Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 6 Journey to Zigong

Friday, July 9, 2004.

The train from Jincheng to Zigong travels through the hills, with vast green farmlands and golden seas of rapeseed flowers visible outside the windows.

Once the Qingming Festival is over in April, the Sichuan Basin starts to get hot. There is no air conditioning in the carriage, the windows are half open, and the wind blowing in carries the smell of soil and rapeseed flowers.

Lin Ruiyang sat by the window in the hard-seat carriage, staring blankly at the scenery outside.

Across from me sat a woman holding a child, next to two men carrying woven bags, returning home. Inside the carriage, some people were eating sunflower seeds, some were playing cards, and some were sleeping with their luggage as a pillow. The train conductor pushed his cart past, his energetic shouts drowned out by the cacophony of voices.

Since the advent of high-speed trains in his previous life, he had never ridden such a simple and honest train again.

Lin Ruiyang turned his gaze back and tried to review everything that had happened recently.

A few days ago, he was still at school, but now he has traveled from Yanjing to Jincheng and then boarded a train to Zigong.

Recalling that night, he returned to his dorm, where both senior students were already there. They were usually busy making short films with students from the directing department, or learning on set through introductions from their professors.

I didn't interact much with the two new students, but they were both very nice people, and the mentor-mentee pairing got along very well.

But that night was different.

When Lin Ruiyang went in, Jin Kai was sitting at the table reviewing the footage, and Li Li was leaning against the headboard, flipping through his graduation thesis.

The two of them looked up at him.

"You're back?" Jin Kai asked casually.

"Hmm," Lin Ruiyang responded, putting the things back on the table without sitting down immediately.

He was thinking about how to bring it up. The matter was simple in some ways, and complicated in others.

It's common for students from different majors to team up and make films at school. The complicated part is that he has to convince two senior students who are about to graduate to go to an unfamiliar city with him, a freshman with no experience, to do something with uncertain results.

"Seniors, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Jin Kai paused in his work and looked up at him. Li Li, with his paper clasped to his chest, also looked over.

Tell me about it.

Lin Ruiyang pulled up a chair and sat down, speaking slowly and deliberately: "I'm planning to shoot a short film."

As soon as the words were spoken, neither of their expressions changed much.

At Yenching Film Academy, people say every day that they want to be directors and make films.

The key is not in the shooting itself, but in "how to shoot".

"What's the subject matter?" Li Li asked.

"A realistic film," Lin Ruiyang paused for a moment, "a short film with a fixed camera and a single take."

This finally elicited a response from the two of them.

Jin Kai frowned: "Fixed camera position? What are you going to film?"

"In this 'visit', everyone is playing their own role."

Lin Ruiyang briefly explained the core concept of "Condolences," without mentioning any specific accident, only describing it as a family scene following a certain type of sudden accident.

He speaks slowly and clearly, making it easy for others to judge.

After he finished speaking, the dormitory was quiet for a few seconds.

Jin Kai spoke first: "To be honest, it sounds like this kind of film... relies on directing and on-site control."

"right."

"There are also performances that are close to reality."

"There's still a sound," Li Li added.

The three people's expertise aligned perfectly at this moment, which was exactly what Lin Ruiyang had planned from the beginning.

"I'm short two people right now," Lin Ruiyang said, looking at them. "One photographer, one sound recordist."

"So you came to find us?" Jin Kai smiled.

"Yes."

"Let me ask first, what about the budget?" Li Li asked directly.

"Within five thousand." Lin Ruiyang did not evade the question.

This number isn't a huge amount, but it's not a small amount either. For students from ordinary families, it's not a small sum.

"The school," Lin Ruiyang replied.

"I published a paper in a core journal, and then I went through the project application process. The professors in the literature department have already given me a chance."

This is the key.

Jin Kai and Li Li exchanged a glance. If it was just unrealistic daydreaming, they wouldn't consider it.

But once there's a school involved, the nature of the situation changes; it naturally provides a layer of guarantee.

Li Li then asked, "What's the expected filming time?"

"I'll go scout out the location in early April, and if it's suitable, around mid-April."

"Are you going alone?"

Lin Ruiyang nodded: "I'll go check if the location meets the filming requirements first, and then I'll come back and get you guys."

Li Li gave Jin Kai a look; at least these words were much more persuasive, meaning that the project initiator had taken the initiative to assume the risks.

The dormitory fell silent again.

Jin Kai put the lens cap back on, looking serious.

"If the location isn't good enough, your film is basically doomed."

"I know."

"So you still want to gamble?"

"Someone has to take a look first."

Lin Ruiyang smiled after he finished speaking.

Li Li watched him for a while, then suddenly said, "This doesn't seem like your first time making a film. You don't have the unrealistic, wishful thinking of those people from the directing department."

Lin Ruiyang didn't respond to his words, but simply said, "Just consider me bold."

The train swayed slightly as it passed through a tunnel, and Lin Ruiyang came to his senses.

That night, the two senior students neither immediately agreed nor refused.

That's enough for him.

He understood that as long as you actually take a step forward, the people behind you will eventually catch up.

The view outside the window began to thin out, with farmland gradually being replaced by low-rise houses, and the outlines of some old factories could still be seen in the distance.

Zigong, we're almost there.

Lin Ruiyang reached into his pocket and touched the Nokia phone, which contained several numbers he had written down before leaving.

One was given to him by Liu Yibing, from someone at the local cultural station; another was the phone number of the old town street office that he found in newspaper articles; and the third was the address he wrote down on a piece of paper.

He didn't know if he could use everything, or if he couldn't, but since he was already there, he had to give it a try.

The train began to slow down, and everyone in the carriage stood up, with the sounds of luggage being dragged around filling the air.

Some people had already squeezed into the aisle, waiting for the door to open. Lin Ruiyang, however, didn't move; he just stared out the window.

In that instant, he suddenly had a very clear feeling, recalling the morning before he set off.

As dawn broke, the dormitory building was still quiet. There was no sense of ceremony or grand pronouncements when he set off. But for the first time, he took the initiative to push forward what he wanted to do.

The train slowly pulled into the station, the friction between the rails and wheels creating a screeching sound. Before the doors even opened, people inside were already pushing and shoving to get out.

Lin Ruiyang then got up, checked his luggage, put his bag on his back, and followed the flow of people off the bus toward the exit.

The crowd was chaotic, and the air was stifling, yet he was inexplicably lucid.

It's not about writing a script; it's about actually starting to "do things" after being reborn.