Exciting 1979!

Chapter 372 Old Wei: My son has a wife!
Wei Mingqing cleared his throat and began to sing a cappella. The style of this song still sounds very novel and catchy today.

"All the beauty is just yesterday's indulgence; the bitterness is the taste of today."

Thinking about tomorrow's scorching sun and wind, I'm fearless and undaunted no matter how tough or tiring it gets.

Wei Ming's singing voice is certainly not as gifted as Tian Zhen's, but he has tried his best to sing with emotion, and the audience listened attentively and nodded frequently.

"The pain in my body makes it hard for me to sleep, and there is still more to come on the road ahead."

The pursuit of dreams is always full of twists and turns, but we face them calmly and without regret.

Wei Ming's gaze swept over the 12 female volleyball players. They had played seven matches in ten days, and today's match lasted a full two hours. Each of them had injuries, some exposed and some covered by their clothes. Teacher Wei's singing touched their hearts.

"Through wind and rain, a rainbow appears; a resilient rose blooms. Bear all the sorrow and pain yourself."

Through wind and rain, a rainbow appears; a resilient rose blooms. Traversing the world, laughing proudly, never retreating.

Wei Ming's voice suddenly rose, and several of the female volleyball players had already begun wiping away tears.

It's not just because of this hard-won victory, but also because Wei Ming, such a cultured person, actually wrote such a good song for them. What a great honor!
When I get back, I'll definitely buy a copy of Professor Wei's book to show my support.

Actually, this song wasn't originally intended for the women's football team. Wei Ming simply gave it to the women's volleyball team first. Although the women's football team has achieved good results, they can't compare to the peak performance of the women's volleyball team. This song will spread throughout the country and even the world as the Chinese women's volleyball team achieves five consecutive championships in the future!

After the song was finished, they asked what it was called, saying it was so beautiful.

Wei Ming found it too troublesome, so he simply called the song "The Resilient Rose".

Coach Yuan asked, "Teacher Wei, do you have the lyrics?"

Wei Ming quickly tore the lyrics out of the notebook, and the girls immediately began copying them down.

At this moment, Cao Huiying, an older woman from Tangshan, asked, "Is 'Kengqiang' too difficult to write? And I don't even know what this 'rose' is."

Everyone laughed, and Wei Ming patiently explained, "A rose is a very beautiful flower, but rose branches have thorns that can prick your hands."

Lang Ping laughed and said, "We're not just a little tough, we're extremely tough!"

Everyone chimed in, it seems they really like using roses to describe themselves.

Wei Ming felt that giving away one song wasn't enough, so he said to Team Leader Zhang and Coach Yuan, "Does everyone have time at noon? I have to rush to Tokyo this afternoon for an event, so I'd like to treat everyone to lunch."

He also invited reporter Zhao and his colleagues to come as well.

Team leader Zhang hesitated for a moment, but still agreed. If it were just their own celebration, they would only have tonkotsu ramen and a sausage, but he didn't dare to think about it if Teacher Wei Ming was treating them. He really didn't dare to think about it!
It's really nothing special. It's just that there's no limit to Kobe beef, so you can eat as much as you want, and you can also eat seafood if you want.

Sea cucumbers are available, plenty!

After the meal, Wei Ming became the best friend of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Several photos were taken with Wei Ming's camera at the table, and reporter Zhao held Wei Ming's Pentax LX Gold camera with great affection.

This is Wei Ming's third camera. It's a limited edition of 300 units worldwide, with only 200 in Japan. The body is made of 18K gold plating and wrapped in brown genuine leather. Wei Ming saw it at the airport in Japan, thought it was beautiful, and bought it on the spot for about $4000. Now he's reached the point where he can play with SLR cameras without going bankrupt.

Everyone was very reluctant to part ways, and Wei Ming said he would write another short essay for them when he got back.

Lang Ping bluntly said, "Let's find a singer to record 'The Clanging Rose' first. Actually, Teacher Wei, your singing seems a bit off-key."

Chen Zhaodi: "It seems like there are still some notes I didn't reach."

That's what friends are for; he really tells the truth.

