My 1995 Small Farm.

On the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, the scenery here and now surpasses even that of the Jiangnan region.

Many of the staff members sent to the Journey to the West production team were from the south, and they were indeed amazed when they first arrived.

One of the women, a native of Jiangnan, exclaimed at the scene before her: "The Qinling Mountains in October are like a mini-spring! Such a beautiful sight makes it hard to tell whether it's spring or autumn."

Yes.

At the foot of the Qinling Mountains, although it is not evergreen and full of life all year round, the four seasons are distinct. It is as if there are painters of different schools here, using the Qinling Mountains as their canvas, taking turns to express their own bold and colorful paintings, leaving behind a series of stunning colors on this land.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

This breathtaking spectacle comes from the unique vibrant colors of the Qinling Mountains in autumn.

Like an oil painting, it is bright, rich in color, vibrant, and dazzling.

Attracted by the scenery before them, the group couldn't wait to get out of the car before they had even fully arrived at the village.

The morning sun hadn't risen too high yet.

Looking towards the distant mountains and forests, white mist drifts and floats along the winding mountainside in the cool, damp morning breeze...

Thread by thread, as thin as a veil, as light as willow catkins.

People who live in the mountains know that autumn fog is not as thick as spring or summer fog.

It doesn't even wait for the sun to shine before turning into rain and dew.

The autumn mist only lingers briefly in the morning light, purifying the air before quietly dissipating into the mountains and forests, leaving no trace of its hazy, indistinct form.

Actually, at this time, the fog was gradually thinning.

If you look closely now, you'll see a flock of egrets flapping their wings from their perched branches, passing through the mist, and wandering together in the fields and along the riverbanks.

In the open fields, after the autumn harvest, wheat was sown, and tender green seedlings have now sprouted.

Let's get closer. The wider dirt roads and winding paths crisscross the fields.

One by one, yellow oxen were led out, following behind an old man wearing a straw hat, mooing and taking slow, leisurely steps toward the river bend.

This makes the small village even more peaceful.

As they watched the scene unfold before them, the group slowed down, even the driver slowed down, opened the car window, and took a deep breath of the fresh air, seemingly lost in the moment.

"Look, what are they going into the mountains for?"

Suddenly, the woman from Jiangnan, with her refined artistic temperament, saw two groups of villagers, men and women, carrying bamboo baskets and burlap sacks tied around their waists, heading west along two separate dirt roads.

I suddenly got excited.

"Look, are they going to the mountains to pick mushrooms? Or dig for medicinal herbs?"

"Sister, don't shout. Look, there are still villagers with guns behind us. It's definitely not just about picking mushrooms and digging for herbs. I guess they're going hunting."

It's autumn now. When we came here last time, we heard that hunting was prohibited in spring and summer because the wild animals in the mountains needed to mate and reproduce.

Autumn and winter are fine.

"Nonsense, how could it be hunting? Who hunts with a basket on their back?"

"It couldn't be mushroom digging or anything, who digs mushrooms with a gun?"

A man and a woman from the film crew started arguing, leaving their companions speechless: "Goodness, we haven't even entered the village yet, and you two are already arguing over this little thing."

"It's not like there's no one in the village; we can just ask someone."

Just then, someone came over; it was Chen Ze's father, Lao Niwai.

He walked up to them with a smile and asked what they were doing there, whether they were there to have fun or to find someone.
The crew of Journey to the West hurriedly said they were looking for Chen Ling, and asked the villagers what they were doing in the mountains with guns and baskets on their backs.

"They went to pick wild fruits. There's a cannery in Huangni Town that's grown big by following Fugui. This year, they're going to help process all the wild fruits that can't be picked in the mountains, giving us mountain folks some extra income."

"Huh? This matter is all over the news and in the newspapers. You came to the village looking for Fugui, and you didn't know about this?"

"We know, we know. We found out as soon as the news came out. Oh, they were just picking wild fruit. We thought they were doing something else. We even saw someone carrying a gun, so we thought they were hunting, but they didn't look like it."

"Haha, carrying a gun means there are bears in the mountains again, and I heard there are leopards and lynxes too. How can you defend yourself without a gun?"

When Lao Niwai talked about this, he didn't seem to think it was dangerous or anything. Instead, he talked about the recent events in the village with great pride.

They say that a celebrity or professor has come to the village and is becoming more and more famous. If anything happens in the mountains, the county doesn't need to report to them; the county will just send guns over on its own. They even organize hunting teams to sweep through the mountains to ensure safety and such.

"Did you go?"

"Go to hell! Those guys are nowhere near as effective as a professional hunter, let alone compared to Fugui from our village..."

Then he started boasting about hunting wolves and leopards, training eagles and tigers, and leading weasels to catch deer—a series of stories that Chen Ling found embarrassing and wanted to avoid.

But these outsiders listened with great interest.

The main reason is to complement the beautiful scenery here. Before, I only heard stories about it, and those images only existed in my mind, limited to fantasy. But now that I'm here in person, I have a direct comparison and it's all real.

