Chapter 233

"Mom?"

"Mom???"

Hearing Mei Wenhua's address, the scene was filled with "moms." Little Mei looked at the other sales clerks: "You guys stop joining in the fun; Yunyun can call her that."

Xu Yunyun blushed deeply. Who called her Mom? I was just surprised.

What was even more surprising was that Mother Mei changed her expression instantly, shedding the face of a difficult customer and affectionately taking Xu Yunyun's hand.

"Yunyun, don't blame your auntie. I was just worried about my son's taste in people. He used to know some unreliable people. I didn't expect him to have such a sharp eye this time, finding a good-tempered girl like you."

Mother Mei was also quite skilled in the art of language. She clearly felt her son had been deceived by some country girl with ulterior motives and had come specifically to verify it. Yet, put this way, Yunyun felt warm inside, thinking her auntie was praising her.

It was just that Mei Wenhua was a bit unhappy. His mom was clearly doubting Yunyun. She could doubt him, but she couldn't doubt Yunyun!

However, Mother Mei added: "Yunyun, do you remember which piece of clothing I picked out first?"

Yunyun nodded.

"Please bring it to me."

Yunyun said: "Auntie, didn't you dislike that piece?" And it wasn't suitable either; that clothing was better suited for a young girl.

Mother Mei smiled: "It's fine, I have a use for it."

Since she was so insistent, Yunyun brought it over, then she handed it to Mei Wenhua, taking out money to settle the bill with her son.

Because it was a partnership business, Mei Wenhua didn't say anything about not taking the money, just giving his mother a discount.

After the transaction was complete, Mother Mei placed the clothing into Yunyun's hands.

"This is our first time meeting, and Auntie didn't bring any gift. Let this serve as Auntie's gift."

"Ah, Auntie, I can't take this, it's too expensive!" Yunyun knew the price of this piece; it was almost equal to her base salary.

"If you don't accept it, that means you're still angry with Auntie," Mother Mei goaded, "Take it, take it."

Even Mei Wenhua urged Yunyun to accept it, and only then did she relent.

Mother Mei smiled with satisfaction: "Then let's find a time for Wenhua's dad and your grandma to meet?"

It seemed she was also very satisfied with this prospective daughter-in-law. Although they had only met once, she was clearly a good-tempered girl. Her most important requirement for a daughter-in-law was a good personality; she had had enough of the "young lady" temperament of her eldest daughter-in-law.

Mei Wenhua held back his enthusiastic mother: "Mom, let's have a meal together after Yunyun's cousin returns to the capital. How about that?"

Finally sending his mother off, Mei Wenhua sighed: "Time to eat!"

In the afternoon, Mei Wenhua personally sent Yunyun home, comforting her again on the way not to mind his mother's actions today: "My mom is actually quite easy to get along with."

"I also think Auntie is quite nice, and she even gave me such expensive clothing." Yunyun was simple-minded and naturally thought everyone was good. Then Mei Wenhua told her a bit about his family situation.

He grew up in a military compound, but no one in his family had ever been on the battlefield. His father worked in logistics, his mother was in the cultural troupe, his eldest brother worked in an ordnance research institute, and his eldest sister-in-law was a military doctor.

Because he was the only one in his family who didn't join the military, his father looked down on him quite a bit and preferred his eldest son, but his mother loved him, the youngest son, the most.

Therefore, Mother Mei was very worried that he would find a strong-willed wife like the eldest brother. After all, there were two "Chuan-Yu female tyrannosaurs" in Mother Mei's cultural troupe, which made her naturally wary of girls from Chuan-Yu. She didn't expect that upon meeting today, she had actually misunderstood Chuan-Yu.

"Then can I tell Grandma and Auntie about these things?" Yunyun asked.

"Of course you have to tell them. You must also tell Brother Ming when he returns, so he can be mentally prepared for the meeting of the parents." Mei Wenhua didn't want Yunyun to lose momentum and be manipulated by his eldest sister-in-law; he definitely needed his brother-in-law to hold the fort here.

At this time, Wei Ming was living the life of an ascetic in Qimeng Mountain, following the film crew for two days of shooting, and Lao Lao Lao Wei had also appeared with his ox.

The three oxen were for safety to avoid accidents, but because of Lao Lao Lao Wei, an excellent ox trainer, basically the same ox had been filming the whole time, and the backup oxen hadn't even been used.

