-lun had guessed his identity and sincerely invited him to write a song.

However, considering the cost-effectiveness of Cantonese songs, Wei Ming is not very interested for the time being. By now, Hong Kong should already know about Wei Ming's relationship with Ah Ming and Mr. Why, and probably even more people want him to write songs for them.

If you don't have the energy to deal with them all, then just ignore them all.

He's also busy creating "In the Heat of the Sun," "Jurassic Park 3," and two children's series.

Just in time for lunch, Wei Ming arrived at the Yanjing Hotel.

Masashi Sada had been waiting for a long time.

"Wei Sang, have you eaten?"

"not yet."

"Then let's have some mischievousness."

The two entered the restaurant, and Wei Ming first showed the sheet music to Masashi Sada. He couldn't read Chinese, so he could only look at the musical notes. He thought it was pretty good and that he might actually be able to master it.

Wei Ming added, "A singer from Hong Kong recorded a demo; we'll go upstairs and listen to it later."

"Okay, okay." Masashi Sada quickened his eating pace.

After going upstairs and entering the room, the two of them started listening to music without saying a word.

"Brother Amin, it's been a while since we've been apart. I wonder if you've missed me..."

Wei Ming thought it would be all about singing, but Amin chatted with him for a bit first.

Masashi Sada looked at Wei Ming suspiciously, and Wei Ming said, "Keep listening."

Because the letter already contained a lot of text, the cassette tape only lasted a minute, briefly revealing some of the girl's feelings, and then she started playing the guitar and singing.

Masashi Sada nodded. The beautiful female voice and the light and cheerful rhythm made him feel as if he had returned to that summer of his first love.

Wei Ming told him, "The song is called 'First Love'."

After listening to the song, Masashi Sada was overjoyed. Although he wasn't entirely sure whether he could adapt the song to suit his male vocal style or write Japanese lyrics that were worthy of the song, he still decided to buy it for himself.

The next step is to discuss the details of the cooperation.

Wei Ming then realized why Japanese music was so developed—they treated creators so well!

Generally, 6% of the price of a single is paid as royalties, with lyricists and composers receiving 1.7% to 3%, while singers only receive 0.9%. Singers mainly earn money through concerts or commercial performances, which is better than the treatment in the Western music scene.

This is also an important reason for the popularity of original singers in Japan. Masashi Sada is an example of someone who mainly creates original songs, and he used to be able to account for 6% of record sales.

Masashi Sada also gave Wei Ming the highest treatment, with Wei Ming receiving 3% and him, the singer, receiving 0.9%. If Sada wrote the lyrics himself, then it would be 3%.

In addition, Wei Ming will receive 30 yen for buying the song. Although that's only about 2000 yuan in RMB, that's due to the distorted exchange rate. In reality, it's quite a lot. The main revenue comes from sales commissions and media usage fees, among other copyright income.

In addition to the usage fees for radio and television stations, karaoke had already appeared in Japan at this time, and this also required payment.

Wei Ming was very happy to have completed the overseas cooperation. Next, he should go find Sister Xue.

Sister Lin is very busy right now. She has finished filming "The Courtyard" and is now going to the Central Academy of Drama to learn the etiquette of ancient people. She has clearly embarked on the fast track of her career.

Gong Xue is busy now, busy making friends with Liu Xiaoqing.

Following the release of "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young," the controversial "The Mysterious Buddha" was also approved for release, and by the end of the month, some cinemas had already posted film information and posters.

Besides praying that this movie will be as popular as "Heroes Have Been Born Since Ancient Times", Liu Xiaoqing has already started preparing for a new movie.

This is the film "Deep in My Heart," adapted from the novel "The Birth of a Statue" by Meng Weizai, deputy editor-in-chief of "Contemporary" magazine.

However, a rumor has recently surfaced in the factory that the Qing Dynasty drama that Hong Kong director Li Hanxiang is collaborating with Beijing Film Studio on is finally about to start production. In addition, the screenwriter has been changed to Wei Ming, that Wei Ming who has recently made a name for himself as a foreign exchange expert.

Moreover, one movie has become two movies, and the films will be screened and judged in Hong Kong in the future. The main actors may even have the opportunity to go to Hong Kong with them!

