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

Chapter 1477 Vitality
Xiaobai:

Hello there.

I miss you on the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi.

Boarding the train at Beijing Railway Station, the educated youth chatted and laughed all the way, transiting through Chang'an and heading north to a yellow landscape.

Including Dayong and me, there were three men and seven women in total, and we were assigned to Baidian Village, Hechuan Commune, Linxian County. We lived in cave dwellings, which I heard had been the homes of landlords before. Because they had been in disrepair for many years, they were drafty from all sides. My carpentry skills finally found a place to shine, and I recommended my skills to the brigade cadres. I thought that I could make furniture for the villagers and earn money, and my life should be worry-free.

There is an extreme shortage of water here. The people of Baidian Village say they were born into bad luck. If they lived ten miles away, they could have water whenever they needed it. Indeed, to get water from Baidian Village, one has to walk ten miles along a mountain path.

……

How are you doing in the army? You said you'd be a military doctor, which is a profession where you can't stop learning. I imagine you're very tired. Please take care of yourself and try to balance work and rest.

You can write to me and tell me about your life in the military.

Xiaobai, I miss you on the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi.

Not well-known
In a certain unit in Inner Mongolia, Zhou Xiaobai hid to read the letter as soon as he received it. After reading it, he felt both pleased and worried about Wang Yan's current living conditions.

"What are you doing?" Luo Yun quietly crept over.

Startled, Zhou Xiaobai turned around and saw Luo Yun. She then playfully slapped her, saying, "You scare people to death, don't you know that?"

"Is this a letter from Wang Yan?" Luo Yun glanced at it with a grin. "Xiaobai, hello, I miss you from the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi. Oh my, this is so cheesy..."

Seeing that Zhou Xiaobai was about to get angry, she quickly said, "But you know what, Xiaobai, Wang Yan's handwriting is really beautiful. It's so elegant and varied, with different sizes. It's so pleasing to the eye, like a painting. Oh, right, Wang Yan is good at calligraphy and painting. I just remembered the painting he made for your dad, the Long March. It was really beautiful!"

“That’s right!” Zhou Xiaobai said with satisfaction. “Everyone who has visited our home has said that the painting is good, and the calligraphy is good too. One day, my dad even took the painting down and sent it to the lake. He was happy for half a month after he brought it back.”

Zhou Xiaobai's father was also a high-ranking official, a prominent figure within the top two hundred. However, even so, he didn't always get to visit Hai Zi. His father was only a second-tier decision-maker, not a core member.

In addition, relatively speaking, there are more internal governance issues. His father is a very busy person in the military system, and he rarely goes to Haizi to report on his work.

Luo Yun continued, playing the supporting role: "That's really impressive, but Wang Yan is already a well-known figure. By the way, how's he doing in northern Shaanxi?"

"It's tough," Zhou Xiaobai muttered as she recounted the situation described in Wang Yan's letter. Then she said, "Wang Yan said he brought his camera with him. He'll send me the photos with the letter when they're developed, so I can see the scenery of northern Shaanxi. Shall we go take photos this afternoon? I see that the first thing many people do when they enlist is take a photo in their uniform. I'll take one too and send it to him."

“Okay, I wanted to take pictures even if you hadn’t said so. I’ll take a lot and send them home.” Luo Yun was a bit selfish, but she was always good at providing emotional support to Zhou Xiaobai.

In the original drama, she was accused of gossiping behind people's backs because of the recommendation for a spot to study at a military medical university. Because she was dating Yuan Jun and didn't want anyone to know, she made Zhou Xiaobai admit to it. When the military leaders asked about it, she didn't defend herself, which caused Zhou Xiaobai to be unable to go to university immediately due to the impact of the situation.

Of course, given Zhou Xiaobai's family background, this incident will have a limited impact on her; it's just a matter of time.

From this perspective, although Luo Yun isn't much, she's very clear-headed. She did it precisely because she knew it would have almost no impact on Zhou Xiaobai.

To be honest, she was a little anxious. By waiting two years and not offending Zhou Xiaobai, she knew that Zhou Xiaobai would definitely help her afterward, and this friendship could be preserved and continue to play a role in her life, which would be of greater help to her.

On the other hand, Luo Yun's family does have connections, just not as top-tier as Zhou Xiaobai's. Whether it's a gain or a loss is a matter of opinion.

Zhou Xiaobai carefully put away Wang Yan's letter, quickly ran to take a picture, and even rushed to get it developed so she could send it to Wang Yan as soon as possible...

At this moment, Wang Yan arrived in the county town once again, taking photos along the way until he arrived at the photo studio.

There were three people in this photo studio: photographer Lao Zhao, assistant Lao Li, and an apprentice. Lao Zhao said his family were officials in the county government...

Without the help of Lao Li or the apprentices, Lao Zhao examined the film that Wang Yan had developed under the light and then personally enlarged the photos for Wang Yan.

