Exciting 1979!

Chapter 51: A new fairy tale, a big job
The Chinese Department is the department in Peking University that is most familiar with Wei Ming; almost everyone knows him.

Everyone was very happy to see Wei Ming coming in with his schoolbag, except Liang Zuo.

It's a lingering ghost, right? When you're tired, destroy it.

The girls all wanted him to sit with them, but Wei Ming didn't want them to lose focus in class, so he picked a random boy to sit next to him.

"Oh, you must be Liang Zuo. I often hear Sister Chen talk about you." Wei Ming greeted the little fat man next to him.

Liang Zuo: "Oh, I've also heard my mother mention you."

Seeing that he was still a little shy, Wei Ming didn't say anything else. He first organized his notes from the previous English class.

At this time, Professor Qu came in after the break and looked at the students. There were a few fewer people than in the previous class.

She sighed softly, and then saw the shining Wei Ming in the crowd, and her spirits were immediately lifted.

"Xiao Wei, you're here too!"

Wei Ming stood up and smiled: "Yeah, I'm here to attend the class."

Professor Qu smiled and asked him to sit down: "Come to my office after class. The photos have been developed. Oh, and Liang Zuo, you can come too."

Liang Zuo: “…”

Just now Liang Zuo was thinking about skipping class. After all, it was not a compulsory course, and Professor Qu's voice sounded a little hard, and most importantly, there was Uncle Xiao Ming next to him.

But now that Professor Qu has called my name, I can’t leave even if I want to. Sigh!

Professor Qu's course was newly introduced this year, and the students did not have the textbook, so she was free to talk about whatever she wanted.

"The Ming Dynasty was an era when mythical novels flourished. Countless stories about alchemists, strange people, demons, gods, demons, immortals, Buddhas, monks, Taoists and laymen were staged one after another. The variety and quantity of the stories were truly spectacular..."

In order to take care of Wei Ming, the "new student", Professor Qu repeated her introduction.

"In the last class, we talked about the very representative "Investiture of the Gods", and many students have also seen "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King". So this class we will talk about "Suppressing the Demons", which is much less well-known, but its author is very famous."

After saying this, she first added the two words "San Sui" in front of "Ping Yao Zhuan", and then wrote the three words "Luo Guanzhong" under "San Sui".

"The Story of the Three Suis Suppressing Demons is the predecessor of The Story of the Suppressing Demons. It was written by Luo Guanzhong in the Ming Dynasty and is based on a real uprising during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Does anyone know which uprising it was?"

Professor Qu also emphasizes interaction in class, so she can talk less.

But my classmates, you look at me and I look at you, and we are not very clear about this unpopular history. Besides, weren’t there many famous ministers in the Renzong Dynasty? Were there also uprisings?

Seeing that everyone was confused, Wei Ming raised his hand.

Professor Qu was delighted: "Xiao Wei, you can talk, just sit down."

Wei Ming said: "It was the uprising led by Wang Ze and Hu Yong'er."

Professor Qu smiled and asked again: "Very good, then do you know who suppressed this uprising?"

Wei Ming: "Wen Yanbo?"

"That's right!" Professor Qu was even happier and asked again, "Which three are those?"

Wei Ming: "Ma Sui, Li Sui and Zhuge Suizhi."

Completely correct!

The other students, including Liang Zuo, were a little ashamed. They had no idea about this unconventional knowledge, but Wei Ming knew it all. Could he be a stooge hired by Professor Qu?
In fact, Professor Qu was also curious: "The Legend of the Three Sui Demon Suppressors is not very famous. How do you know so much about it, Xiao Wei?"

Wei Ming: "I know an old man who has a lot of comic books at home. I have read the comic book "The Story of San Sui Suppressing Demons", which was published during the Republic of China."

This old man is naturally Liu Rulong’s grandfather.

"It seems that you have read a lot. Why did you seem a little vague when answering Wen Yanbo just now?"

"Because these kinds of stories are often not written according to real history, I'm worried that the author made it up."

"Haha, it's very good to think while reading." Professor Qu praised it highly.

The heads of others were even lower, and they kept making excuses for themselves. Buzz buzz, it had only been a few years, and the college entrance examination had already consumed all their energy. How could they have time to read idle books? There were not so many idle books to read around them.

Professor Qu continued teaching. Stimulated by Wei Ming's words, the others also perked up and listened carefully, not wanting to be outdone by Wei Ming.

"The monsters naturally refer to the two rebel leaders, Wang Ze and Yong'er. It is not difficult to understand why the literati and scholars of that era demonized the rebels. Another well-known Ming Dynasty writer, Feng Menglong, further explored the word "monster" and wrote about where the two men got their magical powers. He wrote a prequel of 20 chapters based on Luo Guanzhong's 20-chapter "Three Sui Suppressing Demons", totaling 40 chapters, which is the complete version of "Suppressing Demons"." As he spoke, Professor Qu wrote the three words "Feng Menglong" under "Suppressing Demons".

