Sunday, April 10, 2022

Golden Assistant 46

 

 If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/ 

Please read from original site.


Seriously don't know how to keep myself motivated in life... 🙂

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Enjoy Chapter 46!

(unedited lol what's new •◡• - pls lmk if there are any errors!)



Chapter 46 - Slowly Looking For The Female Lead While Filming



"I can't see anything." Lu Zhou said, "I can't browse Taobao and I can't read books."

"Just practice a little while every day." Xiao Yi said.

Lu Zhou replied: "Let me think about life."

So, Lu Zhou began to sit and think about life. Thinking about life for half an hour every now and then was fine, but if one had to keep thinking about it all the time, that person would become very depressed. When they were eating, the lights in the dining area shone down, and Xiao Yi took schadenfreude as he smiled while looking at Lu Zhou who was blindfolded, holding chopsticks and randomly poking around.

Lu Zhou could not find where the dishes were. Xiao Yi was about to die from laughter because of him. 

Lu Zhou asked: "What are you laughing about?"

When Lu Zhou said this, there was a smile on the corner of his lips. His handsome face, though his eyes were blindfolded, still contained an irresistible charm.

"Nothing." Xiao Yi said, "You suddenly became so gentle."

"Really?" Lu Zhou said, "Maybe because my heart has calmed down."

"I'll feed you?" Xiao Yi asked.

Lu Zhou replied: "No, does a blind man want someone to feed him every day?"

Xiao Yi let out a snort. Lu Zhou thought about it, and then said: "Hey feed me once, let me feel it."

Xiao Yi fed Lu Zhou before when he had been injured and bedridden, but now it felt different. He gathered the food and fed it into Lu Zhou's mouth.

Lu Zhou was suddenly fed, and before his mouth was even opened, Xiao Yi's spoon had already came by, and his face was immediately smeared with food.

Lu Zhou: "......"

Xiao Yi was about to go mad from laughter. Lu Zhou was stuck between laughter and tears, and said: "You must be deliberately harassing me."

"Ah, hahaha, haha, ah, ah ......" Xiao Yi laughed till he collapsed onto the table. Lu Zhou felt around and wiped his face. Xiao Yi then helped to wipe him as well. Lu Zhou was like a quiet child sitting under the warm light. He suddenly held Xiao Yi's hand, causing Xiao Yi's heart to move, and then he leaned over to kiss him.

"I love you." Lu Zhou said.

Lu Zhou stretched out his hand and touched Xiao Yi's face.

"Genbao has never seen his wife before." Lu Zhou said, "When they're at home, I guess they would be similar to us."

"I love you too." Xiao Yi said, "Yes, they support each other. Genbao was definitely sad when his wife died."

Lu Zhou did not speak. Sitting at the table, Xiao Yi said: "Ah."

Xiao Yi fed Lu Zhou, and they ate this meal very slowly. After he finished feeding him, Xiao Yi began to eat his own meal as well.

"I'll wash the dishes." Lu Zhou said.

He felt around and collected the dishes on the table. Xiao Yi helped to tie an apron on him and took the knives away lest he accidentally cut his hand, and then stood aside to watch him wash the dishes.

At night, Lu Zhou was sitting on the sofa. Xiao Yi was lying in his arms and surfing the Internet. Since Lu Zhou could not see anything, Xiao Yi asked: "Listen to TV?"

"No." Lu Zhou said.

"How do you feel?" Xiao Yi said.

"Lonely." Lu Zhou said, "In the world that I can't see, it's lonely, insecure, and I'm eager to have someone to accompany me. Director Chai's indeed an expert, he asked me to use this method to supplement my understanding of the characters."

Xiao Yi hummed in response. That day, Lu Zhou spent almost the entire day blindfolded.

The next day, Lu Zhou remain blindfolded and sat in the conference room with everyone looking at him.

Director Chai said: "You must still allow the eyes to see when it's appropriate."

