[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-488":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rising in 1979",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2261196,4412,"Chapter 488","rising-in-1979-chapter-488",488,"\u003Cp>In mid-June, Wei Ming and his sister arrived in Hong Kong; before even leaving the airport, Wei Hong pulled her brother toward Old Ghost’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, she wanted to bring Wei Ming to Amin, but Wei Ming told her: “I bought a house in Hong Kong—let’s stay there instead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Long came to pick them up, bringing the keys to the new apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back from the Magic Capital so soon?” Wei Ming handed over his luggage—it was heavy, filled with American comic books meant for A Long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Long smiled: “Yeah, everything went smoothly, and Ying needs regular prenatal checkups, so we didn’t stay long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How was the trip?” Wei Ming asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I brought five staff members—they’re from different departments—we can now form a basic animation team.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, you want to make animation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Long didn’t answer directly: “While back in the Magic Capital, I heard two pieces of news: the American version of The Smurfs is being imported, and Japan’s Clever One-Eye is being dubbed into Chinese.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming understood—he knew that every year several top foreign TV animations entered China, while domestic TV animation had only ever produced one standout: Black Cat Detective—but it had been halted due to cost-cutting and resource allocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for theatrical animated films, the mainland produced one every few years; left unchecked, the 80s generation would grow up watching foreign animation, with deeply harmful subconscious effects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sharing his discoveries, A Long said: “Our little aunt has decided to invest in Maniac Comics to produce an animated series of History Cat, and ATV is interested in buying it. I still have to draw Dragon Ball and can’t direct myself, but I want to be deeply involved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems your little aunt tasted success with the Transformers animation—this kind of promotion is expensive, but far more effective than regular ads. Go ahead and do it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most famous domestic example is the Hai’er Brothers—this kind of influence is long-lasting and profound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Long nodded: “Besides, History Cat comics already have considerable influence on the mainland—we can sell the animation to mainland TV stations too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming waved his hand: “Forget selling—just give it away. Think about what ads we can bundle with it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imported American and Japanese animations all followed this model; mainland TV stations were used to free deals and couldn’t bear paying the Meiying Factory for content.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides recruiting talent from the mainland, collaboration with Taiwanese cartoonists continued—Ao Youxiang had published short comics in Maniac Comics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Long also mentioned Maniac Comics’ next project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our cash flow is strong—we plan to expand into other periodicals, building an entertainment media matrix to increase our influence,” A Long said. “Since our comic readers are mostly teenagers, we want to launch a youth-oriented publication first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming could offer some ideas—for example, name the magazine Yes! and feature a popular female star on every cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we’re no longer just publishing Maniac Comics, shouldn’t we change the company name?” A Long asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maniac Comics as a company name was inappropriate—it wasn’t just about comics. Wei Ming thought: “How about Minglong Media?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Ming, my Long?” A Long suddenly blushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ‘Ming’ in ‘Minglong’ means ‘astonishing debut,’” Wei Ming said—he could use this name for an IPO later, turning it into more than just a comic giant, but a media empire with multiple magazines and newspapers, easier to tell stories with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming’s new three-bedroom apartment was in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island, next to Victoria Park and not far from the Hung Hom Tunnel; A Long drove them from the airport, arriving at the building’s parking lot in about half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d also bought two parking spaces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering, Wei Hong exclaimed: “Nice! It’s so cozy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming knew it hadn’t been like this before—it was Xue’s doing; this apartment embodied her beautiful vision of living here with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad she’d already returned to Jingcheng; lying in the master bedroom that night, Wei Ming longed for someone to keep him company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong sensed something was off—her brother had come to Hong Kong and showed no urgency to see Amin. This was abnormal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Were they having a lovers’ quarrel? Wei Hong decided she had to act—only now did she realize her own “Hong” meant “matchmaker’s Hong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, tomorrow let’s visit Grandpa and Ni Nai—I miss them,” Wei Hong said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Tomorrow I’m going to Longning to meet with your little aunt about business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will it take all day?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It might not even finish in a day.” There was the gaming business and the villa purchase too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong pouted: “Then I’ll go see them myself—watch out, they’ll say you’re unfilial.