Exciting 1979!

Chapter 225: Animal Prince's Revenge
Witnessed by the middleman Li Chengru, the impoverished bannerman Na Rilang handed over all the keys to the 400-square-meter compound in Beichizi to Wei Ming.

Wei Ming also gave him the balance, and the two were considered settled.

Na Rilang couldn't let go of the US dollar bills: "This thing is still beautiful, it can't be fake."

Knowing that he was joking, Wei Ming didn't care. He asked, "You're giving me the house now, where are you going to live next?"

Na Rilang: "I have already issued the certificate. I will buy a plane ticket tomorrow and stay in Chengru for a few days."

Li Chengru was very welcome. Now that Na Rilang was rich, even a little leakage was enough to satisfy him.

But I just drank some soup, which is nothing compared to writer Wei.

He said to Wei Ming with emotion: "I went to Oriental Plaza, too. It's awesome. How do you think of this?"

In fact, Li Chengru is the special talent who pioneered this model in Yanjing. In its heyday, the company had hundreds of beautiful shopping guides and daily sales exceeded 50. There is still a gap between Oriental Plaza and them.

Of course, Wei Ming doesn't dare to let his store make so much profit now. He would rather not make money even if he can because it would be too eye-catching. Now the sales volume has stabilized, and around 5000 yuan a day is quite good.

Wei Ming patted Li Chengru and said, "We should also thank Brother Li for speaking for us in front of the factory director and making products for us. Otherwise, we would be out of stock."

This was the truth, but to Na Rilang it sounded like showing off, and he regretted it a little. He should have insisted on $10,000. This thief Sun was too rich!
After the handover was completed, Na Rilang and Li Chengru pushed their bicycles carrying the things and left.

Na Rilang was too lazy to take the junk at home, so he only had one bag. The rest of the things had been taken away by Li Chengru over the past few days. This was also a benefit for Li Chengru, the middleman. Now only a little bit was left.

They took it away so that Wei Ming wouldn't have to go through the trouble of throwing it away. The house would need a major renovation if it was to be habitable.

Take the ground for example, it's all dirt. It should be paved with bricks at least. It's the rainy season now, and it would be so uncomfortable to be muddy.

There are also some damaged parts in this house, so we need to find a renovation team later.

At least you should clean up a bedroom for yourself so that you can have three burrows.

Next, Wei Ming went into Oriental Plaza. He hadn't been there for a few days. There was a tailor working on a sewing machine at the door, and there was a sunshade. It was a woman with a big belly. Although she was not good-looking, she looked pitiful, which reminded Wei Ming of Sister Xue in "Under the Bridge".

After they entered, Mei Wenhua told him: "This is our after-sales maintenance. I let her use the space at the door for free. She usually takes on her own work. If our customers need to make modifications or hem their pants, she will help them for free."

After doing business for a while, customers began to appear who needed to return clothes for repair, so Mei Wenhua came up with this win-win solution.

Wei Ming said: "Why don't you let her come in and do the work? It's so hot, after all, she's a pregnant woman."

Mei Wenhua lowered his voice and said, "If you come in, you will become one of ours. It's hard to explain!"

Xiaomei took a quick look at the current employee structure. There were five regular employees and one Xiaohong. Now Xiaohong didn't allow her to wear a uniform because she was afraid that she would be regarded as an example.

Wei Ming nodded. Although it was a bit cruel, he also understood Xiaomei's difficulties. Oriental New World was a bit too eye-catching now. Xiaohong said that a leader came to inspect yesterday. Xiaomei also moved forward with trepidation.

Then he told Xiaomei about the courtyard house: "I have already got the house."

"Hey, ask Old Li to help me find out something. I'll get myself a house later. It doesn't have to be that big, just big enough for me to move in." Xiaomei said expectantly. He was a child of a wealthy family, and his parents didn't really support him in starting his own business. He had long since stopped wanting to live under someone else's roof.

"Okay, I'll ask him to keep an eye out for you. Also, please introduce me to the decoration team you hired before. I want to redecorate it."

"Okay. Although those people are basically educated youth who have returned to the city, the uncle who leads them really has skills. I heard that their ancestors were in this business." The uncle also saw the opportunity of reform and opening up and brought together three educated youth neighbors to start the decoration work.