She also heard that director Li Hanxiang had entrusted Wei Ming with the entire casting process in mainland China.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Xiaoqing immediately exclaimed that things were in bad shape!
Whether it was Gong Xue, who joined the Beijing Film Studio, or Zhu Lin, who didn't, Wei Ming was clearly closer to them.

If Wei Ming had the final say, there would be no chance for her. Yet she was so eager to improve and wanted to participate in this co-production.

Gong Xue stayed at the guesthouse, and Liu Xiaoqing met with her twice. From Gong Xue, Liu Xiaoqing learned that Gong Xue would not be competing for a role in the film, and also confirmed that Li Hanxiang had indeed entrusted Wei Ming with casting the role.

Liu Xiaoqing, who was initially somewhat wary of Gong Xue, instantly became Gong Xue's good friend.

This woman would be a formidable enemy, but she's also a truly reliable friend.

She not only helped Gong Xue defuse the hostility of several actresses in the factory, but also helped Gong Xue integrate into the community and make several friends.

So when Wei Ming came to find her, she was unusually not in her room at the guesthouse. The neighbors said she had gone shopping with Liu Xiaoqing and a few others.

Wei Ming had no choice but to return to the courtyard house to start creating, and then called the guesthouse in the evening.

Gong Xue: "You came to see me? I'm sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing."

Wei Ming: "It's okay. You seem quite happy, so I'm relieved. Do you have time tomorrow?"

"Have."

"Then see you at Shichahai." "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ming pulled out a stack of manuscript paper, the first page of which read "Sunny Days".

This story about youth and the passing of time was only a little over 10,000 words long. Because he had to go to Hong Kong for a long time, Wei Ming started reading the manuscript from scratch and looking at his own creative notes to get back into the swing of things.

Around nine o'clock, Ginkgo, the dog outside the door, suddenly started barking.

Considering the recent security situation, Wei Ming picked up a wrench from under his desk.

A scholar, a wrench, that's reasonable.

"Who?"

Outside the door: "It's me."

Wei Ming immediately opened the door and saw Gong Xue pushing her bicycle outside. In the darkness, he could see beads of sweat on her face; it was an extremely hot and humid day.

Wei Ming pulled Gong Xue and the car inside, and before she could even throw herself into his arms, he scolded, "What are you doing here so late? This alley is so dangerous! What if something happens to you!"

Gong Xue came to find her lover full of expectations, but unexpectedly she was scolded first.

Sister Xue looked a little aggrieved, her doe-like eyes glistening with tears: "But I know you miss me, and I miss you too~"

At this moment, Wei Ming could no longer be fierce and pulled the person into his arms.

"You can't do that again, or I'll worry."

Gong Xue nodded and added, "This place is close to the Forbidden City, there are many police officers patrolling here, and I have a knife on me."

If he dared to talk back, Wei Ming immediately shut him up.

There were a lot of mosquitoes outside, so Wei Ming picked him up and carried him in his arms. "I'm not writing anymore today, time to sleep!"
When Gong Xue woke up the next day, he remembered to ask, "Why did you ask me to go to Shichahai?"

Wei Ming nuzzled her nose: "Let's go look at houses."

"what?"

Gong Xue didn't want to go. She had already accepted an old villa in Shanghai and didn't want him to buy her another house. What would a woman weighing less than 100 pounds need so many houses for?

But Wei Ming said that for a happy sex life in the future, they must have their own private space in Yanjing.

"Besides, I feel uneasy about having so much money on hand. I just want to spend it as soon as possible. Houses appreciate in value, and buying a house is more worthwhile than keeping money in the bank."

After much persuasion, Gong Xue finally agreed, and Wei Ming had already made an appointment with Li Guangfu.

After breakfast, the three of them met up at the Drum Tower on the east side of Houhai Lake.

Li Guangfu was surprised. The last time he saw Wei Ming at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, it was Zhu Lin next to him, but this time it was Gong Xue. Both of them are very popular stars.

Moreover, Wei Ming said he was looking at houses for Gong Xue, so now it's become Gong Xue who bought them. How could a small-time actress like her afford to buy one?

