Exciting 1979!

Chapter 386 Double Ten Million Achievement, Young Woman Bai Suzhen

Xiao Wei, Lao Wei, and the three old Weis were sitting on the mountaintop, the whole family gathered around a family bucket and eating.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Grandpa is so thoughtful. It would be so embarrassing to cry like this at home with so many people watching."

Old Wei said embarrassedly, "Even such a delicious chicken leg can't shut you up, huh?"

Old Ghost said kindly, "Dog Egg, try this chicken wing again, it's a bit spicy."

“My wife is from Sichuan, and I’m not afraid of spicy food. But Dad, could you please stop calling me by my nickname? There are so many women in the family. If they start calling me by my nickname, I’ll lose face.”

Old Ghost laughed heartily, "Alright, alright, actually this tastes even better when it's hot. You've been waiting for too long."

Wei Ming: "You can bring them a bucket when you go back to the store."

"Yes, yes, let Shufen try this fast food too. I never would have imagined that chicken legs and wings would be fried in oil." Old Wei picked up another hamburger.

Old Ghost nodded: "Perfect timing, Dog... Liberation will allow you to see the empire your father built for you."

Old Wei sighed, "Go ahead and call me that if you want. Mother didn't change it before she passed away."

Speaking of Wei Ming's grandmother, Lao Gui couldn't help but sigh, and then he thought of Gou Sheng's mother.

"Today, my son and I are reunited, but it's a pity that Lingling and Ping'an are missing. It would be even better if we could bring Xiaohong and those two little ones along for a real reunion." This is the second biggest motivation for Lao Gui to keep living.

My primary motivation was to return to my hometown with my older brother and be buried next to our parents.

We've fought our whole lives, struggled our whole lives, and wandered our whole lives. We're nothing more than two unfilial sons of Wei Donglai and Xu Qiuhui from Gouzi Village.

"Hey, what about Lingling?" Old Wei thought of his younger sister.

Old Ghost: "She's gone to America to do business. She should be back in two days. I wonder how much money she'll make from those foreigners this time."

After finishing the family bucket, Lao Gui pulled his son and pointed to Hong Kong down the mountain: "There, there, and there are our stores everywhere. There's also one at Kai Tak Airport, and stores in Kowloon and the New Territories are in the works. I only got motivated to do all this after I got in touch with you guys."

"Dad, you don't need to work so hard."

“It’s not hard work, I’m enjoying it. A man at sixty is in his prime,” the old man said boldly. “I’ll cook a few more chickens, and Xiaoming will write a few more words. You can just wait to enjoy the good life.”

Old Wei scratched his head sheepishly, "Oh dear, how did I blurt out what was on someone's mind?"

Wei Ming: "..."

You're all so loving and filial, so you don't treat me like a human being, huh?

However, when he thought of how Old Wei died young in his previous life, and how Old Ghost died without ever receiving a reply from his son back home, leaving behind regrets in a foreign land, he smiled slightly and thought that it was all good.

"Let's go home!" Wei Senhao ordered.

Old Wei: "I'll go with you again, but I have to work the night shift."

The old father said, "My son, you've worked hard. Of course, it's good that you've done your job well. I'll take you to work later."

When they got home, Wei Ming, carrying a family bucket of KFC, said, "I'll add some dishes for everyone!"

When Xu Shufen saw her father-in-law for the first time, she quickly pulled Wei Ming to kowtow to him.

Wei Ming: This is the fourth time.

"Good, good, good. Jiefang is so well-fed and healthy thanks to you, his virtuous wife. Marrying you is his good fortune... Hmm, this is..." He sniffed.

Zhou Huimin hurriedly brought out the stinky tofu that Old Ghost supposedly liked very much.

Old Gui's hand trembled slightly as he took a bite; it tasted just like the food his mother used to make!

Wei Ming stared at Amin's small mouth, wondering if it smelled good or bad.

Everyone sat together. Now Zhou Ma and Teacher Yang already knew that Lao Gui was Wei Jiefang's father and Wei Ming's grandfather. As for how he ended up in Hong Kong, no one asked.

Amin is considering whether to change her address to "Ghost Master" since they are currently of different generations.

