Exciting 1979!

Chapter 337 PC and Chicken
Seeing that Wei Ming was interested in the items on the table, Li Aiguo said, "My dad bought this for me as a reward for my successful collaboration with you this time. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a computer; it's actually not expensive. This set is less than two thousand dollars."

The white machine on the table at this time is called IBM 5150, also known as "IBM PC 5150".

PC, personal computer, the term became popular starting with this computer, and from then on, mankind truly entered the era of personal computers.

The monitor, the host, the keyboard—they're practically indistinguishable from modern personal computers.

Previously, companies such as IBM and Apple had also launched so-called personal computers, but the IBM 5150 was epoch-making in terms of both size and price.

IBM originally projected to sell 20 units over five years, but ended up selling 24 units in just one year.

In addition, its open architecture and software and hardware ecosystem gave rise to the compatible machine industry, which directly promoted the popularization of PCs, and only then did PCs truly enter thousands of households.

Along with the IBM PC, Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system also entered the market, marking Microsoft's official entry into the operating system business and its formal takeoff.

However, personal computers at that time were not very user-friendly, with very few applications available. Microsoft hadn't even developed Word and Excel yet.

"So why did your dad buy such a huge thing and bring it all the way to China?" Wei Ming asked curiously.

“My dad said that once computers become small enough to enter every household, the world’s trends will definitely revolve around them, and he told me that I must learn computers well, just like learning a foreign language is important,” Li Aiguo said.

Wei Ming nodded: "Your dad and I are thinking the same thing."

Li Aiguo then invited Wei Ming to operate this antique machine in Wei Ming's eyes. This PC was relatively unfamiliar to Wei Ming. He played with computers in the mid-to-late 90s and used Lenovo assembled machines.

Wow, this keyboard is quite heavy. Wei Ming weighed it in his hand and estimated it to be about five pounds, the weight of a future laptop.

The mouse had been invented long ago, but it wasn't available here. At this time, the mouse was just beginning to be commercially available, and it was Apple that popularized it.

Since Microsoft hasn't released Word and Excel yet, this PC is currently using the spreadsheet software Visicale and the text input software Easywriter. Wei Ming mainly tried out the typing function.

Not only can it create new documents, but it can also edit and print them. If you're writing an English novel, it's much more convenient than using pen and paper.

Wei Ming couldn't help but feel a little tempted.

Then he went downstairs and borrowed the security guard's phone to make a call to the production management office.

"Uncle, you're at work? That's great! Could you come to the new building in Shaoyuan? I have something good to show you."

While waiting for Wei Ping'an, Li Aiguo showed Wei Ming the reports he had brought about Mr. Why. Wei Ming saw that Elton John from the UK, former Beatles member Paul McKentney, and Michael Jackson from the US all spoke highly of him.

Li Aiguo couldn't help but wonder when Wei Ming planned to write his third song.

“I heard from my dad that MCA values ​​its partnership with you.”

Wei Ming pointed to his head: "The melody here has been emptied out by that charity gala. I'd rather write a novel now."

However, after finishing "In the Heat of the Sun," Wei Ming once again fell into confusion about choosing a topic. He decided to fill the gap left by the "Jurassic" trilogy first.

As Wei Ming chatted with Li Aiguo, several more international students who had returned to school early came over, both male and female.

Just as Wei Ming was switching between English and Chinese to talk to the international students, Wei Ping'an came over.

Wei Ming immediately showed him the IBM 5150.

"Is this a computer?"

"Yes, a personal computer, the new IBM model that was just released this month. Li Aiguo bought one and brought it over."

Wei Ping'an immediately sat down and began typing on the keyboard, quite familiarly.

Last year, the Department of Computer Science and Technology enrolled a short-term software training program. After starting Founder Group with Professor Wang Xuan, Uncle Ping An became a transfer student in this program, frantically absorbing computer-related knowledge. Now, he might even be more knowledgeable than Wei Ming.

"This is so convenient! How much does it cost?"

