The birth of an actor

Chapter 12 Free-Range Chickens and Home

Despite her reluctance, Na Shun packed her bags and boarded the train leaving Chifeng on June 27th.

He bought a hard seat ticket, which takes 14 hours to travel from Chifeng to Changchun.

I boarded the train at around 4 p.m., spent the whole night in a hard seat, and then arrived at the bustling Changchun Station at around 6 a.m. on the 28th.

His initial plan was to stay in Changchun for a morning, buy the book "An Actor Prepares" and then leave, but now that he had the two books given to him by Fan Bing, he didn't have to go through that trouble.

Fusong is a very small town with no train service, so he bought a train ticket to Baishan directly at Changchun Station.

Sitting in the hard seat, he himself had to admit... youth is indeed a wonderful thing.

Its buttocks are made of iron.

After 10 hours of fatigue, a simple stretch will make you feel better.

Around 6 p.m., looking at the low-rise buildings of BS City, he sighed with emotion and then checked into the station guesthouse, which cost five dollars a night.

After a night's sleep, we took a minibus for more than two hours to reach Fusong, a county town that is so small it's almost unbelievable.

Then they found the second uncle who ran a car repair shop in the city, and rode the motorcycle ridden by the apprentice back to his hometown, Erdaogou Village.

Erdaogou is located at the foot of Changbai Mountain. The village is very small, with only about twenty households.

Anxin didn't ask the helper to carry her luggage, not wanting to delay the worker's work. After all, the helper wasting half a day was a loss for Uncle Er...

Of course, that's a joke. The truth is, it just rained here in Erdaogou, and the road is very difficult to travel. It's already past 1 p.m., so we should hurry on while the weather is still good.

So after the other person dropped him off at the village entrance, he looked at the muddy road and didn't let the other person go in. He then carried his luggage and walked home on his own.

After seeing the villagers along the way, he greeted them with a smile and came to a courtyard surrounded by a wooden fence.

Seeing the lock on the door, I can be sure no one is home.

I just don't know if Grandpa went hiking or went for a walk.

He didn't mind, took out his key, opened the door, and went straight inside.

The yard was very clean, with vegetables like scallions and bok choy growing inside. In the corner, there was a large pile of coal that hadn't been completely burned last winter, as well as two stacks of firewood.

Inside the makeshift shed, Anxin noticed the absence of rain boots and the removal of several burlap sacks from the house, realizing that Grandpa must have gone to the mountains.

Going hiking in Changbai Mountain takes at least two or three days to get back.

I just don't know how many days it's been since Grandpa passed away.

As he pondered this, he walked to the only house in the entire village with cement plastered on the exterior walls and white tiles, and opened the door with his key.

This is the wealth his grandfather had saved for him.

I have a house in my hometown and another in the county town. I won't have to worry about housing when I get married.

Upon entering the clean and tidy house, the first thing he did was scoop water from the water vat to wash his hands and face, and then he went into the west room where the shrine was enshrined.

Actually, it's similar to Old Sun's house. His family's shrine also has Hu San Taiye and Hu San Taiye sitting on it, and below them are the guardian spirit tablets framed in red paper.

After lighting the candles and taking out three incense sticks, lighting them and placing them in the incense burner, he respectfully kowtowed three times.

By the grace of the immortals above, your disciple has returned home.

After offering incense, he opened his suitcase and began packing. From the dried beef and mutton his uncle had given him to clothes and shoes, he washed what needed washing and put away what needed putting away.

After tidying up, I cut off a piece of dried beef and put it in a pot to boil. Once a layer of oil floated on the surface of the broth, I threw in a handful of noodles. Then I placed the two pieces of beef and mutton on a porcelain plate in front of the shrine, poured a cup of wine, and the noodles were cooked by then.

He squatted on the doorstep and started slurping his food.

After a satisfying meal and drink, I lay down on the slightly warm kang (heated brick bed), and the fatigue of the past two days was immediately apparent.

After yawning several times, he could no longer stay awake and fell into a deep sleep.

He hasn't been sleeping well these past two days, whether it's in a hard seat or a small hotel at the train station. Although he tries his best to choose places with good environment and high prices, it's still not as comfortable as the home where he grew up.

So he slept very soundly. The deep sleep that came after all the fatigue in his body was released was something that couldn't be made up for in just one or two hours.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already dark.

I subconsciously tugged at the light cord on the wall, and after pulling it a couple of times, I finally realized... the power was out.

Fine.

Erdaogou Village is indeed a bit remote, so power outages at night are normal.

He got up in the dark, and with the help of the dim moonlight from the window, he found a candle in the drawer, lit it, and the room was finally brightened.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was already past nine o'clock at night.

Anxin smacked his lips, found the flashlight, picked it up, and walked out of the house.

