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

Chapter 1476 Selflessness
"Brother Yan, these women are being a bit uncouth." In the darkness, Yu Ming sipped his hot tea and couldn't help but complain.

Li Kuiyong said irritably, "You're the one who's not fussy. They made it very clear: if we cook separately, we'll know what's going on and save money. If we were allowed to eat as much as we wanted, no amount of grain would be enough. The three of us brothers eat more than all seven of those women combined! Besides, they said they'd help us out if we ran out of food. Isn't that great?"

Yu Ming didn't argue at all: "Yes, yes, Brother Yong is right. I was being ignorant."

"You're the kind of kid who only remembers the bad things people do for him."

Li Kuiyong was even more direct and merciless, "You need to change this habit. A man from Beijing shouldn't be so petty and narrow-minded. It's really beneath you. Right, Brother Yan?"

Wang Yan was processing the film in the dark with chemicals when he said, "Yu Ming is thinking too short-sightedly. It's alright, you're with us brothers, we can't let you starve to death."

"Brother Yan, I was really wrong." Yu Ming was almost in tears. "I was just saying it casually. I really didn't mean to take more than my share."

“It’s fine if you want to take more than your share.” Wang Yan continued shaking the box as he worked. “As the old saying goes, time will tell. After a while, you’ll see how others treat you, and then you’ll know. Just don’t blame them.”

"I will definitely change."

Yu Ming stopped trying to deny it; he had to hide it no matter what.

It's so comfortable following Wang Yan. He's a good fighter, makes me feel safe, is rich, and incredibly generous. Take this sweet, date-scented tea he's drinking now, for example. He hardly ever gets a taste of sugar in the capital. Wang Yan bought him a whole bag of rock sugar and a whole bag of dried dates…

Wang Yan and Li Kuiyong ignored Yu Ming. No one knows what Yu Ming was thinking, but on the surface he was very quiet and didn't say a word of nonsense, just quietly drinking his tea.

After fiddling with it for more than two hours, I finally managed to develop all the photos I took on this trip today.

Seeing Wang Yan unrolling the film and examining each frame by candlelight, Li Kuiyong said, "Hey Yan, this film is all reversed, what can you possibly see?"

"You can tell if the exposure is accurate and if the composition is appropriate."

Wang Yan is a patient person, though he wouldn't normally say much. But at this moment, they were in northern Shaanxi, and their biggest challenge was overcoming the void. So Wang Yan patiently explained some basic photography knowledge to them, giving them a general understanding.

After packing up the film, the three of them went to sleep, ending a less-than-ideal day...

The next day, Wang Yan woke up early as usual. From today onwards, they would be cooking separately.

Wang Yan didn't want Yu Ming and Li Kuiyong to waste the food and wanted to make sure they ate as well as possible, so he had to do it himself. He got up early, practiced a couple of simple boxing routines outside, washed up, and then busied himself inside.

Guokui, a beloved food of the people of Guanzhong, is said to have originated in the Shang Dynasty and has a long history. Wang Yan, who once ruled Guanzhong, was quite familiar with the local traditional food. He mixed flour and cornmeal to make guokui.

Yu Ming and Li Kuiyong were reluctant to get out of bed. The journey and water-carrying the previous day had been too strenuous, leaving them both aching all over and groaning in pain. Wang Yan started a fire to cook, making the already cooling kang (heated brick bed) even warmer, making them even less inclined to get up.

Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming only got up after Wang Yan finished making the guokui (a type of flatbread) and the tea in the pot on his red clay stove started bubbling.

They chewed on the dry, flatbread without any vegetables, just constantly refilling the tea jar. The three of them drank the tea and ate the flatbread, which made it somewhat flavorful. When Wang Yan kneaded the dough, he even added salt to the flatbread. The water he carried back from twenty miles away was full of trace elements, so apart from the lack of meat, they had everything they needed.

The three of them finished their meal but didn't go out; there was really nothing to see.

Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming were flipping through the book, while Wang Yan sat on the ground, using the remaining wood to make two small stools. These weren't difficult to make; if there was no leather strap for the seat cushion, a rope could be threaded around a few times.

Just then, things started to get lively outside; the female educated youth had finished cooking.

There was a knock on the door twice, followed by a voice saying "I'm coming in," and the door was opened. Qin Ling and Tian Fang walked in, each carrying a bowl.

"You've all finished eating?" Qin Ling asked in surprise, looking at the three of them looking so relaxed. "What delicious food did you make?"

"Guokui (a type of flatbread)," Yu Ming responded proactively.

“I’ve heard of it. It must have been made by Wang Yan, right?” Tian Fang had a good eye.

"Neither of us brothers knows how to cook it. We're lucky if we can even get the basics right." Li Kuiyong groaned and stretched his arms and legs. "This is exhausting. I'm covered in so many lumps."

