Exciting 1979!

Chapter 349, "The Right Path of Humanity is Full of Vicissitudes," has been published, translated, and exported.

When Wei Ming and Gong Xue finished watching the film, the scene was a sea of ​​tears.

Seeing everyone crying like this, Gong Xue, who was watching the movie for the second time, felt embarrassed to cry. She wiped her tears and tried to pull Wei Ming out, but then she noticed that his eyes were also red and there were traces of tears on his face.

This was the first time Wei Ming had seen the full version. Although it was a script he had written himself, its power far exceeded his expectations. It felt even more tear-jerking than the version he had seen in his previous life.

Aside from the similar main framework, the two versions differ in many details and lines. Wei Ming's version is more suitable for mainland babies and is more memorable, and it will not be too outdated even decades later.

Moreover, the several interludes were incredibly powerful, amplifying the already melancholic atmosphere, and their emotional impact was simply phenomenal.

With a plot like this and a soundtrack like this, using it on mainland audiences in the 80s was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; it was cruel enough for them, and they probably wouldn't be able to recover for several days.

However, Wei Ming felt that if he were to direct this movie, he would be able to do it better and make it more touching. Although he had never actually been a director in his previous life, he had worked in the film and television industry for more than 20 years, living on set for many years, and his vision was more advanced.

He's not bragging, but he can't compare to a genius director like Xie Jin. However, most directors of this era are probably not as capable as him.

As the two walked out of the screening room, a male audience member sitting in the last row suddenly glanced at Gong Xue and exclaimed, "Lotus?!"

This single, unmarried man came to see the movie because of Gong Xue. He is a fan of Gong Xue's looks, so he recognized her just by looking at her eyes.

However, after watching the movie, all he could think of was the character "Lotus," and he even wanted to call her "Mom."

His shout spurred Wei Ming to pull Gong Xue along and run even faster, while the other spectators also realized what was happening.

"what happened?"

"What are you shouting about?"

"I just saw lotus flowers!" the young man exclaimed excitedly. The other spectators immediately ran out, but all they saw was the exhaust fumes of a motorcycle.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "See? You'll have to be careful when you go out from now on. If you get recognized, you'll probably have a hard time getting around."

"It can't be that bad. Zhang Yu and Liu Xiaoqing also go out shopping often."

"You will be more famous than them because your character is so lovable that audiences across the country will fall in love with you."

Gong Xue was overjoyed by Wei Ming's words. As an actor, what she wanted was to be recognized by the audience, and this made all the hardships she endured while filming worthwhile.

Besides personally falling off the bridge, in order to portray the feeling of the madwoman at the end, she, who was already very thin, lost nearly 10 pounds, and at that time she only weighed 80 pounds, and her menstruation became irregular.

She didn't dare let Wei Ming see her back then, and she gained some weight in Shanghai before coming to Beijing.

Gong Xue touched Wei Ming's still slightly damp face: "I never thought that the story you wrote could make you cry?"

"There's nothing we can do. You and Xizi acted so well. I think if the Golden Rooster Awards judges didn't discriminate against children, they should give Xizi a Best Actor nomination next year."

"A Best Actor nomination at the age of six, I guess that's unprecedented and will probably never be repeated," Gong Xue remarked. "But Xi Zi's acting was really good, the two of them had great chemistry, and I'd like to play his mother again in the future."

Of course, she still hoped to hear him call her "sister-in-law".

Gong Xue then asked, "So where are we going next?"

Wei Ming walked along the street: "Let's go, let's go check out the Xinhua Bookstore."

"You want to buy books?"

Wei Ming: "Today is the day that the standalone edition of 'The Right Path in the World is Full of Vicissitudes' is published."

After several months of revisions and typesetting, this novel, which brought Harvest magazine its highest circulation, chose to meet its eagerly awaiting readers on National Day.

"Huh?" Gong Xue was taken aback. "Why did you only tell me about something so important now?"

Wei Ming: "Compared to the release of your movie, this is a small matter. Besides, this isn't my first time publishing a book. I just wanted to see how well it sold."

Gong Xue laughed and said, "The doorstep of the bookstore must be bursting with people."

