Chapter 190
She laughed and then started crying, and then cried and then started laughing again.
Jiang Ning had not been in Wucheng for more than a year, and she had not seen Jiang Ning again. She wanted to call her or write to her, but letters required stamps and phone calls were not cheap. Many times she held the phone in her hand, thought about it, and put it down. She was afraid that Jiang Ning had forgotten her, or that she was busy, and her call would disturb her.
Although Jiang Ning is not here, she always remembers what Jiang Ning said to her: study hard, even if it's just to get into a normal university, as long as she can get out.
She really wanted to go to Beijing like Jiang Ning, but her grades, even in the best three mock exams, were still far from the scores for Beijing Normal University and Capital Normal University.
In 1998, they still filled out their applications first and then took the college entrance examination. She looked at all the universities near Beijing, but they all seemed very far away from her.
Xu Xiuli didn't understand her dilemma, so she leaned over and asked her, "You haven't filled it out yet? Aren't you always thinking about your Normal University?"
He Xiaofang looked at the application form, then at the codes of the corresponding schools, and finally filled in the English major at the Provincial Normal University.
During her three years of high school, with the training of Teacher Wang, her spoken English is no longer the dumb English she used to be. From being unable to open her mouth and not daring to speak, she has now been trained by Director Wang, who is now the deputy director of the Academic Affairs Office, to be fluent.
She had no other skills but rote memorization, reading over and over again, reciting over and over again, practicing over and over again. Her hard work finally transformed her English grades, and also transformed her into the person she is today. She was originally tall, but now she has grown to 1.72 meters, and her figure is still plump and fit, but she no longer has the slightest inferiority complex. She no longer hunches over to hide her well-developed figure like she did in junior high school. Instead, she keeps her back straight and smiles brightly.
Ningning said she was beautiful, and Ningning must be right!
But because of the flood, going to college became a luxury for her.
Her house was flooded, so where would she get the money to send her to college?
Even though her tuition was always paid by her second sister, she usually carried food from home to school. But now, where could she find food at home? The entire grain harvest has failed this year as it has all been flooded.
If Jiang Ning hadn't sent relief food and supplies, their family would have had trouble getting enough food after the autumn harvest. Now, if they save some money and add the grain they had saved last year, they can barely get through this year and wait for next year's spring plowing.
Their village had lost electricity, so the people from the brigade hired an electrician to set up an electric wire with a light bulb installed on it at the highest point, on the open space in front of the brigade entrance that had not yet been flooded.
Even though a 100-watt light bulb had been installed, there was still only a dim light in the dark summer night, and only the section in front of the brigade office was illuminated.
The black and white TV in the brigade headquarters was playing TV.
At this time, the news is playing.
Recently, the news about flood prevention and disaster relief has been broadcast every day, and this is the case on television news across the country.
These days, people from the county and city TV stations have sent reporters to follow the disaster relief volunteers to the front line of the disaster relief and truthfully record the news about Jiang Ning and those volunteers' disaster relief work.
The focus was on Jiang Ning, a student from No. 1 Middle School who was admitted to Beijing University last year.
Because there are disasters everywhere and many victims are displaced, there is a real need for some encouraging news to comfort these disaster-stricken people.
The news and action of Jiang Ning donating supplies to his hometown to provide relief to the victims is a very good way to comfort the victims.
In the worst-hit areas of the two cities, the affected people received the food and supplies she donated.
Reporters tried their best to exaggerate how Jiang Ning was not afraid of wind and rain, and returned to his hometown to distribute supplies one place after another amid the raging flood. They were so good at creating an atmosphere that the victims who were watching TV were moved to tears. Some of them thought of their own flooded houses and couldn't help but burst into tears.
But while they were crying, they thought that the country and the government had not given up on them, and that there were so many kind-hearted people like Jiang Ning who were still helping them. They saw a glimmer of hope in the disaster.
He Xiaofang pointed at Jiang Ning on TV and cried and laughed as she said to her parents, "Mom, did you see that? She is Jiang Ning, the Jiang Ning I told you about. She is my good friend. She said that if I pass the entrance exam to the Normal University, I will be a state teacher and have a stable job and a government job. Mom, I will definitely pass the exam. Mom, can you let me continue my studies? I don't want to get married now. I want to go to university!"
