April came to an end with a snap of the fingers.
Due to the extension of the statutory holiday during this year’s May Day Golden Week, the national tourism industry suddenly entered a full-load stage.
There are people everywhere you go.
Not to mention natural scenic spots, even man-made scenic spots, such as film and television cities such as Hengdian and Xiangshan, are also overcrowded.
Due to the large influx of tourists, many crews had to temporarily stop their filming to make way for the tourists. Otherwise, the crew would not be able to carry out many of the location scenes. When a star comes out and hundreds of people watch, it would be unbearable for anyone.
It's not just the crews in these big film and television cities that are affected by these tourists. Even small places like Yuan'an, which are not well-known, also received the first wave of tourists because of "The Hawthorn Tree".
As for the exact number of these tourists...it's hard to estimate.
But it is true that hotels of all sizes in the entire county are almost full. At first, Xu Xin didn't realize how serious this situation was.
But on May 1st, when he was preparing to film a scene in which Jingqiu helped the school renovate the playground during the summer vacation, and found that he couldn't disperse the usually cooperative crowd, he realized something was wrong.
There are more people than ever before.
Those police comrades struggled to maintain order.
Not only were there many people, there were also many foreign vehicles on the street that did not have the "E" license plate.
These people are holding cameras and guarding outside the school. When they see Lin Dongxin or Liu Yifei appear, they will yell and scream. The police comrades and the drama staff cooperate with each other and hold up the loudspeaker to ask everyone to "stop making noise". The request is as if it is in vain. .
Not a single scene was filmed all morning. From time to time someone would disturb me.
Either there was someone moving around inside the camera, or someone had broken into the school and was hiding in the classroom watching the filming scene.
All actors and crew members were exhausted mentally and physically.
The police comrades even came over with Xu Xin to discuss whether to increase police force to maintain order in the afternoon.
However, this request was rejected by him.
When the old man was on the crew, when the scene was being filmed in Yuan'an County, people in the county were also curious at the beginning and there were many onlookers.
Some people were discussing whether to close the road, but the old man rejected it directly:
"When filming a movie like this, don't just block roads and mountains. Who do you think you are? The things you film are for the people to see. Everyone should cooperate with each other. After the movie is finished, your reputation will be ruined. Why bother."
The old man felt that filming was nothing special. Although he felt nothing in his heart, he also felt that it was not necessary to increase the police presence or impose a martial law-like situation.
In the morning, he just felt that the tourists and the crew could cooperate with each other, so he started working normally.
But when he saw that there were more people and all kinds of unqualified people appeared, he just said, "Let's rest."
He waved his hand as one of the scenes failed to be filmed and said to Xue Yong:
"In the afternoon, someone will go check out the scenery over at Qinglong Village, especially the hawthorn tree. If it blooms... the crew will shoot over there tomorrow, so we can free up the scenes in Yuan'an first."
He will leave soon too. Golden Week ends on the 5th.
Starting from the 6th, he will go to the Magic City.
The World Expo will open on May 10th, and he will stay until the 11th to attend the celebration banquet before returning. So I wanted to catch up on the progress before leaving.
Although the progress of "Hawthorn Tree" is ideal, it is difficult to maintain the actor's condition. The sooner it can be ended while the actor is in good condition, the better.
But who knew that feedback would come from Xue Yong and Zhang Mo in the afternoon. "Director Xu, our people are back."
Xu Xin, who was busy among various materials, line drawings, and books scattered everywhere, said casually: "Well, how about it? Can it be taken? If it can be taken, first transport the equipment to the village chief."
Hearing this, Duan Heng, the stage manager who came with Xue Yong, shook his head directly:
"shoot
No, Director Xu. When we went there in the afternoon, cars could not enter the village. "
"....What do you mean? There are many people?"
Xu Xin was a little puzzled. Duan Heng sighed:
"Sigh...it's not a matter of the large number of people. On the road we entered the village, there was already a long queue of private cars. Those cars were parked in rows on the roadside. Then there were special people to collect fees .....When we went, someone came over...twenty-one. Later, I still said that I was from the crew, so I didn't pay the money."
Xu Xin's mouth twitched.
"What about inside the village? Are there many people?"
"There are not many people in the village, or there are basically no people at all. They are all empty." "....Where are the people?"
"There are men who specially guard the roadside to charge parking fees, and some who give directions, but most of them go to patrol the mountains. I found the village party secretary who stayed in the village and asked about it, and he said that he was afraid of tourists when they went to climb the mountains. An accident caused a mountain fire, and all the men in the village went to patrol the mountains.
Those women, grandmothers and aunts, all went to the nearby Hawthorn Garden. Although those hawthorn gardens have not yet produced hawthorns, Yuan'an had considered this when engaging in eco-tourism. Several nearby hawthorn gardens have farmhouse facilities...
