1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 600: Am I also experiencing life?

Feng Xiaogang fell silent for a moment.

He could see Lü Liping's hands covering his eyes; they were red and swollen, covered with cracks from being soaked in dish soap and burn scars.

This is even more tragic than what was portrayed in "Old Well"!

In "Old Well", Lü Liping plays Xifeng, a young widow. Zhang Yimou "marries into" her family. Although her fate is tragic, she doesn't suffer much hardship overall. She just looks incredibly rustic.

But what Lü Liping experienced in New York was truly inhuman treatment.

This caused a great sense of sorrow to well up in Feng Xiaogang's heart.

He suddenly felt that he and Lü Liping were like two small boats lost on a raging sea, being battered by the waves of fate, struggling for the most humble survival in this legendary land of gold.

Alas, how much untold bitterness and despair lies hidden beneath the dazzling lights of New York?

After a moment of reflection, Feng Xiaogang realized he had gotten too deeply involved!
Lu Liping is indeed trapped in New York.

He is different!
He's here to experience life!

The job I found at the restaurant was a trial period, and I didn't get paid for those three days.

The job is supposed to be cleaning toilets, but actually we do all sorts of things.

Like Lü Liping, Feng Xiaogang's main duties in the kitchen included washing dishes, cleaning the stove, cleaning the toilet, and scrubbing the floor.
As for wages, Lü Liping received 300 yuan a month, while Feng Xiaogang received nothing; he only needed food and lodging.

As for where they lived, it was still Lu Liping's warehouse.

Lü Liping was also helpless.

She was perfectly comfortable living in this room by herself, but then Feng Xiaogang, a man, moved in.

But what suggestions could she possibly offer?

The only thing that comforted Lü Liping was that with Feng Xiaogang around, she probably wouldn't have to worry about the fat boss barging in while she was sleeping.

This made Lü Liping feel that having a colleague like Feng Xiaogang wasn't so bad after all.

On his first day at the restaurant, Feng Xiaogang was asked to chop onions.

He was quite happy when he heard this, thinking that the job was not difficult and much more respectable than cleaning toilets. However, he only realized the difficulties after working for a while.

Chopping onions is no job for a human being!
The person who assigned him the tasks explained it simply and easily, telling him that this was a kitchen knife, this was an onion, and he needed to slice two baskets and dice four baskets.

Hmm, American onions, have you ever tried them?

That smell is several times stronger than Chinese onions!
Feng Xiao had just made a few cuts when tears started streaming down her face – no doubt about it! Tears and snot were flowing incessantly, like someone had detonated a tear gas canister.

Diced? Sliced?
I couldn't care less about anything else.

It's already good enough that it can be cut open!
Lu Liping couldn't stand it anymore and came over to "instruct" him, "If the boss sees you cutting like that, he'll definitely fire you! You have to tilt your head and turn it to the side when you cut, understand?"

Feng Xiaogang hadn't expected that Lü Liping would actually gain experience from this. He followed Lü Liping's instructions and the results were indeed good. Just as he was feeling smug, he heard his boss cursing behind him.

"Was it cut or bitten?"

Feng Xiaogang turned around and saw the fat boss picking through the scallions he had just chopped.

The criticism wasn't unjustified; those onions came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, making them quite unsightly.

"I spend so much money on your food and lodging every month, and this is what you get?" the boss muttered, his face grim. "All the newcomers are so unruly, especially those from China!"

"You motherfucker"

Feng Xiaogang was very unhappy to be criticized like that to his face, but he had no choice but to endure it for the time being, thinking that he still had to make a living from this job.

"Let me do it."

Lu Liping came over, took the cleaver from his hand, and demonstrated for him. Her fingers flew across the cutting board, and the onions that were unruly in Feng Xiaogang's hands became obedient in hers. The onions she cut were much more even than those Feng Xiaogang had cut.

"listen."

The portly boss glanced at his watch. "It's 10:40 now. All these onions need to be chopped by 11:30 for lunch, or you're fired."

Feng Xiaogang watched him leave, then picked up the kitchen knife again.

Much better, much better this time.
Soon, lunchtime arrived, and the restaurant was bustling like a battlefield.

The waiters ran quickly between the kitchen and the dining area, announcing the names of the dishes:

"A bowl of pork with osmanthus and white rice."

"Two egg custard greens, no MSG!"

