Chapter 438: The Wild Little Sister

mayiwsk

Because it was the Spring Festival period, the Qinghe County cinema was nearly packed, and most of the audience were groups of young people and students who had come to enjoy themselves.

Anyone who watched movies in the 1980s knew that if the cinema audience consisted mostly of small groups of ten or so people who knew each other, the viewing environment would inevitably be a noisy "buzz buzz buzz."

The reality was exactly that: when the movie first started, the constant buzz of idle chatter made Li Ye feel uneasy, but soon no one was talking anymore.

Because "Flowers on the Mountain Below" appeared to be a war film, it was filled with profound human-interest scenes; its gripping plot and outstanding performances quickly resonated with ordinary viewers.

"Why didn't Deputy Company Commander Jin get even a Third-Class Merit?"

"There was no violation of discipline—I approved cutting sugarcane on the battlefield."

"I'll appeal directly—I'll report to XX, I'll report to Beijing."

Watching Zhao Mengsheng on screen, suppressed and furious because his deputy company commander was being sidelined for commendation, Li Ye couldn't help but sigh: great literature is never buried.

When filming "Lonely Soldiers Gazing Home" and "Spring Comes Again," Li Ye had not specified that Lao Xie must direct—it was the Shanghai Film Studio that decided Lao Xie was the most suitable.

But under Li Ye's interference, the production unit for "Flowers on the Mountain Below" was changed from the Shanghai Film Studio to the August First Film Studio.

Although Li Ye had disrupted the course of history, this film still somehow corrected itself back onto its original path, becoming an extremely classic, extremely moving, and extremely bold production.

The original author wrote boldly, and the director filmed boldly.

The lead actor was still the handsome Tang actor; since he was already an August First Studio actor, his performance in this film successfully shed his "pretty-boy" label.

Especially in the segment after the war ended, his acting was superb—his gestures, his words, all struck deep into the hearts of the audience.

But Li Ye believed the most brilliantly filmed and most touching parts of the entire film were the supporting characters:

Xiao BJ, General Lei, the families of Deputy Company Commander Jin, Liang Sanxi's mother and wife.

When the film showed Liang Sanxi's elderly mother selling the family's fat pig to pay off debts, even Li Ye—who had written countless emotional scenes and knew every trick of sentimentality—couldn't help but feel his nose sting and his eyes blur.

In an era where "death cancels debt," the family of a martyr, upon receiving the death notification, immediately sold their fat pig and traveled thousands of miles to repay the martyr's debts—what kind of moral character was this?

The problem was, this scene had a real-life prototype.

It was said that when the original author communicated with the production team, he strongly demanded this segment not be cut, even if criticized as mistreating martyrs.

This was precisely what Li Ye admired most: the original author did reflect some negative aspects in his work, but what he most wanted to convey was the "greatness of ordinary people," not relentlessly vilifying human darkness.

And this greatness of ordinary people truly moved every viewer.

When the film ended, many viewers around Li Ye had tear-filled eyes; his two little sisters had red noses from crying and had even forgotten to eat their roasted sunflower seeds.

One little sister wiped her tears and said: "Why did they have to kill Xiao BJ? Why did all those adults make the youngest one attack the bunker?"

Sister Li Ying wiped her nose: "Does being the youngest mean you don't attack bunkers? You're the youngest at home—you're used to doing nothing."

After the screening, everyone crowded into the aisle, slowly walking out while discussing the film's injustices.

Among middle schoolers like Li Juan and Li Ying, the character Xiao BJ was discussed the most.

He was too close in age—it was heartbreaking.

"Brother, do you think Xiao BJ got a First-Class Merit?"

Li Ye fell silent for a moment, then whispered: "Technically, wounded soldiers qualify for Third-Class Merit, disabled ones for Second-Class, and the dead for First-Class—but no family ever wants their loved one to receive a First-Class Merit."

In his previous life, Li Ye had happened to pass through a small city on the Yunnan border around Qingming Festival; when he stayed overnight, not a single bed was available in the city's dozens of inns—all were occupied by people come to mourn the martyrs.

A little inquiry revealed most of these visitors were the martyrs' fathers and mothers, and their sons had been very young—extremely young—when they died.

So even though Li Ye had hurried past without seeing the rows of gravestones on the hillside, he knew that on the high mountains around the county, countless children like Xiao BJ lay buried.

Amid the crowded throng, the three siblings finally exited the cinema, where the entrance was already packed with audiences waiting for the next showing.

"Brother, there's a sugar hawthorn stand over there—two skewers for one jiao, so sweet when you bite into them. Wait for me, I'll go buy some for you."

