Exciting 1979!

Chapter 346 "Mom, Love Me Again" - A Storm is Coming

Under the astonished gazes and following of Professor Bai and the others, the man and the bear went straight down the mountain to the car at the foot of the mountain.

Old Wei said, "Why don't we just not use the cage? It's too cramped."

One of the zookeepers said, "Uncle, this won't do. This panda is quite big, and it has sharp teeth. If it suddenly goes berserk, all of us in the car could be in mortal danger."

Wei Ming said to Old Wei, "Dad, why don't you try to persuade Gangdan?"

The zookeepers shook their heads. "Do you think this is your pet cat? Getting such a large wild animal into a cage is basically only possible with a tranquilizer gun, and in the end, it still has to be shot."

However, Lao Wei stroked the panda's head and whispered a few words in its ear.

It barked reluctantly twice, and Lao Wei patted its shoulder again. Only then did Gangdan stand up and climb onto the car. Because its legs were relatively short, Lao Wei had to lift it up a bit, muttering, "It seems to have gotten fatter than a few days ago."

Steel Egg turned around and grumbled unhappily. Who said this was cuteness inflating?

After Gangdan crawled into the cage, he buried his head in his belly, leaving only his buttocks exposed to Lao Wei.

Everyone was stunned. Old Wei closed the door, sighed, turned around, and said with a look of reluctance and helplessness, "You should all go now."

The forestry bureau officials, the zoo staff, and Professor Bai were all speechless for a moment. They were already inside? This giant panda was even more obedient than the pandas they had raised from cubs.

Professor Bai gripped Old Wei's hand tightly: "Comrade Wei Jiefang, you used to do animal research, right?"

Old Wei: "I'm in charge of the livestock in our village. All the animals, big and small, are under my care, from eating and drinking to defecating, getting sick, and breeding."

Professor Bai exclaimed excitedly, "You're a real talent!"

Wei Ming, standing to the side, thought to himself, "What are we waiting for? Quickly invite him to join your team!"

However, Professor Bai only sighed at the extraordinary nature of Old Wei before leading his team away, leaving behind Steel Egg's new name, 240, which is its pedigree number.

Watching the two cars leave, Wei Ming said to Old Wei, "I hope Gangdan won't let us down?"

Old Wei looked confidently into the distance: "Don't worry, my son and I have already agreed on it."

Wei Ming: "..."

After seeing Gangdan off, Old Wei and his son returned to the village, where they saw Long Xiaoyang carrying a basket on his back.

"Brother, Uncle, look what I brought you!"

Wei Ming leaned closer for a look: "Oh, it's a kiwi."

Long Xiaoyang said, "I collected some for you in our village, and I offered twice as much as the supply and marketing cooperative. All the villagers went out to help me find some, but it's getting late now, so this is all I have. Take them with you when you go back to Beijing tomorrow. They may not taste as good as the ones from abroad, but at least you won't feel so bad about the price. Two yuan each, even ginseng fruit shouldn't be this expensive."

Wei Ming took the basket from his back and patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, let's go home and have dinner."

During the meal, my uncle and aunt's husband finalized their decision to open a feed workshop in town.

Firstly, transportation is convenient, as transporting goods within the village has been a major problem, especially after the recent severe flooding.

Secondly, it facilitates the outreach to the entire commune, and even the entire Baoxing County.

Of course, the cost is definitely higher than in the village, but it is still within their means. They had made some money raising quails before, and they also had the help of Wei Ming and Mei Wenhua.

As for the real controller of this workshop, it was actually Long Xiaoyang, who was not yet twenty years old. After all, he had learned a lot from his brother-in-law Mei in Yanjing.

After dinner, everyone tacitly picked up their stools and went to watch a movie. Wei Ming paid for Master Xu to show the movie for another day. This was the third day already. Usually, they could only show the movie three times a year. The surrounding villages were extremely envious of Dagou Village.

Today I watched "The Mysterious Buddha," which is also a very popular movie this year. Moreover, the female lead, Liu Xiaoqing, has the advantage of being from Chongqing, so she can still be considered a Sichuan native.

After spending another night in this remote mountain village, the Wei family of three prepared to head to Chengdu the next day. Officer Chen drove to pick them up early in the morning, and the villagers put on a grand send-off ceremony.

Xu Shufen kept looking back with some reluctance, feeling that her mother's back had become even more hunched.

