Chapter 345

Wei Ming hurriedly waved his hand: "This isn't appropriate. After all, I didn't donate the money; I just followed along and cheered a few times."

"Wei Laoshi, you are too modest. Can that be called cheering? You raised your arms and shouted, not only raising a precious 150 million Hong Kong dollars for us from Hong Kong—oh, now there's another 3 million—but also spoke out in the international media, attracting many overseas rescue teams and supplies. Many international humanitarian organizations came to Sichuan under your inspiration. The fellow villagers in Sichuan all remember your kindness!"

Wei Ming didn't expect that his influence abroad had also played a role.

Officer Chen said again: "And there are too many bridges, roads, and schools that need to be rebuilt in our Sichuan this time. Those Hong Kong entrepreneurs who donated money and the artists who performed at the concert will also have corresponding namings."

Learning that he wasn't the only one, Wei Ming was relieved, and he readily accepted the proposal to take a trip to Sichuan.

By the way, he could also send his grandmother and cousin back to their hometown to take a look. In addition, he had to rely on the energy of the local relevant departments to help Chen Peter find his younger brother and grandmother.

And there was the matter of his aunt; he could also mention it by the way.

The possibility of his aunt still being in Sichuan was still very high, and there would be the third national census after the founding of the country next year. By then, maybe they could rely on this opportunity to find her.

In this era where information circulation wasn't developed, individual power was ultimately limited.

After Officer Chen finished this meal with Wei Ming, he invited Wei Ming to have a simple meal at their Beijing office guesthouse in the evening: "Remember to call everyone in the family."

Besides being a guesthouse, that place was also a Sichuan restaurant. He knew Wei Ming's mother and grandmother were in Yanjing, and it was also to play the fellow-villager card. After all, Wei Ming could only barely be counted as half a Sichuanese, but his grandmother was a native.

"Let's chat about the arrangements for returning to Sichuan this evening by the way. It just so happens that I also have to return to Chengdu to report on my work, so everyone can go together."

The invitation was hard to refuse, so in the afternoon, Wei Ming left work early and went back to Tuanjiehu, first going home to leave a note for Sister Xue saying he would be back late or not at all.

Then he went to Mei Wenhua's house to tell his grandmother about this. The old lady was overjoyed. Eating or not didn't matter; what mattered was finally being able to go back to her hometown to take a look.

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

Actually, Xu Yunyun also wanted to go back to her hometown to take a look, but she was eight months pregnant and definitely couldn't take this risk. The eldest grandson of the Mei family was in her belly, and her parents-in-law were very nervous.

Wei Ming said: "How about Yunyun also go to eat with us today? I've long heard that the Sichuan food at the Sichuan Beijing Office Guesthouse is very delicious, comparable to the Sichuan Hotel."

Xu Yunyun had also been feeling stifled for a long time: "Okay, okay, I'll call Wenhua to let him know, so he doesn't worry."

Wei Ming: "Then let Little Mei bring Little Yang over too."

Little Yang would ultimately have to go back; knowing some official figures had no harm.

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

In the Sichuan Beijing Office Guesthouse, besides that Officer Chen, there were several other staff members, including Director Zhao of the Beijing Office, who looked very much like a leader. Before Wei Ming came, he had explained to Lao Lao Lao Wei that the head of the Beijing Office was a bureau-level cadre.

Lao Lao Lao Wei thought, isn't it just a Director of the Beijing Office? Who isn't one?

Lao Lao Lao Wei could drink and chat, and was a person of the world, enlivening the atmosphere very well. Soon, he was calling Director Zhao brother, and even chatted with the Director about his experience of picking up a panda baby in his hometown of Baoxing back then.

The Director hurriedly said: "Brother Wei, our Sichuan welcomes you to come back and take a look. Maybe you can reunite with that panda son of yours."

"Ah, is this good?"

"What's not good about this? All come, all come, hospitable Sichuan welcomes you."