Listening to these stories again won't feel so unreal; it will only feel more exciting, and you'll become even more curious and respectful of Chen Ling himself.

"Actually, if you ask around, every hunter who makes a living in the mountains has a story to tell."

Old Niwai, a cigarette dangling from his lips, wore a slightly mischievous smile on his dark, rough face: "That kid Fugui is different. Damn it, he's incredibly brave. He'll do anything in the mountains. You've all heard of leopards, tigers, lynxes, and old boar spirits, but let's not even talk about those. Just the fact that he and his father-in-law dared to go down into a wolf den is something most people wouldn't do... Our village's professor even wrote an article about it..."

The old man got more and more excited as he talked.

There's no point in telling these things to the villagers; it's much more interesting to brag about them to outsiders.
He got more and more excited as he spoke, and his speech became increasingly engaging.

The crew of Journey to the West asked him to lead them to Chen Ling's house outside the village.

Following this road on the westernmost edge of the village, just past Er Mao Donkey's house, not far along, not even reaching the grove of trees at the threshing ground.

I saw a burly black dog with a tuft of white fur on its chest, leading several wolfhounds and a female dog with her milk pustule still showing on her chest and belly, wandering around the fields.

On the hillside further away, a herd of miniature horses and sheep were grazing.

Perhaps these dogs are watching over them.

But upon seeing unfamiliar vehicles and people, the black dog alertly pricked up its ears, widened its eyes, and gave them a serious look, its nose twitching in the air.

Then it barked a few times, and the other dogs all looked up at it, tilted their heads and glanced at it, then ignored it and continued running and frolicking in the field, going about their business as usual.

"His dog is still so scary."

The driver tensed up for a moment, then relaxed when he saw that the dogs didn't rush at him, and muttered to himself.

Hearing this, his companions curiously followed up with, "Could it be... that dog king Heiwa? The dog they're going to make into an animated film?"

"No, this is the offspring of that big black dog Heiwa and the wolf. No, I should say all of them. Heiwa is much bigger than this black dog."

"You've seen the photos, how come you still can't tell the difference?"

"Dogs aren't people, how can you tell the difference?"

"You...you're really something..."

Old Niwai chuckled upon seeing this: "This is Erhei from the Fugui family. The older he gets, the more he likes to meddle in other people's business. You said you didn't stay for more than a few days last time you came, so you probably haven't heard anyone mention him."

In our village, everyone calls this dog "Dog Village Chief" or "Dog Party Secretary."

They just remembered your scent.

"If you dare to cause trouble in the village, they won't just stand by and watch."

The old man started rambling on and on again.

Erhei is indeed another unique sight in Chenwangzhuang, neither too big nor too small.

Its constantly worried appearance is so endearing that it's hard not to smile. Sometimes, when the elderly are in a good mood, they'll even greet it on the street, saying things like, "Erhei, busy all day?" or "Erhei, going to the market in the village?"...

If someone who doesn't know the situation saw this, they might think it's a village full of lunatics.

When faced with people who greet him, Erhei sometimes responds and sometimes ignores them, running away without even looking at them.

"There are so many strange things happening around here."

After listening to what Lao Niwai had to say, the group of people were dumbfounded. Even the way they looked at the beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers outside the village seemed to have become magical.

The driver, driving slowly, commented from a professional perspective: "A dog like this would be perfect for an animated film, just like a character in a fairy tale."

"Yes, Heiwa and Xiaojin are smarter, much smarter than Erhei."

At this point, they passed the threshing ground and walked not far from Erhei and the sheep. Old Niwai chuckled and called out, "Erhei, out herding sheep so early?"

Erhei, who was running down the slope, heard the shout and suddenly turned around, barking a few times at Lao Niwai in dissatisfaction, before turning back to continue leading the pack of dogs.

Seeing the crew members eager to try, Lao Niwai shared his experience: "Actually, I did this on purpose. When you greet Erhei, if you want it to acknowledge you, you just need to say the wrong thing. Otherwise, it won't even look at you."

They weren't actually herding sheep at that moment.

They were catching rabbits and ground squirrels down the slope.

Fugui usually doesn't feed them; they have to find their own food outside.

Watching the sheep and horses was just a side job.

Seeing the group of people looking dumbfounded again, Lao Niwai burst into laughter: "That's just how this dog is. Once you get to know each other in the village, you can deliberately make some small mistakes and you'll see what's going on here."

But remember not to go too far, like bullying the elderly or little children.

As the group listened to Lao Niwai's rambling, they felt that they had already broadened their horizons even before arriving at the farm. This place was really different from other villages.

When we finally arrived at the farm, it was quite lively.

The tall, fair-skinned young man, with a gentle demeanor that didn't seem like a farmer, was wearing tattered clothes and rain boots. He was standing in the crowd, wiping sweat with his sleeve.

