Exciting 1979!

Chapter 501 Departmental Commendation: Someone's Getting a Position in the Department
“Ah Long, you said you received an audition offer for the male lead in a movie, but you were a little undecided. Should we talk to Wei Ming? He's a Palme d'Or winner and knows more about movies than we do.”

David Henry Hwang enthusiastically pulled John Lone and Wei Ming into a chat.

Although John Lone is already a well-known figure in the theater world, having won an Obie Award (Off-Broadway Theatre Award), and is currently rehearsing "Voice and Beauty," a musical written, directed, and starring David Henry Hwang, which will premiere off-Broadway, he is almost a complete newcomer in the film industry.

He actually entered the film industry first, but Hollywood is highly competitive, and there are not many opportunities left for Chinese people. He could only play Chinese characters without specific names in some movies, and these roles were full of stereotypes.

Now, an opportunity to play a leading role is presented to him, and it comes from a big company like Universal.

“Actually, I had already agreed to take the role,” John Lone said, and introduced the character. “It’s a savage, a savage from 40,000 years ago. He has no language and can only perform through body language and facial expressions. He may also need to wear very thick special effects makeup so that you can’t see his original appearance. But that’s why the white actors were unwilling to take the role. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have had the chance.”

This is the current situation for Chinese actors. Gong Xue, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy after hearing this. He had previously thought too highly of the outside world. Leaving one's hometown and competing for food in other people's bowls is not so easy.

Gong Xue couldn't help but think of Chen Chong, who was also from Shanghai, and wondered if she had made a name for herself there.

Wei Ming knew that John Lone was probably referring to "Iceman," his first Hollywood film, which only achieved mediocre box office and critical reception, but his performance was arguably the film's biggest highlight.

From then on, he successfully entered the sights of Hollywood studios, leading to films such as "Year of the Dragon" and "The Last Emperor," becoming a banner for Chinese actors in Hollywood.

"It sounds quite challenging. I believe Hollywood producers would be amazed to see the difference between you in the movie and the real you, and then they would be waving contracts to cast you in movies."

"I accept your good words."

The day after the salon ended, Wei Ming took Gong Xue and David Sapository directly to Los Angeles, met with Robert Shaye, and bought the story "The Cocoon" from David.

"Cocoon" will enter the preparation stage together with "It", and Wei Ming has also appointed Ron Howard as the director, another young director under the age of thirty.

He started his career as an actor and has already directed two films. He is currently filming his third film, "The Mermaid," starring the famous Tom Hanks.

However, at this time, Tom Cruise was just an unknown actor, and as for Tom Cruise...

The last movie Wei Ming and Gong Xue watched before leaving the United States was "Crazy Boys" at midnight on August 4th. It was from this movie that Tom Cruise began his path to superstardom.

Tom Hanks, on the other hand, will only start making a big splash when "The Mermaid" is released next year.

~
Wei Ming has been away from Hong Kong for a week, and Wei Ping'an is also preparing to return to Beijing. In the past few days, he has experienced double the fatherly love.

But if you didn't get something when you were a child, even if you try your best to acquire it in middle age, it just doesn't feel right. You can only say that some things, once missed, are missed forever.

Wei Jiefang said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of Xizi in Hong Kong. I'll bring him back after filming is finished."

Xizi has already gone to the film set, avoiding the scene of father and son being separated. However, there is still a father and son here. Lao Gui saw his youngest son off at home and will not go to the airport.

He helped Wei Ping'an pack his luggage and also brought gifts for his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, all of which he and Lin Ni bought themselves.

Seeing the old ghost looking at them expectantly, Wei Jiefang nudged Wei Ping'an. "That kid is so stubborn."

Wei Ping'an picked up his bag and walked out, but when the elevator arrived, he turned back and said, "Then we're leaving, Dad. Don't bother seeing us off."

After saying that, he quickly pulled Wei Jiefang into the elevator and waved to the old man who was already somewhat hunched over.

Old Gui's mouth moved, and after the elevator went down, he asked Lin Ni next to him, "Didn't Ping An just say, 'Then we're leaving, Dad?'"

Wei Hong scratched her head: "Didn't you mean we should leave then?"

