My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 411 Boasting
Soon, Wang Susu came out with her child and the two elders.

When they learned that Zhou Weijun had brought people to find Chen Ling to appear on television, specifically to play Wu Song, the tiger-fighting hero from the classic novel "Water Margin," everyone was both surprised and excited.

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan were especially pleasantly surprised and felt very proud. They were acting in one of the Four Great Classical Novels, and even playing such famous heroes. They considered it a great honor.

They all crowded around to ask Chen Ling's opinion.

Seeing his family so happy, Chen Ling didn't know what to say to them.

Speaking of "Water Margin", it seems that filming did indeed begin this year.

Nowadays, TV dramas aren't as superficial as they are in later years, and the entertainment industry isn't what it used to be; it's still called the performing arts industry now.

Overall, it's still quite a serious matter.

Moreover, in today's entertainment industry, many actors do not focus on acting. After finishing a TV series, they often go back to farming or continue doing business.

Everyone was very dedicated and down-to-earth.

So if there's a suitable opportunity to appear on camera, Chen Ling isn't opposed to this kind of atmosphere; he just treats it as a fun opportunity.

The key issue is that these people want him to play Wu Song.

This tiger-slaying hero is hailed as the author's favorite son, and is the second most important character in the novel.

Once you agree to this, you'll be tied to the film crew because the shoot can't be finished in a short time.

He couldn't accept going all the way to act in a TV show and staying there for more than half a year.

The key issue is that his wife is pregnant, his son is still too young, and there are a bunch of other things to do at home, such as wheat harvesting, planting after the harvest, orchard management, and fishpond maintenance, that he needs to keep busy with.

How could he possibly leave?

As soon as Chen Ling said this, the joy on everyone's faces immediately faded, and they all fell silent for a moment.

Wang Susu didn't care whether she appeared on TV or not.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law, however, were quite disappointed.

Han Chuang was so disappointed that he stomped his feet. He was hoping that his good brother could play Wu Song on TV. Wu Song fighting the tiger would be so majestic and exciting.

After all, no matter how well someone else acts, how can it compare to your own brother's performance?

Unfortunately, Chen Ling had many family matters to attend to and couldn't get away, which was truly a pity.

The crew members of the Water Margin TV series were also somewhat dumbfounded.

This is the first time they've encountered someone who refused to play Wu Song, after selecting so many actors.

The reason for the refusal was so simple yet unique.

They were left speechless for a moment.

After all, the charm of the character Wu Song is undeniable.

Many people are eager to act in these roles, but they can't get one.

Young people, in particular, are willing to put everything else aside to seize this hard-won opportunity when they hear that they can act in one of the Four Great Classical Novels and play the role of Wu Song.

Unexpectedly, it didn't work with Chen Ling...

Chen Ling's reasons were genuine, and Zhou Weijun, who knew him so well, knew they were true and couldn't persuade him any further.

But the woman was clearly not giving up.

They then asked Chen Ling, "Can you manage that? We'll raise your pay a bit more, give you a few days of leave each month to visit your family, and reimburse your travel expenses..."

If that doesn't work, we can ask Village Chief Wang to find someone to help you harvest the crops in the fields and the fruit in the orchard; we'll cover the labor costs.

What do you think of this?

After saying this, she herself felt that she had been a bit humble.

But there's no way around it; finding a suitable actor is just too difficult.

With masterpieces like Dream of the Red Chamber and Journey to the West preceding them, and Water Margin being one of the Four Great Classical Novels, the leaders are under considerable pressure to adapt it.

Therefore, we strive to do our best in every aspect, and the selection of roles is naturally very rigorous.

Think about it, they're even using real tigers.

It must be for the purpose of restoring the original as accurately as possible.

She was under pressure and anxious, and once she found a suitable partner, she didn't want to let go easily.

Chen Ling had watched the CCTV version of Water Margin, so he naturally understood these things better than others.

Moreover, the original version of Wu Song was already very good.

