[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-249":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},2260957,4412,"Chapter 249: Boss, It","rising-in-1979-chapter-249",249,"\u003Cp>The Rubik’s Cube, also known as the Magic Cube, was invented in 1974 by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architecture professor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it only truly became popular starting this year’s international toy fairs in London, Paris, and the United States, then swept the globe throughout the 1980s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amin said in the tape that she had never seen this toy before; many classmates were buying it, claiming it helped develop mathematical thinking and improve math grades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she couldn’t figure it out at all—she twisted it a few times, then spent a whole day restoring it to its original state, so she dared not play with it again and specifically mailed it to Wei Ming to test him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Wei Ming was also terrible at math, he knew his way around toys and had no trouble solving the little cube.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it seemed to stump the other passengers, who stared at the jumbled colors Wei Ming had twisted and chattered among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can this even be fixed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the heck, seems kinda hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Girl, you got this? Maybe let me try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where’d you buy this? I want to get one for my son.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the passengers’ chatter, Wei Ming handed the cube to Xiao Hong and told the man across from him: “This was brought to me by a friend from Hong Kong—I wonder if the Friendship Store sells them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man, upon hearing this, shrank back and immediately gave up the idea of buying one for his son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two were chatting, suddenly all the nearby passengers began inhaling sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Wei Hong handed the cube back to Wei Ming: “Bro, it’s solved already. Kinda easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one expected Wei Hong to restore the cube in under a minute—her expression was positively smug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The passengers around her praised her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’d you do that? So fast!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This girl is incredibly smart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, impressive! You’re definitely going to college!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Wei Hong remembered something and quickly pinned her Peking University badge to her shirt, puffing out her chest proudly—the passengers were stunned again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Girl, are you a student at Peking University?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How old are you? You already got into Peking University?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a child prodigy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many points did you score on the college entrance exam?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you usually study? You little brat, come over and listen!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong told them about herself without modesty or exaggeration, and even the train conductor passing by gave her a thumbs-up: “This kid is going to be a pillar of the nation!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also caught a pickpocket on the spot, and everyone immediately clutched their pockets tighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wei Ming looked puzzled—even if Xiao Hong was brilliant, she’d never touched a Rubik’s Cube before. How could she solve it so fast?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Hong, did you find some pattern when you restored the cube just now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “Why would you need a pattern? You twisted it however you wanted—I just reverse every move. Your last twist was left, so my first was right, then I worked backward step by step.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming’s eyes widened like copper bells: “So you memorized every move I made?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong nodded, earning another round of applause from the passengers, who now called her “Little Prodigy”—if the train had no roof, she’d have floated into outer space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming cut off the praise: “Wait—this isn’t how you play it. Xiao Hong, close your eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Close them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming then scrambled the cube randomly, handed it to the man across from him to twist it up again, and had the lively aunt next door give it a few turns too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the colors were thoroughly jumbled, Wei Ming told Wei Hong to open her eyes and restore it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, this…” The girl was stumped—she didn’t know the sequence that led to this state and had to figure out the pattern from scratch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the next half hour, the passengers watched Wei Hong slowly twist the cube, nearly solving one face each time, only to scramble it again moments later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone reached out: “Come on, let me try—I’m a high school graduate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wei Hong was lost in the cube’s world and ignored him completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming noticed her serious expression gradually soften, then she smiled: “Done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man who looked like a government official said: “It’s not done—it’s still a mess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “Once you find the pattern, it’s easy. Watch closely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her small hands moved nimbly across the cube; after a minute and change, the cube magically restored itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone gasped. Wei Hong grabbed Wei Ming’s arm: “Bro, this is so fun! Can I have it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled: “It was meant for you all along.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the man who claimed to be a high school graduate spoke up: “Comrade, can I try?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “Wait—I’ll scramble it for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The high school graduate obediently turned his head away, refusing to watch her moves. Wei Ming thought it was unnecessary—no one else could memorize the sequence and reverse it perfectly like Wei Hong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here you go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man took it, excited—if he solved it faster than the girl, wouldn’t that mean he was better than the Peking University prodigy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The passengers gathered around him. Wei Ming told Xiao Hong: “There’s more than one or two ways to solve a Rubik’s Cube—try finding more patterns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I only need one pattern to solve it quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled: “That’s not fast—I timed it. It took over a minute.