pertwk Chapter 294 Returning Home
Chapter 294 Returning Home
Baiyu Village, by the Biliu River.
Two elderly women were squatting on the stone steps washing clothes.
As the mallet rose and fell, water splashed everywhere, producing a dull "plop" sound.
The river water had cooled, and their knuckles were red, but their mouths were talking non-stop.
"Is the film crew coming today?"
"Yes, today."
"Wow! I never thought our desolate village would be where it is today."
The film crew they were referring to was the production of "Fox Spirit Antique Shop".
Directed by renowned director Zhang Baiwei, and starring popular actress Yang Mi.
The show received rave reviews as soon as it was released, easily taking the top spot on the iMovie platform and becoming a phenomenal hit.
Baiyu Village was an important filming location for the series.
The "Rhine town" in the drama was built from scratch, brick by brick, on this open land by the river.
With the TV series becoming a huge hit, Baiyu Village has also ushered in an unprecedented period of development.
The village is still the same village, but it has developed tourism.
Wang Ergou's small shop at the entrance of the village has now been transformed into a large supermarket.
Liu Sanpao's small restaurant has also been renovated into the Jiangxian Grand Hotel.
Not to mention ordinary families, every household has started agritourism businesses.
No need to farm or fish, money just pours in.
An old woman shook the water off her hands:
"Well, that's all fate."
Another old woman sighed as well, and slowed down the hammer in her hand:
"Speaking of fate, I'm reminded of Liu Niu again."
The two remained silent for a moment.
This village is poor, and there are many pitiful people, but Liu Niu is definitely the most pitiful one.
The fortune teller surnamed Li was right—Liu Niu and that child only had a four-year mother-son relationship.
Who would have thought that Liu Niu would die of illness in the temple when her child was just four years old?
"Was it...right here back then?" an old woman said.
The other person nodded:
"Yes, that's it. Liu Niu, who couldn't swim, saved a child and learned to swim in the process."
Before the words were finished, an old woman suddenly raised her chin and gestured towards a spot not far away:
"Hey? Isn't that Liu Niu's child?"
Another person followed her gaze—
A man in a black trench coat stood motionless on the riverbank, like a piece of dead wood forgotten on the shore.
The wind blew up the corner of his clothes, making them flutter.
She squinted and looked for a while:
"If it were that child, he would be this age by now. But it's been so many years, how could you recognize him?"
The companion said confidently:
"That's him. That kid came back once a couple of years ago, I saw him. He fixed the roof of that dilapidated temple."
She paused, then added:
"It's that dilapidated temple where he and Liu Niu lived."
. . . . .
The person who came was indeed Jiang Chaosheng.
He stood quietly by the river, a smile playing on his lips that he himself didn't even realize was playing on his lips.
It was here—the place where he last saw his mother.
Although they were only mother and son for four years, his mother will always be the most important person in his life.
Without those four years, without the seed of kindness she planted in his heart, given his inherent stubbornness and coldness, he doesn't know what kind of person he would have become.
A mother is like an angel, planting light in the heart of an abandoned child.
It was because of this seed that he did not grow into a dangerous person.
Jiang Chaosheng looked up at the sky.
As the sun set, the clouds on the horizon were tinged with a light gray.
He lifted his leg and walked towards his "home" on the mountain.
I ran into three people.
Two women, and a man wearing a vest.
One of the women was wearing a well-tailored camel coat, revealing half of her slender calves underneath.
She had an extremely delicate face, with skin as white as porcelain and a jawline so sharp it looked like it had been cut with a knife.
The most striking feature was her eyes, large and expressive, with slightly upturned corners, exuding a natural charm and sharp wit.
When looking at people, it's as if they're smiling, but also as if they're being scrutinized.
Her long, jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders, a few strands fluttering in the river breeze, highlighting her slender and graceful neck.
The younger girl next to her is her assistant.
Round face, ponytail, phone in hand – this isn't GG, but a recommendation for the treasure book "Zero Antique Shop: Disfigured School Beauty Becomes Succubus to Pay Off Debts":
He kept his head down, typing away furiously.