~
With National Day approaching, the festive atmosphere in Chengdu was already quite evident. Wei Ming and his group planned to stay in the city for one night and then take a morning flight the next day.

Old Wei said to Officer Chen, "Young Chen, could you take us to the Chengdu Zoo?"

"No problem, Uncle."

No sooner had they left than a phone call came in to the guesthouse. The caller claimed to be from the zoo and wanted to ask if writer Wei Ming had checked in.

"I mainly wanted to ask if his father, Comrade Wei Jiefang, was present."

"Oh, Comrade Wei Ming and his family are staying at our guesthouse, but the three of them just went out."

"Ah, they've gone out~" A zoo employee put down the phone and shook his head at Professor Bai.

Since Steel Egg was moved to the zoo, it has stopped eating and drinking, and hardly moves at all.

But if staff try to get close to it for inspection, it becomes agitated and violent, refusing to let anyone near it.

The zoo wanted to use a tranquilizer dart to knock the panda unconscious before examining it, but they didn't expect the panda to be so agile and know how to use cover, so they couldn't subdue it for a while.

And judging from its movements as it tried to avoid the anesthetic needle, it didn't seem sick.

If it doesn't eat or drink, it'll cause problems sooner or later. This is supposed to be sent to Hong Kong. If it's like this when it gets there, people might think we've sent a sick bear, which is no small matter.

Professor Bai thought of Wei Jiefang, who managed livestock in the countryside. These 240 animals were the most obedient to him, so he thought Wei might have a solution and went to him for help.

"Call the guesthouse again and tell them that if Comrade Wei Ming and his family return, they should let us know."

"Okay, Professor Bai."

However, not long after, Wei Jiefang delivered himself to their door.

"Professor Bai, where's our Steel Egg?" he asked as soon as he saw us.

"Comrade Wei, you've come at the perfect time!" Professor Bai recounted the 240 problems that had arisen since yesterday and asked him for advice.

Old Wei said, "Bring the rice bowl up, let me see what's going on."

"Uncle, be careful. 240 doesn't like people getting close to it now."

Then Lao Wei saw a basket of lush green bamboo. Under the watchful eyes of his wife, children, and staff, Lao Wei entered Gangdan's living area. Instead of going crazy, Gangdan swayed and came to greet him.

Old Wei spent a long time being affectionate with it before he started feeding it, and it ate with great relish.

The panda keeper exclaimed in surprise, "This is bizarre! How come it eats whatever he feeds it?!"

Professor Bai also remarked to Wei Ming, "This giant panda trusts your father too much."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "It was still a cub at the time. It came to the village with its mother bear to steal sheep. As a result, it was left in the sheep pen. My dad was afraid of scaring it, so he held it in the sheep pen and slept there all night. He also treated it to good food and drink. Maybe animals know who is truly good to them."

The zookeeper said, feeling wronged, "We meant well too."

Professor Bai also felt that it wasn't that simple; there must be something that science couldn't explain, perhaps what could be called metaphysics.

Now he was in a dilemma. It seemed that only Wei Jiefang could handle this wild giant panda, but Wei Jiefang was the father of a famous writer, not an ordinary person. He couldn't just not go home for the sake of a giant panda.

“Son, how about I stay?” Old Wei said to Wei Ming as he came out with an empty basin. “Look, even Steel Egg can’t do without me.”

Professor Bai was delighted; we were thinking the same thing!
However, Xu Shufen said, "What will we mother and daughter do if you don't leave? Xiao Hong is still at home."

Old Wei pointed at the steel egg: "I can't just leave it alone, it's obviously not used to unfamiliar environments and strangers."

"What about me? Your son and daughter are all grown up. You can ignore them, but you should at least take care of me."

Old Wei: "Then you should stay too. After all, Sichuan is your hometown."

Wei Ming said, "Dad, you're making things difficult for the zoo. You're just an old farmer. Do you think it's so easy to get a job in the city? You want two?"

Professor Bai finally couldn't help but interject: "If you're having trouble getting permanent staff, Comrade Wei, can you accept temporary staff?"

Although Professor Bai knew it was inappropriate to have the great writer's father work as a zookeeper, he valued the pandas more than the writer, and Wei Jiefang was the best person to accompany Gangdan through the adaptation period.

Wei Ming sighed, "Why don't you come back to Yanjing with me and enjoy a better life? You haven't had enough of serving the livestock in the village for the first half of your life."

