Exciting 1979!

Chapter 366 Amin, You've Crossed the Line

After the royalties from his trip to Frankfurt arrived in his account, Wei Ming went to the bank to withdraw 10,000 yuan to check if his balance had exceeded two million. He was then invited to the bank manager's office for tea.

In the literal sense of drinking tea, the branch manager and deputy branch manager personally brewed it for him, and people outside the office were whispering about it, saying things like he was a millionaire, which was quite sensational.

No one suspected anything, after all, Wei Ming was a well-known big depositor in the industry, with six figures always in his account and a considerable amount of foreign exchange from time to time.

Moreover, the bank president had seen the news. The news didn't say how much money Wei Ming made, but it did say how successful Wei Ming's works were overseas, earning a lot of foreign exchange for the country, and so on.

So a little over a million is acceptable.

The branch manager mainly wanted to get to know Teacher Wei and, incidentally, request a piece of calligraphy.

"I heard that Mr. Wei's calligraphy skills amazed foreigners in Frankfurt. I wonder if I could do him a visit?"

They were exactly what Teacher Wei wanted. Wei Ming had been studying and practicing diligently at Teacher Wu's house recently, and his skills had improved a lot. He was just looking forward to showing off.

It just so happens that the bank manager is also a refined person, and he has some tools in his office.

However, Wei Ming knew his limits. He was writing to the bank manager, not to the Bank of China. Even if it were just a branch, it wouldn't be something a mere scholar like him could advise.

Therefore, he wrote famous sayings and proverbs about the ethics of bankers, such as "He has handled thousands of gold coins but has not touched a single penny."

The bank manager was very happy. He could tell that Wei Ming's calligraphy was better than his own, and that his words were so well said that they could be used as a motto.

"I will definitely hang this calligraphy in my office after it is framed, until I retire."

Wei Ming was very happy to receive recognition from others, and he even bragged about it to Gong Xue after returning to Tuanjiehu.

"Yes, you're the best."

Gong Xue was calmly practicing calligraphy, and the act of practicing calligraphy seemed to give her a touch of ancient charm even when she wasn't wearing traditional clothing.

Wei Ming didn't want to disturb them, so he quietly enjoyed the moment.

After putting down her pen, Xuejie said, "But you've been living here for quite a while now, shouldn't you go home and stay for a few days?"

Wei Ming then put his arm around her: "I've been living outside for so many days. If I suddenly come home, my parents might get suspicious."

"Hmph, you just want to bully me."

Wei Ming looked at her seriously and said, "Are you tired? Why don't you take a day off today?"

Gong Xue blushed with embarrassment. Indeed, he did have some. He asked for it every day, and Gong Xue would give it to him whenever he wanted. He thought that one day Gong Xue would complain about being tired, but in the end, it was Gong Xue who complained about being tired.

Combining high-frequency physical activity with high-intensity calligraphy practice is quite tiring.

So tonight, the two of them put on a truce and were obediently held by Wei Ming. Gong Xue even thought that it would be nice if Sister Lin were here.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, she began to despise herself. How could she think like that? She was utterly shameless.

Moreover, if Sister Lin were here, he probably wouldn't be able to handle it with just the two of them.

Wei Ming disagreed with this, as he was at the prime of his life at twenty.

Last night he only said he would rest for one day, but the next morning, it was already the second day.

"Sister, it's time to get up and get to work!"

~
When Wei Ming arrived at work feeling refreshed, he sat down at his desk and started worrying again as he looked at the newspaper on the table. He was being asked to translate himself, but he wasn't a translator.

Regarding the task assigned by Xinhua News Agency, he originally planned to rewrite it in Chinese himself, but later felt that this would not be challenging enough. Out of curiosity about different professions, Wei Ming wanted to use the logic of a translator to handle this manuscript.

So in the afternoon, he went to Mr. Yang Xianyi's house again, not only to discuss the preparations for translating "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes", but also to learn from the two of them how to translate from English to Chinese.

Perhaps this will be helpful for me to create directly in English in the future.

He studied translation here, and at five o'clock he would go to the Wu family to learn calligraphy. His days were quite fulfilling.

However, the translated article in Hong Kong's Ming Pao was published earlier.

As a loyal reader of Ming Pao, Wei Lingling's daughter, Lizhi, saw the article before she did.

