My era, 1979!

Chapter 23 Fragrance Fills the Mountain Cliffs
Qian Ming poked and prodded at the newspaper supplement with his finger, his eyes wide open behind his glasses.

"This...this author's name is exactly the same as yours! Xu Chengjun, the educated youth from Fengyang, could there be another one like him?"

Xu Chengjun almost choked on his saliva upon hearing this.

With a wave of his hand, he snatched the newspaper.

Sure enough, my name was printed under the title "Libra Shines in the Spring Breeze" in the supplement column in the upper right corner of the front page.

The accompanying editor's note reads: "This article uses a jujube wood scale as a mirror to reflect the hearts and minds of ordinary people in the spring breeze of reform, and every word is filled with the earthy flavor and new vitality."

Inside the state-run "Liu Hongsheng" snack bar on Huaihe Road.

Qian Ming was drinking the spicy soup, his forehead covered in sweat.

The two asked many locals in Hefei along the way, and finally found this time-honored brand.

Founded in 1928, Liu Hongsheng Snack Bar was one of the few state-owned restaurants in Hefei in the 70s. It was famous for its "pepper soup + potstickers". The soup was made with bone broth as a base, and was served with pepper, gluten and wood ear fungus. It was spicy and warming to the stomach.

Qian Ming kept chattering away.

"I'm so excited! Our educated youth settlement has produced someone like you who can make it into the newspapers. It'll be so exciting to talk about it from now on!"

"One article in 'The Granary' wasn't enough; you've been secretly doing something big in Hefei all by yourself!"

"If I get into Beijing Foreign Studies University, I can say that I'm best buddies with writer Xu Chengjun, how impressive would that be!"

Xu Chengjun had just finished the last sip of spicy soup, smacking his lips from the spiciness. "The writer doesn't dare mention it. I wrote a short story, but it was just riding the wave of the policy."

"Hey! That's what you say!" Qian Ming stuffed his mouth full of pancakes. "But Chengjun, you've become much more composed since you woke up from your fever."

Xu Chengjun was taken aback. "People have to grow up eventually!"

Fortunately, he traveled to this era.

Times are changing.

People also have to adapt to the times.

No matter how fast Xu Chengjun changes,

Compared to the times, and compared to most people, it doesn't seem particularly remarkable.

But for people of this era,
The experience of this transition was far more challenging and arduous than the step-by-step growth of the 21st century.

The sweat was salty, occasionally mixed with tears.

Before Qian Ming could reply, Xu Chengjun had already pulled out two pink and white ticket stubs from his pocket.

"The tickets to 'Little Flower' were given to me by a friend who works at a newspaper. He said it's the hottest movie this year."

"Would you like to see it?"

Qian Ming's eyes suddenly lit up: "Is that the one Liu Xiaoqing played? I heard she played a Red Army soldier in it, and she even knelt down to walk up the stone steps again, which brought tears to people's eyes!"

"Look! Why wouldn't we look! We're benefiting from the great writer's fame!"

"Stop talking and hurry up and eat, it's the 7 pm show!"

A crowd had gathered in front of the poster for "Little Flower" on the blue brick wall of a Hefei cinema.

Liu Xiaoqing was wearing a gray military uniform with leg wraps, and the stretcher ropes on her shoulders left deep marks. Next to her were the words "Breaking with tradition, a stunning release" printed in bold.

The old man selling popcorn set up his black tin stove, his hands calloused from turning the crank. With a muffled "bang," fluffy white popcorn poured into the sack, its aroma wafting across half the street.

"Make way! Make way!" The ticket inspector in the blue cloth shirt waved his ticket pliers, the jaws pressing crescent-shaped marks into the ticket stubs.

As soon as Xu Chengjun stepped into the cinema, he heard arguing coming from the back row.

Two girls wearing red armbands are fighting over a copy of the Hefei Evening News.

"You've watched it three times already, read me the part about the 'Industrial and Commercial Bureau tearing down the sign'!"

The girl with braided pigtails was holding onto the corner of a newspaper, and the red ribbon at the end of her braids was wrapped around the other person's wrist.

"What's the rush?" another chuckled, clutching his newspaper. "This Xu educated youth wrote it brilliantly. Old Zhou didn't curse when his name tag was torn off; he just patched a new one up with pumpkin pulp overnight. That stubborn nature of his is so familiar!"

"Your short story is a hit, Chengjun!"

