Chapter 283: Wei Ming? What?!

At mealtime, Old Wei began telling the younger generation about the land distribution, and since he held high status in the village and was a member of the land allocation team, he served as a stabilizing force.

Following the principles of fairness and impartiality, they first drew lots—everyone received a mix of good and poor land—and then, under voluntary agreement, they could privately negotiate swaps.

In the end, after drawing his lot, Old Wei arranged exchanges and ended up with land adjacent to his cousin Fan Chunhua, totaling less than six mu: two mu of good land and over three mu of poor land, which would now be managed by Aunt Chunhua; as long as she paid the state grain quota for him and Xu Shufen, the rest was hers.

This thrilled Aunt Chunhua so much she nearly weaned Qi Dongqiang on the spot to rush and tend her fields—even Qi Kexiu, the teacher who never set foot in the fields, finally started doing farm work.

To ease their burden, Old Wei paid the brigade on their behalf and secured them the strongest mule from the brigade's stable—Xiao Erhei.

This was a mule that needed almost no rest—one mule could match three Qi Kexius.

Wei Ming also reported good news: "My 'The Lion King' has been published in the UK, and Xiao Hong has written a book about the Rubik's Cube, and Macmillan Publishers in Britain has decided to publish it—it's currently being translated."

"Oh, brother, does that mean I can earn foreign exchange too!" Wei Hong exclaimed.

Wei Ming nodded.

"How much can I make?" she asked again.

Wei Ming: "Several ten thousand dollars shouldn't be a problem."

Grandma was stunned: "What? Ten-thousand-yuan household!"

Old Wei: "Mother, those are U. . dollars—it's equivalent to 100, 00 RMB!"

Wei Ming remembered that the first book on Rubik's Cube solutions had sold a million copies worldwide—if this one reached that number, several ten thousand dollars would be a given.

Yunyun smiled and asked: "So Xiao Hong, what will you do with all that money?"

After the excitement faded, Xiao Hong looked puzzled: "Yeah… what should I do?"

Buying a house seemed unnecessary—they already had two homes with over a dozen rooms; where wouldn't she fit?

Wei Ming had already arranged it for her: "This money won't be wired directly to you—I'll have Melinda open an overseas account for you, to use when you study abroad in the future."

"Ah, studying abroad!" At the mention of studying abroad, her parents grew anxious.

Wei Ming told them not to worry: "If Xiao Hong goes abroad to study, I'll go with her—I can't possibly let her go alone in such a chaotic place."

Hearing their son would go abroad to accompany her, and remembering his ongoing correspondence with Melinda, the old couple couldn't help suspecting: Was he still hung up on his first love, hoping to rekindle old feelings?

But what about Gong Rui and Zhu Lin?

A foreign daughter-in-law was certainly prestigious, but those two girls were also excellent—how could they hold them back?

In truth, Wei Ming's trip abroad was to experience life and write more internationally influential works, expanding his global reputation.

With reputation, he'd have more room to maneuver regarding Xuejie and Linjie—he'd return to China eventually.

He'd been abroad before in his past life—it was nothing special—but if the chance arose, he could take Xuejie and Linjie to see the outside world.

The next day, Wei Ming visited Beiyingchang, using the preparations for the "Mother, Again I Love You" crew as an opportunity to meet secretly with Xuejie.

Later, Wei Ming took her to Friendship Store to buy some snacks and essentials for her journey, and casually mentioned the good news that "The Lion King" had been published in Britain and earned foreign exchange.

Gong Rui had already known—the little man's bond with the foreign girl was deepening; she and Linjie must keep a close watch on him.

Although Wei Ming had only told a few people about the overseas publication of "The Lion King," the "China Youth Daily" soon reported the good news.

"Fairy Tale King Wei What Publishes Overseas Again—Shakespearean Fairy Tales Conquer Britain!"

