Exciting 1979!

Chapter 201 Gold Record (Guaranteed -in-)

Next, Yuan Xiangren made some more requests to A Biao, which was to increase the weight and build muscle.

"Although you are already very strong, it is not enough. I need you to take off your shirt and use your fists and feet to fight the sword. So you must be terribly strong."

The earliest filming is expected to be in July, so Biaozi still has at least one month.

He discussed it with Wei Ming and decided to eat meat for every meal and exercise every day.

Today's action stars are not as tall and strong as Biaozi, and they basically win by their flexibility and skills.

If Biaozi can train to have the same stamina as Schwarzenegger or Dwayne Johnson, and give people the feeling of "this guy is unbeatable" once he takes off his shirt, let alone playing the leading role, it would be enough for him to play the villain who serves as a stepping stone for the protagonist. Maybe he can even go to Hong Kong or even Hollywood to earn foreign exchange in the future.

Finally, Wei Ming also gave Yuan Xiangren the photos he had taken of him in the past few days. Yuan Xiangren was very happy and said he would show them to his father when he returned home.

After sending the people away, Wei Ming went to the Film Academy again, found Liu Rulong, and asked him to draw illustrations for "The Battle of Qin Terracotta Warriors in Ancient and Modern Times".

Aaron no longer had the heart to draw illustrations. He just wanted to know what was going on with the beautiful older sister he saw at Wei Ming's house yesterday.

"Is it beautiful?" Wei Ming asked back.

"Beautiful!"

"She's beautiful, so don't come to me without saying hello next time. Call me in advance if you have anything." Wei Ming chuckled.

"You kid!" Aaron sighed.

Fortunately, A'long is now focused on his career and has little interest in women. He didn't say much. He just wanted to make money, so he casually flipped through Wei Ming's novel.

"A story about the Qin Dynasty?"

"Is it difficult?"

"Of course I have. I don't even know what kind of clothes people in the Qin Dynasty wore, so I have to look up some information." He only said that it was difficult, but did not refuse this obviously troublesome illustration commission.

Wei Ming: "No rush, it will be used in July, there is plenty of time. As for the information, I have some information about the Qin Dynasty and the Terracotta Warriors, I will give it to you another day."

At this time, Zhang Yimou walked towards them, and Wei Ming said to A Long: "The protagonist is from Lao Qin, you just need to optimize Lao Zhang's face a little bit."

Aaron nodded.

Zhang Yimou ran over and shook Wei Ming's hand first: "Writer Wei, thank you, thank you!"

"What do you mean?" Wei Ming asked curiously.

Zhang Yimou said, "Thanks to your introduction, I got to know Director Wu Tianming. We have been communicating with each other for a while. He told me that I could go to the Shandong crew of "Niu and Niu Er" to find him during the summer vacation. Food and accommodation will be provided!"

Although he didn't mention the salary, Zhang Yimou was so eager to join a real crew to learn that he would be able to do the job as long as he didn't have to pay for it.

The key is to have a good relationship with Director Wu Tianming. Even if you can't stay in Yanjing in the future, it would be good to go to the Xi'an Film Studio to return to your roots.

Wei Ming encouraged him a few times and said, "Then maybe we can meet again by then."

His novel was being adapted, and his father was joining the crew, so he had to go and see it.

After explaining everything to Aaron, he came again two days later. In addition to some reference books, he also brought a published novel titled "Heroes Have Always Been Young".

Yesterday he received ten sample books sent by He Chengwei, asking him to give them away.

I didn't expect it to move so quickly. Although the production is a bit crude and can't be compared with "Animals", the price is real.

The basic manuscript fee is ten yuan per thousand words, which is 400 yuan.

Another 25 copies were printed, with an additional printing fee of 200 yuan.

In addition, the royalties for "The Battle of Ancient and Modern Times: The Love of Qin Terracotta Warriors" have also arrived. It is 420 yuan for words.

Now Wei Ming's RMB cash flow has once again exceeded the 1,000 yuan mark.

But for him, more than a thousand yuan means only enough to eat and drink freely, but it is difficult for him to buy a few electrical appliances for his home.

