Chapter 211

Chapter 211

Lao Tan liked to start filming from the very beginning, which helped the actors cultivate their emotions, making the movie's plot flow more coherently, smoothly, and naturally, without leaving any awkward or forced moments.

Therefore, they took a boat to Shanghai and then a train to the Land of Abundance.

Upon arrival, they went through thorough inspections.

Primarily because they were carrying a large number of props, some of which were various old-style weapons, which naturally attracted attention.

Fortunately, Lao Tan was experienced and well-prepared, with all the necessary documents. The props were replicas, without bullets, and they planned to buy some necessary weapons locally for use.

With the company's approval, the producer brought sufficient foreign currency and exchanged a substantial amount of new currency upon arrival.

Bundled up in cotton-padded clothes on the train, Wang Wuzhu and the others were both excited and nervous, unable to eat or sleep well, afraid it was all a dream. Fu Yulin joined them for meals and said, "We're already on the way, how could this be a dream? I heard we'll be on the train for many days. You two seniors should eat and sleep well and face our local family in the best possible mental state."

Hearing him speak the local dialect fluently, Wang Wuzhu asked, "Lin Wa Zi, are you also from the Land of Abundance?"

"My grandfather was, and my uncles and cousins all rest with him on the battlefield," Fu Yulin no longer concealed his background under Lu Mingzhu's protection. "My grandfather was Fu Qing, have you heard of him?"

The veterans were filled with reverence: "General Fu!"

Lao Tan and the nearby actors were so shocked they almost dropped their jaws, exclaiming, "Fu Yulin, was your grandfather actually a great general?"

"A general, in the army," Fu Yulin once thought his father was boasting, but Lu Mingzhu's appearance confirmed the truth.

One of the trainees suddenly realized, "No wonder Miss Lu only spoke to you before seeing us off. What is your relationship with her? You call her aunt, but isn't her last name Lu?"

Fu Yulin smiled, "She's my grandfather's goddaughter, so by seniority, I should call her aunt."

The other actors were extremely enthusiastic, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

At the same time, they admired his choice to stay with the company and live with them after recognizing Lu Mingzhu.

Someone asked, "I heard Miss Lu lives on the hilltop, in a luxurious mansion with many servants and bodyguards. Why don't you go back and live with her? You could be a Young Master, living comfortably, why bother with our hard work, getting up before five every morning, sleeping late at night, exhausting ourselves."

Fu Yulin laughed, "I can't bear to leave you all, we're good brothers! My aunt once wanted me to live with her, but I refused. You shouldn't distance yourselves from me because of this."

"Never!" They were eager to get closer.

Being close to Fu Yulin indirectly connected them to Lu Mingzhu, which was beneficial.

It was said that without some form of protection, male and female actors would be targeted by underworld figures to make movies for them, producing a Yue opera movie every seven days with very low pay.

The underworld was a headache for the authorities, and such situations would only worsen, not stop.

After chatting for a while, the group felt more relaxed.

The veterans felt closer to Fu Yulin because of his identity and communicated with him in dialect, "You're so young, haven't lived in our hometown, right? Our place is the Land of Abundance, with treacherous terrain, fertile land, and abundant grain. Back then, we would rather tighten our belts to provide grain to the front lines."

Fu Yulin nodded, "I know, it's mentioned in the script of 'Chuan Expedition'."

The novel described it in more detail.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't see the serial for the next few months.

Fu Qing died early, and Lu Mingzhu didn't know much about him, let alone Fu Yulin, so he asked the veterans about his life and indeed gained a lot of information.

Wang Wuzhu said, "General Fu Yulin was born in Fujia Village. He was fearless and rose to become a formidable warlord. Because he never harmed innocent civilians, Fujia Village was proud of him. He also protected many local families. Fujia Village and our village are separated by a mountain. Back then, when the draft was announced, ten young men from Fujia Village went, and likely few of them survived."

At this point, his expression turned sorrowful. "I had four brothers, and they met the same fate."

Lao Tan suddenly interjected, "Isn’t there a conscription scene we’re supposed to film? Why not film it in your village and Fujia Village?"

Whether it would make it into the final cut or not, they could film it first.

Wang Wuzhu was delighted. "Great! I can show you what conscription was like back then. Since your team is small, our local folks can pitch in as extras."

As they chatted, time seemed to fly by.

Thanks to the company’s ample funding, they were all traveling in sleeper berths—eating, sleeping, talking, and before they knew it, the train arrived at the station.

