Exciting 1979!

Chapter 461 The Beginning! (Seeking monthly votes!)
Looking at the huge crowd around him, Lao Wei regretted not buying two TVs to bring back. It would have saved him from being so crowded, with many people only able to hear the sound and not even being able to see anyone.

However, villagers who frequently watch television immediately recognized the voice as that of Zhao Zhongxiang.

He wasn't the host this year; he just introduced the phone number for the on-demand program.

Huang Yihe, the director of the Spring Festival Gala, was very decisive. He felt that the news anchors on CCTV were steady but not good at improvisation, and that the live broadcast of the gala would be quite stressful for them. So he overruled the objections and brought in crosstalk performers Ma Ji and Jiang Kun, who were better at improvisation and creating a lively atmosphere.

Then, Wang Jingyu from the Youth Art Theatre and Gong Xue, a young actor from the Beijing Film Studio, were added to the show. Gong Xue is considered a representative of Southern artists; otherwise, the show would have had too much of a Northern flavor.

With Gong Xue joining the team, everyone in Shanghai is eagerly anticipating his arrival, especially his family. They've all gathered at Gong Xue's parents' apartment in the Overseas Chinese Village to have their New Year's Eve dinner while waiting for Gong Xue to make his appearance.

After Zhao Zhongxiang, there was a short animation featuring cartoon versions of the four hosts, followed by the actual broadcast.

Sister Xue wore a red shirt and a black long skirt. She had a slender figure and a lovely smile. Although she was 30 years old, she had a youthful vibe and amazed everyone when she appeared.

Villagers unfamiliar with the relationship between Wei Ming and Gong Xue expressed their feelings.

"Gong Xue is so beautiful. Anyone who can marry her will be incredibly lucky."

When Lao Wei heard this, he chuckled and said, "Why are you making such a fuss over such a small matter? You've underestimated the talent of our writer."

In Beijing, Zhu Lin, an unmarried spinster, was also watching the Spring Festival Gala with her parents.

It was at times like this that the elderly couple realized it was a good thing their daughter wasn't married. If she had been married, she would definitely be at her husband's family home right now, unlike the lively atmosphere they had now.

The Spring Festival Gala began with Ma Ji inviting his teacher, Hou Baolin, as an advisor to the stage to give a speech. The first official program was Li Guyi's song, "New Year's Greeting Song".

The four hosts then introduced the guests performing tonight, including Hou Yaowen, Shi Fukuan, Siqin Gaowa, Hu Songhua, and others.

As Xizi watched, her eyes suddenly widened: "Kyoko!"

It turned out that they had introduced members of the Yanjing Wushu Team, led by Coach Wu Bin, who also brought Wu Jing along.

Wei Ming never expected that Wu Jing would actually appear on the Spring Festival Gala. This kid really went all out to avoid doing his homework.

"Xizi, take another look," Wei Ming reminded him.

Xizi looked closely and saw a familiar face at the table behind Coach Wu and the others: "Ah, it's Brother Biao and Sister-in-law Biao!"

She was also holding a chubby baby in her arms.

Some villagers, unaware of the situation, exclaimed in confusion, "Your cousin and his wife are on TV? That's amazing!"

It was the first time the villagers had seen so many big names in one place, and they thought how wonderful the Spring Festival Gala was, hoping it could continue next year.

As soon as the introduction ended, they first guessed a riddle, and then started the crosstalk performance. Ma Ji and his partner Zhao Yan performed three in a row, including one with a phone request.

The villagers began to lament again, "If only the village had telephones, we could order programs too."

Qi Kexiu chuckled: If you have a phone, can you afford the phone bill?

Wei Ming watched the three incredibly clichéd crosstalk segments with a smile. If he were watching them alone, he definitely wouldn't be able to laugh, but with so many people in the audience, the joyful atmosphere was contagious.

There were also song and dance performances and magic shows. When he saw the panda performance by the acrobatic troupe, Lao Wei's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He missed his beloved son in Hong Kong.

After watching the show, Wei Pingan patted him and said, "Brother, I'm going back to sleep now."

It was already past ten o'clock, but Lü Xiaoyan and Xile were still full of energy. However, when Wei Pingan went to the grave today, he had already made an appointment with his mother to visit him in a dream that night so that the two of them could have a good chat.

