[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-64":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},2260772,4412,"Chapter 64: Dressed in Brocade, Walking by Night? Then Turn on the Lights!","rising-in-1979-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>After returning from the Modou  and receiving Old Wei’s letter, Wei Ming did not reply—he figured he’d be home in a few days anyway, no need.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this made Old Wei’s life miserable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally he could avoid crowds and focus on caring for the brigade’s livestock, but now it was harvest season, and both he and the animals had to shuttle between fields and ditches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So more and more people asked him: “Jiefang, where’s your Wei Ming’s masterpiece? Let us see it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, I’ll show it to my grandson—he’ll have Wei Ming as his role model!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not hoarding it, are you? Don’t be stingy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The photocopy of the royalty slip had been shown so many times it was now barely legible, and its persuasive power had faded drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each time, Wei Jiefang could only smile and reply: “What’s the rush? It’s already on the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the usual response was skeptical glances and sarcastic remarks: “You’ve been saying that for how long?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Old Wei was wracked with anxiety, the village accountant Jia Saner gave him hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, Accountant Jia pulled him into the brigade office, pulled out a newspaper, and asked: “Jiefang, is this Wei Ming your Wei Ming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper was the issue of *Wenhui Daily* serializing the novella *Spring River Water Warm, Ducks Know First*—the author’s name listed was “Wei Ming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Wei Jiefang didn’t know if his son had ever written such a story, and though the novella had no clear beginning or end and was hard to understand,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he immediately declared: “That’s him! Ha! Another new work—this kid writes fast, that’s the only word for it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though there might be many Wei Mings nationwide, the odds of one being both a writer and his son were vanishingly small—this Wei Ming had to be his own boy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good kid! So you don’t just write foxes and tigers—you write ducks now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after reading the entire few-thousand-character story, he didn’t spot a single “duck” character, and couldn’t fathom why it was called that—was he craving the roast duck at Quanjude?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper had been brought back by Accountant Jia from a commune meeting, then taken by Wei Jiefang, who showed it to everyone he met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to *The Toothless Tiger*, which he felt he could’ve written himself, Old Wei believed this incomprehensible story better reflected his son’s talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, this is my little Ming’s work! If you don’t understand it, it’s because your level isn’t high enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the newspaper was handed to Qi Kexiu, he questioned: “Brother Jiefang, are you sure this Wei Ming on the paper is your nephew? This is all about Shanghai—he’s in Beijing, isn’t he?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang’s heart sank—could there be another writer named Wei Ming?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he still retorted: “What do you know? You’re just a primary school substitute teacher, same as me—only junior high education.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Kexiu was furious—he strongly suspected Wei Jiefang was fooling everyone, that this Wei Ming wasn’t that Wei Ming; was he really willing to fake being a father just to show off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shameful! Extremely shameful!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon Qi Kexiu’s suspicion spread through the village, and two opposing voices emerged—no one could tell truth from falsehood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Wei Jiefang’s daughter Wei Hong returned home on holiday; after her evaluation, she confirmed the novella was indeed written by her brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her reasoning: a writer’s basic skill is knowing the world without leaving home—did Wu Cheng’en really travel the pilgrimage route? Wasn’t it all imagination? Besides, my older brother’s talent is extraordinary—our homeroom teacher, Teacher Zang, said he wouldn’t be surprised if my brother became a writer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang found this reasonable, and his confidence soared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until Accountant Jia pulled out several more newspapers, leaving him stunned and ready to retract everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those newspapers were all condemning *Spring River Water Warm, Ducks Know First*—their language was harsh, terrifying him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had lived through that era—back then, his mother and Ping’an’s mother had teamed up to run a tofu workshop to make ends meet, until it was banned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily his father had connections, so they barely got through unscathed. Then Team Leader Zhao Chun appeared to scare Wei Jiefang: “Your son’s thinking is dangerous. You’d better talk him out of it—why not just come home and farm? Being a farmer is honorable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Chun had been classmates with Wei Ping’an; jealous of Wei Ping’an’s achievements but unable to match them, he could only subtly make life hard for Wei Jiefang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang strongly suspected Zhao Chun had deliberately collected these newspapers—he’d never seen so many in the brigade office before. When did Zhao Chun become such a bookworm? Are you trying to get into Peking University now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as soon as these newspapers appeared in the brigade office, rumors exploded: Wei Ming’s story had caused trouble, the whole country was condemning him, some even claimed Wei Ming had been arrested—details were vivid and convincing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Qi Kexiu still insisted the story wasn’t Wei Ming’s—he’d found the flaw: “How could Wei Ming possibly know how to shoot an ad?”—in those days, villagers didn’t even know what an ad was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang desperately wished Qi Kexiu’s stupid mouth was right—then he’d only lose face, not risk his son’s future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Wei Jiefang’s strategy was to ignore everything others said—he could pretend to be deaf and dumb, couldn’t he? But Wei Hong couldn’t stand it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thirteen-year-old girl had inherited none of her mother Xu Shufen’s gentleness; she was more like a Sichuan-Chongqing girl, nicknamed “Red Chili.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was Mid-Autumn Festival; some brats had come to his house shouting: “When’s Wei Ming coming back? Will he get shot?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong walked out with a basin of boiling water: “I’m from Shudao Mountain—do you want to roll or not? One! Two!...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as she shouted “Three,” she poured the boiling water over the low fence—though it didn’t hit anyone, it terrified the brats badly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mother rushed out and dragged her inside, sighing: “They’re all surnamed Zhao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Chun had five brothers, over a dozen cousins—those kids were all his nephews and nieces; in the countryside, more sons meant more power, so his position as team leader was rock-solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang told his daughter: “Hong, you must get into Peking University—like your Uncle Ping’an. Look how Zhao Chun cowers when your cousin comes back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong nodded firmly, her face serious. Then Wei Jiefang asked hopefully: “Do you think... maybe the story wasn’t written by your brother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong scratched her head: “I’ve seen Teacher Zang’s saved copies of my brother’s essays—the punctuation usage really is different.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really?!” Wei Jiefang beamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hong nodded reluctantly—she thought the story was brilliant, and inwardly still hoped it was her brother’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wei Hong nod, and recalling Qi Kexiu’s claims, Wei Jiefang felt much lighter—as if the dark clouds overhead had cleared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, Geng Dazhu called him—there was a sick cow, he needed to come see. Wei Jiefang hurried over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t a vet, but he’d learned basic livestock knowledge from Old Dai at the commune veterinary station—if he couldn’t fix it, he’d go to the commune for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He worked until dark, didn’t even eat dinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he even reached home, he saw a motorcycle with headlights blazing toward him—the light was blinding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jiefang’s heart leapt—had the post office gotten a motorcycle? Could this be a letter from Xiao Ming?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as the motorcycle drew near, it wasn’t a letter—it was Wei Ming himself!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait—he got a motorcycle?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1253,"2026-06-19T16:30:57.111Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ad1296870730c88d516e1713dae0835440fc0b818942f4d90eaebd3fcb5c63f5","rising-in-1979-chapter-65","rising-in-1979-chapter-63",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]