Exciting 1979!

Chapter 391: Wei Ming wins the title of Golden Needle for his four out of ten achievements!

“Teacher Wei,” Qiao Feng called out to Wei Ming.

Wei Ming was both amused and exasperated: "Brother Feng, are you trying to embarrass me? You can call me Little Wei or Little Ming, it's all fine."

Brother Feng laughed and said, "Then I'll call you Teacher Wei."

"Okay then, what's this?" Wei Ming pointed to his hand.

"I didn't confiscate this; it's a cassette tape of 'Wishing You a Safe Journey' that my classmates gave me."

Wei Ming took a look and saw that it was copied from a blank cassette tape. However, it has become very popular among graduates of Peking University and even Yenching University recently. Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Beihang University, and Beijing Foreign Studies University are all singing it.

“If they wait a little longer, the official tapes from the Pacific should be available soon.” Wei Ming handed it over, and the two walked side by side to the May Fourth Square.

Speaking of this year's college students, Qiao Feng was also very reluctant to part with them. He had just come to Peking University when they enrolled in 78 and was in charge of the school's security work. He had watched them grow up.

From today onwards, these people will take up important positions in society. Whether or not they become pillars of the nation, this is at least what society expects of them, hoping that they can "shine like stars, illuminating the land."

In four years, many changes have occurred since they first enrolled. They were greeted by Secretary Zhou and Principal Zhou when they entered school, and they were seen off by Secretary Han and Principal Zhang. Several new canteens have been added to the school, and several familiar old professors have left.

"Teacher Wei, over here!" Liang Zuo called out to Wei Ming, who was surrounded by his classmates.

At this time, they were not wearing graduation gowns; the boys were mostly wearing Zhongshan suits, and the girls were wearing plain-colored tops.

There won't be a tassel-turning ceremony later, but bachelor's certificates will be awarded.

The venue was already set up, with a banner reading "Peking University's First Bachelor's Degree Conferment Ceremony." Wei Ming also saw Yang Hao from the school magazine taking pictures with his camera, and Wei Ming raised his camera to greet him.

"Don't leave yet. This might be the last time I treat you to a meal. I made a reservation at the Long March Canteen before we came. Everyone, please come."

"Long live Teacher Wei!"

"Teacher Wei, I love you!"

Wei Ming watched as his classmates went up on stage to receive their certificates. There were also 27 outstanding graduates, most of whom Wei Ming knew. That's what connections are all about.

After finishing my work, I went to eat. On the way, I saw Liu Zhenyun, so we decided to go together.

Seeing his brothers leaving, Lao Liu felt extremely reluctant to part with them, not knowing when he would see them again.

"I won't say anything more, it's all in the wine." He downed a drink first, his eyes red-rimmed.

In addition to the degree conferment ceremony, the school leaders also held a meeting in the afternoon to select the outstanding workers of the previous year, including Wei Ping'an, who was in charge of the production management department. He was especially commended for increasing the profits turned over to the school by 150% in 81, which is equivalent to 250% of the profits in 80!

Considering that Comrade Wei Ping'an frequently needs to coordinate and contact with key agencies of multiple ministries, and that his rank is too low to have any influence, the Production Management Department was reorganized into the School Production Department, and Wei Ping'an's rank was also raised to the deputy director level.

At this point, he was only two levels away from becoming the vice-ministerial level of Party Secretary and Principal. Of course, some people can never cross those two levels in their entire lives.

Wei Ping'an's advantage is his youth; at 39, he's a deputy director-general, and he can still work for over 20 more years.

Actually, being a deputy director-general at 39 is not bad. Next year, Brother Qiang in the Youth League Committee will also be a deputy director-general. He is 12 years younger than Wei Ping'an.

To celebrate, Wei Ping'an asked Wei Hong to inform her brother that they would go to Donglaishun for hot pot that evening. At that moment, Wei Ming was slumped over his desk, feeling unwell.

It wasn't that he was reluctant to leave his classmates, but rather that he had drunk too much at lunch, and the classmates were in high spirits, so they sang "Wishing You a Safe Journey" together, and Wei Ming got carried away too.

~
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Vivian Chow, dressed in a formal gown, was taken by Lao Gui and Lin Ni, who were on a date, to the Lee Theatre in Causeway Bay, the venue for the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards.