Although it was a bit crude, everyone went to have a big banquet. I took a look when I passed by. There were cars inside and outside, and the seats were full of tourists. It looked like a flowing mat. And the fish ponds and other things are also open... It seems that the village is planning to take advantage of this Golden Week and our popularity to directly make a fortune. "
For a moment, Xu Xin didn't know what to say. On the contrary, it was Xue Yong who corrected himself and said to Duan Heng:
"It's not about making a fortune, this is Yuan'an's eco-tourism strategy. To make money from tourism, as long as the price is fair, it's not called making a fortune."
Yes, yes, you are right. Anyway, there were quite a lot of people, and when we went there, we saw a few people driving piles and erecting signs at the fork leading to Qinglong Village. When we passed there, the sign was not put up, so some villagers stopped our car. With the car windows down, they asked: Are we going to the set of "Hawthorn Tree Love"? Do you want to lead the way? ....When I came back, a big red sign had been erected on the side of the road: "Love in the Hawthorn Tree" - the filming location of directors Zhang Yimou and Xu Xin. A big arrow! It’s so conspicuous! "
When Duan Heng said this, Xu Xin understood.
If the crew can go filming at this time, the people in Qinglong Village will definitely welcome it. But the problem is...the conditions there may not be suitable for shooting.
Even Yuan'an is like this. If the news of their filming trip to Qinglong Village leaks out... no, people here will definitely know about it.
As soon as the news came out, tourists all went to Qinglong Village...that would be even worse.
"So... maybe we won't be able to shoot in the next few days."
He temporarily put down the work at hand and sat on the sofa with a helpless look. Talking to myself, I want to smoke.
As a result, the cigarette has become an empty box.
Seeing this, he opened the drawer directly, took three packets of Zhonghua, and threw one packet to each of Xue Yong and Duan Heng.
"Okay... Brother Yong, let's talk to everyone. The crew will take a break for these two days... Let everyone relax and relax. Objective conditions don't allow it, so we won't force it... ..But the weather forecast still needs to be managed, and we will review the next shooting process later.
During this period, the crew gathered some people, and while they were in Yuan'an, they went to Qinglong Village...especially Qinglong Village. We must work with the village chief to protect our filming location and not let it be destroyed by tourists. . Especially those important filming locations...you can find a few people in a while. "
Xue Yong nodded to express his understanding: "Okay."
"Director Xu..."
At this time, Duan Heng spoke again:
"There's one more thing...you have to make the decision." "What?"
"The village party secretary told me... that he wanted to borrow the old movie projection equipment that our crew used when filming the movie scene.
The young people in the village gave him advice and said that
Let’s hold a special show with a theme of nostalgic movies. Invite tourists to come and experience it, saying it costs fifty yuan a head..."
"Fifty??? That's the same price as a movie theater!" Before Xu Xin could speak, Xue Yong said dumbfounded:
"What are you doing? Are you really going to catch a few fat sheep and kill them for their wool? Did you agree?" Duan Heng quickly shook his head:
"That's definitely not the case. How can I dare if Director Xu doesn't nod?...But the village party secretary repeatedly told me that I must apply with Director Xu..."
"...It's okay. I can give you the equipment. But I'm afraid they won't understand." Xu Xin nodded:
"It's not easy for everyone to make some extra money. The best time of the year is this month of May. Agreed, Brother Yong, you can take care of this matter and put the equipment... Well. Then let's do this, They may not know how to do it, so they asked Guo Fan and others to go directly to the village to live until the end of the Golden Week. On one side, they will maintain the film equipment, and on the other side, they will make requests to the villagers to maintain our filming location."
Suddenly it occurred to him that there were so many "real-life" things that he didn't need to use in vain, so he stopped pretending. Instant showdown, transformed into a black-hearted capitalist:
"It's free to rent the equipment. But they have to coordinate with the county for the film. We can show them "Visitors on the Iceberg" today. But that's what I ask for. They also have to send people and completely obey Guo Fan and the others. , protect our shooting location. You call us now to communicate. If it works, let them set off now and let the village chief arrange food and accommodation."
Xue Yong responded: "Okay, Director Xu."
When he heard Xue Yong's promise, he suddenly thought of something, turned around and said to Zhang Mo:
"Since this Golden Week is so lively, we have to make the leaders of Qinglong Village and Yuan'an County look good. We will definitely not be able to film a serious scene. You can make arrangements with Yuan'an Contact the people nearby. The crew can cooperate with them to appear in some places they need in the past two days.
Note that you are not cooperating with them to participate in activities. Instead, I went to some places to pretend to film and go through the motions. Attracting some tourists is like promoting them. But it's limited to one game a day, and you can ask a few questions about the news in Yuan'an's own county. Other news interviews will not be accepted.
