The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1471 Poverty
The sun was already setting in the west. It was winter, but the sun wasn't harsh; instead, it felt like the warmth of nature on people's faces.

Two donkey carts traveled one after the other on the dirt road. Occasionally, a northwest wind would blow, stirring up yellow sand. They hadn't gone far from the commune's seat when Wang Yan and the others were already covered in dust.

"My name is Yu Ming. May I ask your names?"

The speaker was a man over 1.7 meters tall with a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes; he looked like a friendly person.

"Li Kuiyong, this is Wang Yan. You can just call him Brother Yan." Li Kuiyong has a natural talent for being a younger brother. Without anyone to teach him or any other way to learn, he already knows to give face to his good older brother first.

Yu Ming didn't pay any attention to that and instead asked, "I live near Chongwenmen. Which area are you two from?"

“Brother, you don’t need to be so polite. Who knows, the three of us might end up spending our lives together here, and maybe even finding a partner.” Li Kuiyong patted Yu Ming on the shoulder. “We’re from Xuanwumen, on Nanheng Street. We’re not far apart.”

"Nanheng Street?" Yu Ming said in surprise, "I heard there's a tough guy in your area, incredibly powerful, do you know him?"

"What, you're one of those street thugs too?"

"Hey, we're nothing 'gangsters,' just a bunch of buddies strolling around. After that tough guy came out, we all stayed home quietly. He was just too awesome... huh?"

Yu Ming realized what was happening and asked, "Brother, from what you're saying, you know this person?"

"It's more than just knowing them," Li Kuiyong laughed heartily, saying to the bewildered Yu Ming, "That person is both far away and right before our eyes!"

Yu Ming paused for a moment, looked at Li Kuiyong, then at the person over there with his hands in his pockets, his legs moving back and forth, his body rising and falling slightly with the donkey's gait...

His gaze fell on Li Kuiyong again: "Brother, it wasn't you, was it?"

"What are you thinking? Do you think I have that kind of luck?" Li Kuiyong clicked his tongue, feeling that this kid was being unreasonable. He said irritably, "It's my brother Yan."

"Oh my, Brother Yan, please forgive me, please forgive me. I was blind to your greatness, please don't hold it against me." Yu Ming quickly expressed his admiration.

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement: "Alright, what's there to say about fighting? It's meaningless. From beginning to end, I've never been involved in any gangster activities; it was all self-defense. Who would have thought I'd end up as a thug? This reputation doesn't look good on me."

"Yu Ming, right? Don't be afraid. I'm a reasonable person and won't hit someone for no reason. You'll see later. Da Yong is right. We might end up spending our lives together. Look at these ten people, seven of them women. The three of us are truly in the same boat. Don't keep things to yourself. If you need anything, just say it. I'll do my best to help if I can."

"Oh, thank you, Brother Yan."

Yu Ming seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at Wang Yan sitting on the side of the donkey cart, hands tucked in his pockets, swinging his legs back and forth, he no longer thought he was mentally challenged. Instead, he felt that Brother Yan had a kind of profound and unassuming ease that belonged to a master.

"What were you saying?" the young woman sitting in the middle of the cart asked curiously. The voices of the three people who had been talking were carried away by the wind. She was exhausted from the long journey and felt dizzy from the ups and downs of the donkey cart.

"They said we'd all be in the same pot, stirring everything together." Li Kuiyong didn't even let Yu Ming speak before changing the subject, introducing himself and getting to know the female educated youth.

"My name is Tian Fang." She was quite pretty, with delicate features and a charming, demure air. "My family is from the Xisi area."

"My name is Qin Ling, and I live in the Chaoyangmen area."

This Qinling is naturally the one who got together with Zhong Yuemin in the drama. Later, everyone returned to Beijing, and she became the mistress of an overseas businessman. She met Zhong Yuemin again, rekindled their old feelings, and also continued to contact the wealthy businessman.

Wang Yan had, of course, seen this woman long ago. To be honest, she was someone Wang Yan knew, though only superficially. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, she was Princess Yu.

However, Wang Yan wasn't interested in her at all; let Zhong Yuemin be happy...

So Wang Yan didn't say much, just swaying his legs, squinting to avoid the wind and sand, quite at ease.

Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming, who were standing nearby, had already started chatting with Qin Ling and Tian Fang, laughing and joking, completely oblivious to the mouthful of yellow sand they had swallowed.

Five female educated youths were sitting on the donkey cart in front of them, chatting and laughing happily.