She believed in the novel's appeal, and then asked, "How many copies were printed?"

"160."

One million copies are paperback editions, which consist of one large book. Another 100,000 sets are hardcover editions, each consisting of three booklets, with cardboard covers just like when the book was serialized.

These days, thrift is valued and waste is opposed. Wei Ming never expected there would be a deluxe edition. The publisher only gave him five deluxe editions, which weren't even enough to give away.

"This initial print run is very large!"

Wei Ming nodded. It was indeed a high achievement for a contemporary writer. Although "Ferocious Animals" had sold more than two million copies, that was the result of multiple reprints.

Originally, the plan was only to sell one million copies, but Wei Ming has made such a big splash again, with his "Wei clone" and overseas song releases, as well as raising 1.5 million in Hong Kong. He is currently enjoying a surge in popularity, and with the late Mr. Mao Dun writing the preface, the publisher thinks it shouldn't be difficult to sell 160 million copies.

For these 1.6 million sets of books, Wei Ming received nearly 30,000 yuan in royalties. Most writers could retire with that kind of income. With the high interest rates on bank deposits these days, the interest on 30,000 yuan is higher than the average person's salary.

However, 30,000 yuan was not attractive to Wei Ming. Not to mention that he received tens of thousands of yuan in Oriental New World's account every month, his monthly foreign exchange income was more than that.

In this era, you can't just spend money as you please, so you should still take the opportunity to travel more.

When they arrived at the nearest Xinhua Bookstore, the two found it deserted and there was no bustling scene of readers queuing up.

When asked, the salesperson replied impatiently, "We've been announcing this for so long, why didn't you come earlier? We sold out within ten minutes of opening this morning."

"What about the inventory?"

"We've adjusted the inventory three times, and it's all sold out by the morning. If we adjust it again, we'll have to wait in line for more stock."

Gong Xue glanced at Wei Ming and said, "Look, everyone's scrambling to get it."

Wei Ming then asked, "I heard there was a deluxe edition, is that sold out too?"

The hardcover edition is twice the price of the paperback edition, which is not cost-effective in this day and age and is usually not the first choice for readers.

"Sigh," the bookstore clerk sighed, "the quantity is limited. We didn't manage to get any at the beginning. I guess the one in Wangfujing has some."

After saying this, the saleswoman looked at Wei Ming, who was wearing sunglasses, and suddenly tilted her head to scrutinize him.

Wei Ming quickly pulled Gong Xue away. They had been in the spotlight too much lately, and people were starting to remember the face of a writer like him. This was not a good sign.

If everyone knows this face, how am I supposed to take different girls out shopping in the future?

"Sister Xue, I have a deluxe edition. I'll give you a set."

“Even if you don’t say it, I’ll still say it, and I need your autograph,” Gong Xue said, putting her arm around his waist.

Wei Ming: "No problem, but you'll have to come with me to the Overseas Chinese Apartment."

"Won't we run into Xiao Hong again?"

"She's at school, don't worry."

~
Chengdu.

The afternoon performance of "Mom, Love Me Again" was still going on. Lao Wei and Xu Shufen had already seen Hehua go crazy. They had both read the original novel and were prepared, but they didn't expect it to be so intense.

Seeing this made Xu Shufen miss Wei Ming. Although she knew her son was fine, she just wanted to hug him.

At the same time, little Hu Delu, who was watching the movie, was also crying his eyes out. His mother must have been going crazy from missing him every day.

Seeing the lotus flower hugging a large gourd and calling it its son, I wonder if this is Mr. Wei's artistic creation or a real situation.

A mentally unstable woman would suffer countless hardships in the countryside.

Tears blurred his vision, and he could barely see the screen, but he still insisted on continuing to watch.

The movie is coming to an end. Little Hulu, who was forcibly taken away by his father and his group, did not continue to run away. He calmly accepted their arrangements, went to school, and went abroad, as if he had completely resigned himself to his fate and become the filial son and grandson they wanted.

Years later, when the grown-up Little Calabash returned home after completing his studies, his biological father, stepmother, and increasingly elderly grandparents came to the airport to pick him up.

Even his stepmother accepted the adopted son at this point, thinking he was promising: "He studied law abroad; he'll be a great lawyer in the future."

