Chapter 292

Although Wei Shenme's *Black Cat Detective* series was more famous, Liu Cixin had always felt that Wei Shenme's ability wasn't limited to childish fairy tales.

Although Little Liu was 18, he would occasionally read the *Youth Literature* magazine subscribed to by the school and wasn't unfamiliar with Wei Shenme's works like *Jumanji* and *The Lion King*.

So he wasn't that surprised that Wei Shenme could write a science fiction novel. The imagination of *Jumanji* was already amazing.

He couldn't wait to open the magazine and first looked at the page count. Yo, it must be 50,000 or 60,000 words. It wasn't a short story, but a medium-length one.

He looked at the time again; it wasn't early. He would read half today and half tomorrow.

The comfortable and smooth writing style made Liu Cixin read very fluently. He also read foreign science fiction novels. Although the scientific concepts were awesome, the translated stories always carried a strange translation flavor.

The story created suspense from the beginning: Did Charlotte and the team he invested in really create dinosaurs?

Before this suspense was resolved, Liu Cixin couldn't sleep at all, but his bedroom had always been in a state of being monitored by his mother.

"Dong dong dong~" Mother knocked on the door and said, "Xiao Xin, don't sleep too late. If you can't finish your homework, you can do it tomorrow. Adequate sleep can get twice the result with half the effort."

"Oh, I know, Mom."

The light in the room went out, and the flashlight in the quilt lit up again.

When he saw Jurassic Park completely out of control, Liu Cixin looked at the page count. It seemed he had read half of it. Forget it, let's read two more pages.

Then, oh my, he saw the key point. Let's read a few more pages and get past this plot point.

Tsk tsk, too wonderful. This illustration is very well matched. I'll sleep when I see two o'clock.

At two o'clock, eh, there weren't many pages left. Forget it, finish it and be done with it, so I won't be thinking about it tomorrow.

When it was four o'clock, Liu Cixin finally fell asleep contentedly. Because he was too sleepy, he didn't even turn off the flashlight, directly consuming it until it ran out of power.

And at seven o'clock, seeing that he hadn't gotten up yet, Mother started knocking on the door to urge him.

Liu Cixin sat up abruptly from the bed. He had a dream, dreaming that dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct tens of millions of years ago. They had been multiplying, developed wisdom, developed technology, and became the rulers of the earth, and even started space exploration. Later, humans also appeared on the earth. When dinosaurs returned to their old home from space, humans immediately became slaves or even food for dinosaurs.

Fortunately, Mother woke him up in time; otherwise, he would have become breakfast on the dinosaur's table. What a terrifying devourer.

"Mom, what are we eating today?" Liu Cixin said with dark circles under his eyes.

Mother: "Eating meat dragon."

Hearing meat dragon, Liu Cixin shuddered, his brain became clearer, but the dream became blurred.

That day, he brought *Science Fiction World* to the class and recommended this novel to classmates around him who liked science fiction and reading just like him.

At the same time, he also decided to continue subscribing to *Science Fiction World* in the future. It seemed that this magazine hadn't completely sunk and still had hope.

After he started working in the future and had time, he would also try to write the absurd stories in his dreams and submit them to *Science Fiction World*.

*Jurassic Park* indeed made the sales of *Science Fiction World* better, but to be honest, it was just enough to sell out 20,000 copies of the magazine. But in fact, they wanted more. The sales only doubled. This wasn't Wei Shenme's level.

However, in the absence of the internet and underdeveloped media, it was too difficult for a thing to spread. They didn't even know how to let the whole country know that the famous fairy tale prince had written a novel about dinosaurs for *Science Fiction World*.

The spread of reputation needed time, unless big media and big platforms were willing to speak up to speed up this process.

Just one week after *Science Fiction World* was released, Shanghai children's literature writer Ji Hong spoke up for *Jurassic Park* in *Wen Hui Bao*.

Two years ago, he and his daughter co-authored a children's book, *Deep Sea Dinosaurs*. He considered himself to have some understanding of dinosaurs and could be considered to have helped children understand some dinosaur knowledge.

And now, seeing this *Jurassic Park* created by Wei Shenme, who was also a children's literature writer, the professional level was higher, the creative attitude was more rigorous, and the things written could be read by children, and adults wouldn't feel childish when reading them.

So he couldn't help but write an article affirming Wei Shenme and praising *Jurassic Park*, published in *Wen Hui Bao*, where his daughter worked, which could be considered some encouragement from a senior to a junior.