She also wanted to improve, so she would usually look through the newspapers her family subscribed to first, and then help Lingling filter the content, reminding her of any particularly worthwhile articles.

However, Lizhi wasn't interested in South Africa or apartheid; she was more interested in seeing media reports about how much money Wei Ming had made in Germany and how popular he was.

It still gives you that energy and refreshes you!
When Zhou Huimin read this article written by Wei Ming, she felt that Wei Ming's great personality was shining brightly.

While he was still focused on caring for and loving cats and dogs, Amin had already begun to contemplate the grander topics of race and humanity.

Also, it seems like "Mandela" will be an additional source of material when writing essays in the future.

She was engrossed in reading Amin's article in the classroom when her deskmate and best friend came in and complained, "The price of 'Madman Comics' has gone up! It's four yuan a copy now!"

Amin defended, "It was a half-price period before. We certainly can't keep operating at a loss. Only when the magazine makes money can we keep providing you with a continuous stream of good content."

She picked up her classmate's magazine: "Wow, it seems to be thicker now, what a great deal!"

My deskmate snatched it away: "I'll read it first. I'll let you read it after I finish reading 'Qin's Moon' and 'Historical Cat'."

My female classmate wanted to read "Qin's Moon," while several male classmates accepted double the price of "Madman Comics" in order to read the sequel to "Storm Riders." Several copies of "Madman Comics" appeared in the classroom at the same time.

This is a fashion item that is more popular among students than "Dragon Tiger Gate" and "Bruce Lee" recently. Even the price doubling seems to have failed to stop its booming sales.

Vivian Chow smiled and said, "No need, I'll buy it myself later."

Best friend: "Buy it? The nearby shops are all sold out. Oh, and there's a new comic strip too!"

~
Since dropping out of school, Stephen Chow has worked many jobs, but none of them lasted long. He has decided to take the TVB training course next year and firmly believes that he will definitely become an actor in the future.

He now works at a teahouse. When he returns home after a long day, he sees his neighbor's son, who is in middle school, reading a book called "Fight Back to School".

"Wow, they've released a new one, and it seems thicker."

"It's even more expensive now, Xing-ge. How about I sell it to you after I've seen it? It'll only cost two yuan. I bought it for four yuan, hmm."

“You little rascal~” Stephen Chow’s eyes darted around, “Unless you give it to me now, I’ll give it back to you after I’ve finished reading it.”

After hesitating for a moment, the young man asked, "What about the two yuan?"

"Deal. Come pick it up tomorrow." He planned to stay up all night tonight.

He also watches "Qin's Moon" and "Wind and Cloud", but he prefers the comedy "Sha Wujing's Diary" and "History Cat". He also likes "Happy Ghost".

However, this time he discovered a new comic called "Fight Back to School," and the male protagonist was a handsome guy named Man Sing-sing, whom everyone called "Ah Sing."

Ah Xing is an ace member of the Flying Tigers. In order to solve a case, he was sent by his leader Cao Dahua to go undercover in a middle school. There, he met He Min, a teacher with a good figure and beautiful appearance, which led to a series of hilarious stories.

As he watched, Stephen Chow couldn't stop laughing, which made his neighbor's mother and sister bang on the wall, telling him to go to bed early.

Then he covered himself with the blanket and looked at it with a flashlight. Actually, he's not someone who's easily amused, but this story uses the contrast between the identities of a policeman and a student to create a lot of laughs.

The main artist is Gan Xiaowen. Zhou Xingchi had seen his short comics before. This time, the story was only a dozen pages long, which made him even more eager to see what would happen next in Ah Xing's school life. It would be perfect if he could date Teacher He while he was a student.

After reading the comic book "Fight Back to School," Stephen Chow suddenly didn't want to return the magazine to the neighbor's kid. How could he avoid paying him back?

~
On the last page of "If History Were a Bunch of Cats," the "Madman Comics" magazine mentions that it will collaborate with Langning Toy Factory to release History Cat dolls, which has made many readers who like the comic eager to try them out.

Right now, Wei Lingling is having a meeting at the factory to discuss how to make toys for the historical cat.

Some people think it should be made into plush toys, since cats are inherently soft.

However, some people insist on making plastic toys because they have Taiwan as their backing. Wei Muchun has a plastics industry in Taiwan, and toy factories can become downstream industries of plastic factories.