Grandpa said, "Why be a lawyer? Be a judge."

Grandma: "Exactly! Being a judge is so prestigious!"

However, after all the passengers on the flight had left and they still hadn't seen the little gourd, the four initially overjoyed people began to get anxious. Just then, an airport staff member walked over.

"Hello, are you a family member of Hu Chenguang?" Wei Ming didn't use Xiao Hulu's real name here, which was quite considerate.

"Yes."

The staff member said, "Oh, he arrived yesterday and left you a letter."

"Arrived yesterday?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be today?"

"We didn't misremember the date."

Hu Wanqian took the letter with a puzzled look. After opening it, four heads popped up: "Father: By the time you see this letter, I should already be with Mother. I'm sorry, but I feel it is my responsibility as a son to take care of her. I will repay your kindness in raising and nurturing me in another way."

Also, what I studied abroad all these years wasn't law, but psychiatry.

Grandpa was puzzled and angry: "Psychiatry? What an obscure major!"

Grandma was also very disappointed: "That's right, even if you study medicine, you should study things like cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. We don't need psychiatry!"

At this moment, Hu Wanqian frowned and said, "I heard from Teacher Song of the village primary school that Hehua's mind went astray after we left that day. She... she went mad."

The scene shifts to the vicinity of the large tree where Lotus watched her son leave. A handsome young man, guided by the elementary school teacher who appeared earlier, arrives there.

The song "Only Mother is Good in the World" was taught to Little Gourd by Teacher Song after she learned that he only had a mother. In order to make the story more compact and the theme more distinct, Wei Ming did not give Teacher Song Lian, who prioritizes loyalty, too much screen time.

However, it was also hinted earlier that she was the one taking care of the lotus flower, and that the money and photos that Little Gourd sent to the lotus flower were also handed over by this teacher.

On the tree, Lotus, holding a gourd in her arms, sat barefoot on a branch. Apart from being crazy, unconcerned about her image, and old, she was very much like the young and lively mother at the beginning of the movie.

After gazing into the distance for a while, Hehua pulled a stack of photos from her pocket. These were pictures of her son, who had grown from a small gourd into a large gourd. Every so often, a letter with a photo would arrive. Although the little gourd was far away, he hoped to use his photos to awaken his mother. The actor who played the little gourd was Hou Changrong, only in his early twenties, with handsome features. He was chosen from among the drama school after a long search by the production team, and he bore a striking resemblance to Xizi.

The original actor later starred in "Dream of the Red Chamber," entering the entertainment industry through the roles of Liu Xianglian and Prince Bei Jing, and even married Xiangling.

Taking these photos of Xizi and Hou Changrong from childhood to adulthood was not easy. There is no Photoshop now, so we found a sketching expert at the Academy of Fine Arts. Except for the first and last photos, the middle photos are all drawn. There is a trend that Xizi is looking more and more like Hou Changrong. Fortunately, the photo resolution is not high now, so it is relatively easy to pass off as drawing.

However, these photos had little effect on Hehua. Although she cherished these photos, she did not recognize her son when she saw the large gourd.

When Da Hulu first saw his mother, who was incoherent, his eyes welled up with tears.

"Mother, don't you really recognize me? I'm Little Gourd!" Big Gourd shouted at the madwoman in the tree.

Lotus shook the gourd in her hand: "You are not a little gourd, this is my precious little gourd."

"Mother, please come down and see me," the big gourd pleaded.

However, the lotus flowers not only do not leave the tree, but also climb to even higher places.

The big gourd panicked, and in his desperation, he began to sing that song: "There's only one mother in the world who is good, a child with a mother is like a treasure, nestled in mother's embrace, happiness is boundless..."

At this moment, the entire audience joined in singing. This scene also occurred at Wei Ping'an and Lü Xiaoyan's show, Biaozi and Yanzi's show, and Wei Ming and Gong Xue's show.

This song is so catchy; it's the easiest to sing and the most memorable of all the songs.

Hu Delu also sang with tears in his eyes, and the movie theater seemed to become a concert venue. At this moment, reality and film successfully interacted, and art was created!
At this moment, Gong Xue, who was climbing up, paused, and her cloudy and unfocused eyes suddenly became bright, as if they had regained their clarity.