After waiting for several more shows, Sister Xue finally appeared.

First, a clip from the movie "Under the Bridge" was played, in which Sister Xue looked stunning, and Xizi also made an appearance.

Meanwhile, Qi Delong, sitting in the audience, chuckled and asked, "Who's that little boy? Is he Xizi?"

Teacher Xi smiled reservedly: "That's right, it's me again."

He immediately received another wave of praise, such as being called a "big star," and several old men even egged him on to perform a show.

He can only perform at this stage. He did learn some things at the Shichahai Sports School, but he would rather watch Xue Mama's shows.

At this moment, Gong Xue on stage was also being egged on by Ma Ji and Jiang Kun, who were asking her to perform a show.

Of course, all of this was arranged in advance. The director valued this song highly, and Gong Xue practiced it countless times.

"Alright then, actually I've prepared a new song for everyone."

Ma Ji asked, "What is the name of this song?"

Gong Xue: "My People, My Country".

Ma Ji led the applause: "Everyone, give us a big round of applause! Comrade Gong Xue is an actress by profession, so this is a very rare opportunity to hear her sing."

Because live broadcasts in this era do not have subtitles, Gong Xue added before the show started: "Sung by Gong Xue, lyrics and music by Wei Ming."

"Hey, it's a song written by Uncle Ming!" Wei Ming's younger relatives exclaimed from the side.

By this time, the Spring Festival Gala had been going on for more than three hours, and many villagers were feeling a bit tired. But hearing this shout, they perked up again.

Lü Xiaoyan said, "Xiaoming, you should have said so earlier. If I had known, I wouldn't have let your uncle go to sleep."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "It's alright, there will definitely be a rebroadcast tomorrow."

In Chengdu, Liu Xiaoqing was watching TV in a guesthouse. She had come to Chengdu to perform at various events. She was actually a good singer, and during the break from filming "The Empress Dowager," she had been traveling all over the world with her troupe, earning quite a bit of money.

However, seeing Gong Xue hosting, promoting her new movie, and singing on CCTV's stage, she said it was impossible not to be envious.

Whose fault is it? It's only because the man who loves her doesn't have Wei Ming's abilities.

"My country and I are inseparable."

Wherever I go, a hymn flows.

I sing of every mountain, I sing of every river…

Gong Xue's heartfelt performance touched everyone present and viewers watching on television, who discovered for the first time that Gong Xue could sing so beautifully.

Backstage, Li Guyi, who was preparing to go on stage, couldn't help but hum along softly to the song. She had already learned it during rehearsals and felt that she could handle it even better if she sang it herself.

Despite her lack of technical skill, Gong Xue's singing was full of emotion, and she even had tears in her eyes at the end. This scene was incredibly beautiful and moved all the viewers in front of the television.

An old man in the lake couldn't help but applaud when he heard the last part.

What a great song! This song also reflects the deep patriotism of its creator, Comrade Wei Ming. No wonder he is a young prodigy who donated 100 million yuan to Peking University!

Viewers at home were clearly not going to let Gong Xue off the hook, and while listening to the song, they all called to ask him to sing another one.

However, Gong Xue is not a singer, so the song requests were quite varied, with most saying that she could just sing whatever she was good at.

There are contingency plans for this situation during rehearsals. Gong Xue said, "Then I'll sing another verse of 'Tomorrow Will Be Better'."

This song is very fitting for the occasion, and it's also one of Gong Xue's signature pieces; she's generally very good at all the songs written by Wei Ming.

While she was singing, listening to the villagers around her singing along, Wei Ming stroked his chin, thinking about something else.

This song is so righteous that it might even bring Xue Jie some official benefits. However, if Xue Jie wants to immigrate in the future, having this song around might not look good in the public eye.

Of course, Wei Ming had no such worries. He had never thought about immigrating, and he knew which place had a more suitable ecology for him.

His accumulated wealth over the past few years has given him the means to live comfortably in the country, without fear of even the most ruthless or dangerous figures.

If the situation reaches the point where even I am forced to leave my hometown, then Sister Xue and Sister Lin will definitely go with me, and there will be no need to worry about whether it looks good or not in the eyes of the public.

