Exciting 1979!

Chapter 334 Returning in Triumph, the Whole Country Shocked!
"So, it's Sister Xue at Sister Lin's house in Tuanjiehu?" Wei Ming repeated.

"Yes."

Wei Ming pulled Biaozi a little further away, to the corner of the second-floor staircase: "How did she end up there?"

"Actually, it's not the first time. The two of them used to often go in and out of Tuanjiehu together." Biaozi finally decided to be honest with Ming Ge. How could this be considered gossip? This was a warning.

Even if Ming is to die, he should die knowing why.

Hearing this, Wei Ming felt a shadow fall over his heart. Could it be that the two had become good friends because of recording the song? If so, how could he keep his own affairs a secret?
"Brother Ming, there's something else I need to tell you." Biaozi said, head down.

"You said."

“I told Sister Xue that you’re back, and you even called out Sister Lin’s name.”

The dark clouds in Wei Ming's heart began to pelt down, just like the hail he experienced during his college entrance examination in 79.

"Biaozi, you're crazy!" Wei Ming exclaimed incredulously. How could you say that when you saw Sister Xue?

Biaozi: "This can't be blamed on me. Blame it on you. Why did you give them face masks? When I opened the door, she was wearing a face mask, and I didn't see that it was Sister Xue. I just said, 'Sister Lin, Brother Ming is back. He asked me to tell you.'"

Wei Ming sighed. With Biaozi's words, he really had no chance left. At least Sister Xue already knew, but he didn't know if she would confront Sister Lin.

However, it is indeed my fault. I am too good to my loved ones. He has given Sister Lin and Sister Xue all kinds of novelties that are not available in mainland China.

Biaozi asked worriedly, "Brother Ming, have I gotten myself into big trouble?"

Wei Ming patted Biaozi: "Alright, it's nothing. You can go back now. We'll let you guys watch the video later."

"Still watching martial arts movies?" Biaozi asked expectantly.

Wei Ming: "..."

"Xiaoming!" At that moment, Lü Xiaoyan came running upstairs. "What are you all doing here?"

Wei Ming: "There are too many people at home, so I came out to get some peace and quiet."

Lü Xiaoyan laughed and said, "Your house is so big, why are you afraid of having too many people?"

Biaozi greeted them and went upstairs. Lü Xiaoyan said, "I'd like to let you know that our 'King of Fairy Tales' will be launched next month. You're our literary consultant, so you'll have to take a look at our work later."

Wei Ming was surprised: "You've already gathered all the works for the inaugural issue so quickly?"

“Yes,” Lü Xiaoyan said, “You have two books, and Xiao Zheng has two. Oh, besides ‘The Magic Cube Building,’ he’s started writing ‘Pipilu and Luxixi’ again, and he plans to write a longer one.”

That makes four serialized works.

Lü Xiaoyan added, "In addition, Professor Sun Youjun translated a Russian long fairy tale called 'The Little Guest in the Fairy Tale Kingdom,' and has also agreed to give it to us for serialization."

Although Professor Sun is from the Chinese Department of Peking University, she originally transferred from the Second Department of Russian Studies at Yenching University. She is fluent in Russian, so she not only writes fairy tales herself, but is also a Russian translator.

"In addition, we contacted a children's author, Zhu Zhixiang, who wrote a novella called 'Bajie Returns Home.' We also accept novellas, so that makes six books. Add some comics and illustrations, and that will be enough."

Upon hearing Teacher Zhu's name, Wei Ming felt slightly guilty and then changed the subject: "Ah Long and I started a comic magazine in Hong Kong. I brought two of our works with me. See if you can use them. I'll show them to you later."

Wei Ming was referring to "If History Were a Group of Cats" and "Sha Wujing's Diary." The former has a positive significance in popularizing history and has a high chance of being adopted, while the latter is purely for laughs.

"That's great!" said Lü Xiaoyan. "It's just a pity that A Long went to Hong Kong, so we'll have to find someone else to do the illustrations for your work."

Although it required finding additional people, Wei Ming himself handled the character design for the permanent characters; he didn't delegate this task to anyone else.

As they talked, the two went upstairs to Wei Ming's house. Only then did Lü Xiaoyan remember that Wei Ming had gone to Hong Kong to raise funds, so she asked about it.

