National Tide 1980.

An ordinary person probably has few opportunities in his life to attract as much attention as his own wedding.

It is not possible to receive such sincere blessings from so many relatives and friends.

Therefore, people are often willing to spend all they have to have a grand wedding.

Compared with ordinary people, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko have sufficient financial resources and do not need to worry about financial expenses.

They also have far more relatives and friends who care about them than ordinary people, which makes their marriage seem even more happy.

The most important thing is that they have gone through the rut of three weddings.

I've held Western-style weddings, Japanese-style weddings, and Chinese-style weddings, and I have no regrets.

Especially Chinese weddings, whether it is the grandeur, quality, or entertainment programs, they are all so outstanding, unique and unforgettable, and they also leave behind sufficient and special audio and video materials, which is a blessing that ordinary people can hardly achieve.

Even the gifts they received were "blocked".

You know, this wedding was attended by a large number of guests, all of whom were high-class guests.

Either they have culture, status, or position.

Either they have skills, fame, or financial resources.

It would never be like attending an ordinary family's wedding, where everyone gives gifts like pressure cookers, steamers, quilt covers, pillowcases, spittoons, etc.

In addition to the old neighbors in No. 2 Shaner Hutong, it is also possible to send these things.

Most of the other guests either gave paintings, calligraphy, and arts and crafts as gifts, or gave cash gifts.

Moreover, people from Hong Kong like Zeng Xianzhi and Zheng Mingming were even more straightforward and gave gold directly. You can imagine how rich the harvest of this wedding was.

This should be the highest record for gifts received at a folk wedding in mainland China.

Not to mention anything else, there are more than fifty pieces of calligraphy, painting, and arts and crafts collected.

Among them, the calligraphy and paintings presented by officials and celebrities such as Huo Yanping, Fu Jie,嵯娥浩, and Huang Zhou are not so bad. They are not obviously of economic value because they are associated with fame and elegance, which still makes people feel at ease.

But the things sent by the handicraft factories and veteran craftsmen were enough to make people shudder.

Because without exception, they are all masterpieces in their respective industries.

Maybe it was to compete with peers, maybe it was to express gratitude to Ning Weimin for his daily care, or maybe it was to win more orders in the future. Anyway, what everyone sent were good things.

There are even several pieces that, at first glance, are obviously top-notch pieces in the industry that require painstaking efforts to complete, and are worthy of being placed in national museums.

For example, there is the green glazed jewelry box with the theme of "Oxen Ploughing the Green Fields" made by Jiang Sanchang.

This is a rare and exquisite work in the ware industry that perfectly combines animal shapes with utensils.

The entire jewelry box is about 30 centimeters in diameter. It is bright green and crystal clear. Both its shape and texture are so captivating, combining both artistry and practicality.

There is also a coral piece called "Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" sent by the Beijing Jade Factory, which was created by Liu Deying, a master craftsman among the "Four Wonders of Northern Jade".

The ivory "Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers" sent by the ivory carving factory was also created by the founder of the Yang School of ivory carving, the late famous ivory carving master Yang Shihui.

Just these two items, let alone the exquisite carvings, are worth their value.

Even if you just look at the material of the raw materials, you can tell that it is a valuable product.

To put it bluntly, these should be the best things that these two factories have kept in their closets.

It is very likely that after it was created, the price offered by the foreign trade department was too low, so the two factories were reluctant to sell it and never made a move.

  Now, in order to strengthen cooperation with Ning Weimin, it was sent as a gift. It can be seen that this was done to please Ning Weimin, and a huge sum of money was spent.

Needless to say, Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun are both people who have seen good things.

The value of these things is as clear as a mirror in their eyes, and no one will take it lightly.

So when they checked the accounts and made the list afterwards, they were all unsure.

  I had to discuss with Ning Weimin in private whether such things were normal human relations and whether I could accept them or not? Should I return them?

You must know that customs have always been restricted by various social and family conditions, especially economic conditions.