Wei Jiefang and Xu Shufen were also with them. Amin got them two tickets, so if Wei Ming's song wins an award, they can listen to it live.

"Go Amin! I hope to see your performance." Xu Shufen held Amin's little hand.

She was a little nervous after being told that by her aunt. Amin had been in the industry for a while and had several well-known representative songs, but she had never performed those songs in public. The largest scale of her performances was in her class.

After entering, the uncles and aunts sat in the regular audience seats at the back. Amin walked forward and saw Brother Zhang Mingmin, but his seat was also at the back. Rong Shao and Chen You were also nearby.

Vivian Chow's seat was closer to the front, next to Alan Tam. A little while later, Kenny Bee arrived, and the two older men asked her to sit between them, shielding her from some ill-intentioned glances, acting like a protector of a flower.

She couldn't help but wonder, could the seating arrangement be based on whether or not someone had won an award? Could it be that she had actually won an award?

She shared her doubts with the two of them, and Alan said, "Those who came later are people who didn't have a chance to win an award but came to listen to the songs. At least we have a chance to win an award."

"Ah? Why?"

Kenny Bee laughed and said, "It seems you're not familiar with the selection rules for the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs?"

Amin: "Isn't it a combination of fan voting and judges' selection?"

Tam Yung-lun: "There is another prerequisite: only songs that are weekly champions on RTHK's Chinese Song Chart in 81 can be nominated. For example, Lao Cheung and Ah Yau don't have any champion songs."

“Huh? No?” Vivian Chow said, “‘You’ll Only Win If You Fight’ is more popular than all my songs combined.”

Brother B said, "It was a little bit more popular than 'Let Everything Go with the Wind,' but there was nothing I could do. After the charity concert, more than a dozen of Ah Ming's good songs were released at the same time, which was a crucial period for climbing the charts, but in the end only two songs reached the weekly chart champion."

"what?"

Tan Yonglin nodded: "First, Sister Feng's 'Against the Current' dominated the charts for four weeks, and other songs couldn't catch up. Unexpectedly, Ah Ming's own song 'Pearl of the Orient' had even more staying power, and it actually overtook 'Against the Current' and dominated the charts for another month."

"Isn't there a song called 'Tomorrow Will Be Better'? That song should be the most popular, right?"

Tam Yung-Lin: "Because it's a duet song, no singer put in much effort, so it's always been ranked second or third, and it's been in the top ten for three consecutive months."

Zhou Huimin pointed to herself: "What about me and Ah Ming? They didn't exert any effort either."

“Your song ‘A Girl’s Prayer’ was released late, during a low period for song releases, and it topped the charts for a week. Ah Ming’s ‘Pearl of the Orient’ probably rose to the top because other singers didn’t dare to release new songs, and there were almost no new songs during that period,” Tan Yonglin explained. “I relied on my song ‘Thinking About the Future’ from the first half of the year. Brother B is more funny, you tell me yourself.”

Kenny Bee grinned and said, "I became a hit last month with 'Seven Days of Wrong Love,' and 'Let Everything Go with the Wind' is an interlude in the movie. Thanks to the popularity of the movie, the song became popular again and even took the top spot on the charts for a week in December."

Tam Yung-lun: "The same situation applies to 'The Great Wall Will Never Fall,' because the TV series and the concert did not overlap, so it also won the weekly crown."

Wei Ming wrote more than a dozen hit songs, but because they were released at the same time, only a few of them became number one singles. Songs like "You'll Only Win If You Fight Hard", "It Seems Like an Old Friend", "How Much Wind and Rain", "Melinda", and "I Just Like You" sold out, but none of them even made it into the nominations.

Therefore, nowadays, when people release an album, it's considered a great achievement if two or three out of ten songs are good. Moreover, they usually release one single first, and then release the whole album to compete for another single, otherwise it will greatly affect the ranking and award competition.

Unfortunately, that's the rule. The good news is that the emcee announced some minor changes to this year's Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs.

"In addition to the fixed Top Ten Songs, we will also add three awards: the 'Best Chinese Pop Song Award' for composers and the 'Best Chinese Pop Lyrics Award' for lyricists."