Old Zhao is an experienced photographer. Although he mainly shoots portraits, his basic skills are up to par. He understands the techniques and has a certain aesthetic sense. He knows that Wang Yan is a photography expert.

Holding the enlarged photo with tweezers, Old Zhao exclaimed in amazement, "You took such a great photo! Wang Yan, your photos are better than those of people in the city. I think you could be making movies."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words. I'll think about it and see if I can find a way to get into the film studio." Wang Yan pointed to a large pile of photos. "Give me an extra enlarged copy of these few. These need to be done quickly. If you can't, fan me. It's a hundred miles round trip, and it's not easy for me to go to the city. I need to send the photos out in a little while."

"Row."

Old Zhao nodded. He was deeply impressed by Wang Yan from their first meeting. He was truly knowledgeable about photography, eloquent, kind, and generous. Half a month later, after seeing Wang Yan's finished photographs, he was even more impressed.

"By the way, Wang Yan, I heard you're also a carpenter?"

Old Zhao's words made Wang Yan raise an eyebrow: "How did you hear that?"

"You don't know?"

Seeing Wang Yan shake his head in confusion, Old Zhao laughed and said, "Your brigade is quite famous in the county. Every day, people come to the county town with kang tables and ask everyone they meet if you make furniture. They say you have good craftsmanship and used to make furniture in Beijing to sell to foreigners and earn foreign exchange."

"I thought the villagers had all gone to the surrounding brigades, but I didn't expect them to come to the county." Wang Yan couldn't help but chuckle.

In the past period of time, Baidian Village has started to develop a furniture renovation business. After Wang Yan finished making a cabinet for a young couple in the village who were getting married, the finished cabinet was placed there, which made people eager to see it. The villagers touched the cabinet one by one and were very envious. The host was even more beaming.

I heard he even invited his future partner over to personally check if he was satisfied with the container, and needless to say, they were extremely happy. Especially hearing that these containers could be exported and earn foreign exchange, he was even more delighted and felt very proud.

Of course, it's actually impossible, because the quality of the wood is far inferior. But the craftsmanship itself is excellent enough to be exported.

Baidian Village was extremely poor, and no one wanted to marry into it. Gathering enough timber for thirty-six legs was a huge financial burden, and there weren't many things that could earn them face. This gave everyone a glimmer of hope, however faint, for earning money to get married. The work Wang Yan did was considered a sideline for the Baidian brigade. Old Liu, along with the brigade cadres, specifically discussed the distribution of spoils with Wang Yan. After all, they were going to be working hard, and it was important to clarify things beforehand. Everyone cares about face, and the men of northern Shaanxi are especially proud; they didn't want to end up with a shameful situation of unequal distribution of spoils, becoming a laughingstock for life.

Wang Yan had the six young men who were learning from him saw, chop, and plan wood every day. He drew lines for them, and as long as they stayed outside the lines, they couldn't break the wood no matter what they did, letting the young men mess around with it. Little by little, they developed a feel for it.

Speaking of kang tables alone, Wang Yan has replaced them for half of the households in the village over a long period of time, and has now begun to refurbish old, large pieces of furniture. After planing and polishing them, Wang Yan teaches the young men how to carve, resulting in absolutely exquisite craftsmanship.

With nothing else to do, the men in the village, under Old Liu's direction, went out to visit relatives. They took their wives to visit their parents' homes, or went to visit their daughters' in-laws' homes, visiting all the aunts and uncles. People carried the kang tables that Wang Yan had repaired and went out to sell them.

Believe it or not, it actually worked, attracting quite a bit of business. After people from outside who were initially skeptical came to Baidian Village and saw the dozen or so legs Wang Yan had already made, they recognized his craftsmanship, appreciating the unique shapes and various small designs.

Currently, the carpentry sideline group of Baidian Brigade has brought in fifteen large wardrobes and about thirty small kang tables. The fees are not expensive; one yuan for a small kang table, and fifty cents for repairs. The large wardrobes are more expensive, costing five yuan for labor. The customers don't need to worry about the wood; Baidian Brigade contacted the commune, the commune contacted the county, and the county took care of it.

After purchasing a large quantity of timber, the Baidian Brigade's public accounts were nearly empty, with only enough left for purchasing seeds, fertilizer, and water in the spring, leaving them several hundred yuan in debt to the commune.

However, the Baidian brigade could also make some money from the timber, purchasing it in large quantities and negotiating prices with the county. Of course, under the different planned economy system, negotiating prices relied on the commune's Party Secretary Zhang personally going to the government to make a scene and cause trouble…

Meanwhile, the Baidian Brigade also provides door-to-door delivery service; otherwise, no one would come here to buy things, as the distance is simply too far. The brigade's five little donkeys received even more meticulous care.

In the past, when the production brigade went to fetch water, or if a family needed a large amount of water, they would pay the brigade some money to send out a donkey cart, with the whole family pitching in to bring back a huge amount of water. Now, let alone using donkeys to haul water, the families responsible for raising donkeys treat them like royalty.

