Chapter 124 Salt

Everyone has his or her own persistence and perseverance.

So is Yan Jing.

In the past, when he was filming, he naturally encountered disagreements with actors, assistant directors or screenwriters, but he always insisted on his own ideas.

Few could convince him.

Of course, Jun Qiulan couldn't convince him now.

He knew that what Jun Qiulan said made sense, but this was not the feeling he wanted.

He also didn't expect that Jun Qiulan would be so persistent.

Yan Jing took a deep breath and said to Jun Qiulan in a negotiating tone, "Let's keep the part you just shot. Let's shoot another one that has the feel I want. When we do the final edit, we'll look at the whole thing and decide which version we want. Okay?"

Jun Qiulan was surprised at first, but then she regained her senses and remembered that this was Yan Jing's movie.

Yan Jing is the director, and he cannot make a conclusion about the role based on his own experience.

Well, there is actually nothing wrong with what Yan Jing said.

After all, the two people have different understandings.

When reshooting the scene, Jun Qiulan was still holding Jun Baisong and brewing emotions for a long time.

Jun Baisong has been having a lot of fun on the set these days and has almost become the darling of the entire crew.

The crew is generally not allowed to take photos or spread them out, but Jun Baisong is an exception.

There have been quite a few photos of Jun Baisong online these days, all posted by the crew and actors.

It also became a hot search.

It has become an internet celebrity cat.

The main reason is that he is so cute and smart. It is hard not to like such a kitten.

While Jun Qiulan was gathering his emotions, the makeup artist dressed him in gorgeous clothes.

This scene was the part that Yan Jing had added to Jun Qiulan before.

The nobleman, dressed in gorgeous clothes, took off his clothes, became a prisoner, and put on thin prison clothes.

The whole picture is very impactful.

Jun Qiulan has no lines in this scene, relying entirely on emotions.

Before, Jun Qiulan acted according to his own ideas and it went smoothly. This time, he acted according to Yan Jing's suggestion. He spent half a day preparing his emotions, but it still didn't feel right.

It is actually quite difficult for Jun Qiulan to find the emotion of fear.

He was also afraid at first, afraid that his family would be implicated by him, but he himself was not afraid of death.

So he couldn't quite understand the fear in Yan Jing's words.

Just imagine, his father was beheaded, and his family members were either exiled or sent to the military. He must have felt disheartened and numb.

When sadness and fear are too intense, people will not react quickly.

So when Yan Jing wanted him to have sadness and fear in his eyes, it was really difficult for him to find the right balance.

Finished in one shot.

Jun Qiulan was feeling uneasy.

But Yan Jing, who was behind the camera, smiled after watching the replay repeatedly.

"This one is very good, just a few more shots and it will be almost done."

"Ah?" Jun Qiulan was shocked.

Just like that?

"You'll know when you come and see."

Jun Qiulan actually leaned over, and after taking a look, a smile appeared on his face.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Yan Jing: "No, it was just an accident."

Jun Qiulan didn't believe him.

Yan Jing: "Hurry up and make up for the scenes. In the next few days, you will have scattered scenes. You need to be prepared. Don't ask for leave these days. Come on time and try to arrange your scenes first."

Jun Qiulan nodded.

After reshooting the scenes of this big scene, Jun Qiulan’s role for the day came to an end.

For the next few days, Jun Qiulan had sporadic roles.

She entered a brothel, was unable to die, and struggled in various ways. Then she came to her senses, began to "accept" it, and got in touch with another important character.

A conspiracy of revenge.

Then, it was the rivalry between Jun Qiulan and Sister Du Ruo.

Sister Du Ruo was assigned here specifically to train Jun Qiulan.

In this drama, almost everyone's character is well-developed, even the role of Sister Du Ruo. She had received favors from the mother of Jun Qiulan's character in the past, so she secretly took care of Jun Qiulan in the Jiaofangsi.

Of course, on the surface, her rivalry with Jun Qiulan was all about her verbally humiliating Jun Qiulan and training him into the best.

We must break his pride and turn him from the envied nobleman into a prostitute.

Because this was an order given to her by her superiors, she had little influence and wanted to survive, so she had to obey, and then show her inner struggle.

Sister Du Ruo has been in the industry for quite some time and has worked with Yan Jing before, so she is quite capable of playing a role like this.

It’s just that Jun Qiulan is encountering some difficulties.

It was difficult for Jun Qiulan to portray the feeling of breaking his pride.

Because what he wanted to show was his broken pride and submissiveness on the surface, but in fact he was thinking about how to avenge his family.

For two consecutive days of filming, Jun Qiulan's emotional expression was not very good.

Yan Jing could roughly understand that Jun Qiulan was a proud person.

"I'll give you two days off so you can adjust yourself. I'll send you a few movies so you can watch them and get a feel for it."

