Chapter 345

Wei Ming hurriedly waved his hands: "This isn't appropriate—I didn't donate the money, I just shouted a few times."

"Mr. Wei, you're too modest—was that just shouting? When you raised your arm and called out, you didn't just raise 150 million Hong Kong dollars from Hong Kong—now it's 153 million—and you also spoke out in international media, drawing in numerous overseas rescue teams and supplies. Many international humanitarian organizations came to Sichuan because of your influence; the people of Sichuan still remember your kindness!"

Wei Ming hadn't expected his influence abroad to have such an effect.

Commissar Chen added: "Besides, we need to rebuild too many bridges, roads, and schools in Sichuan this time—every Hong Kong entrepreneur who donated and every artist who performed at the concert will have corresponding naming rights."

Learning he wasn't the only one, Wei Ming felt relieved and gladly accepted the proposal to go to Sichuan.

He could also take his grandmother and cousin back to their hometown, and he'd need local authorities' help to find Chen Peter's brother and grandmother.

He could also mention his aunt's case while he was at it.

His aunt still had a good chance of being in Sichuan, and next year there'd be the third national census since the founding of the PRC—perhaps this opportunity could help locate her.

In an era with poor information flow, individual power was ultimately limited.

After dinner with Wei Ming, Commissar Chen invited him to a simple meal at their Beijing office guesthouse that evening: "Don't forget to bring your whole family."

It wasn't just a guesthouse—it was also a Sichuan restaurant. He knew Wei Ming's mother and grandmother were in Yanjing, and he wanted to play the hometown card, since Wei Ming was barely half-Sichuanese, but his grandmother was a true native.

"Tonight we can also discuss the arrangements for returning to Sichuan—I'm heading back to Chengdu for my report anyway, so we can travel together."

With such warm insistence, Wei Ming left work early that afternoon and returned to Tuanjiehu, leaving a note for Sister Xue saying he'd be late—or not come home at all.

Then he went to Mei Wenhua's house and told his grandmother. The old woman was overjoyed—whether they ate or not didn't matter; what mattered was finally being able to return home.

She told her granddaughter Yunyun: "Yunyun, don't worry—I and your mother will definitely come when you give birth."

Xu Yunyun also wanted to return home, but with her eight-month pregnancy, she couldn't risk it—her belly held the eldest grandson of the Mei family, and her in-laws were extremely anxious.

Wei Ming said: "Why not have Yunyun join us for dinner tonight? I've heard the Sichuan cuisine at the Sichuan Office guesthouse in Beijing is delicious—comparable to Sichuan Restaurant."

Xu Yunyun had been cooped up for too long: "Good, good—I'll call Wenhua to let him know, so he won't worry."

Wei Ming: "Then let Xiao Mei bring Xiao Yang along too."

Xiao Yang would have to return eventually—getting to know some officials wouldn't hurt.

After that, Wei Ming called the Sihe Academy and asked his parents to come too.

At the Sichuan Office guesthouse, besides Commissar Chen, there were several staff members, including Zhao Director, who clearly had the bearing of a leader. Before arriving, Wei Ming had explained to Old Wei that the head of the Beijing office was a department-level cadre.

Old Wei thought: So what? Isn't every office director the same?

Old Wei could drink, could talk, and had a broad, easygoing personality—he quickly warmed up the atmosphere, soon calling Zhao Director "brother," even telling him about how he'd once found a baby panda in his hometown of Baoxing.

The director hurriedly said: "Brother Wei, we in Sichuan welcome you back to visit—maybe you'll even reunite with your panda son."

"Ah, is that okay?"

"What's not okay? Come, come—hospitable Sichuan welcomes you!"

Xu Shufen had also wanted to return to Sichuan with her mother, and bringing her husband along was natural—but now Old Wei had an official invitation.

Mei Wenhua, however, was quietly downcast—he hated to leave his grandmother and didn't want to part with Long Xiao Yang.

With his grandmother accompanying Yunyun, her mood improved greatly, easing her anxiety about impending childbirth, and she could cook her hometown dishes to her taste.

Long Xiao Yang was equally important. Though short in stature, he was quick-witted, studious, and in these past months had become Mei Wenhua's indispensable assistant at Dongfang Xintiandi.

Zhao Debiao was now constantly doting on his wife and daughter—he was no help at all. With Xiao Yang gone, Mei Wenhua's burdens would grow heavier again.

After dinner, as they left the guesthouse, Mei Wenhua pulled Long Xiao Yang aside and took a thick stack of cash from his wallet—all ten-yuan notes.

Xiao Yang felt the thickness and knew this was a thousand yuan—a fortune.

"Brother-in-law, what's this?"

Mei Wenhua said: "Give this to your uncle. When your sister gives birth, if anyone has time, come see Yunyun—she'll want to see family. This is for travel expenses."

He knew that even the cheapest hard-seat train tickets from Sichuan to Yanjing would cost more than his in-laws' entire annual harvest, so he'd prepared this money in advance.

After all, a thousand yuan was astronomical for them, but for him, the No. 2 boss of Dongfang Xintiandi, it was nothing more than a single hair on a cow's back—he was even planning to buy a Sihe Academy like his brother-in-law, and to have five children with Yunyun.

Long Xiao Yang nodded solemnly and accepted: "I'll sew the money into my underwear when I get back."

Wei Ming had seen this scene and heard Xiao Yang's explanation on the way home.

