Chapter 420

The next day, Li Ye planned to meet up with A-Qiang who had rushed over from Beijing, and then leave Changbei together to head to the filming location of "Spring Returns Again."

As a result, it was ten minutes past the agreed time when he saw a small car driving over like a flying arrow.

"Is he playing a speed racer?"

Li Dayong, who intended to go with Li Ye, couldn't help but curse.

When A-Qiang stopped the car, Li Dayong couldn't help but mock A-Qiang: "A-Qiang, did you look in the mirror this morning? Look at your dark circles, just like that poor scholar in your comic who was sucked of his essence by a female demon..."

Huo Renqiang rolled down the car window, first glared at Li Dayong angrily, and then said awkwardly to Li Ye: "Sorry, Mr. Li, I... sorry!"

Li Dayong was stunned. Because of Pei Wenhui, he was already very familiar with A-Qiang; otherwise, A-Qiang wouldn't have shown him his most "proud" comic manuscript.

So Li Dayong knew that this guy who used to be a gangster was not someone who would suffer a loss in words.

"Hahahaha, was I right? Pan Xiaoqing wouldn't let you get up this morning, right? I didn't believe it when others said you were a wife-obsessed man... Hahaha."

"Shut your little trumpet! Believe it or not, I'll fight you one-on-one."

"Sure, sure, I'll let you use one hand."

Li Ye watched the two big boys, one big and one small, with a huge difference in size, chasing and playing around the car, and couldn't help but smile.

The current Li Dayong was no longer the simple high school student from Qingshui County; he had learned quite a few "tiger and wolf" words.

And A-Qiang's change was even greater; that once isolated orphan had long become a captive of family warmth, as obedient as could be.

Ever since A-Qiang married Pan Xiaoqing from the Youth Daily, he had revealed his "home-loving" nature. Every time he needed to go on a business trip to Chang'an or Shanghai to coordinate filming situations, he would drag his feet for several days before leaving.

And as long as there was a chance to return to Beijing, he would run home on a standing ticket that very night!

"Let's go, let's go. Let's get there early and come back early. It looks like it might snow today!"

Li Ye stopped the two big boys who were playing, opened the door, got in the car, and urged them to leave quickly.

The filming location chosen by the crew was very remote. After driving more than ten kilometers north from Changping, the car couldn't even drive on the final small country road.

Li Ye and the others had no choice but to get out of the car and walk, carrying two bags of comfort gifts for more than half an hour before they saw the village on the hillside.

"Brother, why did they choose such a place? This... Gong Xue and Zhu Shimao... their daily life must be inconvenient!"

Li Dayong insisted on coming today just to see Gong Xue and Zhu Shimao.

Not to mention that there were no idol stars at this time, in this era of lack of entertainment, with only a few movies and TV series a year, any actor you picked out was at a level known to everyone.

Audiences just weren't like the children of later generations who could wantonly shout "XX, I love you," but they weren't not chasing stars. If they could take a group photo with a star like Gong Xue, it would be something to make their little friends envious to death.

Li Ye looked up at the village on the hillside and said admiringly: "Because the Shijing Village I wrote in the script is a small village on the hillside, and they really found it..."

A-Qiang, whose body was obviously a bit weak, panted and said: "The actors in the interior are very dedicated, very able to endure hardship, and their basic acting skills are also very good. As long as they change their thinking a little, they are really very competitive."

It must be said that the film and television practitioners at this time were truly dedicated, even Hong Kong people like A-Qiang, who used to have some sense of superiority, admired them.

Looking at the situation of the village on the mountain, it is estimated that even clean and hygienic accommodation conditions could not be guaranteed, let alone daily meal expenses of thousands, mineral water for bathing, and nanny cars for service.

Looking at the mountain, the horse dies; Li Ye and Li Dayong carried large bags, tossing and turning along the winding path all the way up, before finally stepping onto the small platform of Shijing Village, while A-Qiang, who followed behind empty-handed, was already panting like a panting husky.

And just at this moment, a crystal-clear snowflake slowly drifted down in front of Li Ye's eyes.

The first snow of the winter of 1984 finally arrived.

"It's snowing, it's snowing, come out and see! Old Zhu was really right this time..."

"It really is, this weather forecast was actually accurate once. Not easy, not easy, it was worth the wait."

As the snowflakes drifted down, a group of people suddenly ran out of the village, shouting and yelling happily as they watched the drifting snowflakes.

Li Dayong pointed to a floral cotton-padded jacket on the drying ground and asked with a face full of surprise: "Brother... that person... is that Gong Xue? Isn't she playing a city girl?"

Li Ye smiled and said: "Who says a city girl can't wear a floral cotton-padded jacket? I actually think the big braids and floral cotton-padded jacket are a unique landscape of our era. In a few years, you won't be able to see them even if you want to."

Because of the special nature of the character "Huaihua," Director Old Xie finally chose the latter between Gong Xue and Liu Xiaoru as the heroine.