Wei Ming pulled out the videotape: "Now that everyone's here, let's start playing it."

Biaozi and Xiaomei placed the dining table behind the sofa, and Wei Hong prepared a tape recorder so everyone could eat and watch.

~
Meanwhile, Zhu Lin arrived by bicycle at Tuanjiehu.

"What's up? I'm going to Northeast China the day after tomorrow. I was just saying I'd stay home and keep my parents company," Zhu Lin asked as soon as she came in. Gong Xue had called her and asked her to come over, but hadn't said what it was about.

Gong Xue: "Xiao Wei is back."

"Did you see him?" Zhu Lin asked, then added, "Or did he call here?"

Gong Xue shook her head and told him about Biaozi coming to deliver the message: "I was wearing a face mask at the time, and he mistook me for you and let it slip."

Zhu Lin exclaimed "Oh dear!" with a nervous feeling, as if she had been caught cheating by her husband: "So, does that mean Xiao Wei knows everything about us?"

Gong Xue looked at her strangely: "Shouldn't he be the one who's nervous? We're the victims."

“Oh right,” Zhu Lin calmed down, then asked a crucial question, “Did you use my face mask?!”

Gong Xue stammered.

Zhu Lin said angrily, "Why are you using mine again? You're already fairer than me."

"Mine are all stored away in my dorm room. I'll bring them over and make up for them for you later." Gong Xue has a lot of high-end cosmetics, but she doesn't dare use them at all at the Beijing Film Studio, just like Zhao Dehan. She's a daughter of socialism, after all.

"That's more like it." Zhu Lin said with satisfaction.

Gong Xue continued, getting down to business: "He contacted you first after he got back. Do you want to give him a call back?"

Zhu Lin: "What should I say when I call back? Just say that you told me, and continue to pretend that I don't know about your relationship."

Gong Xue sighed, "You can continue to pretend, but I can't keep pretending anymore. If I keep pretending, it will make me look like I'm out of my mind."

Zhu Lin put his arm around Gong Xue's shoulder and said, "Maybe he can keep making things up. For example, he might say that he's looking for Zhu Lin because of work, but we're just ordinary friends. It's all Zhu Lin's wishful thinking. My heart is only for you, Xiao Xue! You little rascal, you're the best at lying. Why don't you give him a call and see?"

Gong Xue was amused by Zhu Lin, but still shook his head and said, "I won't hit him. He's the one who did something wrong. If anyone should be hit, it should be him."

Then the two women looked at the phone at home.

~
Wei Ming glanced at his phone, wondering whether to make the call or not, when suddenly a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in the living room.

The song that just finished being performed is "You'll Win If You Fight Hard." Several northerners who were hearing Hokkien songs for the first time immediately fell in love with it, feeling that the song had a particularly strong spirit of striving and progress.

The subsequent fundraising segment further surprised them. In the end, Robert Kuok won the song and even asked Zhang Mingmin to sing it again.

"Ming-ge, who is this boss surnamed Guo? How come he can spend 500 million so easily?" Mei Wenhua asked.

Wei Ming then introduced them to the experiences and businesses of this Malaysian Chinese: "He also invested in a Shangri-La Hotel in Hangzhou, which should be ready for occupancy in two years."

Having answered the question, Wei Ming looked out the window again. The sun was about to set, and he decided not to contact them for the time being.

Although he's lived a long time, this is his first time being a scumbag, so he has no experience.

Although he had many women around him in his previous life, they were either mutually beneficial transactions or a relay race. This was the first time he had ever been involved in a situation where he was juggling two women at the same time, and even coveting a small boat in Hong Kong. It was indeed a bit difficult for this kind and innocent old boy.

The problem lies with this era, which allowed him to encounter so many wonderful women at the same time, unlike in later generations where there was virtually no opportunity to give one's heart.

The next song, "The Great Wall Will Never Fall," once again lifted everyone's spirits, and several middle-aged and elderly people experienced the charm of Cantonese songs for the first time.

"It sounds so good, so incredibly good!"

"This song would definitely be a hit in mainland China!"

"Who are these three people? Are they a group?" Xiao Hong asked.

