Chapter 7: Big Production

«Sshh~»

The motorcycle screeched to a halt as Li Luo leapt off.

He settled the fare, tightened his backpack full of gifts, and squinted ahead.

Not months, but over twenty years.

This dimension was not just time.

It had rewound time itself.

He never imagined he’d get another chance to return to over twenty years ago, to this place where he grew up; his eyes grew damp, his feet heavy as lead, reluctant to move.

The small village nestled against Green Mountain, encircled by a stream.

Patches of rice paddies, each shaped differently, dotted the hillsides; as a child, he’d climbed the mountains often to gather firewood and pinecones, and during harvest season, he’d follow the adults into the fields to work.

During rice harvest, he’d always get scratched raw by the stalks, itching all over.

Yet sitting on the field ridge, sipping cool rice gruel, he felt pure bliss.

A beautiful yet painful memory.

Smoke curled upward from chimneys, scattered by mountain winds; the village’s familiar calls echoing home for dinner rose and vanished quickly into the hills.

Returning home felt like crossing a tribulation.

Crowds were one thing, but back in the early 2000s, things were even worse; despite his best efforts to stay calm, he couldn’t help but fight a few pickpockets—those bastards.

They even stole from pregnant women.

Not only that, their hands were filthy.

Though Li Luo preferred to avoid trouble, sometimes he simply couldn’t bear it; he lunged forward with a heavy punch, knocking several teeth flying from one thief’s mouth.

The world was chaotic, but not like the future.

Back then, there were still many who stood up for justice; with help from passengers on the train, they managed to knock down the thieves.

Still, he’d been slashed across the waist.

Luckily, it was only a skin wound.

Back then, adrenaline had blinded him; now, thinking back, he felt a chill.

People today hit hard.

Thieves were brutal.

They pulled knives at the drop of a hat.

Even passengers were ruthless—if the train guards hadn’t arrived in time, those thieves’ brains could’ve been beaten out.

Li Luo took a deep breath, rubbed his ribs, and strode forward.

“Ah Luo!”

“When’d you get back? Come drink with Uncle tonight.”

“Come to my place.”

“Don’t run, you brat!”

Amid the calls, Li Luo pulled handfuls of candy from his pocket and handed them out to neighbors both familiar and strange, laughing as he ran home.

Time flew.

As the Lunar New Year drew near, Li Luo’s father officially took leave and returned home.

Li Luo stir-fried a large dish of snails with perilla and sour bamboo shoots.

He set up a negotiation feast.

After all, this kind of thing seemed utterly unreliable to outsiders.

Studying was the proper path.

The father and son talked half the night over a jar of local liquor, and with confirmation from Wang Weiguo’s phone call, Li Luo finally convinced his father to let him try it out when the chance came.

Firecrackers exploded with a crackling roar.

After the Lantern Festival, Li Luo bid farewell to his family, leaving behind endless slices of boiled chicken.

With his luggage on his back.

He set off resolutely toward the shores of Taihu Lake.

Water Margin City.

Adjacent to Three Kingdoms City, located on the shores of Taihu Lake, it covered 580 mu, with 1,500 mu of water surface available for filming.

As the name suggests.

It was a large-scale film production base built specifically to shoot “Water Margin.”

Chewing on an ice pop, Li Luo wandered excitedly around.

From imperial palaces and ministerial mansions

to common homes, taverns, and inns.

All the ancient-style architecture came into view, with rippling blue waters refreshing the spirit.

Though the New Year had just passed,

many film crews had already started shooting.

The abundance of extras made Li Luo feel as if he’d stepped into Hengdian; after only a month’s rest, he felt utterly disoriented, as if he’d crossed into another world.

Inside Water Margin City, the clinking of metal echoed constantly.

Like a construction site.

He asked around and learned it was preparation for “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer”; thirty filming studios would be built across the entire complex—a massive undertaking.

The total budget for the entire series was rumored to be nearly 40 million.

This was the year 2000.

An absolute big production.

But then again, it made sense—this version of “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” had countless grand scenes, with top-tier sets, costumes, makeup, and props; such spending wasn’t surprising.

After wandering around,

Li Luo hopped on a motorbike taxi and headed straight to a hotel near the film base.

A big production.

Naturally, money wasn’t an issue.

The entire hotel had been rented out by the “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” crew for behind-the-scenes staff and actors with significant roles; for Li Luo, this was good news—he’d save on rent and meals.

All meals and lodging—perfect.

The shoot was still over a month away.

But

actors were already beginning to arrive one by one.

Some studied scripts and analyzed roles; others underwent combat and physical training; in other productions, stunt doubles were used whenever possible, but with a major drama like this,

everyone wanted to give their best.

“Good afternoon.”

At the actor check-in desk, he smiled and nodded to the staff: “I’m Li Luo. I called ahead.”

“Got it.”

The girl took his ID, looked up, and her eyes lit up: “Just a moment, let me verify your details.”

Li Luo shrugged and waited calmly.

“Lin Pingzhi?”

The girl typed furiously on her keyboard, then turned her head from behind the large monitor, expression stunned.

Every named character in this drama

had people watching.

Especially major supporting roles—almost all were well-known actors in the industry; suddenly, a complete stranger named Li Luo appeared, drawing intense scrutiny.

Everyone wondered who his connection was.

No one expected it to be this young man right in front of them.

He was genuinely handsome—even more than the male lead, Shao Bing; yet he didn’t look like anyone important, his entire outfit probably didn’t cost a hundred yuan.

Canvas shoes, jeans, a white T-shirt.

Cheap clothes.

But somehow gave off a refreshing vibe.

“Gulp.”

The female staff member, whose features were fairly pleasant, licked her lips and swallowed quietly.

“That’s me.”

Li Luo smirked, quickly winked at her: “Any other issues?”

“Sorry~”

The girl blushed, quickly reached for a box beside her: “Here’s your room key and crew ID; someone will contact you about next steps. Welcome to Wuxi.”

“Thank you.”

Li Luo smiled, reached out, and took the documents.

Only when the elevator doors closed

did a few fingers wave in front of her eyes, snapping her back to reality.

“So handsome~” She patted her trembling chest and sighed: “No assistant, still so polite—unlike others who act like they’re too good to look down.”

"Are you attracted to him?"

The colleague beside him nodded, then chuckled: "You know his room number—why not go knock on his door tonight?"

"You're so big, you can definitely win him over."

"Go ahead—yours is even bigger."

The two teased each other, their bell-like laughter ringing through the lobby.