Chapter 125

"Never lonely, never worried, look, my partners are all over the corners of the world..."

Wei Ming's voice was not delicate enough, but it won in its abundant emotion, and after all, he had undergone vocal training from Teacher Gu for a period of time, which was definitely much stronger than before.

Although the beginning was relatively sad, the end was relatively positive. When he finished singing the song, there was actually a female editor in the editorial department who was teary-eyed.

Wei Ming hurriedly asked: "This editor sister, are you thinking of some sad thing of your own?"

The female editor waved her hand: "I'm fine; my parents are both alive, my husband hands over all his salary, my eldest is smart and obedient, and my parents-in-law take care of the little one."

Damn, this is too infuriating. Several female editors were already preparing to take action. She hurriedly said: "But because I have read the novel, I know Chen Pipi's miserable encounter of having no father or mother, and even the villagers ignored this poor child, but Teacher Zhong remembered him and hoped he could integrate into the class collective, so I felt it was especially moving."

Others also nodded one after another. Even those who didn't cry were very impressed, feeling that the lyrics and the plot were combined very well.

Editor Tu asked again: "Then can the other two songs, "The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms" and "Planting the Sun," also be sung?"

Wei Ming nodded and sang them again, but he lacked the liveliness of a child, and the effect was not as good as "Little Grass," but everyone still applauded to show encouragement.

Although it wasn't sung very well, this was written by himself, not to mention the lyrics; he composed the music for two of the three songs, which was truly amazing.

A literary all-rounder!

Editor Tu suggested: "It would be great if someone could sing these songs. Listening to the songs while reading the novel would have a better effect."

Xu Yi, the head of the novel group, added: "Of course, without the songs, it is still a rare masterpiece. We, *People's Literature*, want this novel!"

This was what the several leaders had just discussed. Wei Ming's novel was written very brilliantly. Although it was about scars, the whole text did not focus on those, nor did it strongly render the tragedy, and there was even a light comedy style, but the pain was hidden under the appearance.

The principal and the village head, a pair of biological father and son who didn't look like father and son, meant the madness of power overriding human ethics.

A group of students who couldn't even write their own names correctly implied that they had lost the time they should have spent learning during the movement.

And the initial opposition and vigilance between teachers and students were also suffocating, with no hope in sight.

Wei Ming cleverly indicated from the side that this was an abnormal world, lightly, but very profoundly.

But this abnormality was gradually corrected through education and influenced by music. As the 21st, 22nd, and finally the last child returned to the classroom, the children finally became like children again.

And the male lead, Teacher Zhong, went from a sent-down university teacher who was full of grief and asked "Where Is Spring" at the beginning, a child king who dealt with chores to avoid labor, to a rural teacher who finally smiled and said "On the Tian Ye of Hope," treating every child as his own child.

Several editors also liked the ending of the story very much, feeling that it made people feel warm after reading it, and all the hostility disappeared.

At the end of the article, the movement ended, and Teacher Zhong restored his identity and was able to return to the city. None of the students saw him off. However, when he walked out of the classroom, paper airplanes flew out of the windows one by one and landed at his feet.

After he opened them, he discovered that on the airplanes was the lesson he taught in winter: "Please draw the spring in your hearts."

He put all the airplanes into his bag; this would be the most precious treasure in his life over the past few years.

However, when he walked to the tractor that was seeing him off, Chen Pipi, the most pitiful child in the class, finally couldn't hold back and broke through the principal's blockade and ran out. He hoped Teacher Zhong could take him away.

Teacher Zhong refused at first, but when the tractor started and drove far away, looking at Chen Pipi who was still standing at the intersection staring at him blankly, Teacher Zhong shouted, "Stop, stop!"

Then he ran back, picked up Chen Pipi, and took him onto the tractor. The tractor driver smiled and continued to drive forward.

On the fields by the roadside, the wheat was green; spring had come...

The comrades in the editorial department felt that the sensation this novel might cause would be even greater than *The Herdsman*. The affection between teachers and students was too moving, and the clever use of music was even more unique. It felt like Wei Ming should have learned some knowledge about education.

They unanimously decided to publish this novel in the February issue after the Spring Festival, and this issue was also an issue full of strong players, which could be considered a good start for the new year.

"Then does it not need to be modified?" Wei Ming asked.

The answer was no, so Wei Ming could go back now and wait to collect the manuscript fee next month.

This novel was 60,000 words, and another few hundred yuan was credited.

After leaving *People's Literature*, Wei Ming ran to Teacher Gu Jiahui's house again. Her house was in a tube-style apartment building, not far from the Central Song and Dance Troupe where she worked. The one who opened the door for him was her eldest daughter, Gu Ying.

Knowing she had children at home, Wei Ming took out chocolate as soon as they met and soon received a "Brother Xiao Ming."

Because Teacher Gu had been abroad, they had tasted this stuff, but hadn't eaten it for a long time.

Afterward, he greeted Teacher Gu's husband, Xing Bo, and then Wei Ming began to discuss matters related to recording and publishing songs with Teacher Gu.

The editor of *People's Literature* reminded him correctly. If the three songs in the novel, plus "Where Is Spring" and "On the Tian Ye of Hope," could be recorded and published, relying on the melody and thematic significance of these songs, it would not be difficult to spread across the country. At that time, it would also have a positive promoting effect on the novel.