Only two men were driving the cart, and they weren't in high spirits. Their answers to the educated youth's questions were half-hearted. They weren't stupid; how could such a group of city people, especially from Beijing, be so easy to deal with? There would be no shortage of trouble in the future.

And so, the donkey cart slowly traveled for three hours, finally arriving at Baidian Village as dusk was falling.

Baidian Village is a village situated on a high plateau. Standing outside the village, you can see a vast expanse of yellowish-brown gullies in the distance. With the fiery sunset clouds in the sky, the scene here is extremely beautiful. Of course, this beauty is only for first-time visitors.

The people who have lived here for generations, facing the loess soil and turning their backs to the sky, probably don't find it beautiful. They only feel that the endless loess soil is an inescapable prison.

Wang Yan was an appreciative person; he pulled out a Seagull camera from his luggage and started taking pictures right away.

"Hey, you have a camera? That's great! Could you take a picture of me? I want to send it home to show my family. Don't worry, I'll pay you." All the other educated youth gathered around.

Wang Yan took two photos and then stopped: "It's getting dark. There will be plenty of opportunities to take photos later. I won't charge you. Just bring your own film and buy me some film developing materials. If you want to develop the film yourself, I don't have the equipment. You'll have to go to the photo studio in the county. Brother Liu, it's the same in our village. Just bring your film and I'll take the photos and develop them for you, no charge."

The man who had been watching eagerly nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this: "Alright, I'll tell the villagers later. City people are just different; they're so kind-hearted."

This man is only in his thirties, a proper breadwinner for his family. He is the son of the production team leader of Baidian Village, and he is a decent person.

“I’ll still need the villagers to take care of me in the future.” Wang Yan walked over with a smile and put his arm around his shoulder. “Besides, I’m also a carpenter. Hey, what’s with that look? I work at a furniture factory in Beijing. Although I’m only at level two, my skills are already at level seven. I just don’t have the seniority.”

What is seniority? It means I'm too young and haven't worked long enough for the leadership to recommend me. In our village, even if they wanted your son to be the production team leader, the commune wouldn't agree; that's just how it is.

I make furniture for export, to earn foreign exchange for the country—that's money from foreigners. Brother Liu, could you help me with some arrangements? Anyone wanting to buy furniture can come to me. I won't ask for much, just a small tip. Especially for families getting married, I'll definitely do my best.

"Still don't believe me? Here's what we'll do: go find some wood yourself, and I'll make you whatever you want to make, for free. If you mess it up, I'll pay you back. Look at this camera of mine, it cost over two hundred." Old Liu thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, my kang table is broken anyway, you can make a table for me first, I'll bring you the wood tomorrow."

"Having wood alone isn't enough; you also need tools."

"Let me look around for you, this..."

Wang Yan, ever the sensible one, chimed in, "I'll buy it with my own money. Here's five yuan, that should be enough to buy a set, right?"

"No need, no need, why would we need so many?"

"I'll buy some candied hawthorns for your child. It's settled then. You can worry about it."

"I guarantee there won't be any problems." Old Liu spoke with absolute certainty, a man from northern Shaanxi known for his integrity.

Everyone heard what Wang Yan said to Brother Liu and was very surprised by Wang Yan's outstanding abilities, but no one asked. Following Brother Liu's instructions, they went to their place.

cave dwelling.

Not far from the village entrance, there is a loess hill about six stories high. The hill has been artificially carved out at a 90-degree angle, with six cave dwellings.

According to Brother Li, this was originally a landlord's kiln, which was abandoned after it was demolished. This time, the educated youth were assigned here, and the village had already cleaned it up in advance. The windows and other things were all newly replaced, but the doors were still quite old and had a few drafts.

After inspecting the site, Wang Yan immediately raised funds with everyone and asked Brother Liu to procure some timber so he could fix the doors and windows.

The educated youth, or more accurately, the other seven female educated youth, did not object. Even those from poor families would receive some money from their families before they came, and the cost of buying timber was not much when split among them.

Wang Yan didn't even charge for the labor, which was quite generous. As for the cave dwellings where the three male educated youths lived, Wang Yan didn't even ask Yu Ming to pay for them. Li Kuiyong didn't say a word; whatever Wang Yan said went.

As everyone was tidying up, Old Liu's father, the brigade leader, came over, pipe in mouth. He was an old man who looked to be over sixty, wearing a cotton hat and a white headscarf underneath—a typical Shaanxi man's attire. His pipe was also different; it was a long pipe with a tobacco pouch attached to it.