Lu Zhou nodded and said: "Everyone, continue to chat."

The third day, the fourth day......

A week later on Monday, Deng Xiaochuan went to talk to the investors and was not present. 

Director Chai said: "Today we will talk about some ideas for this drama. Yesterday I chatted with Director Guo. We watched some documentaries, and I have a brand new idea."

The one sentence from any directors that Xiao Yi used to be most afraid was: "I have a brand new idea." Every time this sentence was heard, everyone would be tormented. The screenwriters would be tormented till they were hospitalized, the props team would be tormented to the point of jumping off a building, and the actors would be tormented till they were admitted into a mental hospital......

Xiao Yi pretended to listen with interest. Lu Zhou replied: "Try talking about it?"

"I'm thinking." Director Chai thought for a while and said, "If we can use folk music like the erhu as the soul music that runs through the entire movie, and make it a traditional Chinese musical with a unique form?"

Xiao Yi: "......"

Lu Zhou: "......"

"Lu Zhou, this is very demanding of you." Director Chai said, "But you also mentioned that your assistant can compose music."

Xiao Yi: "………………"

In his heart Xiao Yi shouted, Oh my god, please spare me! 

That afternoon, the erhu teacher came and first performed a section for Director Chai, Xiao Yi, and Lu Zhou. Xiao Yi's mouth twitched and he almost knelt down for the teacher.

"Teacher Chen." Xiao Yi said, "Do you still remember me?"

"Ah." Teacher Chen raised his head, looked at Xiao Yi for ten minutes, and then looked at Lu Zhou who was next to him.

"You are that one." Teacher Chen said, "Went to the girls' dormitory to play drums and guitar, and was given a big demerit."



Lu Zhou: "......"

Xiao Yi: "......"

Teacher Chen's hair and beard were fully white. Looking like an unworldly expert, he said: "What's your name? You're called Duma?"

Xiao Yi did not know what to say anymore. He replied: "Duma is my roommate. I was there to accompany him that time, but he ran away......"

Teacher Chen said: "Good good, you're doing well now! Director Chai highly recommended you."

This Teacher Chen was the professor who had taught elective courses back then. When Xiao Yi saw him coming over, he knew that Teacher Chen was reliable, but then to ask himself to compose music instead, especially for erhu, made it entirely unreliable. 

Fortunately, Teacher Chen had his own music team who took over the music production and editing portion of 《Qin Mountains》. Xiao Yi instinctively knew that with a teacher of this level, he would definitely learn a lot. So, he temporarily threw Lu Zhou aside and began to discuss composition with Teacher Chen.

Director Chai sorted out the ideas for Teacher Chen. Everyone had discussed for several days, while Xiao Yi had served as an assistant throughout the whole process. He sorted out Lu Zhou and Director Chai's feelings, included his own understanding of the erhu, and passed that all to Teacher Chen.

Lu Zhou was still blindfolded and he walked around the house every day.

Xiao Yi played the erhu while he looked at Lu Zhou.

"Not bad." Lu Zhou hummed the melody and said, "You composed it yourself?"

Xiao Yi said: "It's a bit like Hisaishi's "The Sun Still Rises". I got inspiration from him, but I can't use it. There're too many repeated elements, and the feeling's too similar."

Lu Zhou hummed in response. As Xiao Yi began to think again, Lu Zhou asked: "Why aren't you speaking?"

Xiao Yi said: "Ah? What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Lu Zhou said: "If you don't speak, I can't feel your presence, and I'm not at ease."

Xiao Yi said: "Genbao must be lonely."

Lu Zhou murmured: "The loneliest person is the strongest person. This is the heart of Genbao."

Xiao Yi was immediately shocked and said: "So amazing."

"Ibsen said it." Lu Zhou held a cane, got up, and walked in front of Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi put the erhu down to get up, but Lu Zhou said, "You sit."