Xu Shufen originally wanted to accompany her mother back, and bringing her husband along was also a matter of course, it was just that now Lao Lao Lao Wei had an extra identity of an official invitation.

It was just that Mei Wenhua was a bit unhappy. He was a bit reluctant to part with his grandmother and Long Xiaoyang.

With his grandmother accompanying Yunyun, her mood was much better, alleviating her anxiety about being about to give birth, and she could also make hometown delicacies that suited her taste.

Long Xiaoyang was equally important. Don't look at this little brother as not tall, but his mind was flexible, smart, and eager to learn. Over these few months, he had already become his capable assistant at Oriental Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi.

Zhao Debiao was now spinning around his wife and daughter all day; he couldn't be counted on. And with Little Yang leaving, the burden on himself would become heavier again.

When they finished eating and left the guesthouse, Mei Wenhua called Long Xiaoyang to the side and took out a stack of money from his wallet for him, all ten-yuan "Great Unity" notes.

Long Xiaoyang knew as soon as he touched the thickness that this was a huge sum of 1,000 yuan.

"Brother-in-law, what is this?"

Mei Wenhua said: "Take it back and give it to your uncle. When your sister gives birth, everyone come and see Yunyun when you have time. She definitely wants to see her family. This is for travel expenses."

He knew that from Sichuan to Yanjing, even if it was the cheapest hard seat, the train ticket money for his father-in-law's family would probably exceed the harvest of a year in the fields, so he prepared this money in advance.

After all, 1,000 yuan was an astronomical figure for them, but for himself, the second boss of Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi, it was just a hair on a nine-oxen body. He was now preparing to learn from his brother-in-law and buy a Sihe Academy, and he was also preparing to have five children with Yunyun.

Long Xiaoyang nodded seriously and accepted it: "I'll sew the money into my underwear first when I go back."

And this scene was also seen by Wei Ming. On the way home, he heard Long Xiaoyang explain it once.

Xu Shufen sighed: "I used to think Little Mei was rash, but now this child is much more mature and steady, and considers things thoughtfully."

Lao Lao Lao Wei added: "He's about to be a father, and he's also the prototype of the male lead in our son's novel. He definitely has to have progress."

Lao Lao Lao Wei was too good at gilding his son's face. Wei Ming felt that it was the position of General Manager of Oriental Dongfang Dongfang Xintiandi that trained people. If it weren't for the limitations of the era, Little Mei could have had a broader stage.

However, Mei Wenhua really cared about the novel *In the Heat of the Sun* and was deeply proud of it. The male lead was called Mei Xiaojun, and many places were described after him.

He had already read this novel more than three times. Today, after returning home and Yunyun fell asleep early, he started flipping through it again. And what he was most curious about in this novel was the deduction of the future plot at the end of the article.

In the future, can a courtyard child with connections like himself really earn a Jeep with just a slip of paper?

Will it really be like this?

Wei Ming's family and Officer Chen ultimately didn't set off together because Wei Ming insisted on not taking advantage of the public and wanted to spend his own money to buy plane tickets to Chengdu.

And Officer Chen's rank wasn't destined for a plane; he could only buy a hard seat and set off two days in advance.

By the end of September, Wei Ming's family, including Wei Ming, Wei Jiefang, Xu Shufen, his grandmother, and Long Xiaoyang, five people, prepared to go to the airport together, while Wei Hong could only watch them leave at home.

During this time, she could only spend it with her classmates in the dormitory, and also had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of feeding the cat and dog.

Wei Ming said: "I have already asked for leave from the school, and also asked for leave for you. When I return from Sichuan, I will take you abroad."

Hearing this, the haze of Wei Hong's disappointment was swept away, and she prepared to use these few days before going abroad to make a surprise study of German with her classmates from the Spanish department.

This trip to Frankfurt would not only broaden her horizons, but the publishing house would also settle the royalties for Wei Hong's book. Although Wei Ming was listed as the author, he indicated he didn't want a cent and left it entirely for Little Hong to handle herself. It should also be several tens of thousands of dollars.