However, there was still a long journey ahead to reach Wang Wuzhu’s village and Fujia Village.

Lao Tan suggested they rest at an inn for the night. The next day, they would travel from the prefectural city to the county seat, rest another night, and then hire carts or mule carts to transport their equipment, luggage, and props to Wang Wuzhu’s village.

It was a mountain village with rough, uneven roads, but fortunately, the journey was smooth.

They were told the roads had been built to transport grain.

From afar, they could see smoke curling up from the village chimneys. Wang Wuzhu jumped off the cart and sprinted ahead, his steps slowing as he neared the village entrance, a sense of dread creeping in.

Fu Yulin, swift on his feet, caught up with him.

He gave Wang Wuzhu a gentle push on the shoulder. "Uncle Wang, haven’t you always dreamed of coming home? You’re here now."

An elderly woman in a black cross-collared coat sat on a large rock at the village entrance, gazing into the distance. Seeing a group of people approaching, she tapped a little boy playing with stones at her feet with her cane. "Gouwa, run back and tell Third Great-Grandpa that many people are coming, and we don’t know who they are."

The boy jumped up and dashed into the village.

Wang Wuzhu cautiously approached the old woman, studying her carefully before suddenly dropping to his knees. "Grandma!"

The old woman stared at his face. "Which child are you?"

"I’m Wuzhu! Wuzhu!" Wang Wuzhu crawled to her on his knees, hugging her legs. "The youngest son of the third branch of the family. Don’t you remember? I enlisted with my four brothers. I didn’t die. I’m back!"

"Wuzhu?" The old woman held his head, examining his face closely.

Wang Wuzhu tilted his face up, letting her look and touch him. He pointed to his left ear. "Look, my ear still has that notch! You said it’s bad luck to be too perfect. I’m the flawed one who made it back alive."

The old woman hugged him and sobbed. "Wuzhu, Wuzhu!"

As the grandmother and grandson sobbed in each other’s embrace, the little boy had already brought a group of people, all carrying hoes and sickles, looking as if they were ready for a fight.

Seeing the scene before them, they paused in confusion.

Fu Yulin stepped forward to explain. "We’re here to film a movie and also to bring Uncle Wang Wuzhu home."

The village head was stunned. "What did you say? My Wuzhu?"

"It’s Wuzhu! It’s Wuzhu!" An old woman immediately ran out from the crowd, tripping and falling but quickly getting up and rushing toward Wang Wuzhu and the old woman. She turned Wang Wuzhu’s face for everyone to see. "Look, it’s Wuzhu. Wuzhu’s back! Wuzhu’s back! My youngest son, you’ve come home!"

At this, everyone gathered around.

A middle-aged man with one hand and one leg missing lifted Wang Wuzhu with his single arm, spinning him around and laughing heartily. "Wuzhu, whole and unharmed! No missing arms or legs!"

Wang Wuzhu, now the center of attention, called out, "Second Brother."

He’s my cousin.

He was also one of the brave soldiers from the Chuan Expedition, who returned home alive after being disabled.

Four brothers in our father’s generation, with eighteen sons from their families, all enlisted.

The second brother said, "Your four brothers are all on the list of sacrifices. Everyone thought you were also in great danger, probably not counted on the list. Who would’ve thought you’d actually come back. It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back alive! Counting you, only nine of the boys from our village who left have come back alive."

Some were happy for them, while others, thinking of their own children who had died, silently shed tears.

The village chief kept his cool and quickly invited Lao Tan and the others inside.

The houses were low and simple, with nine out of ten doors pasted with white paper, some already weathered away, and the last one without red paper couplets, leaving no trace of New Year’s cheer.

The village chief’s house was a bit better—a brick-tiled house with a small courtyard.

Sitting in the main hall, Wang Wuzhu introduced the crew of 'Chuan Expedition' and the veterans who’d returned with him. "They’re also sons of our Tianfu region, tagging along with the film crew to shoot a movie and asking the boss to take us home. Their homes are farther than mine, and they plan to return after the movie is finished."

That was the veterans’ plan.

Unlike Wang Wuzhu, who came knocking, they were paid, so of course they had to do their job well.

Upon hearing this, the village chief said, "Which city, county, or village? I’ll have someone send word to your families to let them know you’re back. It’s not easy to make it back alive! How did you all return?"