This was the first time that Jun Qiulan had actually been a "drag."

It's quite embarrassing.

However, he was still excited that Yan Jing was going to give him two days off.

Huo Lian had already started a war with the Rong and Di people with gunpowder.

Every day when he returned home, he would chat with his father for a while.

Although gunpowder is very lethal, it cannot withstand the enemy's large number of people, and the cavalry on the opposite side is also a powerful weapon, especially since they are charging almost recklessly for this year's food.

They say we need a quick resolution, but it’s not that fast.

What's more, the military supervisors and food have not been delivered yet.

The war in the border town was urgent, so he could also take the time to go and see the situation.

He can't just ignore everything.

How can he make the soldiers believe in him after this?

Although the army was commanded by Huo Lian, in the end, he could not have no say at all.

Otherwise, if Huo Lian didn't want to do it anymore one day, their makeshift team would collapse.

Fortunately, Huo Lian was not greedy for so-called power, and he understood Jun Qiulan's concerns. When Jun Qiulan appeared at the front line, he took Jun Qiulan to meet with several main generals in the military camp.

And he introduced Jun Qiulan in great detail.

From the initial cement to the castration of piglets, everything came from Jun Qiulan's hands.

Then there was the basket of potatoes he got, and this year's sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn.

Needless to say, sweet potatoes have now basically become the staple food in the military camp.

It’s sweet.

The first thing that conquers human taste buds is sweetness.

There is no need for complicated cooking, you can eat it once it is cooked, even the skin can be eaten.

There is no soldier who doesn't like to eat sweet potatoes.

As for potatoes and corn, because there were few of them, they had to save seeds, but they also saw the yield of these two crops.

Wait until next spring to plant and then harvest.

They have three kinds of extremely high-yield grains in their hands, so they will never have to worry about going hungry again.

You don’t have to worry about not having enough to eat when fighting.

After these three kinds of grain became popular among the people, the common people could eat their fill, which meant that the families of these soldiers could afford to eat their fill.

Then, they will have no worries when fighting.

There is also their training method this year. Although at the beginning, they didn't understand what the use of this training method would be.

But facts speak louder than words.

Now the entire army has almost taken the words "obey orders and prohibit them" to the extreme.

In addition, personal hygiene issues have been improved, and the air in the entire military camp feels much fresher.

In addition to these, Huo Lan also emphasized that Jun Shuwan is Jun Qiulan's sister.

Jun Shuwan has a great reputation in the military camp.

There is no need to say more about how many lives the medicines she developed saved in the military camp.

There is not a single soldier who is not grateful to Jun Shuwan.

After all, in war, not to mention the possibility of losing one's life at any time, even those knife wounds that could have been fatal in the past now have a chance of being treated.

This means that their lives have an extra protective shield.

Who wants to die on the battlefield when they can live?

After Huo Lian finished his introduction, several commanders in the military camp looked at Jun Qiulan with fiery eyes.

They were all soldiers under General Huo, so they naturally knew what General Huo was about to lead them to do.

Putting aside other things, their lives were given by General Huo. Once General Huo gave the order, they would naturally follow him at the risk of their lives.

You have to be a little unsure about the new lord.

Everyone knows that Jun Qiulan is the demoted Crown Prince. Wouldn’t he repeat the same mistakes?

They worked hard for the royal family, so did they have to change the emperor? Would the new emperor necessarily be good?

But after learning about this today, they now have a clearer idea.

Despite the drought this year, the situation in the military camp has not gotten worse, but has gotten better.

"Everyone, there's one more important thing," Huo Lian said in a deep voice. "Before, you asked me where the explosive powder came from. Today, I can tell you the answer. All of this was given to me by Comrade Jun. He didn't just give me the finished product; he gave me the formula directly."

Yes, the concepts between the two are very different.

Since Jun Qiulan has the formula, he can certainly make the gunpowder himself and then give them the finished product directly.

On the surface, it would be quite troublesome for Jun Qiulan to do this, but in fact, it could restrain them and intimidate them.

But Jun Qiulan did not do so. Instead, he directly gave Huo Lan a complete recipe. When Huo Lan sent people to study it, they succeeded in one try.

This means that if Huo Lian is willing, he can even use this powerful weapon to challenge Jun Qiulan. It is not certain who will dominate the world in the future.

Everyone has a scale in their heart.

Jun Qiulan trusted them so much, and they also understood their thoughts.

Let the people stand up.

From now on, there will be no so-called aristocracy, no so-called hierarchy, everyone will be equal, and with the laws that are about to be introduced, it will really be possible for the emperor to be punished the same as the common people if he breaks the law.

No, there will be no emperor in the future.

No matter who breaks the law, the penalty will be the same.