In the end, Wei Lingling decided to proceed on two fronts, which might result in a larger output than previously expected. However, Historical Cat is not a rootless duckweed; it is based on the original work.

"By the way, what's the issue number of this 'Madman Comics' again?"

Wei Lingling called Kuangren Comics, and A Long told her, "This time they printed 10 copies."

"10 copies sold!" Wei Lingling said. "That must be one of the top comic magazines in Hong Kong."

"Comprehensive comic magazines are number one, but if you include the sales of individual comic books, they are second only to 'Dragon Tiger Gate' and 'Bruce Lee,' ranking third." The sales of these two leading comic magazines are both over 100,000 per issue.

Wei Lingling felt that it was quite impressive that they could achieve this in just over two months, which meant that at least 100,000 people already knew about History Cat.

However, Liu Rulong was not satisfied. He wanted to be number one in Hong Kong comics, or even number one in Chinese comics, so he hoped to surpass Wong Yuk-long in every way.

As for whether to increase the print run for the next issue, based on current market feedback, there is a certain risk.

Just then, Wei Lingling suggested, "Let me introduce you to a friend; it might help with your magazine's sales."

"friend?"

The next day, Gong Biyang landed in Hong Kong from Taiwan and visited Madman Comics.

He had heard Wei Ming mention this comic magazine he had invested in before. Yesterday, the translation work for the two picture books of "The Lion King" was completed. He originally planned to go directly back to San Francisco from Taiwan, but a phone call summoned him to Hong Kong.

Gong Biyang had also read Hong Kong comics, especially those in Chinatown, but they had very little influence, and were mostly comedies like "Old Master Q".

He also had some knowledge of typical Hong Kong comics like "Dragon Tiger Gate," but he thought they probably wouldn't have much of a market overseas. However, after visiting Madman Comics today, he realized that Hong Kong comics actually have such a rich variety of genres, all of which are concentrated in one comic book.

He pointed to the "Screenwriter" section in the table of contents and asked, "Were all these works written by Wei Kuangren?!"

He knew perfectly well that Wei Kuangren was Wei Ming, and that he was Mr. Why.

Ah Long nodded: "Some were written by solo writers, and some were co-written by writers."

Works that Gong Biyang pays close attention to, such as "Wind and Cloud", "Qin's Moon" and "Fight Back to School", were all written by Wei Ming. The company's screenwriters mainly polished the lines.

As for works like "Sha Wujing's Diary" and "Historical Cat," these are now basically handled by the company's screenwriters; Wei Ming only provided a framework.

“Mr. Why is really diligent!” Gong Biyang then said, “I’d like to order 20,000 copies first, 10,000 for Taiwan and 10,000 for North America. If the response is good, we can order more later.”

Of course, he wanted the first installment.

Ah Long gripped Gong Biyang's hand tightly: "It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

~
Wong Yuk-long is very unhappy now. "Madman Comics" has begun to shake the foundation of Yuk-long International's dominance. Originally, his company was aiming to become the first Hong Kong comics company to go public.

The premise of this is that Jade International wants to unify the Hong Kong comics scene. Now, Madman Comics has broken through the encirclement with the diversity and high quality of its works. Even though the price has doubled, the sales have not decreased but increased, which means it has already started to make a profit!

Jade International is now not only unable to unify Hong Kong comics, but its market share is also being further eroded by Madman Comics, and it is heading towards half of the market.

Several financial tycoons who were initially optimistic about Jade International have recently become less enthusiastic about it.

"Master, what should we do? Should we find a few people..." Huang Yulang's eldest disciple, Qi Wenjie, made a fierce expression.

Wong Yuk-long retorted, "Who are you planning to target?"

"If we get rid of their editor-in-chief, Liu Rulong, Madman Comics will definitely fall apart!"

Wong Yuk-long smacked his eldest disciple on the head with the Madman Comics magazine in his hand: "You want to cripple him? Do you know how ruthless those gangsters are these days? Aren't you afraid I'll be drowned the next day?!"

Besides being a member of the Big Circle Boys, Liu Rulong also has the support of mainland China's official forces in Hong Kong. After all, Liu Rulong is Wei Ming's brother, and Wei Ming is now the pride of mainland China.

