Having finished their scenes, Yu Chenghui, Sun Jiankui, and the others transferred directly to the crew of The Shaolin Temple, heading off to Zhejiang with Zhang Xinyan.
The Shaolin Temple itself was heavily damaged and in ruins, home to only a few elderly monks barely scraping by on growing vegetables. When Zhang Xinyan had gone to scout locations, an old monk had taken off his kasaya and was preparing to write an application to join the Communist Party.
It was completely unfilmable.
Being a Zhejiang native, Zhang Xinyan had shifted his scouting to his home province, choosing Guoqing Temple in Tiantai County to stand in for the Shaolin Temple. The abbot of Guoqing Temple personally taught the actors temple etiquette and even lent over a hundred monks to the production.
Other locations included the Yue Fei Temple, Lingyin Temple, and more.
Thanks to Chen Qi's involvement, The Shaolin Temple hadn't lost a single day on its schedule, and was even moving a bit faster.
Zhang Xinyan had not yet selected the female lead. Chen Qi didn't want Gong Xue to take the role—she wasn't quite suited to play the Shepherdess, and having Tai Chi and The Shaolin Temple look too similar would be hard to justify.
Besides, he had other productions to prepare for.
It was better for Ding Lan to play the Shepherdess. In history, after filming The Shaolin Temple, she had also been transferred into Beijing Film Studio by Wang Yang. The old studio director truly possessed an unquenchable thirst for talent, hitting the bullseye every single time.
Ding Lan went on to star in several martial arts films, becoming the most representative female action star in the mainland. She married a man from Beijing Film Studio.
This man later carried out life-or-death missions for the country and spent his later years alone in a villa in the Beijing suburbs, cared for by dedicated attendants—nothing could be found about him online, so of course it couldn't be spoken of here.
Ding Lan divorced him in the late 1980s, married a Singaporean, immigrated to Singapore, and acted in The Great Conspiracy, Legend of the Eight Immortals, and Jordan Chan's version of The Deer and the Cauldron.
...
Midsummer, July.
The green-train carriage had turned into a sweltering tin can. The trickle of air drifting through the windows was nowhere near enough for everyone, and the foulest stench that could emanate from a crowded mass washed over everyone's respiratory tracts.
Li Lianjie, Yu Hai, Gong Xue, Wang Qun, Ji Chunhua, and the others who still had scenes to film were all on this train heading toward Xinxiang, Henan.
Ji Chunhua was playing "Ghost Face." His character was designed with half his face covered by a massive black birthmark, repeatedly harassing Chenjiagou in a rather prominent role.
At the moment, sporting his large bald head and bare brow ridges, he walked down the aisle carrying a thermos. The packed passengers automatically parted into two rows. Having fetched hot water, he set it down on Chen Qi's table.
"Brother Qi, here's your water!"
"Thanks. Sit down for a bit, too—stop wandering around."
"My backside hurts from sitting. Standing is more comfortable."
Ji Chunhua stood planted beside Chen Qi, watching him sketch and jot notes in a notebook. "What are you drawing?"
"I bought a courtyard house. It's too run-down, so it needs to be rebuilt. I'm thinking about how to design it."
Li Lianjie was remarkably sharp about this sort of thing, suddenly popping up out of nowhere. "You bought a courtyard? Where? How much did it cost?"
"Not much. Five thousand."
"Five thousand?!"
Li Lianjie's jaw dropped. Counting on his fingers, with a monthly wage of eighty-eight yuan, it would take him nearly five years to earn that much. Overcome with envy, he whispered, "Hey, writing scripts for Hong Kong pays so well. If you write a few more, you'll be a ten-thousand-yuan household! You could even be a millionaire!"
"Becoming a millionaire on Hong Kong dollars is a bit tough. Just wait until I submit scripts to America—earning US dollars is the real fast lane!"
"Bragging again! How are you going to submit scripts to America? Can you even write in English?"
"Oho, look who knows about writing in English. Truly someone who's traveled abroad and seen the world."
Chen Qi teased him, thinking to himself: That's precisely why I'm looking for a chance to go overseas—to establish a reliable channel of communication and earn plenty of greenbacks.