In the afternoon, Wei Ming and Masashi Sada boarded the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. During that match, Sada felt it was inappropriate to cheer for the Chinese team with Wei Ming, and it wouldn't be good to boo the Chinese team with the Japanese audience, so he simply hid in the hotel to study Wei Ming's new work.

Wei Ming agreed to let him sing, but there are no Japanese lyrics yet, so Lao Zuo has to figure it out himself. He definitely won't be able to make it to this concert.

His concert is tomorrow night, so Wei Ming can enjoy Tokyo's nightlife tonight.

Wei Ming took out the media player: "Putting everything else aside, where can I buy this? I want to buy a lot of it."

I should give one back to Amin, and Lin Jie and Xue Jie should have one too. Xiao Hong needs to learn English, so she should buy one as well.

Wouldn't it be nice if my parents could listen to music while they were at work?

If Uncle Ping An sees that Lao Wei has one, will he also think about buying one for Aunt Xiao Yan?

and also……

In short, let's have ten plates to taste and see how salty it is.

To buy this kind of thing, Masashi Sada took Wei Ming to Akihabara.

Akihabara was originally an electronics street, but now electronic products are also increasing, and it can already be seen that it is taking the shape of a mecca for anime and manga fans. Wei Ming and Masashi Sada can even see arcades when they walk through Akihabara.

"Should we go in and take a look?" Masashi Sada suggested when he saw Wei Ming turning his head repeatedly.

"Okay."

Arcade games originated in the United States ten years ago, and entered a period of rapid development a few years ago, but they don't exist in mainland China yet.

Masashi Sada exchanged a few coins, and Wei Ming took a look. "Space Invaders," "Pac-Man," and "Donkey Kong" were all classics of their time.

Wei Ming first played Pac-Man, and then Donkey Kong.

He also saw a carpenter in Donkey Kong, wearing overalls, who looked familiar. Oh, isn't that Super Mario?
His real name should be Mario, but at this point he was just a minor character in Donkey Kong, and didn't even have a proper name.

Two years before Wei Ming's rebirth, the Mario movie had just grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, demonstrating the IP's immense influence. Wei Ming stared at the little figures on the screen, his mind racing.

After playing some popular arcade games for a while, Wei Ming noticed a claw machine that no one seemed to be using.

Calling it a "claw machine" isn't accurate, because at this time, the "claw machine" didn't grab plush toys; instead, it grabbed various snacks and candies. Essentially, it was a type of arcade machine with a gambling element.

We'll have to wait a few more years for Sega's UFO claw machine to combine claw machines with various plush toys and cartoon merchandise.

Sega is also a game company, and it's a love-hate rival of Nintendo. The two arcade games that Wei Ming just played were from Nintendo.

Unfortunately, Nintendo hadn't released the Famicom yet, otherwise he really wanted to buy a few to play with his son.

However, while browsing an electronics store to buy a Walkman, Wei Ming saw that they actually sold handheld game consoles.

This thing is called "GAME & WATCH". It is a portable game console released by Nintendo last year. It is also the world's first handheld LCD electronic game console. It also has games such as "Pac-Man" and "Donkey Kong" installed.

So Wei Ming simply said one word: "Buy!"

~
Wei Ming had a great time in Akihabara, buying a lot of electronic products. He even bought a bag and went back to the hotel to put his things away.

As for the national treasures of Japan at this time, they were pink films that were quite different from the educational films of later generations. They had a higher level of artistic content. Director Koji Wakamatsu was a god in this field, with countless classic works. He also produced the famous "In the Realm of the Senses".

Wei Ming liked it very much, but he was afraid of being embarrassed if customs saw it, so he started to inquire about housing prices in Japan and the requirements for foreigners to buy houses.

After owning properties in both Shanghai and Beijing, Wei Ming's next step is to buy property in Hong Kong, and then overseas.

“If the share of that album’s revenue hadn’t gone to China, you could have bought a set in Tokyo,” Masashi Sada said.

Wei Ming: "Then I'll wait."

I'll consider it again after I've made money from Japan next time.

As darkness fell, the two went to 1-chome in Shinjuku for a few drinks. Wei Ming knew this place well; Ah Long often brought him here. It felt like home, except some of the shops were different. Things had changed.

