Exciting 1979!

Chapter 462 The Refined Zhou Huimin and the Unrestrained Wei Ming (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Besides Wei Ming's "In the Heat of the Sun," Li Cunbao's "Garland at the Foot of the Mountain" was elected as the top-ranked novel in this year's National Excellent Novella Award. It was also the most influential novel last year, with both film and television adaptations being sought after. The film adaptation rights were acquired by Xie Jin, a director from Shanghai Film Studio.

In addition, Lu Yao's "Life" has been confirmed for filming by director Wu Tianming, but they are still waiting for Zhou Lijing's availability, who is his preferred choice for the male lead. The TV series adaptation of "Garland Under the Mountain" also wants to cast Zhou Lijing.

Among Wei Ming's acquaintances, Wei Junyi's "Baptism", Wang Meng's "It's Hard to Meet Again", Chen Rong's "The Secret of Taizi Village", Wang Anyi's "Passing By", and Jiang Zilong's "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Violet" were also selected. Soon, the bound volumes will appear in major bookstores across the country, allowing readers to read to their heart's content.

However, Wei Hong was somewhat dissatisfied: "Why isn't 'District 9' included? Isn't that an excellent novella?"

She really liked the novel, and even considered District 9 to be more influential.

Wei Ming smiled and said, "Serious literature and pure literature are still clearly distinct. Even abroad, they are judged separately. People's impression of my last literary work is still from two years ago."

Indeed, when he attended the National Excellent Novella Awards Ceremony, his colleagues felt that Wei Ming had given up on serious literature, as he had not produced anything for two years since "In the Heat of the Sun".

Chen Rong and Wang Anyi have expressed this regret more than once. Although Wei Ming's songs, such as "Me and My Motherland," are very moving, they always feel that he can only make the most of his talent by writing novels.

Meanwhile, his editor friends took the opportunity to inquire about Wei Ming's next work, hoping to secure it, but Wei Ming was currently out of work.

Firstly, there's no time; every month, I need to meet KPIs, including one episode of Black Cat Detective and several comic outlines.

This alone takes up most of his free time, aside from eating, sleeping, and having sex.

Moreover, Melinda's publishing company has just opened, and Wei Ming also needs to write an English novella for this project, so he really can't squeeze out a single minute of time.

Another issue is the decline in his desire to express himself. In this era, he has already written about educated youth literature, scar literature, and reform literature. He doesn't want to repeat himself, nor does he want to make do.

Now that he is financially secure, he no longer needs to force himself to write an article every week for a mere ten yuan per thousand words. Therefore, he will only write when he has something he wants to express or something that interests him.

But he couldn't say it so openly, or he would seem pretentious, so he told the editors, "I prefer novels now, and I'm working on a new book. It's like Nezha's mother; it might take a few years to be born."

However, to ease everyone's eagerness to see Wei Ming's new work, Wei Ming revealed: "Actually, I wrote a play script last year, which is currently at the Beijing People's Art Theatre. If you want it, you can go and discuss it with the theatre to see if it can be published."

Wei Ming left the decision to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and the theatre had no reason to refuse. It was a way to warm up the stage version. In the end, Zhang Dening from Yanjing Literature took the lead in getting "Mr. Donkey".

It has been almost four years since Wei Ming's last major work was published in "Yanjing Literature," which is quite poignant.

It's uncertain whether "Mr. Donkey" will be published in March or April. However, Peking University started its semester at the end of February. Wei Ming only made a brief appearance at the start of the semester to officially launch the "Wei Ming Scholarship" and hold a donation ceremony. After that, he was basically busy with post-production at the Beijing Film Studio.

At the same time, Wei Hong began preparing for her study abroad application. There were no difficulties in China. In order to save the country some foreign exchange, Wei Hong did not apply for a government-sponsored study abroad quota and would bear the costs herself. The school and the Ministry of Education would not hold her back. The key question was whether Stanford would accept her.

Her academic performance was excellent; she passed the TOEFL with a very high score, and the million-copy bestseller "Rubik's Cube? Anyone Can Play It" was also a plus.

However, just to be on the safe side, Wei Ming still wrote a letter to his great-aunt, hoping she could help him get a letter of recommendation.