Ji Hong's representative work was *Snow Child*. After being launched as an animation by the Shanghai Animation Er Yingchang last year, the response was excellent, even greater than the response to those two short films by Wei Shenme, which also raised Ji Hong's fame to a higher level.

This article of his, plus the circulation of *Wen Hui Bao*, immediately made *Jurassic Park* famous and also made *Science Fiction World* recognized by more readers outside Sichuan.

In order to see this magazine that couldn't be bought in bookstores and newsstands, they had to subscribe through the post office.

Subsequently, *China Youth Daily* also followed up with reports. Reporter Zhu Wei didn't expect Wei Shenme to release a science fiction novel quietly. Science fiction novels had recently been served by various authorities in turn, and their reputation wasn't good.

So he found Wei Ming and conducted an interview with him, chatting about why Wei Shenme would write *Jurassic Park*.

Wei Ming first talked about the origin of the inspiration for writing this story and indicated that this novel was actually prepared specifically for the overseas market, and even the story background and characters were foreign, because the popularity of dinosaurs overseas was extremely high now, and our China was also a big country of dinosaur fossils.

"Zigong in Sichuan, Lufeng in Yunnan, Zhucheng in Shandong, and Neimeng in Heilongjiang, etc., all have a large number of dinosaur fossils excavated. I hope they can be remembered. In the future, maybe they can even attract overseas tourists."

Zhu Wei: "So China's dinosaur fossil resources are so rich."

"After all, the land is vast and resources are abundant. So in my novel, I deliberately wrote several kinds of dinosaurs named after Chinese place names, such as Lufengosaurus magnus, Zhuchengtyrannus, and even the chief scientist responsible for regenerating dinosaurs is of Chinese descent. He is also the smartest person in the novel and the person who runs through the whole book. I think this can also be considered a kind of publicity."

Wei Ming understood too well what the Chinese people wanted to see now. Just by chatting like this, let alone those popular science writers not attacking him, the country would stand on his side.

Good, just write it like this. We must publicize the objective fact that Chinese people are smart to the whole world!

Reporter Zhu Wei asked excitedly again: "Then has this novel been confirmed for overseas publication?"

Wei Ming: "I just mailed the novel out. I estimate it hasn't reached the UK yet. And this novel isn't complete. I am still brewing the follow-up story. Some Chinese dinosaurs that only appeared in the first part might get more screen time."

Then Zhu Wei knew how to write it. Soon, *China Youth Daily* published an exclusive interview with Wei Shenme by reporter Zhu Wei, titled "Wei Shenme's Little Wish: Let Chinese Dinosaurs Be Famous All Over the World!"

For a time, the word "dinosaur" became a hot term for discussion among students. Even *Deep Sea Dinosaurs* by Ji Hong and his daughter sold out in major bookstores. For the first time in two years of publication, it sold so well.

And at the *Science Fiction World* editorial department in Chengdu, looking at the subscription messages sent from all over the country by the post office, the editor-in-chief had only one sentence: "Reprint, add 50,000 copies!"

This added up to 70,000 copies, which had far exceeded the peak circulation of *Science Fiction World* and its predecessor magazines.

*Science Fiction World* had signs of coming back to life!

The editor-in-chief immediately asked Lao Wan to solicit a manuscript from Wei Ming. Readers must also be very eager to know the follow-up story of *Jurassic Park*.

"Don't write a letter, it's too slow. Make a long-distance call!"

Lao Wan's long-distance call was answered by Grandmother. Hearing the hometown accent, she felt especially cordial and even dragged Lao Wan to chat.

Lao Wan's heart was bleeding. Grandmother, do you know how much a long-distance call costs per minute!

Chatting with Grandmother for a few sentences, Lao Wan explained his intention, asked Grandmother to convey it on his behalf, and then hurriedly hung up the phone, painfully using his own money to pay for the long-distance fee, keeping the receipt, and hurriedly going back to get reimbursed.

At this time, after preliminary research and visits, Wei Ming even ran to the kindergarten and compound where Xiao Mei lived when he was a child, and only then started to write.

The novel name was set as *In the Heat of the Sun*. After all, the name *Animal Ferocious* had already been occupied by his first collection.

After writing for more than an hour, the door opened. This was the house in Tuanjiehu. Wei Ming arrived first, and Zhu Lin also came over after class.

