Exciting 1979!

Chapter 361 Old Ghost and Peace

On the day the book fair ended, some people carried their trains and planes away overnight, but these were all people who lived nearby.

The departures that didn't happen that day were basically scheduled for the next day, so Frankfurt Airport was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, and scenes of farewells were everywhere.

Ping Hsin-tao of Crown Publishing in Taiwan and Shen Teng-en of Vision Publishing are currently saying goodbye to their rivals.

This year, Vision Publishing House is mainly promoting Li Ao and Jin Yong, but apart from Wei Ming, it is difficult to promote Chinese works. Although they have come to Europe, their influence is still limited to East Asia.

Crown Publishing needs no further explanation. Two years ago, Qiong Yao officially married Ping Xintao, and Crown Publishing and Qiong Yao's novels were completely locked together. In addition to Qiong Yao, they also have Eileen Chang and Sanmao.

This time, Crown clearly had a slight edge in performance. Ping Xintao was planning a trip to Italy and would also like to buy Qiong Yao a bag or something.

Shen Dengen left first; he still needed to go back to Taiwan to bail out Li Ao, who had only been released for a short time before going back in.

"Mr. Gong!"

After seeing Shen Dengen off, Ping Xintao met Gong Biyang from Tangren Publishing Company in the United States. They got to know each other through this book fair and had some collaborative projects. They still needed to rely on him for the North American market.

"Oh, Mr. Ping." Gong Biyang chatted with Ping Xintao for a few words, but he was clearly distracted.

"Is Mr. Gong waiting for a friend?" Ping Xintao asked.

"Oh, I'm waiting for Mr. Why. I forgot to invite him to visit San Francisco sometime when we met yesterday," Gong Biyang thought, intending to add it at the airport.

Speaking of Mr. Why, Ping Xintao felt a little sour. He thought that the romantic French would be interested in Qiong Yao's novels, but he didn't expect that they would rather buy Wei Ming's "The Terracotta Warriors of Ancient and Modern Times".

I really don't understand the French taste. Is it that "I'm not here to break up this family, I'm here to join this family" is not romantic, or "You only lost a leg, but Zi Ling lost love" is not romantic?

“I saw in the Book Trade News that Tangren Media had acquired the traditional Chinese rights to two of Mr. Why’s picture books,” Ping Xintao said casually to Gong Biyang. “I forgot to remind Mr. Gong at the time that he is a mainland writer and there might be some obstacles to publishing in Taiwan.”

Gong Biyang laughed and said, "Don't worry, the obstacles have been cleared. Mr. Ping should be able to buy his works in Taiwan soon."

Ping Xintao said "Oh," showing even more curiosity about the forces behind Tangren.

“Miss Wei!” Gong Biyang saw Wei Linlang, the East German publisher who was staying at the same hotel as him. They knew each other because of Wei Ping’an.

"Gong, are you leaving too?"

"Yes."

Then the two people who weren't very familiar with each other watched the entrance together.

A short while later, they saw a group of Asians. The two were about to greet them happily when they took a closer look and realized, oh, they were just ordinary people.

This time, there were more Japanese people than all the Chinese people combined. Each publishing house operated independently, and of course, the results were quite good.

Wei Ming's last live-streaming sales event mainly featured Chinese comic books, while almost every Japanese publisher had their own signature comic works.

Even Hitotsubashi Publishing Group, which owns Shogakusha and Shueisha, and has two major flagship publications, Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Jump, not only surpasses China in the field of comic book publishing, but also rivals American publications like Marvel and DC.

Wei Ming's bag, filled with all sorts of books, has a section specifically for comics, including Rumiko Takahashi's "Urusei Yatsura" and Akira Toriyama's "Dr. Slump," as well as some American comics.

When we go to Hong Kong, we'll give these to Ah Long and the others. These are all masterpieces representing the pinnacle of American and Japanese comics, and they're worth studying.

"Mr. Why!"

As Wei Ming entered the airport with his bag and companions, Gong Biyang waved to him warmly.

Wei Linlang, who was next to Gong Biyang, walked over and hugged Wei Ping'an in front of everyone, saying, "Goodbye, Alexander."

Wei Hong: "Alexander?"