"Yangzhou fried rice, use less eggs."

"You!" the boss yelled, peering into the kitchen. "Hurry up, you bunch of useless idiots! There are so many customers, you need to be quick!"

"."

Feng Xiaogang had no time for anything else; he was washing the dishes with great care, even more so than he would wash his own.

The green detergent made his hands itchy, while the white bleach made his eyes water.

But I couldn't care less about any of that; all I wanted was to wash the plates and bowls clean so that the boss would have a smile on his face.

But the more he washed, the more dishes there were, and he couldn't keep up. Soon, two mountains of dishes piled up next to Feng Xiaogang.

The waiters complained that there weren't enough cups, plates, or bowls.
Lu Liping quickly came over, pushed Feng Xiaogang aside, rolled up his sleeves, and started washing himself without saying a word.

Feng Xiaogang stood aside, at a loss, thinking to himself that he was not far from being fired.

"Go wash! What are you still doing here!"

Lu Liping called out to him while wiping his hands.

Feng Xiaogang suddenly realized he still had to work there, and he immediately perked up.

Wash it! Wash it! Let's do it!
Sweat dripped from his head, and his shirt was soaked through in no time.

Wash, wash, wash! I'll give it my all! I'll give it my all!

No matter what, we can't let them kick us out! We'll fight for it!

The battle for lunch finally came to an end at 2:30 p.m., when the restaurant staff gathered around a round table to eat.

Feng Xiaogang was so tired that he had no appetite. He sat there, drinking soup, and muttered to himself that he had sacrificed too much for art.

"You did a pretty good job." The fat boss rarely showed a kind expression.

Feng Xiaogang was actually filled with gratitude.

He cursed inwardly.

Why is it so easy for them to be subservient once they come to America?

Tui!

This ruthless capitalist society!
As the meal progressed, the restaurant staff started chatting. Xiao Li asked Feng Xiaogang, "Why was that woman so kind to help you? If anyone else had worked like you did today, they would have been fired long ago."

The chef exhaled a puff of smoke, then said in a very experienced tone, "I think this woman has taken a fancy to Mr. Feng."

The person who was cooking the wok spoke more directly:

"Of course, I could tell at a glance. This woman's ass is so flirtatious, even her breasts seem to be flirting. I've secretly tried to seduce her several times. Mr. Feng, your luck has come. You're getting freebies, it's really exhilarating!"

"Could you tell us about it after you're done playing?"

"I'm a married man," Feng Xiaogang quickly retorted.

"So what?" The chef chuckled. "In America, nobody cares about these things, and she won't care either."

"correct."

The person in the wok said, "Anyway, everyone's just playing around, it's not real. Besides, who cares if it's real or fake? Playing around is what matters. Look how alluring that woman's breasts are."

"."

At night, Feng Xiaogang and Lü Liping lay in the warehouse.

"Why did you come to America?" Lü Liping asked Feng Xiaogang. "Didn't you work at Haima?"

"I"

After pondering for a moment, Feng Xiaogang slowly uttered four words: "Experience life."

"Experience life?"

Lu Liping thought he was joking, "Have you noticed that this place is different from what others have said? This place is indeed quite attractive. Back in China, I always wondered whether the sun in America was round or square, but now that I'm here, I find that it is round."

"I'm really here to experience life."

Feng Xiaogang began, "Our boss is planning to film a TV series about people living in America, and he wants me to come here to experience life and write a script for him to take back."

“Writing a script? Experiencing life?” Lu Liping glanced at Feng Xiaogang and felt that he didn’t seem to be joking with him.

This might seem crazy or like performance art to people in other industries, but it's actually quite common and effective in filming movies and TV shows.

Lu Liping recalled that when he worked with Wu Tianming on "Old Well," this was how Wu Tianming trained the actors.

Zhang Yimou, for example, actually did manual labor and lived among the local farmers.

When the camera was turned on, he no longer looked like a city dweller; he looked exactly like a local farmer.

After all, Zhang Yimou's status was very low at the time, so he was very obedient and would do anything.

It was this film that made Zhang Yimou an overnight sensation and also revealed the young man's inner potential: he could not only take photos, but also act, and perform at a first-class level!

So who did Wu Tianming learn this trick from?
His mentor was Cui Wei.

He was a student of Cui Wei, one of the four great directors of the Beijing Film Studio.

