Exciting 1979!

Chapter 351 Seeing Vivian Chow again, calling her Dad

Wei Ming was planning to take the bus to the airport, but he didn't expect to see a familiar car as soon as he left the community. Mr. Liu waved to him.

"Master, you didn't come here to see me off, did you?! That's a mistake."

Before Master Liu could speak, the back window rolled down, and Wei Ping'an was looking at them with a grin.

"Uncle, are you going to the airport too?" Wei Hong immediately leaned over.

Wei Ming opened the trunk and put his and Xiao Hong's bags inside. Uncle Ping An is now working hard to earn money for Peking University and often flies around, so it's not surprising that everyone happens to be going to the airport on the same day.

Once in the car, Wei Ping'an asked first, "Why didn't your parents come out to see you off?"

Wei Ming hadn't been in touch with Uncle Ping An for a while, so he told him, "My parents didn't return to Beijing; they stayed in Sichuan."

"What? Your sister-in-law can't bear to leave her hometown, so she's having your dad marry into a family in Sichuan?"

Wei Hong laughed and said, "No, my dad is a panda keeper now."

"Huh?" Wei Ping'an and Master Liu were surprised at the same time.

Wei Ming: "Master, please drive carefully."

He then talked about the steel egg, and mentioned that he would probably choose to send it to Hong Kong as a return gift for the Hong Kong people's aid to Sichuan.

The clever Wei Ping'an immediately realized Wei Jiefang's scheme: he wanted to use this opportunity to legitimately go to Hong Kong to meet his biological father!
He and Wei Ming in the front row exchanged a glance and he knew he had guessed correctly.

Wei Hong then asked, "Uncle, we're going to West Germany, so where are you going?"

Wei Ping'an: "I'm going to Frankfurt, just like you."

"What?!" Now it was Wei Ming and his sister's turn to be surprised.

Wei Ping'an smiled and said, "I deliberately didn't tell you, just to give you a surprise."

Wei Ming: "It was indeed a pleasant surprise."

Wei Hong: "Then what are you going to Frankfurt for?"

Wei Ming guessed, "Is it to help Founder sell equipment?"

Wei Pingan nodded: "The Frankfurt International Book Fair exhibits not only books, but also the world's most cutting-edge publishing and printing technologies. I want to see if our products have an overseas market, so I will come with you this time as an unofficial member. I also happen to speak German."

Wei Hong: "Uncle, you can speak German too!"

Wei Ming: "Shouldn't someone your age know Russian?"

Wei Ping'an: "I also know a little Russian, but not as fluent as German. With me here, you can save a German translator."

Is he even good enough to be a German translator? This Uncle Ping An is quite something!

After arriving at the airport, the three got out of the car and said goodbye to Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu didn't go far, but waited by the roadside for people getting off the plane, preparing to do a "ridesharing" to earn some extra money.

These days, everyone is focused on making money. I think my salary is quite high, but compared to my childhood friends who are involved in illegal trading, it's a huge difference.

If you don't want to lose face in front of others, you need to have some money. Sigh, it was better before, everyone was poor then.

Before entering the airport, Wei Ping'an told Xiao Hong to go first: "I need to talk to your brother about something."

Wei Ming knew what he was going to say: "Shall we talk about my dad?"

"Hmm, is he confident he can go to Hong Kong?"

Wei Ming: "Don't you understand him? As long as the people of Hong Kong are willing to accept this return gift from Sichuan, my dad will most likely be able to go to Hong Kong with his panda son to enjoy a life of luxury."

Wei Ping'an thought about it and realized that he had a good relationship with the livestock in the village since he was a child. At that time, there were also some wild animals around the village, and he once invited a weasel to his home as a guest.

"That's really a good thing. After being separated for so many years, the father and son can finally reunite. It will also let Jiefang feel his father's love for him again. Even though you are his grandson, you can't compare to a biological father and son."

“That makes sense, but this time your nephew also has a chance to meet him beforehand,” Wei Ming said with a smile. “We’re transiting through Hong Kong.”

“I know that,” Wei Pingan said, “but how long can I stay in Hong Kong? Can I leave the airport?”

Wei Ming couldn't answer that question.

Upon entering Beijing Capital International Airport, they first found Deputy Director Liu Gao, then saw Mr. Ye Junjian, and Shen Changwen from People's Publishing House, who later became the general manager of Sanlian Publishing House.

A mid-level manager from the China Children's Publishing House arrived; he was an old acquaintance of Wei Ming and Wei Ping'an.

Wei Mingke is a leading figure in the field of children's literature today, and there's no need to add the word "youth" before him; his status is even higher than in the field of serious literature.

One of the major tasks for the children's publishing house this time is to promote the translation rights of Wei Ming's series of children's literature works in various countries, including "Jumanji" and "The Lion King," which are already very famous abroad.