As it is said in the Book of Rites, "The poor do not consider wealth as courtesy, and the old do not consider strength as courtesy", which refers to this situation.

Despite the gold and silver sent by Zeng Xianzhi and Zheng Mingming, Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun both thought it was okay to accept them.

That's because they knew Zeng Xianzhi and Zheng Mingming were businessmen in Hong Kong, and giving them these gifts was within their means and normal social interactions.

But if the poor also had to stand on tiptoe to imitate it, they would not tolerate it, as it would be contrary to their original intention of organizing this happy event.

This is supposed to be a happy and lively event for everyone, so why should we add such a heavy burden to others?

So what they meant was that these gifts were probably too valuable and it would be better to return them.

You can even collect part and return part.

According to the old etiquette, the part that is returned is called "Yu Zhen" and not accepting any gifts at all is called "Bi Xie".

No matter which one, just attach a big red note to the item to express your gratitude, and send it back together with the item.

That means the host appreciates the gift and is very grateful, but the gift is too valuable to be worthy of.

However, Ning Weimin thought about it seriously and rejected the suggestions given by the two old men.

He was unwilling to return the gift not because he was greedy, but because he felt that the matter was related to the person's face.

  Officials have their own style, civilians have their own style, the rich have their own style, the poor have their own style. Who doesn't want to save face?

In terms of social impact, the trend is now back, people yearn to be rich and do not want to be poor, and are willing to learn to be rich rather than poor.

This time when he got married, everyone gave gifts, probably with the same mentality as participating in a arts and crafts competition, wanting to take the opportunity to show off and compete with each other.

  What would people think if he returned the gift?

Especially the old craftsmen, they have the strongest self-esteem and are the most sensitive.

He was afraid that doing so would make these people feel humiliated and that Ning Weimin looked down on them.

Secondly, more importantly, it is interpersonal relationships.

The old artists gave him gifts not only for their past help and kindness, but also probably because they hoped that he would help them become famous in the future.

Those factories in the arts and crafts industry gave him gifts mostly for the purpose of seeking benefits, hoping that he could place large orders and improve the survival conditions of these factories.

Based on the above circumstances, this seemingly abnormal, but actually not abnormal, gift came into being.

It would be easy for him to return the gift, but it would also seem like he was keeping the person at a distance.

I’m afraid that these people will be disappointed and think that Ning Weimin doesn’t want to fulfill their wishes.

So for Ning Weimin, he believes that as long as he can give the other party what they want and deserve the favor, there is actually nothing to be shy about.

As the saying goes, "It is impolite not to reciprocate," which is the opposite of "poverty cannot be used as a courtesy."

And he certainly wouldn't sell the gifts he received, let alone show them off to others.

He believed that the best way to deal with it was to place it in Yun Garden as a display.

This is a bit like using private resources for public benefit and selfless dedication.

It can not only add cultural atmosphere to Yunyuan, but also enhance the style of Yunyuan.

If you attach a text description under the exhibits, it can also bring fame to the donors and make them proud.

And he doesn't have to worry about people suspecting that he is just putting on a show for the sake of filming a movie, isn't that good?

Not to mention, his words, when considered from the perspective of human relations and worldly wisdom, seem to be more thoughtful.

Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun thought about it and then stopped talking, so they did as he said.

  As for how much money was charged on the wedding day?

Ning Weimin couldn't explain this because to be honest, he no longer cared much about the cash income in China.

He didn't even count it himself, and gave all the gift money to Kang Shude, asking him to handle it.

However, he still had a certain basic understanding of how much some close people had given him.

A wealthy aunt like Jiang Nianyun gave Matsumoto Keiko a ruby ​​ring, a gold and jade ruyi, and two thousand US dollars.

In addition to the gift of 10,000 yuan in foreign exchange coupons, Song Huagui also gave Matsumoto Keiko a pair of jade bracelets.

Zou Guodong gave 8,000 yuan.