Nearby were men and women, and some children cheering and jumping for joy. As soon as you got close, all you could hear was their laughter and chatter.

"Fugui, what are you up to so early in the morning?" Old Niwai walked over with his hands behind his back: "Someone from out of town is looking for you again. They want you to play Sun Wukong."

"Uncle Niwai".

Chen Ling smiled when he saw the old man, then nodded to the Journey to the West crew as a greeting, and gestured for his father-in-law to offer cigarettes to everyone.

His hands are occupied right now; he just finished delivering the baby muntjac, so it's inconvenient for him.

"Oh, so this little thing has had babies? Look at these little ones, they look like kittens."

Seeing a group of children standing on tiptoe and stepping on things to look inside the livestock pen, Rui Rui even leaned in Liang Hongyu's arms, wanting to go in. Lao Niwai also went over to take a look.

Upon closer inspection, they saw a miniature deer-like creature, about the size of a lamb, nestled among a pile of withered grass and dry leaves. Beside its belly was another small creature that looked almost identical.

The description of "old and greasy" is accurate; it really is only slightly larger than a kitten.

"Don't underestimate its size, this thing grows incredibly fast."

Chen Ling said with a smile, and at this moment, the Journey to the West crew had already gathered around to watch.

The two women's eyes were filled with stars.

Clearly, miniature deer like the Reeves' muntjac are very attractive to them.

After glancing at him twice, the man stared intently at Heiwa and Xiaojin, then looked Xiaoqing up and down, praising her.

After watching Little Green Horse, he asked Chen Ling about Baldy.

Chen Ling only said that without the crops blocking the way this season, pheasants and rabbits are easy to catch, and that Er Tu Zi had flown out and hadn't returned.

He certainly didn't mean to deceive people.

Three days ago, when he had just returned home, Er Tuzi had only shown up once.

Chen Ling knew that it had taught those who were following them a lesson that night.

I also know that it went out with me several times, flew far away, broadened its horizons, and became more wild.

He had no intention of obstructing or changing anything; he let everything follow its nature.

The men were greatly disappointed upon hearing this.

In their minds, riding horses, falcons, and hunting with dogs is the only truly enjoyable way to go.

The autumn harvest had just ended; they didn't say it aloud when they came, but they were secretly looking forward to this.

Then I became very interested in the weasels, asking them all sorts of questions, and I couldn't understand how such small creatures could catch deer.

I kept asking questions, but I was still puzzled.

I went to see the sika deer with some questions in mind, and then to see the skeleton of the wild boar king. The driver had been here once before, but this time everything still seemed very new and interesting.

"By the way, Old Zhou from the Water Margin crew also brought some people. His car broke down on the way and he's getting it repaired. I reckon he'll be here in the next couple of days."

This refers to Zhou Weijun.

Chen Ling wasn't surprised to hear this, he just shook his head: "He's been telling me about that beat-up car of his several times... The film crew over there is a bit stingy."

Actually, this was just a simple joke.

He's very familiar with the Water Margin production crew; last time he called, he almost got to know half the crew.

The crew of Journey to the West felt very proud when they heard this: "That's right, in the end, it's because our Journey to the West is so famous. Who doesn't know Sun Wukong?"
The key is that we filmed it well; we truly lived up to the reputation of this classic work.

So, the sequel has a huge budget, and the director said that anything that can be solved with money is no problem.

Brother Chen, we've truly brought the boss's best wishes this time.

"Yes, you can choose between the West Sea Dragon Prince and the Great Roc King, or you can act in both."

"Brother, you don't know, the girl who played the Peacock Princess is very beautiful. Her eyes lit up when she saw your picture."

"It's not just the Peacock Princess; those actresses who play female demons are also scrambling to see Brother Chen's photos."

It's not unusual for the cast of Journey to the West to change actors, but because the actors are so good at acting and their performances are so realistic and well integrated with the plot, the audience can't tell the difference.

Chen Ling was conflicted: "Why was I chosen? You could have found two people from the crew to fill in. I'm a complete novice, a total novice."

He wanted to give it a try, but since he wasn't a professional, he was afraid of performing poorly and ruining a classic.

"Go ahead, bro. Take your eagle with you. The director saw you and your eagle and really wants you to play the Roc with your eagle."

"Don't worry, your eagle also gets paid for its performance."

"..."

Chen Ling rolled his eyes and almost couldn't help but say, "I knew it! I knew it! Why did you take a liking to me?"

So it turns out she still had her eye on my bald son.

Actually, based on the original filming of the Great Roc, Chen Ling would have been a perfect fit to play the role of the monster transforming into a human.

But he didn't want to go through all that trouble and travel that far.

Unlike the crew of the TV series "Water Margin" who rushed to film the tiger-fighting scene, the crew of "Journey to the West" wouldn't do that. They wouldn't rush to film him in the village from afar.

"You've come twice already, and you're filming a classic like Journey to the West. I can arrange for Eagle to act in it, but I'll pass."

"Will this work?"