Ever since Li Ye told Li Ying to learn to be "sweet-tongued," the little girl had taken it to heart—but she only used it on Li Ye, because being sweet to others was useless and might even cost her.

Li Ye wouldn't let his sister go buy them: "I'll get them. You two stay right here!"

"Okay okay, we won't move. But when you buy, pick carefully—they've got big ones and small ones, and if you don't pick, they'll give you the small ones."

Li Ye smiled and went over, spending five jiao to buy a large bunch of sugar hawthorns, planning to take them home for everyone to taste; even though Grandma was old and didn't crave sweets, who didn't enjoy a bit of sweetness?

But when Li Ye returned with the sugar hawthorns, he saw a middle-aged man standing in front of his two sisters with a little boy.

"Xiao Juan, Xiao Ying, you two came to watch another movie again!"

Li Ye glanced at the middle-aged man, thought hard, and realized he'd never seen him before.

But the man's tone was strange—completely familiar, and what did he mean by "again"?

Who the hell are you to care?

Li Ye was about to ask who he was when Li Juan grabbed Li Ying's hand and turned sharply to the right.

Li Ye's eyes narrowed—his sisters' behavior clearly meant they were avoiding him.

"Where are you two going?"

The middle-aged man, annoyed, reached out to block Li Juan and Li Ying—but suddenly felt his cotton coat collar yanked hard backward, his throat constricting painfully.

Li Ye grabbed the man's collar, twisted his head around, and asked coldly: "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man turned and saw Li Ye was young—he flew into a rage: "Hey, what the hell are you doing? What's wrong with you, kid?"

"Kid" was a vulgar term used in Dongshan to insult minors or young adults—it was a habitual outburst from elders.

But Li Ye didn't care about habits: his right hand held the sugar hawthorns, so he grabbed the man's collar with his left, hooked his right leg behind the man's calf, and yanked.

"Thud."

The man crashed hard to the ground, and Li Ye stomped his knee down, pinning him.

"Wah! Why are you hitting my dad? Why are you hitting my dad?"

The little boy, following the man, burst into tears, grabbing Li Ye's pant leg and pounding and kicking.

"Get off. Get off."

"You hit my dad—I'll fight you!"

Li Ye frowned—the situation was tricky.

The little boy weighed barely fifty or sixty jin; Li Ye could kick him ten meters away with one foot—but he couldn't lift his foot.

Poor Li Ye, the famous two-headed fool of Qinghe County, a street fighter who could take on ten men, was powerless against the pummeling of a frail little boy.

But just as the boy dragged his snot and tears across Li Ye's pants, little sister Li Ying charged forward and kicked the boy hard.

"Get the hell away."

Li Ying sometimes quarreled or even fought with her sister, but rarely swore—because swearing often provoked even fiercer retaliation.

At such a young age, she already knew how to avoid harm—think about what she'd endured in recent years.

But today she not only hit someone—she swore. Clearly, she was furious beyond control.

And the next words from the middle-aged man made Li Ye furious too.

"What are you doing? Why are you hitting your own brother? What kind of cruel heart do you have? He's your brother!"

"Come on, hit me! Kill your own father! Kill your own dad!"

Li Ye finally knew who the man was.

Bi Hongwei—Han Chunmei's ex-husband.

Li Ye had only heard of him—he'd never met him, because before Han Chunmei married Li Kaijian, he'd driven her and her daughters out of the house years ago.

But the crowd around them didn't know about Bi Hongwei's expulsion of Han Chunmei and her daughters; after hearing his words, everyone started talking.

"Oh my, the daughter's hitting her own father? That's asking for lightning to strike her!"

"Does it look like they're family? Look at the father's cotton coat—look at the little girl's wool coat—do they look like they belong together?"

"But why don't the two girls speak up? Can you just stay silent when someone says that's your father?"

"Pfft, dare to? I'd knock his teeth out."

The crowd's gossip and murmurs seemed to give the man on the ground a jolt of adrenaline—he pushed himself up, wriggling toward Li Ying, taunting her.

"Xiao Juan, Xiao Ying, come here and carry the sugar hawthorns. Let's go."

Li Ye handed the sugar hawthorns to his sisters and stepped away from the man, giving him a cold glance, ready to leave—this was shit he didn't want to step in.

But Bi Hongwei got bolder, lying on the ground shouting things like "Come step on your own father!"

Li Ye couldn't take it anymore—he turned back to stomp on him again.

But little sister Li Ying jumped ahead of him and stomped hard on Bi Hongwei's chest.

(End of Chapter)