Chapter 419: Wei Ming

After eating, Wei Ming returned to the Overseas Chinese Apartment; Xiao Hong had also come back—he had called her back, as the apartment would be undergoing a population census the next day.

Unlike other Peking University students whose hukou remained at school, Xiao Hong's hukou had long been transferred to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, and Wei Ming was the head of household.

The next day, as they ate high-yolked, salty duck eggs from Gaoyou, someone knocked on the door; when opened, it was Old Sun with his wife, Mrs. Sun from the neighborhood office—they were a couple.

Behind them stood a police officer, Brother Sun, their son.

Wei Ming laughed: "You three are here as guests? Come in, come in—we're just eating."

Old Sun chuckled: "Teacher Wei, you're joking—we're here for the population census."

"Oh, alright, whatever you need, we'll cooperate."

Mrs. Sun asked: "Teacher Wei, where are your parents' hukou registered?"

Wei Ming: "Still back home. This household is just me and Xiao Hong."

Mrs. Sun pulled out a form and began recording: name, relationship to head of household, gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, education level, occupation, and place of origin.

After Wei Ming gave his details, Xiao Hong followed; he chatted with Old Sun and Brother Sun.

"This time, our country's population must break a billion," Wei Ming recalled that the second census in 1964 had recorded 720 million.

Old Sun: "I think so too—and Beijing's population may reach ten million. Our Beijing hukou is still the best; haven't you heard even big stars like Gong Ying have registered here?"

Later, it proved Wei Ming was right—the total population exceeded one billion—but Old Sun overestimated; Beijing ended up with just over nine million, while Shanghai broke ten million.

Brother Sun said: "Even though family planning is strict now, I think population will still rise. So many mouths to feed—we'll have to tighten our belts for a few more years."

After completing the census, Xiao Hong went to class; Wei Ming first went to Houhai, delivered his mother's bicycle to the sihe courtyard there, then headed to work.

By "work," he mostly meant working on the script for *The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class*; Liang Xiao even came to Peking University to check in.

Based on his understanding of Wei Ming, he figured a mere script would take half a month at most—after all, Teacher Wei was famously fast and had written scripts before.

But Wei Ming told him to wait, no rush, no rush.

Liu Zhenyun was also getting anxious; in two months, their 1978 cohort would graduate and disperse.

"Teacher Wei, it's almost the anniversary—what about the song you promised us?" He came to the library on behalf of all 1978 Peking University students.

Wei Ming laughed: "I already wrote it. Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll bring my guitar to your dorm."

"Great, great! We'll sweep the beds clean and wait!"

Wei Ming asked: "Have you confirmed your assignment?"

Liu Zhenyun whispered: "Pretty much *China's Farmers Newspaper*—I'll keep using my pen."

It was a decent post; the paper, founded in 1980, was a central-level publication based in Beijing, so he wouldn't be separated from his girlfriend.

After work, Wei Ming went to Tuanjiehu, retrieved his guitar, and began playing, singing, and composing.

Zhu Lin had just finished bathing; her towel covered only part of her body, looking sensuous.

How could Wei Ming focus on composing now? He was about to turn into a beast—until Zhu Lin said: "I'll pack up your things later, including this guitar. Take them all back. Don't want anyone finding out we live together."

"What? Really? Then it'll be so inconvenient for me to stay over—no clean clothes to change into."

"You can bring your own clothes. Use my pajamas. We were too careless before. Today I saw neighborhood office staff going floor to floor, checking hukou—it's terrifying."

Then she lay on Wei Ming's lap like a kitten: "Keep playing. It's beautiful—I love listening."

Wei Ming put the guitar away: "No more playing. I'm practicing percussion."

The next day, Wei Ming brought his guitar to work; in the afternoon, Liu Zhenyun invited him to eat at Yuan Yi Cafeteria, and he and several classmates had already prepared his meal—meat and vegetables, sincerely arranged.

Liu Zhenyun kept saying: "Teacher Wei, you've worked so hard writing a song—it's only because of our deep bond."

Around them were mostly 1978 students—from Chinese Literature, Law, and Library Science; many familiar faces gathered.

Everyone knew Teacher Wei had composed a new song for the graduating 1978 cohort; even those busy with graduation theses and defenses followed him into the male dorm after lunch.

Not just men—female students who loved music and admired Wei Ming also came, most carrying tape recorders to record the song immediately and listen, learn, and replay it.

Inside Liu Zhenyun's dorm, his roommates were there, along with his girlfriend Guo Jianmei, his Henan hometown friend Li Shulei, and female students from the 1978 Chinese Literature class: Zhang Manling, Dai Jinhua, and others.

Students from the 1979 Chinese Literature class like Luo Yihé and Hu Chunhua could only stand outside the door.

Wei Ming gently plucked the strings, feeling pressured into becoming a real singing talent; the song's difficulty was moderate, higher than *Wishing You a Safe Journey*, but he'd still need to find the right singer later.

"Last year I told the 1977 cohort: 'Wishing You a Safe Journey.' This year, for you all, just two words—goodbye."

Liu Zhenyun winked: "Sounds a bit lazy."

Before Wei Ming could react, Guo Jianmei grabbed his waist and twisted hard.

"Teacher Wei, please continue," Guo Jianmei said politely.

Wei Ming: "I'll give you a self-composed, self-sung *Goodbye*. Here are the lyrics—feel free to copy them."

It was a 21st-century song, its style far too avant-garde for this era—but its mood perfectly suited bidding farewell to these university friends.

Wei Ming didn't bother with complex arrangements—just one guitar, expressing his feelings plainly.

"I'm afraid I won't get the chance to say goodbye / Because I may never see you again / Tomorrow I'll leave this familiar place and you / To part ways / My tears fall..."