"China Youth Daily" reporter Zhu Wei brought news that "The Lion King" had been published in Britain for the first time, with a print run larger than "The Game of the Brave" and even better reviews.

Many British parents treat "The Lion King" as their child's first introduction to literature, nurturing their love for classical works.

He also mentioned that "The Game of the Brave" had now entered several other English-speaking countries—the influence of Wei What's two fairy tales was still spreading.

Not only did he include his own article, but he even posted British media reports and related data to support his claims.

Of course, all these materials had been provided by Wei Ming.

This man understood journalism—he'd planned to wait until Wei What's popularity faded before revealing Wei What was Wei Ming, but Wei What had stirred up new excitement, so he temporarily suppressed the revelation that Wei What and Wei Ming were the same person.

Besides, the bigger their fame grew, the greater the impact when the truth finally broke.

In fact, "The Lion King" was less popular domestically than "The Game of the Brave," "The Legend of the Magic Book," or "Black Cat Detective," so Zhu Wei referred to it in his article as "Shakespearean fairy tales."

Because its structure derived from Shakespearean tragedy, it didn't resonate in China—but its success in Britain wasn't surprising.

At this moment, the Chinese public was eager to see foreign recognition of their culture—Wei What's two works had spread to over ten countries, a feat worthy of grand celebration.

Soon, other authoritative media reprinted Zhu Wei's article, and Wei What's fame surged, nearly matching Wei Ming's.

These reports directly influenced readers—some parents, seeing "The Lion King" praised so highly as a literary introduction and hearing that British children loved it, told their kids: "All you ever read is 'Black Cat Detective'—what future will that bring? Catching mice? I'll buy you 'The Lion King'—lions are stronger than cats."

Previously, "The Lion King" had only been printed in modest numbers; seeing the surge in demand, "Youth Literature" immediately printed another 100, 00 copies and reissued a request for new work from Wei What.

Meanwhile, CCTV, seeing the high popularity of "The Lion King," recalled that a Japanese delegation had once brought over a batch of animated films for sale, including one called "Kimba the White Lion," which featured a lion and was created by Osamu Tezuka, the same artist behind the wildly popular "Astro Boy."

So CCTV contacted Japan again, preparing to import this animated film at a low or even free cost.

Zheng Yuanjie was reading a copy of "Guangming Daily" when he saw a critique of the Emei Film Studio's "The Mysterious Buddha" and, alongside it, praise for Wei What's fairy tale "The Lion King," which was hailed as the work of a "Fairy Tale King."

"Guangming Daily" was even more authoritative than "China Youth Daily"—if it too called him "Fairy Tale King," then the title was officially sanctioned.

In truth, 26-year-old Zheng Yuanjie also loved this title—he wrote fairy tales too, and had just finished a novella called "Pipilu's Biography," the first appearance of his "own son" Pipilu, which had received positive feedback—he'd received over a dozen letters from young readers.

But since someone else had already been crowned "Fairy Tale King," and he respected trademarks, he wondered if he could call himself "Fairy Tale Prince"—but he didn't know whether this Fairy Tale King Wei What was older or younger than him.

He must be older—he'd read all of Wei What's works; the range of genres was vast, clearly the work of someone with deep experience—at least over thirty.

Today, he'd finally find out how old Wei What really was.

When the bus stopped, Zheng Yuanjie folded his newspaper and stepped into the "Children's Literature" editorial office.

After five years as a worker, Zheng Yuanjie had finally been selected as an editor by "Children's Literature," now a monthly, thanks to his prolific fairy tale output.

Coincidentally, Lu Xiaoyan came in today to request leave—she was taking her son on another film shoot, or rather, to experience life before filming began.

And this time, her role was substantial—she might be gone for two or three months.

So the chief editor asked Lu Xiaoyan to hand over her duties to the new editor, Zheng Yuanjie.

"Little Zheng, you must coordinate carefully with Editor Lu, get familiar with the workflow quickly—she's Wei What's editor."

