[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-57":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},2260765,4412,"Chapter 57: Zhu Lin Meets Up","rising-in-1979-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>Wei Ming had no objections—as long as it wasn’t more expensive than the new one, he wouldn’t be losing out, and even if he went to the trust store, they’d still take their cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s one more thing,” Feng Ge added, “your uncle and aunt both have to work overtime tonight, so they asked me to tell you to pick up Xi Le and the other one—if you finish early.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sure, I miss them too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Feng Ge turned to leave with the two men behind him; Wei Ming asked where they were going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Biaozi beamed: “We’re going on patrol now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Biaozi had decided that waiting by the stump was worse than taking the initiative—station duty offered fewer chances for heroic acts than patrol did—so he reapplied for a transfer, and Mei Wenhua no longer wanted to stand guard either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After pleading endlessly and offering to take extra night shifts, Feng Ge finally agreed—he was taking them to process the paperwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After parting with them, Wei Ming went to the library and saw Liu Rulong sitting on the steps waiting for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Ming, you’re adapting The Legend of the Pacifying Demons? That’s ambitious—and Dan Sheng’s character is quite interesting!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: “Don’t praise me yet—can you actually draw it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll sketch the character designs first, then do the illustrations after I see your manuscript.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.” Wei Ming brought him back to the dorm, and the two leaned over the desk to discuss the character designs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming intentionally wanted to nurture Long, so he didn’t interfere much at first, letting Long freely create the first draft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Rulong was nervous—he’d mostly copied his grandfather’s picture books or animated films before; this was his first time creating original art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Hengzhou, there was a place called Wuqiang, right next to Ping’an County, famous for its New Year paintings; Long’s design for Dan Sheng clearly showed the influence of New Year painting dolls, resembling a ginseng baby—chubby, wearing only a belly wrap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized his originality was lacking and felt too embarrassed to show it to Wei Ming—he was about to crumple it up and toss it aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming smiled: “Don’t be discouraged—originality often begins with imitation; as long as you find your own path later, this sketch can stay—every step toward maturity has meaning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Wei Ming offered some revision suggestions, and Long drew another draft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, still lacks a touch of innocence and playfulness,” Wei Ming said—he wasn’t aiming for exact replication of the animated version, since it was just a magazine illustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s discuss Yuan Gong and the three foxes first,” Wei Ming said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yuan Gong, based on the white ape, should wear a white robe, slender with long arms; as for the three foxes, I suggest borrowing elements from Peking Opera facial makeup.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long’s mouth dropped open—Peking Opera facial makeup? He didn’t understand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wei Ming gave him an example: “Say, Hu Meier…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took the pen and notebook and sketched Hu Meier’s human form from memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something like this—there’s a Peking Opera huadan facial makeup vibe; her eyes should be alluring and seductive, the old fox is laodan, the lame fox is chousheng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Hu Meier gradually take shape, Long stared in shock—his confidence vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Ming, you—you draw better than I do!” Long thought this wasn’t scientific.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming laughed: “I learned a few tricks from our grandpa too, and since I write stories, the characters live in my head—I can draw them more vividly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Rulong had a sudden idea: “Why don’t you draw the character designs and I’ll handle the background scenes? That way we can be more efficient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was certainly a good idea—animation studios always assigned character and background art to different people—but Wei Ming had high hopes for Long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said: “Here’s the deal—I’ll draw the supporting characters, but Dan Sheng stays with you. If you just copy, when will you ever become the Wan Brothers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, animators idolized the four Wan Brothers, especially Old Master Wan Laiming, director of Havoc in Heaven and the pioneer of Chinese animation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Long’s watch, Wei Ming said: “Time’s up—let’s go pick up the kids.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? Pick up kids?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the kindergarten gate, Wei Ming met Xi Zi and Le Le holding hands—they were still quite affectionate as siblings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wei Ming, Le Le quickly said: “Ming brother, I learned a new song!