Exciting 1979!

Chapter 345 Daddy will take you to eat and drink well
"He found the steel egg?!" Wei Ming was overjoyed.

Party Secretary Wangcai laughed and said, "As soon as Jiefang came back, he asked us if we had seen that panda cub."

An older woman said, "I saw it, during the flood!"

The aunt's son said, "Back then, we were short of food and drink, we were almost lacking..."

The aunt's husband glared at his son, saying, "You're so blind! You dare to say anything in front of the boss!"
At this moment, my aunt came out and said, "He went to the mountains to look for it yesterday after liberation. It's amazing that he actually found it. Today he brought good food and drinks to the back mountain again."

"It's getting dark, I should be back by now," Wei Ming muttered. "Uncle, please take good care of Officer Chen for me, I'm going to check on the back mountain."

Uncle immediately said, "Xiaoming, let your brother go with you; he knows where it is."

Party Secretary Wangcai hurriedly said, "Xiao Wei, come back early. There are many movies being shown in the village today."

Long Xiaoyang added with a smile, "They're playing 'Joyful Reunion'."

This biggest hit of the first half of the year is finally starting to gain traction in rural Sichuan. Because of Sister Lin, Wei Ming can watch it over and over again without getting tired of it. This deserves our support.

Xu Shufen was also eager to see her daughter-in-law. She had only seen her a few times a day and could only enjoy her by watching movies. She said to her son, "If you can't make it back in time, we won't wait for you."

Wangcai hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, let's watch it together when we get back."

~
Upon arriving at the back of the mountain, Long Xiaoyang asked, "Brother, are you going to be in the newspaper again?"

Wei Ming: "They can even be on TV, Sichuan TV."

Long Xiaoyang: "Oh dear, that's a pity, there's no TV in the village."

Yes, there's no electricity in the village, so they have to use a diesel generator to show movies.

"Brother, try this." They came across a wild fruit vine on the road, and Long Xiaoyang picked a soft one for Wei Ming.

Wei Ming held a mini kiwi, peeled it, and took a big bite. It was slightly sweet and sour, but the taste was indeed not as good as the improved varieties from New Zealand.

Long Xiaoyang asked how it was, and Wei Ming said, "Two more."

He has been reborn for more than two years, and he only encountered kiwifruit once last year at the Friendship Store. It was beautifully packaged and claimed to be a national treasure-level fruit imported from New Zealand, costing nearly two yuan each.

Wei Ming was really craving it, so he bought ten yuan's worth and shared it with his family and loved ones.

At the time, Lao Wei and Xiao Hong both thought this thing was delicious, but too expensive. Only Lao Mu recognized it at a glance, saying, "It looks a bit like the pears from our hometown."

Long Xiaoyang said, "These are called hairy pears. The supply and marketing cooperative still buys them. They can be eaten and used in medicine. They cost five cents a pound. These are the pears that slipped through the net."

Five cents a pound, two yuan each. Wei Ming felt a pang of bitterness when he heard this, and then he told his cousin a story.

"At the beginning of this century, during the Qing Dynasty, a foreign woman from New Zealand brought a batch of seeds from Hubei. These were seeds of the pear tree, which are called kiwifruit in some places. They are recorded in ancient books."

"A macaque? Hey, it really does look quite like one!" Long Xiaoyang chimed in, playing the straight man.

Wei Ming: "Later, New Zealanders cultivated a better variety on their own land. It was bigger and sweeter, and named it kiwifruit after a bird in New Zealand. Later, this fruit became a global bestseller and a rare and expensive fruit. If you stay in Yanjing for two more days, you can probably see this fruit in the Friendship Store. It costs almost two yuan a piece."

"How much!" Long Xiaoyang exclaimed in surprise.

"You heard me right, two yuan, I can't bear to buy more than that," Wei Ming said. Moreover, in the future, Long Xiaoyang's orchard mainly grows kiwifruit, and he only earns a meager living.

Because New Zealand holds a monopoly on many patents related to kiwifruit, Chinese fruit farmers have to buy seeds from them at high prices. Meanwhile, many kiwifruit varieties cultivated in China that are similar to their varieties are subjected to the iron fist of patents, which is extremely disgusting.