Li Aiguo said, "The price excluding the graphics card and monochrome monitor is $1565."

Several international students from impoverished countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America immediately moved away from the computer upon hearing the price. This was simply outrageous! They couldn't afford to pay for it!
However, Wei Ping'an said, "It's not expensive."

He had previously encountered some so-called personal computers, which were much more expensive than this.

After leaving Shaoyuan, Wei Ping'an asked his nephew, "Do you want the school to purchase a batch of these computers to strengthen the computer science department?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "What I'm thinking is, could Founder make this kind of PC themselves? The market in this area should have great potential."

"Huh, we're going to make it ourselves? This thing must be very high-tech, right?" Wei Ping'an instinctively thought it would be very difficult.

"It certainly has technological content, but it's not as unattainable as you think. And it will definitely have to go through the assembly process at first, which will test the level of craftsmanship."

Lenovo started selling PCs in 89, but before Lenovo there was a Great Wall brand computer, which developed China's first microcomputer, the Great Wall 0520CH, in 85.

Therefore, based on Wei Ming's understanding of the future, he made this suggestion to Uncle Ping An, but ultimately it still needs to be decided by the entire leadership team. He did not say with certainty that it would definitely make money.

This is because the investment required is enormous, and even a university-affiliated institution like Peking University Founder Group might not have the courage to make such an investment.

Secondly, even if it is successfully developed, whether the company will ultimately succeed is another matter entirely.

Great Wall and Lenovo both developed their own computers. However, despite its strong background, Great Wall ultimately went bankrupt and lost money, while Lenovo became almost synonymous with national enterprises in the early 21st century and eventually acquired IBM's PC division.

Regardless of Liu's character, this brand has a strong market presence for a long time, and even in 2025, it will still be the number one domestic computer brand.

Therefore, starting early does not guarantee that you will have the last laugh.

The suggestion has been given. Wei Ming even mentioned an American Chinese named Wang An, who is also the future richest Chinese person in the world. Wang An computers were once very popular in the United States.

Although he failed to keep up with the new trend by refusing to develop such products when IBM was vigorously developing personal computers due to strategic mistakes, Wang Laboratories still had a good accumulation of technology. If Founder wants to make PCs, it can try to get in touch with them.

Of course, Mr. Ni Guangnan is also an indispensable key figure. The company's success is due to him, but he is currently a visiting researcher abroad, so we can leave that aside for now.

Seeing the IBM 5150 today, Wei Ming felt a sense that a new era was about to begin.

So when he got home, he opened his manuscript paper and wrote a new story for "Black Cat Detective," intending to continue popularizing the concepts of computers and the Internet in it.

The enormous potential of the computer market owes much to the internet, and its widespread adoption made computers a necessity for young people before the era of smartphones.

However, the internet in the strict sense has not yet been born, so Wei Ming's behavior can be considered a science fiction prophecy. But then again, many people treat "Black Cat Detective" as a science fiction novel.

For example, Ma Huateng, a 10-year-old boy from Hainan, longs for the starry sky and loves science. The "Black Cat Detective" series has taught him a lot of novel animal knowledge.

As for his parents saying that Wei something is Wei Ming, and that he even raised HK$1.5 million for the Sichuan disaster area, that's something he can't understand.

On this day, the August issue of "Children's Literature," which Xiaohua Teng had been waiting for, finally arrived by mail.

Open the table of contents, and the most eye-catching items in the fairy tale section are Wei's "Black Cat Detective" and Zheng Yuanjie's "Magic Cube Building".

He bought the Rubik's Cube on his desk after watching the movie "The Rubik's Cube Building".

Let's look at "Black Cat Detective" first. The title of this chapter is quite interesting: "The Egg-Laying Hen".

The story is about a rooster who lost his egg. He went to the forest police station to report it, but his testimony was problematic. He said that he laid the egg himself and that it was very important to him. However, the new police officer at the station, Judy the rabbit from Rabbit Village, suspected that the rooster had stolen the egg and was crying wolf.

