Chapter 175

After handing the package to Wei Ming, Mei Wenhua went off to start his patrol shift.

Wei Ming was the only one in the dormitory; he sat on his bed and opened the package.

There were quite a lot of things inside: first, a pile of snacks, including chocolate, char siu pastries, water chestnut cakes, beef jerky, cookies, candies, and even a jar of coffee!

The old man had no idea where she had met such a generous and gluttonous girl; it felt like these were all things she loved to eat herself.

Wei Ming opened a bag of beef jerky and started eating, then noticed a few magazines.

There was "Film Biweekly," which later founded the Hong Kong Film Awards; this magazine was considered the base for promoting New Wave cinema.

There was also "Hong Kong Film Pictorial," which had a longer history and mainly focused on movie stars and film information.

Just as Wei Ming was about to flip through them, a few banknotes fell out from inside the magazine with a rustle.

It was Hong Kong dollars!

Wei Ming's first reaction was: that song sold!

He took out all the banknotes from the magazine and counted them; it was a total of 2,250 Hong Kong dollars!

Not bad! The same price as a 40,000-character Wu Xia novel!

Music is definitely the way to go!

Afterwards, Wei Ming saw a contract, which showed that the song "The Girl Who Slips Away" had been sold for 2,500 Hong Kong dollars to a company called Eternal Records.

It also clearly specified the profit distribution for future record sales.

He had never heard of this Eternal Records; it must be a small company, and he had no idea who would end up singing it.

But that wasn't the point; the point was the signature at the end.

It was signed with his real name, "Wei Ming," and his pen name, "A Ming."

Wei Ming brought the contract closer; what the hell, isn't this my handwriting?!

Because he was a company president, Wei Ming often had to sign documents in his past life, so his signature was the best-written part of his handwriting and was very distinctive.

He hurriedly took out paper and pen to write "Wei Ming" again; only by comparing the two could he see subtle differences, but without a comparison, he wouldn't have even realized someone else was imitating his handwriting.

After looking at the other items in the package, Wei Ming finally opened the letter.

"A Ming, mission accomplished. I've sold the song for a total of 2,500 HKD. I hope you aren't disappointed! I signed the contract for you too. How is it? Does it look like yours?" Mao Mao Amin started with the main point.

Mao Mao Amin, you're quite proud of yourself, aren't you!

Wei Ming chuckled; he didn't expect her to have such a special talent. It was a good thing they were just pen pals; it was better to keep some distance from people like this.

Mao Mao Amin continued: "To prevent you from being cheated, I also helped you join the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong. The membership fee came out of my ten percent cut. I used the rest to buy you some Hong Kong specialties. I don't know if you'll like them. Don't drink too much of that coffee, okay? You won't be able to sleep."

Wei Ming gave a thumbs up; Mao Mao Amin was reliable enough!

Next, Mao Mao Amin explained in detail the features of those snacks and gave her own reviews. She also implicitly expressed which of the snacks Wei Ming sent last time she liked better. The hint was very obvious; she really was a gluttonous girl.

Then Mao Mao Amin went back to talking about the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong.

"Actually, the paperwork isn't finished yet. They need your date of birth, home address, and a one-inch photo without a hat. I used my address for the home address, but you'll need to provide the rest. Remember to send them to me next time."

Wei Ming did have such photos; they were needed for transferring his household registration and joining the writers' association, and he had a few left. However, he was still a bit hesitant to give his photo to a stranger.

Forget it, if she wants it, I'll give it to her.

Now that Mao Mao Amin had moved to a new home and lived in the same residential area as Old Ghost, and they knew each other, maybe she had already seen his photo.

After reminding Wei Ming to send the photo, Zhou Huimin asked if Wei Ming had any other creative plans.

"The singer who is going to sing your song is named Zhang Mingmin. Isn't it a coincidence? You are A Ming, I am Mao Mao Amin, and he is Mingmin."

Wei Ming's eyes widened; this is too much of a coincidence!

It turned out to be this guy. Wei Ming really admired him. What Chinese person wouldn't know how to sing a couple of lines of "The Yangtze and the Great Wall, Mount Huang and the Yellow River, weigh a thousand jun in my heart!"

Zhou Huimin said: "This uncle said that if you have any more works, just give them to him to sing. He's a very good person; he was the one who reminded me to help you join that association."

Zhang Mingmin's character was definitely beyond reproach. Because he sang "My Chinese Heart" on the Spring Festival Gala, he was labeled a "Red Singer" and even banned, forcing him to return to an electronics factory to continue working. Later, he held a nationwide tour to raise funds for the Beijing Asian Games, and in 1990, he donated all 600,000 yuan of the proceeds.

So Wei Ming decided to write a few more songs suitable for Zhang Mingmin, but "My Chinese Heart" was definitely not among them; that song would be more meaningful if created by a full lineup of Hong Kong musicians.

Just as he was thinking about what songs to "write," he heard movement outside the door, so Wei Ming first tucked the Hong Kong dollars into his pocket.

It was Biaozi who had returned. Today, he and Mei Wenhua were not on the same shift; Little Mei was the one who went to relieve him.

Being tall, he spotted the things on Wei Ming's bed at a glance.

"Brother Ming, what are these good things? Did Melinda send them to you?"

"No, it's that pen pal from Hong Kong." Wei Ming had just finished chewing the beef jerky and told Biaozi to pick whatever he wanted to eat.

Biaozi immediately set his sights on the jar of Nestlé instant coffee.

"What is this black stuff? Is it sesame paste?"

Wei Ming chuckled: "This thing is called coffee. Have you heard of it?"