Unexpectedly, my great-aunt was so efficient. Before Wei Ming went to Hong Kong, she replied that the recommendation letter was taken care of and would be sent directly to Stanford from that big shot.

As for the big shot's name, it's Chen Xingshen.

Upon learning this, Wei Hong remarked with emotion, "I never imagined that it was Shiing-Shen Chern from Berkeley who recommended me to Stanford."

Shiing-Shen Chern is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, the first director of the National Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and one of the top living mathematicians in the world. It is no exaggeration to call him a titan.

Because they are both located in the San Francisco Bay Area and are both prestigious universities in the West, Stanford and Berkeley are somewhat competitive, especially in mathematics. Since both are Chinese, Shiing-Shen Chern was actually Wei Hong's most ideal mentor.

"What, you still want to go to Berkeley? It's not too late. You haven't even written your recommendation letter yet," Wei Ming joked. "Maybe you can even become Chen Xingshen's last disciple."

Wei Hong shook her head: "I had also researched UC Berkeley before. It has produced more Nobel laureates than Stanford, which is very suitable for focusing on research. But I don't think it's suitable for me. Moreover, Stanford is more closely connected to Silicon Valley. Choosing Stanford would allow me to get familiar with Silicon Valley and make it easier to make investments in the future."

If Xiao Hong could understand Silicon Valley and acquire more appreciating shares, the Wei family could easily enjoy three generations of wealth starting from their generation.

"Alright, you can continue writing your application materials. I'm going to see Uncle Ping An; he needs to see me about something."

~
"Two things. First, I'm going abroad to Canada to talk to Ni Guangnan, who is a visiting scholar there, about the Chinese character card. We've already exchanged letters a few times. He's an expert in this field. Professor Wang Xuan and I plan to visit him in person and persuade him to join us."

Wei Ming nodded. Speaking of Chinese character cards, Ni Guangnan is indeed an expert, which is conducive to Founder taking the lead in the field. In his previous life, Founder also made Chinese character cards, but started later and could not avoid a person named Zhang Xuanlong.

“And another thing,” Wei Ping’an said, “didn’t you say you were going to Hong Kong to present an award? Although I feel it’s meaningless, the school still approved it for you, but you have to do me a favor.”

"What are you busy with?"

It turned out that Mr. Zhu Guangqian had been invited to give a lecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which happened to be in March.

Mr. Zhu Guangqian is a man from the last century, and he is 86 years old this year. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and the University of Edinburgh. He taught at Peking University for nearly 40 years, lecturing on aesthetics and Western literature. He is a treasured senior professor at Peking University.

Although Wei Ming had never attended his classes, he often ran into him during patrols and had read many of his works. Reading Western literature alongside his works would make it easier to understand.

"You don't need to take care of him all the time. It's just that the grandson who is accompanying the old man to Hong Kong is too young and has no experience. He has never even been on a plane before, so he will need your help to look after him on the way."

“I would be happy to do that,” Wei Ming readily agreed, and then said to Uncle Ping An, “If you have the chance to pass through San Francisco, you can also visit your great-aunt. She and your second grandmother are very close, and she should be very happy to see you.”

Wei Ping'an also wanted to see her. His mother hadn't appeared in his dream on New Year's Eve. If he couldn't go to Hong Kong to see his uncle for the time being, asking this aunt would be a good option.

That night, Wei Ming was about to go to Tuanjiehu to sleep when he ran into Xiao Mei.

He was also thinking of asking Wei Ming: "Brother, with the Trademark Law about to be officially implemented, shouldn't our Oriental New World also get a trademark?"

"Oh, that's good news. The implementation of the Trademark Law shows that we should attach importance to the development of the market economy."

A trademark, or logo, is a simple design that can give consumers a more direct impression. Oriental Plaza had never considered trademarks before, but the issue of trademarks had been around for a while.

Some time-honored brands, such as Nin Jiom, Tsingtao Beer, and China Railway, used that logo during the Republic of China era. In recent years, brands like Bank of China and Tongrentang have also designed their own exclusive logos. However, there was no clear law to protect trademarks before.

Mei Culture wanted Wei Ming to design it, since he has an art background.