Moreover, they didn't touch women in this life; both of them were proper scholars and poets.

But someone touched it.

When Wei Ming saw Cheng Long come out with his arms around two women in kimonos, he could clearly see the embarrassment on Cheng Long's face, and he removed his hands from the Japanese women's shoulders.

Wei Ming sized up the two Japanese women with thick layers of foundation. "Brother, are you really hungry? Did you teach him Cai Lan's 'Ugly people will be killed' phrase? This is far inferior to Lin Fengjiao or even Teresa Teng."

Cheng Long had met Wei Ming at a charity concert, and Wei Ming had even donated a watch to him. They knew each other, but they weren't particularly close. Cheng Long was also afraid of the Freedom Club.

However, Cheng Long still came over to greet the great writer and say a few nice words, so that the writer wouldn't write anything unpleasant about him in his articles. After all, writers can kill without a knife.

"Ah Ming, what are you doing here!" Cheng Long gave Wei Ming a warm hug.

“We came on the same day. I’m here to attend this friend’s concert,” Wei Ming then introduced Masashi Sada, “His last album featured arrangements of my songs.”

"Your songs have even reached Japan, you've made a fortune!" Jackie Chan grinned, then waved for the two hostesses to leave.

Wei Ming asked with a smile, "Then would you like to sing my song?"

"You'd be willing to write a song for me?" Jackie Chan's eyes lit up. He felt this was a good opportunity. If he could expand his influence to the music scene, his next movie's box office should be even higher!
During his two trips to Japan, Jackie Chan's favorite activities, besides bars, were karaoke, and he also has a talent for singing.

Moreover, having musical works allows you to participate in various commercial performances, which is much more prestigious than performing somersaults on stage for others.

Seeing Cheng Long sit down and stare intently at him, Wei Ming took out the lyrics from his bag. Sada Masashi also craned his neck to look at it. Good heavens, he actually wrote two songs last night!
Wei Ming handed it to Cheng Long, who would occasionally ask, "What is this character?"

He wasn't illiterate, it was just because of simplified Chinese characters.

After reading it through, Cheng Long said, "Although I don't know how the song is, I really like the lyrics. They're very spirited, but it seems to be a song about women."

"He's got some culture," Wei Ming said. "The Chinese women's volleyball team just won the World Cup recently. I wrote this song after watching their victory over the US yesterday. From now on, this song will be the Chinese women's volleyball team's anthem." Upon hearing this, Cheng Long felt his hands getting hot. This, this, this isn't appropriate, is it?

The Chinese women's volleyball team is practically the mainland government's official team. If Taiwan finds out that they're singing for the mainland government, Mr. Zou will be furious. He'll be devastated and won't be able to make any money anymore!

“Oh dear, it’s the women’s volleyball team. If it were the men’s football team, I would sing it. Women’s volleyball team, women, it’s not appropriate for a grown man like me, not appropriate.” Cheng Long handed the lyrics back.

Wei Ming wasn't surprised, nor did he insist. He figured someone else would do the united front work, so he wouldn't overstep his bounds.

Moreover, the awareness of most Hong Kong artists cannot be relied upon; people like Cheung Ming-man and Tsui Siu-ming are the exceptions.

Amin belongs to another minority. I love you as a person, so I am also willing to love the regime behind you.

Although Jackie Chan did not accept the song, he told the waiter, "Put the cost of their drinks on my tab. Remember to come visit me next time you're in Hong Kong."

"sure."

"If you find a suitable song in the future, Ah Ming, you should still think of me."

Wei Ming couldn't help but reveal, "Ah Long, have you thought about Hong Kong's future?"

"The future of Hong Kong?" He was a little confused. Was the future of Hong Kong something that an actor like me needed to consider?

“Don’t forget that Hong Kong was leased to Britain by the Qing Dynasty for 99 years. Do you think China will just let it go?” Wei Ming said. “Negotiations about Hong Kong’s return to China should be about to begin. The entertainment industry can’t just be about money. Everyone has to have a stance. Whether you are willing or forced, even if it’s to seek profit and avoid harm, you should choose the stance that is most beneficial to yourself.”

Cheng Long had never thought about this issue before; he believed in living for the moment. Many of his colleagues had also never considered this issue, only thinking that Hong Kong would always remain the same.