Zheng Yuanjie had wanted to ask the editors about Wei What—now, he was Wei What's acting editor!

Lu Xiaoyan didn't just handle Wei Ming—she'd painstakingly maintained these writers, but since she didn't know when she'd return to work, for the writers' sake, she shared their contact addresses and personal styles with Zheng Yuanjie, urging him to stay in touch.

Zheng Yuanjie listened intently, taking notes occasionally; though he only had a fourth-grade elementary education, his cultural level was far from poor.

"Sister Lu," Zheng Yuanjie finally spoke up after she finished: "Didn't you forget Wei What?"

Lu Xiaoyan waved her hand: "He's already written the next three installments of 'Black Cat Detective'—no need to bother him."

Zheng Yuanjie: "But what if there are problems with the manuscript? I'll need to contact him for revisions."

Lu Xiaoyan paused—Zheng Yuanjie thought she feared he'd poach her top writer.

Lu Xiaoyan: Pfft, you could steal him and I'd take your surname.

She was worried the young editor didn't understand—always bothering Xiao Ming, who juggling three pen names, dozens of manuscripts, a job, school, and multiple relationships—how could he possibly have time for editors? In the past, when "Black Cat Detective" had typos, Lu Xiaoyan fixed them herself.

But Zheng Yuanjie was stubborn—he insisted they should properly hand over "Wei What," just in case he couldn't find him.

"Fine, I'll give you his contact info—but don't bother him unless necessary."

Zheng Yuanjie received a slip of paper from Lu Xiaoyan, listing both home address and phone number, and finally, Wei What's real name: "Wei Ming."

Zheng Yuanjie found it interesting: "He shares the same name as the author of 'The Righteous Path Is Vast and Deep.'"

Zheng Yuanjie's father was a military academy instructor who'd been loudly mentioning this novel to him lately—he'd heard it so often it was etched in his mind.

Lu Xiaoyan began packing: "Same name? It's the same person."

"Huh?" Zheng Yuanjie blinked, then shook his head: "Sister Lu, don't joke with me like that."

Lu Xiaoyan gestured to the other editors: "Joke? Don't you think everyone here knows?"

Without giving Zheng Yuanjie time to react, she walked out, leaving only: "Little Zheng, ask the other colleagues if you have questions."

Zheng Yuanjie turned to the senior editor beside him, his expression stiff: "Is Wei What really Wei Ming?"

"Yes—Lu Xiaoyan's husband's nephew."

"Everyone knows."

"Before she became team leader, Sister Lu used to brag about him constantly—now she's calmed down."

"I heard Wei Ming is under twenty?" Zheng Yuanjie asked blankly.

"Just graduated high school a couple years ago—around twenty."

A twenty-year-old Fairy Tale King—the most celebrated newcomer in the literary world, the sales king who pushed "People's Literature" and "Harvest" to million-copy print runs!

And he'd even dated a foreign exchange student!

Zheng Yuanjie swallowed hard; even he, usually so proud, couldn't help sighing: Why must Wei Ming exist when I am here?

Suddenly, Zheng Yuanjie remembered Lu Xiaoyan saying Wei What had already written the next three installments of "Black Cat Detective"—he immediately went to the chief editor—he had to review the manuscript!

I can't read "The Righteous Path Is Vast and Deep" ahead of time—can't I at least read "Black Cat Detective"?

Lu Xiaoyan was taking leave to accompany her son to Sichuan—they were going with Gong Rui, so Wei Ming and Xuejie would have to part ways.

In early March, Wei Ming saw off Gong Rui and the others; with outsiders present, they had to suppress their emotions—but when no one was watching, they went wild.

Unfortunately, Xuejie's birthday was just days away, but work came first—they couldn't celebrate together.

As they parted, Gong Rui pointed to her wrist—empty now, though it had once worn a jade bracelet, now hidden in the Sihe Academy's study—meaning: consider it his early birthday gift.

