1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

In the office in the west hall of Haizi, sunlight streamed through the old-fashioned wooden lattice windows, slanting across the desk covered with a dark green tablecloth.

The old leader, with a red and blue pencil between his fingers, was carefully reading the document submitted by the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe.

When his gaze fell on the eight characters "On the banks of the Xiang River, the Ying trees are verdant," his withered fingers suddenly paused, then he tapped the page lightly, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

He pushed the documents onto the center of the table, raised his hand and pressed the doorbell on the corner of the table, his voice deep and powerful: "Call Old Wu from the Cultural Bureau and Old Shi from the General Political Department."

The secretary left as instructed, and within ten minutes, Mr. Wu and Mr. Shi entered the office one after the other.

The two walked slowly, and when they saw the unusual solemnity on their old leader's face and glanced at the sheet music spread out on the table, they both felt a chill.

There haven't been any urgent cultural or artistic tasks lately, so the old leader suddenly calling them out is most likely related to this piece of paper.

"Sit down." The old leader gestured to the wicker chair opposite him, picked up a red and blue pencil, and pointed to the author's name on the sheet music. "Cheng Xuemin, which of you gave him this assignment?"

Old Wu's heart skipped a beat, his eyes quickly scanned the lyrics, and he instantly realized what was going on.

This is the song that Cheng Xuemin wrote for the General Political Department's Song and Dance Troupe before he left!

He quickly stood up, his tone somewhat bewildered: "Old leader, our cultural department didn't assign any tasks to Xuemin."

Old Shi nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed: "Indeed, no task was assigned. Cheng Xuemin is too audacious; how could he dare to write such a detailed account of this subject matter?"

The old leader didn't say anything, but simply handed the sheet music to the two of them, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Another leader who had been silent all along suddenly burst out laughing and patted the edge of the table: "Old Wu, Old Shi, you two still haven't figured out the tricks of the trade."

"That Cheng Xuemin is like a mind reader!"

He leaned forward slightly, his voice full of excitement: "You know what? We've been racking our brains lately, trying to find a suitable excuse to appease everyone's emotions."

Unexpectedly, Cheng Xuemin sent this song! This isn't just any ordinary commemorative song; it's a timely help!

Old Wu and Old Shi exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

They only considered the sensitivity of the lyrics, but did not expect that their former leader had this intention.

"Have you heard this song's melody before?" the old leader asked.

Old Wu shook his head: "Not yet, it was just submitted for approval, and we haven't had time to arrange rehearsals yet."

"Then hurry up and rehearse it!" The old leader put down his pencil, his tone resolute. "Old Shi, go back and tell the General Political Department to have the art troupe organize people immediately to rehearse this song. I want to hear the effect myself."

If they sing well, we'll immediately arrange a military-wide performance so that all units can learn from them!

Mr. Shi stood there, stunned, for a long time before he came to his senses.

I thought I was going to get criticized, but I didn't expect this result.

He quickly stood up at attention: "Yes! I'll arrange it right away!"

Old Wu breathed a sigh of relief, secretly marveling: "That kid Cheng Xuemin is incredibly lucky! This is a stroke of pure luck, hitting the nail on the head!"
The two walked out of the west hall. Old Shi walked hurriedly, taking out a pen from his pocket as he went and quickly scribbling down orders in his notebook, muttering to himself, "That Cheng Xuemin, he's a real monster..."

Old Wu chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Stop muttering and hurry back to relay the orders. If this song can really be promoted throughout the army, Cheng Xuemin will have made another great contribution."

Old Shi nodded, flagged down a military jeep, and headed straight for the General Political Department compound.

As soon as the car came to a stop, he rushed into the cultural troupe's office building. Director Wang was sitting in his office, fretting over the sheet music for "The Sun and Moon Shine Together," muttering to himself, "Will these lyrics even pass...?"

"Commander Wang!" Old Shi pushed open the door and entered, his voice tinged with urgency.

Commander Wang was startled and nearly dropped the sheet music in his hand. Looking up and seeing it was Elder Shi, he quickly stood up.

"Old Commander, what brings you here? Is it...is there some approval from above?"

He was filled with anxiety and prepared himself for criticism.

After relaying his old leader's orders in detail, Old Shi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Wang, hurry up and organize the rehearsals. I'll come to hear the results in three days. The old leader is waiting too!"