Seeing that Wei Ming was not very willing, Professor Bai persuaded him: "Comrade Wei Ming, how about this, let the two of them stay in our Chengdu Zoo for now, and let them go back to Yanjing after they have adapted to this place. During this time, we will provide food and lodging, and also pay them a salary according to the standards of experts. What do you think?"

Old Wei straightened up and exclaimed, "Wow, I've become an expert!"

"Professor Bai, you... sigh, it's all for the national treasure, for returning the favor to Hong Kong. The big picture is more important. Fine, I won't say anything more."

Seeing that Wei Ming was so understanding, Professor Bai breathed a sigh of relief: "Comrade Wei, we'll be colleagues from now on. I'll help you systematically learn and master the relevant knowledge about giant pandas."

Old Wei doesn't really understand these things, but if he learns them well, he can use them when he accompanies Gangdan to Hong Kong.

"But you mentioned expert treatment, so shouldn't you give me an expert certificate?" Old Wei was very concerned about this matter, and Professor Bai smiled and promised to give him a certificate, but he had to study first.

Xu Shufen pouted to the side. Although she had cooperated with Lao Wei this time and stayed at the zoo as a temporary worker, she was still a little resentful. She felt that her husband was abandoning his own flesh and blood for the sake of their panda son, and that he was getting more and more unreliable as he got older.

So that night, after having sex with his own flesh and blood, and once Fenfen had calmed down, Lao Wei finally explained his intentions to his wife: "Actually, my ultimate goal is to go to Hong Kong with Gangdan."

"What are you going to Hong Kong for? Who are you even in Hong Kong?" Xu Shufen asked, puzzled and aggrieved. "Are you planning to abandon your wife and children?!"

"Abandoning the child is acceptable, but abandoning the wife is not," Old Wei quickly assured her, instantly cheering Xu Shufen up.

He then lowered his voice and said, "Let me tell you the truth, but you absolutely must keep this a secret. This isn't just my business; if it gets out, it could affect Ping An and our son and daughter's future."

"Ah!?" Xu Shufen was startled. "Then you'd better not say anything. Anyway, if you're going to Hong Kong, I'll go with you."

She could also abandon her child, after all, he's already so grown up, and he has two older sisters, so he doesn't lack maternal love at all.

Old Wei: "No, I have to tell you so you won't overthink it. My son and Ping An know about this. My son went to Hong Kong twice this year, and it was all because of this."

After building up the atmosphere, Old Wei finally told the truth: "Xiao Ming's grandfather, my father, your father-in-law, is still alive, in Hong Kong!"

"what?!"

That night, Lao Wei told everyone everything, starting with the letter from Hong Kong, to Wei Lingling's recent visit to Beijing, and how they had taken possession of a very large old villa in Shanghai.

Xu Shufen took a while to process this, then sighed, "Our father is so pitiful." "What's pitiful about him? He married a young wife over there and is now a boss. If anyone's pitiful, it's my mother."

“Your mother-in-law is definitely pitiful, but you shouldn’t blame your father-in-law for this. He had no choice in the matter.”

“I know, I know,” he said, hugging his wife, “but the thought of meeting him soon is really keeping me awake at night.”

~
The next day, Wei Ming said goodbye to his elderly parents, who had dark circles under their eyes, and told them to study hard: "We should get a reply from Hong Kong soon."

He had planned to take the bus to the airport himself, but Officer Chen still showed up on time. Wei Ming had a lot of things, all local specialties given by relatives and villagers.

On the bus, Officer Chen said to Wei Ming, "I reported the matter of Uncle Wei and Gangdan to Director Qi. He greatly admires Uncle Wei's consideration for the overall situation, but also feels that it is inappropriate for Uncle Wei to be unable to go home. So we are communicating to see if the Beijing Zoo can temporarily take in Gangdan, so that Uncle Wei can work near his home."

"Oh dear, thank you for your concern, Director Qi. Please thank him for me," Wei Ming said sincerely. This was definitely the best outcome, because it would take who knows how long it would take to send the panda to Hong Kong, and it might not happen this year.

Upon landing at Beijing Capital International Airport, Wei Ming could already feel the festive atmosphere; today is September 30th.

He hired a rickshaw, which could barely fit all his luggage.

Let's go back to Tuanjiehu first. Some of this luggage is for Xiaomei and Yunyun.

Mei Wenhua happened to be home as well, and Wei Ming told him about the elderly couple staying in Chengdu.