He had fifteen thousand yuan in savings altogether. Buying the house had cost a third of it, and rebuilding would be even more expensive and labor-intensive. If construction started in the second half of the year, completing it by next year would already be doing well.
This gave him a bit of financial pressure, much like in later generations: if people didn't buy a home, they could actually live quite comfortably, but the moment they bought one, pressure came crashing in. Eating, drinking, watching movies, getting hotel rooms, traveling—no matter how much you spent, how much could it really amount to? How could it compare to a house?
Xiaodianhe Village was located in Weihui City. Weihui was currently called Jixian, belonging to the Xinxiang region.
Xinxiang was extraordinary, possessing a long history and bearing witness to countless major events. It was the ancestral home of Jiang Ziya and Bi Gan; Zhang Liang's attempted assassination of the First Emperor, the burning of Wuchao, the Chenqiao Mutiny, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove had all unfolded here.
Around dusk, they arrived in Xinxiang. On the way to the guesthouse, they caught sight of a cinema with a large poster for Romance on Mount Lu pasted outside. Gong Xue leaned against the vehicle window, gazing at her painted likeness on the poster. Then she looked back at Chen Qi, who gave her a wink.
After arriving at the guesthouse, settling into their rooms, and having dinner, everyone turned in early to rest.
Chen Qi knocked on a door, which was opened by Huang Qiuyan. Huang Qiuyan smiled knowingly. "Brother Chen, coming to find me? Is something up?"
"I know you're a good girl who'll keep our secret, right? Here, brought you some treats specially."
He handed over the imported snacks he had prepared. Huang Qiuyan tore open a bag and started munching right there, grumbling softly, "I can hold the fort for three hours at most. Don't be too late—staying out too late won't look good."
"Understood, understood!"
Chen Qi glanced past her. Gong Xue had already freshened up and, blushing faintly, stepped out with him right in front of Huang Qiuyan.
Ever since he had grown bolder, it was like puncturing a layer of paper between them. They had agreed, after all, to watch Romance on Mount Lu together.
...
In the summer, darkness fell late.
At seven o'clock, light still lingered and pedestrians filled the streets, so Gong Xue didn't feel overly awkward. After asking for directions, they arrived at a nearby cinema, only for both of them to be taken aback.
"My goodness! What're you doing?!"
"Damn you!"
"I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"
A dense sea of heads surged around the ticket window, jammed so tightly that not even water could trickle through. Everyone was waving their arms, desperate to snatch a ticket first. A few pairs had even gotten into brawls, knocking down whole clusters of people like bowling pins.
Gong Xue took a step back, alarmed. "How about we watch it another day? There are too many people!"
"We're already here! Man, I thought this would be a romantic date, but it's turned into a vegetable market. Wait here, I'll go get tickets!"
Chen Qi rolled up his sleeves, slipped through the gap while people were scuffling, and hacked his way to the front row. Waving seventy cents in his hand, he fought fiercely to secure two tickets.
In those years, ticket prices ranged from twenty to thirty-five cents.
It was regulated by the state: black-and-white films and older releases were cheaper, while color films and widescreen features cost more. Only years later, when ticket prices were deregulated, would prices truly begin to soar.
"All right, that's it! None left!" the ticket seller bellowed at the top of her lungs. "You can buy for the next screening! If you can't get into the next one, you can buy for tomorrow!"
"Give me two!"
"I want four!"
"Not that one! We want Romance on Mount Lu! Everyone says it's great!"
People continued to shove forward heedlessly. Screenings and release dates varied across different regions, leaving Gong Xue utterly stunned. Was her film really this popular?
"Quick, quick, come on in!"
Chen Qi waved her inside the hall. The interior had the standard layout of an old-fashioned cinema, with two tiers that could seat over a thousand people and a stage at the front for ordinary events.
"Have a seat! Keep your head down so nobody recognizes you. I'll go buy some soda."
Chen Qi bustled back and forth. The auditorium filled with a buzzing swarm of people until every seat was taken. Adults chatting and arguing, children crying, and ushers' voices blended into a raucous din.
Before long, the lights dimmed, and the hall fell instantly silent.
Romance on Mount Lu finally graced the screen!
Chapter 112