Happy times always pass too quickly. Gong Xue sang an extra song, and there were still more performances to come. Other requests for her to sing had to be ignored for the time being, as the audience was too reluctant to see her leave the stage.

Even though Gong Xue rushed as fast as he could, he still couldn't finish Ma Ji and Jiang Kun's crosstalk performance before midnight, so he had to interrupt the performance and ring the bell to celebrate the New Year.

Four hours passed in the blink of an eye. Usually, the villagers go to bed around eight or nine o'clock, but seeing that there were still programs to be performed, most of the villagers did not leave and wanted to watch, treating it as a way of staying up all night to welcome the New Year.

Old Party Secretary Zhou Xingbang touched the hot television set, but seeing everyone's enthusiasm and that Wei Ming hadn't left, he had no choice but to let them be.

The program after midnight featured Li Guyi's song performance, which was highly anticipated. After singing "Song of Spring," she received a series of calls requesting her to sing encores, including "Lupin Flower" written by Wei Ming, as well as songs such as "Young Friends," "Hello, Motherland," and "Soulmate."

After singing five songs in a row, the backstage received a call from an audience member who wanted to hear Li Guyi sing "Hometown Love".

And this wasn't the first call to request "Hometown Love"; in fact, many people wanted to hear the song.

After consulting with his superiors, director Huang Yihe finally nodded. Jiang Kun then went on stage and told Li Guyi that the last song could be "Hometown Love".

Thus, this song, which had been banned for more than two years for being "decadent music," was finally officially unbanned at the official level. As for the general public, it was impossible to ban it; the people loved it too much. Even Teresa Teng couldn't ban it, let alone Li Guyi.

Afterwards, clips from the completed films "The Legend of the Martial Arts" and "Wudang" were shown, and the husband-and-wife team of Zhao Debiao and Huang Qiuyan introduced their respective works.

This was also a tacit agreement between the two production companies, creating the feeling of a husband-and-wife duel, and also deeply imprinting the names of these two martial arts films in the minds of the audience. Afterwards, the two of them also performed martial arts with their junior brothers and sisters from the martial arts team.

While they were on stage, Zhao Zifeng was sleeping in Gong Xue's arms, holding her chubby little girl. She was filled with mixed feelings, longing to have a baby of her own.

Holding this heavy piece of flesh, she suddenly felt an inexhaustible strength in her arms.

With that, the nearly five-hour Spring Festival Gala finally came to a complete end. The villagers left the village branch office with some reluctance, still discussing the most unforgettable program.

Lao Wei and Xu Shufen both praised Gong Xue for singing well, and Lü Xiaoyan also said that "Me and My Motherland" was the most impressive song for her.

While people across the country were immersed in the joy of the Spring Festival, in Shenyang, Northeast China, police officers were almost all working through the night to apprehend two men surnamed Wang.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, two brothers named Wang Zongfang and Wang Zongwei broke into the Shenyang Air Force 463 Hospital, killing four people and injuring one, causing a very bad impact.

Moreover, the two brothers were very cunning. By the time the police came to their door, they had already fled. They then repeatedly evaded the police's pursuit and escaped for half a year.

During their time on the run, they committed numerous crimes, murdering for money. Wherever they went, people were terrified, and even mentioning their names could stop children from crying.

When all else failed, the Ministry of Public Security issued the first wanted notice with a reward for the arrest of these two individuals in the People's Republic of China.

The grim security situation reflected by the two individuals became one of the triggers for that crackdown.

However, the two vicious kings have not yet escaped from Northeast China, and their influence has not yet spread throughout the country.

On the first day of the Spring Festival, television and radio were filled with discussions about the grand occasion of the first Spring Festival Gala. Among them, Gong Xue's performance of "Me and My Motherland" and Li Guyi's "Hometown Love," which was finally allowed to be performed on stage, became the most requested and discussed songs.

Gong Xue became an instant sensation as a "singer" for the first time, but she didn't delay. At dawn, she took a plane back to Shanghai to reunite with her parents, brothers, and sisters. Even more people recognized her at the airport.

After all, people who can afford to fly are generally assumed to have a TV at home.

At this time, Wei Ming had just finished the village's New Year's greetings and returned home to receive several more groups of guests.

