Exciting 1979!

Chapter 427 Director Selection for "The Shepherd's Spring"

Britain seems intent on exaggerating the rescue of Mandela. While rescuing the people of South Africa sounds grand, rescuing one person with a specific objective is much simpler and more direct.

In this process, Mandela was deified, and District 9 was given special historical significance.

There is more than one person holding "District 9" in this photo, and the article also strongly links "District 9" with this mayoral parade.

Moreover, it wasn't just Xinhua News Agency's overseas reporters who did this; even British media outlets mentioned the impact of "District 9" on related events.

Two days later, Melinda excitedly sent another telegram to Wei Ming, telling him that the company was accelerating its distribution in the global English market and that it was also going to print more in the domestic market!

A relatively niche science fiction novel, it showed the potential to become a super bestseller in the UK. Now, old Londoners no longer talk about the weather when they go out, but talk about "District 9", especially young people and arts activists.

Haven't seen District 9? Please, you're so out of touch!
The president in charge of local publishing was astonished when he learned that the novel was actually written directly in English by Wei Ming. What a talent!

He even hoped that Wei Ming could become a British citizen. He felt that it would be a waste for such a talented person to stay in China. He said that the company would arrange for him to have a London residency and a British wife.

This event, centered in London, is still unfolding and its influence is beginning to radiate globally. Mandela and District 9 have become global sensations, making him a top figure in the political and cultural spheres.

Now it's not that the shrimp is trying to ride on the coattails of E.T., but rather that two aliens are riding on each other's coattails.

At an event in Los Angeles, when asked if he had heard of District 9, Spielberg said he really liked the novel and hoped to have the opportunity to work with Mr. Why.

Recently, another event has emerged: mayors from multiple countries around the world have signed a petition demanding the release of Mandela. The petition quickly garnered 1000 signatures from more than 40 countries.

This event even reached China through international students.

It was inconvenient for Beijing to come forward, even though it had not yet established diplomatic relations with South Africa. But Beijing is the capital after all, so Mayor Wang of Shanghai signed the document instead.

Of course, Hong Kong was the most active in this British-led initiative, with the new Governor Edward Youde being among the first to voice his support.

Not only did he receive support, but news reports from Hong Kong at the time frequently covered the story. As the first newspaper in the world to publish "District 9," Ming Pao was extremely proud of Jin Yong.

Soon after, his Minghe Publishing House released 100,000 copies of the traditional Chinese version of "District 9", and Wei Ming was able to receive royalties.

Of course, Wei Jiefang and Xu Shufen were even more pleased. They never expected that their son's novel could influence the global political situation. This must be the ultimate pursuit of a writer!

Old Wei happily told Steel Egg Bass, as well as the orcas, sea lions, and seals in the Ocean Park about this.

The person who was most pleased with herself was definitely Vivian Chow. During that time, she smiled at everyone she saw, and her mood was as good as Pigsy after eating the ginseng fruit.

So when Linni invited her to go to Taipei for the weekend, she readily agreed.

Now even Taipei is responding to this petition signed by the mayor, and Taiwanese people are no strangers to Mr. Why.

Taiwan was the best-selling overseas market for Hong Kong's album "Tomorrow Will Be Better".

Of course, they didn't get in through official channels, since the concert's background was to raise funds for disaster relief in mainland China, but because there were so many classic songs, it was impossible to stop them.

However, his translations of works like "The Lion King" from English are readily available in bookstores, and this "District 9" is a direct reprint from Ming Pao, with the author listed as Mr. Why.

Even after Taiwanese film distributors learned that the script for Jackie Chan's new film "Project A" was written by Wei Ming, they did not refuse to produce the film. They simply wanted to use another pen name of Wei Ming, "Wei Kuangren," for the screenwriter's name.

"Wei Ming" is still somewhat sensitive in Taiwan, but Mr. Why and Wei Kuangren are not so sensitive.

This time, Zhou Huimin and the other three came to Taipei together.

Before Wei Lingling went to the United States to promote Transformers, she wanted to go back to Taipei to visit her uncle and aunt. Lin Ni also wanted to go home to visit, and since she had a good relationship with Zhou Huimin and her daughter, she invited them to come over.