He Xiaofang's mother also cried. She hugged her young son and cried to He Xiaofang, "Xiaofang, it's not that mom doesn't want you to study. Look at our family now. We have nothing left. How can we go to school?"
What she said is also realistic.
The villagers nearby saw the mother and daughter crying and said, "Why can't they study? The child passed the exam, so how can you stop her from studying? Look at Jiang Ning, she is so promising. She just got into college last year, and she is so promising this year. She is even a college student!"
The brigade secretary said, "That's enough, stop crying. You've already finished three years of high school, how can you afford this last bit of hard work? If it really doesn't work, our brigade will pay some, you can pay some from your families, and the villagers can pay some more. Just write an IOU and pay it back slowly!"
He Xiaofang had tears on her face, but she smiled and nodded, saying to her parents, "Yes, yes, yes, I'm majoring in English, so I can help others with translation work in the future. I'll work part-time during the winter and summer vacations, and it won't cost much! Oh, and there are scholarships!"
She thought of the student loan that Jiang Ning had mentioned.
He's parents looked at Jiang Ning on TV, then looked at their tall, strong and somewhat silly daughter. After thinking for a while, they said, "If you want to miss school, go ahead. I know how stubborn you are. You've persisted for three years." He's mother said, "You're twenty years old, too. You should pay attention to your own affairs."
He's mother thought, if you don't like the people in the village, then you should just study hard in school. If you can marry into the city, He's mother will naturally not block her daughter's future.
She had no idea that He Xiaofang didn't look down on the countryside. She was simply afraid of marriage, afraid of the oppression that marriage brought to women that she had witnessed since childhood.
But at that time, she didn't know what she was afraid of. She just looked at her sister and the marriages around her and felt inexplicably afraid. However, after reading the book, she became wise and has gradually begun to realize what she is afraid of.
He Xiaofang hugged her mother and nodded vigorously: "I know, I know everything."
On the day He Xiaofang returned to school to estimate her scores, Teacher Wang from the Academic Affairs Office suddenly called her and Xu Xiuli and told them that Jiang Ning had called them.
The entire month of July and August was the period when the floods were most severe. She and many volunteers including Song Peifeng were at the forefront of flood control and disaster relief. She also forgot that this year's college entrance examination month was not June, but July. When she remembered, it was already July. She thought it was too late, but unexpectedly it was just the right time.
For the entire year before that, apart from calling and giving her phone number in Beijing to He Xiaofang, Xu Xiuli and Teacher Wang, she had no further contact with them.
Firstly, she had arranged her study life very fully, and secondly, He Xiaofang and Xu Xiuli were also in the final sprint stage of their senior year, and it was not appropriate for her to disturb them during this period.
But she will officially start school in September, and the rented house may be returned by then, and the contact information may change. He Xiaofang and others will leave No. 1 Middle School and go to a new school, so the contact information will also change. If she couldn't remember it, it would be fine. But when she remembered it, she called Teacher Wang. Her original intention was to tell Teacher Wang the new contact information, but she didn't expect that He Xiaofang and Xu Xiuli were also there.
Xu Xiuli and He Xiaofang didn't expect Jiang Ning to call them at this time, and they excitedly ran to Teacher Wang's office to answer the phone.
After not seeing each other for more than a year, He Xiaofang and Xu Xiuli felt a little unfamiliar with Jiang Ning. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ning dispelled this sense of alienation as soon as she spoke. Her voice was a little tired, but she seemed to be in good spirits. She asked them: "How did the exam go? Have you filled out the school application?"
He Xiaofang's nose felt sore, and she held back her tears and asked her, "Ningning, where are you? Why do you sound like you have a cold?"
Xu Xiuli was more alert: "You are not still in the disaster area, are you?"
Everyone in his hometown knows that Jiang Ning has returned to his hometown to provide disaster relief. Xu Xiuli, who has just finished the college entrance examination, naturally also knows about it. For some reason, she suddenly has an urge to participate in the flood control and disaster relief operations on the front line like Jiang Ning.
She said so too.
Jiang Ning smiled softly when she heard this, "Do you have money? If you have money, then give us some money to support us and get more supplies. It's very dangerous here. If you are not familiar with the water and the place, you will need us to take care of you when you come here."
She herself grew up by the river. Children who grew up by the river, even if they have not learned to swim systematically, can swim faster and better than others using the dog-paddle style.
