Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 296 From the Film Set to the Battlefield (Another chapter coming soon)
After several days of travel, the crew rested for a whole day in the barracks before starting filming.

The production crew also sent Liu Yimin a military uniform. Zhu Lin buttoned up the uniform and said with a smile, "Teacher Liu, you look really majestic in it!"

"Zhu Lin is also very dashing!"

The two walked out of the room laughing, and Li Jun jokingly remarked enviously, "Newlyweds are so sweet!"

"Old Li, what nonsense are you talking about? The two of them have always been very sweet together!" Wang Yan said.

"Only you can say it!"

After finishing their meal in the mess hall, the group began boarding the trucks parked on the parade ground. Along with the guard company soldiers, a battalion of soldiers also set off.

That day, Liu Yimin met with the film crew's military advisor—Commander Wang of the border defense division. Commander Wang shook hands with Liu Yimin with a smile: "Your name has been ringing in my ears lately! A young man in his twenties, yet you've written such a passionate work!"

Upon hearing Liu Yimin recount Li Lanyong's story, Commander Wang said sadly, "Many of our fine young men didn't make it down!"

The location chosen for today's mobilization rally was Dehou Street in Wenshan.

A light rain had just fallen, turning the red soil into red mud. Fortunately, the light mud didn't affect the filming and even added to the realism and grandeur.

The actors in the crew began to put on their full gear, carrying water bottles, ammunition belts, and guns, with backpack straps tied to their chests with white towels.

Li Jun chuckled as he dressed Liu Yimin in costume, making him an extra as well.

On the platform at the rally, a huge military flag hung, with jars of wine laid out in front of it. Military vehicles and howitzers were parked around the area, their barrels pointing straight south.

At Commander Chen's order, all the soldiers lined up neatly on the grounds of the mobilization rally.

In addition to the soldiers from the 231st Regiment's battalion, there were soldiers from other regiments present.

This was a real pre-battle mobilization. The soldiers in the front row were from the reconnaissance team. After the filming, they would be going to the battlefield.

Regiment Commander Chen makes a cameo appearance as the army commander at the oath-taking ceremony. Political Commissar Lin, like Liu Yimin, is a soldier, and the camera might not even capture him.

After everyone was dressed, Li Jun stood on the stage and gave instructions, telling them to bring out their coldness and fearlessness.

Commander Wang provided guidance from the side.

Commander Chen whispered to Liu Yimin, "My soldiers are all tigers, there's no need for them to act. We came to Wenshan and never intended to go back!"

Not long after Commander Chen finished speaking, several dark clouds drifted in and blocked the sun.

Political Commissar Lin said worriedly, "Is it going to rain?"

Sure enough, a light drizzle began to fall, threatening to intensify. Without orders, all the soldiers stood in perfect formation, not one of them moving.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, giving the impression that the city was about to be crushed by dark clouds.

Liu Yimin was worried that he would catch a cold if things continued like this, but seeing that neither Li Jun nor Wang Yan had spoken, he swallowed his words.

On set, the director should still take the lead.

The first time I filmed with the soldiers, it didn't go very smoothly. Three or four hours passed, and we still hadn't gotten a good shot.

The film crew and soldiers have been standing in the rain for four hours, still motionless.

Some of the actors and crew members were complaining quietly about the weather. Liu Yimin looked over, and the complaints immediately stopped.

In this situation, even Liu Yimin felt like he was about to go to the battlefield.

After enduring seven or eight hours in the rain, we finally finished filming.

Commander Chen, playing the role of the army commander, stood on the stage and loudly proclaimed: "Comrades, for the motherland, for the people, I wish you a resounding victory and swift success! The people of the motherland await your triumphant return. The might of our nation and our army is evident in the Southwest. Comrades, raise your glasses, cheers!"

Everyone simultaneously raised their bowls and drank the water in one gulp.

Some soldiers had tears streaming down their faces, but their gazes remained resolute and their expressions cold.

Apart from the soldiers in the front-line reconnaissance team, the others had already been undergoing pre-battle training before the film crew arrived, and they would eventually go to the battlefield after the filming was completed.

After filming wrapped, everyone orderly packed up in the mud pit. The soldiers from the front reconnaissance team were the first to leave in military vehicles, heading towards the border.

Regiment Commander Chen found the company commander and told him to quickly go back and inform the cooks to make ginger soup, and for the medics of each company to prepare medicines.

"Hurry up, once we get to the camp, we must make sure the soldiers have ginger soup!" Commander Chen shouted.

"Yes!"