Commander Wang stood there, his eyes wide open, the sheet music in his hand crumpled into a ball, unable to utter a word for a long time.

He was just worried that the song would cause trouble, how did it suddenly become a key piece to be performed at the military-wide gala?

This plot twist is just too outrageous!

"Old Shi...you...you're not mistaken, are you?" Commander Wang swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. "Old leader...you really want us to rehearse, and even have a full-army performance?"

"Would I lie to you?" Old Shi glared at him. "This was personally instructed by the old leader. Get it done right away! If we delay, neither of us can afford the consequences!"

"Yes! Yes! I'll take care of it right away!" Commander Wang snapped out of his daze, grabbed the phone on the table, his fingers trembling. "Get me the choir! Have everyone assemble in the rehearsal hall immediately! It's an emergency!"

After hanging up the phone, Commander Wang looked at the three characters "Cheng Xuemin" on the sheet music, couldn't help but slap his thigh, and muttered to himself:

"This kid... he's a prodigy! He manages to hit the bullseye so accurately by sheer luck, his luck is just too good!"

The more he thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed. He had previously thought Cheng Xuemin was incredibly bold.

Now I understand, this kid has completely figured out what the higher-ups are thinking, he's practically a god!

In the rehearsal hall, the choir members had just gathered, each with a puzzled look on their face.

Why is there an emergency mobilization during a perfectly good rest period?
Commander Wang walked in with the sheet music in hand, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement: "Comrades, I have an important task for you all!"
We need to rehearse a new song, and it will be reviewed by the leadership in three days. If it passes, we'll perform it at the all-army festival!

……

The hustle and bustle of Yanjing City is definitely getting further and further away from Cheng Xuemin!
Their Shaolin Temple film crew's convoy rolled across the Yellow River Bridge, producing a dull roar.

After a three-day and three-night journey, the convoy traversed the vast North China Plain and entered the undulating mountains of western Henan.

The smell of dust in the air was gradually replaced by the fresh scent of grass and trees.

In the distance, the outline of the Songshan Mountains is faintly visible in the spring mist.

Cheng Xuemin sat in the passenger seat of the jeep, rubbing his back, which was sore from the long ride, and looked out the window.

The closer he got to the foot of Mount Song, the more complicated his feelings became, a mixture of excitement about the upcoming on-site filming and a slight worry about the unknown environment.

He knew that the real Shaolin Temple was far from the perfect one depicted in the film studio.

The convoy came to a stop in an open space in a small town at the foot of Mount Song.

The staff who had gone ahead of time were already waiting to help unload and settle the truck.

Cheng Xuemin jumped out of the car, stretched his stiff limbs, and took a deep breath of the cool mountain air.

Looking up, Mount Shaoshi stands majestically, with steep slopes and lush forests, a stark contrast to the scenery in the Yanying Film Studio.

A powerful and boundless force of nature washes over you.

"Director Cheng, the mountain road is too rugged for the truck to drive up."

The person in charge of the previous station, Old Zhang, a dark-skinned, capable local cadre, pointed to a winding dirt and stone path leading upwards and said:

"All the equipment has to be carried by people or by hiring villagers' mule teams to transport it up. The conditions at the temple are also harsh, so we have to be mentally prepared."

Cheng Xuemin nodded; this was within his expectations.

He turned to the crew and said, "Everyone, please take this easy and move the necessary filming equipment and supplies for the next few days upstairs!"
We'll figure out how to handle the heavy scenery and large items once we're settled in!

Everyone agreed and got to work.

Li Lianjie, Ji Chunhua, Du Yuming, Xiong Xinxin and other young and strong stuntmen, without saying a word, picked up the wooden crates containing the camera and lighting equipment and left.

The Yuan brothers also rolled up their sleeves and directed the martial arts instructors to share the equipment.

For a time, the sounds of people, mules and horses, and equipment clattering at the foot of the mountain mingled together, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.

Cheng Xuemin followed the first team transporting equipment, climbing up the steep mountain path.

The stone steps were broken and slippery with moss, making it difficult to walk even empty-handed, let alone carry the heavy equipment. Sweat quickly soaked through everyone's clothes, and their panting echoed through the valley.

After climbing for about two hours, the outline of an ancient temple finally appeared hidden in the mountains and forests.

however.