In this day and age, Shanghai already had its first coffee shop open to all citizens, but in Beijing, besides the Friendship Store and some places where foreigners lived, you could hardly see this stuff.

"Seems like I have a vague impression. Is this stuff good to eat?"

"It's not for eating, it's for drinking. After drinking it, a person will be especially energetic," Wei Ming laughed, "Biaozi, how about I make some for you to try?"

Hearing that it would make him especially energetic, Biaozi immediately said: "Okay."

Wei Ming didn't like drinking coffee; he had seen it when he was in the international students' dormitory, but he hadn't drunk it.

He felt that the excitement forcibly induced by special foods must be lost elsewhere; he called it the Law of Conservation of Excitement. From a health perspective, it was better to follow natural laws. Biaozi took out his rice tin, and Wei Ming scooped a spoonful for him.

"Give me a bit more."

"You have to drink it all. This stuff is very expensive. A spoonful like this is at least one yuan," Wei Ming bluffed.

After pouring in boiling water, Wei Ming pushed it to Biaozi: "Let it cool a bit and you can drink it."

Biaozi sniffed it: "Why does it feel a bit bitter?"

Wei Ming: "Coffee is just like this, bitter with a hint of sweetness."

Biaozi shook the rice tin and took a sip, half-believing and half-doubting.

"Oh my, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, what is this? Is it swill? It's even worse than swill, too bitter!"

Wei Ming: "Just now it was two spoonfuls, that's two yuan."

Thinking of the two yuan, Biaozi could only pinch his nose and drink it down, feeling it was even worse than drinking traditional Chinese medicine.

While Biaozi was pausing and smacking his lips, Wei Ming asked: "How is it? Is there any aftertaste?"

!

Biaozi's eyes rolled, and he handed the basin to Wei Ming's mouth: "Brother Ming, you haven't drunk any yet, you try it too, it has a special aftertaste!"

There was about a quarter left, and Wei Ming helplessly took it: "You, wasting good things."

The original flavor was indeed bitter enough. Wei Ming had just taken a sip when he suddenly thought, why should I force myself to eat bitterness?

He climbed onto the bed, took out a milk candy from Mao Mao Amin's snack gift bag, and soaked it in the hot coffee, stirring it.

After the milk candy had completely melted, Wei Ming took another sip. Not bad, not bad, the taste was much softer and sweeter. He didn't stop; there was only a little left, so he drank it all.

Seeing Wei Ming's operation, Biaozi slapped his thigh: "Right, why didn't I think of putting in a piece of candy!"

Wei Ming: "Too late, just drink this little bit. I'm afraid neither of us will be able to sleep tonight."

"Is it that strong? I don't feel anything right now?"

Wei Ming: "This stuff has a strong kick."

Biaozi: "Then I'll read a book. I get sleepy as soon as I read."

He set his sights on Wei Ming's Hong Kong magazines. Although they were in traditional characters, he mainly wanted to look at the female stars.

Wei Ming took two copies of "Hong Kong Film Pictorial" for him to look at.

"Whoa, this woman is so beautiful! She has that seductive vibe!"

Wei Ming took a look, yo, isn't this Old Four Xie's wife, Little Xie's mommy, Di Bola.

This photo was just average sexy; if Biaozi saw her "Hong Kong Emmanuelle," that would be something else.

She married Xie Xian last year, so is Little Xie about to be born?

Wei Ming glanced at the content above; sure enough, it said Di Bola was pregnant, and Xie Xian was about to become a father.

Biaozi continued to look at the handsome men and beautiful women of the Hong Kong film and television circle, while Wei Ming got on the bed and started pondering what songs to write for Zhang Mingmin.

Writing lyrics was relatively easy for him; he wrote four in two hours, but composing the music was a bit difficult. After all, he hadn't systematically studied music composition.

Wei Ming thought about sending Lele to Teacher Gu's place to study later, and he could take some advanced courses himself while he was at it.

By this time, it was late, and he glanced at Biaozi below.

"Are you sleepy?"

Biaozi: "Brother Ming, my kick has kicked in, I don't want to sleep at all!"

Wei Ming: "But you've finished reading all the magazines, what else do you want to see?"

Biaozi's eyes lit up: "I want to see Yanzi!"

"You don't want to. It's fine to let you ride during the day, but in the middle of the night, there are no streetlights on the road. What if something happens to you? What will Yanzi do in the future?"

Wei Ming heard right away that he wanted to borrow the motorcycle to go back to Shichahai; he didn't want to do that kind of thing of entrusting his wife and sacrificing his son.

"Forget it, I can't do anything even if I go," Biaozi sighed: "When will I be able to marry Yanzi!"

Biaozi and Wei Ming were both 19 years old. Big cities weren't as casual as the countryside; he couldn't even think about getting married until he was 22. Right now, Biaozi and Yanzi were stuck at the stage of kissing, and Biaozi had always wanted to go further.

Wei Ming laughed: "If you and Yanzi immigrated to Hong Kong to settle down, you could get married now. Over there, as long as you are 16, you can get married with your parents' consent."

"Ah, really? That's great!" Biaozi was excited for a moment, but after the excitement came helplessness; why would he be able to immigrate to Hong Kong?

"Brother Ming, I remembered something," speaking of Hong Kong, Biaozi suddenly said, "I heard from Yanzi that a Hong Kong director went to the sports school to select actors a couple of days ago, saying they were filming a movie."

Wei Ming narrowed his eyes: "Oh, were they selected?"

Biaozi said enviously: "I heard from Yanzi that Little Li was selected."

(There should be more tonight, please vote for monthly tickets!)

(End of chapter)