And Gong Xue played the first supporting actress, the beautiful girl who finally married "Chun'er," played by Zhu Shimao.

Li Ye actually felt it was quite appropriate. If he found an actor who wasn't beautiful enough, his sister Li Yue might dislike it; after all, this character was depicted in her image.

And among the many young actresses in the interior today, Gong Xue's appearance was also one of the highest.

It's just that at this moment, Gong Xue was dressed as a village girl, excited and jumping for joy with the rest of the crew at the first snow of winter.

Li Dayong couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what are they happy about?"

Li Ye thought for a while and said: "It should be that they are filming a very important scene that requires scenery in the snow. Looking at them, they must have been waiting for a few days."

Just at this moment, someone saw Li Ye and the others.

"Hey, Mr. Huo is here? We didn't see you, sorry, sorry..."

"Hi, it really is Mr. Huo. Oh, student Li Ye is also here. You guys really came at the right time today. If you had come two days later, we would have left here..."

Facts have proven that status is still very important. Among Li Ye, Li Dayong, and Huo Renqiang, Huo Renqiang had the thinnest family background, but he was the most welcomed by the crew.

And Li Ye and Li Dayong, who were worth hundreds of millions, seemed to be the followers of Mr. Huo Renqiang.

Who told them to carry large bags, while Mr. Huo Renqiang was empty-handed?

Li Ye came at a very good time. Today was the last scene of the crew, and also the most difficult and aggrieved scene for Huaihua in the movie.

Huaihua, who was born to be strong, gritted her teeth and sent away her parents-in-law, struggling to live with the two children she picked up. Although she was a bit poor, her son was promising, his grades were very good, and she could be considered to have something to look forward to.

But in the winter when "Chun'er" was in the second year of junior high school, he suddenly got a sudden illness, stayed in the county hospital for a while, and owed more than ten yuan in medical expenses.

Medical expenses in the 1970s could really be owed, but at a fixed time every year, the hospital would send special people to go from house to house to urge debt, and sometimes, looking at the patient's family situation, they could give reductions.

Huaihua's family door had a plaque of a glorious family, and the hospital people were willing to give her a reduction.

But Huaihua was not a person who would default on debts. After gathering the money at home and finding it wasn't enough, she braved the heavy snow to borrow money from house to house, determined to pay back the hospital's money.

But after borrowing from the whole village, she didn't borrow much money.

It wasn't that the people in the village didn't have feelings, but mainly that everyone didn't understand Huaihua.

"This money is public, and people said it doesn't need to be paid back. What are you borrowing for? Whose family has extra money? Why are you so stupid?"

Everyone felt that not lending money to Huaihua was "saving" her this money.

But Huaihua finally said a sentence while crying: "If I default on this money today, am I worthy of the glorious plaque on the door?"

When Li Ye wrote this section in the script, it was actually not very smooth. Having traveled from later generations, his understanding of Yang Huaihua's thoughts was not thorough enough.

But his sister Li Yue told Li Ye that this matter really happened. After owing the hospital money, Yang Huaihua took Yang Yumin and Yang Yujiao to help others build houses the following year, and paid it back after earning money.

So Li Ye just wrote this section truthfully.

But today at the filming site, Li Ye found that this most unsmooth plot was interpreted by Director Old Xie and a group of actors into the most wonderful segment.

Liu Xiaoru stepped on the newly fallen snow, borrowing money from house to house, the stubborn and firm expression on her face was more upright than a man.

The weak body, set against the backdrop of ice and snow, produced an indescribable sense of unyielding.

And every actor who played opposite her also performed the various states of life of all kinds of people. The shrewdness in simplicity did not directly give people a feeling of "rascality," but rather a kind of helplessness in the face of poverty.

When a girl wanted to hand her only one yuan and fifty cents to Liu Xiaoru, but was snatched back by her "father," Li Dayong, who was watching from the side, clenched his fists tightly.

And A-Qiang on the side said: "It's acted really well! Compared with the best actors in Hong Kong, it's not bad at all. It's just a pity that the interior's system doesn't allow it; otherwise, if we set up a film company and sign them, it would definitely make a lot of money."

The speaker had no intention, but the listener had intention. After A-Qiang's voice fell, Li Ye found that several actors had quietly looked over.

That night, the crew used the comfort gifts sent by Li Ye and others to make a collective dinner, inviting the whole village to eat.

This was also requested by the crew after hearing that A-Qiang was coming, because during the days the crew was stationed in the village, the enthusiastic villagers had almost killed all the chickens in the village for them.

The dinner was very rich, and everyone ate to their heart's content. Li Ye looked at the adults and children in the village burying their heads and eating, and really felt some emotion.

It's already 1984, and this place is only less than a hundred kilometers from Beijing, yet there is still such a place. As a person who got rich first, he suddenly felt that there was still a lot, a lot he needed to do.