The enthusiasm of the entire Baidian brigade is currently at an all-time high...

From this perspective, it's not too surprising that the people from Baidian Village carry their kang tables to the county every day to sell them. After all, the people in the county are relatively wealthier.

Wang Yan realized the importance of this matter, so he immediately left the photo studio, bought a ream of white paper, and even got a new Hero fountain pen and several bottles of ink. He planned to go back and draw some furniture designs for the villagers to take out and sell, which would be much better.

With the villagers so proactive and enthusiastic, Mr. Wang certainly didn't mind putting in a little extra effort. If the villagers were willing and energetic, then he was naturally willing to lead them to a better life. He greatly admired people who were positive and motivated…

After hearing Wang Yan's words, Old Liu patted his chest and said, "We'll use the brigade's accounts, how can we let you pay for it yourself? Today we'll have mutton soup and stew, and we'll use the brigade's accounts too."

"No thanks." Wang Yan shook his head. "Let me treat you. We got quite a bit from those petty thieves last time, and if we pay the bill to the whole team, I'll enjoy it all by myself. You guys definitely won't get a single drop. What would that make me?"

Brother Liu, you guys should just focus on eating and drinking, and stop thinking about who owes whom. In other words, if I run out of food, are you going to just watch me starve to death?

"Of course not."

"That solves everything," Wang Yan clapped his hands with a smile, then asked, "How's it going at the slaughterhouse? Can you get some of the offal and bones back?"

“Secretary Zhang is still dragging his feet, it can’t be that quick. He says our furniture business needs to show some results before he’ll have the confidence to ask for things. We’re not related to them, so we have to go to government leaders and get them to approve it.” Old Liu said, full of complaints.

"Too much complaining will break your heart. Let's let our results speak for themselves." Wang Yan patted Lao Liu's strong arm to comfort him. "Come on, let's go eat meat and drink."

When Wang Yan and his group arrived at the market, it was once again packed with people. Since it was already the first day of the lunar month, and the New Year was just a month away, such a large-scale market would only be held on the fifteenth of the lunar month, besides this one.

Of course, because it's the end of the year, it's actually quite lively here even if it's not the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, with sideline groups from various communes coming. After all, a year of hard work is all for this kind of New Year celebration.

It was the same bustling place selling food and drinks, the stalls were noisy and chaotic, filled with drunken ramblings.

Li Kuiyong and Yu Ming were already there, and all the female educated youth had also arrived in the county town. They were all drinking mutton soup from big bowls, their eyes squinting. They had truly not tasted meat for half a month.

In addition, Zhong Yuemin and others also came. This was arranged by Li Kuiyong and others, who were dozens of meters away from them on the back mountain. They had all drunk quite a bit and were already quite drunk.

Zhong Yuemin and Qin Ling sat next to each other, chatting animatedly...

When Wang Yan came in with Lao Liu and the others, Li Kuiyong and the others stood up to greet them. Wang Yan waved his hand, indicating that they should drink on their own, while he stayed with Lao Li and the others.

Zhong Yuemin came over and said, "Brother Yan, I heard from Kui Yong that you're making a lot of money making furniture with the villagers of Baidian Village. People from your brigade are even bringing their kang tables to our brigade. You're the one who did it."

Looking at Zhong Yuemin's thumbs-up, Wang Yan said with a smile, "Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well show off my skills. If it can help my fellow villagers earn more money and have more food, then I'll have done a great deed."

"Hey, you really have a high level of awareness," Zhong Yuemin exclaimed. "We'd love to have that kind of awareness, but we don't have the skills, really..."

Wang Yan didn't dwell on the matter. Meeting Qin Ling's gaze, he nodded in that direction and asked, "You've taken a liking to it?"

"It's not that we've been singing folk songs on the back hill every day, and we've developed a real connection to them..."

Zhong Yuemin chuckled, "Actually, I've been wanting to go to your Baidian Village for the past few days. I've been itching to go."

Wang Yan was so outstanding that Qin Ling naturally flirted with her, but he didn't reciprocate. Qin Ling wasn't a traditional person, and they were bound to part ways in the future; moreover, Qin Ling was a selfish person, which was a problem.

Of course, with his impressive physique and skill, Wang was sure to leave a stunner longing for him, wishing she could be tied to his waistband. However, ultimately, Qinling simply didn't fit Wang Yan's aesthetic preferences…

Otherwise, he wouldn't really care that much. After all, he's somehow considered a man who isn't picky about food, so he'd just have fun...

Amid Qin Ling's disappointed gaze, Wang Yan chuckled and patted Zhong Yuemin on the shoulder: "Go back, you two have a good drink and chat. It's not easy to meet, we still have a long way to go, I have no problem with you..."

"Alright." Zhong Yuemin walked back happily and continued drinking noisily with Li Kuiyong and the others.

After lunch, Wang Yan went to the photo studio to pick up the photos, then went to the post office. Some photos were sent with a letter to Zhou Xiaobai, and some were sent with a letter to the People's Daily...

　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)