WSSAPF chapter 16

“It is indeed very good. Guizhou cuisine feels very distinctive.”

“Yeah.” Li Zhuoyao responded in a dull tone, lowering his head to drink soup. After a while, he finished his meal and returned the tray. Walking into the control room, he took over from Sun Ran. Just as he sat down, Zheng Nanyun called him.

“The people for cleaning the villa have been arranged. The village chief has found eight aunties in the village, each getting 300 yuan. I’ve paid the money in advance. When the artists go to town the day after tomorrow to shoot outdoor scenes during the fair, let the aunties come up to clean.”

“Who is responsible on-site?”

“I’ll keep an eye on it. The village chief’s wife will lead the team, saying she can help supervise to prevent them from moving things around.”

“Okay.”

Sun Ran came in at this time, seeing that a piece of black cloth on the window was lifted, he went to tidy it up. The control room was equipped with a row of display screens, showcasing the situation of the artists in the villa. To see clearly, it had to be completely dark. The room was in darkness all day long, with only the screens lit up.

After sitting for a while, Li Zhuoyao had the urge to smoke. Seeing Sun Ran coming in, he walked out to smoke a cigarette. It was already past 8 p.m. during this period of continuous rainy weather. Today finally started to clear up, and the moon hung high in the sky. Due to approaching the fifteenth, its shape was almost perfectly round, shining brightly like an incandescent lamp suspended overhead. Just as Li Zhuoyao walked out from the dimly lit room covered with black cloth, he had not yet adapted to the brightness, and the 220-volt white light bulb in the sky was a bit dazzling. Clutching his cigarette, shielding the brightness with his hand, he turned his head and saw Xie Jun coming out too.

Xie Jun was also on the crew, and Li Zhuoyao has assigned him to be the assistant director, assisting another director.

“You had a cold, why aren’t you resting?”

“I’m almost fine today, and the moon looks bright. Just came out for a walk.”

“Boss… are you a bit unhappy lately?” Xie Jun approached Li Zhuoyao, taking a couple of steps.

“…why do you say that?..”

“When you’re not happy, you keep smoking one after another. When I was doing laundry, the smell of cigarettes on your coat was particularly strong.”

“Look at that room,” Li Zhuoyao nodded towards the control room, “It’s dark in there all day long. Can’t endure it without smoking.”

“Boss, I’ve been with you for over a year, and I know your habits well. Anyway, if you have anything on your mind, you can tell me, and I’ll be willing to listen.”

“Okay.”

Just as he finished speaking, Sun Ran quickly walked to the door to call him.

“Yao Ge, the head of the camera team is looking for you.”

“I’m coming.” Li Zhuoyao extinguished his cigarette and said to Xie Jun, “I have to go in. You should go back early; it’s windy on the mountain at night.” He smiled at him and went inside, lifting the door curtain.

Xie Jun stood outside, staring at the moon for a long time. It wasn’t until later, when the wind started on the mountain, the temperature dropped, and he felt a bit cold, that he returned inside.

The mountain wind blew almost the entire night, clearing the sky of clouds. Throughout the night, Li Zhuoyao could hear the sound of the wind.

The day to shoot outdoors arrived quickly. The plan was to depart at 9 in the morning for the town of Tuchang. Around 8 in the morning, the village chief, accompanied by seven or eight women, was already waiting on this side of the control room. When he saw Li Zhuoyao, he immediately approached.

“Director Li, last time you said you needed 8 people, and Miss Zheng gave me 2400. Today, one person couldn’t make it due to some emergency, so I’m refunding you 300.”

The village chief handed 300 yuan to Li Zhuoyao.

“My wife is also here. Don’t worry, these aunties work quickly and cleanly; they won’t mess around. I told them not to touch anything inside, and my wife will supervise.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“The one who couldn’t make it is Hu Chunyan. She’s the village doctor, and someone came early this morning to see her.”

“No problem. Seven people to clean is enough.”

Li Zhuoyao exchanged a few words with the village chief, took the money, and prepared to leave with the car. One car for the production team, one car for the artists, and one car for the camera crew. At exactly 9 o’clock, they set off for Tuchang town.

That day was a market day, and the town was particularly lively. Because of the shooting, the mayor had also made arrangements and deployed additional stalls on the streets. There were twice as many people selling snacks, fruits, and handicrafts as the last time, extending from the east end to the west end, a continuous flow.

The camera team and the outdoor director were arranging camera positions, and the crew members were stepping aside, leaving a small section of the road for the artists. The female artists were most interested in the stall selling embroidery, gathering around one of them and choosing without stopping.

“Hey, handsome. You’re from the TV station, right?”

Hearing someone calling him, Li Zhuoyao turned around and saw the owner of the sticky rice cake shop. Surveying the surroundings, with the market crowded with people, he inadvertently got pushed to the front of the sticky rice cake shop.

“Oh, do you still remember me?”

“I can’t forget. Your friend didn’t come with you today?”

“… He has something to deal with at home.”

“Seeing that you’re probably busy today, come, I’ll treat you.” The owner turned around, cut a small piece of sticky rice cake from the shop, put it in a plastic bag, and handed it to him.

“How can I accept this?”

“Just take it. Meeting is fate. You haven’t tasted this flavor; it’s sorghum sticky rice cake.”

“Thank you.” Li Zhuoyao took it, took a bite, and found it slightly sweeter than the last time, with the fragrance of sorghum syrup.

The owner set up the stall for making sticky rice cakes at the door again, and more people gathered to watch the fun. The artists were also attracted, and more people flocked in their direction.

A tall and sturdy man accidentally bumped into Li Zhuoyao. The man immediately turned around to apologize. Li Zhuoyao hesitated for a moment, and for an instant, he mistook this man for Zhou Chulan.

It seemed like Zhou Chulan’s shadow was everywhere on the main street of Tuchang. He saw Zhou Chulan buying glutinous rice buns with pork, picking embroidered fabric, and stopping in front of the loquat fruit stall. Last time, cherries were in season, and now it was the season for loquats. But on closer inspection, Zhou Chulan disappeared again. The crowd was dense, but there was not a single person who was truly Zhou Chulan.

Li Zhuoyao thought, perhaps, he might never see him again.