Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 802 Release
After filming for several days in a row, Chen Fan finally got these martial arts masters, who had never filmed a movie before, on the right track. From two scenes on the first day to one scene on the second day, gradually, the number of scenes filmed each day increased.

There aren't many dramatic scenes in this movie. The main focus is on just a few scenes. One is when Chaoyang Temple, in order to help refugees, gave away all its property. In addition, the Japanese devils down the mountain became increasingly fierce, committing all kinds of atrocities such as burning, killing, and looting. They had no choice but to break down the temple and descend the mountain.

The second incident was an encounter in a small village, where he met a bandit who had been misunderstood, and they became acquainted through a fight. At the same time, he learned about the current state of the world from the bandit.

The third battle was with bandits to fight the Japanese invaders, only to discover that even the best individual combat skills are limited when facing a modern, well-organized army.

Several of the bandit leaders, skilled in martial arts, and the Taoist priests of Chaoyang Temple were killed in the hail of bullets, suffering heavy losses.

This place also became the turning point for the Taoist priests as they descended the mountain.

After pondering for a whole night, Abbot Di Yunzi decided to dismiss the Taoists, letting them go their separate ways, accept their fate, and do as much as they could, according to their own abilities.

If the entire army is wiped out, we will simply assume that Chaoyang Temple's fate has run its course and will not think of anything else.

If anyone survives, we can rebuild Chaoyang Temple after we have restored the old city.

Yang Chenfeng plays Zhang Xuansong, who draws a lot and ends up in the south. He then packs his bags, bids farewell to his master and grandmaster, and heads south alone.

"Stop, good, very good."

Once Yang Chenfeng had walked away, Chen Fan called for a stop, stood up, and said with a smile, "Master Yang and the others' scenes are over here. I've already told the canteen to cook a big pot of dumplings and a jar of old wine for dinner. Everyone, eat and drink to your heart's content."

Yang Zhenlong wasn't quite done yet. He flicked the sleeves of his tattered Taoist robe, which had been damaged by the "battle," and leaned closer with a smile, saying, "Director, am I done already? Aren't you going to let us shoot a few more scenes of the old Taoist priest fighting the enemy?"

He raised his longsword and twirled it twice, saying, "Look, the old Taoist is, after all, the young Taoist's grandmaster, right? It wouldn't be appropriate to only film the young Taoist and not the old Taoist once we're separated, would it?"

Han Qingshan nodded repeatedly, "Actually, I feel that the bandits can still fight the Japanese devils. It's just a matter of cavalry. We can't compete with guns and cannons, but we're not afraid of cold weapons. And the audience loves to watch it. Look at those thousands of troops charging together, and the Japanese devils falling to the ground like dumplings being dropped into a pot. It's so exciting."

Chen Fan glanced at him in surprise. Hey, you old man who's almost old enough to be born in the Qing Dynasty, how come you can grasp the essence of anti-Japanese war dramas at this time?

There are indeed many hidden masters among ordinary people.

He took out a cigarette and offered it to everyone, also silencing the other elderly comrades.

Finally, he popped one into his mouth, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke. Chen Fan grinned and said, "Everyone, everyone, please calm down. The scenes you mentioned were actually filmed a few days ago."

Yang Zhenlong's eyes widened. "You've finished filming me, the old Taoist priest, killing Japanese devils?"

Chen Fan nodded. "The day before yesterday, during the scene where we fought the Japanese, the production crew called out several different scenes and times, right? That's what happened then. Our film is shot in a series of cuts, so each scene is filmed from a different angle, creating a new shot."

Putting everything else aside, just take the scene from the day before yesterday, we filmed three different scenes of you fighting the Japanese. Perhaps you were having too much fun fighting and forgot about it.”

Yang Zhenlong blinked frantically, turning to look at the others, "Is...is that true?"

Han Qingshan shoved him aside with his shoulder, "You're practically the leader of the martial arts world in the capital, who would lie to you?"

Although Chen Fan was the one who sent the invitation first, the martial arts actors for this film were all recruited by Yang Zhenlong. So these old friends jokingly called Yang Zhenlong the leader of the martial arts world in Beijing, and they would ask him to take the lead in any film they needed to make.

Yang Zhenlong's expression changed slightly, and he nodded thoughtfully, "That's true."

Han Qingshan pushed him aside and smiled at Chen Fan, "What about me? What about me?"

Chen Fan, shrugging, said, "It's the same."

Looking at Zhao Lingdong, Gu Haoyang, Guan Baorui, and the others, they all had the same expression: "We're all the same, our scenes are all finished, that's it!"