In the afternoon, I went with the old Party Secretary and others to see the factory site selected by Hong Kong Holiland Food Company.

It was built as a grain and oil factory, a joint venture. The county provided the policies, the village provided the land, and Holiland provided the funding.

After a long period of investigation, meetings, and repeated discussions, the project has finally moved forward successfully.

There are two main difficulties. First, the policy was tightened last year, and all kinds of joint venture projects were subject to strict review. They were not approved if they could not be approved. Twenty new joint ventures were established in 1980 and 1981, but only eight were established in 1982. Theirs was approved in January 1983.

Furthermore, grain and oil mills are not the type of joint ventures most welcomed by the Chinese side.

The joint ventures that China welcomes are either in industries that China is not doing well in, such as the automobile manufacturing industry, or in industries that can generate foreign exchange, such as Coca-Cola.

Holiland doesn't quite meet the standards; it sounds like they're trying to squeeze money out of ordinary Chinese people. How could foreign capital possibly be in that position?

So Holiland's representative to the mainland, Lewis, painted a picture for the Chinese side, a picture of the fast food industry, which mainly involved instant noodles, cold chain logistics, international transportation, and warehousing.

He stated that grain and oil mills are upstream industries of the fast food industry. They need to make arrangements first and ensure that the mills can operate normally before they can launch other projects such as instant noodles, which can be exported to earn foreign exchange.

In addition, Lewis, being of mixed race, had a very convincing foreign face, which ultimately led to the successful launch of the project. He was also given many favorable policies, without which the grain and oil mill would have had problems with its raw material supply.

Wei Ming didn't see Lewis; he had already returned to Hong Kong for the Spring Festival. However, Wei Ming did meet County Chief Qin, who knew Wei Ming had returned to his hometown and had come specifically to bump into him.

"Teacher Wei, what a coincidence! You're here to see the factory construction site too!"

"Yes, I came to take a look."

County Chief Qin initially wanted to build the factory in the county, which would facilitate transportation and supervision. From a cost perspective, it made sense, and land around the county town wasn't expensive.

However, Wei Ming wanted to benefit the villagers of his own village, so Lewis insisted on not giving in. As for the transportation issue, he had also taken it into consideration; their products could actually be shipped to the neighboring county.

Gouzitun is located at the border of two counties, and is closer to the county seat of the neighboring county. Crucially, the neighboring county has more convenient transportation and is an important transportation hub, which facilitates the rapid delivery of their products to major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang.

County Chief Qin has only one thought: he hopes to be transferred after the factory is completed. He wants to see this project finished.

But in fact, the fact that the funds were transferred from Hong Kong has already been a significant achievement in his record.

County Magistrate Qin also asked Wei Ming to leave a significant mark, writing five large characters for the future factory: "Peace and Wellcome".

The first day of the Lunar New Year was also the day when "Journey to the West" officially aired. From the first to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, one episode was broadcast every day. The first five days were for the first five episodes, and the sixth day was for the 13th episode, which had been piloted.

The villagers who regularly watch TV already knew about this news, so a large crowd gathered again that evening. In the opening credits, "Chief Consultant Wei Ming" was indeed listed after "Original Author Wu Cheng'en" and before the director and screenwriter.

The next day, everyone could hum a few lines of "Where is the road ahead?" and the children were even more eager to find long, straight sticks.

However, Wei Ming was also going back to the capital. He was going back with Uncle Ping An and the others, so they could stay for a couple more days. Old Wei still had a lot of bragging rights he hadn't shown off yet, and he still had quite a few acquaintances in the other villages.

On the way back to Beijing, the thing Xizi cared about most was: "Brother, when can I fight Sun Wukong?"

Last night I watched the first episode of "Journey to the West". Seeing how much everyone likes Sun Wukong, Xizi's fighting spirit was ignited.

"You'll probably be next soon. You're episode 14. Go practice your shooting skills more at the Shichahai Sports School."

After returning to Beijing, Wei Ming called Tuanjiehu and Nanluoguxiang, but no one answered, so he called Zhu Lin's parents' house directly.

After all, I had already visited before, so it wouldn't be abrupt for me to make a phone call to wish them a Happy New Year.