In truth, that bracelet had been bought by Wei Ming for Zhu Lin's birthday at the same time—he was lucky they never wore it outside, or it would've been disastrous.

A week later, Wei Ming finished writing the script for "The Empress Dowager's Curtain," completing both Qing palace dramas.

He wrote a letter to Li Hanxiang, sending him the original manuscript while keeping a backup.

In the letter, he told Li Hanxiang: "If there are any issues with the script, we can discuss them in person—I'll be going to Hong Kong in June."

These days, he'd visited Beiyingchang frequently and finally received confirmation: "The Heroic Youth" would premiere in Hong Kong in June, then be released on the mainland at a later date.

Emei Film Studio's "The Mysterious Buddha" had been heavily criticized even before its official release, with rumors of cancellation; Wang Yang knew "The Heroic Youth" had a morally upright theme and hoped a successful Hong Kong premiere might generate positive momentum to help the film gain policy approval on the mainland.

"Good, good!"

Wei Ming first told his father the news.

When Old Wei heard it, his eyes turned red—he hadn't seen his father in nearly thirty years; if not for the old man's surviving photograph, he'd almost forgotten what he looked like.

To avoid making Old Wei overthink it, Wei Ming didn't show him the birthday photo of Old Ghost and A Min and her daughter; Old Ghost had said they were merely pure business partners.

Old Ghost regarded Zhou Ma as a junior, though they were similar in age—he might even call him "Uncle" someday.

"What, June?"

When Wei Ming told Biaozi this news, his first thought was of Yanzi's belly.

Qingniao Pictures wanted to invite Wei Ming, Wu Jing, and Huang Jiaoyan—the screenwriter and the two lead actors.

Since they knew Biaozi and Huang Jiaoyan were married, they added one extra spot so Biaozi could go too.

But by June, Yanzi's belly was already eight months along; no matter whether flying or taking the train, Biaozi couldn't relax.

Wei Ming: "So we're not taking Yanzi?"

"Not taking her. Just us guys," Biaozi said after discussing it with Yanzi.

Yanzi was deeply disappointed—Hong Kong, who wouldn't want to see how decadent the capitalist world was?

She wasn't worried Biaozi would be corrupted; instead, she warned him to watch out for Ming Ge—he looked the most likely to be corrupted.

"How can you talk about Ming Ge like that? He said he'd use the Hong Kong dollars he earned from writing the script to buy you gifts in Hong Kong," Biaozi scolded. Ming Ge really was a brother to his sister-in-law.

Yanzi said: "I know Ming Ge is loyal, but I'm afraid he'll make a mistake. I've seen Hong Kong fashion magazines—their people dress way too flashy."

"True," Biaozi nodded.

Yanzi: "Oh, so you've been looking at them a lot, huh?"

"Oh come on, it's all for work, work!" Biaozi scrambled across the bed, his over-one-meter-eight frame moving like a monkey.

Since there was an extra spot, Wei Ming began communicating with Hong Kong again, hoping to include A Long—he and his group would cover all expenses, just needing an invitation.

Aunt Xia Meng still gave Wei Ming face and approved the request; now Liu Ruilong could finally meet his father. He'd been drawing comics nonstop, planning to bring them to Hong Kong to see if there was a market.

Wei Ming told Old Ghost the good news about the June trip to Hong Kong and asked him to pass it on to Bin Shu.

But he didn't tell A Min—they were just pen pals. If the Hong Kong trip got too hectic, they might not even visit her.

A Long was enjoying double blessings lately.

Besides this good news, Mei Culture hosted a banquet at Hongbin Restaurant to celebrate the roaring sales of Dongfang Xintiandi's spring collection—Gong Ying had played an indispensable role and had firmly established herself in Beijing, her monthly income now exceeding one hundred thousand.

Thanks to Gong Ying, Wei Ming, Biaozi, and A Long all received invitations.