Wang Wuzhu gritted his teeth and did not hide the truth: "We were all forced to Xiangjiang; those who refused were shot—not just one or two. Once there, we had nowhere to go. Our weapons were confiscated, and we wandered the streets, sleeping by the roadside when we got tired. Later, things got out of hand, people were hurt, and the Xiangjiang authorities sent us to refugee camps, where we lived in shacks and did hard labor. Jobs were scarce, and only a few refugees got any relief. We met good people—Miss Lu Mingzhu from the film company—who had the crew bring us home."

He was deeply grateful to his seventh uncle, who’d warned him, though he feared he’d never see him again.

"Miss Lu? The same Miss Lu who built a school in our village?" The village chief reacted quickly. "Our village and the neighboring one both got primary schools, funded by Miss Lu Mingzhu and her nephew Lu Shen from Xiangjiang’s Mingzhu Investment Company. They even built a middle school in town, waiving tuition and textbook fees and giving grain to girls!"

Wang Wuzhu knew Lu Mingzhu but not Lu Shen. "I didn’t know; I lived in a refugee camp and wasn’t familiar with the wealthy areas."

Lao Tan said, "That’s her. Miss Lu’s nephew is Lu Shen, also known as Lu Pingan. The two run a company together, Mingzhu Investment Company. I didn’t expect them to build schools here."

They gained a new understanding of the kindness of Lu Mingzhu and Lu Pingan.

Wang Wuzhu’s mother kept chanting, "Thank you, Miss Lu, thank you! She’s truly a good person!"

Since her youngest son was tightly held by his grandmother, Wang’s mother couldn’t pull him, so she called her eldest and second daughters-in-law, "Come on, let’s go kill chickens and geese, and properly entertain these comrades who brought Wuzhu back!"

Although their own children had sacrificed, seeing Wang Wuzhu return made the whole village very happy.

Over a hundred households, men, women, old, and young, all came to help.

Among those who couldn’t go to war back then, the women had aged, and the children had grown up, fetching water and working with swift movements, like flowing clouds and water, making Wang Wuzhu cry again.

Some households didn’t wait for the village chief to speak, directly tidying up their empty houses for the crew members to stay.

All were very enthusiastic and sincere.

No one mentioned the cost of food and accommodation.

Lao Tan secretly decided to leave them a sum of money after filming the relevant scenes, and after leaving, to purchase a batch of daily necessities or stationery and textbooks to send to the village, just like Lu Mingzhu and Lu Shen.

At this time, Miss Lu, unaware that the school had been completed and was in use, was sitting in a luxurious house, bent over writing her fourth martial arts novel, and when tired, she read letters and opened gifts.

The novel 'Chuan Expedition' was more than halfway through serialization, with fierce battles and countless casualties, several units having been completely wiped out in the fighting. The sales of 'Ming Pao Daily' had risen to just over 150,000 copies, and many readers were demanding reprints of previous newspapers because they wanted to read the earlier chapters, delighting the staff of the newspaper office.

Just the letters and gifts sent to Zhi Wei by readers require three staff members to collect and organize daily.

They initially planned to forward them, but the volume was overwhelming. Editor-in-Chief Chen, aware that Zhi Wei was Lu Mingzhu, decided to use his brand-new car, bought for 8,800 Hong Kong dollars, to deliver the items to her.

A carload is delivered every single day without fail.

Shang Guanhong and Charlie organize a team to handle the sorting, so Lu Mingzhu doesn’t need to bother. However, she has to read the letters herself, which is impossible to finish since she still needs to continue writing. She’s made it a rule to read letters for two hours daily—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—as a way to unwind.

She only responds to letters when absolutely necessary—it’s just too overwhelming.

There are also tons of gifts—all kinds of odd and varied items, even money from some readers.

One anonymous reader first sent her a fountain pen, the Four Treasures of the Study, and £1,000. The second time, they sent several pieces of fabric, all of high quality.

Unfortunately, they are only suitable for making men's clothing.

They must’ve thought she was a man.

Lu Mingzhu was both amused and frustrated when she received the third package from this reader.

She refers to this reader as "her" because, based on the delicate handwriting and the faint fragrance on the three letters, Lu Mingzhu believes she must be a female reader.

In the third letter, this female reader mentioned that her son had given her many good things, and she decided to share some with Mr. Zhi Wei to help him nourish his body.

When Lu’s father walked in, he saw the old lady had used her frail health as an excuse to have him buy her some tonics, which were piled on the coffee table, making up about a third of the total.