Biaozi said, "The one in the middle is the director. He directed 'Heroes Have Always Been Born Young.' I didn't know he was such a good singer!"

Wei Ming: "The person on the left is singer Ye Zhentang, and the person on the right is Liang Xiaolong, who played Huo Yuanjia's apprentice in the TV series 'Huo Yuanjia'. This song is the theme song of this series. I wrote the lyrics, and the music was written by Li Xiaotian, the fat guy in the host's group."

Old Wei asked, "This show must be great, it's just a pity we can't watch it."

Yes, no Hong Kong dramas have been imported to mainland China yet, and "Huo Yuanjia" is the first to do so, but we'll have to wait two years.

Then Wei Ming introduced the winning bidder, Mr. Huo, and his deeds.

As the song played one after another, people started to look at Wei Ming with a strange expression. These were all written by my son/my brother/my grandson/my nephew/my brother/my husband's brother!

The person most shocked was definitely Yanzi, who was the least familiar with Wei Ming. At this moment, she even understood why the two popular actresses, Zhu Lin and Gong Xue, were entangled with him. With such a man and such talent, which woman wouldn't be moved?

Although she wasn't particularly interested, listening to these songs made her feel some fetal movement, and the baby in her belly kept bouncing around.

However, when she heard Zhang Guorong's "Melinda" and learned that Melinda was Melinda herself, she felt sorry for Lin Jie. This man really couldn't forget his first love.

Luckily, I was Biaozi's first love.

Next up was "I Just Like You," and the 1000 million yuan donation shocked Long Xiaoyang so much that he started counting on his fingers: "How many tens of millions is it now?"

Wei Ming then explained the story behind the 1000 million again, which left everyone sighing with emotion.

Then, the two songs by Nat Chan and Anthony Chan were the low point of the entire concert, and everyone took the opportunity to go to the bathroom.

What they were most curious about was why the brothers Danny Chan and Nat Chan looked so different—one was so handsome, and the other was so unlucky.

Wei Ming: "Uh, actually they're not brothers at all. They have absolutely no relation whatsoever."

If we're talking about their relationship, then they're all friends of Tam Yung-Lin.

Everyone: "No wonder, no wonder."

Halfway through the concert, everyone finished their dinner while eating and watching. Wei Ming told his mother to continue watching while he tidied up the table.

Then Peter Chen took the stage, performing a rare Mandarin song, especially one on this theme. The audience erupted in cheers once again. When they learned he was a Taiwanese singer, they fell silent for a moment, thinking of the banned Teresa Teng and the taboos surrounding listening to Taiwanese songs.

But they quickly stopped caring; such a good song deserves applause.

The scene where Wei Lingling boldly spent 600 million yuan later surprised Lao Wei and Uncle Ping An, who knew her. They wondered if this little girl was so rich.

The two looked at Wei Ming with suspicion, and Wei Ming explained in a low voice, "It's my great-grandfather's money."

The two brothers exchanged a glance, seeing in each other's eyes an approval of this high-ranking enemy official. This old man is someone you can get along with! Towards the end of the concert, Sarah Brightman made a surprise appearance, and everyone realized that this was the song that Wei Ming had written for the British Crown Prince's wedding that had been circulating wildly recently. They couldn't understand the lyrics, but it was very beautiful!
Wei Hong understood it and recorded it so she could listen to it repeatedly later.

After Sarah finished singing a song, an unexpected incident occurred during the donation segment. Wei Ming was also pulled in and asked to "compose a poem in seven steps".

It's a pity Liu Zhenyun isn't here, otherwise he would definitely feel that this scene is familiar.

Now, friends and family are focused all their attention on the song Wei Ming composed on the spot, and they've even become numb to the fact that the two shipping magnates each received 1500 million.

Only the Hong Kong and Taiwan stars' version of "Tomorrow Will Be Better" slightly lifted their spirits, especially the schoolgirl who led the singing.

Xu Shufen also asked, "Who is this? He's really handsome and sings very well."

Lele, who was also a lead singer, hurriedly asked, "Auntie, did she sing better or did I sing better?"

Xu Shufen quickly smiled and said, "I prefer Lele's singing; I can't understand Cantonese."

Zhou Huimin: Mom, I can learn Mandarin too.

