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

Old Cui stood there, staring at the bundle of rope for a long time. Then he looked up, glanced at Zhang Qiang, then at Zhou Fangyuan, and suddenly said something:

"In the future, you guys need to keep a closer eye on things like this. I'm getting old, and my eyesight isn't what it used to be."

He turned and left after saying that.

Zhang Qiang and Zhou Fangyuan stood there, watching his figure disappear into the twilight.

Zhou Fangyuan felt a pang of sadness. It wasn't that Old Cui's eyesight was failing; it was that he hadn't gotten over the hurdle in his heart.

That evening, while eating, Lao Cui was squatting in the corner again, but this time he wasn't alone. Zhang Qiang, carrying a lunchbox, approached him and squatted down next to him.

The two of them didn't say anything, they just squatted there and ate.

Zhou Fangyuan sat at a distance, watching them. The dim yellow light in the canteen shone on them and on the newly bought rope.

The rope lay neatly tied in the corner, waiting to be used tomorrow.

He gradually calmed down. The storm had finally passed, and as long as he was careful, there would be no more trouble.

The sound of waves came from afar, muffled and rhythmic.

I've been rushing to meet deadlines these past few days since the sky cleared up, and today I'm finally able to finish early.

The sun was still hanging in the west, more than an hour away from setting.

Just as Zhou Fangyuan put away the dragon, Xiao Liu came over, carrying a bulging oil paper bag.

"Brother Fang Yuan, wanna go to the beach?"

Zhou Fangyuan glanced at the bag: "What's this?"

Xiao Liu opened it to show him: a few cornbreads, two steamed buns, and a packet of pickled vegetables.

"I traded it with Master Huang," Xiao Liu chuckled. "I traded it for fish."

Zhou Fangyuan was taken aback: "Trade it for fish? Where did you get the fish?"

Xiao Liu scratched his head: "Weren't you busy the other day? So I went to find Ahai myself, and then I took the two fish he gave me to Chef Huang to stew."

Zhou Fangyuan said "Oh" and remembered. A few days ago, Chef Huang stewed a big pot of it, and the whole group had a taste.

Xiao Liu was squatting by the pot, his eyes wide open. It turned out that this was the one who brought it back.

But Zhou Fangyuan felt that this calculation was a bit convoluted and said:

"Those are the fish Ah Hai gave you. Are you going to trade them for dry food and then go back to Ah Hai to trade for more fish?"

Xiao Liu blinked, as if he had realized what was going on, but he quickly waved his hand: "Oh well, they're all fish anyway, it's fine to exchange them."

Xiao Chen slowly remarked from the side, "Your brain is really something."

Xiao Liu ignored him and grabbed Zhou Fangyuan, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up, it's getting late and Ah Hai should have left by now."

The three people walked towards the sea.

After crossing that dirt road, passing a few vegetable fields, and continuing forward, you'll see the sea.

The waves weren't big today; they just surged in one after another with a muffled sound.

Ah Hai was still in the same old spot, squatting there with several bamboo baskets in front of him, sorting through his nets.

There was another person beside them, an elderly man, thin, dark-skinned, with deep wrinkles on his face, sitting on a rock, wearing an old cotton-padded coat.

Hearing footsteps, Ahai looked up and saw Zhou Fangyuan. He twitched his lips, then noticed the oil paper bag in Xiao Liu's hand and paused for a moment.

"Brother Fang Yuan."

He stood up, waved to greet them, and then said to the man, "Dad, these are the ones I was talking about."

Ah Hai's father nodded without saying anything, just looking at Zhou Fangyuan and the others.

His gaze wasn't fierce, but it was somewhat deep, as if he were sizing something up.

Xiao Liu had already opened the bag and approached Ahai: "Ahai, I brought some dry food! How about we trade some fish?"

Ahai glanced down at the contents of the bag: cornbread, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables.

He looked up, glanced at Xiao Liu, then at Zhou Fangyuan, and suddenly smiled.

"You're trading this for fish?"

Xiao Liu nodded vigorously: "Master Huang's cooking is delicious! Would you like to try some?"

Ah Hai shook his head and didn't take it. He turned to look at his father, who still had the same expression, without any change.

Ah Hai turned back and pointed to the fish in the basket: "Take a few fish if you want to eat them, no need to exchange them."

Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment, then quickly handed the bag forward: "No, no, I can't keep taking it for free! You keep it, keep it."

Ah Hai was a little confused by his posture and glanced at Zhou Fangyuan again.

Zhou Fangyuan smiled helplessly and said, "He changed it on purpose, so just keep it."

Ah Hai then took it, looked down at the contents of the bag, picked up a steamed bun, squeezed it, and put it back.

Then he put the bag aside, scooped a few fish out of the basket, threaded them with a rope, and handed them to Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu took the fish, his eyes shining. He looked at it for a while, then suddenly said, "Ah Hai, why is this fish so beautiful?"

"Because it was just caught, it's fresh," Ah Hai replied casually, then squatted back down to continue tending to the net.

Xiao Chen squatted down beside him and looked at Ahai's website.

Holding the string of fish, Xiao Liu was unsure whether to squat or stand, so he finally put the fish on the ground and squatted down.

Zhou Fangyuan leaned against a rock and didn't move.

He looked at Ah Hai's father, a man who had been sitting on the stone the whole time without moving. His old cotton-padded jacket was faded and the cuffs were frayed.

The man didn't look at them, he just looked at the sea.

After a long while, the man suddenly spoke, his voice muffled and carrying a heavy local accent: "Are you from the capital?"

Zhou Fangyuan nodded: "Yes."

The man was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Beijing is good, it's a big city."

He didn't say anything else.

After finishing tidying the net, Ahai stood up and stretched his back. Looking at the string of fish in Xiao Liu's hand, he suddenly asked, "Was that dry ration you had made by Master Huang?"

Xiao Liu nodded: "Yes! Our crew's head chef!"

Ah Hai thought for a moment and said, "My mother can cook, but she doesn't make anything fancy."

After he finished speaking, he squatted down again to tidy up the basket, and the three of them squatted in a row.

Zhou Fangyuan remained leaning against the rock. The sun was setting, and the sea was bathed in a golden-red light that was so bright it was hard to open one's eyes.

Seeing that they had almost finished tidying up, Xiao Liu stood up and said it was time to go back. Xiao Chen also stood up and patted the sand off his pants.

Ah Hai also stood up and suddenly said, "Brother Fang Yuan."

Zhou Fangyuan turned to look at him.

Ah Hai stood there, his hands still covered in fish scales, and his body reeking of the indelible fishy smell.

He opened his mouth, seemed hesitant, but finally said, "Do you...do you have that book? Could I borrow it to take a look?"

Zhou Fangyuan and the others were stunned for a moment after hearing this.

Ahai said, "I don't know many words, but I can read pictures. I want to see the things depicted in the book."

He pointed to the blurry island in the distance: "I've never been there, but my dad has. He said there are fish, wind, waves, and tall houses there... He couldn't explain it clearly. I want to know what it's like there."

Zhou Fangyuan looked at him with mixed feelings and didn't reply immediately.

Ah Hai's father was still sitting on that rock, still looking at the sea, but Zhou Fangyuan noticed that he squeezed his hand, which was resting on his knee, tightly.