As soon as he stepped out of the house, he realized something was wrong. He shone his flashlight towards the front door and saw a pile of dark, shadowy things on the ground.

His lips suddenly twitched...

A murmur escaped from the courtyard:
"Thank goodness we have a refrigerator at home."

With that, he went straight to the restroom.

After taking care of his personal hygiene, he went straight to the door, where, under the light of a flashlight, one animal carcass after another was haphazardly thrown on the ground.

It resembles a bird, and also a chicken.

Well...

This type of chicken is actually a wild chicken from the mountains.

It's not worth much.

It's something I've enjoyed since I was a child.

He picked one up at random and saw the chicken's neck drooping down.

As for who gave it to him... the answer is self-evident.

There's nothing we can do; the old fairy likes him, after all.

This type of chicken is considered nourishing. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said to nourish yin and strengthen yang, improve health, and is extremely gentle.

This is the chicken soup that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty drank.

This is great for everyone, from the elderly to babies who have just been weaned.

Of course, I must reiterate that this thing is a free-roaming chicken.

It's not worth much.

The old immortals gave him snacks after they found out he was back.

I counted them; there were twelve in total.

Anxin skillfully picked up the wicker basket from the corner, put all the free-roaming chickens into it, and then picked up a broom to start cleaning up the area. After making sure there were no feathers left, she returned to the house.

Add firewood and boil water.

These chickens need to be dealt with quickly; we can't let the old immortal's kindness in caring for his juniors go to waste.

While waiting for the water to boil, he lit another incense stick at the shrine, poured a cup of wine, and thanked the old immortal for his gift.

Then he sat in front of the stove and waited for the water to boil before scooping it out and pouring it over the free-roaming chickens.

A foul, fishy smell rose up.

About an hour later, I looked at the large basin of plucked free-range chickens with a sigh of relief.

But it's not over yet.

In the dead of night, by the light of a candle, he raised the kitchen knife high again... and began a horrific dismemberment scene.

I have to say, it's pretty creepy.

Amidst the clattering and clanging, after dividing the chickens into matchbox-sized pieces, he finally showed a satisfied expression.

Putting everything else aside, even the most professional expert, looking at this bowl of chicken nuggets, wouldn't be able to recognize what it originally was!

comfortable.

They stuffed the entire pot of chicken feathers into the fire pit, leaving not a single one.

Next, he took three or five pieces of chicken from the bowl and put them in a small porcelain bowl. He then divided the remaining chicken pieces into plastic bags, sealed them, and put them into the rectangular freezer that someone had given him.

After filling the porcelain cup with water, he went back to the inner room and took out two plastic bags from the cabinet.

One bag contained slices of deer antler, while the other bag contained wild ginseng that Grandpa had found while hunting in the mountains—it wasn't in great shape, but it was genuine wild ginseng. The An family had been hunting and herding in the mountains their whole lives, so these kinds of mountain products weren't anything special to them.

He rummaged through the plastic bag with a flashlight, finally breaking off a ginseng root about half a finger's length and tossing it into a porcelain bowl along with some deer antler slices. Then he covered the bowl and placed it in a pot of boiling water.

This is his dinner.

You can call it ginseng chicken soup, or you can call it medicinal cuisine.

It is indeed a nourishing chicken soup, good for both men and women.

Grandpa is over seventy years old this year, and to exaggerate a bit, he can still walk briskly. This is actually due to the great effects of these medicinal diets.

As for the so-called "flying... cough cough" free-range chicken, Anxin said that she has been used to eating it since she was a child and did not find it particularly delicious.

That's all there is to it.

After finishing all that, he took a flashlight and went back to the inner room, where he sat down at the table.

He attached the flashlight to a frame made of wire loops, and the light shone directly onto the table.

Throughout his childhood, he relied on this flashlight to complete his homework during countless nights of power outages, becoming a top student in the county and eventually gaining admission to Renmin University.

This time, however, he wasn't reading practice papers by candlelight, but rather the book "Six Lectures on Acting".

Through Fan Bing's explanation, he has understood the learning methods for becoming an actor in the initial stages. And now... he is trying to read this book from an actor's perspective to see what kind of new perspective and experience it can bring.

To be honest, he didn't know much about the authors of these two books.

They have no idea what kind of artistic achievements the other person has.

We don't live in a world where you can just pull out your phone and search for anything on Baidu.

The blockage and lag in information are very obvious.

That's why the night seems so long.

He slept for six or seven hours, and these two books were perfect for him.

The night is long, and the flashlight actor is there.

Hmm, that's quite romantic.

And so, time slips away bit by bit.

Anxin slowly came back to her senses when she caught a whiff of a scent that carried a hint of wildness and medicinal fragrance.