He had the color TV ticket but no money to buy it.

So we still have to rely on Hong Kong to see if we can get some gold coins.

In June, Wei Ming received a package from Amin. This time the package contained a tape and a vinyl record.

Nowadays, albums are basically released on both records and tapes. Currently, the two music media are still evenly matched, but in a few years, records will have no market at all and can only be collected by music enthusiasts.

Amin said in the letter: "Brother Mingmin sent it to me personally. You can see it in the market soon. He specially sent two copies, one for you and one for me."

She also said: "I will give you dividends based on the sales next month. I believe it will definitely sell well."

She wrote the letter at the end of May, which meant that Wei Ming was expected to receive a share of the record sales at the end of June.

However, Rongbaozhai only gave him one month to get the set of paintings, so he definitely couldn't wait any longer. So he still had to rely on the novels and new songs he sent over a while ago.

In fact, almost at the same time that Wei Ming received this package, Lao Gui and Amin also received Wei Ming's package.

On this day, Lao Gui and Zhou Mama were selling pancakes and fish balls at a stall together. At this time, the owner of a grocery store next door suddenly played Mandarin songs.

They have been setting up the stall here for some time, and the boss usually listens to Cantonese songs.

Lao Gui didn’t feel anything when he heard the first song, but when he heard the second song "Climbing to the top of the mountain and looking at my hometown, the yellow sand is thousands of miles long. The sound of camel bells comes from somewhere, and each sound strikes my heart." Lao Gui’s heart was moved.

Seeing that he was listening attentively and didn't react when someone came to buy pancakes, Mother Zhou quickly reminded him.

"Oh, two eggs and two sausages, right?" The old ghost thought to himself that he could really eat.

After the guests left, Zhou's mother asked, "Do you like this song?"

"Well, it's pretty good, especially for people like us who are drifting away."

Mother Zhou: "This song is called "Dream Camel Bell". I can lend you this tape."

"You have?"

"Amin has it," Zhou's mother said proudly, "and this song was written by her pen pal."

"Pen pal? What pen pal?"

"He is a pen pal from mainland China. Amin helped him find a company to publish his songs. Amin can also earn some hard work fees. He is also a teacher at Peking University. You know Peking University~"

The old ghost was obviously startled, and asked again: "What is the name of the person who wrote this song?"

"Ah Ming."

"Amin!" The old man understood at once. It turned out that his beloved grandson had become Amin's pen pal while communicating with him, and was making money through Amin's songs.

Why didn't he come to me? Why would he rather let Amin make the money than me? Was he worried that I wouldn't be able to find a way to release my songs?
Wei Ming: Yes, you don’t look like you know much about pop music.

No! The old ghost suddenly thought of a possibility, and a kind smile immediately appeared on his face, as if he understood.

Although Amin is only 13 years old, she has a gentle personality and is beautiful. She will be able to date in a few years, and her grandson is only 19 years old.

Suitable, very suitable!

"Ah Fen, you'd better stop calling me Ah Gui from now on. Even if you don't call me Uncle Gui, you should still call me Uncle Gui."

Mother Zhou snorted, "You bastard, you're taking advantage of me, aren't you?"

After work, Lao Gui went to a music store and bought a cassette of "Liuliu De Ta". Since the song was already very famous, he used it as the album name.

The owner of the music store said that the album was selling quite well: "I called to restock it twice. It has been a long time since I have seen such a hot-selling Mandarin album."

The sales were so good thanks to Wei Ming's five songs, especially "Slippery Ta" and "Dream Camel Bell", which had a high demand rate on Hong Kong radio stations. Zhang Mingmin's singing fee has now increased several times.

Lao Gui bought the tape, but before he could listen to it, he received a new package from his grandson.

He turned on the tape recorder first and listened to music while unpacking the package.

This kid is really hardworking. He wrote so many songs and also wrote a novel called "The Battle of Ancient and Modern Times and the Love of Qin Terracotta Warriors" and asked me to help submit it.

Humph, if you have the guts, go find your Amin.