She hugged Wei Ming's neck from behind and acted like a spoiled child.

"I agreed to Tian Zhuangzhuang and the others."

"Oh, you've seen the script."

"Not yet, but I met with Wang Anyi. She is writing it. She said I am very suitable for the role of Sangsang. Being able to get the recognition of the original author, I agreed directly when I was happy."

Wei Ming: "Oh my, Wang Anyi came to Beijing. Where is she staying? I have to invite her to a meal."

"You know each other?" Zhu Lin became vigilant. Wang Anyi was a few years younger than her and looked quite pretty.

"After all, we are all peers."

Zhu Lin asked again: "Then what do you want to invite her to eat?"

Wei Ming: "She invited me to drink coffee, which was bitter to death. Then I will invite her to drink douzhi (fermented bean drink). It can be considered a cycle of heaven, retribution."

"Pfft," Zhu Lin laughed like a flower. "You are too bad. Remember to let her drink it with a fried dough ring; it will be a little more comfortable."

Eh, Sister Lin was only a little kinder than him. It seemed she needed education. He had to deal with her properly today.

Before leaving Beijing, Wei Ming invited Wang Anyi to have a meal at Baoguo Temple. She indeed couldn't accept douzhi, but she could accept other snacks and was also very grateful to Wei Ming for bringing her to experience this northern specialty.

The next day, May 22nd, Wei Ming boarded a plane to Hangzhou.

Originally, he thought about taking the train to Hangzhou with the people from the Beijing Er Yingchang, having a companion on the road, and not feeling bored even if it took a day and two nights. Unfortunately, not many people from the Beijing Er Yingchang went to Hangzhou this year.

The Beijing Er Yingchang was quite miserable this year. The works and actors nominated were few and far between. Only *The Passenger with Handcuffs* received a nomination for Best Film at the Hundred Flowers Award.

In addition, Director Xie Tieli received a nomination for Best Director at the Golden Rooster Award for filming *Tonight's Starlight Is Bright* for the August First Er Yingchang, and Li Xiuming was also nominated for this film. However, Wei Ming wasn't familiar with them.

So Wei Ming set off by himself, bought an expensive plane ticket, and arrived at Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport in one morning.

This was a dual-use airport for military and civilian purposes with a very long history. It was expanded two years ago to receive Nixon, but dual-use for military and civilian purposes was ultimately inconvenient, so later there was Xiaoshan International Airport.

Next, Wei Ming asked all the way and took a bus to the Provincial Second Reception House located on the south bank of Xihu. The environment was very good. It was once a private manor and later renamed Xizi Hotel.

Next to it was the Leifeng Pagoda ruins. The Leifeng Pagoda had long since collapsed.

Mr. Liang Sicheng had long called for the reconstruction of Leifeng Pagoda according to its original appearance, but it had never been passed. Until later, when tourism flourished, perhaps influenced by the popularity of *The Legend of the White Snake*, a big pagoda was re-erected in 2000, which was also one of the few paid projects by Xihu.

This year's 4th Hundred Flowers Award was the first time it was held outside the capital, and it was also the first time the Golden Rooster Award was held. From then on, it became a convention. The Hundred Flowers and Golden Rooster were held together, and each time a new city was chosen to host.

This was both a task and an honor, and even more a great opportunity to promote one's own city, so Hangzhou let them stay in such a beautiful hotel.

After signing in, the staff gave him a key and a room number. Of course, he wasn't qualified to stay in a single room yet.

"Wei Laoshi, you're here. I just arrived too."

Opening the door, he saw a pair of thick eyebrows and a pair of big eyes. Because Wei Ming was from the *Herdsmen* crew, he was assigned to a room with Zhu Shimao. Old Mao was already a person from the August First Er Yingchang.

Because of the slight flap of a butterfly's wings, Old Mao was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Rooster Award and the Hundred Flowers Award respectively, and there was only one opponent for the Golden Rooster Award.

Wei Ming: "Did you come by train?"

"Otherwise?"

"From Beijing?"

"That's right," Old Mao smiled, "Tang Guoqiang, Li Xiuming, and Elder Tian Hua, Elder Yu Yang—we were all together."

Wei Ming was annoyed: "If I had known, I would have taken the train with you."

"You didn't take the train?"

"I flew here."

"Ah, plane!"

