Chapter 55: The Mountain and River Remain Unchanged, but the Opportunity Has Shifted

  The township government's banner arrived, and the villagers led by their children followed the drumming team to send off the interns' vehicles at the village entrance. They originally wanted to stay and entertain them, but Teacher Ren Qun politely declined, first because they were in a hurry to return to school, and secondly because this place probably had nothing to offer, it was already a poor place, and they couldn't let a group of interns get stuck here eating poverty!

  But even so, the interns from Zhuo Ma Township gave everyone a big shock. Let's not mention the gifts they brought back, but just look at their happy faces when they got on the bus, as if they were returning from a vacation, unlike the defeated looks of other places. The car didn't go far, and it was quiet all around. Teacher Ren Yun smiled in the front seat, feeling that the trip wasn't in vain. He turned his head to look at the students whispering to each other in low voices, and asked aloud: "Bao Chun, why aren't you talking?"

  The student named Li Baochun smiled awkwardly and couldn't answer for a moment. When asked again, the other students who were also dissatisfied just smiled awkwardly and didn't respond to Teacher Ren's question. The chubby Miao Li stretched her head and asked Liu Cuiyun, "Cuiyun, are you eating well? You look like you've gained weight!"

  "Since I've gotten fat, of course it's better." Liu Cuiyun said with a smile, not understanding why her classmates were looking at her like that. Zhao Hui suddenly understood and clapped his hands, saying: "I get it, there are two idiots in this group who can't eat well. Dan Yong's family runs a restaurant, so of course he can eat! The class monitor and the secretary are just along for the ride."

  Everyone burst out laughing, and Teacher Ren and the other class advisors who came together also laughed. However, Wang Huating was not pleased, turning her head to say: "Hey, Zhao Hui, didn't you make a mistake? At that time, we were asked to come to this group, but you guys didn't... Not only can they cook now, but so can we."

  "Is that right, Branch Secretary? Class Monitor, have you learned?" asked Chen Fulai, the bespectacled man. Ding Yizhi nodded and smiled wryly: "I've learned, I can cook congee now."

  "Is it just porridge that can make you all so happy?" Miao Li was a bit skeptical. She said one sentence, and Liu Cuicui had a lot to say, counting on her fingers: at this time of year, tender corn is occasionally available; the vegetables in the ground are all non-toxic, radishes, scallions, new garlic, and flatbread with hawthorn flowers are often eaten; there's also stewed wild rabbit, roasted chicken pieces, which appear every three days or so, and rare roasted sparrows, badger oil cakes... The day before yesterday, someone in the village got married, and they even had a taste of the wedding banquet's top ten dishes. In short, Liu Cuicui hadn't finished speaking when she realized something was off. A car with two rows of classmates all stuck their heads into the aisle to look at her, and after a pause, they asked in surprise: "What's wrong? The countryside is full of delicious food, haven't you all tried it?"

  Many people were stunned, those who relied on instant noodles and sausages to survive had bitter water in their stomachs, and they were all envious of how someone could eat so well. Li Baochun said with a mix of emotions: "What are we eating? We're all just feeding mosquitoes ourselves."

  "Are you stupid? Find some mugwort to fumigate, mosquitoes won't dare enter the house for two or three days. Why didn't you call me earlier?" Liu Cuiyun said in surprise.

  "Huh, the difference between people is so big? Are you kidding me? It sounds like you're describing a middle-class lifestyle in Europe and America." Zhao Hui withdrew his gaze and asked Wang Huating, who was sitting not far from him. Wang Huating smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying: "Teacher Ren and our director have all tried it, we're not bragging to you, there's no need to try everything else."

  "I'm telling you, the roasted sparrows from Class 2 are really something. After trying that, even KFC's chicken wings don't have much flavor anymore," said the teacher of Class 3 with a smile.

  Now that you mention it, I'm even more envious and jealous. Even if some people don't believe it, just look at the class teacher and the pile of local specialties sent by the old fellow from our hometown in front of the car, no one doubts it anymore. Each of them sighed that they should have followed these few foodies back then, otherwise why would they end up like this now, as if they had been persecuted.

