Unlike the pure regret and pain felt by Yongjuan and Yongfu, everything Xiaoyue did when Yongfu died evoked an indescribable sense of turmoil. It was as if this young girl was tearing her own soul apart amidst her hoarse cries.
As Xiao Yue knelt on the ground crying, the mute old woman was also squatting on the floor of the west room—singing and urinating/defecating wherever she pleased. This old woman was becoming increasingly confused.
Two emotionally charged scenes have passed. The narrator says, "Time doesn't stand still for anyone. Xiaoyue finally applied to her dream university and received a national scholarship. The villagers also gave her a considerable sum of money at Uncle Yongfu's funeral..."
The villagers held a celebratory banquet for Xiaoyue on her way to college in the village's largest threshing ground, with over a dozen tables set up, and every villager attended. Two wooden poles stood in front of the threshing ground, from which hung a bright red banner:
"A grand celebration for Guan Yue, the first college student from Jinhe Village, to graduate!"
The banquet featured a wide variety of dishes, and men and women were busy serving, plating, eating, and drinking – it was a lively and bustling event.
The mute woman took a bath for the first time in her life, looking completely clean, her hair neatly styled, and dressed in beautiful, crisp new clothes. She even had makeup on, looking like a man-eating witch from a fairy tale.
The villagers helped the mute woman to sit in the main seat. To prevent her from spilling soup and water everywhere while eating, they specially placed a huge bowl in front of her.
Xiao Yue moved among the banquet guests, offering toasts to the uncles, aunts, grandfathers, and grandmothers of the village. Of course, Xiao Yue didn't drink alcohol; she simply substituted tea for wine as a token of her appreciation.
Xiao Yue, dressed in a neat and tidy black suit, moved among the colorful banquet crowd in the threshing ground, serving tea to the villagers.
The mute woman held a pair of straight, shiny black chopsticks, which moved among the colorful meat and vegetable dishes on the large dining table, picking food for herself.
This was a highly suggestive visual language. Zheng Bohan was slightly taken aback, but then couldn't help but admire the skill and ingenuity of the transition.
Xiao Yue kept offering tea, but the villagers felt sorry for her young age and said that she only needed to take a sip and that was enough, instead of drinking every single cup.
The mute woman kept eating. Although she was very clean, her yellow teeth and saliva made the villagers disgusted. Whenever her chopsticks touched a dish, the guests at the table would remove the part of the dish she had touched and put it into the large bowl in front of her.
The camera panned across the scene for about ten seconds, the clouds in the sky shifting and the azure sky turning into a fiery red twilight. The evening sunset was like blood, much like the day Yongfu died.
The sky was cloudless, and the mute woman's large bowl was now completely clean.
The mute woman's belly was swollen and round, and she struggled to stand up, holding onto the table.
The villagers looked at the mute woman with concern and said, "Old lady, don't overeat."
Wow, you can really eat!
"That's a huge pork knuckle, let's eat the whole thing!"
Amid the villagers' chatter, the mute woman staggered back to her west room, struggled to step onto a footstool, and tried to climb onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
The graduation banquet outside the window had ended, and the villagers hung a long string of bright red firecrackers in front of Xiao Yue's house. Xiao Yue lit the fuse himself, marking the end of the day.
Her heavy body struggled several times without success. On her last attempt, the mute woman's belly pressed against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Crackling and popping! Crackling and popping! One by one, the small red firecrackers exploded and rang out joyfully. The cheerful sounds made the little courtyard exceptionally lively.
Suddenly—it sounded like something heavy hitting the ground. But amidst the firecrackers, no one seemed to hear it. The villagers' faces remained smiling, and they clapped their hands enthusiastically.
Zheng Bohan stared intently at the string of whips exploding one after another on the screen. The next second, the screen suddenly went dark.
Director: Gu Wenhua
Screenwriter: Jian Xiaojun
Photography: Kong Pingxin
Yue Siying
Editing: Gu Wenhua
...
...
actor:
The mute woman—Qi Ming
Guan Yue - Ye Chu
Guan Yongfu — Li Zhenxiang
...
The movie has ended.
The movie is over!
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