When Cheng Xuemin actually stood in front of the Shaolin Temple gate, he was stunned. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

The Shaolin Temple before him was completely different from the ancient temple he remembered and even imagined!
The mountain gate is still relatively intact, but the vermilion paint has peeled off, revealing the gray and worn wood grain underneath, and the characters on the plaque above the gate are blurred.

Stepping inside the temple, one is met with a scene of utter devastation.

Most of the palaces were dilapidated, with roofs overgrown with weeds and walls that were mottled, revealing the adobe bricks inside.

The main halls, such as the Hall of Heavenly Kings and the Great Buddha Hall, still have their skeletons intact, but the doors and windows are rotten, the Buddha statues inside are covered in dust and cobwebs, and the incense smoke is so faint that it is almost undetectable.

The bluestone slabs paving the courtyard were cracked and dented, with moss and weeds stubbornly growing in the cracks.

Only a few monks, dressed in patched robes, were quietly sweeping the courtyard or working in the vegetable garden.

Seeing this large group of people enter, they simply stopped what they were doing, looked around curiously, their eyes filled with the simplicity and a hint of shyness characteristic of mountain people.

This...this is the Shaolin Temple?
Is this the martial arts holy land that will one day be famous worldwide and have a thriving incense offering ceremony?

A strong sense of disappointment and...regret welled up in Cheng Xuemin's heart.

He knew that the Shaolin Temple at this time was far from what it would look like in later years, but its dilapidated state still exceeded his expectations.

This doesn't look like a movie shoot.
They're practically here to help them repair their ancient buildings!
If I had known this would happen, it would have been much easier to build a more decent Shaolin Temple in the Yanying Studio!

"Amitabha." An old monk with snow-white eyebrows, a gaunt face, and wearing an old but clean robe, came out from a low meditation room next to the main hall, supported by a young monk.

He is now the abbot of Shaolin Temple, Elder Xingzheng.

The old monk clasped his hands together, his voice aged yet peaceful: "Esteemed benefactors, you have come from afar, thank you for your hard work. Our temple is simple and our hospitality is inadequate, please forgive us."

Cheng Xuemin quickly composed himself, stepped forward, and respectfully returned the greeting: "Abbot Xingzheng, I apologize for disturbing the peace of the temple."

We are from Yanjing Film Studio, and we've come to your temple to film a movie about Shaolin Kung Fu called "Shaolin Temple".

"I will be troubling the abbot and elders for the foreseeable future."

"Making a movie? That's great, great!" Elder Xingzheng smiled gently, but his eyes were somewhat blank, clearly not having much of a concept of "making a movie."

He merely responded politely, "There are still a few empty rooms in the temple, though they are a bit dilapidated. I hope you don't mind. Water will have to be fetched from the spring behind the mountain, and the vegetarian meals are simple..."

As Cheng Xuemin listened to Abbot Xingzheng's introduction, he secretly surveyed the temple's environment, his mind racing with calculations.

The filming conditions were even more difficult than expected, but we made the best of it.

He noticed that although the temple was dilapidated, the overall layout was still intact, and some ancient stone tablets, stone carvings, and ancient trees gave it a sense of historical vicissitude that could not be replicated in a photography studio.

Perhaps... this could become the unique charm of the film?

The process of settling in was extremely complicated.

The so-called "empty rooms" are mostly abandoned monks' quarters that need to be cleaned and repaired before they can be lived in.

The crew members could only stay in a few relatively intact meditation rooms and temporary military tents.

Without electricity, they could only rely on the generator they brought, which was extremely noisy.

It is indeed inconvenient to get water, so we need to organize people to take turns fetching water from the back mountain.

The meals were simple, mainly consisting of flour they brought themselves, pickled vegetables, and vegetables bought from the villagers at the foot of the mountain, with the vegetarian meals provided by the temple occasionally serving as a supplement.

Looking at the surroundings, Yuan Heping scratched his head and said to Cheng Xuemin with a wry smile, "Teacher Cheng, this place... is fine for filming dramatic scenes, but for action scenes, especially large-scale fight scenes, I'm afraid it won't be a good place to film."

Look at this ground, it's so uneven and bumpy, even actors could easily twist their ankles while doing somersaults.

Cheng Xuemin nodded; this was also a concern of his.