Actually, Vivian Chow wasn't completely without connections in Taiwan. She knew Peter Chen, and they could be considered comrades-in-arms who had fought together.

After attending the charity concert, Peter Chen was sidelined for a while upon returning to Taiwan, but then everything was fine; a powerful figure protected him.

However, he rarely sings in front of the stage now, and mainly works behind the scenes as a musician. He has found that he is more suited to this job, and recently he has been producing songs for a guy named Fei Yuqing.

Back in Taipei, Wei Lingling told her uncle about the progress of the factory opening in mainland China and the upcoming marketing process for Transformers.

Although he handed the toy company over to two young men, the uncle also wanted to see how large the factory could be. The better they did, the more it would benefit him, since he was an upstream supplier for the plastics factory in Taiwan.

Lin Ni chatted with her sister Lin Xi in the room for a long time. Seeing her radiant younger sister, Wei Muchun's third wife sighed, "Indeed, a woman needs to be pampered by a man. Look at you now, you look so much better than when you were in Taipei. You should have gone to Hong Kong to find him a long time ago."

Lin Ni was a little shy for a while, but she was indeed very happy during this time. She even had the idea of ​​having a second child. Although Lao Gui was also sixty years old, a man at sixty is in his prime.

It's just a pity for my sister. Her husband is almost eighty years old, nearly thirty years older than her. My sister made huge sacrifices for their poor family back then.

After leaving the Wei residence, Wei Lingling drove back to the hotel to pick up Zhou Huimin and her daughter, and then took them sightseeing in Taipei.

Taipei at that time was very developed, much richer than Guangzhou, which Zhou Huimin had visited, but it couldn't compare to Hong Kong.

However, it's not without its advantages compared to Hong Kong. At least the people here speak Mandarin well, so if I study hard here, I won't have to worry about living on the mainland in the future.

There's also the recent folk song movement in Taiwan. Vivian Chow bought a lot of Mandarin folk song albums, and there's one album she really likes called "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye". She quickly learned songs like "Love Song 1980", "Childhood", and "Lukang Town" from it.

The singer's voice is actually just average, comparable to Ah Ming's. However, he wrote all of these songs himself. This newcomer named Luo Dayou is quite talented, and he's comparable to Ah Ming.

Taiwan has a wide variety of snacks, especially at night markets, which are so abundant that there's simply not enough to try them all. Many of them are brand new varieties that Amin has never seen in Hong Kong.

On their first night in Taipei, Wei Lingling and her daughter took Zhou Huimin and her daughter to the famous Yuanhuan Night Market.

While Zhou Huimin was eating tapioca pearls, her grandmother bought her a cup of bubble tea to quench her thirst.

This foamy black tea is also a Taiwanese specialty. It is made by putting black tea, sugar, and ice into a shaker and shaking it vigorously to create a layer of fine foam, making the tea soup taste light and refreshing.

Zhou Huimin's hands were a little too heavy to hold, so she simply poured the remaining tapioca pearls into the black tea.

Then, while drinking tea and chewing on tapioca pearls, she said that this way of eating was not bad.

Wei Lingling tried it with some skepticism, then her eyes lit up: "Hmm, not bad, it's actually quite interesting."

Amin quickly let her mother have a bite too.

Then Zhou's mother couldn't stop. She bought a cup for herself and savored it, wondering what kind of wonderful reaction would occur if she replaced the bubble tea with Hong Kong-style milk tea.

In recent years, British-style milk tea has spread to Hong Kong. After being improved by tea restaurant chefs, Hong Kong-style milk tea was invented. They repeatedly brewed multiple tea bags of Ceylon black tea to filter out a very strong tea soup, then added evaporated milk and used the "pulling tea" technique to make it very airy and smooth.

Holiland now has seven stores open and seven or eight more under construction, totaling more than a dozen stores, covering almost every area of ​​Hong Kong.

Although still operating at a loss, the opening of several stores has indeed reduced the cost per store and increased the profit margin, as it has increased its bargaining power with upstream industries.

They are currently in talks with two giants in the cola industry, both of whom want to acquire Holiland's exclusive carbonated beverage rights, just like McDonald's and KFC, where they have to choose one over the other.