Wei Ming explained, "This is my pen pal, Amin. She has helped me a lot, so I let her lead the singing."

"It turns out it's her!"

Everyone knows this name, but this is the first time I've seen her in person, and she's unexpectedly beautiful.

Wei Hong asked incredulously, "Brother, didn't you say she wasn't even as old as me?"

Wei Ming: "Yeah, he's a year younger than you."

Look at her, even though she's wearing a school uniform, she has long legs and a curvy figure. Wei Hong looked down at herself and realized for the first time that looking young wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Finally, Wei Ming's rendition of "Pearl of the Orient" not only amazed the audience but also delighted his friends and family.

"So how much was raised in total?" Old Wei asked.

Wei Ming: "Approximately HK$1.5 million."

"hiss!"

It was getting late. Everyone had come in high spirits and was leaving in high spirits, their minds filled with all sorts of imaginings about how much 1.5 million yuan would amount to.

Wei Ming took out the two comics and handed them to Aunt Xiaoyan, then took them downstairs.

That night, Wei Ming had trouble falling asleep, while his two older sisters slept soundly in each other's arms.

The next day, Wei Ming needed to report back to Liao Gong, so he naturally postponed his meeting with his sisters.

"Little Wei, you're amazing!" Liao Gong stood up and shook hands with him, praising Wei Ming profusely.

Wei Ming used the same self-deprecating words: "Without the country behind me, I couldn't have accomplished these things."

"You don't need to be modest. We've all seen your contributions. I've watched the videotape of the concert twice already. It was fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! You wrote so many excellent songs to raise funds. It must have taken a lot of effort."

"That's true, I feel like throwing up just looking at sheet music now." Wei Ming has indeed been writing songs at an excessive pace lately.

Liao Gong laughed heartily, then took out a finely crafted scroll: "Here, this is your reward."

Wei Ming accepted it with delight.

"open to take a look."

Wei Ming hummed in agreement: "To receive a piece of calligraphy from Master Liao is truly..."

He had already opened it and saw the signature. Ah, it was him!

Liao Gong laughed even more heartily, but Wei Ming, in his delight, did not forget to ask Liao Gong for a piece of calligraphy as well.

"You, you."

Liao Gong saw Wei Ming's cunning in treating everyone equally, but he didn't refuse: "I'll have my secretary send it to you once I've finished writing it."

"Okay, then I won't bother you any longer."

Liao Gong was a high-ranking leader who oversaw several matters. Wei Ming had been chatting with him for quite a while, so he took the initiative to say goodbye.

Liao reminded him, "Don't forget to watch tonight's news broadcast."

Wei Ming was taken aback, then solemnly hummed in agreement.

After leaving, Wei Ming went to the Friendship Store and bought a new safe, as the secondhand one he had was no longer sufficient.

As we acquire more and more valuable assets, our need for security also increases daily.

After returning home, Wei Ming put his things in the new safe. Seeing that his grandmother wasn't home either, he quickly started writing his novel.

Writing novels allows me to forget my temporary troubles, but those peaceful days may be numbered.

When everyone in the family returned home in the evening, Wei Ming turned on the TV and casually said, "Let's watch the news."

~
Zhu Lin, who was leaving tomorrow, looked at his phone at Tuanjiehu.

"This kid is faking his death, isn't he?"

They waited for a whole day and night but didn't receive a call from Wei Ming.

"Maybe he doesn't know how to face it; after all, he's still a child."

"He's still a child. He's never let you call him 'brother,' has he?" Zhu Lin said angrily.

"What do you mean there isn't? There are even worse things," Gong Xue said. "Alright, alright, at worst we'll just ignore him from now on and let him go on his own. Isn't that what you said?"

Zhu Lin pursed her lips. That's what she said, but how could she bear to part with him? Every corner of their bodies bore his mark. This kind of intimacy, which had almost merged their souls into one, was not something that could be easily severed.

Gong Xue then turned on the TV: "Let's check the weather forecast later. I wonder what the weather is like in Northeast China now."

Zhu Lin: "Anyway, I brought a down jacket, just in case."

Filming for "Du Shiniang" might continue until the end of the year. If "Middle Age" is also filmed in Northeast China, then they might not be able to return until after the Spring Festival.