It's safe to say that the success of these two novels is already a sure thing.

Although Macmillan is also promoting foreign language versions of Wei Ming's two works, those are picture books, which are collaborations between Wei Ming, Melinda, and the illustrator. The children's publisher, on the other hand, is promoting Wei Ming's original text novels. Everyone is promoting their own.

Including Wei Ping'an, a mid-level manager from Peking University, there are a total of 12 people, and all 12 of them are proficient in foreign languages.

Besides English, which more than half of the people speak, there are three or four who can speak fluent Russian, Uncle Ping'an is good at German, two others speak French and Spanish respectively, and Wei Ming knows a little Japanese.

With these languages, this group of people in Frankfurt will generally not have any communication problems as long as they don't get separated from others.

Deputy Director Liu Gao, as the team leader, explained some principles and precautions, and then asked Elder Ye to say a few words.

"Some of you here are going abroad for the first time. I just want to say one thing: your words and actions represent China, so please remember to think twice before you act. We don't provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble either. When you are abroad, don't be timid or hesitant!"

Wei Hong winked at her elder brother: This is more than just one sentence.

While waiting for their flight, Ye Lao once again discussed the issue of the English translation of "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" with Wei Ming.

"This time, we still hope to sell the translation rights of this novel in addition to the English version, so we hope to decide on the English title as soon as possible so that foreigners can understand it."

Wei Ming understood perfectly; after all, English is a global language, and choosing an English name would be understood worldwide.

Old Ye said, "Old Yang and I discussed it on the phone again and felt that a direct translation was not appropriate. After all, the title of your book is more symbolic than actual in the context of the novel. A direct translation would easily cause foreign readers to have doubts and misunderstandings about the content of the novel. So we want to name it directly based on the content of the novel."

Wei Ming nodded: "That is one possible line of thought."

Ye Junjian said, "I thought of 'The Epic of Home and Country,' an epic about home and country. Mr. and Mrs. Yang thought 'Once upon a time in China' was more suitable. 'Once upon a time' is a term we often use when translating fairy tales. It refers to China long, long ago, or Chinese history."

Wei Ming knew there was a famous movie called "Once Upon a Time in America," a name that was both grand and somewhat melancholic.

Translation is more troublesome than direct writing precisely because it often requires comparing and contrasting back and forth, and repeatedly refining the use of a single word.

Mr. Ye presented the two options and called the others over. Since most of them understood English, he asked them to participate in the discussion and see if there were any better translations.

This discussion continued from the airport onto the plane.

Their destination was Hong Kong, where the entire city was currently being bombarded with news.

"Does Hong Kong want giant pandas?"

When the mainland sent this message to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government was naturally very happy and readily accepted it.

Governor Murray MacLehose still remembers the sensation caused by the giant panda Ji Ji in Britain, and coincidentally, Ji Ji also came from Baoxing County, Ya'an. It would be wonderful if Hong Kong could have a giant panda from Ji Ji's hometown.

However, after the news was released, some right-wing newspapers began to criticize the matter, saying that Hong Kong citizens' money was being used to support animals in mainland China, and even tried to incite the public to boycott it.

They even went so far as to calculate how much taxpayer money it would cost each year to feed two giant pandas, arriving at a rather substantial figure.

Ultimately, the government was forced to leave the question of whether or not to raise giant pandas to a nationwide discussion.

Many Hong Kong people are now writing letters to support the adoption of giant pandas. After all, who knows if taxpayers' money will ultimately be used for their own benefit? But they can definitely see giant pandas when they come to Hong Kong!
In the comic book series "Madman," when the panda controversy arose, Liu Rulong would have his idle cartoonists draw a series of short panda comics to be published in the next issue of the magazine in support of the Sichuan pandas.

However, upon seeing the manuscript handed to him by Gan Xiaowen, he frowned and said, "The story is indeed very pleasing, and pandas are just that cute, but the panda you drew is too lewd. How can a panda look like this? The movements are also not right."

Gan Xiaowen said innocently, "Boss, I've never seen a real panda, I can only imagine it from pictures. Have you ever seen a real panda?"

“Of course, the Beijing Zoo has one,” Liu Rulong sighed. “I’ll do it myself. You continue drawing the story Amin gave you.”

"Alright!" Gan Xiaowen perked up at the mention of the story. As expected of Wei Ming, he was about to have his own masterpiece!
~
At St. Stephen's Church Secondary School, Zhou Huimin's classmates, without her encouragement, all began writing letters and making phone calls to support the giant pandas.

These students can't go to mainland China, and they only have the opportunity to see giant pandas when they travel to countries like the UK and the US. But not everyone has the financial means to travel abroad. Where in the world is it as convenient as having giant pandas right at your doorstep?

