Chapter 48: Sense of Immersion 1

Guling Town was still a commune back then, with a population of about ten thousand.

At the moment, it didn't feel like much, but once the tourism industry developed in the future, tens of millions of tourists would flood into Mount Lu every year, putting Guling's land and housing under extreme strain and making them utterly overwhelmed.

By evening, a fine drizzle had begun to fall over Mount Lu.

After finishing his meal, Chen Qi went out for a stroll. The place where they stayed was on Hexi Road. Walking a short distance to the northeast brought one to the restricted villa cluster, and walking further northeast led to the cinema.

He very much liked to sit at the entrance of the cinema, though he had never stepped inside it even once.

Historically, after the release of Romance on Mount Lu, this cinema was directly renamed the "Romance on Mount Lu Cinema." For decades, it showed only this single movie, playing one to two screenings a day, breaking the Guinness World Record.

"Little Chen!"

"What are you doing here?"

From the other direction of the path, Gong Xue and Zhang Jinling walked over together under a small floral umbrella, chatting and laughing, apparently out for a walk as well.

"I'm walking off my dinner. You girls done wandering around?"

「Yeah. Why aren't you even holding an umbrella? Do you want to borrow mine?"

"No need, walking in the rain is quite nice."

"My, you literary types sure are romantic. We could never."

Gong Xue just smiled at him and stayed silent, while Zhang Jinling kept talking and asked, "Hey, what program are you preparing for the party?"

"Storytelling, obviously."

"You are not allowed to tell stories! If you tell stories, I'll be upset with you! All of us agreed that this time you must sing and dance; poetry recitation won't cut it either!"

"There's no need to be so harsh, right? Are performances restricted now?"

"Ha, anyway, we're doing a women's chorus, so you better figure something out yourself. Don't disgrace the male comrades. We're heading off!"

After rattling that off, Zhang Jinling pulled Gong Xue along and hurried away.

"Psh! Your face is even bigger than Gao Xiaosong's!"

Once they had left, Chen Qi complained to himself. Everyone was looking forward to the upcoming party and was forming teams to plan their programs properly. Even Tang Guoqiang had come to pester him about putting together a men's duet.

A duet my foot. He only knew a thing or two about being caught between ice and fire.

Chen Qi strolled around for a bit longer before returning to the hotel. Before he even reached his room, he spotted Tang Guoqiang in the hallway.

"I say, Old Tang! There are so many people you could look for, why are you zeroing in on me?"

Having grown familiar with one another, they no longer addressed each other as "comrade." Tang Guoqiang adopted his signature tone and smiled, "Their looks are a bit lacking, and they look too uncoordinated standing together. You have great looks, and we're the same height. It would be a waste not to team up."

"Alright, get in here!"

Chen Qi opened the door and went in. Tang Guoqiang fished a cassette tape out of his pocket and said in a low voice, "Don't you have a cassette player? I specifically borrowed a tape from the hotel manager. Let's practice together."

"I give up on you. Sort it out yourself, I'm going to wash my face."

"Where is the cassette player?"

"On the table!"

Chen Qi picked up the thermos, poured half a basin of water, and began scrubbing his face noisily. Over there, Tang Guoqiang asked again, "Does this thing take batteries?"

"Don't waste batteries, just plug it in!"

"Is this power outlet not working?"

"Use the one by the bed!"

"Is it plugged in?"

"..."

Tang Guoqiang turned his head, frowned, and said, "Why is this so strange?"

"So, is it plugged in?"

"Is it in?"

"In?"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Good grief, Tang Guoqiang was twenty-seven years old this year and about to get married; he wasn't some naive virgin like Ge You who understood nothing. He said, "Little Chen, your knowledge is too eclectic. Sometimes it's quite terrifying!"

He shook his head, pressed the button, and a melody drifted out.

"Fine wine emits fragrance and songs take flight, friends, I invite you to share a toast, please share a toast..."

In 1976, the "Gang of Four" was smashed, and the whole country rejoiced, giving birth to this song, "Toast Song." Over the decades that followed, people continued to sing it, and its popularity endured.

"Come, come, come, let's practice!"

"Let's just practice briefly!"

"At least don't sing the wrong lyrics and become the laughingstock."