Lu Zhou stretched out his hand and touched Xiao Yi's short hair and his closed eyes. He then knelt down on one knee, took Xiao Yi's hand, and placed it on his face.

Xiao Yi: "......"

Lu Zhou: "How do you feel?"

"I'm hard." Xiao Yi replied.

Lu Zhou: "......"

Lu Zhou did a conjuring trick, took out a ring and said: "Will you marry this blind man?"

This ring was the very one Xiao Yi had made Lu Zhou's doll wear on its finger.

"I'm willing ah ah ah——! !" Xiao Yi's shout almost turned the whole house over.




 If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/ 

Please read from original site.




Another day passed. When Xiao Yi came home, he said: "Come here."

Xiao Yi brought a chair over and let Lu Zhou sit down. After adjusting into the posture of playing the erhu, he took his hand to feel the strings, and began to teach him how to play it.

For half a month, Xiao Yi and Teacher Chen debated about the ost and melody of the movie countless times. Every time Lu Zhou listened to them, he would say: "I think Xiao Yi's song is good."

On the day that the ost was finally decided, everyone had already discussed it for a long time, but they did not finalize the main theme. Teacher Chen's was very good, but Xiao Yi's submission was also very good. Teacher Chen's was heavy and Xiao Yi's was bright. Teacher Chen's song felt more vicissitudes of life, while Xiao Yi's was a little worse. It lacked a sense of sadness, but that was replaced by a feeling of eternity.

This time, Lu Zhou insisted on using the song composed by Xiao Yi, and he said to Teacher Chen seriously: "I like the second song he composed. The mountains are picturesque and it can give people a sense of hope and future. No matter how bitter and painful life can be, one can hope to be like the mountains that exist in the distance, eternally undulating, and there is hope when you see it."

Everyone knew that Lu Zhou was actually a layman, but he was the leading star. He was very insistent, and Teacher Chen had no choice but to give in appropriately and agree to use the theme song written by Xiao Yi. Anyway, the entire music team was one entity and would not specifically name Xiao Yi as the composer. All was good as long as Director Chai had no problem with it.

Director Chai said: "I personally think both songs are good, but I also prefer Xiao Yi's song. Let the producer decide which song will be the theme song and which one will be for the episodes."

Xiao Yi added: "The theme music at the end of the forty-second scene would incorporate the Scottish bagpipes, will it be more suitable?"

"Bagpipes." Teacher Chen thought for a while, then got up to drink water, "It doesn't feel right, but it's okay to modify the tone."

Xiao Yi said: "After post-processing, there will be no Western music atmosphere and it will only feel very desolate."

Teacher Chen said: "This is an idea, but your method is too complicated. The piano, pipe organ, bagpipes, and guzheng are all on it. You composers like to play in this pattern. Why not just be at ease and delve into the erhu?"

Xiao Yi did not refute, and Teacher Chen said: "I will ask the producer, and I will compose it. Let's discuss after listening to it."

Deng Xiaochuan brought a piece of good news. The investment was almost fully in place, but there was still a lack of tens of millions in the funds. When Xiao Yi heard the news, he felt that the budget must have exceeded. Deng Xiaochuan was liaising with the female lead because there were nude scenes, and Director Chai was very persistent about that. The salary was also low and everyone was reluctant to accept it.

With Christmas and the New Year approaching, it had been more than four months since planning had started for the drama, and it still felt like it was nowhere in sight.

Director Chai said: "From what I can see, there will be no news before the New Year. Lu Zhou, if you have time, I suggest you go to Xinzheng or Luohe in Henan. Find a village and experience the life of Genbao."

Lu Zhou gave a sound of agreement and said: "I'll ask Xiao Yi and go with his arrangements."

Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou went to Gansu for the New Year, and even went to the place where Director Chai was going to see scenery at. The weather was very cold and the winds were freezing. Most of the areas were in the countryside with stone-built houses, and everyone was poor. 

