[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-168":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rising in 1979",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260876,4412,"Chapter 168: Fan Benefits (Guaranteed Second Update)","rising-in-1979-chapter-168",168,"\u003Cp>After bringing Lele back to Uncle Anping’s place, Aunt Xiaoyan sighed, “Too bad I won’t get to see the official release of The Book of Heaven.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a few days, The Book of Heaven would be officially released nationwide; she had brought back several copies, including one for Wei Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming had promised Cui Cuicui in Yunnan he’d mail her a signed copy after publication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled, “Funny—The Book of Heaven and Beastly Fury are almost launching at the same time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, authors didn’t need to go to bookstores for signings yet; otherwise, he’d be stretched too thin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though no signing tour was needed, he still had to sign copies. After dinner, Aunt Xiaoyan pulled out the few copies of The Book of Heaven and asked Wei Ming to sign them—she planned to give them to friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming not only signed them but also sketched a simple drawing of Dan Sheng on the flyleaf; Aunt Xiaoyan thought it made them even more special.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Anping kept walking to the window to glance downstairs, making sure Wei Ming’s motorcycle was still there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chuckled, “Living in the Overseas Chinese Apartment is better—its compound is enclosed, with guards and patrols, and they’re extremely diligent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Of course—there’s still property management fees.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaoyan asked, “What’s a ‘property management fee’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this era, “property management fee” was an unfamiliar term to the vast majority of urban residents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Anping explained to his wife, “I heard from colleagues it’s basically the cost for cleaning the compound, guards, patrols, and equipment maintenance—all split evenly among households.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How much is that per year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Anping: “Eight yuan per month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa!” Hearing that number, Lu Xiaoyan decided the Overseas Chinese Apartment wasn’t so great—eight yuan could buy seven catties of meat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wei Ming prepared to leave, Aunt Xiaoyan walked him to the door and whispered, “We’re staying with Little Gong—do you need anything brought back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he did have a letter for Sister Xue, he still trusted China Post more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the dorm, Biaozi and Xiao Mei returned too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mei Wenhua sighed, “I was going to treat you to lunch at the Great Wall cafeteria, but you just arrived and left again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You’re treating me? Looks like you made good money this trip,” Wei Ming teased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Biaozi boasted, “We’re barely official ‘thousand-yuan households’ now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? Two thousand-yuan households? My apologies,” Wei Ming laughed. “I’m planning to buy a house soon and still need ten thousand—hope you two can chip in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the two immediately flopped back onto their beds—they shouldn’t have shown off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming was curious: “You seem to have had a smooth trip—your goods sold faster than before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mei Wenhua: “This is our third run—we’ve got to improve.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly—learn by doing!” Biaozi grinned and explained their fast-sales tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening to their back-and-forth, Wei Ming turned to his own mail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Mei rummaged through the drawers and pulled it out: “I hid it for you—who’s this A Min? Are you now flirting with Hong Kong girls?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Biaozi: “I think British women are better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What Hong Kong girl? Just a kid with pigtails—a pen pal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming took the letter. A teenage girl couldn’t compare to Melinda’s mature body, but why hadn’t Melinda replied in so long? Were international letters really this slow?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming opened the letter. The girl had definitely bitten—he rambled on about Hong Kong pop culture, asked about his songs, and wondered what he studied at Peking University.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming chuckled: When did I ever say I was a Peking University student?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately began writing back, including the new song “Slippery Her” and a cassette of “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, after breakfast, Wei Ming prepared to report to the school journal and ran into Master Liu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re taking the driver’s license written test this weekend—how’s your studying going on those two booklets?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t touched them. Wei Ming grinned, “Don’t worry—I’ve memorized them backward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming’s head ached: besides the driver’s test, Uncle Anping had reminded him not to forget the correspondence course exam, and Aunt Xiaoyan still had the second episode of Black Cat Detective to complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know if he’d have time this semester to start writing a new book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One step at a time—he returned to the dorm and picked up the two booklets he’d been issued: Traffic Rules and Mechanical Basics. He mostly studied them during work hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d skimmed them before—Traffic Rules was easy, much simpler than the rules from his past life; but Mechanical Basics needed serious attention—drivers in this era could usually fix their own cars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His colleague Yang Hao, watching him study so hard, asked curiously, “You don’t plan to transfer to the school bus fleet, do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming made up an excuse: “I took a taxi in Guangzhou—those drivers make dozens of yuan a day. If I ever can’t write anymore, I’ll become a taxi driver. Beijing will have taxis soon too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are the girls in Guangzhou really that stylish? What do they wear? Tell