The movie "The Flower Girl" was finally shown in Moon Bay Brigade. The villagers spread the news excitedly, all eagerly anticipating the film. Each production team had also made arrangements for their work well in advance, preparing to watch the movie.
On the day of the movie screening, the team had long since finished work. On the open threshing ground in front of the brigade's courtyard, people had already erected two straight fir trees, each over ten meters tall, and hung up the white screen with black borders. Before it even got dark, everyone had eaten their supper early and carried their stools to reserve seats to watch the movie.
When a movie was shown in Moon Bay, almost the entire village turned out, and Zhao Mingyue went to see the movie with her family. It would be very odd for her not to attend such a grand event.
Many people from nearby villages also came over, mainly young people and children, filling the threshing ground to capacity, with as many as two or three thousand people.
Before the movie even started, the scene was already bustling with activity. Children played, young people joked, and adults chatted, creating a lively atmosphere. People running small businesses had already set up shop early, carrying their wares on shoulder poles. Some sold cold noodles, others melon seeds and peanuts, and still others candy. As dusk fell, lanterns were lit on these stalls as a way to attract customers.
As night fell, the projectionists, having eaten and drunk their fill, finally emerged from the brigade's canteen. Their social status used to be very high; whenever they visited a village, the brigade cadres would personally accompany them, treating them to fine food and wine before the movie would begin.
The projector's lens finally lit up, and people watched anxiously as the projectionist adjusted the lens. The beam finally hit the screen precisely, and the children cheered—the movie had finally begun. What appeared first were fragmented film reels, and the countdown numbers jumped up and down: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Finally, the credits rolled, and the movie started. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the first image to appear.
It was completely dark, and the only beam of light was on the huge screen, drawing everyone's attention. This was the perfect setting for romance; young men and women would sneak off to meet during the movie screening. In the pitch black, no one could see anyone else clearly, so they would take the opportunity to hold hands or kiss, and generally, no one would pay any special attention.
Zhao Mingyue sat with her parents and brothers. After the movie started, Zhao Minglang nudged Zhao Mingyue and said, "Mingyue, let's go to the back to watch the movie."
Zhao Mingyue knew her brother wanted to go on a date with Yu Youfen and was using her as a cover, so she went along. When the siblings came out, Zhao Minglang pointed to a spot and said to Zhao Mingyue, "Youfen is sitting over there. Help me call her out." This was their usual method: Zhao Mingyue would call someone for her brother, and he would give her some reward.
Zhao Mingyue nodded: "Okay, you wait here." She crouched down and walked through the crowd, found the place where Yu Youfen's family was sitting, reached out and scratched Yu Youfen's knee. Yu Youfen turned her head, saw Mingyue, smiled, and followed her out.
Seeing her sister leave with Zhao Mingyue, Yu Youqing quickly got up and followed them out. Once outside the crowd, Zhao Minglang, as usual, handed Zhao Mingyue fifty cents. Zhao Mingyue took the money, chuckled, and shook her head. She didn't need her brother's money anymore, but since he had given it to her, she would take it.
Zhao Minglang and Yu Youfen moved to the back of the crowd to find a more secluded spot to watch the movie. Zhao Mingyue was about to go back to watch the movie when someone suddenly called out to her: "Mingyue."
Zhao Mingyue turned around and, in the light from the movie screen, saw Yu Youqing's face clearly: "Why did you come out?"
Yu Youqing smiled at her and said, "Want some melon seeds? I'll go buy two tubs."
Before Zhao Mingyue could refuse him, he had already headed towards the stall. The melon seeds were measured in bamboo tubes, and the price varied depending on the tube used: some cost five cents a tube, some eight cents a tube, and some ten cents a tube. Of course, the more expensive the tube, the more you could get.
Yu Youqing bought two cents worth of melon seeds, rolled them into two triangular tubes with paper, wrapped them up, and handed one to Zhao Mingyue: "Have some melon seeds."
Zhao Mingyue took it and said with a smile, "Thank you."
She looked down at the paper tube in her hand. The movie light was incredibly bright for a moment, and she saw the patterns on it—geometric shapes she had been learning recently. She was momentarily stunned. Books like this were incredibly hard to find, yet someone was using them as waste paper. Knowledge was truly worthless these days, Zhao Mingyue thought, and couldn't help but sigh.
Yu Youqing turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"
Zhao Mingyue said, "I saw that the paper on this bag of sunflower seeds was from a high school geometry textbook, which I found quite a pity."
"How did you know it was a high school geometry textbook?" Yu Youqing asked.
Zhao Mingyue said, "I've been learning this recently."
Yu Youqing asked in surprise, "Are you studying high school textbooks?"