"That's right. In addition, there is the prestigious Golden Needle Award, which is used to recognize musicians who have made outstanding contributions to the Hong Kong music scene and the Chinese pop music scene. It covers singers, songwriters behind the scenes, and other people related to the music scene. However, please note that this award is not permanent. If there is no one who deserves the Golden Needle Award, we can leave it vacant."

I understand now. This "Golden Needle Award" will be the highest honor for the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs, somewhat similar to a lifetime achievement award.

Sitting in the first row, Wong Jim looked around and figured it was either him or Old Gu. Of course, it wouldn't be a problem if it were a senior figure even more experienced than them.

The awards ceremony has officially begun.

"First of all, this is a very special song. The singer is not a professional singer, and you can only buy the single on the market, but it has achieved the good result of gold record. Or you can go to Holiland fast food restaurant and order a hamburger or fried chicken, and you can hear it there..."

Lizhi, who was listening to the radio at home, immediately knew that the little girl named Amin had won an award!
"These judges have no taste!" Xiaoli thought angrily, trembling as she took a bath. But when she thought about how A-Ming wrote and composed the song, she calmed down a lot.

Alan, A-B, and their friends at the scene were all incredibly happy for her, cheering loudly for her. Especially Lao Wei and Xu Shufen, the couple, were extremely excited.

In their eyes, after winning the award, Amin should be considered a singer, which is a good match for a writer.

At the emcee's invitation, Vivian Chow gracefully walked onto the stage. Unfortunately, no television viewers could see this, only the audience members at the scene exclaimed "So beautiful!"

Unexpectedly, she was such a beautiful and youthful girl. Reporters at the scene frantically pressed the shutter, and the mysterious amateur singer Zhou Huimin finally made her official debut!
Actually, "A Girl's Prayer" is not as popular as "First Love". However, when "First Love" was released, it was completely overshadowed by the charity concert songs and did not even make it into the top ten of the weekly chart.

The two emcees were also very interested in Vivian Chow, asking her age, what grade she was in, and even asking the audience if she was pretty. The audience responded in unison, "Pretty!"

Now all the boys and girls watching the radio know that their favorite singer is a beautiful 15-year-old girl, but unfortunately, they can't see her yet.

Then the emcee asked her about her relationship with Wei Ming, which is something that people inside and outside the industry are very interested in: "Why did he write so many songs for you?"

Amin: What other relationship could there be? Even as the singer, this song belongs to him.

"Actually, we're pen pals. We met through letters." Amin wouldn't admit to their romantic relationship, even though the emcee always steered the conversation in that direction. They hadn't done anything, and this was a way of protecting both of them.

After dealing with the emcee's questions, it was Amin's turn to sing "A Girl's Prayer".

Although she is only 15 years old, she has been studying with teacher Dai Sicong for almost a year. In addition, since this is a song that A Ming wrote for himself, she sings it on repeat almost every day, polishing every line until she is extremely familiar with it, so she can handle it with ease.

Aside from her voice being a little strained at the beginning due to nervousness, she gradually improved and even showed a hint of composure, completely unlike a child her age. Listening to her daughter's confident singing from the recorder, Zhou's mother temporarily put down her work. At this moment, she was genuinely proud of her daughter, not for her singing, but for winning the award, and wondering if it would give her extra points when applying to university.

Sigh, it would have been even better if I had gotten first place in the grade and won an award.

"I pray that heaven and earth will spare the lovers, and that what I fear will never happen."

How can one regain confidence when good times have never come their way?

I pray that God will be a good person for ten minutes and grant me His kiss as if I were a sinner.

I love the Lord and I also love a person in this world.
I pray that you will remain steadfast along the way and protect me...

The powerful chorus also elevates the emotions.

In a high-end residential area in Hong Kong, Priscilla Chan, who usually loves watching TVB, was listening to the radio obediently today. When she heard Vivian Chow singing this part, she said that she had become a fan of this girl who is two years younger than her.

Although she thinks she sings very well, at least she didn't sing this song with the same passion as Vivian Chow, which made her want to fall in love.

When the song ended, the audience gave Zhou Huimin the warmest applause. Because she sang so passionately, tears even welled up in her eyes. At that moment, Amin couldn't even tell who was who in the audience. But at that moment, she fell in love with this feeling. She loved singing on stage!
The emcee just asked her if she would pursue a professional music career, and she replied, half-jokingly and half-advertising, "No way, I'm going home to inherit Holiland fast food restaurant."