"I don't know when I'll be back, so you'll have to find someone else to handle the meals at Xintiandi."

Mei Wenhua: "It's not a big problem. There are more and more individual restaurants now, so there's a wide range of choices. It's just that they may not be as delicious and hygienic as my second aunt's."

Seeing Wei Ming looking at the building next door, Xu Yunyun whispered in his ear, "I just saw Sister Gong Xue come back."

Wei Ming blushed and said, "Well, I won't eat then. You guys go ahead and do your thing. I'll be going now."

He said goodbye to Xiaomei's mother again, then got up to leave.

After watching Wei Ming leave, Mei's mother quickly asked her son and daughter-in-law, "Is Xiao Wei single now? Many young women in our art troupe know about our relationship and have asked me to inquire about her. They are all very beautiful."

Xu Yunyun thought to herself that no matter how pretty she was, she couldn't possibly be prettier than Gong Xue and Zhu Lin.

Mei Wenhua hurriedly said, "Oh, Mom, don't worry about that. My brother-in-law is such a high-status person, why would he worry about not having a girlfriend? He just has high standards."

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the girls in the performing arts troupe, I know some daughters and granddaughters of generals.” Mother Mei was very enthusiastic.

At this moment, Xu Yunyun suddenly said, "Wenhua, is 'Mom, Love Me Again' going to air tomorrow? I want to watch it."

Mei's mother's focus immediately shifted to this: "I also want to watch it. I haven't read Xiao Wei's original novel, but I definitely have to support the movie."

Mei Wenhua touched his wife's big belly and said, "Okay, okay, let's go see them together as a trio. That'll make two pairs of mothers and babies."

~
When Wei Ming entered the house, he saw Gong Xue lying on the small bed in the study, with tear stains on her face.

"Sister Xue, what's wrong?" Wei Ming was startled.

“Xiao Wei, you’re back,” Gong Xue said as she got up. “I’m on my period, so I’m a little tired and exhausted.”

"Then why are you crying?" Wei Ming touched her small face with concern, afraid that she had suffered some injustice at work.

Gong Xue threw herself into Wei Ming's arms: "The factory showed 'Mom, Love Me Again' today. It was my first time watching it, and I couldn't control myself."

Wei Ming breathed a sigh of relief: "So that's why. Were there many people crying at the Beijing Film Studio?"

Gong Xue got excited when she talked about this: "There was no one who didn't cry, especially the female colleagues who had become mothers. They cried with tears and snot streaming down their faces. Teacher Shi Wenxin was crying so hard while holding her son Ge You."

Wei Ming kissed her twice on the cheek: "Well, you did cry quite beautifully."

“It must have looked awful, but with the lights off, no one should have seen it. I did hear a lot of crying though,” Gong Xue said, nestled against Wei Ming’s chest. “Especially when those songs were playing.”

Wei Ming said, "I was planning to watch it with you tomorrow, but this movie is so intense, I think I'll pass. Women shouldn't cry all the time."

"I actually want to watch it, but I want to watch it with Xizi," Gong Xue said, sounding rather masochistic.

Wei Ming laughed: "My Aunt Xiaoyan definitely wants to bring her son to see it too. Why don't you go with them? Then both mothers will be vying to hug Xizi and cry."

Gong Xue was amused by the scene Wei Ming described, and she chuckled: "Why don't you bring Lele along too? Then each of you can have one."

After chatting for a while, Wei Ming took out some wild kiwis from his bag and gave them to Gong Xue to eat.

"Like it?"

"Mmm, it's sweet and sour, quite delicious. I'll have another one."

Wei Ming: "That's good. I'll go to the Friendship Store tomorrow and see if they have it."

Xuejie had her period, so the two of them couldn't do much. So Weiming invited her to the courtyard house, where they could play with the cats and dogs and enjoy the company of a beautiful woman. The courtyard house was cool and comfortable to live in during this season.

"Aren't your uncle and aunt over there?"

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Don't worry, they won't be in the capital for a while."

Then he told Gong Xue about the panda steel egg, and Gong Xue listened with a look of amazement, marveling that his uncle was truly an extraordinary person.

The two first ate at a restaurant. Wei Ming looked at the customers coming and going and thought to himself that he should cherish the peaceful time he had now. After "Mama" was released tomorrow, Xue Jie's popularity would reach a new level.

