1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 30: Filming a Documentary, Stand-up Comedy

"The noodle workshop is a good place to film."

Li Yan was very interested in the noodle workshop and said with a smile, "Their courtyard is in a good location, right at the intersection of two alleys, which is very convenient for doing small business. There's even a phone booth outside."

Just then, someone wanted to make a phone call to come to the house and ask someone to come and call them.

My cousin, eager to show off, readily agreed and quickly ran out.

"The young man is quite agile."

Li Yan glanced at her cousin's retreating figure and joked with a smile, "No wonder he's the one who climbs telephone poles, he runs really fast."

"Hahaha."

Director Du chuckled and instructed with a smile, "After filming the noodle workshop, go film the phone booth too; that's the real life of ordinary people."

"okay."

Li Yan smiled and waved, then she and the cameraman carried the camera into the noodle workshop.

-

The noodles are machine-made and cost 5 cents per pound.

Grandpa Wang is a shrewd businessman. He has partnerships with several restaurants in the vicinity, delivering hundreds of kilograms of goods to them every day. After deducting costs, he makes a net profit of at least several tens of yuan.

While conducting the interview, Li Yan roughly calculated that the father and son's hard work in one month had almost equaled her salary for three months.

She was filled with emotion. When she left the workshop, she made sure to please Grandpa Wang. He bought 10 jin of noodles and gave her an extra 3 jin.

-

The meat and vegetables have been bought.

Lin Xiyu and her cousin made eggplant noodles under the guidance of their grandmother to cooperate with the filming of the documentary.

Wash the eggplant, cut it into cubes, pour it into water with salt, mix well, and marinate for a few minutes.

Mince the pork belly, heat oil in a wok, stir-fry until it changes color slightly, then add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Add the squeezed eggplant cubes to the pot and stir-fry until softened. Add sweet bean sauce and soy sauce, and simmer over medium heat.

Before taking it off the heat, add some salt and sugar to enhance the flavor, and thicken it with cornstarch. The delicious and savory sauce is now ready.

The fresh noodles are chewy and smooth, and when mixed with the sauce, they are incredibly delicious.

My maternal grandmother's house is small, and there isn't enough room for so many people to sit at the dining table.

The men very conscientiously moved small stools, held their rice bowls, and sat in the courtyard.

My uncle enjoyed the meal and cheerfully told jokes to everyone.

"When I was serving in the army, the canteen served one bowl of clear soup noodles per person."

"When the Southern soldiers saw the noodles, they picked up their bowls and started eating, munching away happily until the bowls were empty in no time."

"The northern soldiers watched the southern soldiers eat, sitting there without moving."

"The instructor asked, 'Why aren't you eating? The noodles will get cold if you don't eat soon.'"

"The northern soldiers unanimously replied, 'We're waiting for the brine.'"

-

"Hahaha."

The courtyard was filled with laughter, and Director Du slapped his thigh, laughing so hard he couldn't stop.

The assistant director, holding his rice bowl, tried to ingratiate himself with his uncle: "Uncle Liu, you're so eloquent! You're like a stand-up comedian all by yourself."

"That is required."

My uncle proudly boasted, "No matter what, I'm also from the Railway Art Troupe, and I've performed on stage with Jiang Kun."

"Hey, I didn't know until I asked, and I was shocked by what I found out. Uncle Liu, you really are a man of great talent."

The assistant director's eyes lit up, and he smiled encouragingly, "What's your specialty? Why don't you perform one for us?"

"Shandong Kuaishu" (a type of storytelling performance).

Uncle readily agreed: "No problem, I've brought the board, I can give you a performance right now."

"Dad even performed with Jiang Kun?"

Inside the house, my cousin was listening intently to the conversation outside, and when she heard this, she became quite curious.

(End of this chapter)