Wei Ming: "It should be Uncle Ping An's German name." People who have cross-border relationships usually take foreign names.

Wei Hong frowned and said, "There are so many people here. Foreigners are too unrestrained."

Wei Ping'an, who was initially confused, quickly recovered and patted Wei Linlang on the back with great manners: "We will definitely meet again. You are welcome to come back to China and visit Peking University when you have time. I can introduce you to my wife, son and daughter. They are all very, very outstanding."

Wei Ming shook his head, thinking to himself, "Uncle Ping An, your words are really hurtful."

Melinda arrived at the airport with Wei Ming, and she and Wei Ming had not yet officially said goodbye.

She tugged at Wei Ming's sleeve: "We're not in the same waiting area, and now we have to say goodbye."

Wei Ming simply opened his arms wide.

Melinda replied, "Do you remember how you said goodbye to me when I left China?"

Of course I remember. At Beijing Capital International Airport, under the cover of many international students, Wei Ming and Melinda shared a goodbye kiss.

There's no one to cover for them here, but there's also no rule against being affectionate in public.

So after Wei Ping'an and Wei Linlang separated, Wei Ming hugged Melinda and kissed her directly.

Wei Ming only intended to give her a quick kiss, but Melinda ended up holding his head and giving him a long kiss.

"Ah!" Wei Hong's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and the other Chinese people in the group were also dumbfounded, exclaiming that this was "unacceptable!"
Even if you've already broken up, you can't do this even if you're still lovers or married!

Then Bu Suanzi calmly covered Wei Hong's eyes with his hands, saying, "Children are not allowed to look."

Wei Hong gently pried open his fingers. Everyone was watching. Why couldn't my own sister watch? Her throat bobbed as she watched.

Melinda didn't get enough kisses last time in Yanjing, so this time she kissed to her heart's content. Even other foreign tourists looked on, and some even applauded.

Some of them had already recognized Wei Ming. In the past five days, Mr. Why had made quite a few appearances in the local Frankfurt newspapers. In the eyes of publishers from all over the country who were preparing to return home, he was the most talked-about figure at this year's book fair and a literary star.

Melinda reluctantly let go of Wei Ming only when she was out of breath, and then she smiled.

Wei Ming's lips were all red from her kisses.

"You should touch up your makeup too, your lip gloss is all smudged."

Melinda wiped her mouth. There was no other way; she was struggling to make ends meet, so she had to kiss him as much as she wanted.

"Goodbye."

Wei Ming wasn't as melancholic as Melinda. He knew he would definitely travel in two years, and there would be plenty of opportunities to meet her then.

Only after Melinda disappeared into the crowd did Gong Biyang have a chance to come over and say goodbye to Wei Ming.

"Mr. Why, you are welcome to visit San Francisco. If you wish, we will officially invite you to the United States."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ping'an's heart stirred. Could he take me along? He also wanted to go to San Francisco to ask that aunt some questions.

Or you could ask your uncle if you happen to be passing through Hong Kong this time.

Bu Suanzi and Gong Biyang were on the same flight, both flying to San Francisco. Bu Suanzi was currently studying biology at Stanford.

After everyone said goodbye to the young man, Deputy Director Liu spoke a few words to Wei Ming on behalf of everyone.

"That's too flamboyant. We Chinese should value subtlety."

Actually, Wei Ping'an, as Wei Ming's uncle, was the most suitable person to criticize him, but unfortunately, he also had some issues with Wei Linlang, so he had to remain silent throughout. The team leader was the only one who could criticize Wei Ming.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Then how about I write a self-criticism, in both Chinese and English?"

Deputy Director Liu: "Forget about the self-criticism, just be more careful next time. After all, you're single now."

He definitely can't write a report. He already faxed back the results of his trip to Frankfurt yesterday, and I estimate that it will be publicized in China by the time he returns. Wei Ming should be credited the most for this trip.

"Also, after you return to China, please don't spread rumors or gossip, okay? People inevitably have moments when they can't control their emotions."

After criticizing Wei Ming, Deputy Director Liu warned the others that no matter how serious the matter was, it would not be a good thing if it got out, as it would give people the impression that Wei Ming was frivolous and unreliable in the literary world.

