Exciting 1979!

Chapter 57 Zhu Lin's Connection
Wei Ming had no objection. As long as it wasn't more expensive than a new one, he wouldn't be at a loss. He would have to give them a taste of it when he went to the trust store.

"There is one more thing," Brother Feng said, "your uncle and his wife both have to work overtime tonight, so let me tell you to pick up Xile and his wife if they get off work early."

"Okay, I miss them too."

Then Brother Feng was about to leave with the two guys behind him, and Wei Ming asked them where they were going.

Biaozi said happily: "We will patrol from now on too!"

It turned out that Biaozi felt that it was better to take the initiative than to wait, and that the opportunities for being brave and righteous while standing guard were definitely not as many as those while patrolling, so he once again applied for a transfer, and Mei Wenhua also didn't want to stand guard anymore.

The two begged hard and were willing to work more night shifts, before Brother Feng agreed to take them to complete the formalities.

After separating from them, Wei Ming came to the library and saw Liu Rulong sitting on the stairs waiting for him.

"Ah Ming, you actually want to adapt "The Legend of Ping Yao", so ambitious, and the role of Dan Sheng is quite interesting!"

Wei Ming: "Don't rush to praise it, do you have the confidence to draw it?"

"Let me draw the character design first, and then I'll make the illustrations after I see your main text."

"Okay." Wei Ming took him back to the dormitory, and the two of them sat down at the table and began to discuss the character design.

Wei Ming intended to train A-Long, so he did not interfere too much at the beginning and let A-Long freely create the first draft.

Liu Rulong was a little nervous. He had basically copied his grandfather's picture books or animations before, so this was his first time creating an original work.

There is a place called Wuqiang in Hengzhou area, right next to Ping'an County. It is famous for the production of New Year pictures. The egg-shaped doll designed by A Long is obviously influenced by the New Year picture dolls, and is a bit similar to a ginseng doll, chubby and wearing a bellyband.

He himself realized that his work was not original enough, and he was too embarrassed to show it to Wei Ming, so he crumpled it up and threw it aside.

Wei Ming smiled and said: "Don't be discouraged. Originality often starts with imitation. It's good enough if you can find your own way later. You can keep this picture. The traces on the road to maturity are meaningful."

Afterwards, Wei Ming made some suggestions for revision and Aaron drew another draft.

"Well, it still lacks some innocence." Wei Ming did not seek to make it exactly the same as the animation. After all, it was just a magazine illustration.

"Why don't we discuss Mr. Yuan and the three foxes first." Wei Ming said.

"Since Yuan Gong is based on a white ape, it would be best if he wore a white robe, was thin and had long arms. As for the three foxes, I suggested using elements of Peking Opera masks when creating them."

Aaron opened his mouth wide when he heard this. He didn’t understand Peking Opera masks!

So Wei Ming gave him an example: "For example, Hu Meir..."

He took the pen and notebook and drew Hu Meir's human form based on his memory.

"That's about it. It has the flavor of a Peking Opera Hua Dan mask. The eyes should be charming and seductive. The old fox is the Lao Dan, and the lame fox is the Chou Sheng."

Watching Hu Meir gradually taking shape, Aaron was dumbfounded and lost all confidence.

"A Ming, how come you draw better than me?" Aaron thought this was unscientific.

Wei Ming laughed: "I have also learned a few tricks from my grandfather, and I am a storyteller, the characters are all in my mind, so my drawings will definitely be more vivid."

Liu Rulong suddenly had an idea: "Why don't you draw the character design and I'll draw the scene. This way we can improve efficiency."

This is certainly a good idea. For animation, different people are responsible for the character design and the scenes. However, Wei Ming has high hopes for Aaron.

He said, "Well, I'll draw the supporting roles, and you'll be the one to draw the egg. If you just keep imitating, when will you be able to become one of the Wan brothers?"

The idols of animators these days are the four Wan brothers, especially old man Wan Laiming, the director of "Havoc in Heaven" and the pioneer of Chinese animation.

Looking at Aaron's watch, Wei Ming said, "It's almost time, come with me to pick up the kids."

"Ah, picking up the kids?"

~
At the kindergarten gate, Wei Ming met Xizi and Lele who were holding hands. Most of the time, they still had a deep brother-sister relationship.

Seeing Wei Ming, Lele quickly said, "Brother Ming, I learned another song!"