They treated their mentor with utmost respect and served him with complete obedience.

Some people have said that the first thing Wu Tianming did every morning was to empty his mentor's chamber pot.

When Cui Wei was filming "Little Soldier Zhang Ga," he did the same thing: he first had the young actors, including Anjisi, live and work with the local children.

After more than 20 days, when the young actors had fully integrated with the local children, they were ready to start filming.

Wu Tianming also learned this trick from him.

As for other people in the film and television industry, they also have this habit. Actors also need to think about this before filming, to experience life, to get close to the character, and to figure out the character's inner psychology.

Therefore, as soon as Feng Xiaogang said it, Lü Liping believed it completely.

"I can see you've suffered quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Sigh, don't even mention it," Feng Xiaogang said helplessly.

"Aren't they afraid something will happen to you?" Lu Liping inquired. "They must have left you a backup plan, right?"

"How can I experience the game if I leave myself a backup plan?"

Feng Xiaogang gave a bitter smile. "At first, I thought they had a backup plan. They couldn't really treat me like this, could they? But then I went hungry and cold, and several times I felt like I was going to die here, but no one showed up. I think they've really gone all out. Either let me go back alive so I can make a movie called 'A Beijing Native in New York,' or I'll just die in America."

"My God, they're really ruthless." Lu Liping was taken aback. At the same time, a thought began to creep into her mind. "Do you think it's possible that Jiang Xian treated me like this so that I could experience life?"

"You're here to experience life?" Feng Xiaogang was stunned.

"correct."

The more Lü Liping thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "I didn't know Jiang Xian at all. He was the one who brought me to America. That's no simple matter; he must have gone to great lengths. But after bringing me to America, he stopped caring about me. Why is that? I've never understood it. I have no grudge or resentment towards him. Why would he torment me like this? Even if he wanted to torment me, there would be other ways. Why send me to America?"

"Oh, you know what I mean."

After listening to her words and considering it, Feng Xiaogang felt that there was indeed something strange about Lü Liping's matter.

"Is this also to train you?"

"I have no idea."

"correct."

Feng Xiaogang slapped his forehead, his expression becoming quite interesting. "I'm planning to film a movie about people living in America. I've read the novel; it's about a couple who go to America, maybe..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lü Liping had already stood up from the bed, looking at him with shining eyes, as if she had won the lottery, one hand covering her mouth:
"So that I could get this role?!"

"yes."

Feng Xiaogang felt that she was a bit too close, which made him feel embarrassed. "I think it should be like this. Think about it, which actress in China can portray this state? No one has suffered as much as you have in the United States!"

The more he talked, the more likely it seemed to be true.

The more Lü Liping listened, the more he felt that things might really be as Feng Xiaogang had described.

Then, feeling that she had been wronged too much and bullied too much, she broke down in tears and squatted on the ground.

"Ouch, you."

Feng Xiaogang wanted to go and comfort him, but before he could say anything, Lü Liping pounced on him passionately and cut him off with a fervent kiss.

He felt his neck being tightly gripped by Lü Liping's arms.

The two embraced and fell to the ground.

This fire, in just a moment, ignited every nerve in Feng Xiaogang's body.

In an instant, it was engulfed in flames, and every cell was quickly ignited by the fire.
Three minutes later.

Lu Liping pulled out a few cigarettes from under the bed, offered one to Feng Xiaogang, and said under the other's curious gaze:

"He left with me."

"."

Feng Xiaogang felt a mix of emotions after hearing this.

Jiang Xian is really a menace.

You'd think that as a man experiencing life, he could at least preserve his innocence, but he failed.

Sigh, that girl, Lü Liping, is just a young girl. Leaving her in America is no different from sending her to the wolf's den.

Two wisps of smoke rose slowly, ascending towards the ceiling.

“I know you’re married. You don’t need to feel guilty. I won’t tell anyone,” Lü Liping said.

At that moment, she naturally had her own thoughts.

It's not a free gift!

Sleeping isn't a waste of time!
Feng Xiaogang's ability to experience life here—what do you call that? There's an old Chinese saying: "Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are capable."
That means she's making an investment in advance.

Lü Liping thought he was quite smart.

Even if her experiences in the United States were not arranged by Jiang Xian.

Then Feng Xiaogang should be able to help her out in the future.
Right?
(End of this chapter)