Chapter 370: Welcome Teacher Wei Ming

Wei Lingling led Li Zhi and Zhou Hui min into Baiyun Hotel, where the density of foreigners was now very high, housing many foreign merchants come for the Canton Fair.

The Canton Fair is held twice a year, in spring and autumn, fulfilling two major functions: attracting foreign investment and generating export earnings, and in the past two years it has grown larger each time.

Wei Lingling had two purposes for coming to the Canton Fair: one was to find a cheap and reliable manufacturing partner, and the other was to secure a cheap and stable source of raw materials.

The former might have to wait until Langning Toy Factory's products took off before serious consideration, but the latter needed to be arranged right away.

Wei Lingling booked two adjacent rooms: she took one, and Zhou Hui min and Li Zhi shared the other.

Zhou Hui min was very kind to Li Zhi—after all, she was from the mainland, and love the mother, love the child.

But Li Zhi treated Zhou Hui min coldly; she already knew Wei Ming had written Zhou Hui min a song called "First Love" and taken her to a charity concert—his intentions were obvious!

Thinking of Zhou Hui min, she recalled her own foolish delusions, thinking he was after her body, only to find he preferred "little" ones.

At bedtime, Zhou Hui min stole a glance at Li Zhi—big, big, big!

By the time they reached the hotel, night had fallen; the three women had a simple meal and went to rest.

Zhou Hui min had stayed at a hotel once before—the Peninsula Hotel—and though this place was still somewhat inferior, it was far better than her home, and she felt very comfortable.

The next morning, Wei Lingling took them out to eat cheong fun on the street.

Guangzhou's prosperity certainly couldn't match Hong Kong's, but Li Zhi felt it was no worse than Shanghai, and there were many merchants around—clearly not state-run businesses, given how aggressively they hawked their goods.

Three beautiful women walking down the street attracted many glances: the refined elegance of the well-educated overseas Chinese woman, the voluptuous charm of the plump young maid, and the innocence of the fourteen-year-old schoolgirl—all unmistakably non-local by their attire.

Zhou Hui min gazed curiously at the people and shops around her, and was delighted to discover that many stores played Hong Kong songs; along the way, she heard several songs Wei Ming had composed for the charity concert.

While eating cheong fun and listening to "Fondly Remembering You," Zhou Hui min asked the shop owner: "Have you heard a song called 'First Love'?"

The shop owner shook her head; Zhou Hui min's song had been released as a single by PolyGram, but without an album, its influence in the mainland was still too small.

But if Wei Ming wrote her a few more songs, she could release an album—its title would be "First Love."

As Amin basked in sweetness, the song switched to "Melinda," and Zhou Hui min immediately thought of Wei Ming's first love, and the days they spent together in Frankfurt—what had they even done back then?

Li Zhi, sitting across from Zhou Hui min, noticed her expression and immediately prodded her: "Teacher Wei is still so obsessed with his first love—he even started a company for her to manage. How touching."

She had heard of Dream Factory from Wei Lingling.

Hearing this obscure fact she hadn't known, Zhou Hui min's mood sank further—were they planning to get back together?

Wei Lingling shot Li Zhi a glare: "Can't even shut your mouth with cheong fun? Want another serving?"

The remark was harsh; Li Zhi startled—she'd lost her mind. Dream Factory was a secret Wei Lingling had shared only with her, and now she'd blabbed it to someone else—would Wei Lingling think her unreliable?

Li Zhi quickly smoothed things over: "Miss Wei, would you like another cheong fun? I'll go order it for you."

Wei Lingling wiped her mouth: "No need, I'm full. If you're done eating, come with me to the exhibition hall—don't stray more than ten steps from me. If I lose you, I can't answer for it."

Zhou Hui min asked reluctantly: "Auntie Wei, you're really not going to Beijing?"

"Precisely because I'm only here two days in Guangzhou, I dared bring you along. If I were going to Beijing, I wouldn't dare take you without your mother."

Zhou Hui min gazed northward—Aming, we'll have to wait until next month to meet again.

She suddenly remembered something: "Auntie Wei, can we watch a mainland movie? The one called 'Mother, Love Me Once More!'"

The cheong fun shop owner immediately urged: "Watch it—definitely watch it. The dramas of Gong Chun in the south and Zhu Lin in the north are both excellent."

"Gong Chun in the south, Zhu Lin in the north?" Amin hadn't heard that phrase since "Guo Jing in the north, Murong in the south"—how amusing.

"Perfect shot!"

"Beautiful!"

"Let's toast!"

Wei Ming felt watching volleyball was more fun with more people, so he invited Biaozi, Xiao Mei, Old Wei and his wife, and Wei Hong, who had come back from Peking University for the weekend, to watch the Women's Volleyball World Cup together at the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

The coffee table held braised pork, sausages, peanuts, and unlimited beer and Beibingyang soda.

This match was China vs. Soviet Union; the first set ended 15: , China won.

The second set was tight, tied at 14: 4; at the crucial moment, Lang Ping smashed a decisive spike to win the point, then her teammate scored another—16: 4, China won the second set!

The third set was no contest; China's women's team crushed their opponents, winning 15: , a complete victory!

The match ended; Wei Ming asked Xiao Mei: "With your grandparents gone, is the pressure on you heavy?"