When the plane landed at Shuangliu Airport, Officer Chen Lian was already waiting for them there. He didn't expect that he could also drive, driving a Jeep to pick up Wei Ming and the others.

That day, they first stayed in Chengdu. Wei Ming used the afternoon time to first visit the old gentleman Ma Shitu, and the two also had a friendly exchange on the linguistic style of *In the Heat of the Sun*.

Wei Ming cared about the creation of *Ten Tales of the Night*, which was said to have entered the final stages and could be completed almost entirely next year. Among them, *The Tale of Stealing an Official* had already been published.

Afterward, Wei Ming ran to *Science Fiction World* again and received a warm welcome from all the editors and staff, including Old Wan. Editor-in-Chief Tan Kai and President Yang Xiao came out to receive him in person.

Relying on Wei Shenme's two *Jurassic Park* books, this small magazine that was once unknown now had a maximum circulation exceeding 100,000—that was the issue with *Jurassic Park 2*. However, recently, because there weren't many eye-catching works, it had fallen back to the level of 70,000 to 80,000, but it was still much stronger than at the beginning.

This time, Wei Ming came in person and presented the manuscript for the finale of the *Jurassic Park* series. They knew that if they couldn't seize the opportunity to rise, *Jurassic Park 3* would be the last peak of *Science Fiction World*.

Speaking of the future of *Science Fiction World*, Wei Ming also made two suggestions.

The first was to translate classic foreign science fiction works. After all, the level of domestic science fiction literature was relatively low now, and after a wave of blows, there were even fewer people willing to write this. Translating classics could at least maintain readers' love for science fiction, and many authors were converted from readers.

The second was to set up an award related to science fiction literature to attract the enthusiasm and sense of honor of creators.

Wei Ming remembered that the Galaxy Award was founded five years later, but the environment for science fiction literature at that time was also much better. Themes like surrogacy and human cryopreservation could already be seen in the award-winning works.

The two leaders and several editors all felt that Wei Ming's words were reasonable and planned to put them into practice.

And when Old Wan was sending Wei Ming out, he asked him a question: "Then will you still write science fiction in the future?"

"Write, science fiction literature has a great future." And it also had a great "money future." How many future famous film and television IPs were science fiction themes? Wei Ming wouldn't give up this blue ocean.

In the evening, Wei Ming was invited to have another meal and met a leader responsible for post-disaster reconstruction work. He was now responsible for allocating and using those donations.

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

When eating in the evening, Director Qi asked him: "Wei Laoshi, we have always wanted to thank our Hong Kong compatriots. After discussion, we decided to send a pair of giant pandas to Hong Kong. You have been to Hong Kong. Based on your understanding of Hong Kong people, will they like them?"

Wei Ming was stunned. Could it be that Hong Kong was going to have giant pandas more than ten years early?

"Of course, no one can refuse the charm of giant pandas!" Wei Ming said firmly.

In the original timeline, it would have to wait until after the handover of Hong Kong. To celebrate the second anniversary of the handover, the mainland sent a male and a female giant panda, An An and Jia Jia.

Among them, An An lived to be 35 years old, and Jia Jia even lived to be 38 years old. Both were very long-lived, existing as centenarians among pandas, which showed they lived quite comfortably in Hong Kong.

Later, on the tenth anniversary of the handover, another pair was sent, and they even gave birth to a pair of twins in Hong Kong. At its peak, Hong Kong had six giant pandas.

Hearing Wei Ming approve of his proposal, Director Qi was very happy. Then Wei Ming suggested: "However, Hong Kong's climate isn't suitable for giant pandas. Which institution will raise the giant pandas and how to ensure the quality of life of the giant pandas in Hong Kong—these all need to be communicated as soon as possible. After all, giant pandas are very precious and are treasures of the whole world. Now, if foreign countries want them, they have to rent them."