Lao Gui thought about it and started flipping through the pages.

Compared with "Heroes Have Always Been Young", although this one is not a martial arts novel, it has better creativity and a more bizarre story. Even old ghosts can't stop reading it.

Although the love scenes account for a large proportion, it can be tolerated if you tolerate it. He just wants to see the adventures of General Meng who took the elixir of immortality and lived to the modern era.

In fact, Wei Ming really thought about asking Amin to help her publish it. Since she loves reading romance novels so much, she should know where to submit such stories for easier approval. Maybe she will become a fan of her books after reading them.

But thinking that Amin is just a first-year junior high school student, it is already very hard for him to submit songs for me. Study is more important, so I should let the old man suffer.

This time he had experience, so he didn't ask the old man to spend the royalties as he pleased. However, he said he would wait for the royalties to be sent to him. If he had any surplus after buying the paintings, he could send some to the old man.

Because the packages were sent to both of them at the same time, Amin was also unpacking the packages at this moment.

To her surprise, Amin could actually draw.

He said, "After I sent the letter last time, I found a portrait of me in the novel. The man in the painting is not as good as me, but Amin, you still have some talent."

Amin shrugged his nose: Humph, you are so arrogant!

But her paintings are indeed not as beautiful as her photos. I just don’t know which one looks better, the real person or the photo.

"Actually, I also like drawing, and I'm especially good at comics. Let me draw you a fairy tale character I created. It's Sheriff Black Cat, the backbone of a forest police station. Its real name is Mimi."

Wei Ming showed off to the little girl and drew a picture of Black Cat Sheriff for her.

This made Amin even more curious about Wei Ming. How come he could draw so well?
And who is Sheriff Black Cat? It's ridiculous to name him Mimi.

Why didn't I see it in his collection of works? Does he have other works?

Fairy tales, he can actually write fairy tales!
Is every mainlander so omnipotent?

Many thoughts flashed through Amin's little head, but the one he wanted to know most was: Isn't he curious about what he looks like?

Zhou Huimin had already thought that if Ah Ming wanted a photo of herself, she would draw a self-portrait for him, making her face thinner, her chest bigger, and her legs longer. However, Ah Ming didn't seem to care about this and didn't even listen.

Don’t you care what the pen pal you’ve been writing to for so long looks like?

At the end of the letter, Amin said that he had written three more songs and attached simple musical scores.

"I really liked Alan's voice when he was in the Wynners band. I heard you say that his last album went platinum, so I wrote three songs for him. I wonder if he has ever thought about releasing a Mandarin album. Can Amin help me vote for him?"

When talking about Hong Kong pop music, Chow Huimin did mention "Alan" Tam, but only once.

The 30-year-old Tam Yong-lin is just a small-time singer in the Hong Kong music scene. In Zhou Huimin's eyes, he cannot be compared with music giants such as Sam Hui and Roman Tam, but his record sales are quite good.

Last year, Tan Yonglin released his first solo Cantonese album "Anti-Star", which won a gold record. At the beginning of this year, he released his second album "Love You Crazy", which achieved platinum record sales.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has just set the gold record standard in Hong Kong at 25000 copies, while the platinum record standard is 50000 copies.

The sales volume of 500 copies is already very impressive. After all, Hong Kong has a population of only million, which means that one out of every hundred people bought it.

These standards will also change according to market heat. For example, the standards for gold and platinum records used to be 15,000 and 30,000.

By the 21st century, the record industry had declined and the standard had returned to and .

Let alone platinum records, being able to sell gold records is enough to brag about. Now what Amin hopes most is that "Liuliu De Ta" can sell gold records.

As for whether Amin will release a Mandarin album, Amin is not sure. I just heard that he is developing in Taiwan recently. It would be great if Amin could write Cantonese songs, which would definitely be a hit in Hong Kong.

She first looked at the three songs attached.

The first song is called "Flower in the Water". This song became famous in mainland China because of Tan Yonglin's singing on the Spring Festival Gala. There are two versions, Cantonese and Mandarin. Wei Ming naturally used the more familiar Mandarin version.

