Chapter 91: Playing a Movie

“Don’t squirm, you little rascal!” Zhou Yimin scolded.

That’s right—on the front of the bicycle sat that little guy, Laicai, who also wanted to see the movie. With no other choice, Zhou Yimin brought him along too.

In truth, Laicai didn’t just want to watch the movie—he also wanted to ride a bicycle.

Once they left the village and the road got a bit better, Zhou Yimin picked up speed. In just about twenty minutes, they arrived at the Hongxing Commune. By that time, the commune square was already packed with people.

Besides the locals, people from several nearby villages had arrived one after another as well.

It was hard to believe such a crowd had gathered just to watch two movies.

But in this era, movies held an enormous appeal for the common folk.

“Grandma, you and Laicai wait here. I’m going back to pick up Grandpa,” Zhou Yimin said as he helped his grandma find a spot.

“Alright, go on then! Be careful riding on the road,” Grandma reminded him.

Zhou Yimin also gave Laicai strict instructions not to wander off to play, even scaring him by saying child traffickers might snatch him away.

It wasn’t entirely an empty threat. In those days, child trafficking was rampant. But traffickers usually met terrible ends—if they were caught, they’d be beaten to death, and no one would be held responsible.

Unlike in later years, when the law seemed to protect traffickers—giving them light sentences of three to five years, which did nothing and practically encouraged them to keep committing crimes.

Zhou Yimin rode his bike back to Zhoujia Village. Along the way, he ran into streams of villagers heading out, all greeting him as they passed.

Was the whole village really going?

Back at the village, Grandpa was already waiting, with Laifang standing nearby.

As for Laifu, he had already walked out with their parents. Even little Qianqian had been taken by Third Aunt to see the movie. To Zhou Yimin, this was just madness.

He thought to himself, maybe he should just hire a projectionist to come play movies in Zhoujia Village sometime, so his grandparents wouldn’t have to walk so far.

He had Laifang sit on the front of the bike, then helped Grandpa onto the back. With a push of the pedals, the bicycle rolled leisurely down the country road.

Laifang, sitting in front, kept playing with the bike bell, ringing it now and then whether there was anyone in front or not—she found it endlessly fun.

A bicycle was a bicycle. Even with two trips, Zhou Yimin was still faster than anyone else.

Laifu saw his big brother giving their younger siblings a ride and felt a bit envious. But he didn’t say anything to their parents—he just quietly followed along.

“Grandma’s over there saving us a spot. Grandpa, you head over,” Zhou Yimin said after stopping, pointing Grandpa in the right direction. He still needed to find a place to park his bicycle.

“Alright, and you come join us as soon as you can,” Grandpa replied.

Then he took Laifang by the hand and walked off in that direction.

“Bro, can you keep an eye on my bike?” Zhou Yimin said, pulling out half a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes.

The young man had been about to tell him off, but the moment he saw the cigarettes, his attitude did a complete 180. His eyes even looked brighter.

“Brother, no problem! I promise the bike will be safe—I’ll stay right here and guard it,” the young man pledged earnestly, thumping his chest.

Da Qianmen!

Normally, he had to shamelessly beg just to bum a single cigarette.

Now this guy had just handed him half a pack, just for watching a bike. Who cared about the movie anymore? This half pack of smokes was worth it!

Zhou Yimin then handed over two handfuls of sunflower seeds. “Here, for a little snack.”

“Thanks, bro!” The young man’s gaze became even more resolute, as if he were ready to join the Party.

Even if the King of Heaven himself showed up tonight, he wasn’t letting anyone touch this bike—not even a scratch.

Zhou Yimin chuckled and headed over to his grandparents.

As soon as he left, two or three young men around the same age wandered over.

“Hey, why are you standing here? You can’t see anything from way back.”

“You guys go ahead and watch. I’m fine right here,” the young man replied.

Then he pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and started cracking them.

The others were stunned. “When did you buy sunflower seeds?”

Sunflower seeds and peanuts were usually only available around New Year’s when supply was better at the co-op, and even then, they were rationed. So for them, sunflower seeds weren’t something you could eat whenever you wanted.

“Buy? These were a gift,” he said smugly.

The other three clearly didn’t believe him. Who would just give you sunflower seeds?

“See that bicycle? The guy asked me to watch it and gave me half a pack of Da Qianmen and two handfuls of sunflower seeds.” He grinned proudly.

That’s when they finally noticed his bulging pockets.

Without a shred of politeness, they reached in and each grabbed a handful. Then they pulled out the half pack of Da Qianmen and split it up—one cigarette each.

“Give those back! You hear me?” he cried, instantly regretting his earlier show-off moment. If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve kept quiet.

The sunflower seeds were whatever—but the cigarettes! He rarely had the chance to smoke something this good. He hadn’t even had one yet, and these bastards were already puffing away.

“Come on, he hired all four of us to watch the bike. Of course we each get a share!” one of them said righteously.

Little did Zhou Yimin know, his half-pack of cigarettes had just earned him four “security guards” to watch his bike.

When he got back to his grandparents, he brought a bag of sunflower seeds—probably three to five jin worth—and handed it to Grandpa. “Here, something to snack on while you watch.”

Ideally, you’d eat popcorn while watching a movie, but this would have to do for now.

Thinking of popcorn, he figured that if he ever did bring a projectionist to Zhoujia Village, he’d pop some himself for everyone to enjoy.

Popcorn wasn’t hard to make, and it didn’t require any fancy equipment—you could even do it with a regular pot.

His grandparents felt deeply moved by how thoughtful their grandson was.

He was different from their son—this grandson really had come back to repay their kindness. For a moment, both their eyes welled up. It was such a pity that Yimin’s mother hadn’t lived to enjoy this.

The movie was about to begin. The projectionist was a middle-aged man who looked like he had a lot of experience, skillfully operating the projector.

Tonight’s first film was Battle on Shangganling Mountain, a movie from four years ago.

It told the story of the Eighth Company of the Volunteer Army, led by Company Commander Zhang Zhongfa, as they defended their position in the Shangganling campaign, fighting fiercely against the enemy and ultimately achieving victory.

This kind of film was hugely popular among the public and perfectly matched the current main theme.

As the movie began, the noisy square gradually quieted down. If anyone kept talking, the people around them would shush them—no one wanted a few troublemakers ruining this rare chance to watch a film.

Even Grandpa and Grandma, who’d been munching on sunflower seeds, paused and stared intently ahead.

Completely absorbed.

Zhou Yimin had still underestimated the appeal of cinema in this era.

As the movie played, the projectionist’s narration came through, sounding so much like the voice of a news anchor from later years.

Clearly, you needed some charisma to be a good projectionist.
(End of Chapter)