Xu Shufen sighed: "I used to think Xiao Mei was impulsive, but now this boy has become mature and steady, thinking things through carefully."

Old Wei chimed in: "He's about to become a father, and he's even the prototype of the male lead in my son's novel—he's got to grow up."

Old Wei was too good at flattering his son. Wei Ming felt it was the position of General Manager at Dongfang Xintiandi that had shaped him—if not for the limitations of the times, Xiao Mei could have had an even broader stage.

But Mei Wenhua truly cared about the novel "Sunny Days," and was deeply proud of it—the male lead was named Mei Xiaojun, and many details were drawn directly from him.

He'd read the novel more than three times. That night, after Yunyun fell asleep early, he opened it again, and what intrigued him most was the novel's final speculation about future plot developments.

Could people like him—with connections—really get a Jeep just by writing a note?

Could it really happen like that?

In the end, Wei Ming's family and Commissar Chen didn't travel together, because Wei Ming refused to take advantage of public resources—he insisted on buying his own plane ticket to Chengdu.

Commissar Chen, however, had no access to air travel—he could only buy a hard-seat ticket and depart two days earlier.

By late September, Wei Ming's family—Wei Ming, Wei Jiefang, Xu Shufen, his grandmother, and Long Xiao Yang—prepared to head to the airport, while Wei Hong could only watch helplessly from home, seeing them off.

For this period, she'd have to spend time with her dorm mates and take on the responsibility of feeding the cats and dogs.

Wei Ming said: "I've already taken leave from school, and I've arranged leave for you too. When I return from Sichuan, I'll take you abroad."

Hearing this, Wei Hong's gloom vanished instantly, and she planned to use the next few days before departure to cram German with her Spanish department classmates.

This trip to Frankfurt wouldn't just broaden her horizons—the publisher would also settle her book royalties. Although Wei Ming was listed as the author, he said he wouldn't take a cent—he left it entirely to Xiao Hong to handle, and she could likely earn tens of thousands of dollars.

When the plane landed at Shuangliu Airport, Commissar Chen was already waiting for them—and he even drove a Jeep to pick them up.

That day they stayed in Chengdu. In the afternoon, Wei Ming visited the elderly Mr. Ma Shitu, and the two had a friendly exchange about the linguistic style of "Sunny Days."

Wei Ming also inquired about the progress of "Ten Tales of the Night," which was said to be nearing completion and would be finished by next year; "The Bandit Official" had already been published.

Then Wei Ming visited "Science Fiction World," where he received a warm welcome from all the editors and staff, including Editor-in-Chief Tan Kai and Publisher Yang Xiao, who personally received him.

Thanks to Wei's two "Jurassic Park" novels, this once obscure little magazine now had a peak circulation exceeding 100, 00—specifically for the "Jurassic Park 2" issue—but recently, due to a lack of standout works, circulation had dropped back to 70, 00–80, 00, still far better than its original levels.

This time, Wei Ming personally delivered the final manuscript of the "Jurassic Park" series. They knew that if they failed to seize this opportunity, "Jurassic Park 3" would be the magazine's absolute peak.

When speaking of "Science Fiction World's" future, Wei Ming offered two suggestions.

First, translate foreign classic science fiction works—since domestic sci-fi writing was still underdeveloped and had suffered a setback, with fewer writers willing to write it, translating classics could at least maintain readers' interest in sci-fi, and many authors had originally been readers.

Second, establish a science fiction literary award to attract creators' enthusiasm and sense of honor.

Wei Ming remembered that the Galaxy Award would be founded five years later, but by then the sci-fi environment had improved considerably, and winning works already featured themes like surrogacy and human cryogenic freezing.

Both leaders and several editors felt Wei Ming's suggestions were sound and planned to implement them.

As Old Wan saw Wei Ming out, he asked him: "Will you write sci-fi again?"

"Of course—I believe sci-fi literature has a bright future." And it had "profit potential" too—many future famous film and TV IPs were sci-fi. Wei Ming wouldn't abandon this blue ocean.

That evening, Wei Ming was invited to another dinner, where he met a leader in charge of post-disaster reconstruction, who managed the allocation and use of all donations.

This leader was a department-level cadre, surnamed Qi.

Over dinner, Director Qi asked him: "Young Mr. Wei, we've long wanted to thank our Hong Kong compatriots. After discussion, we've decided to gift Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas. You've been to Hong Kong—based on your understanding of Hong Kong people, will they like them?"

Wei Ming froze—was Hong Kong going to get giant pandas over a decade ahead of schedule?

"Of course! No one can resist the charm of giant pandas!" Wei Ming said confidently.

In the original timeline, mainland China wouldn't gift Hong Kong a male and female panda pair—An'an and Jiajia—until after the handover, to celebrate the second anniversary.

An'an lived to 35, Jiajia to 38—both exceptionally long-lived, even by panda standards, proving they lived very well in Hong Kong.

Later, for the tenth anniversary of the handover, another pair was gifted, and they even gave birth to twins in Hong Kong; at its peak, Hong Kong had six giant pandas.

Hearing Wei Ming's approval, Director Qi was delighted. Wei Ming then suggested: "But Hong Kong's climate isn't suitable for giant pandas. We must communicate early about which institution will care for them and how to ensure their quality of life there—giant pandas are extremely precious, the world's treasure; even foreign countries must rent them now."