Qian Ming pulled Xu Chengjun to squeeze into a seat, and after they were settled, he started making faces at them. The wooden chair was worn smooth by previous passengers, and half a candy ball was still stuck between the legs.

He had barely sat down when he was drawn to the commotion in the row in front of him.

A cadre in a Zhongshan suit was telling the child next to him, "This movie is different from the ones before. It doesn't talk about fighting and killing, but about human nature. Look at Cui Gu, her knees were bleeding from trying to save the wounded. That's the backbone of us Chinese people."

The lights suddenly went out, and everyone in the room fell silent.

The words "Little Flower" flashed on the screen, and the background music "Velvet Flower" played like flowing water.

Wearing a patched cotton-padded jacket, Cui Gu was kneeling on the bluestone slab, moving step by step. The wounded on the stretcher groaned and begged her to put her down, but she gritted her teeth and climbed up the mountain, leaving two faint streaks of blood on the stone steps.

A suppressed sob suddenly came from the back row. Xu Chengjun glanced over and saw it was the girl with the braided hair who had snatched the newspaper earlier, covering her face with a handkerchief.

“It’s too hard…” Qian Ming’s voice trembled. “She’s clearly a girl, but she can endure more than a man.”

Xu Chengjun remained silent.

This film, "Little Flower," is a product of its time.

Even viewed from Xu Chengjun's perspective more than forty years after the reform and opening up, this work, hailed as "the first harbinger of spring in Chinese cinema," still possesses a high degree of avant-garde spirit and humanistic depth.

Under the dominance of the "tall, perfect, and all-encompassing" aesthetics of model operas, "Little Flower" is the first to focus its lens on ordinary people in the war, showcasing the complex interplay between revolutionary ideals and individual emotions through the ups and downs of the three siblings Zhao Yongsheng, Zhao Xiaohua, and He Cuigu.

Chen Chong's portrayal of Zhao Xiaohua is no longer a symbolic "revolutionary successor," but a real woman who seeks kinship amidst war and establishes her faith amidst confusion.

He Cuigu's image is even more groundbreaking.

This woman, who was sold as a child and grew up in violence, became a district head at the age of 18, but was torn between revolution and family ties.

The movie then cuts to the scene where Cui Gu reunites with her family.

Liu Xiaoqing's tears fell like beads from a broken string.

Cui Gu's transformation from a "commodity to be sold" to a "revolutionary subject" resonates with contemporary women's pursuit of independent personality.

Suddenly, someone outside the screen shouted, "This is real emotion! A hundred times better than the fake smiles in model operas!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sparse round of applause broke out in the room.

Qian Ming was so engrossed in watching that he tapped his fingers on his knees to the beat of the music and hummed a tuneless rendition of "Ronghua".

When the lights came on after the event, many people were still sitting in their seats, stunned.

The cadre in the Zhongshan suit wiped his glasses and said, "I used to think that movies were all 'perfect heroes,' but today I realized that even heroes have tears, and girls can also shoulder responsibilities."

The child beside him suddenly asked, "Dad, did Cui Gu find her brother later?"

Xu Chengjun and Qian Ming walked out with the crowd.

Qian Ming was looking around curiously at the things around the cinema.

Xu Chengjun's thoughts had already drifted far away.

This novel, "Little Flower," brought new inspiration to his writing process in 1979.

That might be it.

Less "cries of the times," more "individual breaths"; less "piling up of concepts," more "the warmth of details."

Just like the most authentic texture of words.

He had a vague idea of ​​the theme for his next writing assignment.
-
"Little Flower" is like a multifaceted prism, reflecting both the Chinese society's yearning for human liberation in the early days of reform and opening up, and the contemporary people's pursuit of spiritual belonging.

It doesn't feature grand war scenes, but it uses the tears of siblings reuniting, the trembling of mothers and daughters recognizing each other, and the silence of comrades sacrificing their lives to build a spiritual height that is more shocking than guns and cannons.

This reminds us that true cinematic art always grows from the soil of humanity.

As the song "Velvet Flower" goes, "Fragrance fills the mountain cliffs all the way."

This little flower that heralds the spring of Chinese cinema will surely bloom forever in the long river of time.

　I don't know how many people are reading my book, but I recommend the movie "Little Flower" to everyone. It's a timeless classic. I hope that readers who have read this far will share their thoughts in the comments section. I didn't expect any great success with this book, but I'm content as long as my writing is appreciated and I can discuss the plot developments and character logic with more friends.

(End of this chapter)