  On the way, Wang Hua Ting took care of everyone's mood, distributing apples and walnuts sent by her hometown to each person. Liu Cuiyun and Ding Yizhi were surrounded by many classmates asking about their daily life, mainly about what they ate and played... Fortunately, no one asked about how the teaching was going, but hearing that those three guys were playing mahjong, having fun, and enjoying fresh food from the current season made everyone feel envious.

  "Ah, it seems that judging a student's good or bad based on their academic performance is still biased at times." A class teacher said with a smile as the atmosphere in the car rose. At least after eating "Bath Fire Phoenix", several people remembered it vividly, Ren Qun smiled and whispered: "Now most of them are only children, they haven't suffered or been wronged, and they may not have many opportunities to come into contact with poverty. Our education is too utilitarian, and we're about to enter society, but we haven't taught them a sense of responsibility for themselves and society."

  "When you think you're very important to society, society is just about to forgive your immaturity and ignorance...... Our students are at this stage, too self-centered, I'm afraid that when they encounter setbacks in the future, their ability to withstand them will be much worse."

  "What about those few... Teacher Ren, what have they been up to?" Another class advisor asked with a smile, at this time the evaluation of the three had subtly increased.

  "Watching the temple fair, blowing suona, playing away, at least gave me some face, asked for a leave, if I were in school, I wouldn't know where they went." Teacher Ren Qun self-mocked and made the other two colleagues laugh.

  The car drove out of the country road and onto a secondary road. Wang Huating finished distributing apple cores and walnuts, and unintentionally overheard the conversation of three class advisors. When one of the class advisors turned around and gave her a smile, she smiled back, then turned her head again, but could no longer see the countryside or the small river in front of the school. The short internship had somehow given rise to so much nostalgia...

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  "Teacher Ren said, tomorrow we must return to school, and there's a lot of things to do, such as filling out the appraisal form, taking graduation photos, and defending our thesis. Qin director, can you send us back tonight?" Si Mu Xian asked. Qin director naturally agreed, and glanced sideways at that ugly fat guy Lei Da Peng who was shouting "I'm hungry" when he got on the car. They had lunch in Lanzhou South County Town, this guy ate half a roasted chicken and a plate of braised pork head, and didn't stop eating, still eating now.

  Eight people at a table, in addition to Dan Yong and three others, there were also Director Qin and the cameraman, scene recorder, and driver. Many people noticed and couldn't help but laugh. If it weren't for this chubby guy, the film crew wouldn't have even gotten together for a meal. Dan Yong and Simu He were eating too, and unintentionally saw that everyone in the film crew was staring at Lei Da Peng's joke. They couldn't bear to look at him anymore, so Dan Yong tactfully said: "Da Peng, slow down... don't choke."

  "Annoying or not, you're complaining that I'm eating too fast, and yet there's still food left for you." Lei Dapeng was shoveling the food into his mouth like a meteor, others didn't know, but Shan Yong and Si Muxian knew this guy was always like this, couldn't be changed, but if it were strangers, they would think he was a starving ghost who hadn't eaten in days.

  "It's okay, it's okay, just eat more." Director Qin said, putting the dishes in front of Lei Dapeng, but unexpectedly, Lei Ge was picky and pushed a dish away, saying: "This is not good to eat. In Changzhi County, only stir-fried pancakes, roasted chicken, and braised pork head are decent, nothing else is worth eating."

  "Hmm, the director was stunned, it turned out that this guy only picks the good food to eat. The way he eats is really not elegant, and with a mouthful of meat, Lei Dapeng awkwardly lets out an "uh" sound after swallowing, which makes one of the ladies at the table burst into laughter. Lei doesn't mind at all, and instead, he foolishly smiles at her, making her blush and become even more flustered."

  The grass was eaten and they set off, a driver rushed to settle the bill. Director Qin welcomed the three as they left and even opened the car door for them. Lei Dapeng got in with a swagger, but his attitude made Dan Yong and Si Muxian look at each other in surprise, both of them having some confusion. No matter how good the suona was blown, the three were still students, and once outside the school gate, even those who ran small stalls didn't pay much attention to you, let alone a big director from a film company.

  He hesitantly got on the car, Lei Dapeng sat in the middle humming, the scene recorder and director sat in the front row, while Shan Yong and Si Muxian sat behind them. When they looked at each other, both had a few hints of doubt. After not driving far, Shan Yong asked Director Qin tentatively: "Director Qin, are these two really worth blowing so much money?"