The difference? All three brought their wives or girlfriends, but Wei Ming brought his sister—what a failure.

Wei Hong was also disappointed—if it were vacation time, she'd have insisted on going to Hong Kong to see it for herself. What a pity.

Wei Ming, however, planned to find an opportunity to take the whole family to Hong Kong to reunite with Old Old Wei.

"Biaozi, just how strong are you?" Wei Ming asked Zhao Debiao during the meal. "I heard Hong Kong's not safe—there are plenty of triads there."

Biaozi laughed upward, his neck thick with muscle: "Ming Ge, I've never won a martial arts championship, but in real combat, even my master Wu Bin would have to think twice."

Huang Jiaoyan: "Cough, cough."

Biaozi: "You coughing's just as well—I'm half a head taller than my master and nearly a hundred jin heavier. We're not even in the same weight class. I'm just being respectful—I've never really gone all out against him…"

Hearing this, even Wei Ming began coughing.

Biaozi puzzled: "This dish isn't spicy. Are your throats sore?"

Wei Hong looked at the middle-aged man looming behind Biaozi and asked: "Sir, who are you looking for?"

Just as Biaozi turned, his chin was lifted, his neck firmly locked by a thick arm—if he moved, his head would snap back.

"M-m-master," Biaozi didn't see who it was but knew instantly—he begged desperately. "Master, you're here for dinner too? When did you arrive?"

He never imagined he'd been badmouthing his master right behind his back—and the master had heard every word.

Wu Bin chuckled: "That line—'even my master Wu Bin would have to think twice.'"

Biaozi nervously said: "I meant he'd have to think twice how not to kill me!"

Master Wu Bin: "And what about the part after that—'I'm just being respectful, I've never really gone all out against you'?"

"I've never gone all out—but even if I did, I'm still no match for you," Biaozi added.

Seeing her husband's head frozen in place, Huang Jiaoyan quickly intervened: "Master, you know him—he's all talk. He can't even beat me."

Seeing his beloved disciple, Master Wu Bin finally smiled and relented: "If I didn't fear your child being born fatherless, I'd expel you from the school today."

No sooner had Master Wu Bin spoken than his head was slapped—he yelped, and his grip loosened.

Biaozi turned and saw an old man with piercing eyes standing behind Master Wu—he beamed: "Grandmaster, save me!"

Wu Bin bowed respectfully: "Teacher."

Yanzi also called out: "Grandmaster."

The man was Zhang Wenguang, 66, the patriarch of Chinese martial arts and one of the founders of the Wushu Department at Beijing Sports University—he performed wushu at the 1936 Olympics, and his theoretical writings on martial arts are countless.

He excelled not only in forms but also in sparring, having won multiple national wushu and wrestling championships.

When Biaozi was young, the old man had liked him—he was sturdy and looked like a promising wrestler. But even though Biaozi hadn't grown a single hair yet, he'd already fallen for Yanzi; wrestling meant less time seeing her.

Later, as Biaozi grew too tall, Zhang Lao gave up on him.

Now, Biaozi had grown so thick—tall, yes, but proportionally still ideal for wrestling. On a competition stage, he'd be unstoppable.

Biaozi was the same height as Wei Ming, but Wei Ming's hips were higher, legs shorter, torso longer, center of gravity lower—his base was rock-solid.

"Little Wu, don't act so much like a master. Biaozi's words aren't wrong—he's two or three hundred jin now, all muscle. Without weapons, you'd struggle to take him down."

Hearing his grandmaster's praise, Biaozi beamed.

He asked: "Grandmaster, is my master treating you to dinner?"

Zhang Wenguang pointed behind: "Not just me—there's another colleague from Shandong."

Only then did everyone notice a bearded man standing behind them—just standing there, he radiated martial prowess.

Wei Ming recognized him at once: Sword Saint Yu Chenghui!

(End of Chapter)