Zhou Huimin was first attracted by the beautiful lyrics.

"How many prosperous times are like dreams in the cold rain and wind, and the colorful flowers are blown away by the wind. Looking back suddenly, love is like smoke and water, and the years have passed without a trace..."

It’s well written, you are worthy of being called a talented writer, Amin!

The next song is called "Hard to Part".

The third song is called "Eternal Love".

In order to make sure it sells out, Wei Ming directly took out the title songs from Tan Yonglin’s three Mandarin albums. I don’t believe you won’t be moved!
Even if Alan Tam and PolyGram have no plans to make a Mandarin album at the moment, seeing these three songs they will probably put it on the agenda.

Amin was very moved watching these songs. What great songs! They are all very good songs!
But how could Amin write so many excellent love songs? Although he said he doesn’t have a girlfriend now, what about before?
Zhou Huimin feels that she would not be able to write such a profound love song if she had not experienced more than ten heartbreaks.

No, I have to ask him later.

At this time, Zhou's mother came back. The first thing she touched when she came back was the TV, which was cold.

Not bad.

TVB recently aired a new drama "Dream of Spring in Peking", which was adapted from Zhang Henshui's "The Story of a Noble Family". The protagonists are still Amin's favorites, Liza Wang and Damian Lau, so Zhou's mother was worried that the girl would peek, but she was very well behaved today.

"Amin, I'm back!"

"Oh, thank you for your hard work, Mom. I have prepared the meal. Let's eat."

During the meal, Amin told his mother that he was writing another song and this time he was going to submit it to PolyGram.

"I can make money again, mom, do you want to go with me?"

"Of course, I also take a half-day break."

~
Yanjing.

After receiving the record sent by Amin, the first thing Wei Ming thought of was to share it, because happiness is better shared than enjoying it alone.

So he appeared at Zhu Lin's unit again on a motorcycle.

The two hadn't seen each other for a few days, and Zhu Lin was still upset about the day when Wei Ming, who was drunk, took away his first kiss.

She had been dating her boyfriend for a year but he had never succeeded in getting her way, and yet Wei Ming succeeded without her knowing it. She was so angry that she couldn't sleep well that night.

However, seeing Wei Ming greet him enthusiastically, Zhu Lin couldn't get angry.

What did he do wrong? He just drank too much, and he was still young and couldn't control his physiological instincts.

So she came over, but didn't get in the car.

"Why?"

Wei Ming: "I invite you to listen to the song."

"What songs?" Zhu Lin suddenly remembered, "Are they the ones you released in Hong Kong?"

Wei Ming nodded: "Do you want to come to my house and listen to it? I haven't heard it myself yet, and I want you to be the first one in the mainland to hear it."

Zhu Lin originally wanted to go home for dinner today. His parents have been at a loss for what to do with him lately. Anyway, the breakup is an established fact, and they have slowly begun to accept it.

However, Wei Ming's new song is more attractive, and this time it is Hong Kong and Taiwan music. It is so difficult to listen to some fresh Hong Kong and Taiwan music now. Even Teresa Teng is almost sick of listening to it.

So Zhu Lin decisively got into Wei Ming's stolen car, and neither of them mentioned the kiss that day.

When we arrived at Wei Ming's house, he had actually already bought food in advance. He ordered dishes from the Great Wall Canteen and brought them back in lunch boxes, which were still warm.

"You really know how to enjoy life." Zhu Lin actually wanted to say that he was lazy and didn't even cook for himself.

What’s that? You haven’t experienced the era of takeout, where you have to pick it up yourself.

Wei Ming turned on the tape recorder and asked her to listen while eating.

He didn't have a record player at home, but he knew Gong Xing had one. Record players were very important to the old Modou people, as important as coffee.

So Wei Ming didn't keep the thing and sent it directly to Sister Xue.

Although she may not be the first person in mainland China to hear this album, she is definitely the first person in mainland China to hear the vinyl record of "Liuliu De Ta".

There are 10 songs on this tape. The first five are sung by Wei Ming, and the last five are just trashy songs or cover songs collected to fill the length of the tape.