I'm not in that line of work, so why am I competing with professionals?
It's fine to have some fun if you have the chance, but spending all day on set, being told what to do and what to do, will eventually wear him down.

It's more comfortable to stay in the village and live a leisurely life.

"Thank you for your kindness. You were brought by Lao Zhou, so I won't say anything insincere. Things like the crops and orchard can actually be left aside and handed over to others to help manage. I don't really care. But right now, my wife is pregnant and my son is not even a year old. I really can't leave."

The production team had a good attitude and offered the best possible terms, which Chen Ling could feel, so he said what he truly thought.

"This, sigh..."

The men and women exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.

Was this trip for nothing? It's rare to find such a suitable candidate.

Only Zhou Weijun noticed the blind spot in the problem: "Hey, that's not right. The production team needs someone who isn't afraid of tigers, but there aren't tigers in all of Wu Song's scenes. There's only one tiger in the scene where he fights the tiger on Jingyang Ridge..."

When Zhou Weijun said that, the men and women were all stunned for a moment, and then they immediately realized what he meant.

“That’s right. If the young man can’t play Wu Song, we can have him play Wu Song’s stunt double. He can just play the short scene of fighting the tiger on Jingyang Ridge. He can film it without leaving home.”

"Yes, yes, you have mountains and rivers here, and so many forests, so it's easy to find good scenery. We can just bring the tiger over for you to fight."

"Although it's a bit of a shame that Brother Chen can't play Wu Song, at least the problem of fighting the tiger is solved."

The group chattered excitedly, and quickly asked Chen Ling for his opinion.

After meeting Chen Ling in person, they actually preferred him to play the role, because his experience of fighting a leopard alone, as well as his appearance and physique, all met their requirements for Wu Song.

Unfortunately, Chen Ling's approach didn't work out, so they had to settle for second best.

"Goodness, bring the tiger over here! I've never seen a tiger before in my entire life..."

Upon hearing this, Han Chuang was overjoyed. His earlier disappointment at Chen Ling not being able to play Wu Song vanished instantly. He grabbed Chen Ling's arm and said, "Lingzi, this is great! I can agree to this. You don't need to go far away."

Chen Ling gave him a speechless look: "You want to see tigers, don't you?"

Han Chuang didn't deny it, grinning widely and saying, "Hehe, who wouldn't want to see a tiger?" Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan then added, "That's true. Not to mention Chuangzi, we also want to see one. We've only heard stories about tigers, but we've never actually seen one before."

Even Wang Susu, holding Rui Rui in one arm and raising the other, chimed in with a grin, "Me too, I want to see too."

Anyway, my husband doesn't need to go far away, and people even said they'd bring the tiger over, so what's wrong with that?

Seeing this, Chen Ling readily agreed, "Alright then, I'll help you out by acting as a stunt double to fight the tiger."

Upon hearing this, several members of the Water Margin production crew breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did they inquire in detail about Chen Ling's experience of fighting the leopard.

What I heard from the person involved was very different from what I heard from the villagers.

Chen Ling's account not only clearly explained the cause and effect of the leopard's appearance, but also his reaction to the leopard and how he dealt with it. The way he described it made the audience feel as if they were there, and they subconsciously held their breath and listened attentively.

After listening, they all applauded Chen Ling: "Amazing, truly amazing. But this was too dangerous. There were two villagers on the mountain at the time, and the leopard pounced on them. Most people would probably be scared and run away if they saw this."

They had inquired in the village when they arrived, and all they heard was that Chen Ling was strong, able to lift a 300-pound ramming hammer, and that killing a leopard was a piece of cake.

Party branch secretary Wang Laishun also strongly agreed with this statement.

But now, listening to Chen Ling's story, it feels more real and credible.

"Yes, it was very dangerous. Leopards are fast; they can leap several meters in a single bound. These creatures are masters of ambush; they generally don't engage in direct physical confrontations. If the leopard's tail hadn't broken off, and if we hadn't already fought it once and been injured, I wouldn't have been able to stop it in time."

Chen Ling then gave a more conservative assessment, otherwise everyone would exaggerate his abilities beyond belief.