Wei Ming got the other party's address, but it was too late today as he had to go to the Beijing Film Studio.

Before leaving, he said hello to Xiaohong and the others, saying that they didn't have to rush back to cook for him tonight. Regardless of whether Sister Lin succeeded or failed, he would treat her to a meal as a consolation or reward.

"Let's go!"

Wei Ming comes and goes like a gust of wind.

When I arrived at the gate of Beijing Film Studio, I asked the security guard as usual.

"Oh, it's over. Everyone has left."

"So is there any result?"

"How could I know that?" The old man laughed at himself.

Not knowing where Sister Lin had gone, Wei Ming simply went in to sit with Director Wang Yang. He had a ready-made excuse.

"Grandpa, how is the filming of 'Heroes Emerge Young' going?"

Wang Yang pushed his glasses and said, "I just received a letter from Director Yang Qitian last week. He said that at the beginning, there were some conflicts between the two staff members because of the salary issue. The leader was your guy named Zhao Debiao. Later, Director Xu Xiaoming handled it properly and let everyone eat and live together. Only then did the conflict calm down."

As expected, this kind of thing is bound to happen whenever there is a co-production between the mainland and Hong Kong. What is worrying is not the scarcity of production but the inequality of production. It doesn't matter if everyone is poor, but some people can eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks while others can only eat coarse food. Who can tolerate this?

Wei Ming added: "If we eat and live together, won't the cost be much higher?"

Old Wang waved his hand and said, "Instead of raising the salaries of mainland personnel, we are lowering the salaries of Hong Kong staff and converting them into wages, which will be paid to them after they return to Hong Kong. Of course, if they are willing to use their own money to buy bacon from their fellow villagers, no one can stop them."

Wei Ming gave a thumbs up and said, "That's great! When a co-production crew encounters such a thing, it depends on the director's vision and wisdom. Some people can handle it, like Zhang Xinyan and Xu Xiaoming."

But some directors only intensify the conflicts and make Li Lianjie so angry that he almost doesn't want to work anymore, such as Liu Jialiang.

"Then I'll feel relieved. I'll go visit them when I have time in the future. After all, Sichuan is my second hometown." Wei Ming actually wanted to participate in the whole process, but he was busy with other things, so he could only help the crew lay a solid foundation at the script level.

You can also participate in the post-production. A good editing can save a movie, especially an action movie. The role of editing is particularly important.

After a long roundabout way, Wei Ming finally talked about the casting of "The Death of a Poet".

"As you know, I am a loyal reader of Mr. Lu Xun and I am very interested in the film adaptation of his works. I heard that the filming of The True Story of Ah Q by Shanghai Film Studio has already started, so we can't fall behind."

How could Wang Yang not know what he was thinking? Jiang Huaiyan had already told him that the girl named Zhu Lin was his friend.

"It has not been finalized yet. Originally, I was optimistic about Fang Shu, and Lao Shui wanted to use Lin Ying. However, after the audition, we both prefer Zhu Lin. She looks like she was born for Zijun from the inside out, and her age is neither too young nor too young. But there is a small problem."

The old man deliberately took a sip of tea when he got to the point, and said slowly: "If Zhu Lin is chosen, Wang Xingang will look too old. The two of them don't seem to be from the same generation."

Indeed, there is a full twenty years difference.

Choosing Fang Shu also has this problem, especially since she and Wang Xingang had worked together in "Forever in Flames". Even Wang Xingang himself could not accept the idea of having a romance with the little carrot head back then.

So Wang Xingang said a long time ago that if Fang Shu is chosen, please replace him as well. This is not a threat, but just to make the work better.

The same question arises now, whether to replace Wang Xingang, one of the twenty-two major stars. If he is replaced, the cast will be downgraded to a lower level.

And is there any actor who is older than Zhu Lin, handsome and elegant, and has both the temperament of a scholar and the aura of a scumbag who can act with Zhu Lin?

Wei Ming first thought of Pu Cunxin, his colleague in the People’s Art Theatre in his previous life. He was a bit of a scumbag but also a decent person, just a little young. He was a few years younger than Sister Lin.