Qi Wenjie held his head and said, "Then, let's cripple Ma Rongcheng. The popularity of 'Storm Riders' is very high right now."

Huang Yulang opened the magazine's table of contents: "So what if we cripple that guy surnamed Ma? Look, these major works are basically all created by Wei Ming. Unless we cripple him too."

Qi Wenjie quickly shook his head. He knew that was unrealistic; he would probably be implicated in the consequences.

Wong Yuk-long scratched his head. "Why are you, a talented man from the mainland, getting involved in the Hong Kong comics industry? Ah Ming, you've crossed the line!"
Finally, Huang Yulang dialed the number of Liu Rulong of Kuangren Comics. He got straight to the point: "I want to buy Kuangren Comics, and I also hope that Mr. Liu will join our Yulang International. I wonder if Mr. Liu is willing. I can give two million!"

This price is even higher than when we initially tried to win over the Shangguan brothers.

Liu Rulong smiled and replied, "Thank you for your kind offer, Master Huang. I still want to create the comics I envision, and healthy competition is essential for a vibrant market."

Wong Yuk-long had actually anticipated this answer, and then he asked one last question: "When does your company plan to release the standalone edition?"

Liu Rulong also bluntly stated: "When the sales of 'Madman Comics' surpass those of 'Dragon Tiger Gate' and 'Bruce Lee'."

Wong Yuk-long took a deep breath. Arrogant, so incredibly arrogant!

He said to Qi Wenjie, "Hold a meeting, immediately!"

Previously, the company did not pay much attention to comic magazines, considering them merely a way to promote standalone volumes. Now that "Madman Comics" is gaining momentum, Wong Yuk-long has come up with the idea of ​​integrating its various newspapers and magazines to create a "Yuk-long Comics" publication.

After Liu Rulong confided in Huang Yulang, he didn't sit idle. Although the Chinese publisher from San Francisco gave Madman Comics a boost, who knows if the magazine has a market overseas?

We still need to find ways to expand the audience for Hong Kong comics.

So he immediately took Li Zhiqing from his company to visit Mr. Jin Yong of Ming Pao and proposed the idea of ​​turning Jin Yong's complete martial arts novels into comics.

Now that he had spoken with Wong Yuk-long, the other party would definitely try to suppress Madman Comics. Ah Long's move was also to prevent Wong Yuk-long from thinking about Jin Yong.

This was also an idea that Wei Ming had mentioned to Ah Long: the audience for Jin Yong's novels in Hong Kong is probably ten times that of the comics "Dragon Tiger Gate" and "Bruce Lee".

At the time, "Madman's Comics" was just being created and had no appeal to Jin Yong, but now even Jin Yong occasionally flips through "Madman's Comics".

The unique martial arts story "Qin's Moon," which involves various schools of thought and mechanical secrets, rekindled his long-dormant martial arts spirit.

He originally thought that the path of martial arts stories had been exhausted by his generation, but now, seeing the more vigorous imagination of young people, he realizes that martial arts stories can be written in this way.

As for adapting his novels into comics, Jin Yong looked at the two young men in their early twenties and said, "Besides the sales of 'Madman Comics,' what else can impress me?"

Ah Long immediately asked Li Zhiqing to demonstrate. He was very familiar with the style of every cartoonist in the company. Li Zhiqing liked the ink wash painting style, which was very suitable for martial arts themes. He used to be his assistant.

The comic book adaptations of Jin Yong's novels drawn by Li Zhiqing in later generations are also the most well-received.

Jin Yong felt that the other party was too young, so he didn't make things too difficult for him: "Then draw a picture of Guo Jing shooting an eagle in the desert. I'll give you half an hour."

The eighteen-year-old boy was a little nervous, but when he spread out the paper and the plot of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which he had read countless times, flashed through his mind, he immediately calmed down and began to write.

Jin Yong didn't go to see him, but instead chatted with Ah Long about whether Madman Comics needed investment.

Ah Long laughed and said that he didn't need it: "Our big boss is quite rich. The company is small now and we don't lack money for the time being, but it's uncertain about the future."

He didn't rule out any possibility, because sometimes cooperation and mutual benefit are indeed better than going it alone; it all depends on what kind of help the other party can provide.

Jin Yong did not delve into this issue, but instead began to ask Wei Ming.

