Exciting 1979!

Chapter 415 Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom: Doesn't the King bear any responsibility at all?

Before going to Jiangsu, Wei Ming met a man from Yangzhou at the People's Literature Publishing House.

Of course, in the context of Jiangsu's actual situation, he only acknowledges himself as a native of Gaoyou.

Wang Zengqi was over sixty years old when he studied under Shen Congwen and participated in the screenwriting of "Shajiabang". He had previously suffered unfair treatment, but later he started writing again and wrote the sensational "Receiving the Precepts". Wei Ming met this gentleman at some writers' association activities, but unfortunately he never had the opportunity to take a photo and talk to him in detail.

Upon meeting him today, Wei Ming took the initiative to say, "Mr. Wang, I'm going to Yangzhou on a business trip this time. Would you like me to bring you some salted duck eggs from Gaoyou?"

"Oh!" Wang Zengqi perked up and pulled Wei Ming to sit down. "You're going to Yangzhou for research? Then I'll have to tell you all about the good food there."

Wei Ming immediately adopted a listening posture. There are many writers in the literary world who like food, but few writers have food as a label. Lu Wenfu is one, and Wang Zengqi is another.

Last year, he also popularized salted duck eggs from his hometown of Gaoyou.

Of course, Wei Ming is also quite famous in this regard. He has written dozens of essays about food, covering major cuisines and involving both domestic and foreign cuisines. Even his predecessors, Wang Zengqi and Lu Wenfu, cannot match him in this respect. Who can blame him for being rich?

Although Mr. Wang is not as wealthy as Wei Ming, he has a great imagination when it comes to food. He is good at thinking and often develops his own dishes. He is a carefree old man who loves life.

“Meeting you is my luck. Friends from my hometown of Gaoyou usually bring me salted duck eggs when they come to Beijing. Unfortunately, the last time a friend came to Beijing was during the Spring Festival, and we've already run out of salted duck eggs. When you come back from Yangzhou, come to my house. If you give me some duck eggs, I'll treat you to a meal.”

"Haha, it's settled then. Maybe I'll even get a short article out of it." Wei Ming made an agreement with him.

Wang Zengqi was leaving when Wei Minggang arrived. He asked, "Are you here to revise the manuscript?"

Wei Ming: "It was Grandma Wei Junyi who contacted me."

"Oh, I just saw her. You'd better go now."

In the office of the president of People's Literature Publishing House, Wei Ming sat opposite the old lady.

"Xiao Wei, I wanted to talk to you today about publishing a collection of your essays."

People's Literature Publishing House has had this idea for a long time. Wei Ming's strength is beyond doubt, but his popularity is even greater than his strength. Each of his novels is either published independently or collected into a book, but he has never published a collection of essays. There is a huge market for this, especially in overseas markets.

Wei Ming had heard about it before and was not surprised: "Then I'll pick and choose later. Many of my essays are actually of average quality and not worth publishing."

This is not modesty. Wei Ming often writes essays as if they were diaries, for fear that he will forget the origin, preparation and taste of a certain food in the future. So he writes them down and submits them to magazines as a way to maintain relationships.

Generally, high-quality articles are submitted to the Four Great Dan (a group of famous female writers) and major publications such as *People's Literature* and *Yanjing Literature*, while articles of average quality are submitted to local magazines such as *Magic City Literature*, *Zhongshan*, *Mengya*, and *Yanhe*, or publications in Hebei Province.

"Don't worry, we're thinking of publishing a collection of your essays on the theme of food, and we'll highlight it at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair," said Mrs. Wei Junyi.

Last year at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Chinese books had a remarkable performance, and we also gained insight into the needs of overseas markets. They showed great interest in Chinese cuisine, which happens to be an area of ​​expertise for Wei Ming.

"Food? That's fine. I'll pick and choose some later and make a list when I get back from Yangzhou."

Wei Junyi: "Then we'll think of a title."

After leaving the publishing house, Wei Ming returned to Nanluoguxiang. It wasn't Sunday, but Gong Xue and Zhu Lin were both there.

The thought that the three of them would have to separate from their boyfriends again after only half a month of being together made them feel relieved, and it was also a good time for them to take a break.

The two women, like mothers, told Wei Ming to take good care of himself while he was away, not to drink unboiled water, and not to kick off the covers at night. In the end, they were still reluctant to part with him.

That night, Wei Ming held his two older sisters and talked to them for a long time, and they also made love for a long time.

