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

"Fang Yuan?" Lin Zhiqian called out.

Zhou Fangyuan responded but didn't move. Lin Zhiqian glanced at him, then left without calling out again.

He knew that this young man was sometimes like that, unable to move when he saw something new.

Zhou Fangyuan really didn't intend to leave. He stood to the side, watching the young man pick the fish off the net one by one and throw them into the bamboo basket.

Those hands were dark and thin, but their movements were incredibly nimble. The fish thrashed about in his hands for a moment, then he grabbed it, plucked it, tossed it away, and that was it.

The blade of grass in his mouth was chewed beyond recognition, with only a small piece remaining, but he still held it in his mouth.

The young man was working when he suddenly looked up and met the other man's gaze.

He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "What are you looking at? Never seen a fisherman before?"

Zhou Fangyuan was a little embarrassed by the question, touched his nose and smiled: "Never seen it before, first time."

The young man kept his head down and continued picking fish, talking non-stop: "Are you guys filming a movie... Was that your boss just now?"

"I guess so." Zhou Fangyuan took two steps forward, squatted down, and watched him work.

"Do you always close the nets at this time every day?"

"Not necessarily, it depends on the tide."

The young man tossed a fish into the basket: "If the tide is right, cast more nets; if not, come back early."

He spoke with an accent, his tongue was slightly rolled, but his pronunciation was clear.

He had almost finished picking the fish off the net, so he picked it up, shook it, and then put it down again.

Zhou Fangyuan saw the fish in the basket, about the size of a palm, shimmering silver, still thrashing about, their tails swishing so hard that water droplets covered the sides of the basket.

He asked, "What's this fish called?"

"This one?" The young man, with a simple mind, picked up one to show him.

"Flyfish, this one is small. The big ones are for the people making movies, but we'll just eat this one."

As he spoke, he threw the fish back, then added with a chuckle, "But the small ones are tastier; the meat is tender once you peel off the skin."

After he finished speaking, he bent down to work again, picked the last fish, and folded up the net.

When folding the net, he slowed down his movements, not as fast as before, but very carefully, folding each net neatly with all the edges aligned.

Zhou Fangyuan watched him fold the fish and suddenly asked, "How old were you when you started fishing?"

The young man thought for a moment, his hands still moving: "I think I was seven or eight years old when I came out with my dad. Back then, I helped pull the nets on the boat. By the time I was ten, I could cast the nets by myself."

He looked up at Zhou Fangyuan and asked, "And you? How old were you when you started making movies?"

Zhou Fangyuan laughed: "I've only been in this industry for a short time; I just joined the crew this year."

The young man nodded and continued stacking nets: "Then you're new here too."

He folded the net neatly, put it aside, picked up another basket and began tidying up, talking to himself as he went:

"My name is Ahai, I'm nineteen. What's yours?"

"Zhou Fangyuan is twenty years old this year."

"Then you're older than me."

Ahai stacked the tidied baskets up: "Can I call you Brother Fangyuan?"

Zhou Fangyuan nodded quickly twice; he also liked the young man in front of him: "Of course."

Ahai grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. After tidying up his things, he stood up and stretched.

He wasn't tall, but he was sturdy. When he stood up, the muscles in his shoulders bulged, and he had strength in his waist. He looked like someone who worked hard all year round.

He patted the fish scales off his hands, then patted his pants, looked down at himself, and suddenly said, "Do I smell fishy?"

Zhou Fangyuan paused for a moment, then honestly replied, "A little."

Ah Hai laughed: "That's right, what kind of fisherman doesn't smell fishy?"

He picked up the load, tested its weight, and then placed it on his shoulder.

The sky had darkened, with only a sliver of red remaining in the west. A sea breeze blew by, carrying a fishy smell and a chill, causing the baskets on Ah Hai's shoulder to sway back and forth.

Ah Hai took two steps, then turned back and shouted at Zhou Fangyuan:

"I'll be back at this time tomorrow! Come over whenever you're free, I'll tell you about things at sea! It's much more interesting than you guys standing on the rocks!"

Zhou Fangyuan stood up and waved to him.

Ah Hai grinned, picked up his load, and walked away. His gait was different from most people's; he swayed a bit, as if he was used to walking on a boat and couldn't change it even after coming ashore.

The figure grew smaller and smaller in the twilight, the load on its shoulder bobbing up and down, until finally it was just a tiny black dot.

Zhou Fangyuan stood there, watching the small black dot disappear into the road by the sea.

The sea breeze was still blowing, the waves were still crashing, and birds were calling in the distance, each call growing ever farther away.

He looked down at the spot where he had just been squatting. There were black marks on the ground, but no cigarette butts. Sure enough, Lin Zhiqian had picked them up.

Everyone on the film crew is like this; it's a habit. They always have to look around and absolutely cannot litter.

Then he turned around and slowly walked back.

When Zhou Fangyuan returned to the guesthouse in the dark, the courtyard was more lively than usual.

He was still a dozen steps away when he heard laughter coming from the water room.

Upon closer inspection, I saw several people squatting on the ground, surrounding a kerosene lamp. The lamplight cast long, swaying shadows, and I couldn't tell what they were looking at.

"That fish is pretty strong!"

"Don't move, don't move, let me tease it!"

Zhou Fangyuan squeezed into the crowd and saw Zhang Qiang and Lao Chen, as well as Xiao Zhang, the woodcarver he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Yuqing? What are you all looking at here?"

"Brother Zhou!? Oh my god, look over there!"

In the middle of the room, there was a basin on the ground, with two fish swimming in it. They were about the size of a palm and shimmered silver. They were the same "horse-faced fish" that Ah Hai had seen in his basket earlier that day.

"Where did you come from?" Zhou Fangyuan asked, shoving the person in front of him with his hand.

Old Chen looked up and saw it was him, so he moved aside to make room for him.

"It was delivered by the canteen. They said a fisherman brought a basket of it today and sold it to us cheaply."

Old Huang stewed a few, and with the addition of your chili peppers, it tasted quite delicious! These two are alive; everyone's keeping them to look at.

Zhang Qiang squatted at the front, holding a blade of grass in his hand, teasing the fish with the tip of the grass.

The fish got annoyed and suddenly flicked its tail, splashing water from the basin right in his face.

Several people around him burst into laughter. Zhang Qiang wasn't annoyed. He wiped his face, smiled, and looked up at the people around him: "This thing has quite a temper, huh?"

"Qiangzi, be careful, don't let it jump out," Old Chen warned.

"It can't jump out!" Zhang Qiang gestured with his hand at the rim of the basin: "It's so deep."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the teased fish strained violently, half of its body leaping out of the water, almost actually jumping out.

Zhang Qiang frantically tried to cover it up, but the basin shook, and water spilled out again.

This time the laughter was even louder, and even Zhou Fangyuan couldn't help but laugh.

After squatting for a while, Zhou Fangyuan stood up and said he was going to eat first. Zhang Qiang waved his hand without looking up and continued to struggle with the fish.