Lin Ni: "Xiao Hong, how come your ears are even worse than ours when you're so small? We're leaving now, Dad, the old man is calling you Dad!"

Old Ghost excitedly hugged Lin Ni and jumped up: "He finally acknowledged me!"

Lin Ni: "He admitted it a long time ago, he was just embarrassed."

Seeing how excited the elderly couple were, and that they might even kiss, Wei Hong quickly pressed the elevator button, deciding to go to Amin's house for some peace and quiet.

“Sister Hong, you’re here! Listen to this!” Zhou Huimin pointed to the record player.

"What song is this? It's nice." Although Wei Hong didn't have much of an artistic sense, she could still tell whether it was good or bad.

This is an English song. Vivian Chow said, "It's a new song your brother wrote for David Bowie called 'Right Here Waiting,' which was released last month and is currently at number one on the Billboard Hot 100!"

Wei Hong analyzed the lyrics: "Separated by ocean, day after day, I am gradually going mad... When did he write this? It seems to be about missing you."

Vivian Chow cupped her face and said, "I met David Bowie when I went to Cannes and he wrote it for me. He mentioned it, but I only just heard the song. It was only recently released in Hong Kong."

She also felt that the song was written for her, and that it was created by Amin with guilt and intense love after she left Cannes. She felt that his talent was far beyond her reach.

Although she wrote a few good songs during the time she was heartbroken, her songs were only popular for a short time, but Ah Ming's songs will definitely be popular into the next century.

Listening to this song, Amin seemed to have become like the lyrics describe: "You make me crazy, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, I will always be here waiting for you..."

But when are you finally coming back, Amin? It's just an award, why are you taking so long?

And the media outlets too, the news only came out so long after the awards ceremony was over.

~
Today, Biaozi drove his two uncles to the airport. There were some new newspapers he had bought in the car. Ming Ge said that they should read more newspapers to understand the changes in the world around them.

Then he saw a long feature article in Ming Pao about Wei Ming winning the Hugo Award in the United States.

The author also went on to introduce the Hugo Award and the achievements of Isaac Asimov, who won the award at the same time. By praising Asimov, the author aimed to promote Wei Ming and even Chinese science fiction. The author especially focused on the conversation between the two about the zeroth law of robotics, describing it so vividly that it was as if the author was present at the time.

Looking at the newspaper, Wei Ping'an said happily, "Xiao Ming is so impressive! This must be an award that science fiction writers all over the world aspire to!"

Wei Jiefang laughed and said, "There's also a science fiction writer in Hong Kong, who seems to be from our family. I wonder how envious he'll be after seeing this."

Biaozi chuckled from the front, "We both have the surname Wei, but the difference in our character is so vast."

Although Wei Ping'an rarely came to Hong Kong, he was very knowledgeable: "You're talking about Wesley, right? He's not a writer, he's a fictional character. The writer's name is Ni Kuang, and he has nothing to do with our Wei family."

“You know so much,” Wei Jiefang said, holding his younger brother’s luggage. “Oh my, what did the old man buy for you?”

"The cosmetics and jewelry given to Xiaoyan, and the longevity lock weighing two pounds given to Lele, which is a pair with the one Xizi had."

Old Wei clicked his tongue repeatedly. This compensatory fatherly love came on too strong. However, he was not jealous at all. His stepmother and Ping An had made too great a sacrifice.

After reading the article, Wei Ping'an flipped it over and saw that it was related to Wei Ming again, mentioning that the Cannes Palme d'Or winner, "The Shepherd's Spring," was about to be officially released in Hong Kong.

After dropping Wei Ping'an off at the airport, Wei Jiefang and Biaozi went to the set of "Home Alone" and even made plans with Biaozi to go to the horse farm that evening.

Firstly, I wanted to broaden Biaozi's horizons, and secondly, I hadn't seen my old horse-owning friends for a long time, and I wondered if they would like the calligraphy and painting gifts I gave them.

~
Meanwhile, Wei Ming and Gong Xue did not return to Hong Kong, but instead went back to Yanjing first, because while they were in New York, someone from the embassy contacted his hotel and asked him to return to China to receive an award from the Ministry of Culture in recognition of his winning of a world-class literary award.