Generally, an album can boost sales if it has one good song. If it has three, it can be called a masterpiece.

Any more would not be appropriate. After all, if you want to get on the charts, too many good songs in one album will easily disperse the fans' energy and prevent several good songs from getting a better ranking.

The five songs in Wei Ming's album "Liuliu De Ta" are of very high quality, especially "Liuliu De Ta" and "Dream Camel Bell", which are well received by the group of people in Hong Kong who love to listen to Mandarin songs and are also the biggest driving force for buying the album.

But in fact, the quality of "Every Time I Want to Call Your Name", "That Romantic Affair" and "The North Wind" are also very high.

Especially for people in the mainland who have little exposure to pop music.

Zhu Lin listened to the music coming from the tape recorder without moving his chopsticks. He just kept listening. The first song was good, the second song was good... and the fifth song was also so good!
Even the few songs that made up the running time, although not as good as Wei Ming's original works, still had their merits in her ears.

"Eat quickly. You can listen to it as many times as you want tonight." Wei Ming implied that she could sleep here tonight.

Zhu Lin was a little tempted and had already told his roommate before leaving get off work that he would not go back to sleep.

But she didn't agree immediately, and said, "I want the lyrics of your five songs."

"Wait, I've copied it for you a long time ago." Wei Ming was prepared.

Zhu Lin was very happy and even hugged him around the neck when leaving.

She still left, and when she saw Wei Ming started brushing his teeth early, she quickly slipped away.

Zhu Lin not only took the lyrics away, but also the tape. She wanted to go home and share it with her parents. They were both high-level intellectuals and they liked this kind of petty-bourgeois stuff very much.

"Then you have to return it to me later. I only have one box." Wei Ming warned with foam in his mouth.

After Zhu Lin got home, he lied and said he had gone out to eat with his friends.

Father Zhu quickly asked: "Male friend or female friend?"

"Female." Being able to act means being willful.

His parents were very disappointed, so Zhu Lin quickly took out "She's the One" and asked them to appreciate it.

The first song "She's Slippery" seems to be about friendship and love, and the lyrics and melody are quite interesting.

The second song, "Dream of Camel Bell", really touched the old father's heart.

"Camel Bell" was very popular in China a while ago, but I didn't expect that Hong Kong people would come up with another song called "Dream Camel Bell". The melody is more fashionable and the lyrics are very grand. My father directly asked to listen to it again.

When Zhu Lin heard his father praising the songwriter's talent, he couldn't help but laugh. It was a laugh of pride.

As for the last three songs, "The North Wind" was also widely acclaimed, but they felt that the other two love songs were just average.

A music appreciation session eased the relationship between Zhu Lin and her parents a lot, and she hugged her mother's neck and acted coquettishly.

"If no one marries me in the future, will you support me for the rest of my life?"

Mother Zhu didn't want to hear such discouraging words. How could such a beautiful daughter not be able to get married if she lowered her standards a little?

But seeing her daughter's serious expression, she still held her daughter's hand tightly and said, "I will support you for the rest of your life!"

The mother's words to her daughter were all sincere, but Wei Ming lied to Zhu Lin.

He said he wanted Zhu Lin to be the first person in mainland China to hear these songs, but she was not. Biaozi and Xiaomei heard them before her.

These two guys came back from the south. In addition to the usual stuff like electronic watches, they also brought back ten cassettes, and the one they brought was "Her"!

"Brother Feng, Brother Ming, the songs here are really good. You will know once you listen to them. We plan to sell them for ten yuan a box!" Mei Wenhua said ambitiously.

Wei Ming flipped through it and was surprised to see that it had flowed into the mainland so quickly!
Is Zhang Mingmin going to become famous in mainland China ahead of time?
However, it is not that easy.

Pacific Image Company soon noticed this Mandarin album from Hong Kong. Upon listening, they found that all five songs were good and original, especially "Dream Camel Bell", which had a good melody and meaningful lyrics.

So we immediately organized singers and prepared to sing a cover!
(Please give me a monthly ticket!)

(End of this chapter)