Seeing Long Xiaoyang's eyes darting around, Wei Ming patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think about it. Making feed is also a promising business. More and more farmers will be involved in animal husbandry in the future. But if you want to grow crops, you only have a few acres."

Long Xiaoyang thought about it and agreed, so the two continued on their way.

Soon, in a bamboo forest, Wei Ming saw Old Wei and Gangdan lying together.

After a year and a half, Gangdan has grown into a half-giant panda. Is he still growing? How come he's even growing taller?

It was quite alert. When it noticed someone coming, it immediately got up and hid in the bamboo forest. Old Wei also quickly stood up. You could see that there were bones left over from the panda's meal on the ground.

"Steel Egg, don't be afraid, we're on the same side."

With Lao Wei's reassurance, the giant panda finally came out from behind, holding a lamb rib with hardly any meat left.

"How did you get so thin?" Wei Ming was a little surprised to see Gangdan standing in front of him; he didn't even look like a panda anymore.

Old Wei stroked the panda's head and sighed, "It's not just people who suffer from the floods; animals also suffer, especially little bears like this that lack life skills. When I found it, it was like this, looking malnourished and not affectionate at all. It took a whole day for it to remember me."

Long Xiaoyang asked, "Where's its mother?"

Old Wei said, "I guess it's either dead or it was abandoned. An animal's maternal instinct has a time limit."

Old Wei really knows animals. Wild panda mothers usually let their cubs leave them to live independently when they are about one and a half years old. Hopefully, she just abandoned her son and didn't kill him.

Steel Egg is now at least two years old, which is considered a juvenile bear. It will probably be five or six years old before it is considered a full adult and can reproduce.

Under Lao Wei's combination of deception and trickery, Wei Ming touched a giant panda again. Its fur was stiffer and rougher than when he was a child.

"Grow fat quickly," Wei Ming said to it. "What kind of panda is it if it's not round and chubby?"

Old Wei narrowed his eyes and said to Long Xiaoyang, "Xiaoyang, go back and tell your second aunt that we'll be there soon."

"Huh? Oh."

Long Xiaoyang left first, and Lao Wei said to his son, "Didn't that Director Qi say he wanted to send giant pandas to Hong Kong? What do you think about sending Gangdan?"

"what?"

Old Wei: "Yeah, going to Hong Kong to eat and drink well should be better than going hungry here, but maybe it's not as free."

However, pandas are not a species that craves freedom; they prefer to lie down in a comfortable place for the rest of their lives.

Wei Ming lowered his head and pondered. Staying in the mountains was indeed not a good choice, because in two years, the wild giant pandas in Sichuan would face another crisis. When the bamboo flowers and dies, the wild food supply would be greatly reduced, and many giant pandas would starve to death.

In his previous life, Wei Ming was also anxious when he saw the news, but unfortunately he was short of money and could not participate in the donation.

Moreover, Hong Kong really values ​​giant pandas and treats them very well. Wild giant pandas generally live to be 18-20 years old, while captive pandas can live to be over 30 years old.

Jiajia, the giant panda sent to Hong Kong, lived to be 38 years old, making her the longest-lived captive giant panda. In the end, she was allowed to be euthanized despite suffering from various illnesses.

Wei Ming thought for a moment: "Dad, you want to go to Hong Kong with me, right?"

Old Wei laughed and said, "Killing two birds with one stone, what do you say?"

When giant pandas go to Hong Kong, they definitely need a team of keepers to accompany them. Lao Wei is an expert at raising animals and is close to Gangdan. With Wei Ming's recommendation, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get a spot.

"If you go to Hong Kong and can't come back in a short time, what will happen to my mother?"

Old Wei was also reluctant to part with his wife: "Can't we let her come with us? She cooks so well, she'll definitely love bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork and eggs."

Wei Ming: "..."

He thought for a moment and said, "I should go back first, or my mother will make me bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork."

Old Wei was reluctant to part with Gangdan, and told it to hide it well: "Daddy will come to see you again tomorrow."

Steel Egg let out two howls.

"I know, I know, I brought you something delicious."