Just as Yang Zhenlong and the others were filled with reluctance and lingering sorrow, Master Yang from Jiangying Studio dusted himself off, picked up a teacup, and walked over, chuckling, "Actually, isn't it easy to want to act? Just like me, take whatever role is available. As long as you're not picky, you're sure to get roles."

Yuan Wang and Shen Danping followed him like little shadows, nodding repeatedly upon hearing his words.

I thought that after filming "Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tips", I would have no more acting opportunities and would have to go back to my workplace to rehearse a play. But then Master Yang said something and told me to go with him. Sure enough, I ended up filming a play.

At first, they could only play villagers who had fallen on hard times or starving corpses on the roadside. Later, they could play refugees fleeing famine, bandits charging behind a herd of horses, and so on.

Sometimes he even gets a shot, and a line of "Ah!" before being stabbed to death by the Japanese.

Actually, that was Director Chen's perverse sense of humor.

He wanted to see if any audience would recognize the two male and female leads after "Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip" was released, and then after "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" was released.

But Yuan Wang and the others didn't know that. All they knew was that following Master Yang meant they would get to act in movies, and it was really exciting.

Yang Zhenlong and the others looked at Master Yang, and then thought about the performance of the actors from Jiangying Studio these past few days. They completely let go of their pride and immediately said to Chen Fan, "Then when we need extras again, we should arrange some for us too."

Chen Fan readily assured him, "Don't worry, it will definitely be arranged."

With such a talented actor, wouldn't he be foolish not to use him?!
With good makeup, Xu Shaohua can be Tang Sanzang or the Dragon King of the East Sea; Chi Zhongrui can be Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, or the Dragon King of the Well; and Liu Xiao Ling Tong even played Gao Cuilan's old mother.

Ma Dehua has played the most roles. He played Zhu Bajie, one of the two foreign envoys in Wuji Kingdom, one of the two grooms under Bi Ma Wen, and even the white-haired old monkey beside the Monkey King. He was one of the panicked onlookers in the noodle shop when the Monkey King first descended the mountain. He was the one with one eye covered among the four bandits killed by Sun Wukong. He was the little monk who stole Elder Jinchi's cassock in Guanyin Temple. He was one of the disciples squeezed between two disciples when Sun Wukong became a disciple of Bodhi Patriarch. He was also the mountain god of Pingding Mountain during the battle with the Golden and Silver Horned Kings...

Playing more than a dozen roles is no big deal for one person.

Seeing that Chen Fan had agreed to arrange extra roles, Yang Zhenlong stopped insisting.

At this moment, Yang Chenfeng also ran back from a distance. However, as the main character, he did not receive any treatment as a main character. No one paid any attention to him. He had to join the other actors in asking Kuang Mingyi about his scenes for tomorrow.

As a result, Kuang Mingyi raised his hand and waved it, shouting loudly, "Quiet down, quiet down!"

Once the surroundings quieted down, he continued, "First of all, I want to thank everyone for their hard work during this time. You've been working day and night with the crew, even on Sundays. Director Chen has seen and appreciated everyone's hard work and efforts."

Chen Fan spat out the tea leaves in his mouth and said irritably, "Just say it, stop talking nonsense."

A burst of laughter erupted around them. Although it was hard work, the food service on set was really good. It was free, no tickets were needed, there was meat at every meal, and the amount of food was unlimited. As long as they didn't waste food, they could eat as much as they wanted. They couldn't wait to work every day to save their families so much on food!
Besides, it's not like they're the only ones working hard. Everyone in the crew, including Director Chen, is working hard.

Moreover, the actors are done after filming, but the director and production staff have to go back to meetings and organize materials, which is much more tiring than for them. If we're talking about hard work, isn't Director Chen the one who works the hardest?

Director Chen said: You're all overthinking it. Kuang Mingyi and his team did all the miscellaneous work. He goes home every day after work and it's not hard work for him at all.

Kuang Mingyi shook his head with a wry smile. After the laughter around him subsided, he continued, "Then I'll be frank. Tomorrow is National Day, and our factory's self-produced film, 'A Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip,' will be released in theaters and meet audiences across the country."

Later, everyone can go to the production assistant, Xiao Song, and each person can get a movie ticket. It's a small perk for our crew..."

Upon hearing this, cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Not to mention the staff and cadres of Jiangying Film Studio, even Yang Zhenlong and his group who came from Beijing all showed excited expressions.

Empathy is one aspect; after all, starting from August, they lived in the Jiangxi Film Studio for a month and a half and a few days, so they felt somewhat like "one of their own."

Moreover, the film was shot under their own eyes, which gave them a strange sense of "participation".

Hearing that I could get tickets to see a movie made me very happy.