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not fast?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming shook his head: “Not fast enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming remembered that typical experts solve it in about thirty seconds, and the world record for a 3x3 cube is three seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this exchange, the man trying to show off grew anxious—just as it looked like he was about to solve it, the cube scrambled again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over half an hour passed, and he still hadn’t grasped the pattern—but his stop was coming, so he reluctantly handed the cube back to Wei Hong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong restored it again in just over a minute, but her speed was noticeably faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others wanted to try, so Wei Hong scrambled it for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next challenger claimed to be a high school math teacher; the passengers had high hopes for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by the time Wei Ming and Xiao Hong were about to disembark, he still hadn’t succeeded—he handed the cube to Wei Hong, who solved it in fifty-two seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the bus ride afterward, Wei Hong kept pondering other patterns for the cube, no longer chasing speed but seeking faster solutions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because her brother said that if she could summarize these patterns, she might even write a book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming wasn’t just teasing her—in the next two years, millions of Rubik’s Cubes would sell worldwide, becoming a global puzzle sensation, mostly among students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That created space for books teaching kids how to solve the cube—he remembered a British boy who sold over a million copies of such a book, holding enormous economic potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other Chinese kids’ cube tutorials might never reach overseas, but she was Wei Hong, and she had a brother named Wei Ming, whose ex-girlfriend was Melinda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon arriving, the siblings first visited Yang Lao’s house—not only to borrow his motorcycle, but also to have Teacher Yang send invitations to Wei Hong’s teachers for her academic celebration banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My dad’s already decided to slaughter the New Year’s pig early,” Wei Ming hinted that this banquet would be worth eating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his surprise, Teacher Yang laughed: “Your father came by yesterday to invite us already—I counted, eight teachers can make it. He even offered to set up a separate table just for us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming opened his mouth slightly—he hadn’t expected Old Wei to be this thoughtful, but Old Wei was even more thoughtful than he imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back home, Wei Ming noticed couplets already pasted on the front door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Across the sea of learning, ride the wind and break waves today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “Climbing the mountain of books, wear stars and moon to summit tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Horizontal scroll: “Carp leaps through the dragon’s gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “These lines are pretty stiff—looks like they paid for these couplets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Pay for what? These are Teacher Yang’s handwriting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong: “I knew it—no one in our village or nearby villages could write like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the courtyard, Wei Ming saw the pig was gone—and the chickens too. He asked: “Mom, did you kill the chickens too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I gave them to Chunhua Auntie—you’ll be in Beijing soon, can’t take care of them anymore,” Xu Shufen hurried over to take their luggage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei had already decided: after National Day, he and his wife would head to Beijing to make their fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past few days, his status in the village had changed dramatically—everyone treated him with newfound respect, never contradicted him, and fawned over him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what’s the point? No challenge at all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he felt it was time to level up, switch maps, and tackle a harder dungeon. Hmph, Beijing, here I come!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After greeting his parents, his mother started preparing food. Xiao Hong lay on the bed, fiddling with the cube again—her speed was improving, albeit slightly, but every second shaved off was a victory, like a hundred-meter sprint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each tiny improvement might mean the birth of a new way to solve the cube.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, his mother called her for dinner and saw her fingers moving so fast they left afterimages: “Huh? What are you playing with?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A toy my Hong Kong pen pal sent me—good for brain training,” Wei Hong said, placing the solved cube on her bedside—46 seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing it was for brain training, Xu Shufen was delighted; hearing it came from a Hong Kong pen pal, she grew worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This pen pal is a girl, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How old is she? Do you know?” She feared it was another girl with some intimate connection to her son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think she’s about my age?” Wei Hong remembered her brother mentioning it once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The age was somewhat reassuring—still just a little girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Shufen asked: “Does your brother have a photo of her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom, are you worried my brother’s dating again?” Xiao Hong laughed. “It’s just a pen pal—might never meet in person. My brother just wants to learn about the outside world through her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Shufen: I hope so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time Wei Ming returned, many people came to the house; moreover, with the promotion banquet tomorrow, tonight was especially lively, and Wei Ming and his sister ate while fielding enthusiastic questions from villagers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now with Xiao Hong helping share the load, many families with students were curious about what life was like at Peking University.