Little Vine grinned. How could a rooster lay eggs? It must have stolen them.

But the rooster refused to explain why it, a rooster, could lay eggs, so the person who reported the incident was temporarily detained and became a suspect.

Later, it was Chief Black Cat who took action. He visited his informant, Nick the Red Fox, who had served time in prison but had now reformed and was resourceful.

Nick, drawing on his years of experience playing PUBG, revealed a secret about the chicken coop to the sheriff.

So it turns out that hens can turn into roosters!

When there are no roosters in a flock of chickens, the eggs laid by the hens cannot be fertilized and therefore cannot hatch into chicks.

For the survival of the colony, a hen needs to bravely step forward and transform herself into a rooster by regulating her hormones, thus ensuring the continuation of the colony.

This is what Wei mentioned in "Jurassic Park": "Life will find its own way."

The rooster that alerted the police was actually a hen, and the egg it laid was the last egg it laid during its henhood, making it very meaningful.

So when the eggs were lost, she was very anxious, but ashamed to mention her past as a hen. After all, what would her chicks think of her if they found out? Calling her "Dad" was inappropriate, calling her "Mom" was wrong, and calling her "Auntie" was even more awkward...

In short, after the truth came out, Officer Judy the Rabbit apologized to Sister Rooster, and Chief Inspector Black Cat, after careful investigation, determined that the egg was most likely stolen by One-Ear.

One-Ear hasn't appeared in two issues, and the young readers miss it quite a bit.

It turned out to be a dried-up ear, and just as Black Cat Sheriff found its hiding place and was about to capture this stubborn villain who had appeared in more than ten episodes, snap! The story came to an abrupt end!
Ma Huateng turned to the last page of the story with lingering interest, but the familiar "To be continued" did not appear.

At the end of the story, there is a letter written by "Brother Wei" to the children.

He told the readers and children that because "Black Cat Detective" had been serialized in "Children's Literature" for a year and a half, in order to allow more excellent fairy tales to be displayed here, starting in September, the Detective's story would no longer be published in "Children's Literature".

"But don't worry, everyone. We've moved to a new place. Just subscribe to the newly launched 'King of Fairy Tales' magazine to see the sequel to 'Black Cat Detective,' as well as a new fairy tale by Brother Wei. 'King of Fairy Tales' is a magazine that specializes in serializing medium-length and long children's stories. Welcome to subscribe!"

The magazine also included postal subscription information, and Zheng Yuanjie's moving notice was also included at the end of "The Magic Cube Building." Upon discovering that there was even a new work by Wei something, Xiao Huateng immediately begged her mother to subscribe to the magazine.

"Are you still subscribing to children's literature?" Mom asked.

At this time, many children across the country will definitely face this difficult choice. The most attractive thing about this magazine for them is "Black Cat Detective". It is impossible to say that other works are not attractive at all, but none of them are as interesting as "Black Cat Detective" and can make children so attached to it.

But a magazine costs 25 cents, and if you buy it every month, it'll cost 3 dollars a year, which is definitely worth considering.

Ever since Wei Ming gifted them a novel with his autograph, Dongzi's parents in Suqian have been spending 25 cents a month to subscribe to "Children's Literature" for their son and daughter to immerse them in literature.

However, after reading Wei's letter to the children, they decisively canceled their subscription to "Children's Literature" and started subscribing to "King of Fairy Tales" instead.

The story of "The Egg-Laying Rooster" is based on Wei Ming's real experience in the countryside. It was Old Wei who told him the principle. After watching "Black Cat Detective: The Egg-Laying Rooster," hundreds of thousands of children across the country begged their parents to take them to the countryside to see the chickens and see if it was really that magical.

But one reader was different from the others. He was a young man of Korean ethnicity, a dancer named Jin Xing. At 14 years old, he was also a reader of "Children's Literature".

However, the first question that came to his mind after reading the story was: Can a rooster turn into a hen?
Three days later, Wei Ming finished a new story, "Black Cat Detective," and went directly to the office of "King of Fairy Tales" to submit it.

