Chapter 352: Goodbye Zhou Huimin, Call Me Dad

This time, Wei Ming planned to take the bus to the airport, but as soon as he stepped out of the residential compound, he spotted a familiar sedan, and Master Liu waved at him.

"Master, you're not here to see me off, are you?! That's against the rules!"

Before Master Liu could speak, the rear window rolled down, and Wei Anping was smiling at them.

"Uncle, are you going to the airport too?" Wei Hong immediately rushed over.

Wei Ming opened the trunk and loaded in their bulky bags; Uncle Anping was now working tirelessly for Peking University, flying back and forth constantly—so it wasn't surprising they were all heading to the airport on the same day.

Once aboard, Wei Anping asked first: "Why didn't your parents come to see you off?"

Wei Ming hadn't spoken to Uncle Anping in a while; he told him: "My parents didn't return to Beijing—they stayed in Sichuan."

"What? Did your mother miss home so much she made your father move in as a son-in-law in Sichuan?"

Wei Hong laughed: "No, my dad's now a panda keeper."

"What?!" Wei Anping and Master Liu both exclaimed in surprise.

Wei Ming: "Master, focus on driving."

Then he explained about Gangdan, and mentioned they might send it to Hong Kong as a token of gratitude from the people of Sichuan.

Clever Wei Anping instantly understood Wei Jiefang's scheme—he planned to use this opportunity to officially get dispatched to Hong Kong to meet his biological father!

He exchanged a glance with Wei Ming up front and knew he was right.

Wei Hong asked again: "Uncle, we're going to West Germany—where are you headed?"

Wei Anping: "I'm going to Frankfurt too."

"What?!" Now it was Wei Ming and his sister's turn to be stunned.

Wei Anping smiled: "I didn't tell you on purpose—I wanted to surprise you."

Wei Ming: "It's definitely a surprise."

Wei Hong: "Then why are you going to Frankfurt?"

Wei Ming guessed: "To help Fang Zheng sell equipment?"

Wei Anping nodded: "The Frankfurt Book Fair showcases not just books, but the world's most advanced publishing and printing technologies. I want to test whether our products have overseas markets, so I'm joining you on this trip as an unofficial member—I happen to speak German."

Wei Hong: "You speak German too?!"

Wei Ming: "Shouldn't you be learning Russian at your age?"

Wei Anping: "I know a bit of Russian, but I'm more fluent in German—I can save you a German translator."

He could serve as a German translator? Uncle Anping had some real skills!

At the airport, the three got out and bid farewell to Master Liu, who didn't leave far—he hung around by the roadside waiting for arriving passengers, ready to pick up a few extra fares.

These days everyone was chasing money; his salary was high, but compared to his old buddies who traded goods, he was far behind.

To keep up appearances, you needed cash—sigh, things were better back then, when everyone was poor.

Just before entering the airport, Wei Anping told Wei Hong to go ahead: "I need to talk to your brother."

Wei Ming knew what he was going to say: "About my dad?"

"Yes. Does he have a real chance of going to Hong Kong?"

Wei Ming: "You know him—he'll get there as long as the Hong Kong people accept this gift from Sichuan. He's got an 80% chance of going to Hong Kong with his panda son to enjoy life."

Wei Anping thought it over—it was true. Since childhood, he'd always gotten along well with animals; back then, wild creatures still roamed near the village, and he'd once invited a yellow immortal home as a guest.

"That's truly good news—they've been separated for so long, and now they can finally reunite. Let Jiefang experience 'Dad, Love Me Once Again'—don't think you're his grandson, you still can't match real father and son."

"That's true, but this time, you, his eldest nephew, might get to meet him early too," Wei Ming smiled. "We're transiting through Hong Kong."

"I know that," Wei Anping said, "but how long will we stay in Hong Kong? Can we leave the airport?"

Wei Ming couldn't answer that.

Inside Beijing Capital International Airport, they first found Deputy Director Liu Gao, then saw Old Ye Junjian, and Shen Changwen from People's Publishing House, who later became general manager of Sanlian Press.

A mid-level official from China Children's Publishing House came over—they all knew Wei Ming and Wei Anping well.

Wei Ming was now a leading figure in children's literature—no need to add "young"—his status was even higher than in serious literature.

One major task for this children's publisher was promoting the foreign translation rights of Wei Ming's series of children's books, including the internationally famous "The Game of the Brave" and "The Lion King."

The success of these two novels was already guaranteed.

Although Macmillan was also promoting Wei Ming's two works in foreign editions, those were picture books—collaborations between Wei Ming, Melinda, and the illustrators—while the children's publisher was promoting Wei Ming's original novel texts; each side promoted their own version.

Including Wei Anping, the Peking University mid-level official, there were twelve people total—all fluent in foreign languages.

Besides the majority who spoke English, three or four were fluent in Russian; Uncle Anping specialized in German; two others spoke French and Spanish respectively; Wei Ming had a basic grasp of Japanese.

With these languages, as long as they didn't split up, this group would face no communication problems in Frankfurt.

Deputy Director Liu Gao, as team leader, outlined key principles and precautions, then asked Old Ye to say a few words.

"Some comrades here are traveling abroad for the first time—I'll say just one thing: every word and action you take represents China. Think thrice before you act. We don't seek trouble, but we're not afraid of it either—don't be timid or hesitant overseas!"

Wei Hong gave her brother a look: That's more than one thing.

While waiting for the flight, Old Ye brought up again the English title issue of "The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vastness of Time."

"This time we still hope to sell translation rights in languages other than English, so we need to decide on an English title quickly for foreign readers' understanding."

Wei Ming fully understood—after all, English was the global language; an English title would make it universally comprehensible.

Old Ye said: "Lao Yang and I discussed it again on the phone—we think a literal translation won't work. Your title carries more symbolic meaning than literal content; a direct translation might confuse foreign readers about the novel's actual theme, so we're considering naming it directly from the novel's content."

Wei Ming nodded: "That's a valid approach."

Ye Junjian said: "I thought of 'The Epic of Home and Country.' Lao Yang and his wife thought 'Once Upon a Time in China' was better—'once upon a time' is what we always use when translating fairy tales: 'a long time ago in China,' or 'China's Past.'"

Wei Ming knew there was a famous film called "Once Upon a Time in America"—its title was grand yet tinged with melancholy.

Translation was more complicated than writing precisely because you had to constantly compare, endlessly weigh every word.

Old Ye presented both options and called over others—they all understood English—and asked them to join the discussion or suggest better translations.

This discussion continued from the airport all the way onto the plane.

Meanwhile, their destination—Hong Kong—was being flooded by one headline.

"Should Hong Kong Get a Giant Panda?"

When the mainland sent this news to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government was delighted and readily accepted.

Especially Governor MacLehose still remembered the sensation caused by the giant panda Jiji in Britain—and coincidentally, Jiji too came from Ya'an's Baoxing County.