Seeing that no one supported those reactionaries, the politically correct and expert Amin was very happy, so she decided to take a few girlfriends to Holiland for fried chicken and hamburgers at noon.

At this time, the old ghost was in the shop, Zhou's mother was guarding the old shop, and Liu Bin went to Kowloon to choose a location to open a new shop.

Just like with Madman Comics, the more copies are printed per issue, the lower the cost per issue becomes.

The same applies to fast food; the more stores you open, the lower the cost of raw materials will be, and the higher the profit will be.

The success of the new store proves that their Western-style fast food, which is an improvement on McDonald's, can be very popular in Hong Kong, so of course they should open stores all over Hong Kong as soon as possible.

As for funding, Holiland's brand name is already available for loans, and Wei Ming's money in his Hong Kong account can also be lent to Holiland.

It was noon, and more and more customers were arriving when a phone call came in.

When Lao Gui answered the phone, it turned out to be Wei Ming's grandson.

"Grandpa, I've arrived in Hong Kong. I'm at Kai Tak Airport."

"Then come to the Central store, I'm here."

“I can’t go. I’m going to Germany for a book fair and I’m transiting through here. I can’t leave the airport. My sister, Wei Hong, is also leaving in a little over two hours. Do you want to come and see her?” Wei Ming asked.

If he comes, Wei Ming thinks he might as well just tell Xiao Hong the truth.

Old Ghost asked, "Will you come to Hong Kong when you return?"

"I'll come too, so I'll have more time when I come back."

"See you when you come back. I'll treat you to a meal then."

"Okay, then I'll tell Uncle Ping An."

"Ping An? Your Uncle Ping An is in Hong Kong too?!" Old Ghost's voice suddenly rose.

"Yes, he also went to Frankfurt with us."

Old Ghost: "Wait for me, I'll be there soon."

The company just bought Lao Gui a car, a luxury brand, a Mazda.

Old Ghost started the car and headed straight for Hong Kong, and then he saw Vivian Chow.

Amin saw him too.

"Uncle Ghost, why aren't you watching the shop and doing your work?"

Old Ghost said, "Go to the airport, Ah Ming is here."

Upon hearing the words "Amin is here," Amin decisively told her girlfriends, "You guys go ahead and eat, put it on my tab!"

"Ah You?"

Faced with her classmates' questions, Amin didn't have time to explain and got on the bus directly.

~
Wei Ming hung up the phone and returned to the group. Everyone was having lunch, and the comrades who were traveling for the first time were complaining that the food at the airport was too expensive.

It was really delicious, though, with so much meat in one bowl of noodles.

Wei Ming looked around at the restaurants in the airport and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: how about opening Holiland here!
When Lao Gui arrives, I'll tell him about this.

Wei Ping'an pulled Wei Ming aside: "Did the call go through?"

"Ah."

"What did he say?"

Wei Ming laughed and said, "When he heard that Xiao Hong and I were coming, he said he couldn't come because it was too far and he was too busy. He said he would see us next time. But when he heard that you were here too, hey, the old man hung up the phone and rushed over here."

Wei Ping'an knew that Wei Ming's words were definitely exaggerated, after all, writers' words are too unreliable.

However, the basic facts should be largely correct: he still remembers him and values ​​him.

To be honest, if Wei Senhao didn't have his own son, Wei Ping'an would have really wanted to call him "Dad" when he was a child.

In Wei Ping'an's childhood memories, Uncle Senhao treated him and Jiefang Ge almost equally. He had everything Jiefang Ge had, and even things Jiefang Ge didn't have.

For example, books. Because he loved reading from a young age, his uncle always tried his best to find books for him, which laid a solid foundation for his early education.

He and Wei Jiefang were very close as children, but Wei Ping'an would feel a pang of sadness only when they showed their fatherly affection in front of him.

She wondered why Wei Senhao was his father and not her own. Was it because her mother wasn't trying hard enough?

When he got older, he realized that it wasn't as simple as his mother trying hard enough to have a good father.

After waiting for more than an hour, the staff from Sanlian Bookstore and International Bookstore arrived, but Lao Gui still hadn't come.

Wei Ping'an looked at the doorway anxiously: "Is there a traffic jam?"

"Probably not, he's a good driver."

Old Gui's driving skills are indeed quite good, so when there's a traffic jam, he complains that the car isn't good enough.

After rushing for a while, they finally arrived just as Wei Ming and his group got up to queue.

From afar, Lao Gui spotted Wei Hong and Wei Ping'an by locking onto Wei Ming.

However, seeing so many comrades around them, Lao Gui forced himself to stop, knowing that his presence would cause them trouble.

But he couldn't stop Zhou Huimin; the girl had already rushed over...

~
(Guaranteed minimum today~)

(End of this chapter)