Most importantly, they've been filming non-stop these past few days, and even with their real skills, they're bound to be a bit tired. Going to see a movie and relax would be a good idea.

Kuang Mingyi chuckled, lowered his voice with his hand, and continued, "After watching the movie, you don't need to report to the film crew anymore. You can rest tomorrow, and then report to the factory early the day after tomorrow to continue working hard and make this movie a success. What do you all say?"

"it is good!"

This time the noise was even louder than before, with everyone cheering and applauding enthusiastically.

After announcing the disbandment, Chen Fan left the cleanup work to Kuang Mingyi and drove home.

Looking at the brightly lit and red flags waving along the roadside, Director Chen couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

I didn't watch any of the National Games because I was making a movie. Today is September 30th, the closing ceremony is over, so there's nothing left to watch.

Not only did he miss the National Games, but he also didn't have time to visit his family. Director Chen could only say that he would be dissatisfied if he didn't receive a model worker award this year.

Zhou Yali ruined his summer honeymoon, and filming a movie also cost him his National Day holiday. ...The 30th is Sunday, plus the two-day National Day holiday, that's a full three days, okay?

Filled with disappointment, Director Chen drove his car into the Wenyi New Village residential area.

Chen Fan had just driven the car to the entrance and hadn't even gotten out when he froze for a moment.

The gate was open?

Is someone inside?

He raised an eyebrow, his mind raced for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.

He quickly drove the car into the yard, got out, slammed the door shut, and hurried into the house.

Before they even entered the room, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian ran out of the room.

When Chen Fan saw that his guess had come true, he was overjoyed. Since there was no one outside, he hugged one of them in each arm and laughed, "What brings you here?"

After a brief moment of tenderness, the three of them let go of each other's hands. Jiang Tiantian glanced nervously outside. Although there was still no one there, her heart was still pounding.

However, she wouldn't blame Chen Fan. She just pulled him into the room and whispered, "Last time you called, you said you didn't have time to come. Lili and I discussed it. Today is Sunday, and we have the next two days off. If we fly, we can come over for a reunion and stay for two days. We just need to take half a day off on Monday morning."

Chen Fan grabbed the two girls' hands and pulled them to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), laughing, "Who helped you buy your plane tickets? It couldn't have been Mr. Ba again, could it?"

Given their status, they were far from being able to afford plane tickets. When they went to Guangzhou to visit him at the beginning of the year, they only managed to buy two tickets thanks to Ba Jin's connections. Otherwise, it would have taken two days to get there by train.

This time too, the holiday is only three days long, and apart from flying, there's no other way to get here.

Jiang Lili was still giggling as she linked arms with him. When he asked about it, she smiled and said, "Sister Yali left us some US dollars. We can buy plane tickets with foreign currency and don't need a letter of introduction."

Chen Fan chuckled, "She finally did something good."

He had previously left the two sisters only remittance certificates, which could be used to shop at stores catering to foreigners, but not to buy plane tickets. He hadn't expected that Zhou Yali would also leave them US dollars.

Jiang Lili said, "Sister Yali also said that since we are separated by distance, and you are a university teacher and also making movies, you may not have time to come and see us. That's why she left us foreign exchange so that we can visit you whenever we have time."

Jiang Tiantian chimed in, "You said you couldn't come the day before yesterday, so we bought plane tickets for today. We arrived in the provincial capital at noon and then took a bus home."

Jiang Lili: "In the afternoon, we went to the nearby farmers' market to buy groceries and cooked a big meal. We can eat as soon as you get back."

Chen Fan let go of their hands, put his arm around their shoulders, and laughed, "Yeah, that's good. Next time Zhou Yali comes over, I won't be angry with her."

Just as the two sisters were at a loss for words, he continued, "You've come at the perfect time. Tomorrow is the release date of Tian Tian's movie 'Little Lotus Just Beginning to Bloom,' let's go see it together."

Jiang Lili clapped her hands and laughed, "Great! I've been wanting to see your movie for a long time. The cinemas in Shanghai have put up posters, and we've even seen them. I came here this time to watch it with you."

Jiang Tiantian lowered her head shyly and said reproachfully, "What do you mean, 'my movie'? That was made by Xiao Fan, it has nothing to do with me."

Chen Fan tightened his grip on her shoulder and laughed, "How could it not be related to you? You wrote the original novel, you adapted the screenplay, and the first act of the movie has a subtitle saying that the film is adapted from Jiang Tiantian's work of the same name. It's perfectly fine to say that it's your movie."

Hearing this, Jiang Tiantian thought of the tuition fee again and was immediately embarrassed. She broke free from him, got up and walked out, saying, "I'm not talking to you anymore, let's eat."

(End of this chapter)