Gong Xue simply followed him back, but once they arrived in Beijing, the two of them went their separate ways to avoid suspicion. Gong Xue went back to the Beijing Film Studio to report for duty, while Wei Ming went home.

On his way home, he looked at the newly bought copy of *People's Literature* in his hand. The August issue contained Wang Meng's "Editor's Declaration": "...We hope to offer readers the voices of hundreds of millions of people and the magnificent yet fragmented tapestry of our times...We welcome works that are inextricably linked to the fate of millions of people, sharing their joys and sorrows, their blood and flesh, their unwavering loyalty..."

Wang Meng just became the editor-in-chief of People's Literature last month, and his career is about to take off. I wonder when he will be called "Minister Wang".

There's also the foreshadowing of a "severe crackdown" campaign in the newspapers. This copy of the People's Daily states that from January to May this year, a total of 25,000 serious crimes occurred nationwide, especially in bustling metropolitan areas, which have almost become havens for criminals.

With such strong wording and supporting figures, it seems like it's about to be formalized into a document. That's why he and Gong Xue are so careful to avoid suspicion, and he'll have to be extra cautious when he goes to see Sister Lin later.

However, to his surprise, he didn't even need to go looking for Sister Lin; he ran into her directly at the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Wei Ming went upstairs, and she came downstairs carrying a vegetable basket.

Zhu Lin, who was about to go downstairs, hurried upstairs without saying a word and told Xu Shufen, "Auntie, Xiao Wei is back!"

Wei Ming asked in surprise, "Sister Lin, what are you doing here?"

Xu Shufen, who had fully recovered, said, "It's all because of me..."

Then she recounted how she was unable to go to Hong Kong due to illness and how Zhu Lin had taken care of her.

"Thanks to Xiao Zhu, she's been staying at our house for the past few days." Xu Shufen patted Zhu Lin's hand.

Even a strong and independent woman like Zhu Lin felt a little embarrassed. She was sleeping in Wei Ming's room, and it was on that bed that she lost her virginity.

Xu Shufen glanced at Wei Ming's fiery gaze and Zhu Lin's shy appearance, then suddenly realized what was happening and snatched the vegetable basket from Zhu Lin's hands.

"Oh dear, I haven't bought the groceries yet. I'll go buy them now."

"Auntie, I..." Zhu Lin wanted to take the job from her, but obviously she couldn't win.

Xu Shufen also said, "The nearby vegetable market doesn't have any fresh meat and vegetables right now, so I'll go to the supermarket in Haidian to buy some."

"Mom, are we going that far?" Wei Ming asked, both amused and exasperated.

"It's okay, there's a bus." Xu Shufen immediately slipped away, leaving them alone.

As soon as Xu Shufen closed the door, she heard a "sucking" sound.

Their two burning bodies were already entwined.

However, when Wei Ming tried to take things a step further, Zhu Lin quickly pushed him away. After all, this wasn't her own home, nor was it Gong Xue's home, and she felt a little embarrassed.

Wei Ming put his arm around her waist and said, "If you're embarrassed, then I can only apologize. I'm going to Hong Kong in the next couple of days, and I probably won't dare to come to see you. They're cracking down on hooligans really hard these days."

Zhu Lin snorted: "So you know you're a hooligan, huh? You're quite self-aware, little hooligan."

After receiving Lin Jie's praise, Wei Ming picked her up and kicked open his bedroom door.

Zhu Lin's last words were: "Close the door! And the curtains..." An hour later, Zhu Lin was in a hurry to get up and get dressed.

Wei Ming stopped her: "Don't worry, my mom probably won't be back until tonight. Let's just have dinner then."

"Oh? What are we going to do for lunch? We don't even have any eggs left."

Wei Ming put on a coat, took out his luggage, and also took a can opener from the kitchen.

“America may not have much else, but it certainly has a lot of canned goods, and all sorts of them. Let’s start with a beef one.” Wei Ming and Zhu Lin started eating right there on the bed.

Zhu Lin was really tired and didn't want to move.

Now, only his mouth can move. While eating, he asked, "Congratulations! There's been news lately saying you won the Hugo Award. What does this award have to do with the great writer Victor Hugo?"

