The literary era since 1979

Chapter 211 Hot Girl Hot
The fire burned fiercely, running around in the stove and rushing towards the wall that had already been blackened by smoke.

In the smoky kitchen, Fangyan puts the lid on the pot and says, "Steam it for a few minutes to make the bacon soft and tender, then you can stir-fry it."

Gong Xing nodded, and skillfully used a fire fork to loosen the firewood, stirring it at the right time, while adding new firewood into the stove.

Fang Yan squatted down and said, "I'll wash your handkerchief and return it to you."

"Teacher Fang, I'm not in a hurry."

The firelight made Gong Xing's face flush red.

Fangyan burst out laughing.

"What's wrong? Is there dust on my face?"

Gong Xing touched his face subconsciously.

Fangyan said: "It's very clean and beautiful."

When Gong Xing heard the word "beautiful", his heart skipped a beat like a flame, and he pursed his lips: "Then what are you laughing at?"

Fang Yan said: "This seems to be exactly the same as what I said to you this morning."

Gong Xing nodded and said softly, "Do you still remember what I asked you to do this morning?"

"Of course!"

Fang Yan said that when it comes to acting guidance, he is not omniscient and can only try his best to answer her questions and resolve her doubts.

"No one is better suited to answer this question than you."

Gong Xing said that she is now at a bottleneck period where "every role she plays is like herself", and she has tried various methods but still cannot break through this wall.

Fangyan was very surprised. She thought it was Guo Baochang who reminded her, but she didn't expect that she had already realized that there was something wrong with her.

Gong Xing said that when "Good Things Come Hard" was released, in order to hear the audience's true evaluation, he went to the cinema to collect movie-watching opinions. He heard many comments like "Every movie starred by Gong Xing seems like Gong Xing himself."

"Tell me first what you have tried."

Fangyan looked at the pot and then looked at her.

Gong Xing said that he has read many books on film acting, and would take on various roles to put these theories into practice, even if it was a negative role, such as Feng Meiqing in "Midnight", he would not refuse.

Fang Yan said: "Then, the effects are not good, right?"

"Teacher Fang, why is this happening?"

A trace of confusion flashed across Gong Xing's eyes.

Fang Yan said: "For example, in the film "Zhang Heng" mentioned earlier, you had never filmed a costume film before, and you wanted to break through yourself, so you chose to participate in it. I like this attitude, but I don't like the techniques and methods you chose to construct the characters, because you thought you had shaped the character, but in fact you didn't, and it was still superficial."

Gong Xing frowned and broke the dry firewood into two halves.

Fang Yan said: "Do you think my words are too harsh?"

"No, I just feel really useless. I've acted in so many dramas and for so many years, but I'm still like this."

Gong Xing was very distressed.

"You have done very well."

Fangyan comforted him for a few words, and then gave him advice: "When acting, don't just act. You have to build your life. It has to be both natural and real. You have to have the characteristics of the character and your own nature..."

Gong Xing asked: "Teacher Fang, what should I do?"

Fangyan stood up, opened the lid of the pot, and took out the steamed bacon from the pot. "You have to step out of your comfort zone, experience different life in society, and be an 'experiencer'."

Gong Xing was startled, and then he said that there would be no scenes of the "Dong girl" in the next few days, and he should make good use of this time to observe and experience the village and treat himself as a Hunan girl.

"Of course, it's definitely not realistic for you to learn dancing in such a short time, but Miao Ge, you can learn it. Even though it won't be used in the movie, it never hurts to learn more while you can."

"Well, I will ask the villagers to teach me tomorrow."

“There’s a saying, ‘Return to the original state and find myself’.”

Fang Yan said: "'Dong Girl' is about finding that natural, real, lifelike state, but if you want to break through the barriers of acting, you have to work harder on 'Under the Bridge'."

“But ‘Under the Bridge’ cannot be filmed for the time being.”

Gong Xing showed a conflicted look on his face.

Fang Yan asked about the whole story, shook his head and laughed: "Don't worry too much, it's just not filming for now, it will be filmed sooner or later, the key is whether you dare to play the controversial role of 'Qin Nan'?"

Gong Xing opened his mouth, "Teacher Fang, I..."

"Don't tell me the answer right away. Think about it carefully."

Fangyan picked up the onion, ginger and garlic and poured them into the pot to stir-fry.

The flickering flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot and reflected Gong Xing's face. She added firewood absentmindedly and fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, I heard a dialect voice beside my ear:
"No need to add more firewood, the fire is just right now."

"Ah good."

“Crack, crack, crack.”

Along with the friction sound of the spatula and the iron pot, waves of aroma wafted out. Fangyan tasted a piece of bacon and smiled.

"I've made up my mind. I want to play 'Qin Nan'!"

Gong Xing suddenly raised his head and said.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Fangyan stared at her with a smile, and reminded her that Qin Nan's image of "having a child out of wedlock" was indeed not glorious at all, and if not handled properly, it would easily affect the actor's life and reputation.

