Back to 80: My Literary Life

Fang Minghua did not take the train but drove his Toyota SUV. He left Xijing City early in the morning and drove northeast, arriving at the bank of the Yellow River and crossing Fenglingdu - that is, Guo Xiang in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" The place where I first saw Yang Guo was in Jin Province.

Continuing to the northeast, along the G209 National Highway, we didn’t arrive at Fenyang County until around 7pm. I asked questions while walking, and finally checked into a government guest house.

After getting up in the morning and eating a bowl of local snacks, Fang Minghua didn't go out for a walk. He and Jia Zhangke made an appointment on the phone to stay here.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Fang Minghua opened the door and saw several people standing at the door, headed by Jia Zhangke.

"Come in." Fang Minghua greeted warmly.

The room in the guest house is not big, and several people rushed in at once, making it seem a bit crowded.

There were not enough chairs to sit on, so some had to sit on the bed.

"Teacher Minghua, let me introduce to you. This is Teacher Zhang Xi, who serves as the deputy director and is also a teacher at Yandian." Jia Zhangke pointed to a man in his forties next to him.

Oh, it's not easy.

A man in his forties mingled with a group of young people, and he seemed to be very fond of Jia Zhangke.

The two shook hands warmly.

"This is the sound engineer Lin Xiaoling." Jia Zhangke pointed to a girl in military uniform and said, "She is from the Bayi Film Studio." "

"Art Design, Liang Jingdong, teacher at Jin Provincial Film Academy."

Jia Zhangke introduced the main creative members of the crew next to each other. Even though he is still a student who has not graduated, he knows a lot of people.

"This is my classmate Wang Hongwei, who also plays the role of Xiao Wu in the play." Fang Minghua pointed at a young man next to him and said.

Fang Minghua was happy to see it.

He is a bit short and skinny. He looks a little funny in a baggy suit. His hair is three-quarter length and he wears black-rimmed glasses - this is just like the image of Xiao Wu in the movie.

Wang Hongwei was very cheerful. He spoke Mandarin from Henan Province with a heavy accent. He shook hands with Fang Minghua enthusiastically and showed his admiration for him. He almost made the river flow.

The heroine Hu Meimei in the movie is played by Zuo Wenlu, a student from the modeling class of the Film and Television Production and Performance Department of Yanjing Normal University. She is from Northeast China and is estimated to be about 1.7 meters tall. There is an inexplicable contrast with the skinny Wang Hongwei who plays the supporting role in the play.

"You're late, you're late." Suddenly, a man's voice with a local Fenyang accent came from outside the door.

As soon as the voice fell, the door was opened, and a young man in a police uniform walked in hurriedly, followed by a young man in a bank uniform.

"I'm sorry, I asked for leave from the leader of my unit, and it was approved just now, so I hurried over." The policeman apologized, took out another pack of "Jinhua" from his pocket, tore it open skillfully and distributed it to everyone.

When it was Fang Minghua's turn, he declined with a smile.

"Let me introduce to you, this is Hao Hongjian, a policeman from the provincial prison. He plays the role of the second male upstart Jin Xiaoyong." Jia Zhangke introduced immediately.

"This one's name is An Qunyan, a cadre of our county's Construction Bank. He plays the role of the male No. 3 drug store owner even better. They are both my childhood friends."

"This is my first time acting in a movie, so please bear with me. I have to give Zhang Ke some face." Hao Hongjian said with a smile.

Compared to Hao Hongjian, who looks like a veteran, An Qunyan appears to be a bit more refined.

After introducing each other, Jia Zhangke said: "Teacher Minghua, Lin Xiaoling, and Zuo Wenlu are all coming to Fenyang County for the first time. How about we go out together and get familiar with the place?"

“Everyone agreed.

"Everyone, take my car." Hao Hongjian said immediately, "I'll take you around Fenyang. I know it better than Zhang Ke."

When everyone went out, they saw a van parked in the yard of the guest house with police lights installed on it. It turned out that Hao Hongjian had brought the police car from his unit.

With so many people unable to fit in a van, Lin Xiaoling, Zuo Wenlu, Zhang Xi and four other people got into Fang Minghua's off-road vehicle and followed the police car out of the government guest house one after another.

The streets in the county town are relatively narrow, and there are many vehicles, but there are relatively few real cars. Most of them are motorcycles, tricycles and donkey carts, and it is gray.

The girls on the street were wearing bat shirts and fitness pants, which were popular in big cities four or five years ago. Everyone stopped their cars and looked at the surrounding scene.

I heard Zuo Wenlu say: "Jia Zhangke, before leaving Yanjing, you boasted about how wonderful Fenyang is, and said that big cities like Shencheng and Yanjing are just some bonsais of China. If you want to see the real China, Have to follow him to his hometown Fenyang? This is the real China!”

Before Jia Zhangke could reply, he heard Hao Hongjian interrupt: "Classmate Zuo Wenlu, this place is our Fenyang Old Street. I will take you to our prosperous street in Fenyang, the economic growth point! Get in the car!"

Everyone got in the car and followed Hao Hongjian. The car turned at an intersection and stopped at a street intersection within five minutes of driving.

"Everyone get out of the car and take a look." Hao Hongjian greeted warmly.

Everyone got out of the car and looked around.

This is a three to four hundred meter long street, wider than the previous street. There are neat two-story buildings on both sides. The unified design is to use a three-ply board to close the front door, and then open a small door on the three-ply board. The various names that have nothing to do with this small town hanging on the door are eye-opening:

"Vienna", "Greater Shanghai", "Tuberose"... There are girls sunbathing in the corridor on the second floor, and there are also some fashionably dressed girls with Sichuan or Northeastern accents, showing off in the streets in twos and threes.

Oh my god

Zuo Wenlu was stunned, and Lin Xiaoling next to her couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She was older than Zuo Wenlu, and had already started working. She often followed the crew around and saw too many things.

Jia Zhangke was a little embarrassed and glared at Hao Hongjian, but he introduced it seriously: "This place is called Cultural Street, and it is also one of our filming spots. Everyone can walk around."

Zuo Wenlu was a little embarrassed and followed Fang Minghua closely.

This was her first time to take a role. She was recommended by her senior Zhu Liqin. Zhu Liqin and Jia Zhangke collaborated on the short film "Xiaoshan Goes Home". She felt that Jia Zhangke was talented, so when she was shooting this movie, she recommended her junior Zuo Wenlu because she didn't have time.

Zuo Wenlu accepted the invitation because of Jia Zhangke's talent mentioned by her senior, but when she came to the actual filming location, she felt that it was unreliable.

These actors are unreliable, and the director is even more unreliable.

It's better to be closer to Fang Minghua.

He is a great writer with both status and position. What makes the girl feel at ease is that among this group of people, she thinks he is the most reliable.