Chapter 383: Taking Over ATV, Investing in Journey to the West

Jin Yong had little interest in science fiction, but he had great interest in Wei Ming's science fiction.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Ming Pao also serialized the Waisi series, but they had not collaborated for a long time.

Aside from Ni Kuang's price being too high, the main reason was that the Waisi series lacked sufficient literary merit to match Ming Pao's esteemed reputation among the elite.

While Wei Ming's Jurassic Park series lacked the boundless imagination of Waisi, its core idea—"life will find a way"—dramatically elevated the depth of this adventure-thriller, significantly boosting Ming Pao's sales; it was said many foreigners loved it, explaining its overseas success, though Ming Pao had merely acquired a secondhand copy.

Now that Wei Ming was seeking a launch platform for his new science fiction work, Jin Yong naturally looked forward to it.

"How does it compare to Jurassic Park?"

"Less entertaining, but far deeper in substance."

Perfect—it was exactly the kind of work Ming Pao needed!

Then Wei Ming shifted back to discussing comic adaptations: "Master Jin, if The Legend of the Condor Heroes does well, but someone else buys the rights to the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, won't we just be doing all the work for someone else?"

Jin Yong smiled faintly—this young man was trying to outwit him. He waved his hand: "To ease your concerns, I'll hand over the rights to The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Sword of the Heaven's Edge to Kuangren Comics together."

He felt Wei Ming was pushing too far if he said any more.

Wei Ming stopped there: "Alright, then my new work's Chinese edition will have its exclusive debut in Ming Pao."

"Chinese edition?"

"Yes, it's an English novel, but I'll translate the Chinese version myself."

"An English novel? You?"

Jin Yong found this utterly unbelievable, and his curiosity about the novel deepened—but Wei Ming said it was still in progress and would notify him immediately upon completion.

Wei Ming checked his watch: "I'll head out now—friends are waiting for me downstairs. I'll send Ah Long over to sign the contract later."

When they reached the car downstairs, exactly 28 minutes had passed, and Ah Min was eagerly watching out the window.

She had grown bored after sitting in the car for a few minutes and had been waiting for Ah Ming to appear ever since.

After getting in, she smiled and asked: "How did it go?"

"Very successful. Master Jin is very reasonable."

The car started and headed straight for Ocean Park.

Hong Kong Ocean Park is located in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island, covering a vast area divided into upper and lower sections, connected by a mountain cable car.

At this time, Japan's Disneyland had not yet been built, and Hong Kong Disneyland didn't even exist—so Ocean Park was Hong Kong's most hardcore amusement venue, featuring killer whales and soon to acquire a pair of giant pandas.

When Wei Ming and Zhou Hui entered, they could already see massive promotional posters—the pandas were cartoon versions, since no one knew what the real pandas from Sichuan looked like, and no exact arrival date had been confirmed.

Yet just this one poster increased Ocean Park's visitor numbers by 10% year-over-year.

Admission wasn't expensive: HK$20 for adults, and most areas were included in that price—only some rides on the mountain required extra fees. So Ocean Park operated at a loss, but was subsidized continuously by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club was incredibly wealthy, and nearly all wealthy people in Hong Kong were members.

Wei Ming and Ah Min didn't rush to the panda pavilion; instead, like ordinary couples, they strolled slowly, first visiting the famed Asian aquarium, whose scale and fish diversity ranked among Asia's best.

Such a modern aquarium didn't yet exist on the mainland, but Wei Ming had visited Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, so he found this one merely decent.

For Ah Min, this was her second visit—her mother had brought her once when she first made money from business—but she still found it fresh, seeing many fish for the first time, often asking Ah Ming to take photos of her.

"Wow, this little fish is so cute, so brightly colored, looks so dopey."

"Nemo," Wei Ming blurted out.

"What?" Ah Min turned to look at him.

"Nothing—I just named this clownfish on the spot," Wei Ming smiled.

Hearing this, Ah Min pointed to a larger clownfish nearby: "What about this one?"

"Marlin."

"And this one?" Another blue tang swam over.

How convenient, Wei Ming laughed: "Dory."

At that moment, aquarium staff began introducing fish species and traits to visitors; Wei Ming quickly pulled Ah Min over to listen—these aquatic creatures weren't native to Hong Kong, nor even common in Asia.

These deep-sea creatures were truly wondrous; one of Wei Ming's greatest regrets in his past life was never learning to dive—he was too old to risk it, but in this life, he'd definitely try.

"Uncle, hi, could you take a photo of us?" Ah Min immediately picked a passerby.

Wei Ming and Ah Min took many photos; as they prepared to leave the aquarium, Ah Min stopped a lone elderly man and asked him to take a picture with them.