But Li Guangfu was a shrewd man; he didn't ask questions he shouldn't have, and led the two into Ju'er Hutong next to Nanluoguxiang.

Wei Ming was fairly satisfied with the location. It was not far from Nanluoguxiang, but it would not be the busiest area in the future. It was quiet amidst the hustle and bustle, and it was convenient to travel from Andingmen Inner Street.

When he looks at houses, he considers whether they will be convenient for driving in the future.

Before even entering the hospital, Wei Ming had already begun to consider how to renovate the parking garage in the future.

Pushing open the door to the courtyard, the homeowner was a refined and elegant old woman with a head of silver hair. She looked to be about seventy years old, but her eyesight was not poor at all, and she was in good spirits.

The old man probably didn't recognize Gong Xue, as he showed no emotion upon seeing her.

When people came to view the property, she stated her requirements directly: "My son is doing research in the United States. He doesn't want to come back, but I can't bear to leave him, so I have to go there myself. Therefore, I require transactions in US dollars, cash."

This raised the difficulty level even further, as Wei Ming couldn't withdraw the US dollars from his domestic account, but fortunately he still had a considerable amount of cash.

"Okay, let's look at the apartment first."

The first courtyard isn't very big, about 150 square meters including the house. The space behind it is much larger, over 600 square meters, but there are no trees there. These can be transplanted later.

Gong Xue was thinking that it would be fine if Sister Lin lived in such a big house, but it would be too empty for her to live alone, unless she had ten or eight children, but the current policy didn't allow that.

The house is not well maintained; it must have just been returned to its original state. I wonder what the old lady's family used to do to have such a large house.

Wei Ming was a straightforward man. When the old lady asked for ten thousand US dollars, he made a token attempt to negotiate, but seeing that she was determined, he agreed.

This speed shocked Li Guangfu. "Aren't you going to make a few more trips? It's settled already? That's ten thousand dollars! Who can get that much foreign exchange these days!"

Wei Ming thought to himself, "What's the point of all this? Even if I could lower the price, I'd rather use that time to write more works."

The old lady remained calm in the face of Wei Ming's straightforwardness, which suggests that she must have come from a wealthy family in the past.

Next, we'll have to trouble Sister Xue and the old lady to complete the paperwork; Wei Ming will only be responsible for settling the payment.

However, in the afternoon, Wei Ming approached Li Guangfu alone and asked him to take him to see the three-courtyard house in Houhai.

The first courtyard house in Ju'er Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, is located on the east side of Houhai Lake, belonging to Dongcheng District. The second courtyard house, a three-section courtyard house, is located on the west side of Houhai Lake, belonging to Xicheng District.

Li Guangfu laughed and said, "You bought this set yourself, didn't you?"

Wei Ming: "No, I'm just helping a friend take a look."

Zhu Lin was too busy, so he decided to look at the options himself and then notify her.

Li Guangfu had a bold guess: could this set of things be for Zhu Lin to "see"?
The visit was not successful. First of all, the house was too dilapidated, to the point that the above-ground buildings needed to be demolished and rebuilt. Moreover, the layout was not good. It did not look like a proper courtyard house, but rather like two courtyards pieced together.

The other three brothers couldn't reach an agreement, and Wei Ming didn't have the time to argue with them.

"Old Li, could you help me look around some more? Ideally, it would be a standard courtyard house with three courtyards," Wei Ming said. Since Sister Lin already had a house, there was no need to rush, but it had to be big enough to ensure fairness.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on it."

Wei Ming then rode his motorcycle to Tuanjiehu, intending to give Sister Lin a surprise.

To my surprise, Sister Lin returned with a complete set of ancient costume.

"My teacher told me to wear ancient clothes and imitate the way people walk and talk." This is called muscle memory.

Seeing Wei Ming's eyes darting around, Zhu Lin clutched his chest: "Young Master, what mischief are you plotting?"

Wei Ming hugged the ancient costume version of Sister Lin, it felt like they were cosplaying, this outfit can increase attack speed.

"My lady, what kind of wicked idea do you think I, your husband, am plotting?"

Seeing Wei Ming bare his fangs, Zhu Lin cooperated and said, "My lord, please don't."