They really need to be hidden well. These days, unless wild giant pandas encounter special circumstances like bamboo flowering or major floods, the possibility of them being poached in accidental deaths is very high.

After all, the law is not perfect, and money can be a powerful motivator.

After returning, it was just in time for dinner. It was kind of Chen to pick him up and drop him off. Today, the Party Secretary accompanied him to dinner, and the brigade headquarters also prepared a place for him to sleep. He can also watch a movie later.

Speaking of "Joyful Reunion," he was quite excited: "I bet my fellow villagers haven't seen it yet. I've seen it more than once in Yanjing. It's so well made, and the female lead, Zhu Lin, is so beautiful. Anyone who can marry a wife like that is truly blessed!"

Wei Ming, Lao Wei, Xu Shufen, and Long Xiaoyang lowered their heads and ate their rice, thinking to themselves that their ancestors must have been blessed with good fortune.

Hearing him say that, Secretary Wangcai and his uncle were quite excited. When they arrived at the open space of the brigade headquarters, many villagers and even people from the surrounding villages came, numbering several hundred.

However, thanks to Wei Ming's status and Secretary Wangcai's authority, they still managed to occupy the best viewing area.

The projectionist, also surnamed Xu, shook hands with Wei Ming before the screening: "If we had known you were coming, we would have shown 'Heroes Have Always Been Born Young'!"

The films "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" and "Joyful Reunion" are likely to compete for this year's highest box office.

Wei Ming asked Master Xu, "Has anyone released animals in this village before?"

"No, they haven't let this commune go yet, but we've already got the copy."

Wei Ming said, "Then could we release it again tomorrow? I'll pay for it."

Showing movies in rural areas also costs money, but most of the time the village collective or commune pays for it. There are also paid screenings where the best viewing area is marked out, seats are set up, and a fee of five cents or ten cents is charged, while other seats are left to the public.

Originally, we were going to show a movie in another village in this commune tomorrow, but Teacher Wei Ming spoke up, and it was a film he had written. The projectionist agreed without hesitation, and the village secretary, Wang Cai, announced the good news to the villagers.

So even before the movie started, the villagers were already excited and applauded enthusiastically, and the laughter continued as soon as the movie began.

Even if they are not very familiar with Mandarin, and even if many people cannot understand the subtitles, they are not unfamiliar with these stories of rural life and everyday family matters; everyone understands them.

Sometimes, when the scenes involve unfilial children and grandchildren, the villagers would all look in one direction, making each other blush. And with Zhu Lin's good looks, many people's eyes would be glued to her whenever she was on screen.

Old Wei and his wife were extremely proud; their daughter-in-law was truly presentable and made them very proud.

In the original timeline, "Joyful Reunion" was a blockbuster of the year and a masterpiece of its time, but the actors did not benefit much. However, in this life, Zhu Lin rose to become a rising star in the film industry with just one movie. It can only be said that everyone has their own destiny, and sometimes being good-looking really does matter.

Even though "Regret for the Past" didn't quite suit the general public's taste, it still garnered decent attendance in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai by promoting the name of the female lead, Zhu Lin. Moreover, it sold nearly 200 copies of the 35mm film, which is a pretty good result for the whole year.

After the movie ended, Wei Ming accompanied Officer Chen for a while.

"Officer Chen, I'll go to Chengdu with you again tomorrow. I want to talk to Director Qi about sending giant pandas."

"Oh, Professor Wei, do you have any other new ideas?"

Wei Ming: "There are no new ideas, just a new panda."

Upon hearing this, Old Wei knew that his son had agreed!
When engaging in panda diplomacy, the pandas sent are usually those raised in captivity from a young age, or those rescued from the wild and then kept in captivity for a period of time, because they are docile and easy to manage.

Sending a wild panda directly there is indeed a rather wild idea.

However, Wei Ming now has influence in Sichuan, and he did not initially suggest that his parents go to Hong Kong as keepers. He only suggested sending Gangdan, a giant panda with whom he has a special bond and who is currently living a relatively difficult life, to Hong Kong.

Whether Lao Wei can get what he wants depends on his control over Gangdan.