Tang Guoqiang was in high spirits. With no other choice, Chen Qi stood in the room like a big fool, still having to listen to his instructions.

"Chest out, head up, open your chest, be full of emotion, overflowing with enthusiasm... When you sing to this part, throw in a hand gesture, make a movement like this, and the effect will be even better..."

"Should I also beam with joy?"

"That would be exaggerated, but your gaze must be focused, with a bright spark in it."

Chen Qi rolled his eyes. Who knew you were such a drama queen?

Then again, could a star who endorses excavators be that introverted?

...

In his past life, Chen Qi was born in 1980.

To speak of the lives of those born in the 1980s, it was truly wondrous. Their childhoods involved kerosene lamps, their adolescence encountered computers, their youth leaped straight into smartphones, and their middle age was even more absurd—a pandemic, the China-US rivalry, Chang'e landing on the moon, the US dealing with new youth rebellion, utterly unbound...

It felt as though they had lived through the changes of two centuries.

Counting from the founding of the nation, the events that occurred during this period received different evaluations at each stage. Like many people, Chen Qi's view of this history went from cluelessness, misunderstanding, cynicism, to actively seeking to understand, and eventually looking at it anew...

Taking 1979 alone, there were many major events this year.

The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US, the issuance of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," the establishment of the Shekou Industrial Zone, fighting the Vietnamese monkeys, the basic state policy of family planning beginning to brew and be discussed... Every single one of them had milestone significance.

In the blink of an eye, it was October 1st, National Day.

The Guling Hotel was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. Red cloth and red silk were draped everywhere as if they didn't cost a cent. Even without the film crew, as a large state-owned hotel, they couldn't afford to slack off.

The dining hall had been arranged long ago, with tables and chairs placed in a circle against the walls, leaving the open space in the middle to serve as a stage.

On the wall directly ahead hung a portrait of the current leader, topped with a banner that read: "Romance on Mount Lu Film Crew and All Staff of Guling Hotel Celebrating National Day Together Party!"

Everyone sat neatly like elementary school students. Chen Qi looked at the items on the table, which included a small amount of fruit and candy, supplemented mostly by melon seeds, and magically, a few boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes were placed there as well.

"Alright, quiet down everyone!"

"We're starting now!"

Wang Haowei and the hotel manager, a man and a woman, happened to serve as the hosts, full of passion and vigor.

"Thirty years ago today, the Chairman solemnly proclaimed the birth of New China atop the Tiananmen Rostrum! Thirty years later today, we gather here on Mount Lu to jointly wish a happy birthday to our great motherland!"

"..."

Chen Qi tilted his head and asked in a low voice, "Who wrote this script?"

"Director Wang wrote it herself," Tang Guoqiang replied in a low voice as well.

"Not bad!"

"I thought you were going to make sarcastic remarks again!" Tang Guoqiang was surprised.

"What do you take me for? This is the motherland's birthday!" Chen Qi was even more surprised. When it was time to be serious, he was always very serious, okay?

Over there, Wang Haowei finished her opening remarks and introduced the first program: several waitresses from the hotel would perform the loyalty dance. The loyalty dance was actually no longer performed in the later period, but they didn't know any other dances, so it still counted as a program.

Following that were Peking opera singing and poetry recitation, mostly performed by older individuals.

When it came to the young people, it was different. Gong Xue, Zhang Jinling, and several other female comrades formed a chorus to sing "Spring Water Ding-Dong," a song released the previous year.

"Spring water ding-dong, spring water ding-dong, spring water ding-dong rings, leaping down the mountain ridge, walking across the grassland..."

"Ooh!"

The atmosphere instantly heated up. Everyone clapped to keep the beat, and Chen Qi clapped along too.

These were all famous tunes, frequently heard even in later generations. In a couple of years, there would be "Camel Bells," "The Ocean, My Hometown," "Young Friends Come Together," and so on—all wonderful songs.

"The next program is one I know everyone is looking forward to. Because he is the film crew's famous storytelling king, today everyone wants to see him perform something else. Please welcome Tang Guoqiang and Chen Qi to sing "Toast Song"!"

"Clap, clap, clap!"

The applause was especially enthusiastic.