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Your little aunt brought back many new game consoles and games far more fun than Pac-Man from Japan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong immediately changed her mind: “I think we should handle business first—let’s visit them another day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Wei Ming fell asleep reading the latest issue of Maniac Comics—Zhao Rude’s City Hunter made its debut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male lead was drawn unmistakably like Cheng Long—with that big nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Master Wutian in Dragon Ball was now using the alias “Cheng Long” to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This issue mocked “Cheng Long,” and the long-awaited World Martial Arts Tournament arc officially began—no wonder A Long said his copy of this issue was already sold out; it was selling too well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon Ball’s collected volumes had already released two volumes, each containing roughly ten issues; the first volume sold 150,000 copies in one month, the second, featuring the Dragon Ball summoning arc, sold a staggering 230,000 copies in under a month; the third volume, centered on the World Martial Arts Tournament with intense fight scenes, perfectly showcased A Long’s skill—sales would surely rise further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The highest sales for Feng Yun’s collected volumes were 160,000 copies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost every Dragon Ball reader who read the weekly Maniac Comics would repurchase the collected volumes to keep and reread—A Long’s Dragon Ball was about to create a cultural phenomenon rivaling Jin Yong’s wuxia novels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If overseas markets were included, each Dragon Ball volume could easily sell over a million copies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this still fell far short of the original timeline’s Dragon Ball, whose single-volume sales reached roughly ten million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, time and distribution scope were major factors—but the original’s extensive licensing and merchandise development expanded its influence, feeding back into sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original timeline, Dragon Ball launched TV animation, theatrical films, and video games just two years after its manga serialization, with countless other licensed toys and merchandise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Hong Kong’s market was too small; before the mainland market opened, Dragon Ball’s commercial development had to rely on Taiwan and Japan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tomorrow, I must talk seriously with my little aunt about comprehensive development for Dragon Ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bringing Wei Hong to the Longning CEO’s office, Wei Ming first spotted a familiar yet unfamiliar figure among the many figurines and toys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>McDonald?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wei Ming stare at the spotted pig doll, Li Zhi came over: “It’s called McDonald—a new character we’re developing for Longning’s gift shop. Apparently drawn by a female university student.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming nodded—he hadn’t expected that a reward program would bring this local Hong Kong cartoon character into existence so early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around McDonald were other cartoon figurines Wei Ming had never seen—likely also results of the reward program.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming glanced at them briefly; he doubted they could compete with Sanrio—those guys had been running IPs for decades and knew how to operate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no rush—he’d guide them when he had time; he still had plenty of cute ideas in his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he was looking, Wei Lingling walked in; Wei Hong immediately asked: “Little aunt, where are the Japanese game consoles you brought back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t touched a console in ages—she was itching to play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling asked: “Do you understand Japanese?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I only know ‘kuso’ and ‘mimi mimi,’” Wei Hong said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was worse than Wei Ming—he at least knew “yamete” and “ichidai.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling said: “Little Li, take Xiao Hong to test the toys.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay,” Li Zhi led Wei Hong into another room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door closed; Wei Lingling suddenly slumped into her office chair: “I—I’m starting to doubt whether Bu Bu Gao can really succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened? Did Nintendo crush you?” Wei Ming had checked the news—their groundbreaking product hadn’t even launched yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling sighed: “I arrived in Tokyo just in time for Nintendo’s new product briefing—they announced the price of their new Family Computer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Family Computer was the first FC, Nintendo’s true breakthrough, a landmark product.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Landmark products usually had landmark prices too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling told Wei Ming: “This home console costs only 14,800 yen!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did that mean? The Atari 2600 was famous for its value, priced at $199.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The FC’s price, at this year’s exchange rate, was only $60!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling worried: “That price is too low—even if they lose money on the hardware, just selling software could let them sweep the global market.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone familiar with home consoles knew how insane that price was—if they also had a few decent games, they’d be unbeatable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the hardware quality? Did you get one?” Wei Ming asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Lingling shook her head: “No, I didn’t even touch one—I only remember it was red and white. The host demonstrated it; I felt it was smoother than the Atari 2600. You have to wait a month to buy one—I only brought back Nintendo’s Game & Watch and Sega’s console.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d brought only handhelds; Sega’s first home console hadn’t even launched yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming patted his little aunt’s shoulder: “Are you worried you’ll buy an Atari, only to find its tech is outdated and uncompetitive?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1619,"2026-06-19T16:30:59.356Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","022a75fc0470f8ecf4ac591ffef76238d56fa574d82b54e1d5813e27ab556e85","rising-in-1979-chapter-489","rising-in-1979-chapter-487",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]