But now, she has made up her mind: she wants to become a singer, a professional one.

After Amin stepped down, it was soon Tan Yonglin's turn. His album "Unforgettable You" and its title track "Thinking About the Future" won an award. This was his second time winning the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. The song is an appeal to face life's difficulties with a positive attitude. It was composed by Xin Yi and written by Lin Mincong.

However, this song is far less popular among fans than "Friends," which Wei Ming wrote for him. In fact, "Friends" can be considered his current signature song.

After Tam Yung-lun finished singing the song and stepped off the stage, the emcee announced that the next song in the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs competition would be titled "Pearl of the Orient".

In the Madman Comics Company, Ah Long and his gang of underlings were listening to this program in the conference room. They were about to celebrate when they heard the name "Pearl of the Orient" when they were followed by composer Joseph Koo, lyricist Cheng Kwok-kong, and singer Jenny Tseng.

Ah Long: "It's not Ah Ming's song. I think this one is not as good as Ah Ming's."

Ma Wing-shing is quite eloquent: "Maybe it's because this song is in Cantonese, and the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs tend to favor Cantonese songs."

Jenny Tseng took to the stage to sing, displaying a commanding presence, and her husband Alexander Fu Sheng was also there.

The fourth winning song was "A Little Candlelight," composed by Chen Qiuxia, with lyrics by Zheng Guojiang, and sung by Guan Zhengjie. Zheng Guojiang had already won two awards.

The fifth song is "Being a Person and Loving Freedom," composed by Joseph Koo and written by James Wong. Now Joseph Koo has also achieved a double victory.

This is an insert song from the TVB drama "The Rogue Emperor," sung by the lead actor, Cheng Siu-chau.

Actually, right now, the Emperor and Empress of TVB are listening to the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards. The promotion for the Top Ten Jade Solid Gold Songs Awards has already been launched, and it will be broadcast live on TV in two weeks.

The sixth song is "No Need to Remember Old Dreams," with lyrics and music by James Wong and sung by Lui On-na. James Wong also won a double victory.

Because Wong Jim was in dire need of funds to pay taxes, he urgently pre-sold ten songs to PolyGram, which were later delivered, including this song.

Moreover, this song was the first to break the consecutive weekly chart-topping trend of charity concert songs, and I heard that its release was delayed by a month to avoid its dominance.

Kenny Bee rubbed his chin, thinking, "Oh no, oh no, am I going to die? I haven't won a Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award yet, and I only have four songs left. God help me, may this one be mine!"

The seventh song, "Impression," was composed and sung by Sam Hui, with lyrics co-written by Sam Hui and Peter Lai.

This result was not unexpected; he is a singing god, capable of both singing and songwriting.

However, the God of Songs is now putting more energy into movies. At the beginning of last year, he made a super blockbuster movie, "Modern Bodyguard", with his older brother. He also has another movie, "Aces Go Places", with Karl Maka. He took this opportunity to promote it.

This is the eighth song; the emcee reveals the answer.

"The Great Wall Will Never Fall, composed by Li Xiaotian, lyrics by Wei Ming, and sung by Ye Zhentang."

Vivian Chow breathed a sigh of relief. Ah Ming finally had another song that won an award. However, it seemed that she didn't need to accept the award on his behalf anymore; the singer could just go up and accept it.

She started frantically trying to recall which good songs from last year would have a chance to win the last two spots.

The ninth song reveals the answer: "Against the Current"! Lyrics and music by Wei Ming, "Against the Current" by Xu Xiaofeng, a leading figure in the music scene.

Wei Ming gets a triple kill!

Amin listened intently to Sister Xiaofeng sing the song like a fan. It was so smooth and comfortable. She realized that she was still far behind truly excellent singers in terms of singing skills.

There was only one spot left, but there were still over thirty number one singles performed, including those by famous singers such as Danny Chan, Teresa Teng, and George Lam. Oh, and Brother B too.

However, they had no hope. The emcee said, "Something interesting happened in today's Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs, because two songs have the same title."

Upon hearing this, Amin, Alan, everyone present, and everyone watching the radio already knew the answer.