"Student Li Ye, your script is really good... It's a pity that this filming task is too urgent; otherwise, it could have been filmed even better."

Halfway through the meal, Director Old Xie walked over with a wine glass and said a few words to Li Ye.

"Filmed better?" Li Ye asked calmly: "Then Xie Dao, where do you think it wasn't filmed well?"

"It's not that it wasn't good, it's just... a bit imperfect."

Director Old Xie pondered for a while and said with some regret: "Time is too tight, we can only try our best to highlight the character of Huaihua, and the polishing of other characters is a bit lacking."

"For example, Chun'er played by Zhu Shimao, if you give me more time, I can definitely express his noble morality and broad mind through his forgiveness from the anger of facing his biological parents at the beginning."

"So I feel a bit sorry for this good script of Student Li Ye."

Li Ye looked at Old Xie, who was quite regretful, but finally smiled complacently.

What you feel regretful about, don't you know is what I am most satisfied with?

Actually, when Li Ye wrote the script, he wrote it according to this "imperfect" conception.

Li Ye first wanted "Chun'er" to have no flaws at all, so that even the most shameless moral kidnapper couldn't criticize his quality and morality; after all, this was written according to Yang Yumin.

But Li Ye also wanted the audience to curse after watching: "This Chun'er shouldn't recognize his biological parents, and still send them money for old age every month? Giving them a fart to eat is about right."

So if this movie was really as Old Xie said, then it really fulfilled Li Ye's wish.

All hypocrisy in the world is a weapon that must be possessed in the eyes of politicians, but in the eyes of ordinary people, it is just a piece of waste paper that breaks at a poke.

Li Ye was complacently lonely here, while Mr. Huo Renqiang was surrounded by stars holding the moon.

Everyone said a word to me, and besides flattery, they basically expressed one meaning—can you go to Hong Kong to develop like the Kung Fu Emperor?

But A-Qiang said disappointingly: "You want to go to Hong Kong to develop? Although there are art films in Hong Kong, the mainstream is still Kung Fu films."

"And I think staying in the interior is not without opportunities, and even in some respects, it might be better than going to Hong Kong."

Several people surrounding A-Qiang were all skeptical and didn't quite believe it.

After all, the prosperity of Hong Kong had spread throughout the interior film and television circle over the past few years.

More importantly, this year, the Kung Fu Emperor drove his own private car speeding all over Beijing, and the police in the guard booth at the intersection could prove it. This is solid evidence.

When can you have your own private car when filming in the interior?

"My wife is from Beijing. She originally wanted to study abroad in Hong Kong, but now, she prefers to stay in Beijing."

"A gentleman I respect very much once said that the development speed of the interior is very fast, faster than Hong Kong, and one day the interior will far surpass Hong Kong..."

A group of actors looked at A-Qiang, who was "babbling" seriously, and couldn't help but laugh. They felt that although A-Qiang was politely refusing everyone, at least he gave a comfortable reason and didn't say sharp words like "you guys are no good."

But how did they know that what A-Qiang said was the truth?

Hong Kong tycoons like Pei Wencong are now working hard to develop toward the interior, so the prospects of the interior must be very good.

And A-Qiang's wife, Pan Xiaoqing, originally did want to study abroad in Hong Kong, but A-Qiang first took her around Hong Kong, and then instilled Li Ye's theory into her, and soon dispelled Pan Xiaoqing's idea of running away.

You go to Hong Kong to live in a house of fifty or sixty square meters, at most you are just above the bottom and below the middle class, and the people around you look at you with strange, exclusionary eyes.

But Pan Xiaoqing stays in Beijing, living in a big courtyard, riding a small motorcycle, and if she wants a small car, she can make a phone call and it will be there on call.

Whether in the unit or in the eyes of relatives and friends, Pan Xiaoqing is the most envied one.

One is an unwelcome outsider, and the other is an envied lucky person. Just tell me which life you like?

"Cough, cough."

Li Ye saw A-Qiang being uncomfortable being surrounded, so he changed the subject and asked Director Old Xie: "Xie Dao, when can our movie be released?"

"That will take a week or two, right?"

Old Xie said with some difficulty: "The film editing link cannot be sloppy, and there are many processes behind it... It can't be rushed anymore."

Li Ye nodded slowly. He also knew that post-production was very important. If it was rushed, it might fall short of success.

It's just that his sister Li Yue's mood seemed unstable these past few days, and she might not be able to hold back the violent temper in her heart.

But Li Ye understood, but A-Qiang didn't understand.

He asked very seriously: "Xie Dao, what if we can pay overtime? Can we hire someone to help shorten the construction period?"

Director Old Xie licked his lips, wanting to say something, but his eyes flickered and he was too embarrassed to say it.

Li Ye had no choice but to hold back his laughter and ask for him: "How much overtime can you pay?"

A-Qiang was dumbfounded.

How much overtime can be paid? Isn't it up to the boss of you, the boss? I'm just a wage earner, okay?

(End of chapter)