Wei Ming thought, "How about this, we can take this opportunity to advertise as well. You can place an article in the newspaper, saying that you are soliciting trademarks for Oriental New World. If the design is adopted, you will receive a certain amount of money as a reward. I will also submit a design, a blind submission. In the end, you and Aunt Qian can discuss which one is the most suitable and creative. I still have more faith in the wisdom of the masses."

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Mei Wenhua nodded hurriedly, "It has to be Ming Ge's brain."

The question is, how much should the bonus be? It can't be too much, or people will covet it; it can't be too little, or people won't be motivated, and the goal of spreading the word won't be achieved.

Wei Ming said that much to him, and then went upstairs to find his sister. The time for him to go to Hong Kong was getting closer and closer, so he had to cherish it.

Sister Xue is also here; her 30th birthday is in a few days, and Wei Ming will set off after her birthday.

Gong Xue didn't really want to celebrate. It was her 30th birthday, and after that, she would be a woman over 30, while Xiao Wei was still a young man in his early 20s.

But she couldn't avoid it either. Zhu Lin chuckled, "That's how I did it last year, you have to go through it too."

Thinking back to how wild the three of them had at Zhu Lin's birthday party last year, Wei Ming was looking forward to that day coming soon.

Before this day arrived, "Night at the Museum" was officially published in "King of Fairy Tales". Although this interrupted one issue of "Black Cat Detective", sales actually showed an upward trend.

After a long period of stagnation, sales of "King of Fairy Tales" have finally rebounded, and even though it's not a holiday, it has brought a surge in visitors to the Palace Museum.

As for overseas markets, with the Mr. Why brand name and the meticulously crafted high quality of "Night at the Museum," the English version quickly surpassed 50 copies sold in the UK and the US, becoming the company's first blockbuster product.

With this signature work, it became much easier for the company to negotiate collaborations with writers, and the situation opened up immediately.

Moreover, Melinda continues to promote the book by buying appearances and advertising, determined to make this picture book a long-selling classic.

In addition, Wei Ming's specific idea for the "Goosebumps" series of books also seemed very promising to her. Teenagers are at an age where they seek excitement, and with a touch of horror, plus Wei Ming's amazing imagination, they might be able to create a miracle in book sales!

She replied to Wei Ming, proposing to first test the waters with "Dear, I Shrank the Child" as a booklet, and if that was successful, then work on "Night at the Museum".

"Also, since we're going to make this a series, you have to work harder and stop thinking about sleeping with women all the time. Ideally, you should be able to write two new stories every month."

When Melinda's letter arrived in Yanjing, Wei Ming had already celebrated Gong Xue's birthday and set off for Hong Kong.

This was a direct flight. Next to him sat Mr. Zhu Guangqian, an 86-year-old master of aesthetics. The old gentleman was not tall, only about 1.5 meters, with a head of silver hair, and his health was even worse than when Wei Ming was on patrol.

His grandson, standing next to him, was noticeably taller and stronger, full of energy, and curious about everything.

The grandson's name is Wan Xiaoping. He is in his twenties and just graduated from Anhui Normal University last year.

The reason he took his mother's surname, Wan, was mainly because he had many children. His mother had four children, and his father worked away from home all year round, making his mother very hard-working. In addition, his maternal grandfather was Professor Wan Minhao, a leading figure in classical Chinese poetry. Therefore, he was allowed to take his mother's surname, which can be considered as inheriting the Wan family's mantle.

Wei Ming found all of this out while waiting for his flight; he just liked to hear some gossip.

"Xiao Wei, will you be living with us?" Mr. Zhu asked Wei Ming after the plane had settled.

Mr. Zhu's trip to the Chinese University of Hong Kong was primarily to attend the "Qian Binsi Academic and Cultural Lecture Series," one of the most influential academic and cultural forums in the Chinese-speaking world. Founded in 1978 by New Asia College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, this series of lectures annually invites a scholar from China or abroad to deliver a series of public lectures on Chinese history and culture; all invited scholars are leading authorities in their fields. Qian Binsi, also known as Qian Mu, was one of the founders of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a descendant of the renowned Qian family of Wuyue.