Then Commander Chen told the film crew to leave first, and the soldiers to clean up the site.

Li Jun disagreed, insisting that the film crew and the soldiers should be treated equally, and everyone must leave together.

"Director, you're getting a bit too much of a temper with me!" Commander Chen suddenly said with a smile, then pointed at Liu Yimin, who was moving things, and said, "You're all getting a temper with me. Our comrades in the arts department are tough nuts to crack!"

Back at the camp, bowls of ginger soup were served to everyone. After drinking them, we went back to change our clothes. After changing, we ran to the mess hall to eat. After eating, each of us had another bowl of ginger soup.

Even with ginger soup to ward off the cold, many actors in the film crew still caught a cold the next day and had to stop working.

When Liu Yimin was eating, he saw Division Commander Wang and asked Liu Yimin if he remembered the soldiers standing in front of him.

Seeing Liu Yimin nod, Division Commander Wang said, "They all sacrificed themselves last night!"

To avoid upsetting everyone, Commander Wang only revealed this to Liu Yimin and the two directors.

Liu Yimin and Wang Yan and Li Jun could both see the shock and grief on each other's faces.

Liu Yimin felt extremely sad, and tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily. He quickly wiped his eyes with his right hand, which was holding a steamed bun, and lowered his head to eat.

The actors in the film crew were taking a break due to colds, while Liu Yimin and the other actors trained with the soldiers on the parade ground, practicing the use of light weapons and target practice.

A few days later, when filming war scenes, they moved even closer, even within the range of mortars. The actors carried real guns and ammunition, preparing to fight alongside the guards.

During a break in training, Commander Chen weighed the bullets in his hand and said, "Comrades, these are our bullets. Our bodies are the bullets and shells of our motherland. Once they leave the barrel, they will draw blood. It's either me or the enemy who dies."

During breaks, the soldiers and actors sat together on ammunition boxes and chatted. Zhu Lin and Liu Yimin were the most popular, with soldiers constantly coming over to ask them to sign their books.

Knowing they were a married couple, they were asked to sign their names on the same page.

Looking at the shy young soldier beside him, Liu Yimin asked kindly, "Comrade, how old are you?"

"eighteen!"

"So young?"

The young soldier blushed instantly, took off his hat, rubbed his bald head sheepishly, and pointed to the soldier next to him, saying shyly, "I'm not the youngest, he is. He's only 17. Compared to him, I'm already a veteran, he's a greenhorn!"

The young soldier's words immediately drew laughter from the soldiers around him. Liu Yimin asked, "Were you scared?" "No, I wrote two blood oaths before I came. Look, this wound has just healed!" The young soldier held out his hand, letting Liu Yimin see the wound.

His palms were calloused from holding a gun, making them look nothing like the hands of an eighteen-year-old.

"Where are you from?"

"Comrade Liu Yimin from Yantai, Shandong Province, your writers have such beautiful hands!"

"Comrade Liu Yimin, guess where I'm from?" someone asked with a smile.

"Your voice sounds like you're from Sichuan province!"

"The enemy!"

Liu Yimin took out several packs of cigarettes from his pocket, boldly tore a large hole in one of them with one hand, and handed them out to everyone.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, you don't smoke?"

"I won't smoke!"

"You didn't prepare these cigarettes for us, did you? Hahaha!"

Soon, Liu Yimin became friends with everyone. Some people even asked him to write letters home, and Liu Yimin agreed to do so for them all.

"Comrade, what's your name?" Liu Yimin asked the young soldier he had just been chatting with with a smile.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, you can just call me Xizi!"

Someone nearby chimed in to explain, "His full name is Chen Qiuxi. He was born in autumn, and his parents were so happy that they named him Qiuxi!"

After the break, everyone immediately began training.

During lunch, Commander Chen said to Liu Yimin, "Our soldiers are so adorable!"

"Yes, what adorable soldiers!"

Political Commissar Lin said, "Let's write about our soldiers again!"

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin, Li Jun, Wang Yan, and others met with Division Commander Wang at the regimental headquarters to discuss the upcoming filming, troop deployment, and the actual battlefield layout.

"Our current operational strategy is reconnaissance first, artillery shells clearing the way, and infantry following. We want to make a spectacular film, so this artillery firing scene is a must-see, and it must be filmed well. Our unit can provide an artillery regiment to help the crew with filming. As for the shells, just keep firing at the other side!"

Wang Yan said, "Besides artillery, we also want to film tanks, rocket launchers, and if we can film missile sites!"

"Okay!" Commander Wang said.