He complained for a moment, then continued, "There's nothing special about the guokui (a type of flatbread). It's just a cornbread, all the same, just with a different name. You guys even have vegetables, but the three of us just swallowed it dry with water. I'd heard it was tough here, but I didn't expect it to be this tough."

"We should be grateful that we have something to eat," Qin Ling sighed. "Let's be content."

Seeing Wang Yan still fiddling with the wood, Qin Ling said, "It's really good to have such skills."

"Just barely scraping by," Wang Yan replied with a smile.

Tian Fang exclaimed "Hey!" and asked, "What are you all doing today?"

“Where else can we go? We’ll just stay inside,” Li Kuiyong said. “When the sun is strong enough, we’ll go to the yard to save some firewood. Oh, I just remembered, Zhong Yuemin and his family live next door. When the sun is strong enough, I’ll go to the back hill to chat with them.”

"Go, go, let's go see them too, we're all from the same place," Qin Ling chimed in.

Tian Fang didn't say much, but the other female educated youths said they would go and take a look, since they had nothing better to do anyway.

So around 10 a.m., Li Kuiyong and the others went to the back mountain. In less than ten minutes, Wang Yan could hear the group of people singing folk songs on the mountain.

However, they don't know any local songs yet; they only sing revolutionary songs. After all, this is an old revolutionary area, and folk songs and revolutionary themes are well integrated here.

Wang Yan didn't go; he took all his tools to the yard outside, including a small stove. He basked in the sun, drank tea from a pot, and did some carpentry work.

As the folk songs echoed from the back hill, Wang Yan saw the village girls and boys walking past him one by one, all heading towards the back hill to join in the fun.

Entertainment is scarce in this place, and it's not easy to find any excitement. The rural youths, trapped in their own world, inevitably yearn to break free from their cage and escape this impoverished land.

However, facts have also proven that it is precisely these generations of people who, despite their unfulfilled desires, have built and developed this seemingly endless Loess Plateau. They have measured the land with their footsteps and forged the future with their sweat...

The young people all went up the mountain, but the adults weren't idle either. They carried wood, kang tables, and other items to Wang Yan's place.

Old Liu laughed heartily: "Wang Yan, I carried the kang table to every household this morning. The villagers all appreciate your craftsmanship and want to replace their kang tables. There are also those who are getting married and waiting to get married in the spring. They want you to make all the furniture for their homes. We don't even dare to dream of bicycles or sewing machines, but we still want to make thirty-six legs of them."

Wang Yan greeted the people of Baidian Brigade with a smile, and introduced them one by one with Lao Liu's introduction. He was incredibly sweet-talking, calling them "eldest brother," "second brother," "third brother," "second sister-in-law," "third sister-in-law," and "sixth aunt," all with a local accent—it was a large-scale family reunion.

He was generous; he went back inside and brought out two boxes of Daqianmen cigarettes, handing them out one by one. In no time, the place was filled with smoke and incredibly lively.

Old Liu, who doesn't smoke, still has his long pipe dangling from his mouth: "Young man, you said you'd be willing to teach the kids in our brigade how to be carpenters, is that true?"

"It couldn't be more true!" Wang Yan chuckled and nodded at everyone, saying, "Leaving aside the distant places, just our brigade alone has so many people needing furniture made. How could I possibly finish it all by myself? I'll teach the young people in our brigade to do it together, and then we'll divide them into groups. One group will make the table legs, another the tabletops, another the sanding, and another the carving. Our brigade will have an assembly line production line too!" "Oh, so this is what you call an assembly line? The educated youths from the city really know a lot. Look how clearly they explain it."

The onlookers started praising it, chattering away, making it incredibly lively.

Wang Yan looked at the kang tables that everyone had brought over, took a few and examined them, then said, "These kang tables are still usable, I can refurbish them. But we'll still need some wood, so some repairs are inevitable."

"This job is perfect; let's give it a try. But Uncle Liu, we'll have to figure out the carpentry tools. We need saws, planes, files, and chisels, and for carving, we'll need carving knives. We'll have to trouble you to come up with something."

"Russia will implement this in the next few days."

Old Liu nodded, and that was it, the matter was settled.

The villagers around were all very happy, as if Baidian Brigade had become a well-known carpentry brigade, as if the brigade's sideline business was doing well and the money earned was enough to feed everyone. Seeing hope, they couldn't help but have endless wonderful dreams...

However, they were dreaming. Not to mention the distant future, the more than forty miles of mountain road from Baidian Village to the county seat was a huge obstacle.

However, Wang Yan was not about to dampen their enthusiasm, so he didn't say anything negative and instead talked to the young man who was getting married about what kind of cabinet he wanted.