Jun Qiulan clasped his fists and bowed to the soldiers. "Thank you for your hard work in this battle against the Rong and Di people. If you need anything, please let General Huo know. I will do my best to satisfy you."

The generals also returned the greetings.

But they are not as elegant as Jun Qiulan.

They all said that life is very good now.

One of the soldiers was named Huang Dashan. He was a grassroots man. He used to be a hunter in the village. Later, he had no way to make a living, so he joined the army and came to the border town. Unexpectedly, in the barracks, he accumulated countless military merits with his archery skills and now he has become a general.

"The army is a little short of salt right now. Comrade Jun, can you think of a solution for us?"

Jun Qiulan was a little surprised.

Although the salt in the world of Dasheng is completely inferior to that in the other world, the salt that the lower-class people eat is mostly salt stones, which are boiled into brine. They dip a cloth in it and use the salt cloth to cook so that there is a little salt taste.

If you are a little better off, you can buy coarse salt. Coarse salt has a slightly bitter taste, but it is much more convenient to use than salt cloth and is also the most common salt on the market.

As for those refined salts and fine salts, those who can eat this kind of salt are either rich or noble.

But there shouldn't be a shortage of salt in the military camp, right?

If people don't eat salt, where will they get the strength? How can they fight?

Jun Qiulan looked at Huo Lan.

Huo Yan was both angry and embarrassed. "You know, salt has always been a commodity controlled by the imperial court."

Jun Qiulan nodded. In the words of another world, these are strategic materials, such as salt, iron, and sugar.

Huo Lian continued, "The court is in chaos right now, and salt permits are a bargaining chip for competition. As a result, the price of salt has risen significantly."

In previous years, the salt that could be bought with one hundred taels of silver would cost twice as much this year.

There were many people in the barracks, so they had switched from coarse salt to salt rock a few months ago.

It is also to reduce costs.

However, the food cooked with this salt stone has a strange taste, and some people have adverse reactions after eating it.

After careful consideration, Huo Lian decided to switch back to coarse salt.

It’s just that the price of salt is high, so I used to put two spoons of salt in a pot of food, but now I only dare to put one spoon.

Jun Qiulan roughly understood, "I'll go think of a solution."

Their family has always eaten fine salt bought from modern times, and they don’t pay too much attention to the prices.

As for the villagers, they buy salt in large jars. Although the price of salt has risen, they still have salt in stock, which can last for a while.

This is also the experience passed down from generation to generation by the people.

The price of salt might skyrocket every few years, mostly because there was a problem with the officials in charge of salt.

Once the court has dealt with all the salt officials, the price of salt will fall.

So they all think that the price increase is only temporary, so no problems will arise in the short term.

Huo Yan was silent for a moment. "Salt is no different from other supplies. Comrade Jun, can you really come up with a solution?"

The reason why he didn't tell Jun Qiulan before was because of this issue.

Salt is something that everyone cannot live without. No matter which world or country, the material should be controlled.

It may not be appropriate for individuals to hoard salt in large quantities.

Jun Qiulan nodded. "It won't be too much. Let's just make do with it for now. I'll find a way to send people to find salt mines. We can refine salt ourselves in the future, so we don't have to worry about running out of salt to eat."

When fighting, we also fight for supplies.

Huo Lian felt relieved, "Thank you very much, Comrade Jun."

Several other generals also bowed and saluted.

Jun Qiulan doesn't need to worry about the war.

Huo Lian and his men have been dealing with the Rongdi for half their lives, so there is no need for Jun Qiulan to interfere. Jun Qiulan also understands this measure.

So he could only see if he could help with logistics.

salt……

There are many types of modern salt.

But the price is indeed low. Regular table salt costs only two yuan per bag, and one bag basically contains one kilogram.

However, the salt in the other world is also a controlled material, just as Huo Lian thought.

Jun Qiulan pondered the money in his hand and couldn't help sighing.

I used to think I had enough money to spend, but now it seems like it’s becoming less and less.

The money for the one million kilograms of grain brought back for Huo Lan was given by Master Qingheng.

If I want to buy salt again now, I'm afraid I still have to use the name of the Taoist temple.

If you buy so much salt privately and can't explain where to go, you can only wait to cry behind bars.

"That's right," Huo Lian said, "we've used the same trick to send the one million kilograms of grain you got us earlier to other places."

In order to prevent food shortages due to drought, Jun Qiulan had brought over 300,000 kilograms of food.

Duan Wen was also smart. He directly sent 300,000 kilograms of grain to other places.

It was basically cornmeal. People had never seen this food before, but anyone who tried it would think it was delicious.

After all, it has its own sweetness.

So the 300,000 kilograms of grain were exchanged for a total of more than 1.2 million kilograms of grain, which was four times the original amount.

This time, they sent out one million kilograms of grain, and they didn't ask for four times the amount. They would be satisfied if they could get three million kilograms of grain back.

