Chapter 176: Letters from Young Readers, a Vast Treasure (Guaranteed Second Update)

"Shaolin Temple"!

It can only be "Shaolin Temple"!

Last year, the two major left-wing film companies, Great Wall and Xinlian, formed Zhongyuan Film Company and had already initiated production of part of "Shaolin Temple," but the results were not good, so they brought in Zhang Xinyan to start over.

Zhang Xinyan revised the script, discarded the originally selected actors, searched nationwide at sports schools and martial arts teams for suitable candidates, and ultimately chose the seventeen-year-old Li Lianjie as the male lead.

Wei Ming asked: "Are you jealous of Little Li?"

"Jealous of him? Does he make more money than I do!" Biaozi was proud.

Wei Ming laughed: "What if he becomes famous, gives up his nationality, moves to Hong Kong, even America, and earns millions per film—would you be jealous then?"

Biaozi was stunned: "He has the guts for that? He can earn that much?"

Wei Ming: "He's been performing abroad since childhood, seen the outside world's glitter. You got a bit restless after going to Guangzhou—what about someone who's been to America?"

"Then... then I'm not jealous," Biaozi said, "I have Yanzi!"

Maybe this is what they mean by love makes even water sweet.

Wei Ming remembered something: "'Heroes Born in Youth' should be casting soon—if I want Yanzi to play the female lead, are you okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Yanzi's perfect for the role—you wrote it for her in the first place!" Biaozi didn't think much of it.

Wei Ming added: "But you must understand people change. If Yanzi becomes a star from this film, becomes a national celebrity, she'll keep acting, meet many handsome male actors. You? Just a temporary worker at Peking University, maybe a small trader on top of that."

Biaozi was left speechless, gaping, unable to answer Wei Ming's question.

Wei Ming knew these words would trouble Biaozi, but this was a real possibility—he had to warn him ahead of time.

Even if he didn't choose Huang Jiaoyan, with her looks and talent, she'd still enter the film industry when they filmed "Little Shaolin Boys" and "Northern and Southern Shaolin."

After a long silence, Biaozi finally spoke: "Brother Ming, am I not good enough for Yanzi?"

Wei Ming spoke plainly: "Right now you're barely worthy, but if she becomes a movie star, your social statuses will be vastly different."

Biaozi thought for a moment and pleaded: "Brother Ming, if Yanzi really becomes the female lead in 'Heroes Born in Youth,' can you get me into the crew? Anything—I'll do anything."

Wei Ming: "If you don't care about the pay, I think it won't be hard—the crew needs plenty of stunt performers who can take hits."

"Thank you, Brother Ming." Then Biaozi lay back down and fell silent, as if trying hard to sleep and dream of Yanzi.

Wei Ming had drunk little coffee, but the effect was strong—he couldn't sleep at all.

Bored, he pulled out the recent letters from young readers to read.

When he received these letters, his usual method was to feel their thickness—if thick, the reader had written a lot or included something extra, so he'd read them carefully.

The rest? He'd open them when he had time; if not, he'd just pile them up like now.

Most young readers' letters were poor—full of misspellings and pinyin, some even had parents write them, so the tone was childish but the handwriting was mature.

When he picked up the letter from Hainan, Guangdong, Wei Ming froze—Ma Huateng!

For that internet tycoon, Wei Ming only knew he was from Shenzhen University; details of his childhood were unclear.

He should be about ten or eleven now?

Wei Ming quickly opened the letter—the young reader claimed to be nine years old; the age seemed about right.

The content? A child passionate about science, fond of astronomy—perfect match!

He remembered Pony Ma really did love astronomy; in college, he'd even joined a UFO club.

Wei Ming, who rarely replied to young readers, now felt the urge to write back.

Maybe when little Ma starts his business, he won't seek funding from Li Zeke—he'll come to me!

Wei Ming suddenly realized: as a children's book author, his greatest advantage wasn't just that readers would keep buying his works for their own children—it was that when these children grew into pillars of society, their deepest childhood memory would be his books. That goodwill was his greatest treasure.

Thinking of this, Wei Ming carefully examined the young readers' letters. Childhood mattered so much—he'd been careless before.

So Wei Ming took out a pile of blank envelopes and sheets of paper, planning to reply to letters with substance, answering the children's questions, hoping to play a positive role in their growth.

But most letters were just urging him to update—no technical depth, not even a single photo of a girl.

As he flipped through more, he found a letter from a Beijing child named Pan Ying, who lived in Dazhalan—he loved drawing and had sent Wei Ming his own sketches of Dan Sheng and the Black Cat Detective. Wei Ming set Pan Ying's letter aside with Ma Huateng's—he'd reply to both later.