This meeting was arranged to allow the old man to have a final reunion with his old friend from decades ago. After all, they were both over eighty years old and their days were numbered. Moreover, it was even more impossible for Qian Mu to return, so Mr. Zhu had no choice but to go.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is located in Sha Tin, New Territories, which is a bit remote for Wei Ming.

"I'll drop you off and then leave. My childhood friend is in Hong Kong, I'm staying with him." Wei Ming used Ah Long as a shield.

Professor Zhu nodded and then chatted with Wei Ming about academic topics. Wei Ming was also a person who understood beauty very well.

They were all the same age, and Wan Xiaoping felt like she couldn't get a word in edgewise. As expected of Teacher Wei, he was very knowledgeable. Listening to him chatting with his grandfather, he didn't seem like a twenty-year-old, but rather like an old man in his seventies or eighties.

Wei Ming actually lived for over sixty years. Given the amount of information he received from later generations, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had the experience of someone in their seventies or eighties.

Moreover, Teacher Wei is very good at interpersonal relationships and will occasionally bring Wan Xiaoping into the conversation.

Because Wan Xiaoping grew up with his mother and maternal grandfather, he has a deep understanding of Song poetry and has inherited the true essence of his grandfather Wan Minhao. Therefore, Wei Ming often talks to him about Song poetry.

Song lyrics are also the most suitable ancient literary form to be adapted into modern songs. In order to have something to talk about with Ah Min when he went to Hong Kong, Wei Ming read a lot of them recently.

I didn't find the journey boring at all. After lunch, I had a meal on the plane before arriving in Hong Kong.

Zhu Guangqian was filled with emotion. He was from Tongcheng, Anhui. At the age of 21, he was selected as a student sent by the Beiyang government to study at the University of Hong Kong. He spent four years studying diligently and has not set foot here for more than half a century.

"It's different now, it's really different." Hong Kong at this time is much more prosperous than it was in the 1920s.

Wei Ming hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong was formed in 1963 by the merger of Chung Chi College, New Asia College and United College. New Asia College was founded by Qian Mu, who was one of the founders of CUHK.

Although Qian Mu chose to leave the mainland, his children stayed behind.

Two years ago, several of his children and his nephew Weichang met with Mr. and Mrs. Qian Mu in Hong Kong.

Wei Ming did not meet Qian Mu at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He now resides in Taiwan and may come to catch up with Mr. Zhu in a couple of days.

Wei Ming didn't have too many regrets about this. What he regretted was not being able to meet Gao Kun, the father of fiber optics. Gao Kun was no longer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong at the time, and he would still have to thank him for the high internet speeds he would have in the future.

Besides Gao Kun, the former department head and future president, the Chinese University of Hong Kong has produced many outstanding talents, including many well-known figures in the arts and culture sector such as Michael Hui, Wong Jing, Wong Yi, Lo Kwok-cheung, Poon Yuen-leung, and Christopher Doyle.

Meanwhile, Wong Kai-kin, an art student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was preparing to participate in the Hong Kong Children's Songwriting Competition. He had a certain creative ability and could be called a talented person, but every time he listened to Vivian Chow's album, he felt that people who called him a "talented person" were simply mocking him. Compared with Wei Ming, he was nothing.

Zhou Huimin thought so too; anyone would pale in comparison to Ah Ming, and it's not your fault.

Every time she got home from school, the first thing she did was check if Wei Ming's reply had arrived. It had been several days late, which was really worrying.

Could it be that the demo of my own song was just too unbearable to listen to?

Wei Ming asked her to compose music directly based on existing ancient poems, just like Teresa Teng's album "Light and Elegant Feelings". After looking at them, she found that Teresa Teng had chosen Li Yu, Su Shi, and Liu Yong, but not Li Qingzhao, the empress of poetry.

Faced with such a blank market, Zhou Huimin plunged into it, and after much deliberation, she chose the poem "A Spray of Plum Blossoms - The Fragrance of Red Lotus Fades and the Jade Mat is Cool in Autumn".

This poem was written after Li Qingzhao and her husband Zhao Mingcheng parted ways. It uses an unconventional style to express a delicate, fresh, and beautiful longing.