Then she took out the harmonica that Wei Ming bought for her from her schoolbag, while Xizi and Liu Rulong stared at each other.

"Let me introduce you. This is my classmate. You can call him Brother Long. He is a painter."

"Painter? Then can you draw Nezha?" Xizi asked.

"I can draw Nezha, too, but I'm better at drawing Sun Wukong." As he said that, Aaron took out his notebook and showed Xizi a short hand-made animation, which completely shocked the four-year-old kid.

Then Xizi started pestering Liu Rulong, calling him "Brother Long" and begging him to draw a picture of Nezha for him.

"I can draw for you, but Xizi, can you also do me a favor?" "What favor?"

Liu Rulong's eyes lit up and he said, "Be the prototype of my character!"

Wei Ming was also stunned when he heard this, and then he listened to A Long's explanation: "I think Xizi is a very smart and energetic kid, so I was thinking about whether I could create a Dansheng based on his appearance."

Xizi is definitely a good-looking little boy. After all, he looks 70% like Lele.

In order to get Xizi to agree to him, Aaron took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket.

Seeing that this thing was black and looked very evil, Xizi immediately took several steps back: "Don't scare me, isn't it enough that I promised you?"

Aaron: "..."

Wei Ming didn't expect that Aaron had such good things. It must have been bought at the Friendship Store or the Overseas Chinese Store. Ordinary people have no channels at all.

"Along, Xizi has agreed, don't scare him." Wei Ming stepped forward, took the chocolate, and then pulled Lele aside.

"Le Le, here!" Wei Ming broke half of it for her, and they ate it secretly.

After taking a bite, Lele's eyes lit up. She had eaten ordinary candies before and didn't find them strange, but this special sweetness was the first time she experienced it.

At this time, A'long started painting by the river in Yuxiu Garden. After he finished the third draft of Egg Life, Xizi suddenly felt that Nezha was not interesting anymore.

"Is he the Dansheng? He looks like me! Can I have this one? Brother Long~"

This kid is really good at acting like a spoiled brat. Aaron asked Wei Ming to review it first: "How about this one?"

Wei Ming nodded in satisfaction. Although it was different from the animated version, the feeling was just right. It was very cute and likable.

"Congratulations, Aaron, you passed!"

So A-Long readily gave it to Xizi as a souvenir. The image of Dansheng had been engraved in his mind. It was already getting late, so he said, "Then I will go back to school first and draw according to this template."

"Okay, you can go back and draw an illustration of an egg breaking out of its shell," Wei Ming said. "By the way, I have to go back to my hometown the day after tomorrow. Do you want to write a letter to Teacher Yang and Grandpa?"

Aaron waved his hand: "No, I always call."

Wei Ming: This guy is still rich!

He can actually afford to make phone calls now, but the key is that the village phones can only be made within the commune, which belongs to the "local area network".

Half an hour later, Uncle Ping'an came back and Wei Ming finally completed his mission.

"Xiao Ming, thank you for your help. Let's go upstairs to eat. I'll cook."

"No need uncle, I have to work the night shift later."

"Oh, that's fine. By the way, the pilot's family will come to the school to thank you tomorrow afternoon. Don't forget."

"Afternoon, right? OK."

As soon as Wei Ming left, Xizi quickly reported an important piece of information to Wei Pingan: "Dad, Lele ate shit!"

"I don't!"

"If you don't believe me, look at her teeth, they're still black!"

Lele was furious and said with gritted teeth: "This is chocolate!"

Xizi was confused: "Chocolate? What is chocolate?"

Wei Pingan laughed: "Xizi, chocolate is a kind of foreign candy, usually black in color, and doesn't look good, but it tastes very good. Dad has only eaten it once."

"What!" At this moment, Xizi's world collapsed, and even Nuwa couldn't fix it.

~
Back in the dormitory, Brother Feng told Wei Ming: "I've made an appointment for you. Meet at Wangfujing Department Store at nine o'clock tomorrow. After the transaction, you can buy a watch and she can buy a tape recorder. Both can be completed directly at the department store."

"Then how do we meet?"

Qiao Feng: "She is holding a radio and is very pretty. If you look around the crowd, she is the prettiest one. She also knows your name, so just remember her name."

"Oh, what's this lady's name?"

"Zhu Lin."

……

(End of this chapter)