Holiland is, after all, just a small regional company, and the two giants couldn't offer Holiland the same kind of discounts as McDonald's, so they ultimately chose Pepsi.

At the time, Mrs. Zhou thought it would be great if Hong Kong had a unique beverage product like Coca-Cola.

This time, Amin put tapioca pearls in black tea, and the interesting chewing texture gave her a flash of inspiration.

She immediately ran to the vendor selling tapioca balls and asked what they were made of and how they were made.

"What are you saying? Can't you understand?" The woman selling tapioca balls was exasperated by the woman's rapid-fire Cantonese.

Linni quickly went over to translate and then learned that the tapioca balls were made primarily from tapioca flour. As for how they were made, that was a trade secret.

Lin Ni scoffed, "What trade secret? My mom sold this when she was little. What's so difficult about it?"

Then she pulled Zhou's mother away. Zhou's mother hurriedly asked Lin Ni to introduce her to her mother, as she wanted to learn this.

Linni: "Shall we meet at the cemetery?"

Zhou's mother: "..."

However, Zhou's mother eventually learned how to make tapioca balls because Lin Ni's older sister, Lin Xi, knew how. Lin Ni took her to visit her, and they finally mastered the skill.

After returning to Hong Kong, Mrs. Chow began researching a new type of tea drink, which she planned to put in Holiland stores to compete with Coca-Cola. She called it "Pearl Milk Tea"!
Because this way of eating was invented unintentionally by Zhou Huimin, she is revered by later generations as the "Mother of Bubble Tea," while Wei Ming is the "Father of Bubble Tea."

Upon returning to Hong Kong, Ah Min immediately wrote a letter to Ah Ming about her trip to Taipei, including the Taiwanese music she heard, her mother's research into developing new types of milk tea, and her visit to Ah Ming's great-grandfather's house.

Of course, we can't forget her latest stunning photos; she's truly blossoming and becoming more beautiful with age.

After reading it, Wei Ming carefully placed it in a secret room in the courtyard house, and of course, he also wrote her a reply.

Even though he is currently indulging in the tender embrace of Sister Xue and Sister Lin, he has not forgotten his girlfriend who is far away in Hong Kong.

He hasn't traveled far recently, so he hasn't had any interesting experiences. He just sent her his latest song, "Goodbye," and the Locust Band actually recorded it.

Wei Ming also told her, "If there is a copy of 'Zhi Hu Zhe Ye' in Hong Kong, you can buy one and give it to me."

~
Due to international news events such as the mayor's joint petition, District 9 has gained increasing influence domestically and received fewer negative reviews.

After witnessing the immense impact a novel can have on international politics, many readers began to reflect on themselves, wondering if their inability to understand it stemmed from a narrow perspective, while Professor Wei Ming possessed an international vision and foresight! Wei Ming, however, was not complacent about this; rather, he was pleased with the ever-growing foreign exchange reserves in his account, having recently received several payments.

This "District 9" series seems to have made a lot of money, since there were no translators or illustrators to share the profits, and all the royalties went to him alone.

However, it seems that the foreign goods in Friendship Store can no longer stimulate Wei Ming's desire to consume. He has already bought several color TVs, and even the largest item, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, has already been purchased. What else can he buy? A small car?

If he could, he would be willing to spend $100,000 to buy one; $100,000 is nothing to him now.

It's already summer, and riding a motorcycle outdoors is really not cool. Sometimes, if it's been parked outside for a while, it's so hot that your butt gets hot as soon as you sit on it.

Moreover, having Gong Xue or Zhu Lin riding on a motorcycle would attract too much attention; sitting in a car would at least be more discreet.

The good news is that the chief designer recently approved the possibility of joint ventures for passenger cars.

We have no choice but to do this. College students are graduating in batches, with two batches graduating this year alone. The promotion speed is also fast, and the domestic production of Hongqi and Shanghai-brand cars simply cannot meet the ever-increasing demand for official vehicles.

Even Uncle Ping's school is now applying to get him a car. If he were in a local area, someone of his rank would already have a government car.