~
Old Wei came back, and Wei Ming went home for dinner that evening.

Old Wei has already reached an agreement with the commune's junior high school and the county's No. 1 Middle School on the issue of scholarships. As for the supervision, he has entrusted it to the old Party Secretary and Ah Long's maternal grandfather, Yang Songqiao, a prominent figure in the county.

In addition, Lao Wei also brought back a handwritten letter from County Magistrate Qin of Ping'an County.

Upon learning that Wei Ming planned to donate money to rebuild a bridge, County Magistrate Qin was extremely excited. The man, who was nearly forty, addressed Wei Ming as "Brother Wei Ming" in his letter.

As for how much it would cost to build a bridge, the amount varies greatly. County Chief Qin said that Wei Ming only needed to contribute 10,000 yuan, and even if that wasn't enough, the rest could be covered by the county's finances. However, the bridge would be officially built by Wei Ming and would be named "Wei Ming Bridge" after it was completed.

“This isn’t appropriate,” Wei Ming said to Lao Wei. “I’m so young, it’s a bit too flashy. How about we use your name instead, and call it Jiefang Bridge?”

Old Wei waved his hand: "I don't think this name has anything to do with me. It sounds like a bridge built to celebrate liberation."

Old Wei advised his son, "I think you should accept County Chief Qin's good intentions. You've gained fame, which can also inspire other wealthy people to do good deeds."

Unexpectedly, despite not being well-read, Lao Wei was able to grasp the core of Zigong's idea of ​​redeeming people.

Old Wei added, "If you become more and more famous in the future and become an international celebrity, then having such a bridge in Ping'an County will be quite a sight."

What else could Wei Ming say but accept it? He would write a reply to County Chief Qin later and discuss the issue of supervision.

He can donate money, but if the bridge turns out to be a shoddy construction project in the future, people will criticize Wei Ming behind his back, so he must make the unpleasant point clear upfront.

"Alright, you two stop chatting and let's eat." Xu Shufen brought the dishes to the table.

Mei Wenhua and Yunyun also came today, making it a very complete family gathering.

The TV was on in the living room, and Grandma, Yunyun, and Xiaoyang were paying close attention to the news on it, as it was one of the few ways they could learn about the current situation in their hometown.

After six days of continuous torrential rain, the rain in Sichuan finally stopped, but the disaster had only just begun.

According to current information, the floods have affected 14 prefectures and cities, and 119 counties and districts in Sichuan Province. A large number of houses have been destroyed, three major railway lines have collapsed, and highways have been severely damaged.

This means that even rescue teams will have difficulty getting into Sichuan, and at present, they mainly have to rely on self-rescue.

In short, it's a disaster, absolutely a disaster!
Grandma started crying as she watched. When she cried, Yunyun cried too, and her mother cried too. Long Xiaoyang didn't cry out loud, but he also silently wiped away his tears.

Seeing this situation, Wei Ming wondered what he, a mere scholar, could do.

He recalled that during the East China floods of 91, the Hong Kong entertainment industry produced a film called "The Banquet," in which the actors worked for free and the box office revenue was used for disaster relief.

However, this model cannot be transplanted to mainland China. After all, the film market is not a market economy yet, so high box office revenue has nothing to do with the production company.

As for going to Hong Kong, Wei Ming doesn't think he has that kind of appeal in the Hong Kong film industry.

The key point is that China and Britain haven't even started negotiations yet. The situation in 81 and 91 was very different. Most of those celebrities couldn't, and dared not, get close to the mainland.

As the disaster in Sichuan worsened, even Time magazine began to report on it, with the headline "Floods and Famine." One of the statistics stated that 1500 million people were affected, direct losses exceeded 20 billion yuan, and thousands of people died in the floods.

This was also the first time that China had sent a distress signal to the international community, after not having asked for foreign aid for the previous three years.

Upon seeing this, Wei Ming lost all interest in writing his novel. He realized he had to do something!

……

(This is a make-up update for the 6th. Please vote with your monthly tickets! The make-up update for the hiatus is over. Next up is the make-up update for monthly tickets~)

(End of this chapter)