  "Haha... it's worth that much, do you know how much? 40 million." Director Qin stretched out four fingers, shocking both Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian to gasp in surprise. However, the director explained with a smile: "I was also confused at first, after editing the footage for the first time, the judges picked it up immediately, saying that this segment was shot festively, very reflective of the marriage customs of Lanzhou... otherwise, why would TV stations use this segment as a news report?"

  "That can't be just 3,000 yuan and then send us off." Lei Dapeng interrupted.

  "Are you not going to return the tens of thousands of yuan worth of things that were donated?" Director Qin said.

  "That name is yours, but the benefits didn't come to us." Leida Peng calculated it quite well.

  At this point, Director Qin's face turned green. It seemed that he had been grinding the mill and acting out a scene in vain, without getting any benefits. Shan Yong looked at him awkwardly and said, "Don't mind him, let's change the subject." He asked with curiosity: "I really don't understand, Director Qin. You've already finished filming the sketch, why bother spending so much to come back to Masha Township? The temple fair in Yincheng is much more lively than the folk performance here."

  "Huh? This question seems to be asked quite well, the second row of the scene recorder turned around and looked at Dan Yong with a surprised expression, but Director Qin smiled and gave a thumbs up: "You three are all understanding people, I know how to repay kindness, it's not that we must invite you, we've already invited all the suona players from Zhuo Ma Township to Yin City...but one of the judges specifically told me that we must invite you."

  "Judge?"

  "Who is it?"

  "Impossible, can the judges who decide on a 40 million investment be...?"

  The three of them were stunned, each with a sentence to say. Qin Wangchuan didn't speak either, he stretched out his hand to take the DV machine, fast-forwarded for a few minutes, and when it was paused on a certain frame, he held it up for the three of them to see. As soon as they saw it, all three were stunned, looking at each other in shock, their faces full of incredulity.

  He was sitting in the middle of the judges' seats, with a name tag next to him. Qin Wangchuan took one glance and saw that these three people were indeed familiar faces, and he couldn't help but feel even more delighted. However, what they said next was not pleasant to hear. Shan Yong laughed and said: "Wow, this old fool really has style."

  "What a foolish old man, can't you just call him Uncle instead? You can't keep addressing your future father-in-law like that, can you?" Si Mu Xian said with a smile.

  Lei Da Peng got even more aggressive, saying directly: "This old glutton, his words don't count at all, and he still owes me a meal!"

  The two brothers spoke casually, but the few listeners were scared. Zuo Nanxia was a member of the large-scale special topic group committee of "Charm Lu Zhou" and was invited as a judge. He was a person who could make someone famous with just one word, but unexpectedly, in the mouths of these three students, he became a foodie plus a foolish old man, and even said that he was his father-in-law.

  The car swerved, the driver was also startled and looked back in surprise. Director Qin and the script girl looked back, while the cameraman leaned forward to look ahead, making these three people look very unnatural for a moment. After a long time, Director Qin finally exclaimed:

  "It seems you're really familiar with each other... so there's nothing to hide. If it were just your boasts, I wouldn't have the authority to allocate tens of thousands for donations. Yesterday, when it was settled, I met Professor Zuo once, and as soon as he heard about the situation, he said he wanted to donate some teaching equipment to this old district school. He has a good impression of Cuoma Township. We took care of it, and coincidentally, we also invited you to help him with some small matters... Professor Zuo is an authority on folk culture research, and our photos were praised by him, directly putting us in a prominent position."

  The words were not finished, Lei Dapeng opened his mouth and scolded Dan Yong: "Are you stupid? If you want 3,000 yuan, you are so happy. If he wants 30,000 yuan, he dare not give it to him. Director, add money, no addition is not going."

  Director Qin's face turned black, and he was teased by Lei Dapeng, going up and down. You said this answer is not answered? But Shan Yong's mind was not on this, and he directly slapped a palm on the back of Lei Dapeng's head and asked Director Qin: "Did... you see Professor Zuo with your own eyes?"

  "Ah, yes."

  "Is there anyone else? I mean, have you seen his daughter?"

  "Oh, I've seen it."

