Chapter 105

Wei Anping looked Wei Ming up and down, seeing that he was full of spirit, there was no sign of his yang energy being sucked dry.

On the contrary, it was he himself who had been a bit tired these days. Even Wei Ming could see it and asked him: "Uncle, is your work very hard recently?"

Wei Anping waved his hand: "The new Vice Principal Wang values me quite a bit, and he also let me participate in the matter of tearing down and building houses."

Lu Xiaoyan in the kitchen said: "Your uncle has been working overtime frequently recently and comes home very late."

Wei Ming asked with a smile: "I heard that everyone is eyeing the new houses now. Since you are participating, Uncle, are there many people who want to use your connections?"

Wei Anping said: "I can at most help Qiao Feng fight for one set. After all, he is my soldier, and I brought him into Peking University. I can't take care of others."

As for Wei Ming, he wasn't even married, so he wasn't considered at all.

Immediately, Wei Anping added: "The school just has no money. If there were money, Peking University's land would actually be enough. At least it could solve the housing problems of those faculty members who have families. Even if the main campus isn't enough, the area of the branch campus is huge."

Now Peking University basically relied on funding from above, and its own ability to generate blood was relatively poor. Those that could generate profits were basically some science and engineering disciplines.

This kind of big event wasn't something he, a small dormitory manager, could interject in. Whose business could he interject in? At most Mei...

Wei Ming shook his head. He was a bit "high" now, always thinking about these things.

At this time, Lu Xiaoyan brought out a dish: "Get moving, we can start eating."

After sitting at the table, she immediately asked: "Xiao Ming, where are the photos? You didn't forget this time, right?"

Regarding that "family photo" of him and Gong Xue holding Xile at the Summer Palace, Lu Xiaoyan strongly demanded that Wei Ming wash one for her, using the excuse that her son and daughter were in the photo.

Actually, how could Wei Ming not know her purpose? But her reason was also very sufficient, so he could only bring it for her.

Then their family of four gathered together to look at it, mainly looking at Gong Xue.

At first glance, she was indeed beautiful, no worse than a movie star, and one could tell at a glance that she was a girl with a gentle personality.

But it could also be clearly seen that her age seemed, appeared, estimated, should be a bit older than Wei Ming, looking like she was twenty-three or twenty-four.

However, Wei Ming said that she was just an ordinary friend he met on the train.

But how could Wei Anping and Lu Xiaoyan believe that? You can accompany an ordinary friend for half a day?

They put away the photos and didn't mention this for now.

As soon as Wei Ming entered the door, Lu Xiaoyan gave him the manuscript fee for the second part of *The Legend of the Heavenly Book* and the December issue of *Children's Literature*. The money was still the same money, but there was another piece of good news.

While eating, Lu Xiaoyan told Wei Ming: "The China Children's Publishing House has decided to assemble this novel into a book after the serialization of *The Legend of the Heavenly Book* ends next year."

Wei Ming was startled: "Ah, will the word count be a bit small?"

"Although it's less than 40,000 words, children's books can have larger fonts, plus those illustrations, it's enough."

Wei Ming understood. This was called "not enough text, use pictures to make up for it."

"If there aren't enough illustrations, I can contact my classmate to draw some more," Wei Ming smiled, which could be considered giving Ah Long a chance to make money.

Being able to publish a book was of course a good thing, especially publishing next year. By then, the manuscript fee standard would be raised, and the printing-number remuneration would also be restored.

Although it wasn't as cool as getting a percentage of the pricing for each book sold like royalties, it was also the case that the more printed and sold, the more the author earned, which also gave authors more motivation to publish books.

By then, he would definitely also publish a book of his own novellas and short stories.

Actually, publishing a single novella as a book wasn't rare in this era. Thin booklets were often seen in bookstores. Zhang Dening had also suggested to him to publish *Two Oxen*, but there was no printing-number remuneration for publishing books this year, so Wei Ming refused.

By next year, Wei Ming would assemble these animal series for publication. Just based on their heat and classic degree, selling a million copies shouldn't be excessive, right?

After Wei Ming left, Wei Anping and Lu Xiaoyan, the couple, immediately whispered to each other, discussing whether the red-haired foreign girl was better or the gentle big sister was better.

Little did they know that besides these two, there was another hidden force.

Today was Sunday. Auntie Wang helped Wei Ming cover his shift for a while, allowing him to come out to eat this meal.

After Auntie Wang left, Melinda came again, and she brought a new tape, which was still exchanged from that music teacher.

Once the music started, the dormitory manager's room became lively again, surrounded by many South American international students, and some even started dancing the samba.

However, when the tape reached the end, Wei Ming was stunned: "This shouldn't be Latin American music, right?"

Melinda: "Should be something that teacher made herself, right?"

Wei Ming went back and listened to it again. This was an incomplete melody, very clearly Chinese-style music, and he felt it was a bit familiar, just feeling it was a bit distant.

Wei Ming said to Melinda: "When you go to find her again, you can bring me along. I want to get to know her."

Melinda said no problem. In addition, before going upstairs, she whispered to Wei Ming: "Just use two, I can't handle three."

Wei Ming patted her butt and made an "OK" gesture.

Melinda thought this meant "OK," but Wei Ming meant: "Three times."