After understanding the situation, Wei Ming stood up and said goodbye. Although nothing had been finalized, Sister Lin was the best candidate and had the greatest chance of winning. It all depended on how the Beijing Film Studio would make the final decision. If Wei Ming said more, it would be too deliberate and might even cause rebellious psychology.

When leaving the Beijing Film Studio, Wei Ming met Jiang Shan, a little girl holding a freshly published copy of Children's Literature, and greeted her.

"You are in junior high school now, right? You are still reading Children's Literature." Wei Ming said with a smile.

Although Jiang Shan is only one year younger than Wei Hong, there is a difference of two academic years between them, one at the beginning of the year and the other at the end of the year. In addition, Jiang Shan happened to catch up with the change from the 522 system to the 633 system, and Xiaohong skipped a grade, so the one-year difference amounts to a difference of six grades. She will not be able to go to college until Xiaohong graduates from college.

Jiang Shan was quite talkative: "I'm reading 'Black Cat Sheriff'. Brother Wei Ming is now a well-known children's writer renowned both at home and abroad. Brother Wei Ming, you have to work hard."

Wei Ming laughed: "Okay, I'll keep working on it, you go ahead and get busy."

As soon as Wei Ming left, Jiang Shan continued to read the latest story of "Black Cat Sheriff".

"Black Cat Sheriff", which has been updated to the third issue, is becoming more and more popular among young readers around ten years old. They can also learn a lot about animals in the process of reading. Today's issue tells the story of the cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest.

Even adults will be able to relate to this story, especially now that housing is tight in workplaces. It is common for some people to throw out other people's things in order to occupy the house alone. Wei Ming also intended to use this little story from the animal world to criticize this phenomenon in society.

Young readers may not feel it, but adult readers who have similar experiences will be even more indignant after seeing it.

Wei Ming thinks that many social topics can be combined with animal characteristics into the story of "Black Cat Sheriff". As for the childhood trauma story like the mantis bride eating the groom, it is better to put it a little later. He is afraid that the children will not be able to bear such shocking news suddenly.

Wei Ming completed the fifth story of "Black Cat Sheriff" some time ago, and there are another ten or so whose outlines have been finalized, so he can easily write dozens more episodes.

Such a continuous and stable supply of manuscripts makes Shanghai's "Youth Literature" very envious. It is said that the circulation of each issue of "Children's Literature" is now over 60 copies, all thanks to "Black Cat Sheriff".

Moreover, Jiangsu's "Youth Literature and Art" next door is also making great strides, so "Youth Literature and Art" is looking forward to producing another hit like "Jumanji".

Then they waited for Wei Something's latest submission.

Ren Dalin, the veteran editor in the editorial department, was as happy as a child when he saw Wei's manuscript. It was almost time to get off work, but he stayed up until dark to finish reading it before leaving.

"What a good article, worthy of Wei Shiji! An animal version of the prince's revenge, he was the one who came up with it, what a fun and interesting picture of Africa, it feels like being in Africa in person." Ren Dalin wanted to discuss it with the people around him, but unfortunately they had already left work. So he put away the manuscript titled "The Lion King" and planned to propose it to be published in the August issue tomorrow.

This time Wei Ming did not prepare any illustrations, so he just asked "Youth Literature and Art" to directly commission the manuscript.

At this time, the other manuscript should still be on the ship to England.

Melinda told me that classic adaptations are popular in the British children's book market now, and that Grimm and Andersen's works have been reinterpreted by contemporary fairy tale authors, so Wei Ming also had this idea.

However, the work he adapted was Shakespeare's Hamlet, which is more famous in the UK.

Wei Ming was aware of the controversy between "The Lion King" and "The Jungle Emperor" in the previous life, but as someone who had seen both works, he really couldn't understand how this could be plagiarism.

Some netizens pointed at those one-to-one stickers and burst into tears, speaking up for Master Tezuka Osamu, saying that this is not plagiarism, it is simply copy and paste!

But don't forget, everyone copied from nature. The animals in nature are like that. Just the African picture albums and materials that Wei Ming consulted found many that could match the scenes in "The Jungle Emperor".