Since they had already eaten a family bucket of food at the top of the mountain, Wei Ming and the other two didn't eat much. Lao Gui focused on eating stinky tofu, and Lin Ni was also eating. They were going to fight stinky with stinky, otherwise they would suffer more when they kissed.

Wei Jiefang was busy getting his wife to eat the family bucket, and Xu Shufen really liked the novel flavor: "This bucket must be expensive, right?"

When Amin quoted the price, she was astonished: "That's enough for a whole table of food at the Beijing Grand Hotel!"

Moreover, this was after converting to RMB according to the official exchange rate. There's not much skill involved; it's just deep-frying various kinds of chicken. However, cooking oil is expensive in Beijing, so you need ration coupons. But if you were in your hometown, you wouldn't need coupons; you just need to grow enough peanuts or sunflower seeds.

The villagers back home are grateful for Wei Ming's contributions to their hometown. Almost every time someone from the village or county comes to Beijing, they bring him peanut oil home, which smells delicious.

Compared to her job at the zoo, Xu Shufen prefers to research gourmet food and win over her husband, son, and daughter-in-law through their stomachs.

After dinner, Lao Gui personally drove his son to work, and they could have a heart-to-heart talk on the way.

Wei Ming was asked to stay today, since there are three rooms available.

"Alright, then Amin and I will see Ms. Yang off and thank her for her tutoring."

Zhou Ma said, "Teacher Yang, you don't need to go back by yourself. Let Abin drive here to pick you up."

Lin Ni added, "Yes, yes, you need to be careful during the first three months. You're considered an older pregnant woman."

Xu Shufen instructed, "Xiaoming, give your Uncle Liu a call."

Wei Ming looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about?"

Amin pointed to Teacher Yang's stomach and whispered something in his ear.

"Ah!" Wei Ming exclaimed in surprise. Ru Yan was coming!

~
After Teacher Yang left, Amin and her mother went home, while Lin Ni pulled Xu Shufen to watch TVB. The most important thing for a family is to be together.

Moreover, Lin Ni at least speaks Mandarin, so it's quite convenient for Xu Shufen to communicate with her.

The stepmother wanted to take Xu Shufen shopping tomorrow, but luckily Xu Shufen had to go to work tomorrow, otherwise she would probably have quickly learned all those bourgeois habits.

TVB reported on Bass's news again that evening. This time, they even called Ocean Park to inquire and learned that the panda whose head was stuck was safe and sound. Moreover, the panda's name is Bass, and she is a one-and-a-half-year-old girl.

"Bas" became an overnight sensation in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people even learned a Sichuan dialect word, "Bashi".

Old Wei and his colleagues saw it in the park. He looked at the sleeping Gangdan and laughed, "Gangdan, your wife is more famous than you now."

Steel Egg seemed to hear it in his sleep, which startled him and almost woke him up.

The next day, print media also reported on the arrival of Steel Egg and Bass in Hong Kong, and devoted a lot of space to the interesting stories about Bass's head. "The Wrong Seven-Day Romance" felt outdated.

However, after ten days in theaters, this low-budget urban romantic comedy film still garnered an astonishing HK$9 million at the box office, just one step away from reaching HK$10 million.

This news is quite surprising in the entertainment sector. Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and Cinema City are all watching closely, and there's even a misconception that Bluebird is rising and creating a four-way balance of power.

However, even Cinema City is not considered one of the three giants yet, let alone Bluebird. Let's talk about Bluebird again when a movie with no Wei Ming involved in the screenwriting gets high box office returns.

Everyone knows that the real talent is Wei Ming. However, Wei Ming is a great writer from mainland China. He can easily earn millions with just one English song or one children's book. The Hong Kong film industry really can't afford him. I don't know what Xia Meng used to keep him.

Aunt Xia Meng saw the good news that the box office had exceeded 9 million as soon as she returned from Hainan. Breaking 10 million was a foregone conclusion. It's just that the lease of Golden Harvest Cinemas expires tomorrow, otherwise the next two days would have been enough.

Moreover, with three major new films hitting the market tomorrow, "The Wrong Wedding Day" will have to wait and see.

She hadn't forgotten the celebration banquet she'd promised Wei Ming, so when the hotel was empty, she called Madman Comics.