"Welcome, fellow educated youth!" Old Liu said in a thick local accent, his voice full of sincerity. "In principle, our brigade should host a welcome banquet for you educated youth who have come from afar, but the conditions simply don't allow it. Everyone in our brigade is tightening their belts. Please understand, fellow educated youth."

Your rations have been collected as well; someone will bring them over soon. The firewood is piled up outside too. It's winter now, and there's not much work to do, so please adapt, educated youth. Next spring, we'll need your help. Is there anything else you're lacking? We'll try our best to help.”

The educated youth politely shook their heads, indicating that they didn't need anything more. They had brought their own bedding when they arrived, and now that they had a place to stay, they didn't have many other requests.

Old Liu nodded and said, "There's something else I need to tell you. Our area is different from the south; it's short of water and very dry. We have to conserve water. Our brigade doesn't have a well; we have to go to Linping below us for water. You passed by there on your way up; it's about ten miles away from here, and it's quite a long and difficult journey with all the hills and gullies."

"You just arrived today. A few days ago, the brigade filled both large water tanks for you. Once you've used them up, you'll have to go get water yourself."

"Huh? Ten miles?" The educated youth were stunned. They hadn't expected that getting water here would be so difficult.

Although they were stunned, that wasn't enough; they were only astonished by the ten-mile distance. In reality, however, measuring those ten miles on foot would be agonizing, with uphill and downhill sections, and the mountain path was incredibly difficult…

Ignoring the fear of the educated youth, Lao Liu turned to look at the three male educated youth, his gaze automatically falling on the tall figure protected by Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming.

"Are you Comrade Wang Yan?"

"it's me."

"Oh, thank you so much. We farmers can't afford to take so many photos. Cameras are expensive, and you're willing to take pictures for us for free. Thank you so much!"

“It won’t break when taking pictures.” Wang Yan shook hands with Lao Liu. “Later, when everyone buys film and wants to develop the photos, I can go to the county and talk to the photo studio. If our whole brigade goes together, it will definitely be much cheaper.”

"Oh, thank you even more. We'll send someone to the county to buy film soon. We have a program in December. But these past few years, it's not possible. We can only do some Yangko dancing and sing folk songs. Temple fairs and community events aren't allowed anymore. Enough said, enough said. Comrades, hurry up and pack up. Have a good rest after you finish eating. This old man is off."

Old Liu, along with Old Liu and the other brigade cadres, left. It seemed heartwarming, and it truly was. Putting everything else aside, the two large vats of water alone were enough to demonstrate the Baidian Brigade's attitude. At that moment, the entire brigade searched house to house, but no one else had stored that much water.

Everyone made their beds and then busied themselves with cooking. "Busy with cooking" meant heating the three kilns, making cornmeal and wheat flour pancakes, and stewing a pot of potatoes.

Even among Beijingers, the most urban of urbanites, the times have changed, meaning none of us are delicate. Even Zhou Xiaobai, she can cook a couple of dishes; she's capable of managing her own life.

So Wang Yan didn't have to cook himself; the women prepared the meal. Wang Yan was also quite particular; he took a can of pork from his bag and poured it into the pot of stewed potatoes, adding a bit of meat flavor.

When it was time to eat, things got lively. Everyone brought things from home, such as eight-treasure pickles, dried salted fish, fermented black bean chili sauce, pickled garlic, and other condiments.

Wang Yanmo estimated that their meal tonight was enough for almost a day and a half...

The young people who had just arrived were reckless and didn't know their own strength; they always had a good start but ended up in trouble. The characters like Zhong Yuemin from the original drama were nowhere to be seen; they had all gone to the county town to beg for food.

Of course, it wasn't just Zhong Yuemin begging; other members of the brigade went too. The reason was that the crops grown in the fields couldn't meet the needs of the people living on this land. They often went hungry for several months of the year; life here was just too hard…

After dinner, the exhausted group dispersed and returned to their cave dwellings, where they closed the doors and talked by candlelight.

To conserve water resources, none of the three grown men washed their feet. Li Kuiyong, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, stared blankly at the candlelight and suddenly blurted out, "Damn it, Brother Yan, those guys deserve to die. You were doing so well..."

Wang Yan closed the book in his hand: "Actually, it's not necessarily someone else who did it, but of course, they should be held accountable..."

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the kind readers who have given me generous support through tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and those who have been reading quietly!