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

The waves surged below, seabirds cried in the distance, and the sunlight shone on him, making his little demon costume billow in the wind, making him look like he was flying.

Zhou Fangyuan squatted on a rock and watched from beginning to end, his palms remaining wet the whole time.

During the lunch break, everyone scattered on the rocks to eat.

Zhou Fangyuan found a shady spot to sit down, took out a few dried sweet potatoes and the half-eaten pancake left over from early morning, and slowly chewed them with water from the kettle.

Zhang Qiang squatted down next to him, also eating dry rations. Neither of them spoke, just listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

"Fang Yuan," Zhang Qiang suddenly spoke.

Zhou Fangyuan turned to look at him.

Zhang Qiang didn't look at him, his eyes fixed on the distant sea, chewing on what was in his mouth. After a while, he finally said, "Is this thing considered a success?"

Zhou Fangyuan didn't say anything and continued chewing the biscuit.

Did it work? He wasn't sure. Just because things went smoothly today doesn't mean they'll go smoothly every day.

The seaside is a place with high humidity, strong winds, and slippery rocks; any of these can cause problems.

But today went smoothly; the stuntman flew over steadily and landed steadily without any problems.

After a long silence, Zhou Fangyuan's voice finally came through: "We need to look into it further."

Zhang Qiang nodded and said nothing more.

We filmed a few more takes in the afternoon, and they were all good. By the time we wrapped up, the sun was already setting, and the sea was bathed in a golden-red light that was so bright it was hard to open your eyes.

Everyone packed up and headed back, with Zhou Fangyuan walking at the very back, glancing back at the sea as he went.

Zhang Qiang called out to him from ahead, "Let's go, let's go back for dinner."

He responded and quickly followed.

Back at the guesthouse, it was getting dark. Zhou Fangyuan first went to the water room to wash his face and rinse off the fishy smell from his body, and then headed to the canteen.

The cafeteria was quite crowded, with long queues at the food windows. He stood at the end of the line with his lunchbox, glancing around at the surroundings.

Liu Zhihan sat at a table against the wall, eating with her head down.

She was sitting next to another woman from the costume department, and the two were talking quietly.

Zhou Fangyuan glanced at it, then looked away and continued queuing.

After getting his food, he carried his lunchbox to find a place to sit. The cafeteria was crowded, and it was hard to find an empty seat.

He walked around and saw an empty seat in the corner. He went over and was about to sit down when he noticed that Liu Zhihan was sitting at the table next to him.

The two tables were next to each other, not too far apart.

He sat down and started eating. The cafeteria was noisy, filled with the sounds of talking, chopsticks, and footsteps.

He chewed his food, his eyes involuntarily glancing to the side.

Liu Zhihan was still eating, her head down, picking up food with her chopsticks and putting it into her mouth.

She ate very slowly, taking small bites. The woman next to her said something, and she smiled slightly without looking up.

Zhou Fangyuan quickly looked away and continued eating.

While he was eating, someone next to him called out, "Fang Yuan!"

He looked up and saw Lin Zhiqian walking over with a lunchbox, plopping down next to him.

"You did a great job today!" Lin Zhiqian said while eating.

"Sister Yang said that those few hanging points were handled well, so we should follow that standard from now on."

Zhou Fangyuan nodded: "We'll have to see. The tide isn't high and the waves are small today. If we catch a high tide and the wind is strong, we'll have to figure out a solution."

Lin Zhiqian glanced at him, his hearty laughter seemingly echoing throughout the entire cafeteria: "Fine! You've thought of more than I have."

The two ate and chatted, discussing today's filming, the next few scenes, and what other places on the beach could be used.

Zhou Fangyuan ate while talking. When he finished his lunchbox and looked up, the table next to him was empty.

Liu Zhihan left at some point.

He paused for a moment, looked around, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Zhiqian asked.

"No, it's nothing." Zhou Fangyuan looked away and closed the lunchbox.

Lin Zhiqian didn't ask any more questions. After finishing his meal, he stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go. Get some sleep. There will be more tomorrow."

Zhou Fangyuan nodded, stood up, took his lunchbox to the washroom, and while washing, he remembered that he hadn't even seen Liu Zhihan leave.

I don't know when she left, or if she looked this way when she left.

He washed the lunchbox clean, shook off the water, and walked back.

By the time I left the cafeteria, it was already completely dark.

There were a few lamps in the courtyard, casting dim, yellowish light that shone on the ground in patches.

He walked back to the dormitory, pushed open the door, and found the room dark; Xiao Chen and Xiao Li had not yet returned.

He lay down on the bed in the dark and stared at the ceiling.

Today went smoothly. The shot was perfect, the vest was fine, the rope was fine, and the hook was fine. Zhang Qiang said, "It's done," and Lin Zhiqian said, "Sure."

He turned over, and the image from earlier suddenly popped into his mind again... She was sitting at that table, eating with her head down, and when someone spoke next to her, the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Then it disappeared.

He didn't know why he kept thinking about this.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a small white patch on the ground. He stared at that white patch and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few days later, Zhou Fangyuan received a letter from home.

The letter was brought back by Xiao Liu from the front desk of the guesthouse. At that time, Zhou Fangyuan had just returned from the beach, covered in sweat, and was squatting at the door of the washroom washing his face.

Xiao Liu walked over and shoved a large bag of things, along with the letters, into his hand: "These are yours, they just arrived."

Zhou Fangyuan looked down and saw it was his younger sister's handwriting. The letter had arrived so quickly; something must have happened.

Without even wiping his hands, he hurriedly tore open the letter with his wet hands and read his younger sister's letter first.

My younger sister's handwriting is still very deliberate, each stroke carefully written with great effort.

"elder brother:

Everything is fine at home. Mom made you new shoes and asked the driver who was going to Fujian to pick up goods to bring them to you. Try them on and see if they fit.

I made another batch of dried sweet potatoes with fish-fragrant leaves. This time I tried a new recipe, and the fermentation time was a day longer than last time, so the aroma and sweetness of the sweet potatoes blended more evenly.

I saved a big jar for you, waiting for you to come back and eat it.

By the way, Mom said Fujian is by the sea, so there must be seafood. Eat more of it to nourish your body!

……

Zhou Fangyuan sighed, relieved, and folded it neatly.

When he received the letter, his face was expressionless. He just stared at the few lines of carefully written words on the envelope for a long time.

Then he folded the letter, stuffed it into his inner pocket, and turned to get the heavy package that was on the ground.

Upon opening it, I found that besides the new shoes, there were also the dried goods I had mentioned in my last letter.

His movements paused for a moment.

He took out some of the dried goods, held them in his hand, and stood there for a long time without moving.

He pursed his lips, his Adam's apple bobbed, and in the end, he simply put the things back and tied the package.

His face remained expressionless.

But when those hands gripped the package straps, they used a bit more force than usual.

Xiao Liu witnessed all of this, but this time, the usually talkative boy remained silent...