"Master Yuan, there are definitely difficulties. But we're here for authenticity. If the ground is uneven, we'll try our best to level it before filming."
"Since there wasn't enough space, we designed more fight scenes that utilized the terrain. That's the rustic, realistic feel we wanted! It'll definitely have a different feel from what's shot in a studio!"

He gathered the main creators and key members of the martial arts team for a brief on-site meeting on the dilapidated stone steps in front of the main hall.

"Comrades, as you can see, the conditions are even more difficult than we imagined."

But the more challenging it is, the more it tests our will, and the more we can capture the spirit of Shaolin Kung Fu, which is rooted in the soil and originates from arduous training!
Starting tomorrow, the martial arts training group will first adapt to the environment. Master Yuan will lead everyone to readjust and redesign the movements based on the actual terrain of the temple!

The art department and set design team, in cooperation with the temple's craftsmen, carried out necessary repairs and arrangements for the main filming areas without damaging the cultural relics and historical sites!
We want to present the most authentic Shaolin Temple to the audience!

Cheng Xuemin's mobilization gave a much-needed boost to the somewhat low morale.

Li Lianjie, Ji Chunhua, and others all expressed that they were not afraid of any hardship or fatigue. Yu Hai and Yu Chenghui even volunteered to lead several young martial arts instructors to inspect and clear several important filming locations.

In the following days, the Shaolin Temple, which had been quiet for many years, became unprecedentedly lively.

At dawn, the shouts of the martial arts training group and the clanging of weapons replaced the usual morning bells and evening drums.

During the day, staff members are busy moving between the halls, cleaning the site and setting up equipment.

At night, the roar of the generator and the lights in the tents brought a touch of modernity to the ancient temple.

Cheng Xuemin led the director team to scout locations every day, visiting almost every corner of the temple, including the remote pagoda forest, the dilapidated martial arts training ground, and the steep back mountain path.

He constantly communicated with Yuan Heping and Huang Jianzhong on how to perfectly combine the realistic environment with the plot and action.

He also discovered that this "raw" shooting environment, while increasing the difficulty, also inspired many creative ideas that would not have been conceived in a studio.

For example, the chase scene was designed using the ruins of a dilapidated palace, and the thrill of light-footed martial arts was showcased using steep stone steps...

The arrival of the film crew naturally attracted the attention of the local authorities.

First, cadres from the Dengfeng County Culture Bureau and Publicity Department rode bicycles up the mountain to offer their condolences, bringing some local specialties and expressing their full cooperation in the filming.

Two days later, the commissioner from the regional administrative office, accompanied by county leaders, arrived at the foot of the mountain in a jeep and then hiked up as well. When he met Cheng Xuemin and the film crew, he shook hands warmly and said polite things like, "Welcome to our region to film a movie and promote Shaolin culture."

A few days later, a deputy director of the provincial cultural department also came with a large group of people to "inspect and guide" the area.

They had all been thoroughly exhausted by the rugged mountain road, and when they came up, they were all pale and panting heavily.

Although these reception duties took up some of Cheng Xuemin's energy, he understood that they were necessary.

After all, filming in local areas requires the support of the local government.

During each reception, he would have Huang Jianzhong handle the social interactions, while he would try to stay in the background and focus on preparing for the shoot.

He noticed that after seeing the dilapidated temple, these local officials all showed a hint of surprise and barely perceptible embarrassment in their eyes, probably not expecting that the sacred martial arts site in their minds would be in such a state.

But they still used polite phrases like "rustic and profound" and "authentic".

During a visit with provincial leaders, Cheng Xuemin overheard the presiding official whispering to one of the leaders:
"Alas, the temple has been in disrepair for years, a disgrace to our ancestors... If making a movie could let more people know about Shaolin Temple, and some of the donations could help repair the temple!"

These words stirred something within Cheng Xuemin.

He looked at the aged yet earnest face of the presiding abbot, and then at the dilapidated palaces around him.

Suddenly, I realized that this arduous on-location filming might not only be about completing a movie, but could also truly sow a seed for the revival of this ancient temple.

He thought of the Shaolin Temple, which would later become a commercial empire, and of Shi Yongxing, a highly controversial yet exceptionally capable man.

At this moment, the future CEO abbot is probably still working in some field, and he might only be attracted to the mountain to become a monk after the movie "Shaolin Temple" becomes a hit.

……

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