Xu Xiuli, a girl who grew up in a small town, had never learned to swim.
Jiang Ning called them for another matter. She asked He Xiaofang, "Do you want to work during the summer vacation?"
He Xiaofang's heart trembled when she asked this question. She scratched the table in her office with her fingertips and nodded, "Yes."
There is more than a month in the summer vacation, it is impossible for her to stay at home completely idle and rely on her second sister to give her tuition and living expenses. Her second sister is now in a relationship. If things go well, they may get married by the end of the year. If things go late, it will be at least two years. Otherwise, she will be considered an 'old maid' in the eyes of others.
She also has to go out to work to earn tuition and living expenses.
But she didn't know what she could do. All she could think of was to serve dishes and wash dishes for others.
Jiang Ning's voice came from the other end of the phone, saying, "I know a sister. She has a drama that is being filmed and is in need of some extras. The daily pay may not be that much. Do you want to give it a try?"
The sister that Jiang Ning was talking about was naturally the producer of "The King's Guards", Huang Lan. After several drafts, the script of "The King's Guards" was finally completed, and the next step was casting.
They also sent an audition invitation to Yan Yichang, who was recommended to them by Jiang Ning from the Performance Department of Shanghai Theatre Academy.
When Yan Yichang, who had never acted before, received the audition invitation from the crew of "The Imperial Guards", he was puzzled because he had no idea about the crew and didn't know them. He didn't know why they knew him and found him through his school to notify him to audition.
He was afraid of encountering a scammer, so he naturally asked them how they knew him. The other party said that he was recommended by the original author of "The Years I Was the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard".
Of course he knew about the novel "The King's Guards" and had been following its serialization. Everyone in their dormitory had read it and knew that Ning Meng's first two works were so popular and "White Snake" had such a high box office that "The King's Guards" would be filmed sooner or later. However, he did not expect that "The King's Guards" had not only been approved as a project, but he had also been invited to audition.
The problem is, he has never seen Ning Meng. By the way, isn’t Ning Meng a student of Peking University? No matter how he thought about it, he felt that Ning Meng and he should be two people who had nothing in common, and he didn't know why the other party recommended him.
He didn't know whether this was true or not, but since the other party contacted him through the school and this was a rare opportunity, he didn't tell his roommates. After asking for leave from the school, he went to the crew for the audition.
As soon as the director saw his face that looked like it was carved by a knife or an axe, he knew why Ning Meng said she didn't know him but recommended him to play the fourth male lead, the cult leader.
This doesn't even require any acting skills, once he puts on the costume, he looks just like the evil and crazy cult leader himself.
In addition to Yan Yichang, Jiang Bai, who had a summer job, also took Tong Jingang with him. Jiang Bai auditioned for the second male lead, a cold-blooded and loyal bodyguard, while Tong Jingang played a background role as a Jinyiwei with a few lines, the kind who did things in a very domineering way.
Originally, the drama was ready and should have started filming soon, but the actors for the second and fourth male roles had been found. The first male role, the crown prince's grandson, the third male role, a chivalrous knight, and several important female supporting roles were all easy to find, but the only one suitable for the female lead, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who must be beautiful, heroic and impressive, was not easy to find.
The director looked for quite a few, but he kept comparing them to Jiang Ning in his mind. After watching many of them, he always felt that they were not good enough.
Her face is pretty, but her temperament is not good. Her temperament is also good, but her aura is not good. I wanted to contact Jiang Ning and ask her to act in the film. I called her countless times but couldn't find her. It was by chance that I learned from Jiang Bo that Jiang Ning had gone to the disaster area to provide relief.
She would rather suffer such hardships and risk her life to go to the disaster area to provide relief than be his heroine.
Although Jiang Ning was on the front line of flood control and disaster relief, she called Grandpa Jiang at a fixed time every week to report her safety. Director Zhang contacted Jiang Ning through Jiang Bai and wanted Jiang Ning to play his heroine. Although Jiang Ning refused, she recommended a Hong Kong actress who she thought might be quite suitable. At the same time, she also mentioned whether she could recommend a classmate to come over and play a supporting role or do a summer job.
For Jiang Ning, these were just easy things to do, but for He Xiaofang, they were a life-saving straw that came to her during the most important and difficult period of her life.
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