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong tried to make her college life sound as interesting as possible, to give these parents greater motivation to urge their children to study hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the National Day holiday, all the village students had returned; when she saw several middle and high schoolers in the crowd, Wei Hong immediately pulled out the Rubik’s Cube and played with them, though she deliberately held back her skill so they wouldn’t be too discouraged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei was preparing to head to Beijing, but as the honorary principal of the village primary school, he asked Wei Ming: “If this thing really helps train the brain, maybe we should buy some for the school?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming wasn’t sure if it could train the brain, but smart people definitely played better—but “this is hard to buy domestically; mine was imported from abroad. If the Hong Kong factory starts production soon, it should be available here soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Kong was then a globally important toy manufacturing hub; whether authorized or not, its production capacity was formidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early the next morning, Chunhua Aunt arrived, heavily pregnant, bringing Qi Delong to help, and Accountant Jia was also enthusiastically assisting with preparations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Jia even invited a specialist chef from the neighboring village, a burly man who could swing a shovel to stir-fry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The master chef and his two apprentices didn’t need Xu Shufen’s help—they handled everything themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, at her parents’ request, Wei Hong wore a brand-new red outfit and stood at the door greeting guests, her face nearly stiff from smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when she saw Teacher Yang Shuting and others arriving by bicycle did her expression relax somewhat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had taught her first-year high school material, others had coached her for the college entrance exam; seeing these teachers, she was genuinely delighted—they had poured out every ounce of their knowledge, helping her fill her knowledge gaps in a short time and achieve a score far beyond her usual ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, they also benefited professionally from teaching Wei Hong, and the school received far more funding than ever before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old principal didn’t come today, but sent Teacher Yang with a red envelope as a gift; Accountant Jia personally served as the bookkeeper, recording every entry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teachers’ gifts were higher, mostly over a yuan; the villagers’ were smaller—five jiao was already generous, many gave only one jiao, and each family gave only once, but it was enough for the whole family to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With today’s lavish dishes, they’d definitely get their money’s worth—especially the Lao Xu family at the east end of the village, with five sons and nine people total, who gave only one jiao, and hadn’t even eaten breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei wasn’t counting gains or losses—he just wanted everyone to have a good meal before he left, to remember Wei Jiefang’s kindness and protect their family’s ancestral home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides their own pig, he also obtained a batch of frozen chickens and frozen ribbonfish from the meat processing plant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So today there was chicken, fish, and meat; though no duck, they bought many salted duck eggs from the market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chicken, duck, fish, meat—all present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why aren’t the dishes out yet? It’s already late!” Zhao Qiusheng from the village shouted—he was the brother of Team Leader Zhao Chunlai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His family had many brothers; since Zhao Chunlai came, his brothers came too. Yesterday Zhao Chunlai had even offered Old Wei a cigarette—he probably thought Old Wei’s family was about to produce another high-ranking official.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Old Wei’s greatest disappointment: if Zhao the Team Leader had no backbone, what was the point of staying in Gouzitun?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Zhao family was caught between respect and resentment, so it was the Zhaos who led the calls to start eating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei watched this with delight—it was just right; without villains, there’s no twist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei walked over to Zhao Qiusheng’s table and pressed his shoulder: “Qiusheng, you’re still as impatient as ever—you’re rushing again. We’re not eating yet because an important guest hasn’t arrived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What important guest? The Party Secretary and the Team Leader are right here—what more could you want?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had barely finished speaking when Accountant Jia at the entrance shouted: “Secretary Song is here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qiusheng turned around: Secretary Song? Which Secretary Song?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Chunlai leapt to his feet, slightly bowing as he stepped forward to shake Secretary Song’s hand—the head of Hengheli Commune—followed by the director of the town’s supply and marketing cooperative and the grain station chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei went over to shake Secretary Song’s hand; Secretary Song merely gave Old Wei a brief handshake, then clasped both hands around Wei Ming’s, with unusual formality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His family had a television; he’d recently seen on CCTV a segment of Wei Ming exchanging gifts with a Japanese friend—what an honor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming didn’t know Secretary Song well, but to the villagers, he was already a very high-ranking official.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Secretary Song was seated at the main table with the old Party secretary; all the key figures were here, but many seats remained empty, so Zhao Chunlai moved over to serve them, asking after Secretary Song’s comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his seat hadn’t even warmed when Jia San’er at the entrance shouted: “County Magistrate Qin has arrived!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Qin arrived in person with the deputy magistrate in charge of education to offer congratulations; the entire village stood up in excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The couplets at the entrance are well-written,” said County Magistrate Qin, in his prime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming shook hands with County Magistrate Qin: “Written by one of my elders—indeed, very good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming behaved with neither humility nor arrogance—he clearly had experience with grand occasions; after all, in Peking University, he often saw vice-ministerial officials, and he’d even attended the Literary Congress, meeting the very top leaders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people accompanying County Magistrate Qin also sat at this table; Old Wei pulled his wife and daughter to sit down, and now the table was full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Wei Ming remained without a seat; the atmosphere grew slightly awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Team Leader Zhao was about to suggest squeezing in, when Secretary Song pulled him up: “Little Zhao, make room for Little Wei—you’ve got no sense of decorum.