Returning to the 82 Mountain Village: An Encounter with the Journey to the West Film Crew at the Beg

With that thought in mind, Master Huang chased after him out of the canteen again.

"Fang Yuan, wait a moment."

He jogged a few steps, still clutching the rag he used to wipe his hands: "I have a question for you."

Zhou Fangyuan stopped in his tracks: "What's wrong? Master Huang, please tell me."

"Are you going to the filming location after noon?"

"Go." Zhou Fangyuan nodded. "There are a few scenes over there this afternoon that need manpower. I'll go help out."

Upon hearing this, Chef Huang immediately smiled and said, "Great! Why don't you eat something in the cafeteria and rest for a while? I'll finish cooking right away, and you can bring the food to them on your way, okay?"

Zhou Fangyuan was taken aback: "Delivering food?"

"Yes." Master Huang pointed into the cafeteria.

"As you know, many people don't have time to come back for lunch. It takes a long time to come down from the mountain after filming, so Director Yang and the others often just grab some dry food to tide them over."

But you can't just eat dry rations all the time; your body can't take it.

He sighed as he spoke, "Usually we prepare the food and send two people over to deliver it, but we really can't leave today."

"I need to stew that pot of green beans this afternoon, someone has to keep an eye on the fire. Since you're going anyway, could you take it up with you?"

Zhou Fangyuan nodded upon hearing this: "Okay, what time should I deliver it?"

"Around one o'clock, that's when they should be taking a break." Master Huang patted his arm:

"Don't go yet, let me get you some food to tide you over."

Zhou Fangyuan followed him back to the cafeteria.

Old Huang worked quickly, ladling a large bowl of hot soup from the pot and cutting two more pieces of leftover pancakes from the morning, placing them in front of him.

Zhou Fangyuan held the bowl and took a sip of soup.

The cabbage was boiled, not very oily, but it was hot and comforting.

Old Huang continued working nearby. After a while, he took several large lunchboxes off the shelf and opened them one by one.

A few containers held stir-fried chili and radish strips, and a few contained freshly stewed pumpkin from lunch.

There were also several large food buckets filled with freshly cooked rice porridge, leftover steamed buns and flatbreads from the morning.

As he packed, he muttered, "Pack more of this, those stuntmen can eat a lot... Save this for Director Yang, she likes pumpkin..."

As Zhou Fangyuan watched him divide the food and wrap it in an old cotton quilt to keep it warm, a figure suddenly came to mind.

She is my own mother.

When I was little, before every meal at home, my mother would stand by the stove, ladling food into bowls while muttering:

"Give this to your son's father, he does the heavy work... This is for your sister, she loves to eat it..."

These words and actions are exactly the same as those of Master Huang in front of me.

He suddenly remembered that in the years that followed, when the policies were relaxed, his mother had always wanted to open a small restaurant.

She said, "I've been cooking for decades, spending most of my life working hard for my family and everyone. Now that life is better and I'm still quite capable, I want to set up a stall in town and make some hot food."

She wanted everyone passing by to taste the skills she had honed over half a lifetime.

after that……

"Here it is! Dinner is ready!"

A rice bowl was placed on the table in front of Zhou Fangyuan with a muffled thud.

Zhou Fangyuan was taken aback, then came to his senses.

Master Huang stood beside him, smiling broadly. "Haha, come on, eat up! See how it tastes, is it authentic or not?"

Zhou Fangyuan looked down and saw that the bowl contained freshly cooked hot rice porridge, with two dishes of vegetables on the side.

He picked it up and took a sip. It was hot, and the warmth went from his mouth to his stomach. He then picked up some shredded potatoes with chili and tasted them.

"Fragrant! Truly authentic."

Master Huang nodded in satisfaction and went on to attend to other matters.

Zhou Fangyuan finished the porridge and the pancake in a few gulps, and felt his strength return.

He stood up, placed the dishes by the sink, and wiped his mouth.

"Master Huang, I'm finished eating."

"Alright, let's get ready to go."

Master Huang pointed to the side: "You go with Xiao Zhao, and take turns picking out things along the way."

Zhou Fangyuan then noticed that Xiao Zhao from the props team was walking up behind him. The two of them would always bump into each other when they were tidying up the props, and they were quite familiar with each other.

Xiao Zhao grinned at him: "Didn't expect that, did you? We were drafted for the cafeteria today."

"It's good to have someone to keep me company." Zhou Fangyuan smiled as well.

On the ground lay the carrying pole, with two large bamboo baskets. One end of the basket contained food wrapped in an old cotton quilt, while the other end held bowls, chopsticks, and a large pot of hot water.

The carrying pole is a smooth bamboo pole, slightly curved in the middle.

Xiao Zhao bent down, put the carrying pole on his shoulder, and tested its weight: "It's alright, not too heavy. I'll pick the front section first, and we can take turns."

"OK."

The two left the cafeteria and walked up the mountain path.

The sun was high in the sky, warming people up, while the mountain breeze carried a cool breeze.

Xiao Zhao walked ahead, the load on his shoulders swaying slightly, but he walked steadily.

After walking for more than a mile, Xiao Zhao stopped and put his load on a flat stone: "Come on, Fang Yuan, it's your turn."

Zhou Fangyuan took the carrying pole and put it on his shoulder; it was heavier than he had imagined.

He adjusted his position, picked up the load, and strode forward.

The bamboo basket swayed from side to side, so I had to walk steadily to avoid spilling the lunchbox.

Xiao Zhao followed beside him, and seeing that he was carrying the load fairly steadily, nodded: "Not bad, this isn't your first time carrying a load, is it?"

"I've carried water at home before, so it's pretty much the same."

Zhou Fangyuan kept his eyes fixed on the road beneath his feet, not daring to be distracted.

After walking for more than fifteen minutes, we heard voices ahead. After turning a corner, we arrived at the filming location.

A flat area in the mountains, surrounded by dense forest, with a camera and a homemade, simple reflector set up under a few old trees.

The people have already left.

During the lunch break, everyone found a place to rest.

Some were dozing against the tree trunks, some were sitting in twos and threes talking, and a few were squatting in the shade smoking.

Zhou Fangyuan put down the load and stretched his shoulders.

Xiao Zhao also squatted down and began to unwrap the quilt around the lunchbox.

When Zhou Fangyuan looked up, he saw Ma Dehua and Yan Huaili.

They sat on a large rock, leaning against a tree trunk, gnawing on something in their hands.

Zhou Fangyuan recognized it at a glance; it was the sweet potato chips he had sent over a few days ago, a trial version with added fish-fragrant leaves.

Ma Dehua still had Pigsy's makeup on her face, her round belly pressed against her legs, and she was squinting in the sun while chewing on dried sweet potatoes.

Upon seeing Zhou Fangyuan, his eyes lit up, and he waved the dried sweet potato in his hand at him.

"Fang Yuan! Your dried sweet potatoes are really good, would you like some more?"

Zhou Fangyuan couldn't help but laugh.

He walked over, took out the small bag he always carried with him from his pocket, intending to eat something when he got hungry.

"Brother Ma, I knew you'd want this." He handed over the paper package.

"Eat it sparingly, there's not much of this stuff."

Ma Dehua took it, opened it, and her eyes narrowed into slits with laughter.

"Fang Yuan is the best friend ever!"

He turned to Yan Huaili with a smug look: "Old Yan, see? I told you he definitely had more!"