At this moment, Wei Ming was teasing Ah Long about becoming a big brother, because Ah Min suggested that if it was a girl, they should choose Liu Ruyan.

However, it's not certain, since the timeline has changed. He remembers that Liu Ruyan wasn't born in 82, so maybe she's a younger brother.

Just then, the phone rang. Ah Long answered it and handed it to Wei Ming.

"Hey, Aunt Xia Meng, you're back... Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Because some people's schedules didn't coincide, she made a phone call and set the celebration for Thursday, when most of the main cast and crew would be available, and the box office would likely surpass 10 million.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ming discussed the character designs of the five main characters in "The Lucky Stars" with Huang Guoxing. Xingzai became more and more confident about the story.

Seeing Niu Lao looking over expectantly, Wei Ming gave him a "calm down, calm down" look and continued writing.

He had to leverage Niu Lao's strengths without overstepping the line. Although "Madman Comics" wasn't explicitly positioned as a children's comic book, children were their primary target audience. Even if it didn't educate children, it certainly couldn't lead them astray.

After staying at Lao Gui's house for two days, it was still somewhat inconvenient, so Wei Ming went back to the hotel today.

Xu Shufen and Lao Wei also moved into the staff dormitory of Ocean Park. After work, they can see all kinds of fish, especially the killer whale, which is so shocking. It is nine meters long and bigger than an elephant.

Wei Ming and the other two would go to Lao Gui's place for a meal whenever they had time, so everyone would feel comfortable.

On Tuesday, the whole family gathered at Lao Gui's house again. Lao Wei and Xu Shufen both took the day off because Wei Lingling had returned.

At noon, when Wei Ming drove downstairs, he saw his aunt's car. Well, it was repaired so well that you couldn't tell it had been in an accident.

Upstairs, the two women were talking. They had known each other for half a day. Wei Lingling was outstanding, just like Xu Shufen's expectations for Xiao Hong's future.

When Wei Ming mentioned the car, Wei Lingling said, "Let my brother drive that car."

Xu Shufen panicked: "That won't do, it's too valuable, no way!"

In the eyes of mainland Chinese, cars are too precious; even a national treasure-level writer like her son, Wei Ming, cannot afford one.

Wei Lingling said, "So, sister-in-law, you're upset that the car was in an accident and was secondhand?"

"No, I'm not." Wei Lingling laughed, "I made a lot of money selling music greeting cards in the United States this time, and this idea was given to me by Xiaoming. Consider it a reward for him. I also want to get a Mercedes-Benz."

Pingzhi is Mercedes-Benz, so it seems my aunt has really made some money.

He immediately leaned over and said, "Auntie, as a reward for me, could you buy me a Mercedes-Benz too?"

Xu Shufen kept coughing, how could she just ask her aunt for a car? Did she think it was a toy car?
To everyone's surprise, Wei Lingling readily agreed: "Sure, I'll pay you back when you come to Hong Kong next time. Some of the money hasn't come back yet, so you can drive the car downstairs until my brother gets his driver's license."

Besides musical greeting cards, there are also blind boxes for toys, Transformers, and so many other forward-thinking ideas. Wei Lingling is even confident that she can make Langning Toy Factory the number one toy company in Hong Kong, one of the top three in Asia, and one of the top ten in the world.

So, she not only was willing to part with just a car, but also felt she was mistreating her nephew.

The musical greeting cards have already been distributed in the United States, but whether they will sell as well as expected remains to be seen on Christmas Eve, the 24th.

With Christmas approaching, the movie market was bustling with activity, so Wei Ming took Amin to see a movie again after school in the afternoon.

Shaw Brothers' "The Gambling Heroes" is a gambling film and comedy, Golden Harvest's "The Prodigal Son" is a kung fu and comedy, and Cinema City's "Reincarnated" is a thriller, so the choice was obvious: they chose Golden Harvest's Hung Chin-po's "The Prodigal Son".

As of this morning, "Seven Days of Wrong Love" has grossed 950 million yuan. However, with new films joining the fray, not only have screenings decreased, but the occupancy rate of left-wing cinemas showing the film has also dropped significantly.

However, since the left-wing cinemas have no other films to show, this movie will be shown until next month when "Shaolin Temple" takes over.

