Chapter 52

Wei Ming buying a bike—the happiest person was Mei Wenhua. After all, his brand-new Flying Pigeon was still under Wei Ming's crotch.

Only when Wei Ming had his own mount could the little Flying Pigeon be saved.

Wei Ming didn't want to always ride other people's bikes either; after all, he was kind.

"Oh, did Brother Feng ride it back? Where is it?" Wei Ming asked hurriedly.

Then Mei Wenhua pointed to a pile of scrap iron parked next to the guard post.

"Uh..."

Calling it scrap iron might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was indeed covered in rust, almost unable to see its original appearance. Wei Ming hadn't even thought it was a bike at first.

"This bike seems to have been around for a few years."

Mei Wenhua introduced it like a salesperson: "Don't look at it as old, but it's sturdy."

This point wasn't false. Industrial products of this era had "sturdy and durable" as their first principle. It was common for a bicycle to be passed down for generations.

Seeing Wei Ming still hesitating, Mei Wenhua wiped the bike brand desperately: "Look, the brand, Forever!"

The three major bicycle brands of the current era—Phoenix, Forever, and Flying Pigeon—were all guarantees of quality and symbols of status.

The more Mei Wenhua recommended it, the more Wei Ming hesitated: "This bike is probably older than me. Am I riding it, or is it riding me?"

Wei Ming was just afraid it wouldn't last until he switched to a sedan.

"What are you afraid of it being old? Only when it's old does it know how to cherish people. Riding this bike for another ten years isn't a problem," Mei Wenhua added, "If you think it's old, I'll wipe it out for you. I guarantee it will be like a new one!"

"Oh, then you wipe it." Anyway, you're the best at wiping.

At this time, the sound of a car horn came from behind. A senior at the guard post was about to let it pass, and the car stopped next to Wei Ming.

Liu Shi from the school bus team waved at Wei Ming: "Ma Xiaowei, get in the car. I'll take you to the Vehicle Management Office."

Liu Shi was quite efficient. He had issued the introduction letter so quickly, and Wei Ming could officially learn to drive.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Wei Ming first handed Liu Shi a cigarette and lit it for him.

Liu Shi puffed away while thanking Wei Ming again for bringing the wine.

"I don't know what's going on recently. Even my father-in-law has heard of this Cangu Yangrong wine. When he came to my house for dinner, I took the wine out by surprise. Hey, it made the old man happy."

Wei Ming smiled, thinking to himself, could it really be related to his novel?

Immediately, Liu Shi started teaching him on the road while driving.

There were too few cars on the road in this era, and the roads were mainly for bicycles. Traffic light facilities were also incomplete, so much of Wei Ming's future driving experience would be invalidated.

Arriving at the Haidian Vehicle Management Office, registration, physical examination, and receiving learning materials were all led by Liu Shi. It cost a total of two yuan, and Liu Shi signed his name himself, officially becoming Wei Ming's master.

This was the benefit of having a work unit. Without a work unit, you couldn't even spend these two yuan.

Liu Shi was quite free today and wanted to take Wei Ming to learn, but Wei Ming had to work in the afternoon, so he had to give up. Liu Shi had to exhort him to read the two books he received more.

After returning to school, Liu Shi dropped Wei Ming directly at the South Gate.

Then Wei Ming saw a bike at the guard post that was old but clean, with no rust to be seen. Especially at the bike brand, it even reflected light under the sun.

Wei Ming didn't even dare to recognize it: "Did you switch to another bike again?!"

Mei Wenhua rubbed his waist: "It's still that one. It's Forever, after all."

Wei Ming sighed sincerely. Looking at the previous bear-like appearance of this bike, he hadn't known where to start.

Mei Wenhua said proudly: "I wasted several pieces of sandpaper, and I didn't even get to eat. Now it's caught your eye, right? Try riding it."

"Wait a moment." Wei Ming first returned to the dormitory to change into his uniform, thinking that if the bike was good, he would ride it to work directly and give the money to Brother Feng later.

As a result, as soon as he rode it, he discovered a problem.

"The bike brake is broken. No, it seems there's no brake cable at all!"

Mei Wenhua: "Uh, just ride slowly, and your legs are long, you can use foot brakes."

Wei Ming rode for another stretch and then stopped.

It wasn't foot brakes; it was Tom's chain that broke!

Wei Ming sighed: "Little Mei, how about we just forget it."

"Don't bother!" Mei Wenhua was anxious. "These are all small problems. By the way, there's an old master repairing bikes over at Tsinghua. I'll push it over and have him fix it for you!"

Wei Ming changed to the slightly smaller Flying Pigeon: "Then let's talk after it's fixed. I'm going to work first."

Wei Ming even brought his schoolbag to work, ready to read "Ping Yao Zhuan" at any time.

Although it was vertical printing and had to be read from right to left, and it was traditional characters, it seriously challenged Wei Ming's reading habits. But there was no choice in this era.

And after reading it for a while, he got used to it, especially the traditional characters. Although he had already started learning simplified characters when he was in school, and even had a period of second-round simplified characters a few years ago, reading traditional characters was not difficult.

In the original "Ping Yao Zhuan," the one who picked up the swan egg was an old monk. After the child in the egg was born, he was named Monk Danzi. By the age of fifteen, he was already a strong man like Lu Zhishen.