As for how to do it three times with two sets, that would require Melinda to use her little brain.

The next day, Wei Ming got up early as usual and opened the window to air out the smell. As for the trash generated, Melinda handled it all cleanly as soon as she left.

However, the bed sheet needed to be washed. Melinda had already taken it away; she was responsible for handling it. Then Wei Ming began to exercise his body and recharge his energy.

Today was also the day the third issue of *Contemporary* was officially released.

The queue at the newsstand outside Peking University was already full early on.

Because the old man at the newsstand knew that today's *Contemporary* had Wei Ming's work, he had written this news on the blackboard outside early on.

Given that he was always in short supply and often had to wait for two days or even longer, this news spread from person to person very quickly. Everyone ran over to queue up early, hoping to get a first look.

Although there were many people this time, the old man absorbed the lessons from the previous two times and applied for a full one hundred copies this time!

This kind of magazine was quite thick and had a large capacity. The price of one copy was 1.3 yuan. Even if students liked it, there were still very few who could afford it alone. Many were bought together by a dormitory.

For example, Liu Zhenyun's dormitory, all of whom were from rural areas.

Liu Zhenyun had already read *The Herdsman* from Wei Ming in advance, and had completed the review article ahead of time, mailing it out before the novel was officially published.

Then the other five brothers in the dormitory proposed buying a copy of *Contemporary*. Everyone wanted to read Wei Ming's new work and explore literary criticism along the way.

Actually, it was just to earn manuscript fees; this was equivalent to an investment.

!

As someone who had already read it, Liu Zhenyun felt he had lost out, but thinking that he could already earn manuscript fees, he was better than everyone else, so he didn't object and followed by paying two mao.

However, what was even more unlucky was that when drawing lots, Liu Zhenyun drew the task of buying the book.

He decided that after the people in the dormitory finished reading it, he would lend it to Jianmei to read. He couldn't let his two mao go to waste.

Two mao could buy a portion of pot-collapsed tofu!

Yanjing in December was already very cold. Liu Zhenyun moved slowly, and the queue was still very far back. He was worried that he would have a wasted trip.

He moved slowly in the "peasant-style" posture. There were many Chinese department students in front and behind, and he could even see those wearing Tsinghua school badges on their chests.

The university students who bought it in front started reading while walking, with satisfied expressions in their eyes.

As someone who had already read *The Herdsman*, Liu Zhenyun knew that this novel maintained Wei Ming's consistent high standard, the plot conflict was stronger, and it was also more full of controversy, which he reckoned could trigger a wider discussion.

Fortunately, the old man at the newsstand didn't drop the ball today, and Liu Zhenyun bought it.

However, the old man's expression was still not optimistic, looking at the queue that was still adding people inside.

It seemed it was still not enough!

After buying the magazine, Liu Zhenyun ran to the South Gate guard post to brag to Zhao Debiao and Mei Wenhua about the grand occasion of readers queuing up to buy magazines to read Wei Ming's novel for the first time.

He also said to Mei Wenhua: "Your Sister Qingqing is also queuing, but she went later, so I reckon she won't be able to buy it."

Mei Wenhua was unmoved after hearing it. "Mi Qing," right? That's just how it is. Recently, by delivering food to Wei Ming, he (thought he) was getting hot with the female international students, feeling that Mi Qing was nothing more than that. In terms of enthusiasm and boldness, she was far inferior to the others.

After Liu Zhenyun left, Liu Rulong came. He had already completed the illustrations for *Heroes Emerge from Youth*.

Mei Wenhua said: "You go find Biaozi who is patrolling first. He should know where Wei Ming is hiding."

Wei Ming was currently accompanying Melinda in class in the international student classroom.

Actually, there were no serious courses now; it was mainly writing papers.

They could only appear in the international student classroom together so calmly. If it were an ordinary classroom, he reckoned other students wouldn't be able to study.

After Ah Long found Ah Ming, the two left the classroom.

"Only six sheets, did you draw for so long this time?"

"There were dozens of discarded drafts," Liu Rulong said. "At first, I tried the comic strip method, then I used the Hong Kong comic method, and finally I determined this style."

Actually, it was still a comic technique, just a comic with more power, a bit like the feeling of Japanese hot-blooded comics.

For the current mainstream, this was very novel, just like the depiction of martial arts in Wei Ming's novels.

Ah Long studied this specifically to better set off Wei Ming's novel.

Wei Ming was very satisfied.

"It's a pity that the environment is not very suitable now, otherwise you could completely become a comic artist," Wei Ming shook his head with regret.

Shanghai, Shanghai Er Yingchang.

Shi Fangyu, the deputy director of the Shanghai Er Yingchang, found Xie Jin with a copy of *Film New Works* magazine.

"Old Xie, I've sent you a good script!"

Xie Jin put down the magazine in his hand: "Oh, what script?"

Shi Fangyu flipped open the magazine and pointed to the table of contents: "*Wind and Rain Azalea Red*. It's that novel *Legend of Tianyun Mountain* from a while ago. I asked the author to change it into a script and submit it. Take a look."

"Hmm, leave the magazine."

After Deputy Director Shi left, Xie Jin immediately picked up *Contemporary* and continued reading *The Herdsman*...

(End of chapter)