Huo Ge first returned to the crew to finish his work and collected his pay.
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to speak with Liu Yifei, because as soon as work wrapped up, a crowd of people rushed forward to take photos with her.
Otherwise, given his glib tongue, he might have been able to persuade Liu Yifei to star in the movie he wrote, directed, and was set to act in himself.
Seeing that dusk was falling, Huo Ge quickly pulled Qi Tongwei along toward Dazui Village near the mountain peak, afraid that if they were late, they would miss dinner.
Dazui Village got its name because at the entrance of the village stood two huge boulders, one stacked upon the other, which from a distance looked like a pair of wide-open jaws.
There was only a single mountain path leading into the village; past the Dazui Rocks lay Dazui Village at the peak.
Qi Tongwei was quite a homebody. Having stayed with the crew for so long, he had stubbornly never visited Dazui Village.
Standing before the Dazui Rocks for the very first time, he gazed at their peculiar shape. Up close, they looked just like the gaping maw of some demonic deity, seemingly shouting out toward the firmament.
He was deeply captivated by the magnificent sight, and a nameless sense of awe welled up in his heart.
A gust of wind swept by, and it almost felt as though someone were whispering in his ear, deterring anyone from coming close to explore the world behind the boulders.
Huo Ge, on the other hand, had been to Dazui Village many times and had long since lost any sense of awe toward the Dazui Rocks.
Half-pushing and half-dragging Qi Tongwei near the Dazui Rocks, he kept babbling on about borrowing money.
"Wei-ge, think about it this way: if the three Wang brothers are major criminals, once we catch them, won't the higher-ups have to issue a reward?!"
"Just say I'm your informant, and that way I can get a cut of the reward too!"
"Lend me fifty thousand first, and as soon as I get the reward money, I'll pay you back immediately!"
"Or I can authorize you to collect the reward on my behalf. Once you get the money, you don't even have to give it to me—just consider it repayment. How does that sound?"
"Wei-ge, why aren't you saying anything? Are you stunned mute?"
"Stop! Stop!" Bothered to the point where the stones before his eyes were starting to look like cash, Qi Tongwei snapped, "They aren't suspects, and I'm not here to work a case, alright?! I'm just here tagging along with you for a free meal, OK?!"
"Fine," Huo Ge said cheerfully. "As long as you lend me the money, everything is OK!"
"Didn't you just collect your pay? Are you still short on cash?"
"Short big time! Right now, my elements are completely lacking in gold. Making a movie means hiring actors, preparing props, and putting a crew together—every time I open and close my eyes, it costs money!"
"If you don't have the money, why bother trying to make a movie at all?"
"I'm making a small-budget production! Low investment, fast filming, and quick returns! That way I can pay you back all the sooner!"
"A small-budget production? A movie about two people stripping naked to contribute to the cause of human reproduction?"
"You want to make something like that? It's not entirely out of the question, but our country doesn't allow it. We'd have to go shoot it over at the little Japan's place, film it abroad—the expenses for that are sky-high, you know!"
"I'll be damned~"
Without a second thought, Qi Tongwei lashed out with a kick.
"Hehe," Huo Ge leaped away nimbly like a flexible monkey. "It's a deal then! I'll save a role for you—you can play the lead or make a cameo, whichever you want. If you want to make it big in the entertainment industry, I'll write a script just for you and definitely turn you into a micro-budget megastar! What do you say we give you the stage name Qi Tongweilang?"
"Qi your big fat ghost!" Qi Tongwei had already developed an extreme immunity to Huo Ge's wild talk.
"Though I do believe you'd make an even better tomorrow's star of the police force!"
"Here I am, holed up in this impoverished mountain ditch, and you're telling me I'm going to be a star of the police force?"
"When heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first exhausts their muscles and bones..."
"Stop, cut the chatter! I've heard you say that eight hundred times!"
"Wei-ge, a hero does not ask where he comes from. I want to be a director, can't you at least picture yourself as a precinct director? Bureau chief? Department head? Minister?!"
"Holy crap, you really dare to dream. You know, I honestly think you'd be great at going into officialdom. You tell humans what they want to hear and ghosts what they want to hear—with that glib tongue of yours, you could talk a ghost into dying all over again!"
"Wei-ge!" Huo Ge stepped forward, hooked his arm around Qi Tongwei's neck, and launched earnestly into another round of nagging.
"Tongwei, my man, you can't let your name down. Tongwei, Tongwei—we're going to achieve greatness together, Wei-ge!"