Moreover, the more than 1000-minute theatrical version of "The Jungle King" covers almost all the images of African animals and classic scenes of the African continent, which is difficult to avoid in the 90-minute "The Lion King" unless you write "Tiger King".

But tigers are not well-known in the West, so Wei Ming insisted on writing about lions.

What's more, there is also a 97 version of "The Jungle Emperor". When discussing plagiarism online, people always compare the 93 version of "The Lion King" with the two versions before and after it. Some works were created before it, and some were created after it. This is too unfair.

"The Jungle Emperor" mainly talks about the relationship and bond between humans and animals. The human role is very important. Man and nature are also the main theme that the work wants to explore. The main plot line is the white lion returning home.

The theme of "The Lion King" is "the cycle of life", emphasizing the balance and harmony of nature, while revenge is the obvious main line of the story.

As for why lions are always kings, this is just like the saying of Tiger King in China. The Western world believes that lions are the most powerful animals. Otherwise, why are there nicknames of kings like Henry the Lionheart and Charles the Lionheart? Lions and kings can be equated.

The similarities between "The Lion King" and "The Jungle King" are not as good as those between "Avatar" and "Dances with Wolves".

If you have really watched The Jungle King, you will find that the most similar characters to The Lion King are the pair of funny characters, an antelope and a parrot, which correspond to the warthog and mongoose in The Lion King, and both are positioned as gags.

There is also the one-eyed lion in the Jungle Emperor and Scar in the Lion King. They are somewhat similar in appearance, but their functions are completely different. One is a clown and the other is the ultimate villain.

So Wei Ming felt that although it could not be called plagiarism, the Disney staff must have watched "The Jungle Emperor" and even borrowed some inspiration from it.

The most disgusting and despicable thing about them is that their public relations team lied with open eyes, saying that none of their members had watched "The Jungle Emperor", but was later repeatedly refuted.

Disney’s legal department won’t tolerate anyone touching them at all, but they touch others at will.

In order to avoid controversy, Wei Ming tried his best to avoid characters that were similar to "The Lion King" animation and "The Jungle Emperor" when creating the story. For example, the villain uncle no longer has a scar, but suffers from alopecia, and the beautiful circle of mane is actually a wig.

That's very British.

The friends of the lion Simba during his wandering period are not warthogs and mongooses, but honey badgers that have never appeared in "The Jungle Emperor".

Because of his aggressive personality that is not afraid of anyone, Wei Ming has created many funny moments for him, and it seems that he has the potential to become a popular supporting actor.

~
When Wei Ming rode his motorcycle back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, he saw Zhu Lin outside the community. She was obviously waiting for him.

Wei Ming hurriedly stopped in front of her: "Sister, get in the car."

After Zhu Lin got in the car, he told him, "The audition is over. They asked me to come back and wait for notification. I feel like there's no chance for her. I saw Fang Shu's performance and she's worthy of being a child star and a graduate of a film academy. Her skills are very solid."

"Oh?" Wei Ming was surprised that she felt this way. It seemed that the director did not reveal anything during the audition.

Wei Ming did not tell her what Director Wang said. After all, the final result was not yet determined, so he wanted to save her from being happy for nothing.

"As long as you have done your best, let's go have a Western meal to celebrate today."

"You~" Zhu Lin was hesitant to speak. She actually wanted to go her own way with Wei Ming and be an independent woman who didn't depend on him. But with the way he ate, how could she be independent? He would go bankrupt.

"It's not just about your audition. I also passed the driving test today. It's double happiness." Wei Ming told Sister Lin.

"Why not call Xiaohong and Yunyun?" My sister-in-law is still very considerate.

But the brother was too cold-blooded: "Why ask them to do that? This is not a small car. It can't hold so many people."

The next day, Wei Ming hired someone to start decorating the courtyard house. The work was given to the decoration team introduced by Mei Wenhua, while he was responsible for shopping in the trust mall and furniture store. He even went to the black market to exchange some US dollars.

Two hundred dollars instantly turned into more than a thousand dollars, which was enough money with some money left over.

When talking with Master Lei from the decoration team, Master Lei said that we could build a toilet in the yard and have the sanitation workers pump it out and clean it regularly.