This concludes the film.

Although the film does not directly state that Lotus regained her senses, Gong Xue's expressive eyes in the final shot say it all.

Even if it doesn't work this time, don't forget that our little gourd is studying psychiatry, he'll definitely be able to cure Mom.

After manipulating the audience's emotions for two hours, leaving them breathless and even unable to catch their breath, Wei Ming finally gave a relatively satisfactory ending.

The movie's end credits song is also "Only Mother is Good in the World," but this time it's sung by Lele in a more professional and standard children's voice, which is much more pleasant to listen to than the versions sung by Xizi and Hou Changrong.

After the end credits finished, the song ended, and the lights came on, some people shouted "Bravo!" while most others were busy tidying up their disheveled appearance.

Hu Delu felt like he was in a dream, a dream in which he could only see his mother again after he grew up, but there were still ten years in between.

Ten years, how hard my mother must have been!
Clutching the meager allowance in his pocket, Hu Delu finally decided to take action.

Just like the little gourd in the movie, find a truck heading back to Zigong and secretly hide inside.

However, when he arrived at the bus station, there were no freight trucks at all, only passenger buses.

But where can we find a truck?
Confused, Hu Delu saw a bus heading back towards Zigong, and the bus's luggage compartment was very large.

Taking advantage of the fact that all the passengers had boarded and no one was paying attention, Hu Delu secretly opened the luggage compartment and crawled inside.

This scene was witnessed by a passenger on a nearby bus bound for Ya'an.

He was a reporter for the Chengdu Evening News. He was supposed to go in the morning, but he was delayed because he went to see a movie.

Upon seeing this, the reporter knew it was a case of fare evasion. Overwhelmed with a sense of justice, the reporter immediately got off the bus and told the driver of the bus next to him what he had seen.

When the driver and passengers pulled the fare evader out of the luggage compartment, they discovered that he was just a small child.

But even children can't skip the ticket.

"I'm sorry, Uncle, this is all the money I have. I know it's not enough, but I have to go to Zigong. I need to go back to see my mother!"

The reporter asked, "What happened to your mother?"

"She's sick."

"Then why aren't you at home?"

"My parents are divorced, and I live with my dad."

The reporter wondered why the plot was so similar to the movie he had seen that morning.

"What illness does your mother have?" the reporter asked again.

After hesitating for a moment, Hu Delu said, "Yes, it's madness."

Wow, it looks even more like it! Could this be the real-life version of "Mom, Love Me Once Again"?

The reporter felt he might have encountered a more newsworthy person, so he said to the driver, "Sir, I'll pay for his ticket, and give him another one. I'll go with him!"

"Uncle, what do you do?" Hu Delu asked, puzzled.

"Me? I'm a proud journalist!"

~
Wei Ming and Gong Xue went to the Overseas Chinese Apartment and picked up two deluxe editions, one for Sister Xue and one for Sister Lin. They also showed Sister Xue the paintings he had collected recently.

Just then, the phone rang. It was from the Ministry of Culture, asking him to go see Mr. Xia Yan tomorrow.

Because of the original manuscript of "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes", Wei Ming and Xia Lao became close friends despite their age difference. Could it be that he also wants his autograph?

Wei Ming agreed. Seeing that it was getting late, Xue Jie was worried that Xiao Hong would come back, so she urged him to return to Tuanjiehu.

"to make."

When they arrived at Tuanjiehu, Xiaomei waved to them from upstairs.

The two went upstairs together to visit someone. When Mei's mother saw the two of them coming together, she was clearly taken aback. Wei Ming and Hehua?
No, it's with Gong Xue!

Before Mei's mother could gossip, Mei Wenhua recounted what had happened when they went to the movies earlier. Yunyun was lying in bed at the moment.

Wei Ming asked worriedly, "Is Yunyun alright?"

Yunyun smiled and said, "The doctor said the baby can't stay inside any longer, but it's not time for him to come out yet."

Mei Wenhua added, "Brother, why don't you stay for a meal? My mom has already prepared it. Try her cooking."