As for the executives of Pierre Catton, on average, each of them gave about two thousand dollars.

In addition, Yin Yue, Luo Guangliang, Xiao Tao, Zhang Shihui, Sun Wufu and Gu Si also gave gifts.

Yin Yue gave 20,000 yuan and Sun Wufu gave 5,000 yuan.

Of course, he soon learned from Kang Shude that Zhang Shihui had instigated several people to build a "banknote fleet" for him using the newly issued banknotes.

However, his opinion is a little different from Kang Shude's. After all, he was a postal merchant in his previous life.

These things may be vulgar, but the same thing applies: it depends on where you put them and how you use them.

If it is put in the stamp and coin circle, if anyone in the future can have such a fleet that costs more than 100,000 yuan to build as a collection, it doesn't seem so tacky, but can have a positive effect in attracting customers.

To put it bluntly, just like the casinos in Macau that always like to use exaggerated gold items to attract people's attention, it can be completely regarded as a form of advertising.

And then again, this is a token of the love of these brothers after all.

In any case, it can be seen that everyone has put a lot of effort into it, and both the form and value are moving enough.

Therefore, he not only accepted the friendship, but also did not destroy the things given by his brothers. Instead, he put them together with his stock of stamps, waiting to take them out when the occasion demanded it in the future.

And this is what Kang Shude could never understand.

In short, the wedding was lively and prosperous.

Although a lot of money was spent, everyone was busy and exhausted.

But the money spent will eventually be recovered many times over in some other form.

It also fulfilled the wishes of Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun, and even the Japanese father-in-law and mother-in-law and Matsumoto Keiko were very happy.

  What's more, he has accomplished something major that will satisfy the people of the entire country. So what else can Ning Weimin say?

Let him suffer a little loss.

As the old saying goes, suffering a small loss is a great gain.

He is a kind-hearted man who is willing to sacrifice himself for others.

However, even though this marriage was perfect in every way, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko did not have time to enjoy a honeymoon after the wedding.

They couldn't even accompany Han Yingming and his wife, who were becoming more and more interested in mainland China, on a short domestic tour.

In order to fulfill the two elderly people's wish to see the beautiful scenery of China, we had to spend 20,000 yuan to customize a special "free travel" itinerary for them, and entrusted a travel agency to arrange a special car and someone to take care of them.

First send the two of them to Xi'an, and then to Chengde and Shenyang for a trip.

Fortunately, there is a branch of Tan Palace in Chengde. Du Yang, who was unable to attend Ning Weimin’s wedding, would be happy to have the opportunity to entertain his boss’s father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Moreover, the travel agency chosen by Ning Weimin also has a cooperative relationship with Yamato Tourism, so it is believed that it will be able to take good care of the two elderly people and let them have a great time.

As for themselves, it was just the opposite. After the wedding, there was basically no time left for Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko to breathe.

One of them had to act and promote "Li Xianglan" and the movie soundtrack album for release in mainland China, while the other had to handle business affairs. Almost immediately, they started to get busy in Beijing.

Especially Ning Weimin, he has several times more things to do than Matsumoto Keiko.

Some of the things that were originally squeezed out because of his marriage, he no longer had room to shirk, and they had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

The first to be affected were the representatives of the Shanghai Film Translation Studio, who rushed to Beijing from Shanghai at the request of the leaders of the Film Bureau and China Film Corporation. They were eager to enter into substantive negotiations and sign a contract as soon as possible regarding the European films that Ning Weimin had in his hands, as well as the Japanese films that might be introduced in the future.

Perhaps it was to give face to the Film Bureau and China Film Group leaders who were "paying close attention" to the matter.

Or perhaps they had fully realized that the Shanghai Film Translation Studio was already in a state of "hunger", and were getting a little anxious and angry, and were even inclined to try all kinds of methods at once.

Ning Weimin, who knew the ways of a man well, had no nerve to bargain when faced with the low offer from Shanghai Film Translation Studio.