"It just costs money, and it's not cheap, because it's outside the job of the sanitation workers."

This is also the reason why Xiao Na didn’t do this before, it’s too expensive.

But Wei Ming is not afraid of spending money, he is afraid of inconvenience. Let it be a dry toilet. He will build a dry toilet first, and then turn it into a toilet when major renovations are allowed. Anyway, this is not his main residence.

"But please add a cover to this dry toilet and run some wires to install a light, so it will be convenient for use on rainy days and at night."

"Okay, sir, you are a particular person." Master Lei said no problem.

During the renovation period, Wei Ming invited Li Guangfu to dinner again. Li should be credited with the main credit for enabling him to get such a good house in such a good quality and location.

"You thank me, and I want to thank you too." While drinking a little wine in the evening, Li Guangfu was in high spirits.

"How to say?"

Li Guangfu laughed and said, "After the group of kids from your village left, one family in our yard quickly moved out and moved into the building where his son worked. I got another house back. Isn't that something to be happy about?"

"It is indeed a cause for celebration. Let's go one more time. I wish you can get your house back soon."

Li Guangfu wiped his mouth and said, "There is another happy event. Our unit has decided to adapt The Story of the Two Donkeys. Maybe we can see this play next year."

"Oh, that's great. I will definitely bring my whole family to show my support. Oh, there's one more thing. My buddy Mei Wenhua also wants to buy a house. He doesn't have high requirements, just a place to live in. Old Li, please take care of it."

Li Guangfu: "Ah, again!"

Wei Ming helped Xiaomei convey the message and then invited Xiaomei to have a barbecue at the courtyard in the evening.

Although the decoration level has not yet reached the level where people can move in, but as the end of the month is approaching, he and Xiaohong plan to go back to their hometown to listen to the results of the exam. At the same time, they will bring their mother and grandmother to live in Yanjing for a while, and they will find time to send the elderly back to their hometown before school starts in late August.

So Wei Ming decided to invite Uncle Ping'an and his family to meet them and have a meal on the 28th.

"Okay." Although Xiaomei was very busy, that day was not Sunday, so he could hand over the accounting work to one of his most trusted shopping guides in the evening.

That afternoon, after work, Wei Ping'an and Lu Xiaoyan each took a bicycle and took Xizi and Lele to ride from Peking University.

Along the way, the two little guys chattered non-stop, both showing how much they missed Brother Ming.

"It should be here, right?" Wei Ping'an looked at the address he recorded.

Turning into the alley, they saw an open courtyard gate. Xizi immediately went to ride on the stone lion at the gate, which was just the right size.

Lele stepped in and saw Brother Xiaoming was busy with something.

"Oh, you're here. It's not ready yet. You have to wait a moment." He was using bricks to build a barbecue table. The ingredients and charcoal had already been prepared.

After all, he is the most beloved foodie in Beijing, and all the major restaurants are familiar with him, so he easily bought the ingredients, including lamb, chicken, vegetables and mixed barbecue seasoning. Although he needs to grill them himself, what he eats for is the atmosphere.

"Wait a little longer. Xiaohong and the others will probably be here soon. Today, except for Mei Wenhua, everyone else is our family."

~
Mei Wenhua was eager to integrate into this family. He got on the motorcycle and happily asked his sisters to get on.

Xiaohong and Yunyun pushed and shoved each other, and finally Yunyun sat behind Mei Wenhua, but the distance between them was so far that she almost pushed Xiaohong down behind her.

Xiaomei felt depressed. She thought, "Sister still doesn't trust your character, brother Wenhua."

As soon as they left, a beautiful woman wearing the popular Zhang Yu costume appeared at the door of the store.

Gong Xing finally finished his role in "Good Things Come Hard" and returned to the capital as soon as possible, wanting to give Wei Ming a surprise.

She first called Wei Ming's home, but no one answered. Thinking that the store might be too busy, she went directly to Xidan.

Then she saw the two eye-catching posters. The one on the left was herself, and the woman on the right was someone she didn't recognize, but she seemed to have seen her somewhere before.
……

(More in the evening!)

(End of this chapter)