Perhaps it's because I haven't read enough books and lack historical knowledge, but I actually forgot that Hong Kong was leased to Britain!

Once Hong Kong is returned to mainland China, will these artists who have close ties with Taiwan be purged?

After finishing his drink, Cheng Long's forehead started to sweat; he was scared.

For some inexplicable reason, Cheng Long went to look at the lyrics again, but Wei Ming took it back: "This song is indeed not suitable for a male singer. I'll go back to the mainland and find someone else to sing it. I'll write a suitable one for you when I have the chance."

Jackie Chan nodded: "That way, I can personally go on stage for any future charity concerts that donate to mainland China, haha."

In an effort to curry favor with Wei Ming and the mainland, Jackie Chan asked, "Where will your concert be held tomorrow, and when? Let me check my schedule."

With Jackie Chan's current popularity in Japan, Masashi Sada felt that this was like adding wings to a tiger. His surprise appearance was even more attractive than Wei Ming's.

If Jackie Chan could bring Teresa Teng along, that would be the icing on the cake.

However, this is obviously impossible. Right now, Cheng Long and Lin Fengjiao are having a passionate affair, which is about to lead to someone's death.

The next day, Masashi Sada was preparing for the concert, and Wei Ming was not idle either. He invited Hiroto Kato from Tokuma Bookstore to meet up.

Kato Hiroto was overjoyed to see Wei Ming in Tokyo and reported to him on the Japanese translation of "The Lion King".

A translator has been found, and an illustrator has been contacted to create a new set of Japanese manga illustrations for this story.

Wei Ming was actually more concerned about other things, such as: "Japan is a major anime and manga country. Are there any particularly popular foreign comics here?"

"Many Disney works are very popular in Japan. For example, Bambi directly influenced some of the creations of Osamu Tezuka's Jungle Emperor. Relying on the influence of the animation, their manga also sells quite well in Japan. However, recently there haven't been any influential manga that have sparked discussion in Japan," said Hiroto Kato.

This is normal. Japan's manga and animation industry has already taken off. Although its international influence is not yet enough to compete with Europe and the United States, the domestic market in Japan is already rock solid. Doraemon theatrical films have already become the top-grossing domestic films.

"What about Hong Kong comics? Can you see them in Japan?"

Kato Hiroto shook his head with a smile: "Hong Kong comics are not as popular in Japan as those Chinese mainland comic books. They are almost invisible. There may be some single volumes sold, but they certainly won't be published in mainstream comic magazines."

Wei Ming pulled a magazine out of his bag: "Take a look at the quality of these comics."

Wei Ming brought out the fourth issue of "Madman Comics," which included several representative works such as "Qin's Moon" and "Wind and Cloud."

"Oh~" Kato Hiroto took it somewhat casually.

Wei Ming added, "I created most of the stories."

"Oh!" Kato Hiroto became serious, based on his trust in Wei Ming's abilities.

He was watching episode 4 of "Qin's Moon," where the main characters, including Jing Tianming, Xiang Shaoyu, and Gao Yue, were attacked by Bai Fenghuang, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Liusha.

He knew from just the first picture that the painter had very solid basic skills and the painting was beautiful.

The white phoenix's ability is to control birds to attack, and this fight is quite spectacular. Even though Da Xiang's Chinese isn't very good, the battle scenes alone are enough to amaze him.

"This is a Hong Kong comic?!"

After reading it, Kato Hiroto raised this question because he saw Chinese classical aesthetics in the style of this manga. He had also come into contact with some Hong Kong comics, and this was something that was unique in Hong Kong comics.

Wei Ming: "This was drawn by Liu Rulong, the editor-in-chief of the magazine. He is my personal illustrator and also my dearest friend and family."

Next, Kato Hiroto took another look at "Storm Riders". The style of "Storm Riders" was somewhat similar to the Hong Kong comics he was familiar with. Compared with "Qin's Moon", it was slightly rougher, but the visual tension was much stronger than the Hong Kong comics he had seen before. The Leshan Giant Buddha that appeared in this chapter was quite amazing.

He also asked Wei Ming, "Is this giant Buddha statue fictional?"