This perfectly captures Vivian Chow's state of mind during this period; it truly embodies the feeling of longing and sorrow, a melancholy that lingers even after the frown fades.

"Ah Ming, when will we be able to meet again?" Zhou Huimin leaned over the writing desk, casually plucking the pipa beside her.

In order to create works with an ancient flavor, she recently acquired traditional musical instruments such as the guzheng, pipa, and erhu. After more than a month of hard work, she finally made a small sample and sent it to Wei Ming.

Wei Ming received it, but since he was coming to Hong Kong anyway, he figured it would be better to talk to him in person.

He was already downstairs, carrying an empty bag. He had left his other luggage at the hotel. He had decided to stay at a hotel this time, as it was too inconvenient to date at the girl's house.

He needed another car, so after arriving, he first knocked on Old Gui's door. Luckily, everyone was home.

"Why did you show up without saying a word?"

Old Gui, shirtless, quickly put on a jacket. After a while, Grandma Ni came out of the bedroom and asked, "Ah Ming, have you eaten?"

Wei Ming knew how to answer: "I've eaten, I've eaten. I just came to pick up my car keys."

"Oh, I wish you two a belated Happy New Year." After saying that, he took the car keys hanging by the door and left, considerately not even going inside.

Lin Ni smiled and beckoned to Lao Gui, leading him all the way into the bedroom.

~
Old Ghost is back, and Zhou Ma is naturally off work too. She has now hired a female driver, not so much to pick her up and drop her off, but mainly to take Amin to and from school.

Her daughter is too famous now, even more dazzling than those established celebrities. Zhou's mother is worried about her going about her business alone like before.

"Auntie, it's me. I'm looking for Amin."

Hearing Wei Ming's voice at this moment gave Zhou Ma a headache.

"Have you eaten?" she asked politely after opening the door.

"No," Wei Ming said, looking at the dishes that had just been served on the table.

Aunt Zhou: "Let's invite Amin to eat together, in the bedroom."

Wei Ming pushed the door open and found Amin wearing headphones, swaying back and forth in a chair, showing him only her back.

"Hey, dinner's ready." Wei Ming patted her on the shoulder.

Amin felt that her mother's patting of her hand this time was a bit ambiguous; she even touched it and rubbed it. When she turned her head, her eyes widened and her body stiffened.

Seeing that she looked beautiful with her head tilted as she put on her headphones, Wei Ming took two steps back, pulled out his camera, and snapped a picture.

She looked a little dazed at the time, but after the photo was taken, a surprised smile bloomed on her face.

Wei Ming sensed that she was about to throw herself into his arms, so he quickly pointed to the door.

Aunt Zhou was peeking inside.

"Oh, you're here. Let's eat right away." Amin called out to the outside, suppressing her desire to get close to Amin, and went out to eat with him.

"You bought a lot of new musical instruments."

"Yes, but these traditional instruments are very difficult to learn. I've only gotten the basics of the pipa so far."

"Then why don't you revise 'The Song of the Pipa'?"

"Bai Juyi's 'The Song of the Pipa'?"

"correct."

"I have seen it, but it's too long. I'm afraid I won't be able to memorize it," Amin said with a bitter face.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Where we're from, we need to memorize the whole thing. I can still recite the whole text to this day."

This is the content from the second semester of the first year of high school. The same semester also includes "The Peach Blossom Spring," which doesn't need to be memorized, but Wei Ming memorized it anyway.

"Oh, then you carry it."

"At the head of Xunyang River, I saw off a guest at night, the maple leaves and reeds rustling in the autumn breeze. The host dismounted, the guest remained on the boat, we raised our cups to drink, but there was no music..." Wei Ming recited it off the cuff, it was all in his muscle memory.

Amin's eyes once again turned into little stars of adoration.

Seeing that Wei Ming and Amin were talking about things from the Chinese textbook, Zhou's mother suddenly felt that she was getting in the way.

So she ate a few bites and said, "I'm going upstairs to watch 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' with Lin Ni. You can leave your food here after you're done."

As soon as she stepped out the door, Wei Ming suddenly realized, "Oh no, I can't go upstairs!"
……

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(End of this chapter)