When they came back, they passed by Datong in Shanxi, and that area was more populated. Xiao Yi rented a small house with two bedrooms and one living room in the countryside, and planned to head home only in January.

There was no heating nor water heater, only a coal stove was used for heating. Lu Zhou was busy with various things every day, and even made a fire while blindfolded. Although the environment was much better than that of Genbao, people came in and out of the countryside and the atmosphere was also a bit like the one described in the movie.

A dry and cold quilt, doing nothing every day, sitting in the yard to bask in the sun during winter, and there was even a wheat field not far away.

Lu Zhou had been blindfolded and wore a woolen hat. No one recognized him for the time being. There were too many things to do. He had to fetch and boil water. Although there was a gas stove, it was very troublesome to take a bath, and he even had to carry the gas stove upstairs. Xiao Yi was afraid that Lu Zhou's shoulder injury would recur, but Lu Zhou said it was fine, the other shoulder was in good condition.

Thus, the two of them were like a young couple living in the countryside. Everyday they would start work at sunrise and rest at sunset. In the evenings, Xiao Yi would read a book to Lu Zhou.

"It feels like two lifetimes." Lu Zhou said.

Xiao Yi replied: "I also think...... these days are too mystical."

Holding a cane, Lu Zhou listened to another blind man playing the erhu at the entrance of the village and whispered: "He's not as good as you."

Xiao Yi said: "These are folks. We are different. My erhu is no longer pure and it contains the feeling of pop music."

Lu Zhou listened for a while but did not hear anything unusual, so he went to buy groceries with Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi was buying a chicken and on the other side, Lu Zhou was buying garlic. He felt around in search of his money for a long time and when he found it, he felt around for another half a day.

After returning to the rental, Xiao Yi had some inspiration and sat in the yard playing the erhu. The people around were attracted by the sound of his erhu. When Xiao Yi was playing, Lu Zhou silently went indoors and when he came out again, he was holding an enamel rice bowl. He held the bowl in one hand, shook it, and began to sing a few lines of lyrics to Xiao Yi's tune.

Xiao Yi: "......"

Jingle, someone had thrown a dime coin into it. Xiao Yi thought It's such a pity for you Director, you're missing out on such a good post credit scene...... In the end, Xiao Yi stopped playing and Lu Zhou got two dollars. He took it and headed out and bought candy for the kids in the yard.

One day, when Xiao Yi came back to the rental, he saw Lu Zhou standing outside the yard playing hopscotch with a five-year-old girl next door.

"No, no!" The little girl said, "You go back there and stand! It starts when I say to start!"

Lu Zhou: "Okay, okay."

Xiao Yi immediately took the video recorder and secretly filmed on the side.

The little girl held Lu Zhou's hand and led him back to where he had started from. Her mother came out and started to scold her for bothering uncle, but Lu Zhou hurriedly smiled and waved to indicate that it was okay. He went according to her instructions and played hopscotch with a bunch of children.

A few days later, another child came to look for Lu Zhou and asked him to act as a villain. There was no one to act as the villain, so Lu Zhou became the villain, and had a wooden gun pointed at him. Lu Zhou was responsible for falling down, and shouting: "My king, spare my life!"

While Xiao Yi secretly filmed Lu Zhou, there was a song that automatically looped in his mind: Bang bang bang dang dang dang, don't call me king, call me queen......

After the New Year, when they returned to Beijing, Director Chai watched Xiao Yi's clips and was about to die of laughter from them.

"Small Xiao, you are reliable!" Director Chai said, "Potential to be a director!"

With a blush on his face and his eyes still blindfolded, Lu Zhou smiled and said: "He's my golden (gold medal) assistant."

"You lived every day like this." Director Chai said with emotion, "It's really ideal, full of pursuits of the goal, and so fulfilling! Come Lu Zhou, see the situation, you don't need to be blindfolded in a few days. There's still a funding gap of 4 million yuan, but the female lead has been found, and she is a newcomer with good acting skills."