Wei Ming: "It has absolutely no connection, but it is indeed one of the top science fiction literatures."

Given the current international standing of Chinese literature, this is already a very rare literary award, though it's not very mainstream. At this point, the Chinese people might be more hoping for a Nobel Prize in Literature.

"What about Xiaoxue? Didn't you all go to America together? Did she go back to Hong Kong?"

"No, we went back to Beijing together. She went to the Beijing Film Studio to report for duty, and she will officially start filming in September."

Zhu Lin: "I joined the crew in November, and I also have a performance of 'Mr. Donkey' in October. I've been quite busy lately. It's fine if you go to the United States, anyway, I don't have time to accompany you."

“Okay, DreamWorks will contact Shanghai Film Studio then,” Wei Ming said. Shanghai Film Studio had already agreed to co-produce “Human, Ghost, and Love”. To make Zhu Lin’s film even more perfect, Wei Ming was willing to invest heavily.

Zhu Lin asked, "So how much money are you investing in us?"

“One million Hong Kong dollars, but I won’t give up the Hong Kong market this time. I’m counting on Hong Kong to recoup some losses.”

"Oh, so you look down on our movie?" Zhu Lin pouted.

“It’s an art film, whether it wins awards or not makes a world of difference, but I’ll accept the loss,” he patted Zhu Lin, “You eat quickly, I want more.”

"what!"

~
Sure enough, Xu Shufen didn't return with meat, vegetables, and eggs until it was almost dark. She noticed that Zhu Lin's complexion was noticeably better, so it seemed that her approach was correct.

Since it was getting late, I only cooked one dish, and the rest we just ate canned food: sweet corn kernels, beef, fruit, luncheon meat, and golden soup cubes. It was quite a hearty meal.

Xu Shufen complained, "These Americans are so lazy! Will you two be able to get used to the food there?"

"Mom, don't worry, there are Chinese restaurants, we won't go hungry."

Now that Wei Ming is back, it's inconvenient for Zhu Lin to stay at the Wei family's house anymore, so Wei Ming is responsible for taking her back.

Wei Ming had already called Gong Xue before. She was sleeping in Nanluoguxiang that night. After dinner, Wei Ming rode his bicycle with Zhu Lin into the alley.

During this special period, Wei Ming doesn't even want to ride his motorcycle at night anymore. He can clearly feel that the number of patrolling police officers has increased, and the "ghost fire teenagers" are definitely the key targets for investigation.

Because the alley was lit by streetlights and full of elderly men, women, young women, and wives enjoying the cool air, Wei Ming didn't venture any further into the alley from the entrance.

"It's getting bright up ahead, go ahead," Wei Ming said goodbye to Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin nodded regretfully. They'd finally come back, and couldn't even the three of them share a kiss?

Although Gong Xue could turn off the lights early, Wei Ming didn't plan to go in with the three of them; that would be too risky, so the lights remained on.

The people here are no longer unfamiliar with Zhu Lin, and their initial obsessive fan behavior has disappeared. They greet her warmly and treat her like a second resident, to which Zhu Lin responds politely.

After knocking on the door, Gong Xue let Zhu Lin in.

"Where's Xiao Wei?"

He turned around and left at the entrance of the alley.

Gong Xue: "Okay, then I'll call him later and tell him that 'Under the Bridge' has been shortlisted for the Venice International Film Festival. I won't be going back to Hong Kong with him. I'm going to Venice in a while."

"Ah, it's really nominated!" Zhu Lin exclaimed in surprise. Perhaps because Wei Ming won the Cannes Grand Prix, Zhu Lin thought that it was not an unattainable dream for Chinese films to win awards internationally, so she couldn't help but hope that Gong Xue could win the Venice Film Festival Best Actress award.

"It's not that easy. At first, they didn't even think about having me participate because going abroad is expensive. But then they thought that Zhou Lijing was filming 'Life,' and if neither the male nor female lead went, it would seem like they weren't taking it seriously enough. Besides, the factory manager praised my English, so they decided to let me go."

Having already been to the United States, Gong Xue wasn't particularly drawn to Venice; he was simply yearning for the honor, wondering what would happen if he actually won.