Anyway, that tailless leopard is eating and drinking well in his cave, and no one outside will see it again, so he can say whatever he wants.

"You're too modest, brother. That's what makes your courage and boldness so admirable. If we were to encounter you, we'd be lucky if our legs didn't tremble, let alone run away."

At this point, some of the male members of the film crew also spoke up.

The people around him echoed his praise, and for a while they chatted happily.

"Alright, everyone, go inside and sit down. It's getting late, time for lunch."

Wang Cunye looked up and saw that the sun was already slightly setting in the west, past noon. He got up and invited the people home.

Chen Ling and Han Chuang then went to the foot of the mountain and picked out two ripe watermelons.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, eating a couple of slices of watermelon before a meal is so refreshing and pleasant.

"Fifth Uncle, don't go! It's lunchtime, why are you leaving? Have a slice of watermelon first, and we'll have some drinks later."

"I'm not drinking anymore. The fish from the reservoir were just taken away, and they're still waiting for me to settle the accounts at the brigade."

Goodness, they've already jumped on the bandwagon before even reconciling the accounts. That's something else.

But joining in the fun is one thing.

That old geezer has a mouth that talks even more than a woman's.

Before it even got dark, the news spread throughout the village that Chen Ling was going to play Wu Song fighting a tiger, and that they were going to bring a tiger over for Chen Ling to fight.

This caused many villagers to bring their children to Chen Ling's house to ask him all sorts of questions, such as whether Chen Ling was going to be on TV and whether he was really going to become a tiger-fighting hero.

Ask each one who comes along.

Even at 10 p.m., a large group of people were still there.

That means Wang Susu is pregnant again.

They did not linger.

Otherwise, in this season, with the weather getting hot, everyone is going to bed later and later.

Once the mood strikes, you might end up staying at his house until midnight.

……

It's no wonder people are so enthusiastic about this.

There's not much news in the countryside to begin with, so when news suddenly comes out that someone is going to be on TV, how can it not cause a stir?

Moreover, he is none other than Wu Song, the tiger-slaying hero who is familiar to everyone, a figure that many people have heard about since childhood.

The elders told it, the storytellers told it, and the comic books showed it; its reputation among the people was extraordinary.

And I've also heard that a tiger is coming to the village...

It's no wonder that the villagers, young and old, were excited upon hearing this series of explosive news.

Four or five days have passed, and people are still talking about it.

And the news is spreading wider and wider.

When he goes out and talks about it with people, he's full of pride, and his voice rises several octaves.

Especially as the wheat harvest approaches, more and more daughters are returning to their parents' home.

This year, putting everything else aside, the daughters who married out of Chenwangzhuang and the wives who married into Chenwangzhuang have been the talk of the town.

Think about it, first there was a giant turtle and a water monster in the reservoir, then the county even built a statue of a deity and organized a dragon boat race, and later an earthen dragon appeared.

For more than a month, there has been a constant stream of tourists from other places.

Being a villager in Chenwangzhuang is both prestigious and profitable.

The daughters who married out of the village now hold their heads high in their husbands' homes.

The village's wives, when they returned to their parents' home, were all smiles and became highly sought-after by relatives and friends.

As a result, even young men and women who were previously engaged in matchmaking but failed now find partners in Chenwangzhuang and all their marriages are now successful.

There are also women who actively want to marry into this area, because the stories have become increasingly bizarre, and it's considered a feng shui treasure land.

Chenwangzhuang is now a well-known village.

No matter who goes to the market, as long as they say they are from Chenwangzhuang, everyone will look at them with more respect and come up to chat with them.

The villagers have recently been holding their heads high and feeling quite proud.

So now, everyone in the village wants to add more fame to their village.

That's why, when the Water Margin production team came to Chen Ling to play Wu Song fighting the tiger, they were even more excited than Chen Ling's family.

Chen Ling hadn't even played Wu Song yet, and the tiger hadn't even appeared in the picture, but they were already bragging about it to others.

(End of this chapter)