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

"Huh?" Zhou Fangyuan was somewhat surprised after hearing this.

Old Cui looked at him, most of his previous regret and anger dissipated, and he chuckled, "You kid, now you're a purchasing consultant."

Zhang Qiang, who was standing to the side, also burst out laughing.

After this incident, filming continued as usual.

The discarded ropes were put into a sack and placed in a corner of the prop room.

Every day when Zhou Fangyuan passed by, he would see that burlap sack, bulging and full, as if it contained something shameful. His heart would always sink.

I always felt that it wasn't just a useless rope, but rather the unspoken guilt of Old Cui.

Old Cui was quieter those two days. He would squat alone in the corner during meals, only exchanging a few words with others.

Zhou Fang watched from afar, not daring to approach and ask too many questions. Some things on one's mind are more likely to be hurtful if others try to advise one too much.

Zhang Qiang called him over to sit down, but he smiled sheepishly and waved his hand, continuing to squat there.

It rained in Fujian those few days.

The fine, continuous rain seemed endless.

Since filming couldn't be done at the beach, the entire crew stayed in the guesthouse. Some played cards, some slept, and some stared blankly out the window.

Zhou Fangyuan nestled in bed and flipped through the notebook, reviewing the tide times and dangerous reefs he had previously noted down. He silently went over the locations of several dangerous spots in his mind, fearing that something might go wrong during filming.

Xiao Liu lay on his shop, humming boredly.

Xiao Chen was leaning against the headboard reading a book, but it was unclear what he was reading; he would only turn a page once every few minutes.

"Brother Fang Yuan..." Xiao Liu suddenly asked, "Does Ah Hai still go out to sea on rainy days?"

Zhou Fangyuan thought for a moment: "I guess it won't be released."

"So what can he do?"

"Stay home, okay? What's wrong?"

Xiao Liu sighed, "I also want to stay at home..."

Without even looking up, Xiao Chen said, "Aren't you staying at home right now?"

Xiao Liu choked.

The rain lasted for three days before stopping. On the morning the sun came out, Zhou Fangyuan opened the window, and the sunlight rushed in, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief; the continuous rainy days had made people feel suffocated and depressed.

There was puddles in the yard, glistening and reflecting the clouds in the sky.

He had just finished washing his face when Old Cui came to find him.

"Fang Yuan, are you free today?"

Zhou Fangyuan paused for a moment, but still replied, "Yes, what's wrong, Master Cui?"

Old Cui stood at the door, hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet in the mud: "Come with me to town."

Zhou Fangyuan remembered the rope. He didn't ask any more questions, just responded. At times like this, being there for someone was more effective than saying anything.

"Okay." He draped the towel over the clothesline.

"Shall we leave now?"

Old Cui nodded.

As the two walked out, Zhang Qiang happened to come out when they passed the prop room.

He glanced at Lao Cui, then at Zhou Fangyuan, and nodded to Zhou Fangyuan without saying anything.

Zhou Fangyuan understood the meaning behind his look: "Keep a close eye on him."

He silently agreed in his heart and steadied his steps.

The road to town is difficult to travel; the rain a few days ago softened the dirt road, and your feet will sink in when you step on it.

Old Cui walked ahead, his steps slow and silent.

Zhou Fangyuan followed behind, watching his back. His back was a little hunched, and his walking posture was different from usual, as if his whole body had slumped down a bit.

He felt a pang of sadness; the old man was carrying all the guilt on his shoulders, refusing to utter a single word.

It took almost an hour to reach the town.

Old Cui led him through a maze of twists and turns, finally stopping in front of a shop.

The shop was small, with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance. The words were faded and illegible.

It was dark inside, filled with all sorts of ropes, fishing nets, and iron hooks.

A dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man came out to greet them. Seeing Old Cui, he smiled and said, "You've arrived?"

Old Cui nodded expressionlessly and went inside, with Zhou Fangyuan following behind.

The middle-aged man looked at Zhou Fangyuan: "And who is this?"

"Colleagues from the film crew, could you please check on the goods?"

The middle-aged man nodded, asked no further questions, and brought out several bundles of rope, placing them on the counter.

Old Cui didn't rush to look; he first gestured with his chin towards Zhou Fangyuan and said, "Come and take a look."

Zhou Fangyuan hesitated for a moment, then realized that Lao Cui wanted to check things out and he wanted to feel more at ease with his eyes on the matter, so he went over.

He picked up a bundle of rope and, imitating Zhang Qiang, reached from one end to the other.

The rope was quite smooth, with no burrs. He bent it again and looked at the middle; the color was uniform, with no blackened areas.

He put down this bundle and picked up another.

One of them felt a bit rough to the touch. He squeezed it a few more times and looked at it carefully. The outer layer was fine, but when he bent it, he could feel that one section was harder than the rest.

His heart skipped a beat; this was definitely not the feel of a good rope.

He handed the bundle to Old Cui: "Master Cui, do you think there's something wrong with this one?"

Old Cui took it, squeezed the piece, bent it slightly, and then nodded: "Hmm... there is a problem. There might be something inside."

He put the bundle down and said to the middle-aged man, "This won't do."

The middle-aged man came over to take a look, frowned, and said, "I really didn't notice this. It's probably leftovers from last year's batch that got mixed in."

Old Cui didn't say anything, he just told him to take out the rest.

Zhou Fangyuan also tensed up, not daring to be careless with a single detail. This was for the safety of the crew, and also for Lao Cui's reputation.

The two spent more than an hour in the shop, going through all the ropes.

Put the good ones aside and the problematic ones on the other side. In the end, there were about twenty good ones and four problematic ones.

The middle-aged man quickly put the four sticks away, saying, "These are mine, I won't give them to you."

Old Cui nodded, paid the money, and tied up the twenty good ones.

When they came out of the shop, the sun was already high in the sky. Old Cui carried the bundle of rope and walked ahead.

Zhou Fangyuan followed behind, wanting to help him carry it for a bit, but Old Cui waved his hand: "No need, I can carry it."

Zhou Fangyuan didn't press the matter further. He knew that Lao Cui wanted to take the blame himself.

On the way back, Old Cui suddenly spoke up: "Fang Yuan, how did you tell there was something wrong with that one just now?"

Zhou Fangyuan thought for a moment and said honestly, "Actually, I'm not very sure either. It just doesn't feel right when I hold it, so I'm a little worried."

He didn't say that he was genuinely anxious about the investigation, afraid that saying too much would only hurt Lao Cui's sensitive spot.

Old Cui nodded without saying anything.

After walking a few steps, he said again, "My fellow villager introduced that batch of goods; if I had thought about it the same way back then..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Zhou Fangyuan understood. He sighed softly to himself. The mistake had already been made; it was good that it could be made up for.

By the time we got back to the guesthouse, it was already dark.

Zhang Qiang was squatting at the door of the prop room. When he saw them return, he stood up and went to greet them.

Old Cui put the bundle of rope on the ground, forced a smile, and said to Zhang Qiang, "Take a look."

Zhang Qiang squatted down and examined each one one by one. After he finished, he stood up and nodded affirmatively to Lao Cui:

"Okay, this batch is good."