"Oh, him? He should be coming to Hong Kong next month."

Half an hour later, Li Zhiqing had finished Jin Yong's assignment. The painting seemed simple, but because it was one of the most classic scenes in the novel, it was not easy to paint it well.

However, Jin Yong's first thought upon seeing it was: Wow!
"You used a pencil, didn't you? You've actually drawn something that looks like an ink painting!" Jin Yong examined the horse, the desert, and the eagle closely.

Because of time constraints, Li Zhiqing did not paint the details of Guo Jing's face. Instead, he painted a distant view, which created a sense of vastness and openness, instantly broadening one's mind.

"You really can't judge a book by its cover. Such excellent painting skills at such a young age," Jin Yong praised generously.

Ah Long asked, "Mr. Cha, what about our cooperation?"

"The complete series is definitely out of the question; I can only let you draw one part at most."

Ah Long knew that he could only negotiate the next book at most, and if he wanted to get the complete works of Jin Yong, or even the most important ones, he would have to rely on Ah Ming.

Ah Long nodded in agreement, but he hoped that Jin Yong would not make the news public for the time being, otherwise Huang Yulang would definitely entangle himself with Jin Yong as well.

Jin Yong smiled and said it was no problem, he understood the reasoning. Then they discussed the details of the licensing fee and revenue sharing. Li Zhiqing, who had been confirmed as the chief writer, was so excited that he was trembling.

After leaving Ming Pao, Liu Rulong immediately sent a telegram to Wei Ming to report the matter.

At that moment, Wei Ming and Gong Xue were preparing to go to a Jean-Michel Jarre concert.

Besides Wei Ming and Gong Xue, Yanzi and Biaozi, who had already given birth, Liu Zhenyun and Guo Jianmei from Peking University, and even Zhang Yimou from Beijing Film Academy all got their tickets from Wei Ming.

Meanwhile, Xiao Mei, who actually contributed those inner-circle tickets, is currently at home taking care of Yunyun, who is in her postpartum period, and her son Mei Changsu.

Why invite Zhang Yimou? Because Zhang and Jean-Michel Jarre have an extraordinary relationship; they are brothers-in-law.

Jean-Michel Jarre, the 33-year-old French electronic music master, is two years older than Zhang Yimou. Being French and an artist, his romantic history must be quite rich, not only rich but also of high quality.

At this time, his current wife is his second wife, the famous British actress Charlotte Rampling, who will become the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress and the Venice Film Festival Best Actress.

The marriage, which lasted for many years, ended in divorce because the husband had an affair with his secretary.

His third wife, Anne Parillau, was a French César Award-winning actress and the ex-wife of Luc Besson.

Between his second and third wives, he also had a fiancée he almost married, French national treasure actress Isabelle Adjani. The reason for their breakup was suspected to be the interference of his third wife.

Finally, when Yar was in his sixties or seventies, he married Gong Li, who had been divorced.

When Wei Ming heard Jean-Michel Jarre, he thought of Gong Li, and then he thought of Lao Zhang, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time.

Besides letting him experience international music trends, the reason for sending him the tickets was also to ask about his graduation plans.

"You'll graduate next year. With your photography skills being so high, will the Beijing Film Studio accept you?" Wei Ming poked where it hurt.

Zhang Yimou shook his head: "The Beijing Film Studio has such high entry requirements, and the entire photography team is already fully staffed, how could they possibly want me?"

Among their graduating class, only Tian Zhuangzhuang is guaranteed a spot at the Beijing Film Studio, after all, his deceased father was the former director of the studio and a meritorious figure in its founding, so there's a connection to his family line.

Chen Kaige's father was just a director, which was a step below him. It wasn't difficult to stay in Yanjing, but it wasn't easy to get into the Beijing Film Studio, so he later went to the Children's Film Studio.

However, Chen Kaige didn't get any acting opportunities there. The director of the Children's Film Studio was Tian Zhuangzhuang's mother, so Tian Zhuangzhuang was the one who directed the films produced by the studio.

"Fortunately, I have always kept in touch with director Wu Tianming, and he still really wants me."

Wei Ming: "We were planning to film 'The Battle of Qin Terracotta Warriors' back then, but it fell through. We haven't been in touch much since then. How is he doing now?"

"That's great, he's even become the deputy factory director!"

……

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