On the fifteenth day of January, during the Lantern Festival, Lu Zhou finally removed his blindfold. The female lead had run away again a few days ago. Xiao Yi was really defeated by this crew. He felt that it was full of all kinds of surprises, but Director Chai calmly said: "It's okay, let's prepare to start filming first, and then slowly find the female lead while filming."

Xiao Yi could almost recite it when he heard this. This time Director Guo was also present, and when he came in he said: "Ahaha, we are a gold medal team."

Xiao Yi was busy pouring tea for Director Guo. He loved Director Guo very much, because Director Guo was the first person who made him change from an assistant to a creative composer of the crew. It was no wonder Lu Zhou respected him so much. Every good director could lead everyone in the entire team complete a process of recasting.

The crew first rented a house for 20 thousand a month in Beijing. At this temporary residence, everyone ended up revising the script again. Director Guo and Director Chai went to see the set together. Director Guo supervised the production and Director Chai was supervised the filming. Zheng Xiaocong Studio and Lu Zhou Studio each paid 4 million, and the rest of the investments were from a capitalist firm. Deng Xiaochuan was the producer. From the first time Xiao Yi has seen the script, it had been changed 20 times, and the screenwriter was finally admitted into the hospital and never appeared again.

Director Guo then invited three other screenwriters to a meeting and revised the script for the very last time. Including the three prior screenwriters, there was a total of n screenwriters for this movie.

The props team had already settled the filming set. The extras invited by the China Film Group Corporation were all professional actors. Zheng Xiaocong and Hu Yang also entered the crew and did a cameo for Lu Zhou. Xiao Yi asked if he wanted to find Wu Henggu, but Lu Zhou signaled to forget about it with his hand.



 If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/ 

Please read from original site.




In February, the entire crew boarded a plane and went to Taiyuan, then transferred from Taiyuan to Linfen, and finally drove from Linfen to Jixian, and rented a village. During the filming, all the residents of the village were temporarily relocated by the government and replaced by the extra actors.

Xiao Yi thought to himself that this was really too amazing. These people actually came to Zhongduo Township when they could have filmed in Zhuozhou Film & Television City or China Film Group Corporation...... Was it not painful since it was spending the investors' money? But after watching Director Guo's attitude towards spending money, it did not seem like the case. They even brought tea that they drank at home along, and they also usually spent money very thriftily. They never ate nor drank with public funds either. When the crew gathered for a dinner together, everyone brought their own dishes too. 

However, on the second day after arriving at the shooting location, when the cameras began to be deployed, Xiao Yi then felt that the movie was real...... it was definitely the right choice to come here.

"Do you agree?" Director Guo smiled and said to Xiao Yi, "Small Xiao, speak for yourself?"

"Yes." Xiao Yi nodded and said, "Agree, this is indeed the scenery."

 "En." Director Chai nodded approvingly, "This is indeed the scenery."

The vast sandstorm, the rolling hills of the Loess Plateau, the barren roads, and the grayish yellow earth were the scenery that could not be produced no matter what props were used. On the same day, the props began to be built, and everything was remodeled. If there was anything missing, the crew would call directly and ask the second group of people from Beijing to bring it over.

The generator began to roar, and the fuel was sent over. Lu Zhou and Zheng Xiaocong were eating while facing a pot. Zheng Xiaocong said: "The fried chicken cooked by younger brother's wife is delicious."

Xiao Yi: "......"

Wearing windproof sunglasses, Zheng Xiaocong said: "I haven't eaten this dish in a long time."

Xiao Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry, it was not easy to correct this form of address by the film emperor. Lu Zhou was by the side, laughing haha come, come everyone come and drink. Director Chai and Director Guo were shouting as they played the finger-guessing game, and Director Guo said: "No, no, Small Chai, I can't outdrink you. If we keep drinking, I'm going to drink up the budget."