He stole the Ruyi Book from the White Ape several times, colluded with demons like the old fox Saint Aunt to learn magic, and caused harm to one side. Afterwards, he instigated Wang Ze to rebel. Finally, under the guidance of the White Ape and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, he incarnated as Zhuge Suizhi, one of the "Three Sui," to help Wen Yanbo suppress the rebellion. He was a character who was both righteous and evil.

But the fairy tale for children definitely couldn't be like this, so Monk Danzi became the cute and righteous Dansheng, changing from a controversial figure to a positive character, always standing on the opposite side of the three foxes and feudal bureaucrats. That's right, the new story Wei Ming wanted to create was the one known as one of the three monuments of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and also the one completed the latest—"The Book of Heaven"!

The three monuments were "Havoc in Heaven" based on "Journey to the West," "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" based on "Investiture of the Gods," and this "The Book of Heaven" based on "Ping Yao Zhuan."

And "The Book of Heaven" had the greatest adaptation intensity, almost a brand-new, subversive story.

The connotation of the film had huge room for interpretation even forty years after its birth; it was a work with great artistic vitality.

Being able to be on par with "Havoc in Heaven" and "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" based on the least famous original work, its strength was evident.

Wei Ming wasn't in a hurry to write; he would digest the original work first. Although the quality of these classical god-and-demon novels varied, reading them gave a feeling of reading internet novels in later generations. The imagination was very exaggerated, and there was a bit of YY, and from time to time, a little yellow content. Tsk tsk, it was a gripping book.

For dinner, Wei Ming still ate at the Xueyi Cafeteria as usual. He almost forgot the taste of the staff cafeteria.

Liu Zhenyun helped him arrange the shifts while feeling envious. When would his fame be big enough that someone would treat him to a meal every day?

After work, Mei Wenhua was still waiting for him at the guard post, looking like a wife-waiting stone.

"Brother Ming, try it again. It's definitely easy to ride. I changed several parts for you."

In order to save his Flying Pigeon from the humiliation of being ridden, Mei Wenhua had also spent a lot of money.

Wei Ming tried riding it. Hey, don't say it, you really shouldn't say it.

!

Because this Forever bike was taller than that Flying Pigeon, it was very suitable for Wei Ming's long legs. It was fast to ride, and the brakes were sensitive.

"Fine, this is it!" Wei Ming reached into his pocket. "How much did it cost to repair the bike?"

"Ah?" Mei Wenhua was stunned. He even wanted to give money.

Little Mei instinctively wanted to act big: "Actually, it didn't cost much."

"How much is 'didn't cost much'? Is two yuan enough?"

"Two yuan is enough, enough!"

Then Wei Ming gave Mei Wenhua two yuan. Wiping the bike and repairing the bike, this service was worth two yuan no matter what.

Wei Ming laughed happily. From now on, he was also a person with a bike!

Mei Wenhua was also happy. He had been tired all day, and he hadn't eaten yet!

Returning to the dormitory and seeing Northern Qiao Feng, Wei Ming first thanked Brother Feng for helping him find a good bike.

"Oh my, what good bike? Don't look down on it. If you think it's embarrassing to ride, I'll push it back and find another one."

"No, no, no, it's already very good. By the way, how much is this bike?"

Northern Qiao Feng: "This bike belongs to an old man in the logistics department of the Summer Palace. You just give 40 yuan. I'll have him go through the procedures later."

What, only 40 yuan? This was far below Wei Ming's budget.

Nowadays, a cheap new bike cost over a hundred yuan, and it also required a bicycle ticket. Like Liu Rulong's Phoenix, it was over 180 yuan. Mei Wenhua's Flying Pigeon was bought by his family, and it also cost 150 yuan.

"It's actually this cheap!" Wei Ming blurted out.

"That bike was really too broken. I even thought it was expensive, but since it didn't need a ticket, just make do with riding it."

Wei Ming shook his head: "No making do, no making do."

However, he encountered a new problem now.

His original budget was around 100, but he hadn't expected to settle it with only 40 yuan. Now he had over 200 in cash.

Then should he buy something else?

Northern Qiao Feng: "What are you thinking about, kid?"

Wei Ming laughed: "I'm thinking about buying a radio for my family, but I still don't have a ticket."

There was no TV at home, and no entertainment. Having a radio could make his parents' rural life less boring.

Biaozi, who was lying on the bed on sick leave, said: "If Brother Ming, you don't care about new or old, you can actually go to the trust store to try your luck. Maybe there's a suitable one, and it doesn't need a ticket."

"Trust store?"

Wei Ming seemed to have heard of it, but didn't know much. After all, when he lived in Beijing, it was mainly after the 90s, and by then, trust stores had long since declined.

So Biaozi popularized the "trust store" that specifically operated second-hand goods for him.

Not only were there radios, but also bicycles, watches, furniture, clothes, etc. Not only could you buy, but you could also entrust them to sell.

"But whether you can meet one you like depends on luck. I often shopped there when I first came," Northern Qiao Feng said, then looked at his watch. "Oops, I have to go. I have an appointment with your sister-in-law to watch a movie."

"This is a big deal. You go ahead."

Biaozi sighed: "I also really want to watch a movie with Yanzi."

Wei Ming was just about to choke him with a few words when the senior at the guard post came down and called Wei Ming: "Ma Xiaowei, your phone call, says it's from Shanghai!"

"Hmm? A phone call from Shanghai?"

(End of chapter)