Zhao Mingyue smiled and said, "I find it quite boring. I'll learn something; maybe it'll come in handy in the future. Okay, Youqing, thank you for the melon seeds. I'm going back to watch a movie."
Yu Youqing glanced at the dark grassy area next to him, where many couples were watching movies and going on dates. He wanted to suggest to Zhao Mingyue that we go sit there for a while, but he didn't have the courage, so he could only watch Zhao Mingyue leave.
Zhao Mingyue originally intended to go back to her parents' house to watch a movie, but when she turned around, she couldn't find the place. She looked around twice, only to see a sea of people, and couldn't remember where she had come from. She glanced at the screen; it was an old movie she had seen many times before, so it didn't matter whether she watched it or not. Maybe she should just go back and read a book instead. With that thought, she turned and walked back.
Passing by a garden, she saw a few sparks flickering under the bamboo, and someone was smoking there. She was about to walk over quickly when she heard someone ask, "Who's there?"
Zhao Mingyue hesitated for a moment. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, so she said, "It's me."
Is that Zhao Mingyue?
Zhao Mingyue heard the voice, which sounded like Shen Xuyue's: "Secretary Shen?"
"Yes, it's me. I have something to tell you."
Zhao Mingyue was suspicious. What was he doing here? "What is it?"
Zhao Mingyue didn't go over, but Shen Xuyue walked over. Zhao Mingyue heard him lower his voice and say, "About that letter of accusation."
"What's wrong with the whistleblower letter?" In the darkness, she couldn't see Shen Xuyue's face clearly, only his general outline and her voice. He was very close to her, perhaps only twenty centimeters away. She could even smell the faint tobacco scent on him.
Shen Xuyue leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I checked, and that letter of accusation was probably written by Wang Qiulan."
The warm breath brushed against Zhao Mingyue's ear, and Zhao Mingyue felt as if she were on fire, her whole body probably burning up: "Is it true?" She heard herself ask this, and the voice sounded very distant.
Shen Xuyue stepped back a little and said, "It shouldn't be wrong. It took me some effort to find out."
"I understand, thank you, Secretary Shen." Zhao Mingyue was very touched; she hadn't expected him to take the initiative to do this for her.
Shen Xuyue said, "I hate people who play dirty tricks, especially those who scheme against me. This is not only to help you, but also for my own sake."
Zhao Mingyue said sincerely, "I want to thank you no matter what. I'm really sorry for dragging you into this."
Shen Xuyue let out a long sigh: "This matter doesn't affect me much, but it's you, a girl, who's throwing mud at people for no reason. It's really hard to stand by and watch." His voice wasn't loud, but you could tell he was indignant.
Zhao Mingyue was inexplicably moved: "Thank you, Secretary Shen, for believing in me. I'm fine. I believe the truth will prevail and the rumors will fall apart on their own."
Shen Xuyue said, "Yes, you must believe that justice is in the hands of the majority, and kindness is the norm in society. Don't let this little difficulty defeat you, keep going!"
Zhao Mingyue's lips curved into a smile as she touched the unopened bag of sunflower seeds in her hand. "Secretary Shen, please have some sunflower seeds, thank you." She then handed over the bag of sunflower seeds.
Shen Xuyue hesitated for a moment, then took it. Zhao Mingyue smiled and said, "Then I'll head back now."
Shen Xuyue said, "Aren't you going to watch the movie?"
Zhao Mingyue laughed: "Secretary Shen didn't look at it either, did he?"
Shen Xuyue said, "I'll go check it out in a bit. Wait, I grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, you can have the rest, thank you."
Zhao Mingyue took the bag of sunflower seeds: "Then I'm off, goodbye Secretary Shen."
Zhao Mingyue turned and left. Shen Xuyue watched her faint figure and wanted to say, "Zhao Mingyue, let's go see a movie together." But he didn't. In this turbulent time, she was already in the center of the storm, and he couldn't add to her burden. He turned back to his friends who were also educated youth and said, "Okay, let's go see a movie."
The group of people who had been quietly smoking nearby came out, put their arms around Shen Xuyue's shoulders, and said, "Why didn't you ask her to go to the movies with you?"
Shen Xuyue smiled and said, "Never mind, I'd better not cause any trouble for others."
One of them said, "He's just a bit young, but he's good-looking, brave, and knowledgeable."
"What, you've got your eye on it too?" one of them teased.
"Tch, I don't have such heavy tastes as Lao Shen."
Shen Xuyue nudged his friend's waist with his elbow: "What's wrong with my taste?"
The man said, "You need to think this through. If you marry a country girl, it will be difficult to return to the city later."
One of them laughed: "You're overthinking it! Old Shen said he's going to stay and become a live-in son-in-law?"
Shen Xuyue listened, then shook his head with a smile. What nonsense! It was just a few extra glances and a few extra words of concern.
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