Then Zhu Lin asked about things in the United States, and Gong Xue simply took out the photos she had taken during this period from her bag.

Zhu Lin looked at each one in surprise.

"Wow, this whole area is a park?"

"You even went up to that Empire State Building, it's so tall!"

"This is the Statue of Liberty?"

These two women will probably stay up very late tonight.

~
The next day, Wei Ming told his mother to prepare to pack their things, as they would be going to Hong Kong soon.

That day, Wei Ming went to the Ministry of Culture to collect his commendation certificate, which would be useful for his future evaluation at Peking University.

Minister Zhu Muzhi indicated that there may be other commendations at the end of the year and before the Spring Festival.

Wei Ming solemnly told Minister Zhu that he would definitely return to receive the commendation.

Then he got a note from Minister Zhu and bought two plane tickets to Hong Kong.

He'll leave tomorrow. There's nothing he can do here anyway. He's worried that even a normal, friendly meeting with Gong Xue and Zhu Lin would be blown out of proportion.

Before leaving, he called Gong Xue, Zhu Lin, and Mei Wenhua. He also needed to look after the cats and dogs in Beichizi when he passed by on his way to work.

In a little over two weeks, Xizi will finish filming, his parents will return, and he and Xiaohong will embark on their study abroad journey in San Francisco.

Wei Ming was surprised to find that Uncle Ping An had already returned from Hong Kong. After arriving in Hong Kong and returning home, he saw Wei Hong and learned that Uncle Ping An had gone back yesterday.

"Brother, Mother, I have something to tell you!" Wei Hong mysteriously recounted the fact that her cousin was her biological uncle, as well as the old man's troubles over the past few decades.

Wei Ming and Xu Shufen were stunned, and both regretted missing such a live revelation of the truth.

Xu Shufen: "If I had known, I would have come to Hong Kong even though I was sick."

Wei Ming: "If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have gone to accept the Hugo Award in person."

The three were gossiping quietly downstairs when Wei Jiefang led Xizi back from filming.

"Brother, Auntie!"

Xizi seemed even closer to Wei Ming and his mother when they met, and Wei Ming couldn't help but grumble to Lao Wei about Lao Gui's shady dealings back then.

As expected of my grandfather, he has my style!

However, times have changed. This approach of having his brothers take the blame and then living together is clearly unrealistic for Wei Ming. How can he fulfill his promise of "not one less"?

As they were thinking, the group entered the elevator, and as it ascended, Wei Ming suddenly pressed the button for the "eighth floor".

"You guys go back first, I won't be home for dinner tonight."

He came down from the eighth floor and knocked on Zhou Huimin's door, but there was no response.

After a while, Wei Hong came downstairs: "Brother, you were too quick. I didn't even have time to tell you that Amin and Auntie weren't home."

"Where did they go?"

Wei Hong: "We're looking at houses, and Grandpa and Grandma Ni are also looking to buy a villa so they can continue to be neighbors."

Wei Ming had no choice but to go home and continue talking with his parents and Xizi about the three relationships of the old cricket ghost.

Old Wei: "No, it's not just three parts. It seems there's also a female writer involved, and there should also be a foreign woman involved. I heard him mention the name of a Japanese woman."

Wei Ming's mouth gaped open. Was Old Ghost's love life really this complicated? Was he the protagonist and I was the protagonist?!

Xu Shufen had already started preparing dinner, and Lao Gui and Lin Ni didn't return until after dinnertime.

"Kids, we're back..." Lin Ni was in high spirits and was about to announce the successful purchase of the house when she saw Wei Ming and Xu Shufen.

Wei Ming hurriedly asked, "Amin is back too?"

Linni nodded.

Wei Ming stood up and said, "Well, you guys chat first."

After Wei Ming left, Lin Ni continued to announce, "We've found a house, a big villa worth several million!"

Wei Hong asked, "When can we move in?"

Lin Ni pinched Xi Zi's cheek and said, "We can only move after Xi Zi and the others finish filming and everything is back to normal."

Old Ghost added from the side, "We bought the villa where they were filming, and Amin and the others bought the one next door."

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