Leading the way was a man in his forties, wearing a photographer's vest and a name tag around his neck.
Jiang Chaosheng glanced at it, paid no attention, and walked past.
. . . . .
Those three people were from the cast and crew of "Fox Spirit Antique Shop".
By the way, that very beautiful woman is the lead actress herself, the popular actress Yang Mi.
Coincidentally, Yang Mi and Jiang Chaosheng arrived at Baiyu Village almost one after the other.
Even in tourist villages like these, the early winter nights feel like three or four in the morning in a big city.
All was quiet; even the dogs were too lazy to bark.
Feeling bored, Yang Mi took her assistant out for a stroll and met the assistant director who was looking for locations, so they went together.
Once they reached the riverbank, the assistant kept her head down, busy with her phone.
"Honey, you have so many true fans."
Many people have asked if Honey will be cold during winter filming.
The assistant director quickly chimed in, his face beaming:
"Sister Mi really works hard."
The weather is getting colder and colder; after a few days when it's fully winter, there's even a scene where they fall into the water.
Yang Mi ignored him, only glancing at her assistant, and said indifferently:
"Thank you for your concern, fans."
Just replying—we have warm clothes, no need to worry.
If it were any other female celebrity, they would at least try to gain sympathy by playing the victim and acting cute in this situation.
But Yang Mi would never stoop to doing such a thing.
Working for money is simply part of one's job; trying to gain sympathy? That's too naive.
She walked to the riverbank, squatted down, and reached out to touch the cool river water.
The moment her fingertips touched the water's surface, she couldn't help but turn around and glance at the black figure walking further and further away.
"Isn't winter supposed to be the off-season for tourism in Baiyu Village? Why are there still tourists here?"
She didn't consider them fans.
First, the news of her coming to Baiyu Village was not disclosed to the public.
Secondly, when the man walked past her just now, he clearly didn't recognize her.
An old woman chuckled and chimed in:
"There are indeed fewer tourists in the village now, but he's not a tourist; he's a villager. He hasn't been back for a long time."
The assistant director seized the opportunity to flatter him again, giving him a thumbs up:
"It's all thanks to Sister Mi's amazing abilities that the economy of this poor village has been boosted."
Young people who preferred working in big cities found that opening agritourism businesses in their villages was more profitable, and they gradually returned.
Yang Mi was thoroughly fed up with these sycophants and said indifferently:
"It has nothing to do with me. It's because Director Zhang's script is good."
The assistant director was taken aback and gave an awkward laugh.
The old woman continued:
"You're wrong. He didn't come back to open a farm stay; he doesn't even have a house in the village."
Yang Mi was taken aback:
"No house? Where did he live before?"
The old woman pointed to a mountain in the distance:
"Live in that mountain god temple."
The assistant paused for a moment, a hint of disdain appearing on her face:
"Are there still people so poor these days, living in dilapidated temples?"
Yang Mi's eyes lit up:
"Mountain God Temple?"
She loves supernatural novels and movies about Taoist priests.
Which of the protagonists in movies who exorcise demons and kill ghosts isn't extraordinary?
Most people's "birth point" is set in a dilapidated temple.
Most of the "village guardians" circulating online also live in dilapidated temples.
That's cool, okay?
The assistant director also exclaimed in surprise:
"The mountain god temple? Didn't the old village chief say we weren't allowed to go there?"
There's a scene in "Fox Spirit Antique Shop" that needs to be filmed in a dilapidated temple.
Many scenes in the show were temporarily set up, but temples are difficult to make look old.
The assistant director once approached the old village chief, hoping to borrow the mountain god temple on the mountain.
But the village refused—
The refusal was so firm that even Zhang Baiwei's personal intervention was of no use.
Zhang Baiwei later guessed that the temple was probably some kind of belief among the villagers, as important as their ancestral graves, so he dared not mention it again.
The old woman rubbed the water off her hands and said slowly:
"This... is a strange story from our village."
Yang Mi's curiosity was piqued, and she moved closer to the old woman, smiling sweetly like a cat begging for candy.
"Auntie, tell me about it?"