[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-32":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},2260740,4412,"Chapter 32: Gathering Material","rising-in-1979-chapter-32",32,"\u003Cp>Even a yuan seemed expensive to Wei Ming, but since he’d said eighty cents, he might as well give it a try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey was indeed long—nearly ten kilometers—and the driver sped through left turns and right turns, cutting corners, yet still took over half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Shanghai driver wasn’t very likable; when Wei Ming brought up Shen Gui Yang Rong wine, the driver said he’d never bought or drunk it, then fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’re no good at all—if you know nothing, how can you be a taxi driver?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. 201 Danba Road, here we are.” The driver dropped him off and turned around without a second thought, utterly indifferent to the eighty-cent fare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming looked at the sun—it was mealtime—but he couldn’t eat the free lunch at the guesthouse; this meal would cost him personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right outside the factory was a state-run restaurant; with several factories nearby, business was quite good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ordered a steamer of buns and a bowl of millet porridge, paying two liang of grain coupons and thirty fen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While waiting for his food, Wei Ming noticed a table of men and women all wearing work uniforms; one girl made him glance at her several times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that she was beautiful—what caught his eye was the text on the back of her uniform: “Shanghai Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After eating, Wei Ming waited outside the gate of Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2, and when the female worker came out, he stepped forward and said: “Comrade, hello.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Comrade, hello. What can I do for you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m a writer from Beijing, writing a novel about Shen Gui Yang Rong wine from earlier this year. Could you take me inside for an interview?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shanghai people looked down on all outsiders equally, but Beijing people could be slightly exempted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worker, introducing herself as Jiang Yungui, warmly replied: “No problem—but is this even worth writing a novel about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course—everything can be turned into a novel.” Not only can it be written into a novel, some have even been made into films.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming registered at the guardhouse and entered the factory smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Jiang showed strong ownership; along the way, she introduced Wei Ming to the glorious achievements of their Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shanghai Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2 didn’t produce only Shen Gui Yang Rong wine—this was merely a minor product category.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tablets, granules, syrups, oral liquids, capsules, ointments—the factory produced them all; its flagship products included Compound Danshen Tablets, Yin Qiao Jie Du Tablets, and Hua Tuo Ointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even among medicinal wines, there was more than one kind—there was also Wan Nian Chun wine, which truly had kidney-tonifying effects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, Little Jiang took him to the medicinal wine workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unauthorized entry was forbidden in production areas; outside the workshop, Wei Ming met Director Wang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Wang, hello. I’m a writer from Beijing, working on a novel about Shen Gui Yang Rong wine. I’d like to learn more about this medicinal wine—sorry for the disturbance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Director Wang, in his forties or fifties, looked weighed down by worries, but the title of “writer” still carried weight; he pulled himself together and began explaining the effects of Shen Gui Yang Rong wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our ingredients include ginseng, longan, goji berries, and other herbs—ginseng boosts qi, longan replenishes blood, so our Shen Gui Yang Rong wine is a dual tonic for qi and blood, ideal for elderly people with weak qi and blood. You’re a writer—you’ve surely read Dream of the Red Chamber?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Director Wang Zhenxu said: “Lin Daiyu’s Ren Shen Yang Rong Wan from Dream of the Red Chamber works on the same principle as our Shen Gui Yang Rong wine—both are extremely tonic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled: “Daiyu was so young and still needed this medicine—she must have been truly weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, the rumor that Daiyu could uproot willow trees was untrue. Director Wang added: “Medicinal wine is good, but don’t drink too much—we recommend 20 to 30 milliliters per serving, no more than twice daily, since weak constitutions can’t handle excessive tonics.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming, poor at math, quickly calculated: so, half an ounce per serving, no more than one ounce per day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder sales were mediocre—alcohol you can’t drink freely won’t sell well; the word “medicine” comes first—medicinal wine is ultimately not wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if you calculate that way, one bottle lasts only ten days—a month would be three bottles, or 45 yuan, equivalent to a regular worker’s salary; inability to afford it would also limit sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, besides supplying high-income groups needing tonics, this wine could only briefly become popular due to temporary hype; once the hype faded, it naturally returned to obscurity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone is poor now—unless overall public income rises significantly and a relatively wealthy class emerges, will there be space for products like Brain White.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming brought up the TV commercial from earlier this year, saying he’d first learned of this wine from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the future, Xu Zheng’s film My People, My Parents used a short film called Duck Master to tell the story of the Shen Gui Yang Rong wine ad; here, from Director Wang, he learned a different truth: the medicine had always sold well and never piled up in inventory, but after the ad, it truly sold out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after leaving Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2, Wei Ming planned to visit Shanghai TV Station to gather material on the story behind the ad—this was the missing part in Duck Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Wei Ming left, Director Wang immediately sought out Sales Department Head Liang Lu: “There’s still so much inventory sitting in the workshop—can you even sell it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The TV ad’s effect was too strong—he got carried away and ramped up production, but once the hype faded, buyers returned to rationality, the outside markets never opened, and now it’s truly piled up!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the exact moment Wei Ming left Chinese Medicine Factory No. 2, Gong Ying, dressed up nicely, returned home exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her younger sister, Gong Ying, who was three years younger, rushed over: “Sis, how was it at Shanghai Film Studio?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Yu sighed: “They said there’s a new film called Romance on Lushan Mountain, and the female lead suits me—but unfortunately, the role has already been assigned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who? Chen Chong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two years ago, Director Xie Jin’s film Youth made the lead actress Chen Chong famous; recently, she was chosen by Beijing Film Studio to star in a film called Little Flower, with Tang Guoqiang as the male lead and Liu Xiaoqing as supporting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was only sixteen then; now she’s barely eighteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Yu immediately thought of Wei Ming, also eighteen—ah, why am I thinking of him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s Zhang Yu.” She told her sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Ying immediately said: “She’s not as pretty as you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say that—she’s beautiful too; she’s from Shanghai Film Studio, and under similar conditions, they’d naturally prefer their own people.” Gong Yu sighed helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Ying hugged her sister: “It’s fine—they didn’t pick you. Tomorrow, come with me to sketch, okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was currently studying painting with her father; their father and older brother were painters, and both sisters shared interest and talent in this area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Yu nodded: “Alright, I’ll ask Mom for permission to borrow her camera.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Requesting monthly tickets, follow reads, and ranking boosts! Also, the comment section has a cameo character tower—everyone can participate; Old Buddha has already arranged several roles~)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1244,"2026-06-19T16:30:57.111Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fb9cfa8e37eeae630374cfd29b406842e9360bb33afb9615b97debbceeab3e72","rising-in-1979-chapter-33","rising-in-1979-chapter-31",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]