What can we do if we can't meet the demand? We can only rely on imports, but foreign exchange is so precious. How many cars could Professor Wei Ming buy with the foreign exchange he earned word by word through hard work?

However, their own production capacity and technology are insufficient, so they can only form joint ventures.

The year after this directive, the first assembled Volkswagen Santana will be born in Shanghai!
In two more years, the Santana will officially go into mass production, and the era of private car ownership will be quietly opened!
That's Wei Ming's chance!

Thinking about this, and the prospect of taking his two older sisters out for a drive, Wei Ming became even more motivated. He stayed up late that night, and today was another day for the three of them to be together.

However, the next day was Sunday, so their married life was still quite flexible.

That day, Wei Ming was going to Zhu Lin's house to meet another couple, his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

They had been planning this day for a long time.

Zhu Lin, who had been out partying all night, went back to her parents' house to spend the weekend with them. She listened to her parents discuss the Fifth Middle East War, the outcome of the Falklands War, and even the Spanish World Cup.

Around noon, Wei Ming arrived at the door, and Zhu Lin feigned confusion, asking, "Who is it?"

Aunt Zhu said, "Who cares who it is? Just go open the door."

Zhu Lin's parents thought it was their colleague, friend, or student, but it turned out that Wei Ming was standing at the door, appearing polite and reserved.

"Sister Lin, I'm here to take care of some things, and I'll bring you the photos I took in Shaanxi." With that, Wei Ming handed over the thick envelope and turned to leave.

Then Aunt Zhu came over.

Wei Ming hurriedly said, "Oh dear, Auntie is home too."

Mrs. Zhu exclaimed in surprise, "You are... Wei Ming? Right!"

Wei Ming nodded, and then Zhu's father also came over, so Wei Ming, who was planning to leave after delivering the things, couldn't leave anymore.

Zhu Lin's parents are both typical intellectuals and good-looking, no wonder they gave birth to such a beauty as Zhu Lin.

My father was a professor at the Institute of Technology (later Beijing Institute of Technology). He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a typical Shandong man. My mother was a medical worker engaged in medical research, with a graceful and dignified demeanor.

After everyone came in, they looked at the photos first. These photos were taken by Wei Ming in Xi'an and Yan'an. He picked out the solo photos and group photos of Zhu Lin and sent them over.

Wei Ming took a very beautiful picture of Sister Lin, and the two elders were very proud. They even called out the names of the actors in the photos, and many of the people taking pictures with their daughter were familiar faces.

And Gong Xue is definitely a must-have in any group photo with Zhu Lin, after all, Gong and Zhu are inseparable, the Gong-Zhu combination is locked in.

However, one of the photos was taken by Xizi, showing Wei Ming with his two older sisters. In this photo, the three of them are standing quite close together.

Behind their backs, where no one could see, Wei Ming placed his hands on their waists.

The uncle and aunt didn't notice anything and thought Wei Ming was just standing with his hands behind his back. But Zhu Lin blushed a little. What a naughty boy! This is something that people can see!

Wei Ming arrived right on time, which was lunchtime. Given the hospitable Shandong culture, he was certain he would stay for lunch.

"Xiao Wei, you sit down. Old lady, you keep me company and talk to me." Zhu's father got up and went to the school cafeteria to get two more hearty dishes.

During the conversation, Zhu's mother kept chatting with Wei Ming. She was very curious about the mysterious writer, especially one who was only in his early twenties and already famous all over the world.

It is the duty of every scumbag to please his mother-in-law. Wei Ming also talked about his creative process, and he specifically chose the things that old ladies like to hear, such as the story behind "Mom, Love Me Again".

“I have been following up on the situation of the real-life person. Last month, I even corresponded with Ms. Song Lian, a good friend of Hehua. After treatment at the provincial hospital, Heye’s condition has improved a lot. Although she still occasionally experiences mental dullness and cannot stop taking her medication, she can now do basic housework. Now, she and her son are living in the countryside.”

"What about that scumbag ex-husband?" Zhu's mother asked fiercely. "Isn't he just going to leave his wife and son behind?"

Wei Ming said, “He went there once to take his son away, but his son refused no matter what. That child is really too stubborn. I met him once and told him not to go to his mother yet because he was too young, but he still went and chose to live with his mother.”

