Chapter 183: A Min

The letter was from Grandpa, along with a remittance slip—the sender's name was a stranger woman, but the amount was huge: a full 8, 00 Hong Kong dollars!

Wei Ming knew this meant all four songs had been sold; the unknown name was likely A Min's mother.

Wei Ming sent letters to Grandpa and A Min around the same time; Grandpa's letter arrived, the remittance came in, so A Min's letter and package should be coming soon too.

The Nth day of missing A Min.

He secretly opened Lao Gui's letter, which revealed to Wei Ming some long-hidden secrets of the Party-state.

Two words: "Thrilling!"

I really wish I could sit face-to-face with the old man and talk for hours!

Grandpa's letter was highly classified; after reading it, Wei Ming destroyed it immediately. It was a pity—if he had his own place, he wouldn't need to be so careful.

Afterward, Wei Ming went to the Bank of China again and exchanged the 8, 00 Hong Kong dollar remittance slip for foreign exchange coupons, securing the cash.

His stash of foreign exchange coupons instantly surged to 3, 00!

Bank staff were always haughty, especially in this era—but when they saw how many foreign exchange coupons Wei Ming had exchanged, the beautiful female clerk gave him a genuinely warm smile.

After all, this meant Wei Ming could afford most goods in the Friendship Store.

And as soon as he stepped outside, someone asked if he had foreign exchange coupons—they were willing to pay top price.

Wei Ming shook his head, got on his motorcycle, and rode off; with this vehicle's speed, even if someone had ill intentions, they couldn't catch up.

The next day, while jogging, Wei Ming finally bought the April issue of "People's Literature," which he'd only have time to read once he started work at the school journal office.

This round selected the best short stories of 1979 nationwide—the second such selection, led by Ba Lao.

Rumor had it they'd soon select mid-length stories too—that was Wei Ming's comfort zone.

About a dozen short stories made the list; the top was Jiang Zilong's "The Factory Director Takes Office," second was Chen Shixu's "The General of the Small Town," and Wei Ming's "Ducks Know the Spring River's Warmth" ranked third—Mr. Wu Zuxiang said the ranking had order.

Wei Ming felt ranking third was already everyone being kind to a young man like him.

After all, later names included Wang Meng's "A Mother's Heart," Zhang Jie's "Who Lives Better," Chen Zhongshi's "Trust," Gao Xiaosheng's "Li Shunda Builds a House," Liu Xinwu's "I Love Every Green Leaf," Feng Jicai's "The Carved Tobacco Pipe"—all his seniors.

Also included was Xi Jiang's "Old Man Numan and His Dog Bales," whom Wei Ming had just met at the Literature Workshop.

There'd be a recognition ceremony later, with certificates awarded—this was Wei Ming's first mainstream award.

But it happened to fall on May Day, so he could only have the "People's Literature" editor collect it for him; visiting the film set and flying were more important.

When he got back to Nanmen after work, Liu Zhenyun returned his shoes—he'd washed and dried them thoroughly before returning them; luckily, Wei Ming had been too lazy to wash his own, saving him trouble.

As they chatted, Mei Wenhua returned and told Wei Ming: "Your pen pal's package arrived—I left it in the dorm."

Liu Zhenyun was surprised: "You have a pen pal?"

Wei Ming: "Is that strange?"

Liu Zhenyun asked: "Does he know you're Wei Ming?"

"Of course—he knows. But I'm not famous over there."

"Could it be English pen pals?" Liu Zhenyun guessed.

"Wrong—it's Traditional Chinese pen pals."

Mei Wenhua suddenly felt mischievous and said to Liu Zhenyun: "Lao Liu, Ming Ge's pen pal sent some coffee—want to taste it?"

"Coffee? Like c-o-f-f-e-e?!" Clearly, he was tempted.

Since Wei Ming didn't like the stuff, he'd left it on the dorm table for anyone to drink—naturally, no one touched it.

Mei Wenhua and Zhao Debiao had used it for pranks before; Feng Ge had once fallen for it—tasted awful and kept him awake all night; luckily, Mu Rong's belly was already four months along, so she could keep him company with nighttime exercises.

Liu Zhenyun was cautious and hard to trick; when he faced off against Mei Wenhua, Wei Ming took the package to bed, opened it, and found even more inside.

Plenty of snacks again—more than last time.

Also included was a poster for Cheng Long's "My Younger Brother Takes the Stage."

The film premiered in February this year, broke Hong Kong's box office record, became the first to surpass 10 million Hong Kong dollars, and was a massive hit in Japan, cementing Cheng Long's status as an Asian superstar.

Wei Ming had mentioned Cheng Long's name in his letter—never expected A Min would get him a poster.

Since this girl was so thoughtful, should he mention Zhong Chuhong and Zhao Ya in his next letter?

Also tucked inside were magazines and contracts with "private goods"—Wei Ming left them untouched for now.

At this moment, Mei Wenhua had already poured the bitter coffee into Liu Zhenyun's mouth.

Liu Zhenyun had grown up poor, so he didn't mind much; he said calmly to Mei Wenhua: "You were so eager to make me drink it—I thought it'd be awful."

Mei Wenhua: "It's not just the taste—it's that you can't sleep after drinking it."

Liu Zhenyun doubted it: "Some people can't sleep after tea, but I never have trouble—I doubt this will affect me."