"What are you afraid of!" Director Chai said with his face flushed from drinking, "The two biggest celebrities are in our group, exceed to the best of your ability! If the budget is exceeded, let Rich Zheng and Fortune Lu pay!"

Lu Zhou: "......"

Zheng Xiaocong: "......"




Xiao Yi was about to die of laughter. When Zheng Xiaocong heard that he had been implicated by Lu Zhou and had the nickname of Rich Zheng, his expression, it was simply not one to be shown by the film emperor. That night, everyone drank, ate, and had a full meal. The filming had officially started. Xiao Yi asked if they wanted to publicize it on Weibo, and Director Chai waved his hand: "Let's not do that, just do a good filming, that's better than anything else!"

Of course, they still had to worship the gods. Even Director Guo was not exempted from this custom. He worshipped the God of the earth, Lord Tudi, that night and gave a toast. 

The next day, all the members of the crew got up early in the morning and began filming. Lu Zhou started his makeup application from 4am. His complexion was dark, dry, and he carried an odor of dust and mud. Barefooted, he had to smear mud on his feet, then don a pair of broken straw sandals.

"Let's take a photo with full makeup." The coordinator said.

 Xiao Yi: "......"

Lu Zhou was disheveled and holding the erhu. After photos of him with his full makeup on were taken, his hair became knotted like hay. It looked like he had not washed his hair for half a month and was extremely filthy. Furthermore, there was a wound that was applied on his face using makeup. The red flesh was even flipped out and exposed.

Xiao Yi thought, This full makeup photo of yours will become Lu Zhou's dark past! What a good shot this is!

Zheng Xiaocong was turned into a black face, as if he had ashes from a stove blown into his face, and was also barefooted like a madman. With a smile, he walked over and took pictures with Lu Zhou. The female lead was called Ying Zhou, who specialized in Tibetan dramas. She was singlehandedly acting the roles of both Wang Genbao's wife and daughter. Her skin was also made to seem very rough and the clothes she wore were tattered.

The three of them stood together and took a photo. Xiao Yi thought that he had enough.

Ying Zhou said: "Come here Brother Xiao, you come over too.

"Come, come, come, everyone come over!" Zheng Xiaocong made a gesture to gather, and everyone went over and took a group photo.

The one scene that was shot that day was a scene where Wang Genbao had found the village. Most of the scenes were to be shot in this village. When Lu Zhou was up, he had to always walk and sing, which was very difficult. However, Teacher Chen sorted out all the Sanjin folk songs and even went back to school to ask an old professor to teach Lu Zhou to familiarize himself with all his lyrics.

Lu Zhou entered from outside the village with an erhu in his hands. The cameras were pushed forward, and Xiao Yi's heart could not stop thumbing. Lu Zhou's voice was soft at first, and then it gradually became louder.

"No one's watching during the shift...... Sigh, bitter, alone, and helpless." Lu Zhou's voice was low and hoarse. He deliberately forced out a broken voice, and was sitting on a wooden stump outside the village.

Lu Zhou was showing the whites of his eyes. He wore special contact lenses, and at this time, he could not see anything. He shakingly began to touch the erhu.

Xiao Yi was sitting opposite him. The sound engineer pushed the mike over as Xiao Yi and the erhu musician that had been invited by the crew began to prepare. The musician started playing first, and following this action, Lu Zhou directed his white eyes to the sky, and the props team in the distance released a crow. The crow made a sound and flew towards the sky.

This scene was very comical when viewed on its own, but Xiao Yi hardly had the time to think about it. He watched Lu Zhou's fingering nervously. As soon as the musician stopped, he immediately picked up the tune.

In the middle a fault occurred, and this fault happened just when Lu Zhou's fingering stopped.

Director Chai did not shout cut, he just watched intently. Lu Zhou continued to play the erhu and opened his mouth. His lips were already cracked, and he was playing and singing simultaneously. A gust of wind blew,  causing leaves to fall all over the ground and also stirring the dust.