The next morning, Wei Ming and Biaozi arrived at Yanjing Railway Station to meet with the cast and crew of "Journey to the West". After they left, the cats and dogs would have to rely on Xiaomei.

Actually, Wei Ming hadn't taken a long-distance train ride in a long time, and he was actually looking forward to it.

Traveling by train alone can be boring, but traveling with a group of people can be quite fun, especially with such a talented group of people. At least you won't be lonely on the journey.

The tickets were purchased together, and everyone was in the same carriage. This was the first time Wei Ming met Chi Zhongrui and Yan Huaili.

Chi Zhongrui collaborated with Gong Xue on "The Love in the Brush," while Yan Huaili was Zhu Lin's colleague at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, though he was certainly not one of the theatre's star performers.

We certainly can't lend our leading actors from the Beijing People's Art Theatre to a TV series that might take several years to film; it would be too much of a waste of time.

Chi Zhongrui's acceptance of the role means that he has almost no hope of performing on stage within the next year.

Although Teacher Liu is a household name and a superstar, the most famous among them at this moment is Comrade Zhao Debiao. Several sharp-eyed people in the carriage recognized him as Tie Biao, the main villain in "Heroes Have Emerged Since Ancient Times".

These days, audiences really do carry their hatred for villains into real life, and even do some extreme things. But after seeing Biaozi's physique, they can easily distinguish the character from the actor.

Some even praised Biaozi, saying, "If you were to play the main villain in Shaolin Temple, Li Lianjie would definitely be beaten to death."

Biaozi was first proud, then sad. Now everyone knows that Xiao Li's real name is Li Lianjie, but just now everyone else was still calling him by his movie name, "Tie Biao".

Wow, Xiao Li is so popular!
Another actor, Li Chengru, works as a production assistant on set, responsible for all matters related to the crew. Director Yang promised to give him a role in the future.

He was also the most talkative one, chatting and laughing non-stop the whole way, making the whole carriage realize that they were the Journey to the West crew. Then the passengers in the carriage asked one after another who was Sun Wukong and who was Tang Xuanzang.

Li Chengru smiled and said, "Everyone, feel free to guess."

Liu Xiao Ling Tong, afraid that others wouldn't guess that he was Sun Wukong, secretly scratched his head.

"He...it's him, isn't it!"

Sun Wukong was recognized, but there was a problem with Tang Sanzang. Chi Zhongrui was wearing a hat, so his bald head wasn't showing, and many people pointed at Wei Ming: "Isn't this Tang Sanzang?"

Another older woman said with certainty, "It must be him. He has red lips and white teeth. No wonder the female demons all want to eat his flesh."

Yang Jie carefully examined Wei Ming. In terms of appearance, Wei Ming was indeed better than Chi Zhongrui. It was a pity that the great writer would not act in a TV series with them. It was already very kind of him to come with them on this trip.

Wei Ming waved his hand: "I'm not Tang Sanzang." But indeed, quite a few female demons wanted to eat his piece of Tang Sanzang flesh.

Moreover, the charm of Tang Sanzang in this version of Journey to the West pales in comparison to that of Sun Wukong. Wei Ming's most memorable Tang Sanzang is still the one played by Jiang Hua in the TVB version of Journey to the West.

When it was lunchtime, everyone went to the dining car to eat. After all, they were on official business, and part of the 300 million yuan was for meals.

Wei Ming has always disliked train food, but at times like this, it's no use bringing lots of delicious food. There are too many people, and it's never good to eat alone.

So Wei Ming made do with the same train meals as everyone else, only sharing the salted duck eggs he had brought with him.

Hengzhou is also famous for its salted duck eggs, but it is not as well-known as Gaoyou. However, since Wang Zengqi has already written about Gaoyou's salted duck eggs, Wei Ming cannot simply repeat what he said about Hengzhou Lake's salted duck eggs.

Moreover, Hengzhou Lake is only one-tenth the size of Gaoyou Lake, so its duck egg production is naturally far less. Promoting salted duck eggs is not as effective as promoting Hengzhou Laobaigan liquor.

Although Wei Ming found the food on the train rather unremarkable, everyone else ate with great relish. It had both meat and vegetables, which was much better than eating at home.

Biaozi, now wealthy and a man who eats lavishly at home every day, felt a pang of regret as he ate the meager amount of meat in his dish. He said to Wei Ming, "I should have brought some canned meat."

Canned meat had to be bought at the Friendship Store. Wei Ming would exchange foreign exchange certificates for them every month, so they could still afford canned meat.