The last song is "Pearl of the Orient," a Mandarin song with lyrics, music, and vocals by Wei Ming.

Wei Ming gets a quadra kill!

The song was also released as a single by PolyGram, and the profits after deducting costs were donated to the disaster-stricken areas in Sichuan.

Although Wei Ming is not a professional singer, although his singing voice is not particularly good, and although this is a Mandarin song, the fact that it topped the charts for four weeks shows the Hong Kong audience's love for it. Moreover, it reached number one after only one month on the charts, which shows its strong staying power.

During that period, you could hear people requesting this song whenever you turned on the radio.

Thus, Wei Ming occupies four of the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs awards: one for lyrics, two for lyrics and music, and one for lyrics, music, and vocals.

In previous years, the awards ceremony would end at this point, but this year three new awards have been added.

So the awards ceremony continued, starting with the Best Chinese Pop Song award, which is also the Best Composer award. This award went to "Forget Him," composed by James Wong and sung by Teresa Teng, with lyrics also written by him.

The Best Chinese Pop Lyrics Award went to "No Excuse" with lyrics by Lo Kwok-cheung, a song by Yip Chun-tong, and music by Lai Siu-tin. Just by hearing this combination, you know it's a song from an ATV drama.

The exciting moment has finally arrived: the Golden Needle Award.

To present this award, the Secretary General of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong, the President of the Hong Kong Branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, and the President of the Hong Kong Record Merchants Association all went on stage together.

"Based on our comprehensive assessment of the Hong Kong music scene in 1981, we unanimously believe that the musicians qualified to receive this year's Golden Needle Award are..."

Hung Chin-po, Cheng Lung, and Lam Ching-ying were together at that moment. Hung Chin-po pulled out a hundred-dollar bill: "The betting has started! I'm betting on Wong Jim."

When the big shot wanted to play, Lam Ching-ying reluctantly agreed: "Then I'll bet on Koo Ka-fai."

Cheng Long: "I have no choice, I'll choose Wei Ming."

In fact, Wong Jim and Joseph Koo are definitely the biggest favorites. Their works have won the most awards in the past three episodes. Wei Ming is young after all, and he is also an outsider. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake.

Then Cheng Long earned two hundred yuan.

"Wei Ming, let's congratulate him. He is an amazing young man. Since the charity concert 'Tomorrow Will Be Better' in August last year, his works have continued to bombard the Hong Kong music scene. The album 'Tomorrow Will Be Better' broke all the records in Hong Kong. Although he did not attend the event in person, he entrusted Ms. Vivian Chow to accept the award on his behalf."

When Lizhi heard that Wei Ming had asked Zhou Huimin to accept the award on her behalf, she was so angry that her chest felt like it was going to explode.

"Xiaoli, why are you splashing water? Who upset you?" At this moment, Wei Lingling appeared in the bathroom, leaning against the bathroom door like a hooligan, admiring Xiaoli's underwater curves.

"No, it's nothing. Ms. Lingling, do you want to take a bath? I'll clean the bathtub right away."

"No need, I'll just take a quick rinse. Also, you're coming with me to the mainland tomorrow."

"Where is it? Is it Yanjing?!"

"No, Shenzhen."

During this period, Wei Lingling has completed the change of the person in charge of Langning Toy Factory. Now the toy factory belongs to her and Wei Ming, or more precisely, to her and Dream Factory. She also owns 5% of Dream Factory, so she is the big boss of Langning Factory.

Wei Lingling said, "Also, listen on. The Golden Needle Award was given to my nephew. Is there anything else?"

Next, Zhou Huimin went on stage and accepted the first Golden Needle Award with trembling hands. Fortunately, she had already written several acceptance speeches for Ah Ming.

She also suggested, "I see many friends here who participated in the 'Tomorrow Will Be Better' chorus. I have a suggestion: could everyone come up on stage and sing this song again?"

This was originally part of the emcee's plan, but Zhou Huimin beat her to it, and applause erupted from the audience. Lao Wei even pulled Xu Shufen to stand up and support the suggestion.

Alan and A-B responded first, and everyone else stood up. They all went on stage together, just like that night before. Amin started singing the first line, "Gently awaken the sleeping soul, slowly open your eyes..."

……

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