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

Zhang Qiang didn't say anything, and put the ropes on the table.

Old Cui looked down and the smile on his face slowly faded.

Zhou Fangyuan spoke up from the side, trying to keep his tone even: "Master Cui, this batch of ropes is good, but we lack experience and failed to prevent moisture damage."

Fujian's situation is more serious than we expected; we need to find a solution.

Old Cui stared at the ropes for a while, opened his mouth, but didn't make a sound.

Zhang Qiang chimed in, "We'll have to trouble you again. If we need to make more purchases later, could you please ask around to see if there are any more moisture-resistant varieties?"

We'll use as much of this batch as possible; the unusable parts will be discarded. Safety first.

Old Cui raised his head, looked at Zhang Qiang, and then at Zhou Fangyuan.

His expression wasn't good, but he didn't say anything harsh. After a few seconds, he nodded, his voice a little hoarse: "Okay, I understand."

He picked up the ropes, examined them carefully again, then put them down. He turned around, pulled a notebook from the cabinet, flipped through it, and muttered:

"This batch was recommended by... my fellow villager. He said it was good, and I trusted him, but I never expected..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Zhou Fangyuan could tell that he was also feeling bad.

Zhang Qiang said, "It's okay, nobody expected this. We'll do it again later."

Old Cui nodded and didn't say anything more.

After leaving Old Cui's house, the two squatted in the yard again.

Zhang Qiang took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and suddenly said, "You're quick-witted, kid."

Zhou Fangyuan shook his head: "It's not that I'm quick-witted, it's just that I've encountered similar things at home before."

Zhang Qiang turned to look at him.

"My mother used damp sweet potatoes to make dried sweet potatoes once, and the taste was wrong."

She didn't blame anyone, just said it was her own fault for not watching carefully and that she would be more careful next time. Later, she dried the sweet potatoes and fed them to the pigs, so nothing was wasted.

After listening, Zhang Qiang remained silent for a moment, then nodded: "That makes sense..."

After finishing his cigarette, he stood up and patted Zhou Fangyuan on the shoulder: "Alright, go back to sleep. We need to check this batch of ropes again tomorrow."

Keep what you can use, discard what you can't. Come help me as soon as possible.

Zhou Fangyuan responded and stood up to walk towards the dormitory.

After taking a few steps, he looked back and saw Zhang Qiang still standing there, holding the ropes in his hand and looking down at them.

The moonlight shone on him and on the pile of ropes. He stood there for a long time before turning around and going inside.

The next morning, before dawn, Zhou Fangyuan was woken up again by Lin Zhiqian. When he opened his eyes, he was still greeted by that big face.

"Fang Yuan! Get up!"

Lin Zhiqian's voice came from the top of his head, carrying a hint of urging.

Zhou Fangyuan opened his eyes groggily. The room was still dark. Xiao Liu and Xiao Chen were fast asleep, and Xiao Liu was snoring loudly.

He rolled over, got up, put on his clothes in the dark, and pushed open the door.

Lin Zhiqian stood at the door, already dressed and carrying two steamed buns.

"Didn't we agree yesterday to practice again today?" Lin Zhiqian handed over a steamed bun: "Have something to eat first, then you can eat properly after you finish practicing."

Zhou Fangyuan smiled helplessly, took a bite, and followed him out.

The two walked across the courtyard toward the prop room, where there was a large open space, suitable for stretching their muscles.

When Zhou Fangyuan reached the door of the prop room, he found that the door was open and the lights were on inside.

He paused for a moment, then looked inside and saw that Zhang Qiang was already inside.

An old tarpaulin was spread on the ground, and all the ropes were laid out on it. Zhang Qiang squatted there, holding one in his hand, examining it closely.

Zhou Fangyuan's heart skipped a beat; the image of Zhang Qiang squatting at the door staring at the pile of ropes yesterday evening was still imprinted in his mind.

He turned to Lin Zhiqian and said, "Brother Lin, help Brother Qiang pick out some ropes first? Then you can practice."

Lin Zhiqian glanced inside and nodded: "Okay."

The two walked in. Zhang Qiang heard footsteps, looked up, saw them, paused for a moment, and then greeted them, "You're here? Zhiqian is here too?"

The two responded, and Zhou Fangyuan squatted down, sitting next to Zhang Qiang.

Lin Zhiqian also squatted down, glanced at the pile of ropes on the ground, didn't ask any questions, reached out and picked up one, bent it, and squeezed it.

"What's going on with this batch of ropes?"

Zhang Qiang didn't say anything, but handed the few sticks in his hand to Lin Zhiqian. The latter took them and immediately felt them.

It looks okay on the outside, but when you bend it, there's a stiff part in the middle. He held it up to the light to look at it, and the outer layer was fine, but the inside was dark in color.

"Did it get damp?"

"Yes, we found it last night."

Lin Zhiqian bent the other one in his hand as well, frowning. "Is this one damp too?"

"This one is good," Zhang Qiang replied. "This batch is mixed together; we have to pick them out one by one."

Lin Zhiqian nodded, put down the good one, and picked up another one.

The three of them squatted there, passing the sticks one by one.

Zhang Qiang looked at one and handed it to Zhou Fangyuan. After Zhou Fangyuan finished looking at it, he handed it to Lin Zhiqian, who then bent and squeezed it.

Put the good ones on the left, and the ones you're unsure about on the right.

As dawn broke outside, sunlight streamed in through the doorway and fell on the ropes.

No one spoke, only the slight creaking sound of the rope bending.

The three of them tied up the discarded ropes and put them in a corner. Zhang Qiang stood there watching for a while, then suddenly said, "We need to go and talk to Lao Cui."

Zhou Fangyuan nodded.

In the afternoon, Zhou Fangyuan accompanied Zhang Qiang to find Lao Cui. Lao Cui was inside the house, and when he saw them come in, his expression became somewhat unnatural.

Zhang Qiang put down the usable ropes and took out the discarded ones, then explained the situation.

While he was speaking, Old Cui remained silent, only staring at the ropes.

After Zhang Qiang finished speaking, the room was quiet for a while.

Old Cui's voice was a little hoarse: "I didn't keep a good eye on this batch of ropes..."

Zhou Fangyuan comforted him from the side:

"Master Cui, it's not that you didn't take good care of it, it's just that we didn't know enough about the humidity here. If Brother Qiang hadn't discovered it early, it would have been troublesome if we had actually used it."

Old Cui looked up at him, but didn't say anything.

Zhang Qiang chimed in from the side, "Old Cui, this isn't anyone's fault. We just need to figure out a way to fix it now."

Old Cui nodded, stood up, picked up the discarded ropes, looked at them, and then put them down.

He paced back and forth in the room a few times, then suddenly stopped and said, "I'm going to find Director Yang."

Zhou Fangyuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

Old Cui said, "I have to tell her about this... I need to let her know so she'll be more careful when making purchases in the future."

After he finished speaking, he walked out. Zhang Qiang tried to stop him, but Zhou Fangyuan held him back.

"Let him go. He has something on his mind, and it will make him feel better if he talks about it."

Zhang Qiang glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

More than half an hour later, Old Cui returned.

His face was expressionless, but he looked more relaxed than before.

He nodded to Zhang Qiang and Zhou Fangyuan and said:

"Director Yang said, you guys figure out what to do with this batch of ropes... and ask Fang Yuan to give us some advice on future procurement."