~
While Biaozi was regretting his actions, Liang Jiahui had already taken action and went to the Friendship Store to buy some canned luncheon meat.

The food at the Beijing Film Studio canteen was really too bland, with no oil or meat, making it hard to swallow.

Originally, these Hong Kong staff members were entitled to special meals, but Wei Ming, with his advanced experience working with Hong Kong teams, told Director Wang Yang and Director Li Hanxiang to have the Hong Kong staff eat and live with the Beijing Film Studio staff, converting their meal allowance into cash, and letting them eat out if they wanted, without letting the Beijing Film Studio staff see them. However, Liu Xiaoqing still saw Liang Jiahui eating canned luncheon meat at the Beijing Film Studio canteen.

"What are you eating?" She stared intently at Liang Jiahui's lunchbox, already able to smell the aroma.

"Oh, luncheon meat canned food, wait a minute." Liang Jiahui took out a small knife, cut the meat in the can into a few slices, and then put two slices on his female lead's plate. He was quite generous.

Liu Xiaoqing ate with relish, then looked at the metal box, which was covered in English. It must have been bought with foreign exchange certificates. These Hong Kong people are so rich!

However, she didn't intend to rely on the male lead. She had heard that he was the director's prospective son-in-law, and she knew what was important. But she really hoped that she could become very rich.

Liu Xiaoqing glanced around the cafeteria but didn't see Gong Xue. With that big shot behind her, she probably wouldn't even look down on the cafeteria food.

Gong Xue actually went shopping with Zhu Lin and then ate out. They didn't eat anything fancy, just a meal at Lao Mo's, which cost Liu Xiaoqing half a month's salary.

Wei Ming spoke to them very seriously about spending money, telling them never to be frugal. From then on, the concept of "thrift" no longer existed in their world; they could consume anything that could be legally bought with money.

Wei Ming divided the several thousand yuan that Oriental New World received into two shares and gave them to them. He still has over two million yuan in his account, more than he can spend.

~
After a day and a night on the train, the Journey to the West crew finally arrived in Yangzhou, where there were two main scenes.

There are two main scenes here: Daming Temple in Yangzhou and Ge Garden in Yangzhou.

Daming Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty, hence its name. In order to avoid using the taboo name, the Qing Dynasty used the name "Qiling Temple" from the Sui Dynasty, but it was changed back a couple of years ago.

Ge Garden is a famous garden of salt merchants. The name "Ge Garden" comes from the fact that one of its owners, Huang Zhijun, loved bamboo. As most people who have studied traditional Chinese painting know, the key to painting bamboo leaves is to write the character "Ge".

Upon arriving in Yangzhou, we first checked into a local guesthouse and met with some local leaders, led by Wei Ming and Director Yang.

Afterwards, Wei Ming and Biaozi were assigned to the same room, giving them their own private space. Only then did Biaozi take out his valuables from his bag.

"Ming-ge, look what this is!"

Wei Ming was taken aback: "Instant noodles? You still have some?"

Wei Ming carried these back for them from Hong Kong.

“We usually can’t bear to eat this at home, so we’re always thinking about when we’ll be able to eat it when we go on a long trip. I’ll go get some hot water, and we can soak it in water to eat!” Biaozi said.

Although it wasn't appropriate to cook for him separately, Wei Ming was really craving the train food he'd eaten all day.

So he said, "Go quickly!"

The two of them, as if they were stealing ginseng fruit, drank the soup clean and disposed of the body very well.

After finishing the meal, Wei Ming realized, "Wait, we've already gotten off the train, why are we still eating this? Can't we eat something better?"

Biaozi asked, "What's so good about it?"

"Yangzhou is an important birthplace of Huaiyang cuisine. There are many delicious foods here, such as Yangzhou fried rice, lion's head meatballs, and braised shredded tofu." Wei Ming patted his belly. Wang Zengqi recommended two restaurants to him, Cai Gen Xiang and Wen Yuan Restaurant. For the next period of time, these two restaurants will be Wei Ming's canteen.

Biaozi: "Ming-ge, I remember we're here to film a movie, right?"

“There will always be an opportunity,” Wei Ming said. “Let’s skip today and have a meeting later.”

On the first day of arriving in Yangzhou, director Yang Jie held a mobilization meeting, and the next day they plunged into the intense filming.

Although there are two cameras, only one is usually used to save film, because using another camera would consume more film, unless there is a need for multiple perspectives, such as in action scenes.

On the first day, there weren't even any scenes featuring Tang Sanzang and his disciples; instead, they filmed scenes with the King and Queen of Wuji, which were shot at Geyuan Garden.