Zhang Yimou couldn't be a cinematographer yet and could only assist, but he often offered good suggestions, and the cinematographer often consulted him. Some things were innate; Zhang Yimou was already beginning to show his talent in cinematographic aesthetics.

Although he hadn't seen the complete version of the clips, Wei Ming was very confident in the overall quality of the film.

Wu Tianming saw it all and felt that this fellow villager, Little Zhang, was indeed excellent. When he graduated, he must find a way to get him to the Xi'an Er Yingchang.

And Zhang Yimou also thought highly of the male lead, Li Baotian, feeling that this brother was very dedicated to filming, the type for whom the play was more important than heaven, and perhaps they could collaborate in the future.

Old Mouzi and Li Baotian could also be considered a golden duo, having collaborated on three films; they could be called the male version of Gong Li.

In the evening, everyone gathered to light a bonfire to see Wei Ming off; he was leaving tomorrow.

Tonight, Wei Ming stuffed another wad of money into his father's hand, telling him to take care of himself while away from home.

"No need, no need, the film crew gives me wages."

"Don't be polite with me. If you're craving something, go to a villager's house and buy a chicken," Wei Ming said, "The business I'm running with Little Mei now makes money very quickly."

Wei Ming had previously told Lao Lao Lao Wei about Oriental Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi, including the fact that he had bought another courtyard house.

Unexpectedly, Lao Lao Lao Wei became serious: "Ming, having money is certainly good, but don't forget you are a writer, an engineer of the human soul!"

Wei Ming: Isn't an engineer of the human soul a teacher?

Lao Lao Lao Wei: "So you must never let money and these worldly possessions disturb your original intent; you must persist in your creation!"

It was rare for his dad to be so serious, so Wei Ming also said seriously: "Don't worry, I've already started writing that long novel, and it's already thirty or forty thousand words long."

Because the preparation work was sufficiently thorough, the speed of writing was indeed very fast.

If it were a novella, this number would be enough to publish directly, but the storyline of this novel was very long, and thirty or forty thousand words was just the beginning. The male lead, Jiang Limin, had just entered Whampoa to study and had recognized some outstanding representatives of the two parties, but he didn't yet know what kind of path he would take in the future.

On the contrary, his eldest brother, Jiang Lizhong, was already thriving in the upper echelons, initially showing extremely high personal charisma.

Hearing him say this, Lao Lao Lao Wei was relieved. In this day and age, having money meant you could only hide it like a thief, but having fame meant you could travel the world and be respected by everyone.

The local leaders thought so highly of him, and at meals, the fish head was pointed at him; wasn't it because he was the father of the famous Wei Ming?

Afterward, Lao Lao Lao Wei also asked to see the beginning of the novel from the manuscript Wei Ming carried with him.

Although his educational level wasn't high, and he wasn't a reading enthusiast like Qi Kexiu, after finishing it, he had an urgent impulse to know the subsequent plot, and he tossed and turned while thinking about it when sleeping at night.

Just from this beginning, he knew how grand and tortuous the story behind it was. Worthy of being my son! The grandson of my father!

The next day, Wei Ming embarked on his return journey. After going back, he could start buying plane tickets and planning to go to Chuan-Yu. He felt uncomfortable sitting for such a short distance from Yanjing to Shandong; how could he stand going as far as Chengdu?

After returning to the capital, Wei Ming first went to the courtyard house in Beichizi nearby.

After entering, he felt something was a bit different. Looking closely, that empty plot of land seemed to have been planted with something, and it should have been watered before. Needless to say, it was definitely his mother's handiwork.

Afterward, he entered the study and found Sister Xue's letter on the table, learning that she had already returned to the Magic City, and couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy.

They had finally gotten closer, and she had run far away again. So Wei Ming put Sister Xue's watch into the drawer; it wouldn't be needed recently.

There was also an electric fan here, so Wei Ming just slept here, and only returned to the Overseas Chinese Apartment at dinner time.

"Mom, I'm back!"

As soon as Wei Ming entered the room, he saw the television on at home, and four women sitting together, wrapping dumplings while watching TV. It was pork and scallion filling; they must have guessed he was coming back today and specifically prepared to welcome him.