"I'll help you catch thieves and rack up merits so you can get promoted. Once you become a minister, you mustn't forget to watch my back!"
"Once I become a big-shot director down the road, I won't forget you either. I'll definitely base a movie or a TV show on you, and I'll call it *The People's Interest*!"
"This isn't collusion between officials and businessmen—it's mutual support and mutual achievement!"
"Stop!" Qi Tongwei hurriedly pushed Huo Ge away. "I'll give you a single word: get lost, and make it snappy!"
Undeterred, Huo Ge threw his arm around Qi Tongwei's neck again. "Wei-ge, for kids from poor families like us, if we want to beat heaven by half a move, we have to dare to fight and struggle. We need the courage to risk losing everything just to drag the emperor off his horse—otherwise, how are we ever supposed to stand out?"
"Beat heaven by half a move?" Qi Tongwei immediately retorted. "What good does that do? Some of my classmates are already deputy precinct heads, deputy section chiefs, and deputy detachment leaders, and one of them is even the head of the traffic police detachment. How am I supposed to compare to that?"
"The road is perilous and long, but you can always strike after the enemy has attacked and achieve success later in life!"
"Do you believe that? Just like how I never imagined becoming a minister, you're just a big-rig driver turned extra—do you really think you can be a director too? Stop daydreaming! Finding a steady job, marrying a wife, and living a decent life—that's the right path!"
"At least I dare to dream. You don't dare to imagine being a minister, but surely a bureau chief is possible, right? Taking a step back, what about a precinct head? Hasn't that ever crossed your mind?"
"Hahahaha!" Qi Tongwei laughed until tears were almost streaming down his face. "A bureau chief? Me? A precinct head? Me? Hahaha!"
Huo Ge let go of his arm, turned to face Qi Tongwei directly, and assumed a solemn expression. "What's so funny? I think you could at least become a department head!"
"I—" Qi Tongwei slowly choked off his laughter and gazed straight into Huo Ge's eyes. For some reason, seeing Huo Ge's serious expression made him feel that having no dreams of his own was something utterly ridiculous.
A sudden wave of despondency washed over him. "Dreams—it's enough to keep them in your heart, don't go hanging them on your lips all the time. If you can't achieve them, that's called daydreaming!"
"Having a dream is better than having none at all, even if it's a daydream. It's the driving force that pushes us forward! Dog! Dog! Dog!"
Huo Ge raised his arm in a high cheer and led the way forward, full of fighting spirit.
Qi Tongwei watched Huo Ge's receding back and shook his head. "You're insane. You're out of your damn mind!"
Entering Dazui Village, Huo Ge made a bee-line for Grandpa Yao's house on the western side.
Grandpa Yao was in his sixties and lived at home with his five-year-old granddaughter. His son and daughter-in-law worked away from home and hardly ever returned year-round.
Qi Tongwei realized that Huo Ge hadn't come to Grandpa Yao's place for a free meal, but rather to spread some warmth.
Not only did Huo Ge buy matsutake mushrooms from Grandpa Yao at a price fifty percent higher than the market rate, but he also rolled up his sleeves to cook a meal for him personally.
After finishing the meal, he even cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, and spontaneously chopped three large loads of firewood.
If Grandpa Yao hadn't brandished a broom to stop him, Huo Ge probably would have swept the entire house and courtyard clean!
Grandpa Yao picked a watermelon from the back garden, and the three of them sat in the front courtyard eating melon and chatting.
As they talked, the conversation naturally drifted to the three Wang brothers.
"Those fellows? They didn't use to come around very often," Grandpa Yao said, taking a puff from his long-stemmed pipe. "Over this past year, though, they've been coming to the village frequently."
"Do they buy mountain goods too?" Huo Ge asked casually.
"Occasionally, but they don't buy much!"
"What are they here for, then?"
"Seems like they bring some hikers around for tours, and incidentally take some mountain goods to sell in neighboring Nanyun Province."
"From here to Nanyun Province? Isn't that way too far?"
"Not too bad, you just cross three mountains and you're there. Sometimes they even set off at night, saying they want to catch the night scenery!"
"Walking the mountain paths at night!"
Huo Ge shot a meaningful glance at Qi Tongwei.
Qi Tongwei caught the implication as well. If those three Wang brothers were leading tour groups of hikers, who on earth would walk mountain trails at night? It seemed there really was something fishy going on!