Not only did he talk the talk, but Wang Yan even got paper and pen and started sketching on the spot. It wasn't a design drawing of the furniture, but a rendering of the finished product, a realistic sketch with very clear details.

His skill convinced those who hadn't left even more, and before he'd even done much, they were already praising Wang Yan's excellent cooking.

After the communication was completed, Wang Yan continued with the final steps of making the stool. He also asked the villagers for ropes, which he tied to the stool after it dried in the shade. Then he began to process the wood that they had brought over.

No one was in a hurry about the kang table; they planned to take it back and use it for a few days first, and then deal with the issue of tools for the younger generation.

In fact, this matter was not so simple to decide. The brigade still had to hold a meeting to decide which family's child should be selected to study with Wang Yan. It was impossible for the entire village to come.

Fortunately, there were quite a few people present, and they didn't treat Wang Yan as an outsider. It was like a meeting was being held on the spot, and everyone started scrambling for things. Some were cursing and revealing each other's shortcomings, while others had old grudges and couldn't stand each other, so they kept arguing and making a ruckus. The folk songs were no longer sung.

Wang Yan listened to the commotion with a smile as he worked with the wood, and everyone enjoyed watching...

Old Liu is respected and has extensive mediation skills, having mastered the crucial concept of 'balance'.

Those families with difficult circumstances and lacking the ability to work should be taken care of first. For example, there are two families in the brigade where an elderly woman is taking care of her grandson and granddaughter, and they are both unfortunate people.

In addition, there are troublemakers with a large family and many men, who also need to be appeased. Of course, the Liu family has the largest population in the village; most people in the village share the surname Liu…

So what Lao Liu was trying to balance was his own family and people with other surnames in the village.

After considering all these factors, six spots were initially set: two from the Liu family, two from other families, and two from the most disadvantaged families. Old Liu made the decision on the spot: the carpentry tools would be brought back the next night, and the children of the brigade would begin learning from Wang Yan the day after tomorrow.

Then a group of people gathered here, some sewing shoe soles, some knitting sweaters, some pasting matchboxes, watching Wang Yan tidy up the wood...

This is the scene that Li Kuiyong and other educated youth, along with the young people in the village, saw when they came down the mountain.

"Wow, this is really lively." Li Kuiyong nodded generously to everyone. "Oh my, Brother Yan, you've opened your business!"

"Make it with thirty-six legs," Wang Yan said with a smile.

At this moment, Lao Liu also called out to the selected youths, who were all around fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old, and sent them to Wang Yan's side to watch Wang Yan busy himself.

Wang Yan's craftsmanship was unparalleled. By noon, a large pile of wood had been broken down by Wang Yan and carried into the empty cave. He then began to plan the wood more meticulously and started building cabinets on the spot.

Throughout the day, the villagers of Baidian Brigade watched as Wang Yan transformed a pile of wood into the shape of a cabinet, even quickly carving exquisite mandarin ducks playing in the water onto the wooden planks with chisels and axes...

So everyone felt more at ease.

In the evening, after dinner, Qin Ling, Tian Fang, and others gathered at the boys' cave dwelling again.

"Wang Yan, are you really going to teach them carpentry?"

Wang Yan continued working hard: "Of course, how could this be fake? If the villagers have another skill, they can earn more money and eat more food. Isn't that great?"

"You have such high awareness. It would be so much better to keep this skill for yourself..."

"Don't underestimate carpentry. The skill is not easy to learn, and it's not suitable for everyone."

Wang Yan didn't say anything more and continued working.

"Hey, Brother Yan, I see there are quite a few scraps left, not enough to make anything big. Could you do us the trouble of making a chess set? We'd like to pass the time."

"Okay, I'll do it tomorrow," Wang Yan replied with a smile.

Qin Ling and the others stayed there for about an hour before heading back to rest, laughing and joking.

Wang Yan stopped working, sat at the table, and began to write by candlelight, using paper and pen.

"Brother Yan, what are you still writing? Your wife hasn't replied yet." Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming were fiddling with the scraps of wood, trying to carve a circle themselves...

What are we here for?

Yu Ming said, "It's about suffering and enduring hardship."

Li Kuiyong looked down on it, having grasped his good brother's intentions perfectly: "Of course, it's about accepting re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants."

Yu Ming looked at Li Kuiyong in surprise, the latter raising an eyebrow at him, "You should learn from this..."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Since it's re-education, there must be something to learn. We've been here for three days, so I'll write down my first impressions of this place, a personal summary, and what we'll be doing next. Also, I've taken quite a few photos, so I'll send them all to the People's Daily later."

Li Kuiyong's eyes widened: "Brother Yan is awesome!"

Yu Ming...

　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!

　　(End of this chapter)