Wei Ming sighed: "I didn't eat anything good in the film crew, just pancakes with scallions and roasted sweet potatoes every day. I can finally satisfy my cravings after coming home. This filling is seasoned too deliciously."

Xu Shufen smiled: "Is it delicious? Then how about I supply meals to Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi? I'll cook for you usually, and I can just cook for them while I'm at it."

"Hmm?"

Wei Ming was stunned. His mom had taken a liking to this job? She didn't plan to go back to her hometown?

Then Wei Hong chattered away about how Mei Wenhua was looking for a restaurant to contract the meals for their staff, but because they were all public restaurants, they weren't very easy to talk to.

To be honest, there was only one individual restaurant in all of Yanjing, the Yuebin Restaurant, but the price wasn't cheap either.

Wei Ming was naturally happy that his mom wasn't going back to her hometown. The living conditions in the city were much better than in the countryside, and it wasn't like he couldn't afford to support her.

However, his mom clearly wanted to support herself and didn't want to waste her time. But cooking required a venue. If his mom cooked at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, where would he and Sister Lin go on dates?

If she cooked at the courtyard house, where would he and Sister Xue go to be intimate after she returned to the capital?

Wei Ming's brain spun rapidly, and he already had a solution. He agreed first, but with conditions.

"This matter has to wait until Dad comes back, and you two do it together. Otherwise, it's too hard for you alone. Making money is fine, but it's not worth it to damage your health for money."

Xu Shufen also agreed. She really couldn't attend to it for the time being. She had to send her mother back to her hometown anyway, and she would talk about it after she had time. Moreover, if Jiefang wasn't willing to stay in the capital, she would definitely have to go back to Gouzitun with him.

Before Wei Ming's grandmother returned to her hometown, she had to meet the future in-laws. During the meal, they brought up this matter, and Yunyun also shyly conveyed Mei Wenhua's meaning.

Wei Ming: "Then let's make it this weekend. I'll have Yunyun ask his parents if they have time later."

After the meal, watching his son enter the study, Xu Shufen hesitated to speak. She ultimately didn't say anything about Gong Xue and Zhu Lin.

No matter how much of a scumbag her son was, he was still born by her. As a mother, she couldn't bear to say anything to him, but she was worried that he would mess up and not be able to clean up the mess. This was also an important reason why she wanted to stay in the capital.

Having slept enough in the afternoon, Wei Ming focused on writing his novel in the evening. The next day, all four women in the house went out, and Wei Ming continued to write furiously. It was fast to write with an outline.

Writing until the afternoon, feeling his hand a bit sore, Wei Ming finally stopped. It was time to relax.

At this time, Little Hong came back with her mother and grandmother. Xu Shufen was going to cook.

Wei Hong leaned over to Wei Ming: "Brother, now Yunyun has a bicycle to ride. Didn't you say you'd give me a bicycle if I got into university?"

Wei Ming thought for a moment: "Okay, come with me. Mom, let's go get the bicycle back."

He took his sister to Peking University, deciding to let her inherit his meritorious "Big Forever."

Usually, Wei Ming only rode a bicycle on campus, but he hadn't been to school for a long time, and it was neglected in maintenance. Plus, there had been frequent rain recently. When he found this bike, the bike's appearance wasn't good-looking. Not to mention it was old and broken, the frame was also full of mud spots.

Seeing Little Hong's disappointed expression with her mouth slightly open, Wei Ming said calmly: "It's just a little wind and frost, it can still be used after wiping." Little Hong stammered: "Won't it be a bit too big? I'm afraid I can't handle such a big bike."

She felt that Brother Wenhua's Little Flying Pigeon was very suitable for girls to ride.

"That's a problem," Wei Ming pinched his chin. Little Hong was only 14 years old after all, and hadn't fully grown yet. "Forget it, I'll buy you another one later."

Wei Ming, who had just received a dividend of five thousand yuan, didn't care about this little bit.

Little Hong breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began to flatter him, saying "Good brother, wonderful brother."

Wei Ming pulled her and said: "Come with me to Yannan Garden."

"What for?"

"To hire a cat."

Wei Ming took his sister to visit Mr. Feng Youlan and saw the pregnant Meier, who was already very visibly pregnant; she would probably give birth this month.

Little Hong thought this long-haired white cat was so beautiful, much better looking than those skinny cats in the village. If it weren't for the fear of the cat owner's great name, she would have directly started petting it.