It's past 11 o'clock.

The soup has been simmering for over an hour, and it's almost ready.

He strode out of the house, then hurriedly returned carrying the porcelain bowl.

Upon opening the lid, a wonderful fragrance immediately filled the room.

Looking at the orange-yellow soup under the light, he put it aside, picked up his book again, and patiently waited for the soup to cool down.

Around 12 o'clock, after eating and drinking his fill, he rubbed his eyes.

Although I wasn't sleepy at all, I forced myself to lie back down on the warm edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and close my eyes.

In his dream, he saw several elderly people kindly asking him if he had eaten enough, if the chicken was delicious, if there was enough for him, and if not, they would give him more...

A slight smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

……

He stayed home peacefully for three days until he started to worry that something might have happened to his grandfather. When he thought about going into the mountains to look for him, the tall and robust old man slowly walked into the house carrying a full sack on a hoe.

Seeing Anxin washing her hair with cold water drawn from the well, the old man was taken aback at first, then put down the bag and said:

"Why are you back?"

"I came across something that interested me, and I thought it was quite interesting, so I came back to prepare."

"What?"

While asking questions, the reassured grandfather, An Daguo, went to the shed step by step to take off his rubber rain boots.

The 72-year-old man had been in the mountains for three or four consecutive days, and now a hint of fatigue was showing on his face.

"Being an actor. I met a director when I visited Na Shun's house this time..."

After briefly recounting He Xiuqiong's story, he added:

“I think being an actor is quite interesting, and I want to give it a try. If someone gives me a chance, I'll see how it goes. So I came back and plan to go to Yanjing in a few days.”

The old man paused in taking off his camouflage uniform and asked:

"Your acceptance letter hasn't arrived yet. Even though your scores are out, what if they don't accept you..."

"My score is way above the cutoff, why wouldn't they accept me?"

Anxin smiled as she wiped her hair.

"...But the notification letter is also mailed to our home, isn't it?"

"I'll just have Uncle Huai'an's truck deliver it to me then. I'm planning to hitch a ride with him this time too."

"I see... How much does it cost to be an actor?"

Having spent his entire life working in the mountains, the elderly man, who had little education, saw that his grandson had made up his mind and stopped asking further questions.

Anxin shook her head:
"I don't want any money. I just want to act in TV dramas. People still have to pay me."

"Oh~ Will it interfere with my studies?"

"That definitely won't cause any delays."

"As long as it doesn't cause any delays, go ahead and do it if you want. But you can't go astray. People say it's easy to go astray in the Peking Opera world; in the past, they were full of opium addicts. You can't do that, understand?"

"I know, Grandpa, don't worry... How was the harvest this time?"

"It's alright. I picked up a five-leaf jasmine, but it's grown crooked. I estimate it can sell for four or five thousand yuan. If the three of us split it, we can get one or two thousand each. I haven't sold the rest of the stuff. I'll dry it all out and pack it for you to take to your Uncle Li. I'll go to the village chief's house later and call him to tell him you might be arriving a little earlier... He won't let you stay in the dormitory, saying there are spare rooms in the shop... As long as there's a place to stay, it's fine. The water and soil inside the pass aren't good for people. I'll take as much stuff as possible with you..."

As An Daguo spoke, he puffed on his cigarette.

After washing her hair, Anxin looked at her grandfather, whose face was rosy, and said with a smile:

"I'm leaving. You have to take good care of yourself, sir."

The old man rolled his eyes:
"You should leave quickly. I still have to take care of you at home. I can live for two more years without you."

"Haha~"

Anxin was smiling so happily.

He knew his grandfather's fate well, so he wasn't worried at all.

I just don't want him to worry about me like he did in my past life.

So... make money!
Make a lot of money!
Then I'll take Grandpa on a world tour so he can enjoy his retirement!
As the grandfather and grandson were chatting, suddenly, the village loudspeaker blared, followed by an old voice:

"An Daguo, An Daguo's home, don't worry, you can call me."

The old man stood up instinctively, but Anxin was taken aback.

Looking for your own?

"I gonna go see."

As he spoke, he walked out of the courtyard and hurried towards the village chief's house. Upon arriving, he saw the village chief pointing towards the inner room:
"He seems to be from the south."

Anxin instantly understood, quickly walked into the house, and picked up the telephone, whose handle was still wrapped in an embroidered cloth:
"Hello, how are you?"

He Xiuqiong's voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Is it reassuring?"

"It's me, Director He, hello."

"Hello, do you have any professional photos? I'll give you an address, can you mail them to me in Yanjing?"

Over in Yanjing.

He Xiuqiong looked at the script that had just been faxed to her, held up the phone, and the image of the boy appeared before her eyes.

(End of this chapter)