They turned on the TV and heard that familiar name—Comrade Wei Ming, a famous Chinese writer, poet, and musician.

~
Although Liu Zhenyun's family is from the countryside, he is a talented student from Peking University. During the summer vacation, he found a part-time job writing articles for the county. He has been living in the county recently, and as a result, he is able to enjoy modern life, using electric lights and watching TV.

He lived with several unmarried civil servants from the county, and they would watch the news broadcast and chat about national affairs.

Just as Liu Zhenyun was about to launch into a lengthy discussion about Sino-US relations after the news of the retired Carter couple's visit to China came to a head, a new news item made him stand up abruptly.

He pointed to the name being read on TV, his voice trembling with excitement: "This, this is my good brother! He, he's on TV!"

Of the more than 12 million television sets in the country, about 90% are now broadcasting the evening news. On average, each television set is surrounded by five or six people, making it a powerful propaganda platform that can instantly influence tens of millions of people.

Tonight, tens of millions of people will simultaneously receive a shocking news story.

Writer Wei Mingyuan traveled to Hong Kong to raise funds for the disaster-stricken areas of Sichuan. With his global reputation and creative talent, he attracted more than a dozen top musicians from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and even European and American superstars, to hold a charity concert called "Tomorrow Will Be Better, Global Chinese Hearts Connected" and successfully raised HK$1.5 million for Sichuan!
Besides Zhao Zhongxiang's very magnetic narration, there were also images, all taken from the concert recording. Zhang Mingmin singing "You'll Only Win If You Fight," the trio singing "The Great Wall Will Never Fall," Sarah Brightman singing an English song, and Wei Ming singing "Pearl of the Orient" were given the most screen time, especially Wei Ming, who was given many close-ups.

It's just that the TV resolution isn't high now, and most of them are black and white TVs, otherwise Wei Ming probably wouldn't be able to go out tomorrow.

Actually, it didn't have to be tomorrow; the Wu couple next door came knocking on the door very soon.

"Xiao Wei, so you disappeared for so long because you were doing something so big!"

Old Wu immediately decided to let Wei Ming go to his house and let him choose whichever painting he liked.

After that, other neighbors in the building came to inquire, and the Wei family became quite lively for a time.

This is probably the neighborhood with the highest TV coverage in Yanjing City. Everyone here has overseas connections, and every household has a TV. Anyone who has watched the news broadcast is curious about Wei Ming, who raised 150 million yuan.

Normally, only a few close neighbors had a good relationship with the Wei family, but now they all want to get closer to Wei Ming.

A mainland writer who can attract so many singers and tycoons in a place like Hong Kong, this person is definitely not simple!

Gong Xue and Zhu Lin only knew that their little man had flown even higher.

Is it because his achievements are too great, and his standards have risen, that he's lost interest in those two older women? Does he feel they're dispensable, so he doesn't even make a phone call or come to visit?
Both women were somewhat saddened and turned off the TV without even checking the weather forecast.

The two slept back to back that night, but they could both sense that the other was probably secretly wiping away tears.

It rained the next day, and quite heavily. Zhu Lin had no idea that this was the consequence of not checking the weather forecast.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do? I have to catch my train!" Zhu Lin panicked; her luggage was still at her parents' house.

Gong Xue: "How about we contact Xiao Wei?"

"No, that's too spineless." After saying that, she put on her raincoat and was about to go downstairs to ride her bicycle, saying with great pride, "I'm going back to my house to get my luggage first."

However, Gong Xue saw that Zhu Lin could hardly move after riding out of the community and could only shiver in the rain under the bus stop sign.

In this situation, Gong Xue could no longer care about anything else.

She immediately dialed the number for the Overseas Chinese Apartments.

~
Old Wei just came back from outside, carrying a large handful of dry newspapers in his arms.

"Son, you've not only been on TV, you've been in the newspapers! Look, these are all of them!"

Once it was confirmed that Wei Ming had not stayed in Hong Kong but had resolutely returned to Beijing, the state propaganda machine immediately sprang into action, launching a comprehensive campaign to publicize Wei Ming's deeds.

Not enough television coverage? No problem, there are still newspapers!

……

(Today's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)