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Zhao’s seat hadn’t even warmed before he gave it up, returning awkwardly to the Zhao family group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most important guests had arrived; Old Wei called out: “Let’s begin the feast!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Kexiu had just stolen a piece of pork when he heard the order and immediately directed a group of young men to serve the dishes and tofu pudding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Qi was a bit disgruntled—he’d wanted to take over as bookkeeper, but lost out to Jia, who was a professional; all that was left for him was to be the overall dish server.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though unseen, at least he got a full belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today there was meat, vegetables, and wine—each table had a bottle of Hengzhou Lao Bai Gan; though not much, it was enough to satisfy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secretary Song became the one pouring wine at the main table; aside from the Wei family, Zhou Xingbang had the lowest rank, but he was the oldest, and he regretted letting Zhao Chunlai leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they drank and chatted, County Magistrate Qin mainly spoke with Wei Ming about life and experiences in Beijing; he himself had studied in Beijing, graduating from Yanjing Institute of Industry two years ahead of Wei Anping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he was a student of Teacher Xu’s father’s school—too bad Wei Ming didn’t know his father-in-law’s name or what he taught; otherwise, he might have struck up a connection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Qin glanced at the dishes and wine on each table, and the number of tables, calculating the cost was substantial—even if Wei Ming’s works were highly famous, he might not afford this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he probed: “Little Wei, isn’t life in Beijing hard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled: “It’s fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei didn’t understand the phrase and asked his daughter what it meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong whispered an explanation; Old Wei understood—the magistrate didn’t realize his son’s true capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even mention the fortune-making Dongfang Xintiandi—just one thing: “County Magistrate Qin, do you have children?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How old?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My eldest is twelve, my second is nine,” said County Magistrate Qin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know a children’s story writer named Wei something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Qin: “Of course I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed great importance on his children’s education, including writing; he subscribed to Children’s Literature every issue—how could he not know the current king of fairy tales, Wei something?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang smiled: “That’s my son’s pen name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Qin was stunned, his meat falling from his mouth; but now it made sense—someone who earned foreign exchange as Wei something wouldn’t mind a slightly grander promotion banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So County Magistrate Qin began asking Wei Ming for advice on child education, treating the fairy tale writer as an education expert—though he did know a bit himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Wei felt immensely pleased; his rivals should be people like County Magistrate Qin—not Zhao Chunlai, a village cadre who should go sit somewhere far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was his sister’s promotion banquet; Wei Ming hadn’t planned to stand out, but Old Wei wouldn’t allow it—and County Magistrate Qin and others’ admiration for Wei Ming rose another notch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as the meal neared its end, one more important announcement was to be made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time it was Old Party Secretary Zhou Xingbang who spoke: “Yesterday, I discussed with Little Wei from the Wei family—he’s decided to continue donating money and goods to our Gouzitun Village Primary School. Every year, outstanding graduates will receive scholarships, increasing with income levels; outstanding students in every grade will get opportunities to see the world—eventually, they’ll go to Shanghai, to Guangzhou!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Applause!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers, already in good spirits from the feast, spontaneously burst into applause—this was the Wei family’s truest gain in reputation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Qin began calculating again: annual donations, plus funded trips—this wasn’t a small sum. And from what Old Wei said, Little Wei had bought two apartments in Beijing—perhaps Wei the writer had more than just the pen name “Wei something”; he must have other income streams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly a teenage genius, extraordinary—someone like this must be cultivated well; if he ever became a Beijing official, he might be useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, at Hong Kong’s Goodwill Fast Food, Old Ghost said today he had matters to attend to and would rest early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left the shop in the afternoon, then left Hong Kong Island, heading to Hong Kong’s North District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He climbed a hilltop, facing the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen; across the border, the people of Shenzhen were celebrating the 31st birthday of their motherland—with cultural performances and fireworks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it was so close, Old Ghost could even hear a group of elementary students on Zhongying Street singing along to the broadcast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Singing: “The flowers told me how you walked, the earth knows every corner of your heart~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Ghost’s nose grew sharp with emotion—he thought: if I have no hope of returning home, can Hong Kong just return sooner!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Today’s minimum)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",3631,"2026-06-19T16:30:58.707Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e49482c3f827ede438e145b520e677e4a2ed5c26cc00f839c4be6f072eb273a2","rising-in-1979-chapter-250","rising-in-1979-chapter-248",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]