Li Jun and Wang Yan exchanged a knowing smile; their support was reassuring. Finally, a helicopter was also arriving to film aerial footage of the march.

"Xizi, have you ever been to school?" Liu Yimin asked with a smile on the way to the next film set.

After spending more than half a month together, Liu Yimin and Xizi became increasingly familiar with each other. Xizi was young and naive, and usually shy, but once they became friends, they found him to be very lively and active.

"Yes, I went to junior high school!"

As Xizi spoke, she picked a flower from the roadside grass and tucked it into Liu Yimin's backpack strap with a smile: "This flower is so pretty. We don't have any like it anywhere else. There are also many things here that I've never seen before. When I write to my parents, I don't even know how to write them because I don't recognize them."

Upon arriving at the artillery position, the artillerymen warmly welcomed them, introducing the various cannons and shells to the film crew.

"Xizi, what are you doing?" Liu Yimin asked, looking at Xizi who was muttering to herself.

"I'll write it down so I can write to my parents and let them know what I've been doing in the army!" Xizi said with a smile.

Liu Yimin said in a low voice, "You've violated the confidentiality regulations!"

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Xizi quickly said, "I almost made a mistake, so I won't write anymore."

Feng Xiaogang grinned and said, "Our artillery in the Yanjing Military Region is far more advanced than this. It's a pity we couldn't bring it up for a test run!"

Other actors need military training, but Feng Xiaogang can train whenever he wants and not train whenever he doesn't want to.

No one said he was undisciplined, because he was playing an ingrate, and that's exactly the kind of carefree, irresponsible character he was meant to portray!

Chen Peisi said, "Old Feng, don't say anything, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back, after all, you're playing the enemy!"

Feng Xiaogang craned his neck, wanting to retort, but seeing the hostility directed at him from all around, he immediately shrank back and remained silent.

After circling the position, Wang Yan and Li Jun began looking for angles and positions. The soldiers on the position all hoped to be chosen by the film crew for a scene, and those who were chosen cheered and ran to the howitzer, ready to show off their skills.

Li Jun and Wang Yan approached Liu Yimin and said they wanted to add a short scene, mainly a scene where the artillery forward command post and the reconnaissance unit communicated directly.

Liu Yimin agreed and made some temporary revisions to the script.

The soldiers on both ends of the walkie-talkie could not see each other, but they conveyed their camaraderie through the microphone.

The moment the cannonball left the barrel, the entire earth shook. Everyone in the crew covered their ears and opened their mouths as dust billowed up from under the cannon and scattered in all directions. Those who were close by had a mouthful of earthy taste in their mouths.

To achieve the desired effect, the bombing lasted a full half hour. The cameraman ran around, constantly searching for the perfect angle.

Li Jun urged the photographer, "Quick, quick, a barrage of cannons! This is a barrage of cannons! The sound is so beautiful, so damn beautiful!"

After filming was finished, Li Jun didn't feel his head buzzing at all. He lay on the ground, panting heavily, and said while holding Wang Yan's hand, "This scene, this sound, it's so damn beautiful!"

When Liu Yimin arrived, Li Jun patted his bottom and stood up. Looking at Liu Yimin's hair and face covered in red dirt, he smiled and said, "Our writer is more down-to-earth now."

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "This isn't the earth's energy, it's the fumes of explosives!"

Even so, Commander Wang was still not satisfied, so he rearranged the artillery positions and bombarded the area for another thirty minutes.

The ingrates on the other side are hiding in their positions, too afraid to come out. They probably won't realize until their deaths that this isn't a real attack on them, but just a movie shoot.

"Teacher Liu, the sound of that cannon fire is making my head buzz!" Zhu Lin involuntarily pressed himself tightly against Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "When we're poor, we take a roundabout approach; when we're rich, we use artillery fire. If we can do it with artillery, we try not to let the soldiers do it!"

“Yimin, what you said makes sense. We’ve suffered so many bombs fighting the Japanese, liberating the country, and fighting the American devils. We should let others experience that pain too. The lives of our soldiers are more valuable than these bombs!” Commander Wang said to Liu Yimin with a smile.

After spending a day at the artillery position and finishing filming, Commander Wang also inspected the position's defenses. These kinds of artillery positions are the places that monkey agents like to infiltrate, so they must be strictly guarded to ensure safety.

When Commander Wang inspected the position, Liu Yimin sat on the position and chatted with some soldiers. They also took some group photos and agreed to send them the photos when they were developed.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, could you help me write a letter? My brother really likes your novels, and he'll be so happy to receive a letter from you!"

(End of this chapter)