"No, it really exists in Leshan, Sichuan, China."

"Oh my god!" Buddhism is very popular in Japan, and Kato Hiroto even wants to take his family to pay their respects. The bigger the Buddha statue, the more efficacious it must be, right?

Then he looked at other works, but none of them were as amazing as the two he had seen. Perhaps he just didn't understand them.

"Mr. Wei Ming, so what you mean is?"

Wei Ming said, "I know that Tokuma Shoten also has a manga magazine, but now all the famous and capable manga artists are concentrated in the three major weekly manga magazines, so Tokuma's manga magazine must be having a hard time."

Kato Hiroto gave a wry smile. Although he wasn't in charge of the manga business, he knew it was tough. The magazine wasn't a dedicated manga magazine anymore; it was a manga and anime information magazine.

If Hayao Miyazaki doesn't have any new works being serialized, there's basically nothing to see in the manga section.

Wei Ming smiled and said, "How about we collaborate?"

"May I ask what your relationship is with this magazine, Mr. Wei Ming?"

“I founded this company, so I have full authority to make decisions.”

Kato Hiroto then asked, "When are you going back to Japan?"

Wei Ming: "If there's something to discuss tomorrow, I can change my schedule."

Kato Hiroto said earnestly, "I will report this to the company's upper management."

Wei Ming then left his hotel name and room number.

Masashi Sada's concert that evening was a great success. Mr. Why, the creator of the two global hits "Moonlight Shadow" and "Only Time," and kung fu superstar Jackie Chen made surprise appearances, adding even more buzz to the concert.

The three also sang a Cantonese version of "Friends" together.

Wei Ming stayed in Tokyo for another day and met with a senior executive at Tokuma Shoten. He wasn't as high-ranking as Tokuma Yasuyoshi, but he was still a vice president who had a say in the anime and manga section.

The Japanese people are very receptive to Chinese historical themes; otherwise, Mitsuteru Yokoyama's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" manga wouldn't have been so popular for over a decade and remains one of the best-selling manga in Japan.

Although they are not as enthusiastic about the history of the Qin and Han dynasties as they are about the Three Kingdoms period, the Qin dynasty is still a popular dynasty in Japan, and the legend of Xu Fu has a certain market in Japan.

Finally, a collaboration was reached, with "Qin's Moon" and "Wind and Cloud" serving as test cases, serialized in Tokuma Shoten's monthly comic magazine.

Wei Ming decided not to get involved in the specific details of the cooperation negotiations. He called Hong Kong Madman Comics and told Ah Long about it, suggesting that he discuss it with his aunt or have her find a lawyer to come to Tokyo to talk. Wei Ming was leaving anyway.

He gained a lot from this trip to Japan, and he needs to go back and digest it.

Liu Rulong was overjoyed upon hearing this: "We have already established channels in Taiwan, and now we have the Japanese market as well. I even want to lower the price of the magazine again to push up the sales ceiling."

"It's all up to you, I won't interfere."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Rulong had an idea: he wanted to go to Japan in person. After having this idea, he first checked his drafts and then looked at the content of the next issue before he felt at ease.

~
That day, Wei Ming returned to his motherland with two large bags of Japanese specialties. This time, he flew directly to Beijing. On the plane, he started listening to Walkman and playing Game & Watch. Life was getting closer and closer to the modern world he was familiar with.

Meanwhile, a major event also occurred in Wei Ming's family.

Old Wei rode his motorcycle back from work at noon, opened the door, and excitedly shouted, "My son has a wife!"

At that moment, Xu Shufen was holding Zhu Lin's little hand affectionately and talking intimately.

Hearing Lao Wei's words, Zhu Lin panicked: "She's not at the level of being my wife yet, we can start as her girlfriend."

Xu Shufen said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? You really have no manners as an elder."

Seeing Zhu Lin, Old Wei was a little embarrassed: "I'm so excited! Shufen, come with me quickly, your daughter-in-law is here!"

Zhu Lin's heart sank instantly. So they weren't talking about me after all!
……

(Bonus chapter for 5000 and 6000 monthly votes in February, making up for the missed chapters in February. Guaranteed chapter will be released tonight~)

(End of this chapter)