me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming pulled out two rolls of film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These are photos I took on Guangzhou’s streets—take a look, Brother Yang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hao: “I’ll develop them for you!” Developing photos was tiring—help was welcome. He’d just treat himself to lunch, heh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later, Master Liu Wenjie drove Wei Ming to the written test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before entering the exam room, Master Liu told Wei Ming, “If you do well, I’ll let you drive a bit on the way back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it, Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only one room, few people—all from various units. If supervision were tighter, even showing up wouldn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exam went smoothly—the questions posed no challenge to Wei Ming. But since there were no computers, results wouldn’t be announced until a few days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving, Wei Ming approached Master Liu’s car: “Lunch—Chinese or Western?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that tone, Master Liu knew the kid had done well—he was probably safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d eaten Western food before—meat was delicious, and he missed it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lao Mo was too expensive, so Master Liu suggested “Little Lao Mo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the famous Lao Mo, Beijing had another Russian restaurant called “Dadi Western Restaurant.” It was named “Dadi” both for Peter the Great and because it was an underground restaurant in a bomb shelter at No. 17 Xisi South Street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he was saving for a house, spending ten yuan on a meal for twenty thousand yuan wasn’t a big deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, another exam was coming—he needed plenty of real driving practice, and he’d need Master Liu’s help again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking he’d soon get behind the wheel, Wei Ming was in high spirits and had an even better appetite—he devoured a steak in three bites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither drank, since both had to drive. Though he didn’t care about the rules anymore, Master Liu was still reliable—he first taught him, “Never drive after drinking, never drink after driving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before returning to school, Master Liu still needed to take Wei Ming to the People’s Literature Publishing House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His pre-ordered two hundred copies of Beastly Fury had arrived; since they were already in the city, he’d pick them up himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Liu enthusiastically helped carry the books and said, “Remember to give me one—let my son read it. He worships a great writer who’s my apprentice!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem—I’ll sign it too,” Wei Ming laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also gave him a copy of the new issue of People’s Literature, featuring his article and photos on the panda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once outside the city, where traffic thinned, Master Liu pulled over and they switched seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Liu asked seriously, “Ready?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming had over twenty years’ driving experience, but he’d never driven an old Red Flag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He adjusted his seat, checked everything: “Ready.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming slowly released the clutch—the car rolled forward, gradually accelerating, but stayed at thirty to forty kilometers per hour. At that speed, no one honked behind him—there were hardly any cars on the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Liu was very satisfied: “Very steady. For your first time, that’s impressive—you didn’t even need me to hold the steering wheel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After driving for over ten minutes, just before reaching Peking University, they switched back—the area had two universities and dense crowds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entering the South Gate, Wei Ming called for help to unload and carry the books back to the dorm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any colleague who wanted one got a free copy—each book cost only fifty fen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t have that many colleagues—these books were mainly for his readers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first gained national fame through “The Duck Knows First” and “The Ideal,” many readers had mailed him cash and grain coupons along with their letters—he’d never forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, he had no money and no time, but he’d kept that debt in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he wanted to give back a small gift to those readers who supported him when he was unknown—whether they sent money or coupons, each would receive a personally signed collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This book collected five of Wei Ming’s stories, his own preface, a foreword by Ba Lao, and printed “The Ideal” on the flyleaf—it made a perfect gift for fans of either fiction or poetry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there were over a hundred such readers—he could write a short note in each book, but he was too lazy to fill out the envelopes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s when he called on Liu Zhenyun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Liu, come to my dorm after class—I’ll treat you to dinner!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it! Can I bring family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring as many family members as you want~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Liu Zhenyun arrived with Guo Jianmei and Liang Zuo, he froze at the sight of so many books and envelopes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mei Wenhua, still filling envelopes, shouted, “What are you standing there for? Get to work!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming was writing notes. Seeing Liang Zuo helping, he called to Biaozi, who was sticking stamps: “Go borrow two chairs from next door.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang Zuo wiped sweat from his forehead, wondering if he’d arrived too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Liu Rulong walked in and shoved Liang Zuo inside, holding up something to Wei Ming: “It’s printed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Requesting monthly votes~)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1695,"2026-06-19T16:30:57.111Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5c50203527b0485a9c1db690d0e1de8978d947157521113d035f654f017c2c58","rising-in-1979-chapter-169","rising-in-1979-chapter-167",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]