Exciting 1979!

Chapter 29 About Wei Ming's Bet (asking for monthly tickets!)

Wei Ming asked with concern: "Is the little girl home now?"

The police officer was indignant: "She has been picked up by her biological parents. They are a military family and her father is a pilot. This human trafficker is so bold!"

Wei Ming and Gong Xing both breathed a sigh of relief. People are all made of flesh and blood, and kind people cannot bear to see the pain of separation of family members.

The matter was finally resolved satisfactorily. The three police officers saluted and left.

When the train left Suzhou, there was only the last leg of the journey left and the countdown to separation began.

The train comes from the west, passing through Kunshan and Jiading.

After returning to the city he was familiar with, Gong Xing began to enthusiastically introduce to Wei Ming the locations on both sides of the railway.

The Magic City was in decline these days. It was not until we entered Putuo that we could vaguely see some shadows of the former foreign concessions. But it was still not that prosperous. It was not until the 90s that the Magic City could truly deserve the title.

"Look, that river is called Suzhou River!" Gong Xing pointed out the window. Every time he saw the Suzhou River, it meant he was about to arrive at his destination.

Wei Ming nodded. When he saw the Suzhou River, the first person he thought of was Brother Xun, oh, the Brother Xun whose surname was Zhou.

The old man lived in Shanghai in his later years and eventually passed away there. Runtu's descendants also got a job in Xun Ge'er's memorial hall.

Finally, the train stopped at Modu Station in Zhabei District, more than an hour late, which is normal.

Wei Ming and Gong Xing said goodbye in the carriage. He went to carriage No. 104 to pick up Professor Qu, and then the two took bus No. 675 to No. Julu Road, the location of the Shanghai Writers Association.

The editorial offices of "Harvest", "Magic City Literature" and "Sprout", which has not yet resumed publication, are all here.

As for the headquarters of "Story Club", it is at No. 74 Shaoxing Road, next to the Modou Literature and Art Publishing House. It is not far away and can be reached in less than half an hour on foot.

After the two of them entered, they split up. After placing their luggage downstairs, Wei Ming went upstairs to the editorial office of Harvest.

"Hello, my name is Wei Ming, and I'm here to revise a manuscript." Wei Ming said to the editor closest to the door.

"Wei Ming? Wei Ming, the author of "Donkey Five and Donkey Six"? The talented Wei Ming from Peking University!" The editor had also heard of Wei Ming's name. It seemed that this novel was well-known in the editorial department.

Wei Ming nodded and admitted: "But I can't say I'm a talented person."

Then editor Guo brought Wei Ming to Li Xiaolin, who graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, was in her thirties, of medium height and average appearance.

"What a college student," Li Xiaolin smiled and stretched out his hand to an old editor sitting opposite him, "Old Kong, I win."

The old editor opposite looked at Wei Ming in surprise, but still took out a dollar and handed it to Li Xiaolin.

Wei Ming stopped them in time: "Wait a minute, are you two making a bet for me?"

Li Xiaolin: “Yes.”

"What are you betting on?"

The old editor surnamed Kong said, "I guess the author of this article is a teacher from Peking University, because the writing is very sophisticated and you can tell at a glance that he is a veteran. Xiaolin feels that the writing is lively and bold, without any trace of old-fashionedness, so it must have been written by a student."

Li Xiaolin laughed and said, "The key point is that I have never heard of a teacher named Wei Ming in Peking University."

Wei Ming also laughed: "But if neither of you guessed correctly, who should get the bet?"

The two editors looked at each other and then looked at Wei Ming again.

Editor Guo, who brought Wei Ming over, smiled and said, "Then I should give it to you."

The two editors had no objection, so Wei Ming revealed his identity.

"I am neither a Peking University teacher nor a Peking University student. I am just a temporary worker at Peking University," he said formally. "Let me introduce myself to you, the security guard at the south gate of Peking University, Wei Ming." The editors present were stunned. It's not like no one had thought of this result. Some speculated whether he was just a non-teaching staff member of Peking University, after all, the department was not written. However, the possibility was ruled out because it was too low.

It turns out you really are!

And he's a temporary worker guarding the gate!
So Li Xiaolin did not talk about the revision, but first asked Wei Ming about his writing experience. What made a security guard write such an amazing article? Was it his ideals? Was it his ambitions?

Wei Ming: It’s poverty!

Li Xiaolin: "You definitely didn't acquire such good writing skills all of a sudden."

"I only wrote essays before, but then I failed the college entrance examination and I had no more essays to write. In fact, this is my debut novel," said Wei Mingdao.

"You've just started writing a novella, and it's so good! What kind of books do you like to read?"

"I read whatever books are available. I am not picky and I don't have the conditions to be picky. I just want to read anything that has words printed on it."

“Haha, what about your favorite author?”

Wei Ming: "I prefer Lu Xun and Lao She."

Li Xiaolin was not angry because Wei Ming did not mention his father. She nodded and said, "Your works are indeed full of Lu Xun's sharp jokes and Lao She's Beijing-style humor."

"Then Editor Li, can we talk about the revision now?"

"No hurry. It's already past one. You must be very tired after sitting on the train for a whole day and night. Stay at the Writers Association Guesthouse first. If you are late, the guesthouse will run out of food. If you are not used to the food, you can go out to eat. You will get a two-dollar subsidy every day."

Hearing such a high subsidy, Wei Ming was cheered up: "Now that you mention it, I am indeed a little hungry. I will take my leave now."

"Wait a minute," Li Xiaolin took out a dollar and put it in Wei Ming's hand, "Lao Kong lost, and I didn't win either. This is my share."

Wei Ming smiled particularly brightly. He earned two dollars just after arriving. It was a good sign!

Moreover, the atmosphere in this Magic City is indeed open. Even if editors in the capital were to make a bet, they probably wouldn't dare to use real money. At most, it would be melon seeds and peanuts.

After meeting the editor of Harvest, Wei Ming went downstairs directly, and discussions about him immediately broke out in the editorial office.

The staff of the Writers Association downstairs told Wei Ming: "Professor Qu has been invited to dinner by the editor-in-chief of Story Club. You can go to our Writers Association guesthouse to settle down and have dinner at the same time."

Hey, this old Qu, when someone invited him to dinner, he didn’t even bother to invite himself.

Wei Ming had no choice but to take all his luggage to the guesthouse by himself. His room and Professor Qu's were adjacent, both on the second floor.

After putting down his luggage, he hurried to eat. As expected, there were not many people there. He only saw a middle-aged woman with good temperament eating.

After picking up the food, Wei Ming went over to share the table with the others: "Hello, sister, are you here to revise the manuscript as well?"

"Well," the woman said, "are you the same?"

It’s not that he looks down on Wei Ming, it’s just that he looks too young, younger than his youngest son.

"Yes!" Wei Ming laughed heartily, "My name is Wei Ming, what's your name?"

"Chen Rong."

Oh my, it turns out she is Chen Rong!

So the manuscript she is revising now is most likely the one that helped Pan Hong win her first Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress, "Middle-Aged Man".

(End of this chapter)