Everyone's busy and promises not to say anything carelessly, but you can write it in your diary!

Next, they went to wait for their flight. Everyone's luggage was much heavier than when they arrived. They were all allocated some foreign exchange to buy some local novelties to take back home. Otherwise, these days everyone likes to go on business trips, and business trips abroad are the most desirable.

Wei Ming had a lot of things, and the younger people in the group had to help him carry them. However, he mainly bought books, which was something that everyone admired. Teacher Wei was so eager to learn.

While waiting for his flight, he randomly picked up a book to read, and it was Robert Ludlum's "The Identity of Bourne".

This book ranked second in the literature category on the North American bestseller list last year, and was later adapted into a film series called "The Bourne Identity".

Many classic Hollywood movies actually have original stories that appeared very early on; for example, the original TV series for Mission: Impossible existed as early as the 60s.

This book has a strong storyline, but Wei Ming is now doing more than just reading stories; he also wants to study grammar and vocabulary. He has read too many old English books in the Peking University Library and needs to find out the style of contemporary literature as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it would feel like writing a novel about educated youth and capturing the atmosphere of the May Fourth Movement.

Wei Ping'an chatted with Deputy Director Liu, asking him how long he would be staying in Hong Kong this time.

Deputy Director Liu said, "We'll be spending the night in Hong Kong this time, but everyone should stay with the group and not get separated from the team."

Everyone can relax when they go abroad, but he, as the tour leader, can't relax. He has to bring back a few of the people who went abroad. Now all that's left is the trip to Hong Kong.

If it hadn't been so late when they arrived in Hong Kong, they would have taken a car directly to Shenzhen and stayed there.

Upon hearing that he could spend the night in Hong Kong, Wei Ming's eyes flickered, wondering if he could arrange for Lao Gui to meet with Uncle Ping An and Xiao Hong.

Now, Xiaohong is the only one in the family who knows how to play the drum.

On the plane, Wei Ming kept reading. After finishing "The Bourne Identity," he felt sleepy and immediately turned his head to sleep.

Wei Ping'an went to bed earlier, while Wei Hong was full of energy, engrossed in reading an English mathematics journal, occasionally gesturing on the draft paper.

Before Wei Ming and his team arrived in Hong Kong, reports about the Frankfurt trip had already appeared in Hong Kong newspapers.

Hong Kong people generally don't have much interest in reading, so they naturally don't care about these kinds of book fairs.

But because Wei Ming was at the book fair, the newspapers sold out as soon as they reported that he was a sensation in Frankfurt.

More than three months have passed since the "Tomorrow Will Be Better Charity Concert," but Hong Kong is still digesting the impact left by Wei Ming. Not to mention the music, literature, and comics industries, there was also a recent major debate about giant pandas, which ultimately decided by overwhelming majority that Hong Kong will have a pair of giant pandas.

Looking at the photo of Wei Ming writing calligraphy in Ming Pao, Zhou Huimin couldn't help but swoon.

Jin Yong also has a publishing house called Minghe Publishing House, but it only publishes his works. So this time, only people from Ming Pao were sent to Frankfurt to try to get first-hand news.

Last year's coverage of the book fair didn't attract much attention, but this year it boosted Ming Pao's sales.

Even proud Hong Kongers would puff out their chests upon hearing that Wei Ming's works had sold dozens of global translation licenses, earning hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. This newspaper was reporting on the first day of the book fair, and Zhou Huimin read it slowly, word by word, only regretting that she couldn't be by his side.

Judging by the time, he should be back today. Will he come to Hong Kong again? If I go to the airport now, is there a chance I'll catch him?

Zhou Huimin glanced at the living room; her mother had already gone into the bedroom.

That restless heart began to stir again. Amin put on a coat and started to move quietly.

Just as she was about to reach the door to change her shoes, Zhou's mother opened the door and waved to her daughter with a gossipy look on her face.

“Amin, come here.”

"what?"

"Come quick!" Zhou's mother exclaimed, "I saw a young woman enter Ah Gui's house!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huimin immediately forgot about Wei Ming: "Really? You didn't see it wrong, did you?"