Old Mao smacked his lips. They wanted to take it, but the factory wouldn't reimburse it. He felt this Wei Laoshi looked very much like someone who had a billionaire father abroad; he was too willing to spend money.

They all set off from Beijing. To avoid accidents, they arrived earlier, while the people from the Shanghai Er Yingchang arrived in the afternoon.

This year's Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers belonged to the Shanghai Er Yingchang. *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, *Herdsmen*, and *Evening Rain* were also the three big favorites, and Li Zhiyu of the Shanghai Er Yingchang system, and Zhang Yu, Guo Kaimin, Da Shichang, and Li Rentang of the Shanghai Er Yingchang were all major competitors for the acting awards.

It was also fortunate that Gong Xue officially joined the Beijing Er Yingchang not long ago, making the Beijing Er Yingchang's face feel a bit better. She was also nominated for the two female lead awards of the Hundred Flowers Award and the Golden Rooster Award, but she didn't come.

Wei Ming missed her very much. Many people saw Director Xie Jin, and the first question was: Didn't classmate Gong Xue come? She was one of the female actors who rose the fastest last year.

That night, Wei Ming didn't eat at the reception house. He dragged Old Mao and Tang Guoqiang, who came to find Old Mao, to eat at Louwailou outside, and by the way, could see the night view of Xihu.

Tang Guoqiang said how embarrassed he was, but he had already defaulted to Wei Ming paying the bill. After all, Wei Ming's hospitality was a consensus at home and abroad.

Louwailou was a century-old shop created during the Daoguang period. Many foreigners who came to Hangzhou for tourism would choose Louwailou first.

Heard that Jack Ma was the one who blocked foreigners by Xihu to be a tour guide. He was fifteen now. As long as he appeared within a hundred meters of his line of sight, he would definitely be able to recognize him.

Unfortunately, there wasn't.

Entering Louwailou, of course, he had to order Xihu vinegar fish. Although Wei Ming had been tricked by Xihu vinegar fish in his previous life, he firmly believed that a famous dish that could be passed down for hundreds of years must have a reason, and Liang Shiqiu and Feng Zikai had also praised this dish highly.

So he boldly ordered this dish. Fearing that the restaurant wouldn't take it seriously, he also said to the well-dressed female service staff: "This is Comrade Tang Guoqiang who played *Little Flower*, and this is Comrade Zhu Shimao who played *Herdsmen*. You can't fool us. It must be the best master who makes it for us. If it's cooked poorly, it's smashing your own signboard."

If Melinda were here now, the service would definitely be the highest quality.

The female waitress looked at the fair Tang Guoqiang, then at the thick-browed and big-eyed Zhu Shimao, and finally her eyes fell on Wei Ming, who was the most handsome at the scene: "Then what have you played, Comrade?"

Tang Guoqiang and Zhu Shimao laughed out loud at the same time, making the little girl blush.

Zhu Shimao: "For him, you must be even more careful. He is a writer who often publishes articles saying which restaurant is delicious and which restaurant is not what it claims to be. And his readers number in the millions. If he writes a sentence about Louwailou's bad words, it won't be good."

"Ah!" The little girl was startled.

Tang Guoqiang added: "His name is Wei Ming. *Herdsmen* was written by him."

The little girl turned and left, wanting to tell the back kitchen this news. The visitors today were not good.

Wei Ming: "Eh eh eh, we haven't finished ordering yet."

Finally, besides Xihu vinegar fish, he ordered Dongpo pork, Longjing shrimp, two seasonal vegetables, and a small pot of Huadiao wine.

No suspense, Wei Ming paid the bill. It was very difficult to eat him into poverty.

Dongpo pork and Longjing shrimp were naturally beyond words. Wei Ming couldn't help but compare them with similar dishes in other restaurants he had eaten. At least they could rank in the top three.

However, Xihu vinegar fish couldn't be compared. Besides by Xihu, there was no place to sell this dish.

When this dish was served, Wei Ming deliberately ate Dongpo pork slowly, letting those two guys eat first.

Tang Guoqiang, who liked to eat cream, picked up a chopstick and nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad, worthy of being a signboard dish."

Wei Ming: *Was he trying to trick me into picking up chopsticks? *

So he stared at Zhu Shimao and also took a bite, confirming it was edible, and only then picked up a chopstick, and also dipped it in the thick and bright vinegar sauce.

"Hmm↑" Wei Ming's voice rose. Before entering his mouth, it was about the same as what he smelled in his previous life—a sour smell.