Therefore, Qi Ting immediately contacted the forestry department to prepare for an inspection of the steel eggs.

Wei Ming did not return to the village that day. In the afternoon, he went to the Chengdu Zoo to meet the panda experts appointed by the forestry department and the giant pandas living there.

There is no Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding yet. This place was established because of the flowering incident of arrow bamboo in 1983, when the Chengdu Zoo rescued and took in many wild giant pandas that were starving.

In order to strengthen the management of sick and starving giant pandas, and also to improve the research and breeding level of giant pandas, it was decided to establish a breeding research base.

Currently, the artificial breeding of giant pandas is still in its early stages, and the Chengdu Zoo does not have a large number of giant pandas. Therefore, the zoo is reluctant to send the giant pandas it has worked so hard to breed to Hong Kong.

However, the keepers were very enthusiastic about promoting the pandas they had raised when they heard the news, because it meant that they could also benefit from the pandas' fame and go to Hong Kong to enjoy a life of luxury.

"This is our core breeding panda, Meimei. Last year, she bred Rongsheng for the first time through artificial insemination. She is the one next to us. She is already a year and a half old. This month, she and the male panda Qiangqiang bred naturally and gave birth to another offspring. She is a model panda mother in our park."

Wei Ming knew that it was indeed very prolific, with offspring all over the world. It was a veteran giant panda at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, and the Mei Mei family was the world's largest panda family.

Hua Hua, a former star in the panda world, is Mei Mei's great-granddaughter. Mei Mei is the mother of Hua Hua's mother's mother, making her a descendant of a prestigious family.

Wei Ming took some photos with his camera, and also took a picture with Rong Sheng, who was one and a half years old. He also saw Jin Jin, who was less than a month old, up close. She looked just like a little mouse, which made people worry. They were afraid that Mei Mei would sit on her and kill her. It's not easy for this species to survive until now.

However, Meimei is indeed an excellent mother. She has given birth to many children with a high survival rate and is very good at taking care of them.

“Professor Ma, I’ll come to the zoo to see you tomorrow. Let’s go together to see Steel Egg. It’s very thin and malnourished. It needs treatment.”

"Teacher Wei, you're staying at the city guesthouse, right? We can come find you; there's a car in the park."

"That's fine."

Wei Ming then returned to the guesthouse to check in again, and then heard the front desk staff say to him.

"Teacher Wei, someone is looking for you."

"Who is it?" Wei Ming turned around and saw a little boy, about eleven or twelve years old, with short hair, a determined look in his eyes, and a schoolbag slung over his shoulder.

"you are?"

The little boy introduced himself: "My name is Hu Delu."

Wei Ming suddenly felt the name was familiar. Hu Delu? Shigejie Commune? Hairdresser?

No, no.

"You are a little gourd!"

He nodded. He was the real-life inspiration for the protagonist in "Mom, Love Me Again," the son of the madwoman Hehua, named Xiao Hulu.

"How did you find me? Do you know who I am?" Wei Ming asked him to sit down and ordered him a bottle of Tianfu Cola.

“I saw you on the TV news yesterday and then found out that you might live here.”

He took the Coke, thanked him, and continued, "I've read all of Wei's works, but my dad stopped letting me read them after he found out that Wei was Wei Ming. I only heard from my classmates that Black Cat Detective caught One-Ear."

"Your dad has a problem with me, huh?" Wei Ming chuckled.

"Yes, my stepmother and her parents mentioned you when they were arguing with him, saying that you made them lose face."

"Do you know what happened?"

Hu Delu lowered his head, holding the Coke bottle without drinking: "They mentioned a script called 'Mom, Love Me Again,' which you wrote."

Wei Ming nodded: "Have you read this script?"

Hu Delu: "I couldn't find it, but our teacher looked at it. I asked her, and she said..."

At this point, the child paused, her eyes slightly moist: "She said it was a story about a mother who went crazy because she lost her son. The mother's name was Lotus, the son's name was Little Gourd, the father's name was Hu Wanqian, and the grandmother's name was Zhao Yufeng, just like our family."

Wei Ming: "She's right. I met a crazy woman in a village in Zigong. This story is based on her true story. I didn't use a pseudonym because I was too lazy to write it."