"It's definitely right. Although it's a bit far, it should be very beautiful," Zhou's mother said excitedly. She never expected that her husband, at his age, would still be doing this kind of thing.

She's very beautiful and young. Zhou Huimin thought to herself, "Could it be Aunt Ling? My mother must have misunderstood."

"Mom, Uncle Ghost has a daughter, it might be her."

"Daughter? He has a daughter? How old is she?"

Zhou Huimin: "In my early twenties, just graduated from university."

Mrs. Zhou waved her hand: "No, no, although she is young, she is definitely not in her early twenties. Amin, you keep an eye on things. I'll wash the dishes first. I was so busy watching that I haven't cleaned up yet."

"Ah You……"

Zhou Huimin's idea of ​​trying her luck at the airport was completely thwarted, and she could only stay here with her mother and gossip about Ghost Uncle.

~
At this time, there was indeed a young woman in Gui Bo's house. She looked to be in her thirties, but was actually in her early forties. Her name was Lin Ni, Wei Lingling's biological mother.

Lin Ni sat in the somewhat cramped room: "I didn't come here specifically to see you. I missed Lingling and was worried that she wasn't eating or sleeping well, so I planned to come to Hong Kong to stay with her for a while. I heard you were still alive, so I came to see you."

Lin Ni harbored resentment towards Lao Gui. Her relationship with him was arranged by her brother-in-law and sister, but he took her and then ran off to Hong Kong a few years later. It was simply too much of a bullying.

Raising children wasn't a problem; there were so many servants in the Wei mansion. But at the time, I was over thirty.

I'm a young married woman in my thirties and I don't have a man. Do you know how I've been living all these years?
Old Gui wasn't heartless. He knew he had wronged the little girl, but at the time, he was afraid of implicating his elder brother and betraying his beliefs, so he had no choice but to run away.

“My dear, I’m so sorry. How about this, I’ll have it notarized and transfer a portion of my Holiland shares to you. That way, you won’t have to worry about who will take care of you after I’m gone.”

“I’m not worried at all. My daughter is very capable,” Lin Ni replied. “Besides, is your Holiland really that valuable? It’s just a small snack shop.”

"You don't understand. This is not just a small shop, but a mature and replicable model. Soon, Holiland stores will be popping up all over Hong Kong's airport, Ocean Park, and Causeway Bay!"

At the latest, next year. Old Ghost will be able to buy a house in Hong Kong next year. Right now, the company's development is the priority.

Lin Ni: "I don't care. I also have shops in Taipei that I collect rent from. I'm not short of money."

"How much money do you have? Can you lend it to me?"

Linni stared at the old ghost in disbelief, even doubting her own ears.

Old Ghost: "The company is expanding, so we need money right now."

Lin Ni was amused and annoyed: "Goodbye, I'm going back."

Old Ghost: "How did you get here? Isn't it safe so late? I heard there's a midnight taxi killer in Hong Kong."

"Lingling brought me here; she's waiting for me downstairs."

Old Gui quickly put on his clothes and went downstairs with her.

"Mom, Mom, she's out, she's out!" Amin called out, and Zhou's mother came in wiping her hands.

"That's too fast!" she blurted out, then immediately regretted it. How could she say something like that in front of Amin? Luckily, Amin didn't understand.

Amin stared intently at the woman. It was definitely not Aunt Ling. Could it be that Uncle Gui had really blossomed again?

However, the mother and daughter watched them go downstairs, walk around downstairs, and then go back upstairs, leaving them completely bewildered.

Linni was also confused; her daughter had actually left her behind!

Unfilial daughter!
Old Gui readily agreed to take Lin Ni in, letting her stay the night and leave the next day.

As for the fact that he owns a car, she didn't ask, so he didn't mention it either.

"There's a folding bed here, left behind by a young fellow who used to stay here with me," the old man said, putting on a gentlemanly air.

Lin Ni snorted, rolled over on the bed, and wrapped herself in the blanket, making it impossible for her to get out or for anyone else to get in.

Old Gui tidied up and went to sleep, but an hour later, just as the two of them were sound asleep, the phone rang.

~
Wei Ming and his companions were led away by comrades from the Xinhua News Agency branch and arranged for accommodation. The person who came was Song Duanwu, an old acquaintance of Wei Ming.