He knew that the number of copies of "Mama" was almost equal to that of "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" and even surpassed that of "Joyful Reunion," indicating that the film company had high hopes for the film.

It was getting dark when they arrived at the courtyard house. Gong Xue wondered, "School's out for break now, is Xiao Hong home alone?"

"Probably not. She doesn't know when we'll be back; she's probably still at school."

However, at Gong Xue's suggestion, he still called the Overseas Chinese Apartment. Someone answered, but it wasn't Wei Hong; it was her classmate Qiao Cui.

"Hello Teacher Wei, Sister Hong is going to the restroom, please wait a moment."

Wei Ming also heard the voices of other girls and laughed, "Your dorm has quite a few people here, then I'm relieved."

"Teacher Wei, have you gone back to Beijing?" another girl, Ning Xin, asked.

Before Wei Ming could answer, Wei Hong took the phone.

"Brother, where are you?"

"Oh, I'm at the courtyard house. I was a little worried about you, but since your classmates are all here, let them keep you company tonight. I won't go back after dark."

"What about our parents? Are they almost home?"

"They stayed in Chengdu."

"what?"

"Things are a bit complicated. I'll tell you when I get back tomorrow. You guys have fun, you can watch those Hong Kong movies with your classmates."

"I'm watching." Wei Hong hung up the phone with a puzzled look on her face.

Wei Ming put down the microphone, hugged Xue Jie and kissed her passionately for ten minutes. Everyone reacted, and then he forced himself to calm down.

Gong Xue: "I'll draw, and you can write."

"Well, that's fine too. I'm planning to give a live calligraphy demonstration when I go to Germany this time." In addition, Wei Ming had been practicing calligraphy for more than ten years in his previous life, and he had many famous teachers guiding him. Now, even if his level is not very high, it is enough to impress foreigners.

The two were enjoying their conversation when suddenly the ginkgo tree outside started chirping.

"Someone!"

Sister Xue quickly removed her hand from Wei Ming: "Is he a passerby?"

Obviously not. People outside were already shouting, "Brother, have you eaten? We've come to see you!"

And it wasn't just one; Wei Hong brought several female classmates with her!

Gong Xue looked at her thin pajamas, which she had changed into as soon as she arrived.

"I think I'd better hide for a while." Even in a normal relationship, this kind of cohabitation before marriage is condemned by society, let alone since their relationship is considered abnormal.

The study and Wei Ming's master bedroom were connected, and Wei Ming told her to hide in the closet in the bedroom.

"I'll get them out of here as soon as possible," Wei Ming said, closing the cabinet door.

Gong Xue, inside the closet, felt a thrill of illicit sex, a feeling he rarely experienced. If it were Zhu Lin, he wouldn't even need to hide.

Soon, Gong Xue heard faint chattering sounds. She couldn't see their faces, but they were all young and quite talented female students from Peking University.

However, when they spoke to Wei Ming, their tone was full of admiration and respect, just like ordinary students talking to top students from Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

The girls seemed to want to play ping-pong. Gong Xue heard a few sounds, but Wei Ming dissuaded them because it was too late.

The sound grew closer; they entered the study.

"Oh my, Teacher Wei, I never knew you were so talented in both calligraphy and painting!" a girl with a sweet, coquettish voice said.

Wei Ming pointed to a black and white cat painting and the four characters "Great Ambitions" on the table and asked, "Then tell me, am I better at painting or calligraphy?"

Gong Xue, who was in the closet in the next room, immediately perked up his ears. When he heard that everyone preferred his drawing of the sheriff, Gong Xue smiled silently.

(Net map)
As the saying goes, being mediocre at everything is not as good as having a skill. Every time she came to the courtyard, she would draw the police chief. She would also use the cats from the Beijing Film Studio as models. As a result, she became more and more knowledgeable in the field of drawing cats, and her level has far surpassed that of the other things she draws.

Finally, the girls' youthful voices faded into the distance; they must have been politely seen off at the door.

However, Gong Xue hasn't come out yet, what if Xiao Hong doesn't leave?

A short while later, the cabinet opened, and Wei Ming leaned down, smiling as he looked at himself.

Gong Xue squatted in the cabinet; being the only one with such a slender build, there seemed to be plenty of room for her.

Her legs were a little numb, so she stretched out her slender hand and asked Xiao Wei to help her up.

However, Wei Ming started to take off his pants; one was not enough!
(End of this chapter)