“Yes, yes, yes,” Mother Mei finally seized the opportunity and asked Wei Ming, “Little Wei, what is your relationship with Comrade Gong Xue?”

"Oh, he brought me back. I'm staying at a friend's house here temporarily," Gong Xue explained to her.

Gong Xue denied their romantic relationship, and Mei's mother, being perceptive, didn't press the matter further. Instead, she started talking to them about movies, and now, thinking back, that feeling still lingers.

"I am also an artist, and I'm making this clear: this movie will definitely be a huge hit across the country, and Comrade Gong Xue will definitely win the Hundred Flowers Award next year."

Gong Xue quickly made a few modest remarks, indicating that Comrade Zhu Lin also had a good chance.

Upon hearing her mention Zhu Lin, Mei Wenhua and Xu Yunyun exchanged a glance, feeling a bit excited.

Because Mei's mother was watching from upstairs, Wei Ming and Gong Xue had to part ways, one going upstairs and the other going home.

The news about "Mom, Love Me Again" appeared in the newspapers the very next day.

The most eye-catching news in the Yanjing Evening News was: "Pregnant woman cried while watching 'Mom, Love Me Again,' leading to premature birth!"

Another newspaper reported on the Daguanlou Cinema's practice of reminding viewers to bring handkerchiefs to the movies.

Some people gave direct reviews of the film, with one highly praising it using the phrase "moving heaven and earth."

Besides the packed cinemas, audio-visual stores were also packed with customers. After hearing the theme song of "Mom, Love Me Again" playing on the loudspeaker, everyone bought it without hesitation. After buying it, they played it at home and remembered the movie scenes and started crying again.

Some viewers, not satisfied with crying their hearts out, even lied to those around them.

"This movie is amazing, it's my favorite of the year, you have to go see it, you won't regret it!" But they didn't mention how badly they cried or how miserable they were during the movie.

As the person who created this story, Wei Ming was greeted by many neighbors when he went out.

"You're writing such a tear-jerking story, you're going to kill us!"

Wei Ming took it as a compliment and laughed it off. He then rode his motorcycle to the Ministry of Culture to find Vice Minister Xia.

Mr. Xia's first words were: "I also watched your movie 'Mom, Love Me Again' yesterday."

Wei Ming thought that Old Xia had also been moved to tears by the movie and was going to settle scores with him.

However, that wasn't the case. He simply praised the movie a few times and then changed the subject.

“I heard you’re going to the Frankfurt Book Fair in a few days, so I’d like to chat with you.”

Wei Ming then realized that he had almost forgotten that the Copyright Bureau was now under the Ministry of Culture, and that the overseas distribution of his novels was indeed under its jurisdiction.

Although China has not yet joined the international copyright convention, it has participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair, having participated as early as the 50s. Later, because Taiwan also participated, China protested and withdrew. In recent years, with Frankfurt's active invitation and mediation, the mainland and Taiwan finally compromised, and China returned to the grand stage of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

However, in recent years, we have imported more books than we have promoted them abroad, resulting in a persistent trade deficit in the Chinese book market.

“We also brought your work to Frankfurt last year, but nobody paid any attention. It probably won’t happen this year, because this year we’re planning to promote your work directly under the name Mr. Why,” the old man said with a grin.

"Don't worry, Mr. Xia, I'll definitely do my best to promote it." Selling the copyright will not only expand Wei Ming's and Chinese literature's influence, but also earn foreign exchange.

Xia Laodao said, "You are the only writer on this trip to West Germany. We usually don't bring writers when we participate in book fairs, but you were invited by the British publisher, so you will have to travel with our team. I'll have Xiao Liu introduce you to the team that is going abroad later."

The secretary outside was on standby.

Wei Ming nodded.

In addition, Mr. Xia had another piece of good news. He pointed to a set of hardcover books on the table: "The Foreign Languages ​​Press is preparing to translate your book 'The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes' into English."

"Wow, this is a huge project," Wei Ming exclaimed, considering it was nearly 70 words long, with numerous characters, all of whom were sensitive figures.

"So this time we've brought in the prestigious Foreign Languages ​​Press, with Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie. You're in luck!"

……

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