As for the specific plan, let them think about it themselves. We only film so that tourists can watch and help them promote the show. But this scale...Sister Wei, you can decide it yourself. "
Zhang Mo also nodded, wrote down his instructions, and added, "Will you also explain the situation to the actors?"
"Well, let's talk. Just tell them to go through the motions and just cooperate. Let's arrange it like this for the next few days. Help Yuanan promote and make his name known. Everyone will work hard for a few days and wait until the Golden Week is over. , I happen to be going to the Expo...""
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
His phone suddenly rang.
Glancing at the caller, he waved his hand and said, "We'll have another holiday then."
The two assistant directors nodded at the same time: "I understand."
"Well, let's all get busy." The three of them exited the room together.
Xu Xin looked at the caller and answered the call directly: "Hello."
"Xu...Xu Director."
On the phone, Nazha's uneasy voice rang. "Well, what's wrong?"
"Are you and Sister Mi... coming back this May Day?" "Not going back. What? Is something wrong?"
Seeing Xu Xin's tone as if nothing had happened, Nazha mustered up the courage to say:
"It's just...my mother...and sister...our family all want to thank you in person. My sister just took a flight to Northern Xinjiang yesterday and brought a lot of specialties. It's us A little thought..."
"Need not."
Looking down at a piece of "Tongue Tip" information in his hand, Xu Xin said:
"How is your father doing?"
"I'll probably be able to leave the ICU tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and be transferred to a general ward. And... I'm also queuing up now. The doctor said it's best to
If it's quick, I can have the surgery next month. But we must be prepared for the risk of rejection..."
On the day he returned from the magical capital, Nazha and his family had arrived in Yanjing on the brothers' private plane and moved into Xiehe.
As a first-class hospital in the country, Union Medical College is indeed short of hospital beds. But all this was resolved after Zhang Wu made a phone call.
It's not even a favor. Before the meeting, Xu Xin said:
"Director Zhang, do you know the doctors at Xiehe? I have an ICU patient here who wants to go there for a heart surgery." Zhang Wu nodded:
"Okay, I'll make a call, and you ask them to prepare the case and patient information." It's that simple.
However, after being admitted to Xiehe Hospital, which had no transfer procedures at all, and completing the rescue in Northern Xinjiang, the life of Nazha's father was saved.
The next step is easy. Stand in line, waiting for a donor. Prepare for surgery.
During this period, the little girl's father was unable to leave the hospital. Xu Xin has done everything he should.
As for the rejection reaction...it can only be said that we have to do our best and obey fate. So, he said:
"Okay, isn't the situation getting better? Tell your family that you don't have to worry anymore." "...Well. Director Xu...this kindness...I will repay you like a horse." !" "Ha, no need, it's not the old society...Okay, is there anything else?"
"No...Huh? No, Director Xu, then...when will you come back, I will give the things to you in person. My mother said we must express our feelings in person. And this money To repay the money, we will also give you an IOU..."
"There's really no need. Just keep those things for your father to eat. As for the money..." He thought about it and felt that he really needed to make an IOU.
Not that he cared about the money. Ding is Ding Mao is Mao.
When he chose to help her save her father, he actually had no intention of asking for the money. But if you don't write an IOU, sometimes it's impossible to separate them clearly. So he said:
"On the 8th, your sister Mi is going back to attend the Yanjing College Student Film Festival on the 8th. You should contact her directly... I'll keep this IOU. But you must also tell it to people at home. Don't have any Too much pressure..."
Having said this, he paused and his tone softened:
"Just think of it as giving yourself a fighting spirit. Don't you want to get ahead? The college entrance examination is only a few days away. Work hard these two months and get into Beijing Film Academy. After graduation, you can become an outstanding actor and earn your own money. Pay me back the money you got. Tell your family that you owe this money alone, and you will use your own salary to pay it back in the future. As for other demolition of houses, land sales, loans, etc., I will not accept it. Understand me What do you mean?"
In this way, he conveyed his best wishes for this girl and his wish that she could seriously become a good actress into the girl's heart.
moment.
Holding the phone, under the gaze of her mother and sister, the tears in the girl's eyes could no longer be held back. "Woo..."
Xu Xin, who couldn't bear to hear the girl wiping away her tears, said in the low cry: "Okay, let's just say this, take good care of your father, come on."
Toot. The phone hangs up. "Wow!!!!"
The moment she hung up the phone, she sat on the bed in a small family hotel next to the hospital, curled up her legs, buried her face deeply in her knees, and released the fear and pressure that had been lingering in her heart for many days.
"..."
"..."
And next to her, whether it's her sister or her mother.
No one came to comfort me. Because they are crying too.
Crying and praying to the gods and Buddhas in the sky.
I pray that this beam of kindness will shine down in the darkness of despair and save their little family like the Holy Spirit...
a peaceful life.