Luo Guanzhong + Feng Menglong are the authors of "Ping Yao Zhuan".

Luo Guanzhong is the one who wrote Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and he is the only one among the four great classics whose authorship is almost undisputed.

Feng Menglong should not be unfamiliar to you, and students have basically all heard of him. The three words in the famous "Three Words and Two Beats", "Stories to Enlighten the World", "Stories to Awaken the World" and "Stories to Warn the World" are all his works.

Next, Professor Qu briefly summarized the contents of the first twenty chapters of "Ping Yao Zhuan" written by Feng Menglong.

When Wei Ming heard about characters like the White Ape, the Monk Danzi, the old fox Saint Aunt, the female fox Hu Meir, and the lame fox Zuo Chu, his head suddenly buzzed.

He seemed to know what to write next!

Wei Ming felt a surge of excitement in his heart. If he could get this story out, it would be a big job!

So Wei Ming then divided his attention into two things: on the one hand, he listened to Professor Qu explain the significance of this first long novel about gods and demons in the Ming Dynasty from an academic perspective, and on the other hand, he recalled the content of the animation in his mind.

After two classes, a girl behind him passed him a note saying that it was her turn to treat Wei Ming to lunch and she would be waiting for him downstairs.

Wei Ming turned around and responded, then immediately stepped forward to help Professor Qu get the lesson plan, while Liang Zuo followed behind lazily.

On the way, Wei Ming was still discussing today's class with Professor Qu: "I only knew about The Story of the Three Sui Emperors before, but I didn't know much about the first twenty chapters written by Feng Menglong. Today I have learned a lot. Unfortunately, I had to attend English class in the first two periods, so I missed your lecture on The Investiture of the Gods. What a pity."

Professor Qu was very happy with his coaxing: "I will give you my schedule later. If you are not on duty, you are welcome to come at any time. With you here, the classroom atmosphere is much more lively."

"That's great. Professor Qu, do you have the book "Suppressing the Demons"? I'd like to read it."

"Of course there is one in the office. Take it and have a look."

"Thank you, Professor Qu!"

When they arrived at the office, Professor Qu's desk was filled with books and two red persimmons. She pointed at the persimmons and said to Wei Ming, "I still want to thank you."

It seems that it was sent by Uncle Ping An.

Professor Qu took the photos first, one for Liang Zuo and one for Wei Ming, about ten each.

Professor Qu smiled and said, "After looking at it, it is indeed you, Xiao Wei, who took the best photo."

In Wei Ming's envelope, there was a photo of two teachers taken by Wei Ming, and the rest were photos of Wei Ming and them, as well as two solo photos of Wei Ming. This was also the first time Wei Ming took a color photo.

Liang Zuo took the photos and left first. Professor Qu found "Ping Yao Zhuan" and gave it to Wei Ming.

Wei Ming took it and took a look. It was published by Shijie Bookstore. The whole text was in traditional Chinese characters and it was in vertical format.

"My goodness, this book is old!"

"That's right. It's no wonder that those students don't know about Pingyao Zhuan. You can't find this book anywhere now. Besides, the country's classical literature publishing has just been resumed. They must print the Four Great Classics first, and then the lesser ones like Investiture of the Gods and Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. I'm afraid we have to wait a few years before the simplified version of Pingyao Zhuan comes out."

Faced with such an old book with a long history, Wei Ming took it very solemnly.

Then Professor Qu added: "Your short story has received good response from the society. You should be prepared to become famous."

"Oh, really? I don't feel anything." Wei Ming said sincerely. Except for Uncle Ping An, it seemed that other people mostly talked about "Ideal" when they mentioned him.

Professor Qu did not explain further and asked, "What are your plans for future creations?"

Wei Ming shook the book "Ping Yao Zhuan" in his hand and said: "Today's class has inspired me deeply. I plan to write a story for children based on "Ping Yao Zhuan"."

"Oh?"

Professor Qu was very surprised. "Ping Yao Zhuan" was definitely not a reading material for children. In addition to rebellion, the battle between gods and demons, it also contained some pornographic content. Wei Ming actually wanted to turn it into a children's book.

“Although I don’t know what you will write, I can’t help but look forward to it.”

Professor Qu had already witnessed Wei Ming's strength, and he encouraged him a few words, telling him that he could come to him anytime if he had any related questions.

After going downstairs, Wei Ming first had a free lunch with the girl from the Chinese Department, which of course also provided some emotional value, and then went back to the dormitory to rest as he had a class in the afternoon.

Wei Ming rode his Fei Ge bike the entire time today. The school is so big, it must be very tiring to walk.

As soon as he arrived at the South Gate, he saw Mei Wenhua at the gate and said excitedly: "Brother Ming, Brother Feng found a second-hand car for you, come and take a look!"

(End of this chapter)