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she pulled out the harmonica Wei Ming had bought her, while Xi Zi stared blankly at Liu Rulong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me introduce you—this is my classmate; you can call him Long Ge—he’s an artist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An artist? Can you draw Ne Zha?” Xi Zi asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can draw Ne Zha too, but I’m better at Sun Wukong.” Saying this, Long pulled out his notebook and showed Xi Zi a short hand-drawn animation—completely stunning the four-year-old brat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Xi Zi started pestering Liu Rulong, calling him “Big Brother Long,” begging him to draw Ne Zha for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can draw it for you, but can you do me a favor too?” “What favor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Rulong’s eyes lit up: “Be my character model!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming, listening nearby, was stunned—then Long explained: “I think this kid is lively and spirited—I was wondering if I could base Dan Sheng’s appearance on him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Zi was undeniably a good-looking boy—he looked seven-tenths like Le Le.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To win Xi Zi over, Long pulled a chocolate out of his pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the dark, ominous-looking thing, Xi Zi immediately stepped back several paces: “Don’t scare me—I’ll agree, okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming hadn’t expected Long to have something like this—it must’ve come from the Friendship Store or Overseas Chinese Store; ordinary people had no access.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long, Xi Zi already agreed—don’t scare him,” Wei Ming stepped forward, took the chocolate, and pulled Le Le aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Le Le, here!” Wei Ming broke off half and gave it to her; they sneaked a bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After one bite, Le Le’s eyes sparkled—she’d eaten regular candy before and found it ordinary, but this unique sweetness was her first experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Long began sketching by the river in Yuxiu Garden; after completing his third draft of Dan Sheng, Xi Zi suddenly found Ne Zha uninteresting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that Dan Sheng? He looks just like me! Can I have this one? Big Brother Long~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kid knew how to wheedle—Long first asked Wei Ming for approval: “How’s this one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming nodded in satisfaction—though different from the animated version, it captured the right feeling: cute and endearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Congratulations, Long—you passed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Long happily gave it to Xi Zi as a keepsake; Dan Sheng’s image was now fixed in his mind. It was late, so he said: “I’ll head back to school now—I’ll draw based on this template.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, you can start by drawing an illustration of Dan Sheng hatching,” Wei Ming added, “by the way, I’m going back to my hometown the day after tomorrow—would you like to write letters to Teacher Yang and Grandpa?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long waved his hand: “No need—I just call them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming: This guy’s still rich!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could afford to make calls now too, but the village phone only worked within the commune—it was a “local network.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another half hour passed, and Ping’an returned; Wei Ming had finally completed his mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Ming, thanks for your help—come upstairs, I’ll cook dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need, Uncle—I’m on night shift later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, alright. By the way, tomorrow afternoon the pilot’s family is coming to thank you at school—don’t forget.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Afternoon, right? Got it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Wei Ming left, Xi Zi rushed to report an important piece of intelligence to Wei Ping’an: “Dad, Le Le ate poop!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t believe me? Look at her teeth—they’re still black!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Le Le was furious, baring her teeth: “It’s chocolate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Zi was confused: “Chocolate? What’s chocolate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ping’an burst out laughing: “Xi Zi, chocolate is a foreign candy—usually black, looks ugly, but tastes amazing. I’ve only had it once myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What!” In that moment, Xi Zi’s world collapsed—Nüwa couldn’t fix it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the dorm, Feng Ge told Wei Ming: “I’ve arranged it—tomorrow at nine, meet at Wangfujing Department Store. After the exchange, you buy the watch, she buys the tape recorder—both can be completed right there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how do we find each other?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Feng: “She’ll be holding a tape recorder, and she’s very beautiful—you just look around the crowd, the prettiest one is her. Also, she knows your name—just remember hers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, what’s this lady’s name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhu Lin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1423,"2026-06-19T16:30:57.111Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","61e444e2cbb56316efe4807806de118d616f27ba72231e681dbebe92369bf9ee","rising-in-1979-chapter-58","rising-in-1979-chapter-56",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]