Wei Ming: "It varies by person, and the effect weakens with overuse."

After Liu Zhenyun left and Xiao Mei went to the bathroom, Wei Ming took out the 2, 00 Hong Kong dollars from the magazines—clearly, all four songs had sold.

But that's already 10, 00 Hong Kong dollars—didn't A Min take a cut?

At that moment, Biaozi returned and saw the Cheng Long poster.

"Who's this guy? Looks like he can fight."

"A Hong Kong kung fu star—Cheng Long. Short stature, probably no match for you." Biaozi studied Cheng Long's frame: "Hmm, maybe on par with Little Li."

From a practical standpoint, he always looked down on people like Little Li.

Seeing Biaozi pull out his old dumbbells again, Wei Ming said in surprise: "Biao, next month's track meet's coming—no fighting, no need to train so hard."

"I must train hard—I'm going for first place in every event, to make Yanzi happy," Biaozi said seriously.

Wei Ming shook his head with a smile, then opened A Min's letter—this one was illustrated.

It opened with a cartoon figure bending over in gratitude, thanking Wei Ming for letting her earn 1, 00 yuan.

She didn't refuse the money—it truly eased her mother's burden and freed her from worrying about expensive postage.

Then A Min described her experience selling the songs.

"'Liu Liu De Ta' became popular in Hong Kong—many radio stations played it; even my classmates who never listened to Mandarin songs started singing it."

"My mom was going to come with me to the record company, but Uncle Zhang Mingmin showed up himself—because the last song did so well, Mom helped negotiate the price, and we got an extra 1, 00 yuan. That thousand is our labor fee—thanks, Boss Ming! The signature's still done by me."

Wei Ming glanced at the contract—the handwriting was becoming increasingly similar.

!

"Two thousand yuan is tucked in the magazines; the other eight thousand was wired—sender: my mother."

Wei Ming: Of course.

Then A Min praised Wei Ming's writing.

"Your lyrics are so good—your novels must be amazing too. Could I read one of your works next time?"

That was no problem—sending her "Beasts of the Wild" was easy.

But could a girl raised in Hong Kong understand stories like "The Herdsman" or "The Spring of the Sheepfold," set in such specific contexts?

And besides—this was Simplified Chinese—could she even read it?

Then A Min began listing her gifts, including one Wei Ming hadn't noticed: cosmetics.

"This set of Maybelline Skin Cleansing Milk isn't expensive, but it works well—if you had a girlfriend, giving it to her would be a big plus."

The girl was testing the waters—and she'd spent real money to do it.

Wei Ming flipped through the snacks—sure enough, there was a full set of cosmetics.

What made her think he had a girlfriend? The two love songs?

But the girl reminded him—the northwest was sandy and dusty; this cleanser would suit Xue Jie perfectly.

And Yunnan's sun was brutal—Lin Jie's skin would darken several shades when she returned; he'd have to ask A Min to bring him some whitening skincare next time.

Sigh—I'm such a good younger brother! A Min is such a great shopping agent!

Tomorrow Wei Ming and Ping'an Shu were leaving for the northwest, so tonight Wei Ming began writing his reply; a few copies of "Beasts of the Wild" remained in the dorm—he'd send one to A Min.

Although he'd sent her his complete collection, Wei Ming guessed she wouldn't like it, so he asked what books A Min and her classmates usually read, and what sold well in Hong Kong.

"Also, your skincare arrived just in time—I'm heading to China's frontier regions soon, where the sandstorms are fierce and the sun brutal. I don't have a girlfriend, but I'll use it myself."

Not knowing the price of cosmetics, he slipped 200 Hong Kong dollars into his reply, asking her to buy him whitening skincare.

"Biaozi, Xiao Mei," Wei Ming said before bed, "Tomorrow my uncle and I are leaving Beijing—who wants to drive?"

Both replied indifferently: "Please, we're going to Shenzhen to restock too."

The next day.

Liu Zhenyun pulled Mei Biao's hand: "Is there cheap coffee in Shenzhen? Can you get us some?"

Behind him stood several of their dorm mates, all looking hopeful.

Last night, Liu Zhenyun barely slept—he read under the corridor light until nearly dawn, shocking his roommates.

They all thought coffee was amazing—it could cut sleep time and give them more hours for studying.

Mei Wenhua and Biaozi exchanged glances—they saw a business opportunity!

"What business? China doesn't grow coffee—beans are imported, meaning you need foreign exchange to buy them—you can't afford it. Just drink tea," Wei Ming crushed Liu Zhenyun's coffee-fueled study dreams.

When you're a laborer later, you'll have plenty of chances to drink coffee—why rush now?

But university students today were truly hardworking—they had that "ten thousand years are too long, seize the day" drive.

Soon after, Ping'an Shu arrived with Lele; the six of them boarded the bus to the train station.

At the station, Wei Ming and the others boarded first—hard sleeper; Biaozi and the rest remained in hard seats.

Mei Wenhua: "But when we return, we're splurging—we'll buy hard sleeper tickets!"

Wei Ming: "Oh, we'll fly back."

Xiao Mei and Biaozi: "…"

After settling on the train, Ping'an Shu told Wei Ming: "I've got something to tell you—yesterday the school leadership held a meeting; I won't be working in the General Affairs Department anymore."

…

(End of chapter)