It was next to Children's Literature, but the room was much smaller, just a small office of about 20 square meters. In addition to Lü Xiaoyan and Zheng Yuanjie, there were three other editors, but no dedicated graphic designer.

Here, Wei Ming saw the layout of "King of Fairy Tales". It had slightly fewer pages than "Children's Literature", but the comics were very eye-catching. Aunt Xiaoyan finally decided to publish "If History Were a Group of Cats".

She also told Wei Ming, "We've decided to release it on September 10th, which is about two weeks away."

Coincidentally, "October" will also be released on the 10th of next month. Wei Ming and Wei something will release new works on the same day.

Wei Ming asked, "Has the initial print run been determined?"

"Not yet, we've been waiting for the post office's subscription news, but I think 10 shouldn't be a problem. I went to a primary school yesterday to do a survey, and half of the 'Children's Literature' users said they were going to subscribe to 'King of Fairy Tales' for 'Black Cat Detective' and 'Magic Cube Building,' and half of those have already taken action."

Lü Xiaoyan is very optimistic about sales; as long as she keeps writing "Black Cat Detective," she won't have to worry about a lack of readers.

Wei Ming: "Actually, there is another piece of good news. Shanghai Animation Film Studio wrote to me saying that the first episode of 'Black Cat Detective' has been completed and will be officially broadcast in early September."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Xizi and Lele have been talking about this for ages!"

Xizi simply loves cats, while Lele is the singer of the theme song for "Black Cat Detective," the one with the catchy "Ahhh, Black Cat Detective."

It was already late when Wei Ming left the editorial office, so he went straight back to Tuanjiehu.

Sister Xue is busy in the kitchen right now, wearing an apron and looking every bit the virtuous wife and loving mother. There's also a paused videotape of "A Touch of Zen" playing on the TV in the living room.

Wei Ming hugged her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder and acting coquettishly.

Gong Xue twisted her body: "Stop fooling around, there's a letter from Sister Lin on the coffee table, go take a look."

Did you see it?

"I won't read anything written for you."

Wei Ming slapped his butt, took the letter, glanced at it in front of Gong Xue to make sure there was nothing wrong, and then began to read it aloud.

"Handsome man, it's like seeing you in person..."

Gong Xue immediately glanced at the letter and thought, "What a handsome guy, he's clearly a 'bad boy'."

The letter mainly informed the audience that filming for "Du Shiniang" had begun, and included a photo of her in costume.

Zhu Lin also mentioned Gong Xue.

"Xiaoxue should still be at Tuanjiehu, right? You two better take it easy and make sure to use safety measures. Of course, if it's a safe period, it's okay not to use measures. I'm a medical student, so listen to me."

Gong Xue went to read the letter again. What a naughty boy! There was no second half at all. However, Sister Lin's advice was very necessary. They had indeed been somewhat unrestrained lately, day and night.

But in fact, both of them looked better, especially Gong Xue, who looked even more delicate, as if she were only in her early twenties.

After the meal, the inevitable work and chores will follow.

However, just as the two finished using their supernatural powers, the phone rang.

"It's so late~" Wei Ming muttered to himself as he answered the phone, then quickly put it down and got dressed. "Biaozi called, Yanzi is about to give birth, I have to go over there to check on her."

Gong Xue quickly stood up: "I'll go too."

Wei Ming nodded and looked out the window: "They seem to have come down."

Not only was Zhao Debiao, the main person in charge, present for this swallow's birth, but Wei Ming and Mei Wenhua also showed up without hesitation, with Gong Xue accompanying Wei Ming.

When Yanzi saw this, she exclaimed, "Holy crap, they're living together!"
She got so excited that her pants got wet and her water broke!

Biaozi prepared a sidecar motorcycle in advance for this day, one of those motorcycles with a sidecar, so that Yanzi would be more secure sitting in the sidecar.

Yunyun, heavily pregnant, watched the three motorcycles leave; in two months it would be her turn.