After entering his mouth, it was sweet and sour in moderation. The sweetness of sugar and the sourness of rice vinegar combined to form a fresh fragrance similar to crab meat. Although fish with sweet and sour flavor wasn't Wei Ming's preference, he had to admit it was quite delicious.

Even the pickiest diner couldn't say this thing was hard to eat.

Seeing Wei Ming nod, the female waitress who was observing in secret finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wei Ming said: "Can I see the chef who made this dish?"

"Please wait a moment."

This chef had actually been waiting for a long time. Wei Ming not only enjoyed a great reputation in the literary world but was also famous in the food world. Dozens of articles about food in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Sichuan-Chongqing made many chefs hear his name like thunder. He was registered in major restaurants in Beijing.

"Wei Laoshi, hello, my name is Wu Shunchu, the head chef of Louwailou." The head chef came straight to Wei Ming.

Wu Shunchu looked less than forty years old, but he had deep attainments in Hangzhou cuisine and could be said to be a master figure in this small category in the future.

Wei Ming could be considered to have come to the right place. He had just joined Louwailou at the beginning of this year, and his best dish was Xihu vinegar fish.

When Wei Ming asked how Xihu vinegar fish was made like this, he didn't cherish his broom.

"I use the ancient method. First, starve the grass carp for three days to remove the earthy smell, and it can also make the meat firm. Then blanch it in boiling water for three minutes... Grass carp itself has no crab flavor, but through the clever combination of sugar, vinegar, and ginger, as well as the firm texture of the fish meat, it can simulate the fresh sweetness similar to crab meat."

The key was still the "clever combination." This grasp of the proportion was too important. No wonder some people made it with a heavy earthy smell, or the sour taste was strong and hard to swallow.

There were quite a few dishes on this menu. Wei Ming decided to come and eat again later. Anyway, the organizing committee arranged a room for them for three days.

The second day was the day of the formal award ceremony. This process was actually very fast. People went up to read the list, and those who heard their names went up to the stage to express their feelings. The most time-consuming might be the leaders' speeches.

Local leaders in Hangzhou had to speak, leaders of *Popular Cinema* had to speak, and leaders of the Golden Rooster Award organizing committee had to speak.

After everyone finished speaking, the Hundred Flowers Award was presented first.

The Hundred Flowers Award had many items before, but this year there was the Golden Rooster Award responsible for experts. To avoid repetition, the Hundred Flowers Award was simple, with only three awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Story Film.

The Best Actress was mainly Zhang Yu, Gong Xue, and Jiang Lili. In the end, out of nearly 300,000 votes, Zhang Yu relied on *Romance on Lushan Mountain* to get 1.2 million votes, and Gong Xue ranked second with less than a million.

So, following Chen Chong, the Shanghai Er Yingchang's Huadan once again won the Hundred Flowers Best Actress.

The competition for Best Actor was also very fierce. Tang Guoqiang, Zhu Shimao, Da Shichang, and Guo Kaimin could be considered a battle between the Shanghai Er Yingchang and the August First Er Yingchang. The final winner was Da Shichang for *Swallow Returns*, and the veteran handsome guy still had status.

Three films were selected for Best Film: *Herdsmen*, *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, and the opera film *Seven-Rank Sesame Official*.

The Hundred Flowers Award ended like this. *Herdsmen* had an award, so Wei Ming didn't come in vain.

After the award winners finished expressing their feelings, they rested for a while, and the Golden Rooster Award continued.

The Golden Rooster Award had many awards, more than a dozen. However, at the beginning, the Best Prop Award was vacant, the Best Makeup Award was vacant, and the Best Costume Award was vacant.

The awards were set up, but they felt no one was worthy, so they were vacant.

However, the Best Special Effects Award was given to the big hit *The Legend of the White Snake*. This opera film could indeed be considered a rare film in China that used special effects.

Then the Best Editing Award went to *Herdsmen*, the Best Music Award to *Evening Rain*, the Best Photography Award to *Herdsmen*, and the Best Supporting Actor and Actress Collective Award to *Evening Rain*.

The Golden Rooster Award almost became a competition between these two films. Next was the "Best Screenplay Award."

Only two were nominated: Ye Nan for *Evening Rain* and Wei Ming for *Herdsmen*.

(12,000 words today, seeking double monthly tickets for support! Seeking follow-up subscriptions!)

(End of chapter)