!

Wei Ming didn't have so many concerns, and he had specifically brought some small shrimp. When feeding Meier, he gently touched the cat's head.

Old Feng was also an old acquaintance of Wei Ming, and he knew that Wei Shenme was Wei Ming, the author of "Black Cat Detective," so he was clearly a cat lover.

Ever since the "China Youth Daily" reported the love story of Wei Shenme and Mei Linda, the fact that Wei Ming and Wei Shenme were the same person was almost no secret in the eyes of Peking University students.

"I'm relieved to hand the kitten over to you, little friend. But cats are animals that don't like to be restrained. They might be naughty, they might pee and poop everywhere. You'll have to be more understanding of it when it gets to your house."

Wei Ming smiled: "I specifically bought a courtyard house to raise this cat, so I'm not afraid of any of that."

Feng Youlan: "..."

Seeing the old man's expression of philosophical breakdown, Wei Ming hurriedly waved his hand: "Just a joke. Because I bought a courtyard house, I dared to come to you, old sir, wanting to raise a cat."

If he lived in an apartment building, he definitely wouldn't consider raising a cat.

Feng Youlan let out a breath. That's right, what he just said was too illogical.

Who would specifically buy a house for a cat? It would be more believable if it were for storing letters or hiding a mistress.

On the way home, Wei Ming also ran into Uncle Ping'an and Vice Principal Wang walking together talking about things, both of them looking very excited.

Knowing they must have serious business to talk about, Wei Ming didn't disturb them, greeted them, and left. At the same time, he also gave Little Hong, the prospective Peking University freshman, a popular science lesson about Vice Principal Wang.

From Peking University back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, Yunyun had also arrived home, just in time to have dinner together.

Yunyun also told the big boss, Wei Ming, about the situation in the store.

"Brother Wenhua decided today to make those three temporary workers permanent, otherwise it's really too busy to handle. And he also asked the street leaders, and they all support it."

Eight people, it was already about to hit the red line. Wei Ming said: "Then Little Hong shouldn't go anymore, unless you really can't handle it and need her to go help."

Because of the recent massive media coverage, Oriental Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi was now as lively every day as it was on weekends. By the weekend, there might be a stampede accident, and they might need to put some clothing at the store entrance to sell.

"So Brother Wenhua and I can't get away on the weekend. He said, is next Monday okay for the meeting?" Yunyun brought up her matter again.

Wei Ming naturally had no problem, as long as Little Mei's family had time.

After dinner, Wei Ming called Uncle Ping'an and only then learned that the country had received a 1.5 billion US dollar World Bank loan, which was confirmed yesterday. From this money, 20 million US dollars were taken out for Tsinghua and Peking University respectively.

This was the status of the top 2. And Uncle Ping'an also bit off a large chunk from this huge sum to support Teacher Wang Xuan's research. Chinese character laser phototypesetting technology was expected to be commercially popularized as soon as possible.

Wei Ming was sincerely happy for Uncle Ping'an. Sure enough, such high-investment things still had to rely on the country. The little bit of foreign exchange royalties he earned wasn't worth mentioning at all.

At night, when it was quiet, Wei Ming was in excellent condition and wrote for another three hours. In three hours, he wrote nearly five thousand words. Added to the amount from the day, he was almost writing ten thousand words a day!

The next day, Wei Ming continued to write in the morning. In the afternoon, seeing that he was free, Little Hong begged him to go buy a bike.

Because Wei Ming didn't have a bicycle ticket, he planned to buy a second-hand bike. Little Hong didn't care about this. Any second-hand bike would definitely be better than her brother's Forever, right?

A bicycle, no matter how broken or rotten, would only be to that extent, right?

The Trust Store at Beixinqiao specialized in second-hand bicycles, with more than twenty of them, new and old. Wei Ming, who wasn't short of money, directly chose the best Phoenix brand one and let Little Hong try it.

Asking her how it was, she just kept giggling, so Wei Ming directly paid the bill, spending more than 140 yuan. A new bike would be about this price, but if you don't need a ticket, what more could you ask for?

"Now that you have a bike, let's buy a watch. The three-piece set for college students is about enough." After removing the sewing machine from the "three turns and one sound," Wei Ming summarized it as the essential three-piece set for new-era college students.