Hung Chin-po is a well-known name in the Hong Kong film industry. Although his comedies often include some vulgar humor, there is a market for toilet humor, and the action choreography is good. This movie will definitely make money.

However, when Amin asked, "Do you think it can surpass 'Seven Days of Wrong Love'?"

Wei Ming's answer was: "Absolutely not, unless he adapts my new comic."

"Oh, you have a new comic book story? When can we see it?"

“We’ll have to wait. It’ll be airing next year, taking over from ‘Sha Wujing’s Diary.’” Wei Ming said, pulling something out of his bag. “Here you are, a photo of you and Steel Egg Bass. It’s a color photo.”

Although the two dumplings are black and white, Amin is colorful.

"They're so cute! I want to go see them on Christmas Day, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get tickets."

Wei Ming: "It's no problem for Lao Wei to take you in, but once it's officially open, you won't be able to get up close."

"It's okay, distance makes the heart grow fonder."

Wei Ming smiled; it seemed he should leave.

After dropping Amin off and returning to the hotel, the receptionist told him that a Mr. Qiu had called looking for him.

Wei Ming immediately found Qiu Degen's business card, but it had his company's phone number on it, so he waited until the next day when he was at work to call Qiu Degen back.

"Mr. Wei, I heard that the idea for the TVB Top Ten Gold Songs Awards was yours, Sir Shaw?"

Wei Ming admitted, "Yes, in exchange for some publicity resources."

"That's definitely a good idea. TVB will probably be even stronger in the future."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Li's days are probably numbered."

Qiu Degen didn't care; in fact, this was good news for him, making it easier for him to negotiate a lower price.

I heard that Wei Ming's proposal to Run Run Shaw included something else, a series of interconnected schemes. This young man from the mainland is quite resourceful.

Old Qiu admired him and wanted to make friends with him. He also wanted to meet Wei Ming because Wei Ming had mentioned to him before that CCTV was preparing to film a large-scale fantasy drama called "Journey to the West".

The purpose of the meeting can be summed up in two words: "to give money!"

In Qiu Degen's office, Wei Ming asked, "What are Mr. Qiu's plans?"

Chiu Te-ken said, "I want to donate one million Hong Kong dollars to CCTV and then acquire the copyright of 'Journey to the West' in Hong Kong and Macau."

"But Mr. Qiu, you don't have a TV station either."

"Just because I don't have it now doesn't mean I won't have it after filming," Old Qiu said calmly, seemingly quite confident in securing the rights to ATV.

Wei Ming muttered to himself, "One million, one million~"

“Don’t think that one million Hong Kong dollars is too little. Where in Hong Kong can you find TV dramas with such high production costs? Moreover, TVB and RTV can sell their dramas to Singapore and Malaysia after they are filmed. I only want one Hong Kong and Taiwan drama, and I have to take the risk of them not adapting to the local culture.”

Wei Ming sighed, "Alright, I'll ask the station for you. You know, there's no precedent for this kind of thing."

I never expected it to be so difficult to even offer money so readily: "How long will it take?"

Wei Ming said, "I'll go to the Xinhua branch and make a long-distance call for you, so I can give you a definite answer before you leave Hong Kong."

Wei Ming wasn't bluffing him; this matter was indeed beyond the control of Wei Ming, an advisor with no real power. If he was afraid of taking responsibility, CCTV might very well refuse to agree.

However, after Wei Ming explained that Qiu Degen had generously donated to Sichuan and was a patriotic and enthusiastic entrepreneur, CCTV's Deputy Director Hong agreed to the approach of acquiring local copyrights through overseas funding.

This money can be used for overseas filming.

Deputy Director Hong felt that one million Hong Kong dollars was quite a lot, and it would be more useful than one million RMB when used abroad.

The next day, Wei Ming told Qiu Degen the good news, but when relaying the message, he said, "CCTV hopes to provide a camera in addition to the HK$100 million. They only have one camera now, which will greatly affect the filming schedule."

A single camera would cost at least three or four hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars, and Chiu Te-ken felt it was absurd for such a large production crew to only have one camera.

“The mainland is indeed facing difficulties right now, no problem. Just name a model, and I’ll send someone to buy it right away. Mr. Wei, you can take it back directly. Don’t delay the filming.” Qiu Degen readily agreed before even signing the contract.