Audiences these days are too easily drawn into a play and often transfer their emotions and impressions of the screen character to the actor himself.

Not to mention that there is a "Madame Rong" living in the yard, Feng Yuanzheng starred in "Don't Talk to Strangers" and immediately became a "domestic violence man", and Li Xuejian was so scared after playing "Song Jiang" that he dared not go to eastern Shandong, and led all the heroes into the ditch.

Not to mention, "Wang Husheng" in "Desire".

"Not afraid!"

Gong Xing's eyes were full of determination. He believed in Fangyan's advice and his own judgment. The role of Qin Nan would be an opportunity for him to break through and change himself. "Would you like to try a piece?"

Fangyan put the stir-fried bacon with green onions on a plate and handed over a pair of chopsticks.

"Okay, I've been wanting to try your cooking for a long time."

Gong Xing nodded with a smile. He felt relieved of all the worries in his heart and felt indescribably relaxed all over.

"Be careful of the burn."

Fangyan asked, "How does it taste?"

Gong Xing's eyes sparkled as he smiled and said, "It's delicious! It would be even more delicious if it could be dipped in some spicy peppers!"

Fang Yan joked: "I said you were a 'hot girl', but you still didn't admit it."

Gong Xing picked up the tongs and took out the sweet potatoes that were roasting in the stove. The firelight made his red face even redder.

A man and a woman, each carrying a plate of food, walked out of the kitchen.

………………

"fragrant!"

"It's so fragrant!"

“It’s so beautiful!”

When the sweet potatoes and bacon were placed in front of Zhang Yimou and others, they turned into hungry wolves and pounced on them.

While weighing it left and right in my hand, I tore off the skin. It was golden, soft, and steaming, and a fragrant aroma came with it.

Even though they were grimacing from the burns, Zhang Yimou and the others didn't feel any pain and continued to eat voraciously with big mouthfuls.

"Teacher Fang, you cook really well!"

Guo Baochang gave a thumbs up.

Fangyan folded his arms and grinned. Like Wang Zengqi, he liked watching others eat the food he cooked.

"Teacher Fang."

Gong Xing broke the sweet potato into two halves and gave him half.

Unable to refuse the kind invitation, Fangyan took over and listened to her talk about her experience of living in the Miao village.

Zhang Junzhao blurted out, "I support this idea!"

Huo Jianqi, Chen Daoming and others also expressed their support.

When it was Zhang Yimou's turn, he put down the sweet potato in his hand:
"I have an idea, I wonder if I should tell you."

"Speak! Say whatever you want to say!"

Fang Yan and Guo Baochang looked at each other.

"Gong Xing's next scene is going to be a wedding scene."

Zhang Yimou talked about the plot of the movie. In order to allow the postman and his son to participate in the wedding banquet, the Dong villagers deliberately changed the wedding date to the day when the father and son entered the village. He hoped that the aesthetic concept of "integrating emotions into colors and pictures" would also be implemented at this wedding banquet.

Fangyan asked: "How do you want to integrate?"

Zhang Yimou said that the red peppers hanging in every household in the Miao village gave him inspiration.

Red symbolizes life, passion, joy and love.

The plan is to use red peppers, red lanterns, and red umbrella dances, along with bonfires and torches, to highlight this color in the dark.

“That’s a good idea.”

Guo Baochang said: "The night is black, and the black and red will form a strong contrast visually."

Zhang Junzhao hesitated and said, "But if we focus on color, will it dilute Daoming and Gong Xing's presence in this scene?"

"I've also thought about this question. We can add music to it."

Zhang Yimou said: "Just now Gong Xing said she wanted to learn Miao songs. I think we should just let her sing them in the movie."

This bold idea shocked everyone present, except Fangyan.

After all, he had already seen this kind of treatment by Zhang Yimou in "Red Sorghum".

"Song of the God of Bacchus" and "Sister, Go Forward Boldly" were both written by Zhang Yimou and sung by Jiang Wen in the movie.

"The problem is, Gong Xing plays a girl of the Dong ethnic group, so how can she sing Miao songs?" Zhang Junzhao touched his chin.

Zhang Yimou was stunned and speechless for a moment.

Fangyan smiled and said, "The Dong and Miao peoples both have Lusheng music. I think we can organize a big Lusheng performance."

"We have the dance and the music, but we are still missing the song."

"Teacher Fang, you are a lyricist. Can you write a lyric suitable for Gong Xing to sing?"

Guo Baochang patted him on the shoulder and turned his gaze to Fangyan.

In an instant, Zhang Yimou and others looked at Teacher Fang at the same time.

Fangyan glanced around and his eyes finally fell on Gong Xing. He then tapped the table with his fingers for a while.

"Hot girl, hot girl, hot girl."

"........."

"A hot girl is not afraid of being hot since she was young."

"Spicy girls don't fear spicy food when they grow up."

"A hot girl is afraid of not being hot when she marries someone."

(End of this chapter)