Of course, ordinary students just have a bike and a watch. A recorder has stronger entertainment attributes, unless it's a foreign language major.

"Ah, no need, brother, it's too wasteful." Little Hong was a bit embarrassed. Spending so much money in one day was too sinful. At least wait a few days before spending again.

"Some money can't be saved." He now had a bit of a mentality of raising a daughter richly. In his previous life, Little Hong was captured by the small favors of city boys just after entering university. These were all lessons. "And it's second-hand, cheaper than a bicycle."

After finishing the procedures for the bicycle, Wei Ming originally wanted to go to the Trust Store at Qianmen. He had visited it before and there were many second-hand watches of good quality. However, on the way, they ran into a small scalper selling electronic watches.

Looking at the flashy electronic watches in various colors, Little Hong was a bit tempted and stopped to ask for the price.

"Twenty yuan." The scalper handed over an electronic watch with a pink strap.

Wei Ming watched coldly. Little Mei and Biaozi had scalped this stuff before. The price they paid for stocking up in Shenzhen was less than five yuan.

Little Hong looked at Wei Ming: "Brother, why don't we just buy this one? It's cheaper."

"Right, not only cheap, but you don't need to wind it. When the battery runs out, just change it." The small scalper pushed hard.

Wei Ming picked it up and took a look: "Ten yuan. If you sell it, I'll take one."

Little Hong looked at her brother in surprise. This bargaining was too ruthless, cutting it in half.

Wei Ming felt he was still very kind, leaving enough profit for the other party.

However, the small scalper was very unhappy after hearing this, looking at him sideways: "Damn, if you're not buying, don't delay my business, okay? Ten yuan. You can ask around the whole city; where can you find this price!"

Wei Ming: "This is produced by the Hong Kong Mingde Factory, right? The cost is two or three yuan. You have the nerve to sell it for twenty yuan. Does this count as speculation?"

Upon hearing this term, and glancing at those suspected plainclothes people on the road, the small scalper was clearly intimidated, waved his hand, and sold it to Little Hong for ten yuan.

Now Little Hong had both a bike and a watch, riding happily in front, while Wei Ming followed slowly.

"Brother, I will definitely earn a lot of money to repay you in the future."

"Why say this between brother and sister."

"Brother, you're so good!"

However, halfway through the road, the good brother let Little Hong go home by herself.

"I still have something to do, so I won't eat at home today."

He had been back for two days, and he missed Sister Lin.

Now Zhu Lin had already asked for leave and left her unit. It wasn't so convenient for Wei Ming to find her anymore. After thinking about it, he turned around and went to the Beijing Er Yingchang to block her.

He didn't even need to go in; he just asked the old guard at the gate and knew.

"Oh, Comrade Zhu Lin did come to the factory today. The movie will start filming next month, but she just left."

Just left? Then she should have gone home. Wei Ming went directly to the Industrial College to block her.

This time he bet right. In a few minutes, he saw Zhu Lin riding a bicycle over.

The two exchanged glances across the road for a while, then Zhu Lin rode into the school. Not long after, she walked out and got on Wei Ming's bike.

Although she didn't know where Wei Ming was taking her, it didn't matter. Zhu Lin hugged Wei Ming tightly in the back seat.

On the way, she first told Wei Ming: "I met Auntie two days ago."

"What auntie?"

"Your mother."

"What!" The motorcycle went over a pothole and shook violently. "Why didn't Mom say anything?"

Wei Ming wasn't afraid of Sister Lin meeting his mom, but definitely not now. At least wait until he and Sister Xue had cooked the rice into cooked rice. But now Sister Lin's steps were a bit too big.

"Auntie didn't recognize me," Zhu Lin said. "At that time, I was with a few actors and directors, so I didn't reveal my identity."

Wei Ming inside the helmet frowned. His mom couldn't possibly not recognize Zhu Lin. She had been to Oriental Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi and had seen that poster.

So why did Mom pretend not to know her? Didn't like Sister Lin? Thought she was too old?

Wei Ming hid this guess in his heart and didn't say it out loud. Saying it out loud would be too hurtful.

"Where are we going?" Zhu Lin asked.

"How about we go catch cicada monkeys again." Wei Ming suggested.

"Okay, but why is it 'again'?"

(Yesterday's minimum two-in-one)

(End of chapter)