He said, "I really like the works of Shanghai Film Translation Studio, and this is a contribution to the dubbing film industry." He readily bought a "dubbing package" of 50 films for one year at a price of 25 million yen in the name of Matsumoto Keiko Kiri Productions.

Once this contract is signed, not only will the Shanghai Film Translation Studio be able to resume full operation immediately, but it will also promptly alleviate the survival crisis of the country's largest dubbing film studio, which has been declining from prosperity.

On the other hand, it is actually quite cost-effective for Ning Weimin himself.

If for no other reason, it’s simply because domestic labor is still too cheap.

Especially now, it is an indisputable fact that those who make missiles are not as good as those who sell tea eggs.

Ning Weimin never dreamed that translation work would be so cheap at the Shanghai Film Translation Studio.

A team of seven people responsible for translation, who were proficient in different languages ​​including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, etc., spent one month to complete the translation work for a movie of 30,000 to 50,000 words, and the quotation was less than 10,000 RMB.

When the overall calculation is taken into account, including the dubbing actors, dubbing directors, and equipment production costs, translating the audio of a movie into Chinese, and providing subtitles in four languages ​​​​— Chinese, English, French, and Japanese—it only costs an average of 30,000 yuan per movie.

Such an affordable price made him almost hesitate and completely give up his original plan and no longer consider the possibility of dubbing these films in Japan.

He decided to simply release the film in Japan with the original soundtrack and Japanese subtitles, and use the subtitles translated by Shanghai Film Translation Studio.

Nothing else, cheap is king.

Why can Indians earn dollars by outsourcing services?

It doesn't make sense that he can't take care of his compatriots, right?

Therefore, in order to motivate the enthusiasm of the Shanghai Film Translation Studio and ensure the translation quality of each film, he even took the initiative to propose an additional clause that if the quality of the film is satisfactory, there will be no major translation errors.

He can also add an additional 100,000 yen to each film as an incentive bonus.

  This made the representatives of Shanghai Film Translation Studio very happy. Originally, Ning Weimin's willingness to pay foreign exchange was enough to make them happy, but now he was willing to pay more?

How could they not be grateful and full of motivation?

The leaders of the Film Bureau and China Film Corporation were also very satisfied with Ning Weimin's generosity, and their sense of trust in him gradually increased.

After this incident, they no longer doubted Ning Weimin's sincere desire to serve his country, and that he was a young man who was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han, and who was committed to supporting the country's film industry.

As for who is really suffering?

  Is that Keiko Matsumoto?

No, that's not right. How could Ning Weimin be so ungrateful as to betray his own wife?

He had already thought about it. This thing can be used to deduct taxes, so instead of letting the Japanese get away with it, it is better to take care of his compatriots.

Ultimately, it is the Japanese government that pays for it.

How could he not figure out this account?

It's all good except for one thing: the contract is easy to sign and the money is easy to negotiate, but it takes time and energy to get things done.

With this contract, he had to select the copies as quickly as possible, pick them out from the vast film library, and arrange for people to deliver them to the Shanghai Film Translation Studio.

Only in this way can we start work there.

No one can do this for him, so isn't this just tying himself up in knots?

(A group photo of the dubbing actors of Shanghai Film Translation Studio in the 1980s. Many unforgettable figures are in it. They are: back row from left: Yang Xiao, Yang Chengchun, Cao Lei, Hu Qinghan, Yan Chongde, Weng Zhenxin, Bi Ke, Yang Wenyuan; middle row from left: Cheng Xiaohua, Zhou Han, Su Xiu, Wang Jianxin, Ding Jianhua, Shang Hua, Shi Rong, Lu Yinghua, Fu Runsheng; front row from left: Sun Yufeng, Liu Guangning, Wu Jingwei, Zhao Shenzhi, Yu Ding, Qiao Zhen, Tong Zirong.) (End of this chapter)