Director Chai finally said: "Start from the top again."

The clapper knocked the board. Lu Zhou walked back and forth as the sun emerged from behind the dark clouds. Xiao Yi tried to wear Lu Zhou's blind contact lenses, but it was very uncomfortable to insert directly into the eyes. The props team had also brushed some honey on Lu Zhou's feet, and in the stinky ditch behind the village, flies came over and buzzed around his feet.

One scene took all morning to be filmed. After lunch, the wind became stronger and stronger, and the tent cloth was blown up. Lu Zhou stood under a tree, and Xiao Yi could see that he was very tired. .

"This is good!" Director Chai said, "It feels right! Come, follow the feeling just now and do it all over again!"

The sounds of Lu Zhou's erhu emanated and fluttered far away in the wind. Two children suddenly ran out, and Lu Zhou's erhu sounds stopped.

"Scenes with kids are not easy to act." Director Guo said.

"You come in! Come!" Zheng Xiaocong said as he staggered with a drunken face created by makeup, "What is this thing?!"

Zheng Xiaocong stretched out his hand to take the erhu, but Lu Zhou did not speak. He spread his hand and opened his mouth slightly.

"You play." Zheng Xiaocong, acting as a hoodlum, said with a smile.

Since Lu Zhou and Li Changzheng's 《Sleek Rat and Flying Cat》 ended, Xiao Yi had rarely seen another role acting with Lu Zhou in the same scene, but this was a complementary role. Sure enough, Zheng Xiaocong won the international award for a reason. When he played the role, it felt completely different. 

Zheng Xiaocong was more outspoken, and his role went in a different direction from Lu Zhou's. He grinned slightly and motioned for Lu Zhou to continue playing the erhu.

As soon as Lu Zhou pressed the strings, the musician began to play again. Xiao Yi's level of playing was not high enough. He could only take his turn every time when signifying Lu Zhou's excitement and when there was a flaw in the playing.

This scene was shot from morning till night, and it was not finished until Zheng Xiaocong took Lu Zhou back to his home and provided him with food and lodging.

Next, there was a night scene. After dinner, the crew switched to an indoors set. It was set in the courtyard and was still very cold as it was at the end of February in Shanxi. Everyone was wearing down-filled garments and shivering from the cold. A heater was turned on outside and directed to blow into the set for two hours before Zheng Xiaocong and Lu Zhou began to sit on the bed and act out an eating scene. When the props team placed down steamed buns, Zheng Xiaocong began to ask Lu Zhou how many years he had learned erhu, and asked him to play a few more songs.

Thus, Lu Zhou ate the noodles that Zheng Xiaocong's wife served, and began to play erhu in the room.

Next came the female lead's expression.

If the first scene was just an ordinary torture, then this night scene would be the worst torture for everyone. The weather was at minus ten degrees, and everyone was waiting in a yard where water was dripping into ice for Lu Zhou to film. Various lights were removed from the wall, and the lighting assistant knelt on the ground in front of the bed and used his body to press against the reflector.

It was the first time Xiao Yi participated in the filming of such a scene. His hands were red from the cold, and he was shaking while playing the erhu. The cold winds blew across the courtyard in all directions. They finally ended at ten o'clock.

The next day, it was another repetition of Lu Zhou's first scene. It was the scene where he walked in from outside the village.

After three days of filming, Director Chai finally passed it. In the night scene, the female lead's expression while listening to Lu Zhou's erhu in the kitchen drove the entire crew crazy.



#Raw word count: 8001

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2 comments:

  1. If you translated xifu to daughter-in-law in this chapter, then it's probably a mistranslation. Based on the previous description of Genbao's family, they should be talking about his wife.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for letting me know! I had to read through the first part again to make sure all was right - the term xifu is so commonly used for daughter-in-law and it got translated that way ( ゚▽゚) /

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