Others only have original soundtracks for films; having this treatment for a novel of his own could be considered a pioneering move in a sense.

Teacher Gu looked at the lyrics of "On the Tian Ye of Hope" that Wei Ming finally completed and praised them endlessly.

"Good, good! I can help with this matter. There are five songs in total; what are your requirements?"

Wei Ming: "Because my novel is related to children's education, I hope to use children to sing as much as possible, and I want to leave "Where Is Spring" for Lele to sing." If Lele wasn't so young, Wei Ming would have wanted to make it her personal album, but she was only four years old, so even if her talent was amazing, she could only sing the simplest "Where Is Spring."

Teacher Gu: "I also think Lele is most suitable for that one. Then I will help you look for singers and recording venues."

Of course, don't even think about making money from recording and publishing songs now; it's good enough if they don't charge you.

Regardless of whether it's a singer or a lyricist/composer, no matter how big a name you are, it's ten yuan per song. No matter how much you earn later, even if it sells millions of copies, it has nothing to do with you.

It was almost dark after leaving the Central Song and Dance Troupe, so Wei Ming hurried back to Peking University.

As a result, halfway through the ride, two cars rushed out of the alley, and Wei Ming found them familiar.

Holy crap! They're back!

The two were like they were rushing to be reincarnated, and behind them, they could hear someone shouting, "Stop! Catch them!"

Wei Ming hurriedly went up and fell down, and the bicycle happened to be across the alley entrance. Because it was icy and snowy now, his fall was very reasonable, and the young public security officer with a police cap could only help him and the bicycle up first.

Wei Ming pulled him and asked angrily: "Comrade, what's wrong? Is it a murderer or a dog spy!"

!

"Oh my, they ran, ran far away!" The public security comrade patted his thigh in frustration.

"Since they have already run far away, just tell me; I'll be able to help catch people next time."

"They are selling audiovisual products and clothes without a license!" The public security comrade said angrily.

"Simply heinous!" Wei Ming also followed angrily.

After sending the person away, a faint voice came from behind Wei Ming: "Brother Ming, here!"

Wei Ming looked back and saw that Mei Wenhua, this guy, wasn't wearing his nearsighted glasses either. It was almost dark, and he was still wearing toad glasses, and his pants weren't proper pants either; they were bell-bottoms that hadn't become popular yet. They were going to lead the fashion trend.

Wei Ming pushed the bicycle over and saw Zhao Debiao behind him digging for things.

Finally, he took them out and handed two pairs of toad glasses to Wei Ming, still with tags hanging on them: "Brother Ming, these are for you, Brother Feng, and Brother Long. You take them back. We'll return to school in two days after we sell the things."

Wei Ming looked at the big bag: "With just that little money, how much stuff did you buy?"

Biaozi laughed foolishly: "Mainly because the clothes take up more space."

Mei Wenhua explained: "We were worried that the sunglasses wouldn't sell, so we bought some of everything—sunglasses, tapes, electronic watches, and these bell-bottoms. The stuff over there is really cheap; after coming back, we sold them for two or three times the price!"

Seeing the eyes of these two people shining, Wei Ming asked: "You've already earned back the capital, right?"

The two nodded in unison: "We've already started making money, and they sell very well; it's just easy to be targeted."

It's not just the public security, but also peers. Now, those with foresight and courage in the capital have already started the road of being a reseller.

Fortunately, Biaozi's martial arts were excellent and he could fight ten people at once, so he wasn't afraid of peers, as long as he hid from the public security and didn't get caught.

He gave a few more instructions to pay attention to safety. After riding out of this alley, Wei Ming looked back at the alley entrance where he could no longer see anyone, thinking that he didn't know if this trip to the south would open the door to a new world for the two of them.

People, it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Once they enjoy the convenience brought by money, they might not be able to stop.

Returning to the South Gate post dormitory, Wei Ming put on his sunglasses before pushing the door open.

"Brother Feng, I'm back!"

When Brother Feng also put on his toad glasses, Wei Ming finally realized that with their current look of wearing tattered cotton-padded jackets and sunglasses, it was truly incongruous.

So he decided to go to the city another day to buy a woolen overcoat, change into a pair of leather shoes, and upgrade his equipment.

However, two days later, Zhao Debiao and Mei Wenhua returned, wearing leather shoes, bell-bottoms, and trench coats, wearing sunglasses and smoking cigarettes, quite like the feeling of *A Better Tomorrow*.

As a result, as soon as they returned, they were stopped by colleagues at the gate post, who thought they were some vagrants.

Mei Wenhua took off his sunglasses and put on his nearsighted glasses, and only then were they recognized by their colleagues.

"Oh my, you two, you've made it!" Everyone gathered around to listen to the two of them bragging.

When they returned to the dormitory, Wei Ming looked at Biaozi and said: "You're already in the room; you can take off your sunglasses."

Biaozi took them off obediently, and then Wei Ming and Qiao Feng both laughed. Why did this kid wear two pairs of sunglasses? After taking off one pair, there were still two black circles.

However, Biaozi was beaten into this panda look, but he was not angry; instead, he "puffed" and covered his face, laughing shyly...

(End of chapter)