On the first day of the new year, I landed in Chengdu.
As a major city in Southwest China, the atmosphere for the Spring Festival here is quite strong, with festive red elements visible everywhere on the streets.
On his very first day there, Xiao He took his team out for Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot, a way of celebrating the New Year and welcoming the new year together.
During the trip, he also met many fans, and Xiao He did not refuse to take photos with them. He generously took photos with the fans who came to the hot pot restaurant, and in the end, the restaurant offered to give him a free meal.
Before the number of fans increased, Xiao He led his team, who had eaten and drunk their fill, back to the hotel.
The next day, Xiao He officially joined the cast of "Snowy Ridge Red Road".
"The Red Path of Snow Ridge" was a large production crew. Not only was the location large and the number of people numerous, but the number of actors participating in the filming was also much larger than Xiao He had imagined. He had to stop and exchange pleasantries with people almost every few steps.
Moreover, to be honest, the atmosphere here looks quite like another "Mistaken Identity" film crew. The employees coming and going are all quite serious, no one is talking or laughing, and they are basically busy with their own things. Everyone is in a hurry, and there are corresponding work clothes for each job category. At a glance, it is very orderly.
However, unlike "Mistaken Identity," the atmosphere here is more like an orderly system bound by rules, while the "Mistaken Identity" crew was simply more oppressive, and no one dared to speak loudly.
Because Xiao He arrived early, and the crew didn't have anyone suitable to pick them up, only a staff member in a blue uniform came and led them further inside.
The film crew's location is close to the snow-capped mountain in the historical prototype. Even after so many years, the terrain here is still quite complex, and it is common for the mountains to be blocked by heavy snow in winter. Even the national highway leading up the mountain nearby was only recently built, which shows how difficult it was for our ancestors back then.
For safety reasons, the crew did not go directly up the mountain. The main force was stationed in the village at the foot of the snow mountain. The surrounding terrain was relatively flat, and Xiao He could see the majestic snow mountain in the distance as soon as he looked up.
It was still snowing on the mountain, and the entire mountain peak was hidden in white mist. There was no snow falling at the foot of the mountain, but the weather was cold, the sky was dark, and there was mist swirling around. Even when they spoke, they could exhale mist.
As he walked, Xiao He saw rows of neatly parked military green trucks by the roadside.
Those trucks looked impressive, parked in an orderly fashion, and even the license plates on the rear of the trucks had numbers unique to the military.
Xiao He raised an eyebrow.
I had heard before that these kinds of movies would collaborate with the military, and that many of the soldiers in the scenes were real military personnel. It turns out that's true.
Sure enough, after walking a few more steps, they passed a field and saw a group of soldiers sitting in the center of the field, maintaining strict order.
At this moment, you can tell at a glance whether they are real extras or genuine soldiers.
That kind of well-trained uprightness and seriousness is a unique quality that comes with joining the military.
Wearing the military uniforms from that era that they had already changed into, their eyes and brows showed an added weight and resilience as they traced back history.
Xiao He and his group arrived just in time. The director of Group C °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was already preparing to take them to another location for filming. A man wearing a military green coat walked forward and whistled.
The next moment, everyone sitting in the field stood up in unison, their movements so synchronized it was as if they had copied and pasted each other, without even swaying.
The men adjusted their formation, then shouted something at the top of their lungs and whistled again.
Then Xiao He saw the group of people running in an orderly fashion in another direction.
At the same time, it was accompanied by the humming of propellers.
Xiao He looked up and saw that there was a drone following behind them. A young man, also dressed in military green, was controlling the drone to follow them.
Xiao He's gaze lingered on the drone for a moment before finally looking away.
"That's Group C over there, Professor Xiao, you're in Group B today."
The staff explained to Xiao He.
Xiao He nodded: "Yes, I've seen my schedule."
But when I pass by, I can't help but take a few more glances.
After leaving the area, Xiao He and his staff quickly arrived at the filming location for his next group, B.
Some people had already arrived before them.
Upon seeing the person, Xiao He immediately stepped forward to greet him: "Teacher Zhuo, it's been a long time."
Zhuo Jianhua looked up at the sound, and when he saw it was Xiao He, his smile deepened: "Xiao He, it's been a long time."
Zhuo Jianhua was a senior colleague I met during the filming of "Killing Life". It was Zhuo Jianhua who recommended Xiao He to act in "The Thief Catcher". Later, when Xiao He went to Beijing, he made a special trip to visit Zhuo Jianhua at the Peking Opera House. He was a very good and respectable senior colleague.
"It is my honor to be able to work with Professor Zhuo again this time."
As Xiao He spoke, he walked up to Zhuo Jianhua and asked, "Have the other teachers arrived yet?"
"Yes, our group mainly focuses on us in this shoot."
Zhuo Jianhua patted the chair next to him, "The director hasn't come over yet, please have a seat."
"Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhuo."
Xiao He obediently sat down.
He actually knew he would be in a group with teacher Zhuo Jianhua when he arrived.
"The Red Path of Snow Ridge" itself connects the scenes of multiple small groups into a main storyline. The protagonist's encounters and experiences string together the scattered stories of others, similar to connecting small stories into a big story, telling the story of the heroism and hardship of that era.
This short segment of the main storyline tells of the protagonist's comrade being injured and on the verge of death. However, heavy snowfall and severe weather render the entire team immobile, forcing them to rest in a sheltered spot and wait for an opportunity.
After much deliberation, the protagonist decided to brave the wind and snow to meet the transport team responsible for delivering the medicine, so as to get the medicine to save his comrades as soon as possible.
The storyline that Xiao He and his group were responsible for was very simple. Xiao He and his group played the roles of the transport team, responsible for transporting medicine. However, due to bad luck, a sudden blizzard struck halfway through the journey. They lost their way in the blizzard, and in the end, in order to protect the valuable medicine, several of them sacrificed themselves in the vast snow. Only the two remaining people successfully reunited with the protagonist.
The transport platoon was one of the core logistical support forces during the Long March, mainly responsible for transferring supplies, transporting the wounded, repairing roads, and so on. It was a team with an extremely high casualty rate during the Long March. Many transport platoons eventually suffered casualties, and some even perished entirely on the way to the snow-capped mountains. They did not die in heroic battles, but were gradually consumed by the extreme cold and the overwhelming workload, and finally died.
Zhuo Jianhua plays the squad leader of this transport team, while Xiao He plays Chen Shitou, a local farmer who has just joined the team.
Since Chen Shitou considered himself a "local" here, he volunteered to join the transport team to take on the daily tasks of scouting and delivering supplies.
However, in the face of the merciless disasters of nature, whether they are experienced "locals" or "outsiders" who have never seen the terror of snow-capped mountains, they all meet the same fate.
During the blizzard, the transport team was trapped, and Chen Shitou also accidentally fell into an ice hole while scouting the way, breaking his leg and arm.
However, in the end, he mustered his last bit of strength and crawled out of the ice cave, where he encountered the protagonist who had come looking for them along the way.
Knowing he had no chance of leaving the snow-capped mountains, Chen Shitou pointed out the correct hiding place for the transport team to the protagonist and gave all his warm clothes and resources to the protagonist, while he himself lost his life in the vast snow.