  Shan Yong let out a long sigh, took a deep breath to calm down his racing heart, but unexpectedly, Director Qin handed him a DV camera: "Isn't that Zuo Zong? The chairman of Tianji Chemicals and also the sponsor of this event. It's impossible for her not to show up. She was the guest of honor at yesterday's ribbon-cutting ceremony."

  The air was just inhaled and suddenly burst out again, wilting.

  On the screen, a middle-aged woman with a rich and elegant demeanor, far different from Xu Xiang's usual style. Si Mu Xian burst out laughing, Lei Da Peng laughed even harder, his mouth wide open, his eyes narrowed, and he said with schadenfreude: "Neither of you waited for each other, nor did you get the money... Haha... Last night, we all said that you two would make a great couple, but you didn't want to. Haha..."

  With this guy around, it's hard to have a decent conversation. Single Yong stood up and dragged Lei Dapeng to the back seat, pinning him down and kicking him twice to vent his anger. He then sat in Lei Dapeng's position, looking at Director Qin who was stunned and speechless. "Don't mind this idiot," he said, explaining that Old Zuo had another daughter. But Director Qin shook his head, having never seen her before. Single Yong asked again, not giving up, how Professor Zuo could have returned to Lanzhou.

  This matter, Qin Wangchuan knew about it, and the project of the Folk Culture Museum was shelved, seemingly because something happened at Lushi Institute two months ago, which led to the leaders of Lushi City Committee and Lushi Institute going to Fujian several times, but failed to salvage the situation... After that, CCA.V made a warm-up for National Day, shooting a 10-minute special feature called "Taihang Xunying", reflecting the people of Lushi during the Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War period, including the previous generation of Zuo's family. However, it is unknown how this again moved Professor Zuo's heart, probably still that lingering hometown sentiment. This was easy to handle. His daughter, Zuo Huirong, heard that the local Cultural Bureau and Propaganda Department of Lushi planned a shooting project called "Charming Lushi", which was good. With such a large company as a sponsor, the momentum suddenly picked up, and eleven film and television companies came in response to the news.

  After that, it was simple, and by a twist of fate, these three were caught on camera again and put in front of Zuǒ Nán Xià.

  They say that mountains don't move, but water does; and if the water doesn't move, then the road will. But who would have thought that after all this time, they'd end up together again? As soon as he tried to recall the twists and turns of how it happened, his mind was suddenly filled with those vivid memories, yet at the same time, there wasn't a single message from her. Just as he was about to dial that familiar number on his phone... for an instant, this thought seemed to be blocked by something, and his fingers hesitated on the keyboard before finally giving up...

  A string of strange movements, only Simu Xian could understand Dan Yong's anxiety, Director Qin and those envious camera crew were all shocked, but the inside story was enough to make people guess, and this little guy who blew the whistle in front of him understood Zuo so clearly that he couldn't help but add a few more guesses. Director Qin asked after a long time: "You and Old Zuo are... Oh, if it's inconvenient, I won't ask."

  Unconsciously, it has already changed to "you", but I don't quite understand why this identity still needs a reward of 3,000 yuan. Shan Yong didn't respond, but Lei Dapeng couldn't hold back and said directly: "Don't you get it? He's had dealings with the young lady from the Liao family, maybe Old Man Liao has taken a liking to my brother too, or else why would they invite us?"

  The director was so shocked that he almost dropped the DV, and the cameraman was also startled. The script girl in the second row looked at Dan Yong with a mixture of surprise and guilt. Only Lei Da Peng, who didn't care about anything, asked: "Hey, hey, Director, last time I told you we were going to film an anti-war movie, I mentioned that we needed two flower girls, but you ignored me. Believe it or not, I'll tell Lao Zuo and he'll really pull out the investment."

  The director was taken aback again, looking at Lei Dapeng's nonchalant appearance, and didn't dare to think he was stupid. He nodded solemnly and said: "Alright, as long as there is investment, the script and actors are readily available. Not to mention filming, even forming a crew is no problem."

  Lei Dapeng laughed, Simu He and the photographer laughed, the scene recorder's face turned red, only Shan Yong didn't laugh, his mind was muddled, he hadn't heard what these people were talking about.

  Yincheng Town is getting closer and closer, but Shanyong's thoughts are drifting further and further away...