Wei Ming's uncle and aunt had come to visit Yunyun for a few days; once they confirmed she was fine and the baby ate and slept well, her grandmother, feeling too old to help much, returned home with her son.

"But I still have my mother-in-law, and my mom comes often too. And Yunyun isn't delicate—I told her not to get out of bed to work, but she can't stay still." Mei Wenhua's face glowed with family happiness.

"Home is fine, but the shop—recently another private clothing store opened in Xidan; now we have four or five competitors. Though we're still the leader, releasing new items every month, our shipment volume isn't as high as during our peak."

Wei Ming said: "I saw you sponsored the North Film Studio's calendar photoshoot—when it comes out, promote it in the newspapers. Use the North Film Studio's Four Golden Flowers to advertise Xintiandi."

Biaozi quickly interjected: "Brother Ming, that wasn't Xiao Mei's idea—it was my decision."

Mei Wenhua said: "I was at home then; Biaozi made the call alone."

Wei Ming was surprised: "Didn't know you had such a business sense, Biaozi."

Biaozi spoke honestly: "Honestly, I didn't think that far—I just figured if North Film Studio ever needs actors in the future, they might remember me."

Huh, so he's just got the acting bug.

Wei Lingling acted efficiently; within two days she found a plush toy material supplier—a township enterprise in Guangdong—but its quality was solid, and far cheaper than similar products from Hong Kong, greatly boosting Langning Toy Factory's market competitiveness.

On Sunday, she took Zhou Hui min and Li Zhi back to Hong Kong.

Facing her furious mother, Zhou Hui min sang out: "Only mother is good in this world, a child with a mother is like a treasure…"

Zhou's mother sniffed: "Go on, go on—every time you mess up, you sing this song. My ears are worn out."

Zhou Hui min immediately switched songs: "Oh Mother, Mother in the Candlelight…"

This was a new song to Zhou's mother—and a Mandarin one at that.

After finishing that, Zhou Hui min went on: "The stars in the sky don't speak, the children on earth miss their mother…"

"Where did you learn all these songs?" Zhou's mother's eyes grew moist.

Then Zhou Hui min grinned and pulled out the cassette tape of "Mother, Love Me Once More!"—the tape was covered with Wei Ming's name.

Today was Amin's birthday, and also China's third match in the volleyball tournament, against South Korea.

Old Wei even took the day off for this match; though his father was still alive, the old grudge couldn't be forgotten—today, crush the Koreans, then take on the Americans later.

South Korea had some strength; the first set was tense, ending 15: 2, but both the players on court and coach Yuan Weimin remained calm.

The second set ended 15: —China won another set!

When the third set began, someone knocked at the door; Wei Ming opened it—it was the mailman.

"Teacher Wei, oh, watching volleyball! Two packages for you—one from Hong Kong, one from Japan—and a foreign remittance slip." The man craned his neck to peek.

Hearing "Hong Kong," Old Wei also stretched his neck—and their eyes met; both felt awkward.

After Wei Ming signed for the packages, Old Wei came over: "Is it your grandfather?"

Wei Ming: "A pen pal."

"And that one?"

Wei Ming: "Sada Masashi, the Japanese singer."

He patiently watched the third match—15: , an easy win. Since the tournament began, the women's team had not lost a single match, nor even a single set—truly uplifting.

Wei Ming had already taken the packages into his study; today was Amin's birthday—she must have received his gift by now.

He first glanced at the remittance slip—from Sada Masashi in Japan. Good heavens, how many zeros was that? Why so much?

The numbers confused him; he decided to open Amin's package first.

The first thing he saw was a greeting card—sturdy, thick. Inside were Amin's own handwritten birthday wishes and cartoon drawings, a photo of the two of them, and several newspaper clippings about Wei Ming—all thoughtfully arranged.

Too bad he didn't hear "Happy Birthday" when he opened it.

Hmm—when did those musical birthday cards appear anyway?

He remembered they were wildly popular in mainland China around 2000, very trendy and expensive; surely they'd appeared even earlier overseas.

But given Amin's willingness to spend on him, if she hadn't bought one, it was probably because they didn't exist yet.

Besides the heartfelt card, there was also an album—more like a photo book—apparently taken specially for her birthday.

But Wei Ming couldn't praise the photographer's skill; it was only Amin's natural beauty that saved it. When he got the chance, he'd shoot her own photo book—definitely outclass this one.

He'd put this photo book in the safe later.

Next, Wei Ming opened Sada Masashi's package and found a VHS tape—this must be "The Yangtze." CCTV hadn't aired it yet.

But it had aired in Japan—and flopped.

Sada Masashi mentioned this in his letter.

"The reception of 'The Yangtze' in Japan was mediocre. Clearly, I have no talent for directing. I'd hoped to sell more broadcast rights, but now that seems unlikely. I can't count on this film to repay my bank loan."

Indeed, history had followed its original course: this film saddled him with 2. billion yen in debt. China provided manpower, materials, and policy support in exchange for rights, so they'd almost certainly not pay him—likely even profited from him, especially through extensive aerial footage.

The rights fees he sold in Japan were probably minimal; he still owed at least 2 billion yen—equivalent to ten million U. . dollars—no wonder it took decades to repay.