"Oh dear," Zhu's mother felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. She asked, "One of them is sick, and the other is still so young. How will they manage to live?"

Wei Ming hesitated, but Zhu Lin spoke quickly: "Xiao Wei is covering their living expenses. He promised to support Xiao Hulu until he graduates from university."

"Huh?!" Mrs. Zhu exclaimed in surprise, "How come I've never seen these things on the news?"

Zhu Lin: "Do good deeds anonymously."

Her tone betrayed her pride and admiration for her husband, but thankfully her mother was too surprised to notice.

Wei Ming said, "After all, I made some money from their stories, and they did affect Xiao Hulu's life, so it's only right that I take full responsibility."

And to him, it was really just a hair on a cow.

Wei Ming spoke casually, but Zhu's mother felt that Wei Ming was a person of noble character, and she liked him more and more the more she looked at him.

Looking at her own daughter, she was also very beautiful, but a bit older, nine years older than Xiao Wei, a real treasure.

However, compared to her own daughter, she still prefers Wei Ming and Gong Xue. The two collaborated on two scripts, which directly made Gong Xue the top actress in China. There must be something going on behind the scenes. But Gong Xue is not young anymore, she is eight years older than Wei Ming.

The meal went quite well, and because there weren't many people, Wei Ming had more opportunities to communicate directly with his parents. He had just talked a lot with his mother, and now he was talking to his father about current military technology and international local wars. He received a positive response from his father, who said, "Little Wei has a lot of insight. Come visit us often in the future."

After being sent out of the Industrial College by Zhu Lin, Wei Ming was quite proud of himself, thinking that he was very popular with his father-in-law and mother-in-law!

Zhu Lin secretly pinched his waist: "Don't get cocky. If my parents find out about the three of us, you'll be in big trouble."

Wei Ming added fuel to the fire: "Tsk tsk, just thinking about it is exciting!"

Zhu Lin had figured it out: this was a complete adventurer, who would surely have been a regional warlord if he lived in a chaotic era.

Wei Ming, who enjoys excitement, went to the Beijing Film Studio to find Sister Xue again in the afternoon.

However, I need to go to the Children's Film Studio first; Liang Xiaosheng must be getting impatient.

"Old Liang, congratulations!" He first congratulated Liang Xiaosheng on his marriage, as he was out of town at the time and couldn't attend.

Liang Xiaosheng lowered his voice: "Teacher Wei, you, you've gone too far. You gave such a big gift. How could I dare to touch this money?"

"Look at what you're saying, it's just a hundred yuan. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was bribing you."

"I'll save two months' salary for you, and I'll give it back to you when you get married."

Wei Ming shook his head: "Then you'd better be careful. If I get married more than once, you'll be at a disadvantage."

Liang Xiaosheng sighed, "How can you be thinking about divorce before you're even married?"

Wei Ming laughed heartily: "It's better to be safe than sorry."

After a few laughs, Wei Ming took out her script from her bag. Director Yu wasn't there at the moment; filming for "Red Elephant" had started, and she had gone to Yunnan with her son and the others.

Two days later, Yu Lan returned to Yanjing and immediately read Wei Ming's manuscript. After reading it, she was amazed. No wonder he had written for so long despite his speed.

This script not only includes text, but also many pieces of music composed by Wei Mingxin, which he prepared for the film's soundtrack.

In addition, there are more than a dozen hand-drawn storyboards, which are several important scenes in the script and are very artistic.

These pictures demonstrate Wei Ming's skill in painting and his mastery of photographic language; it's surprising that he also knows a lot about photography.

These days, not every director can draw hand-drawn storyboards; it takes a lot of time and effort. Ding Yinnan from the Pearl River Film Studio is a prime example.

Director Yu Lan became more and more satisfied and fond of the film as she looked at it. She had a premonition that the Children's Film Studio was about to create a classic.

She now regrets letting Zhuangzhuang direct "Red Elephant." If she had given the script to Zhuangzhuang...

As she was thinking, she turned to the last page. At the end of the script, Wei Ming had written a line: "Recommended by director—Wei Ming".

(End of this chapter)