The old man wore a mask and seemed very introverted, but he agreed when he saw Wei Ming.

It was said there would be dolphin and sea lion shows, and they could see the killer whale "Haiwei."

Wei Ming and Ah Min bought a drink and rushed over; Ah Min insisted on buying only one cup, with a single straw—so they had to share.

After watching the show, morning passed; they ate seafood at an on-site restaurant—no one knew if the fish on their plates came from the park's staff meals or if it was the same kind the dolphins had just eaten.

The restaurant sat at a high elevation; they noticed an area under construction behind a fence. Wei Ming asked a staff member, who told him it was the new Asian Animal World, centered on the panda pavilion.

The pavilion was being built because of the two giant pandas; to keep the two guests from Sichuan from feeling lonely, more Asian animals were being acquired.

Wei Ming and Ah Min exchanged glances and headed straight there after lunch.

But they were stopped: "Sorry, this area is under construction and not open yet."

Wei Ming removed his sunglasses: "I'm the mainland representative, here to inspect the panda pavilion's construction progress."

Though he had no ID, the guard at the gate recognized Wei Ming—he was a fan—and Wei Ming truly could represent the mainland, since the two giant pandas originated from him.

Just as the guard was about to let them in, someone shouted from behind: "Little Wei! Wei Sheng!"

Wei Ming turned and saw the old man who had taken their photo at the aquarium—he had pulled his mask down slightly, and Wei Ming immediately recognized him.

"Mr. Qiu?"

He quickly shushed him and pulled his mask back up.

The man standing before Wei Ming was Qiu Degen, 57, owner of Lai Yuen; before Ocean Park, his Lai Yuen amusement park was the top choice for Hong Kong residents, but as Ocean Park continuously upgraded its facilities, visitor numbers to Lai Yuen had clearly declined.

Hearing that Ocean Park's pandas were arriving soon, Qiu Degen came to take a look, but to avoid media attention, he kept his visit discreet.

Wei Ming and Mr. Qiu had bonded over a charity concert, where Wei Ming had donated over three million.

Wei Ming whispered: "Here to scout the competition? Why are you, the boss, doing this yourself?"

"I just wanted to see how far Ocean Park has come," Qiu Degen sighed. He felt Lai Yuen had no competitive edge against Ocean Park anymore—only its proximity made it slightly more convenient for visitors from northern Hong Kong.

Wei Ming asked: "You want to see the panda pavilion?"

"Can you take me in too?"

"Of course." Wei Ming's one word turned them into three.

The pavilion seemed nearly complete; since pandas hate heat, it was a sealed building with air conditioning regulating temperature, fully recreating the wild landscape of Sichuan's mountains.

Wei Ming told Zhou Hui: "I'll take you to Sichuan someday to see real wild giant pandas."

"Mm," Ah Min nodded vigorously, clinging to Wei Ming's arm.

These panda snacks couldn't hurt Qiu Degen—he kept observing the pandas' living quarters, and truly, it was luxurious!

"Hey, what do you guys do?"

Suddenly, Wei Ming heard familiar Sichuan dialect; as he drew closer, the man immediately recognized him.

"Oh! Teacher Wei, you're here!"

This Uncle Niu was sent by Chengdu Zoo to assist Ocean Park in building the panda pavilion; given the lavish funding, it was clear this facility was far more opulent and expensive than those in Sichuan or Beijing.

Wei Ming asked: "When can the pandas move in?"

"I heard Hong Kong people love Christmas—everyone wants to go out that day. I think we can unveil them on Christmas," Uncle Niu said.

Wei Ming: "Less than half a month away. Are you sure?"

"No problem," Uncle Niu said. "I'm planning to discuss this with the park director and get Beijing ready."

Zhou Hui's face lit up—this was wonderful! With Ah Ming around, she could get up close to the giant pandas!

Qiu Degen sighed softly—once the pandas arrived, how long could Lai Yuen and Songcheng last?

He had long since moved into real estate and banking, and recently even considered entering television; Lai Yuen was now a peripheral asset in his empire, but he held deep sentimental ties to it.

After leaving the panda pavilion, Qiu Degen removed his mask: "If Ocean Park had to be self-sustaining, Lai Yuen might still have a chance—but it's backed by the Jockey Club, which doesn't care about profit or loss."

The key point: he himself was a Jockey Club member.

Wei Ming said thoughtfully: "When the tide of time rolls over, it doesn't bother to announce itself—people always prefer the new. Like film: once the dominant form of entertainment, then television came along."

Wei Ming said this deliberately to appeal to him—and indeed, Qiu Degen was both surprised and delighted by this insight.

"You also believe in the television industry?"