Although Zhu Lin missed the call because she was out, the fact that she returned was enough.

Next, Wei Ming began his New Year's greetings, visiting some people in person and others by phone, depending on the closeness of the relationship and the importance of the visit.

Midway through, he received a call from Zhu Lin, and Wei Ming immediately rode his motorcycle out, but this time he took Zhu Lin to the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Although both are apartment buildings, the heating in the Overseas Chinese Apartment is a bit warmer than in Tuanjiehu, so Zhu Lin can wear very light clothing here.

"Anyway, Mom and Dad aren't home, so you can stay here tonight." Wei Ming hugged Sister Lin tightly, using the harmonious sounds of their voices to remember Comrade Gong Xue, who was far away in Shanghai.

The first two episodes of "Journey to the West" that have been broadcast are of a very high standard. The key is that Liu Xiao Ling Tong's portrayal of Sun Wukong has been recognized by audiences across the country. It is so lifelike and vivid.

Moreover, the first few episodes were basically his solo show, so it's not surprising that the monkey's popularity was higher than the other three disciples combined.

Wei Ming took out today's latest newspaper from the mailbox outside the door, wanting to see if there were any reports about "Journey to the West" and Teacher Liu.

Then he saw two news articles from Northeast China.

One story is about Jilin. I don't know what's gotten into people, but the tiny clivia has been wildly hyped up. In a place where the average worker's wage is only 30 or 40 yuan, the price of clivia has skyrocketed to tens, hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of yuan!

The people of Jilin have gone completely mad, forcing the government to stipulate that the price of a pot of clivia should not exceed 200 yuan, but it has had no effect whatsoever.

Wei Ming looked down on such petty money from shady dealings; otherwise, he would have gone to Jilin to grow clivia in the first two years, and could have earned millions this year.

The second news item is about Shenyang. The news officially reported on the ruthless Wang brothers, and from now on, they have officially escaped from Shenyang and are probably already inside the pass.

In Wei Ming's memory, the case of the two kings lasted for half a year, and then the big fuss about that... well, that's how it started.

Of course, there are several other contributing factors to these serious incidents.

Seeing that the two kings had already made their grand entrance following the historical trajectory, Wei Ming knew that he needed to prepare to lay low for the time being.

"Sister Lin, Xiao Hong is going to study in the United States this year. It's too chaotic abroad, so I might have to go and keep her company." Wei Ming suddenly said this while hugging Zhu Lin.

"Oh, that's only right." She thought it would just be a month or two of accompanying her to let the little girl get used to it.

It's only a month or two, although it's a long time. But we've been separated for that long before, so Zhu Lin feels she can totally accept it. Anyway, she still has Xiao Xue. The two of them support each other and rely on each other through thick and thin.

After finishing all the New Year's greetings, Wei Ming was about to get back into post-production on "The Shepherd's Class" when he suddenly received an invitation from the Hong Kong office to be a presenter at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards.

Although they knew that Wei Ming was unlikely to attend, the organizers still extended an invitation out of respect for the internationally renowned writer, as is customary.

This time, Wei Ming actually planned to go.

First, to visit the elderly man living alone, Lao Gui; second, to collect the scriptwriting fee from Jiahe; and finally, to check on Xiao Amin and see if her original music journey is going smoothly.

After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Ming's parents, sister, and older sister returned to Beijing together, and Gong Xue, Zhu Lin, and Wei Ming reunited.

Gong Xue complained, "Because of this song 'Me and My Motherland,' I was invited by Shanghai TV to sing it again during my Chinese New Year holiday. But singing is definitely easier than acting."

Zhu Lin: "What, you want to change your career path? Okay, then you won't have to compete with me for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards."

"No way! I'm dreaming of one day filming abroad and letting the whole world see me," Gong Xue said ambitiously.

A large part of this ambition was to make herself a better match for Wei Ming; she wanted to become a better person.

Wei Ming was outstanding. As soon as the Spring Festival was over, the results of the 1981-1982 National Excellent Novella Awards were announced, and his 81 novella "In the Heat of the Sun" was among them.

Such recognition, which other writers in the literary world envy, is utterly insignificant when applied to Wei Ming.
……

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(End of this chapter)