To be honest, the quality of the food in the other world is too high, so some people are willing to buy it.

Jun Qiulan nodded: "Anyway, the supplies have been delivered. General Huo can decide how to arrange them."

This is also a manifestation of trust.

Sometimes, Huo Lian even thought that Jun Qiulan was too straightforward.

Now, his family is still trapped in the capital. He has only made a verbal promise that he is willing to follow. Otherwise, he has paid almost nothing.

Even under such circumstances, Jun Qiulan still trusted him so much.

Isn’t Jun Qiulan afraid that if the emperor uses his family to threaten him and he suddenly turns against him on the battlefield, the thing Jun Qiulan gives him now might be a sword that will stab Jun Qiulan?

However, no matter what, this sense of trust is still very good.

It's much better than the previous emperors.

Since ancient times, there has been no emperor who was not wary of generals who hold military power.

If a general's achievements surpass those of his lord, he will probably not have a good ending. It is considered honorable to die on the battlefield.

Just think of him, Huo Lan.

The Huo family has been passed down for several generations, and all of them are military generals and loyal ministers who do not participate in the turmoil of the court.

But they will still be feared.

Even being exploited.

Comparing them this way, Jun Qiulan's place is still better. Their ideas and the ideal world they want to achieve are indeed worth striving for.

Ordinary soldiers fighting outside have to worry about the safety of their families, and he is the same.

Now I am thinking about when Jun Qiulan can successfully open the passage of time travel, and find a way to go to the capital and bring his family over.

I don’t know if what his wife did can speed up the process of opening up this channel.

The war is tense now and there is not much time to conduct experiments.

Let's experiment for a while after the war stabilizes.

The military supervisor estimated that they would be arriving soon.

The capital is three thousand miles away from the border town. Even if he rides at full speed, he can reach the border in four or five days at most.

If we have to escort the food, it might be a little slower.

I estimate it will take another ten days or half a month.

Jun Qiulan resolved the issue with Huo Lan and went to the city to find Duan Wen.

With Duan Wen and Mr. Su in charge, the situation in the city is fine and development in all aspects is going smoothly.

This way, he can focus on studying his role.

Yan Jing sent him a few movies, and after watching them, he had some insights.

However, he also knew where the problem lay.

Yan Jing's films are more concerned with inner qualities and emotions.

He knew how to play such a role well, but this was not the feeling Yan Jing wanted.

Yan Jing’s requirement for acting is not to “act”, but that he should be that kind of person.

It is really difficult to achieve such a state through skills.

However, if Jun Qiulan wanted to completely immerse himself in the role and regard himself as the young man in the movie, his nature would be somewhat stubborn and difficult to change.

As a result, even after Yan Jing gave Jun Qiulan two days of vacation, Jun Qiulan still failed to fully meet Yan Jing's requirements.

In fact, at this time, other actors in the crew, including the assistant director, felt that Jun Qiulan had performed very well in these scenes.

Some people even discussed privately whether Yan Jing was too harsh on Jun Qiulan.

Yan Jing waved his hand: "I know he acted very well. With this performance, he can compete for a place in the awards, but he can do better."

Jun Qiulan was helpless.

Please don't flatter me too much, Director Yan.

Yan Jing saw the helplessness in Jun Qiulan's eyes and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Let's leave it like this for now. You can figure it out a bit more. If you have any ideas later, we can reshoot these scenes."

Jun Qiulan could only say yes.

Yan Jing joked again, "I've discovered that when you were asked to play the role of a nobleman who is the center of attention, you nailed it perfectly, but when you were asked to play the role of a man with a bent spine who is forced to bow to reality, you fell a little short."

No wonder Jun Qiulan is called the most noble young man in the entertainment industry by his fans.

In fact, he also knew the essential reason. The feeling he wanted was not much different from Jun Qiulan's own personality and temper, but it was this so-called "not much" that was the crux of the problem.

Jun Qiulan's role passed the test, but did not reach full marks.

In order not to delay the progress, Yan Jing first started filming other scenes.

Jun Qiulan was also nervous.

They both knew what the other meant, but their mindsets were different, so it was difficult to reach a consensus.

You know, what Yan Jing called bowing to reality is actually more real and cruel.

When their family was exiled, if it weren't for their old friends who secretly took care of them, the four of them would really not have survived to the border town.

But even after being prepared, the journey was still very difficult.

Wan'er was almost raped several times, and her father's leg was injured by a vicious official.

Every day they were given a few dry coarse flour buns, and the money that the old friend had paid fell into the hands of the bailiffs, who could only watch them eat and drink.

Once I was so hungry that I actually snatched food from a dog.

Even in such circumstances, they supported each other and persevered.

Everything is fine now.

But when he returned that night, he received bad news.

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The author has something to say: Thank you for your support, my dears.