Teacher Song already knew about Wei Ming's great achievements in Frankfurt. She held his hand and shook it for a long time, saying, "The people of Hong Kong are thinking of you."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "You miss giant pandas, don't you?"

"Haha, we've all been thinking about it, Teacher Wei, when will the giant panda thing finally happen?"

"I'll try to find out for you when we get back to China. I don't know what stage the process is at."

Wei Ming and Uncle Ping An shared a room. After entering, he immediately made a phone call to Lao Gui's house.

It was almost midnight, and Lao Gui reacted very quickly to the noise, answering almost instantly.

"Mmm, okay, mmm."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ni, lying on the bed, stretched out her arms and mumbled, "Who was it? So late at night."

Old Ghost chuckled and said to Lin Ni, "Ni'er, have I ever told you I bought a car? A Mazda?"

"No."

Old Ghost: "Now you know, I'm going to the airport and I'll be passing by Lingling's place. How about I take you back?"

"You!" Lin Ni was so angry she almost stood up, but luckily the blanket held her back. "You bastard!"

"If you don't want to go back, then sleep here. I'll lock the door for you."

Linni rolled over again with difficulty, and after getting out of bed, she said decisively, "Take me back, right now!"

This is so humiliating! I stripped naked and wrapped myself up completely. This is the treatment an ancient emperor would receive!

"Alright!" Old Ghost grabbed the car keys.

~
Wei Ping'an paced back and forth nervously. He would finally see his uncle today. They hadn't spoken for almost thirty years, and he didn't know what to say.

Wei Ming smiled and said, "Uncle Ping An, go and call Xiao Hong over, and let her know."

"Yeah."

After Uncle Ping An left, Wei Ming made another phone call to Ah Long.

To Wei Ming's surprise, Ah Long answered the call immediately.

"Are you still awake?"

"Ah Ming?" Liu Rulong, who was sitting in the living room, put down his paintbrush. "You've come to Hong Kong?!"

Wei Ming: "I'm leaving tomorrow, so I wanted to talk to you."

"Where are you? It's boring talking on the phone, I'll come find you!" Liu Rulong said, beaming.

"Okay." Wei Ming gave him the address. He had slept so much during the day so that he could stay up all night tonight.

However, Wei Hong was unprepared. She had already fallen asleep and was still grumpy when she was called to the room. With dazed eyes, she asked, "What is it?"

Wei Ming: "Xiao Hong, what I'm about to tell you is the biggest secret of our Wei family. You have to keep it to yourself after you hear it, understand?"

"Oh, is it that serious?" Wei Hong quickly went to the bathroom to wipe her face, shaking off the water droplets, and said, "Brother, you tell me."

"Haven't you always been curious about what kind of relationship Wei Lingling has with us? Are we related?"

"correct."

"Actually, she is our father's half-sister, so she is our aunt."

"Ah! Our grandfather has been gone for almost thirty years, how could he be so small..." Wei Hong suddenly realized halfway through her sentence, "Grandpa, he, he's still alive!"

Wei Ping'an nodded, and then Wei Ming recounted that period of history again.

"No wonder, no wonder you always go to Hong Kong. I thought someone was there." Wei Hong was a little embarrassed; she had misunderstood her brother and Amin.

Then the three of them waited quietly, each with their own thoughts.

Old Ghost arrived. He first booked a room on the same floor, then gently knocked on the door three times.

Wei Ming saw an old man wearing a hoodie through the peephole and immediately let him out.

These clothes were the ones he left with Old Ghost last time.

When the old ghost came in, he took off his hat, revealing his true face. Wei Ping'an, not knowing what to say, immediately knelt down and kowtowed to him three times, making a loud noise.

Wei Hong quickly followed suit, which embarrassed Wei Ming, who said, "I've already done it before."

There was no other way but to pay my respects to the old man as well.

At this moment, Old Gui also felt an indescribable happiness. He helped the two younger children, Wei Ming and Wei Hong, to their feet, and finally looked at Wei Ping'an, who had grown into a young man, and tears streamed down his face as he cried out, "My child, get up, get up!"

……

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