Hu Delu's hands suddenly clenched, and he looked up to face Wei Ming directly: "Me, has my mother really gone mad?"

Wei Ming felt a pang of pity and asked, "When was the last time you saw her?"

Hu Delu wiped away his tears: "After she handed me over to my father and grandmother, I never saw her again. Four years, six months and ten days have passed."

He was seven or eight years old four years ago, so he must have been able to remember things, but Wei Ming didn't expect him to remember them so clearly. It seems he should keep a diary.

Wei Ming sighed and personally opened the Coke bottle for him, letting him take a couple of sips to calm down.

Then he said, "This movie will be shown in Chengdu on October 1st. You can watch it then. Although the movie is fictional, it is not much different from the real situation."

Hu Delu, who was about to graduate from elementary school, understood that Wei Ming's words were basically tantamount to admitting it.

"Teacher Wei, could you lend me some money? I want to go see my mom; I miss her."

“Don’t go,” Wei Ming said. “I can lend you the money, but don’t go. She can’t take care of you right now, and you can’t take care of her either. Wait a little longer, until you’re a bit older.”

Wei Ming kindly advised that in his script, Little Gourd would only return to reunite with his mother after he had grown up and become capable.

"Don't worry, your mother is being taken care of by Aunt Song Lian. I've left them some living expenses." That amount of money is enough for a rural family to live on.

Upon hearing Wei Ming's words, Hu Delu stood up and bowed solemnly to Wei Ming.

This child is filial, which makes Wei Ming very happy. His only worry when writing the script was that as his son lived a rich and fulfilling life in the city, he would gradually forget that he had a biological mother, and his feelings for her would become weaker and weaker until he became indifferent.

"Let me take a picture of you," Wei Ming said, taking out his camera. "You can send it to your mother later."

Hu Delu was taken aback, then said to Wei Ming, "Please tell my mother in the letter that I am doing well and miss her very much."

Wei Ming put away his camera: "I'll bring it with me."

After seeing Hu Delu off, Wei Ming immediately went upstairs to write a letter.

The first letter was written to Teacher Song Lian, about his recent encounter with the little gourd.

The second letter was addressed to his sister-in-law in Hong Kong, asking her to forward it to Taiwan. It contained information about Peter Chen's brother, along with some photos, including one of Peter Chen's grandmother before her passing. I believe he and his family would certainly like to see it.

The next day, Wei Ming went to develop the photos and mail the letter early in the morning. When he returned to the guesthouse, a group of people from the zoo and the forestry bureau had been waiting for a while, in two cars.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Have you eaten yet? It's on me."

"Teacher Wei, let's skip the meal and head out first."

"Okay, I'll treat you when we get there." However, Wei Ming still brought a case of Tianfu Cola for everyone to drink on the way. Although it wasn't as expensive as Coca-Cola, it was still a sugary drink, and the people from the zoo and the forestry bureau immediately beamed with joy.

After arriving at Dagou Village, Lao Wei waited at the village entrance. He first went into the village and had a meal at his home. Then, he led the expert team into the mountains and found the steel egg.

"Oh my, you've gotten so thin, you must have suffered a lot." Professor Bai, the expert in front of the camera, said with great concern.

He found that the wild giant panda was quite friendly and allowed him to perform some preliminary examinations.

"This giant panda is probably a little over two years old. Its physical functions are fine, but it's not eating enough. However, its breath smells fishy. Did it steal some of the villagers' sheep?" Professor Bai jokingly tapped Gangdan's head.

Gangdan looked at Lao Wei innocently, "It's all from Daddy."

A zoo staff member said, "Professor Bai, the tranquilizer gun is ready. Shall we proceed now?"

Old Wei hurriedly said, "This bear is very docile. If we can coax it down the mountain, we won't get shot."

The staff member laughed and said, "How can you possibly coax them down the mountain? They're not children."

“He’s only two years old, how can he not be a child?” Old Wei shouted. “Gangdan, let’s go down the mountain.”

Gangdan stood up, grinned, and then followed Lao Wei down the mountain, swaying back and forth...

(End of this chapter)