While they were filming, Wei Ming and Biaozi would take Monkey and Old Pig for a stroll around the yard.

The story of "Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom" is not very well-known in the entire 86 version of "Journey to the West". It is located in the middle of episode 13, before the Golden Horn and Silver Horn Kings and after the Red Boy, all of whom are famous monsters with high popularity and background.

In fact, the demon in "Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom" also has a background. It is the blue-haired lion, the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva, also known as the Lion Demon.

The story of "Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom" begins with the four members of the Tang Monk's group passing by a temple, which is the royal temple of Wuji Kingdom, Baolin Temple.

They wanted to stay the night, but the abbot looked down on the four travelers and refused to receive them. This angered Sun Wukong, who used extraordinary means to intimidate the monks in the temple, and only then were they allowed to stay the night.

However, that night, Tang Sanzang was given a dream in which he saw a man who looked like a king. The king had died in a dry well in the backyard of the temple and claimed that he had been murdered. Moreover, the man had impersonated him and become the king of Wuji Kingdom in name only.

Later, Sun Wukong sought help from Laozi to revive the king, and also saw through the lion monster who had disguised himself as his master, defeating him and making him run away in fear.

At this moment, Manjushri Bodhisattva arrived and said, "This is my mount. Please let him go for my sake."

Then Sun Wukong said a few harsh words and released the lion.

Due to the limited length of the TV series, the reasons why the Lion Monster wanted to murder the King of Wuji Kingdom were not fully explained here. Does the King of Wuji bear no responsibility at all?

Hey, he actually does have one.

In the original story, Manjushri Bodhisattva once disguised himself as an ordinary monk to enlighten King Wuji and help him achieve the golden body of an Arhat. However, the king did not appreciate his good intentions, and the two had a conflict. Manjushri Bodhisattva's disguise was then immersed in the Royal River by King Wuji for three days and three nights.

So the Buddha sent this lion-like monster down to earth, and had the king submerged in a well for three years, as a way of avenging Manjushri.

Moreover, this blue ox-lion spirit had been castrated beforehand, so it was indifferent to the beautiful queen and quite neglectful of her.

Aside from throwing the real king into the well, the fake king did no other evil deeds. Moreover, under his rule, the people of Wuji Kingdom lived better than the real king. This is why Sun Wukong ultimately did not hold a grudge against Manjushri Bodhisattva, which makes much more sense.

Director Yang Jie and others did not include these details in the script because explaining these reasons would require prior context, which would be difficult to cover in 45 minutes. Therefore, they opted for a simpler and more direct approach.

While this is an imperfect interpretation of the spirit of the original work, it unexpectedly achieves a satirical effect: the monsters with powerful backgrounds are all taken away by their masters, while those without backgrounds are all killed by the Great Sage with a single blow.

The day's filming has ended. The scenes of the king, queen, eunuch, and prince in the palace have only been filmed for half of the time. We still won't see the four of them tomorrow.

So the next day, Wei Ming simply took Biaozi to stroll around Slender West Lake and eat Yangzhou fried rice.

The main dish served that day was Cai Gen Xiang, where we not only enjoyed authentic Yangzhou fried rice but also the so-called Yangzhou Three Heads Feast, which consisted of braised silver carp head, stewed lion's head meatballs, and braised whole pig's head.

We finished these three meatballs over two meals, lunch and dinner. It's a pity we couldn't have the crab meat lion's head meatballs because it's not the right season.

While Wei Ming and Biaozi were savoring the flavors of Huaiyang cuisine, Dongzi, a child from Suqian, had just received the latest issue of "King of Fairy Tales." He first turned to "Calabash Brothers," which was also the final chapter of the series.

Last time, he was really worried. What was wrong with this seventh brother? He couldn't tell friend from foe. You brothers all look exactly the same, only your clothes and gourds are different colors. How could you not notice? You even mistook a thief for your father!
Last month, Wei Ming's chapter really made children all over the country scratch their heads, eager to know what happened next, and they were tormented for a whole month.

Now, the story begins: the Scorpion Demon and the Snake Demon, relying on the magic gourd in the Seventh Brother's hand, easily subdued the first six brothers.

Finally, he cruelly threw the seventh gourd into the alchemy furnace, intending to refine him and his brothers into the Seven Star Pill. This seventh gourd was also stupid, as there were only six gourd brothers. Can you guess why it's called the Seven Star Pill?

Seeing this, Dongzi panicked and quickly turned to the next page...

……

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