Wei Ming felt that with the HK$100 million in sponsorship and the camera he had secured, his name should be able to rank after Wu Cheng'en's. As for Qiu Degen, the actual financier, Wei Ming didn't mind sharing the same title with him.

There's more good news today: after 13 days of theatrical release, "Seven Days of Wrong Wedding" has officially surpassed 10 million yuan at the box office, becoming Wei Ming's second phenomenal film to break the 10 million yuan mark.

Even Lao Wei and Xu Shufen watched the movie their son wrote after class. They were stunned and shocked by the film's explicit content, and they started imitating it when they got back to their dormitory.

Moreover, this film broke the 10 million mark seven days faster than "Heroes Since Ancient Times," and its total box office is expected to surpass it.

At the celebration party of Qingniao Film Company tonight, everyone first congratulated Wei Ming. He made two moves, both of which exceeded 10 million. He not only wrote songs that made so many people famous, but also made Kenny Bee a name in the Hong Kong film industry. He also made Cecilia Yip a star. Who wouldn't be envious?

Even Zhao Yazhi was envious when she saw it.

Today I met many old friends, but Zhao Yazhi is a new friend.

With her husband taking care of the two children at home, she finally had the opportunity to meet the talented Wei Ming.

In fact, Zhao Yazhi collaborated with many directors of the Hong Kong New Wave, but perhaps due to limitations in her acting skills, she did not go far in the film industry. Instead, she became a top television actress by virtue of her irresistible audience appeal. The influence of "The Legend of the White Snake" in mainland China was only one level lower than that of "Journey to the West".

Wei Ming not only took a photo with Zhao Yazhi, but also encouraged her to take a photo with Ye Tong, which left the two of them somewhat confused, as they were not familiar with each other and had never met during filming.

Before the show ended, the actors all expressed their hope to continue working with Wei Ming, but Wei Ming hadn't decided what to write yet.

These days everyone calls themselves a screenwriter with a budget of over ten million, but what if they write a novel that earns less than ten million? Wouldn't that ruin their reputation?

After the event, Wei Ming encountered a young girl selling Christmas cards as he left the restaurant. She was wearing a reindeer hair clip.

"Sir, please buy one. It will automatically play Christmas carols when you turn it on. It's only fifteen yuan!"

It seems the aunt's distribution network is quite extensive. Besides this girl, there were also some children selling roses. It's clear that more passersby were interested in the greeting card; it's something new, after all.

Wei Ming bought a bunch of ten cards directly.

"Thank you, handsome!"

Tomorrow is Christmas, the first day that Steel Egg Bass will make his public debut in Hong Kong, and also Wei Ming's last day in Hong Kong. He booked a plane ticket for the day after tomorrow, and these things can be taken back to the mainland as gifts, so they are a novelty.

After picking up his car, Wei Ming returned to Lao Gui's house, where it was another family gathering.

When they arrived, Wei Lingling was on the phone with the factory, arranging an overtime work plan.

Music greeting cards are selling very well, and there will be another small peak tomorrow, Christmas.

Seeing that Wei Ming had bought a bunch of greeting cards, Wei Lingling laughed and said, "Why did you buy them yourself? We have plenty at home."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "I bought it on the street. If I buy it, the child can go home sooner."

Wei Lingling asked, "How much did you pay for it?"

"Fifteen dollars."

Wei Lingling: "Our selling price is only eight yuan."

Wei Ming: "There must be someone taking a cut in the middle. The kids don't earn much, and there's a risk of them being stuck with the money."

Old Wei asked curiously, "How much can your factory earn per sheet?"

Wei Lingling said proudly, "In Hong Kong, I can earn three Hong Kong dollars. In other parts of Asia, it's around three dollars. In the Americas, because the unit price is higher, I can earn four or five dollars."

Old Wei: "So how many copies did you sell?"

Wei Lingling: "In total, this wave sold 300 million copies worldwide."

The room was immediately filled with hissing sounds.

The key point is that this is only Christmas, and musical greeting cards haven't even made their mark in the birthday card market yet!
Wei Ming suddenly felt that his aunt should buy him a sports car, otherwise wouldn't her conscience hurt!

……

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(End of this chapter)