Half an hour after arriving at the hospital, Huang Qiuyan looked at the wrinkled baby and said with a relaxed expression, "This is it, it's not that difficult."

Biaozi was already in tears: "You shouted so loudly just now, I was scared to death!"

"Alright, go look at your daughter."

Biaozi glanced at her, then glanced at her again: "Wait, why does she look like this... this..."

“Just say it’s ugly,” Huang Qiuyan said, dissatisfied. “It’s just like you.”

"Is there any way to fix this?"

"Let her look at more beautiful women, maybe it will have an effect. You can ask Comrade Gong Xue to hug her," Huang Qiuyan suggested.

"That can."

When Biaozi brought the baby out, Gong Xue, the only woman present, naturally took the swaddled baby. She had held the children of her older sister and brother before, so she wasn't a novice.

Wei Ming asked, "Biaozi, have you chosen a name for the child?"

Biaozi: "I've decided. I'll name my son Zhao Zilong and my daughter Zhao Zifeng."

Mei Wenhua teased the child, "Hehehe, Little Phoenix, Little Phoenix."

Biaozi said, "We have a nickname, Jiu'er."

Wei Ming asked, puzzled, "How did Jiu'er get here?"

Biaozi chuckled and scratched the back of his head, saying, "Because she was conceived in Jiuzhaigou, that's why she's called Jiu'er."

Well, that makes sense.

A short while later, Yanzi was wheeled out. Seeing her daughter being gently held by Gong Xue, radiating maternal warmth, even this Zhu Lin supporter felt a bit tempted to switch sides.

Next, Biao's mother and Yan's mother arrived, and Wei Ming and the others could leave.

As Wei Ming slept, he held Gong Xue in his arms, while Gong Xue was still savoring the wonderful feeling of holding that little life.

It would be even more amazing if it were born naturally.

The next day, Wei Ming went back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment for lunch and happened to run into the postman, who had some international mail for him.

This time, he came from Japan. Masashi Sada wrote to say that he had completed the Japanese lyrics for the song "First Love". He also congratulated Wei Ming on completing a very successful charity concert.

The impact of this event has even reached Japan. After seeing it, Masashi Sada couldn't wait for the song recording to be completed and wrote this letter to Wei Ming to express his admiration.

Just then, Wei Ming prepared to reply to him, saying that some of the songs he wrote at the concert could be sold to the Japanese music scene to generate revenue, and keeping them would be a waste.

The next day, Wei Ming received another express delivery from Hong Kong. It was a large package of "Tomorrow Will Be Better: Global Chinese Hearts Connected" concert albums sent by Amin. Because one cassette tape was not enough, two cassette tapes were used to record the entire album.

She also told Wei Ming that the newspaper poll results showed that "Tomorrow Will Be Better" was the most unforgettable song for Hong Kong residents that night.

Amin is so thoughtful, she sent more than a dozen sets of cassette tapes, which Wei Ming can use to give away. Xue Jie and Lin Jie will also receive some, and Biao Zi and Xiao Mei will also get some. Xiao Hong is about to start school, so she can take them to school to show off.

Before this thing was even sent to Beijing, in Shenzhen, small fishing boats loaded with these cassette tapes had already entered the mainland by sea and were then sold to local Cantonese people at a high price of 10 yuan per tape and 18 yuan per set.

Even so, the supply can't meet the demand; some people buy them and immediately resell them at a higher price.

Among these, the songs most familiar to people from Guangdong are "Tomorrow Will Be Better" and "The Great Wall Will Never Fall".

The former was because there was a mainland version, while the latter was because the RTV channel they were secretly watching was airing the popular series "Huo Yuanjia".

This drama was a huge hit in Hong Kong and in nearby towns like Sham, and TVB's "Flying Eagle" was no match for it.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a comic magazine called "Madman Comics" began appearing in newsstands and bookstores near schools, utilizing the channels previously used by "Good News".
(I finally finished writing yesterday, as a backup plan!)

(End of this chapter)