He picked ten letters and began writing replies, even pulling out some pocket change to send to children who'd expressed despair over poverty in their letters.

Around the eighth letter, Mei Wenhua tiptoed in after work.

He saw Wei Ming writing on the bed and heard Biaozi's voice: "Little Mei's back?"

Wei Ming and Mei Wenhua both said: "You're still awake?"

Biaozi wasn't tired at all—he'd been thinking about Yanzi, wondering how he could ever be worthy of a star like her.

Biaozi sat up: "Let me put it this way—I'm wide awake. I even feel like going back to work."

Mei Wenhua teased: "What, Yanzi dumped you?"

Wei Ming coughed twice, signaling Mei Wenhua to watch his tongue. Mei Wenhua doubled down: "I didn't guess right, did I?"

Biaozi clenched his fists: "Little Mei, I can't sleep—let's wrestle."

"Brother Biao, I'm sorry! Can I find you another girlfriend? Please!"

In the end, Wei Ming made Mei Wenhua a cup of coffee: "This was sent by a friend in Hong Kong—drink it, and don't blame Biaozi."

Mei Wenhua rubbed his shoulder: "He didn't even get dumped—why's he so mad? Crazy!"

Then he beamed at Wei Ming: "Coffee! I heard about it from my exchange student friends—it's a luxury! Only Brother Ming's a good guy in our dorm."

Biaozi's anger faded; seeing Mei Wenhua drink coffee, he even felt a bit pleased.

"How'd you end up insulting yourself?" Biaozi asked Mei Wenhua.

Mei Wenhua: "I don't want to be a good guy—good guys don't make money. I want to be rich... Ah! This is so bitter!"

Mei Wenhua drank the coffee while boasting loudly.

Biaozi immediately said: "That's how coffee is—you country bumpkin."

!

To prove he wasn't a country bumpkin, Mei Wenhua downed it in one gulp and wiped his mouth: "At first it was bitter, but now I taste a little sweetness."

Wei Ming and Biaozi exchanged smiles and laughed—now they could all stay up late together!

The next day, Wei Ming and Biaozi dragged themselves to work, exhausted; Mei Wenhua finally slept—he could sleep until afternoon, he worked the night shift.

Wei Ming placed the replies to young readers at Nandamen, to be picked up by the mail carrier later.

Today he had to work, and after his shift, he'd take Lele to Gu Teacher's for lessons, and also show Gu Teacher his new song.

Gu Teacher asked: "Did you sell that last song?"

Wei Ming nodded: "Yeah."

Gu Teacher advised: "That's good, but watch your health—don't overwork yourself."

Wei Ming's dark circles were too obvious.

Wei Ming sighed: Next time I drink coffee, I'll be a dog!

In the following days, Wei Ming's condition improved greatly; his song scores became more refined. Gu Teacher was again astonished by Wei Ming's creative power—he'd be a regular on Billboard if he were in America.

If this kid could study at Berkeley, his future would be limitless!

He knew his own limits—no matter how much Gu Teacher praised him, he stayed humble. He'd just loved listening to songs in his past life.

That day, after dropping Lele off at Ping'an's house, he happened to catch Ping'an on the phone with Xiao Yan.

Ping'an didn't avoid Wei Ming, so Wei Ming learned Xiao Yan, Xi, and Gong Ying were returning to Shanghai for official filming.

"Oh, Xiao Ming and Lele are back," Ping'an told his wife.

Lu Xiaoyan immediately said: "Ask Xiao Ming—if Xiao Xue is here, should she talk to him?"

Wei Ming took the receiver without hesitation: "Sure, let's chat."

There was a pause on the other end before Gong Ying's pleasant voice came through.

"Hello."

Wei Ming: "Where are you calling from?"

Gong Ying: "Outside the train station—we leave in an hour."

"Sleeper berth?"

"Yeah, sleeper."

"Good. But the trip from Yinchuan to Shanghai is brutal—you're young and strong, so take care of Aunt Xiao Yan and Xi."

Gong Ying laughed and groaned—calling herself "young and strong" felt strange.

"I know—we'll look out for each other," Gong Ying whispered.

Wei Ming added: "If I have time, I'll come watch you film."

Gong Ying told him: "We don't know how long we'll shoot in Shanghai—we'll have to return to the northwest."

"Alright, then call me before you come—don't make me waste a trip."

With Ping'an and Lele beside Wei Ming, and two pairs of curious eyes watching Gong Ying on her end, they exchanged only brief updates before hanging up.

After dinner at Ping'an's, Wei Ming returned to the dorm to find Liu Rulong lying on Feng Ge's bed.

This kid finally came back!

(End of Chapter)