noveldepot Chapter 63 The 91 Years on the Seal
Chapter 63 The 91 Years on the Seal
Chen Yansong released the viewfinder crank.
The images in the camera stopped moving.
He turned and pushed open the door to the editing room, the film making a soft clinking sound inside the metal box.
"The car is ready."
Wu Gang stood in the corridor, carrying two canvas bags in his hands.
Chen Yan put on his trench coat and tightened his belt.
"Qingqiu, take the cheongsam."
Chen Yan looked at Lin Qingqiu sitting in the chair.
Lin Qingqiu stood up, leaning on her cane, and gripped the edge of the black plastic bag with her right fingertips.
Several people walked across the playground of Beijing Film Academy.
The bread truck was parked at the back door of the laboratory building, the engine was still running, and white smoke was coming out of the exhaust pipe.
Three hours later, at Yanjing Railway Station.
Chen Yan handed a stack of train tickets to Zhang Yuan.
"You take the negatives and go in the soft sleeper, Wu Gang and I will take Lin Qingqiu in the next train."
Chen Yan gave instructions.
Zhang Yuan took the ticket and pulled his camera bag up a little higher.
"Brother Yan, should we go straight to that factory when we get to Shanghai?"
"Go to Chenguang."
Chen Yan patted him on the shoulder.
The next day, in Shanghai, YP district.
The streets here are narrow, and wet clothes hang from the utility poles on both sides.
Morning Light Private Film Studio is located at the end of an alley.
The rusty iron gate was ajar, and the smell of chemicals wafted from the crack.
Chen Yan stepped over the threshold, his shoes making a sound on the wet red brick floor.
Is Director Gu here?
Chen Yan called out.
An old man wearing blue-gray overalls walked out of the darkroom.
The old man held a piece of cotton gauze stained with oil in his hand, his skin covered in wrinkles.
"Introduced by Yan Huaizhong?"
The old man stopped what he was doing and looked Chen Yan up and down.
"it's me."
Chen Yan handed him a cigarette.
The old man took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.
"Just call me Gu Changhe, Lao Yan has already spoken to me."
He led everyone into the workshop.
There was a film processing machine from the 1960s in the room.
Zhang Yuan walked over quickly and circled the machine twice.
He turned on his flashlight, and the beam shone into the gear assembly.
"Brother Yan, the oil isn't dry yet."
Zhang Yuan reached out and wiped the bearing.
The black lubricant is slippery and thick.
"It's well-maintained, even better than the one at school."
Zhang Yuan unscrewed the inner tub and inspected the scraper blade.
Gu Changhe squatted down beside him and took out a match from his pocket and struck it.
"This machine has never stopped firing."
Gu Changhe exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Some films from Shanghai that can't be shown in major studios are sent to me."
Chen Yan walked to the back of the machine and his gaze fell on a red motor box.
A yellowed seal was stuffed into the gap of the box lid.
Lin Qingqiu also walked over at this moment.
She stared intently at the piece of paper.
The red seal on the seal had faded, the edges were curled up, and it was covered in dust.
The date above is handwritten clearly: July 1991.
Lin Qingqiu's breathing quickened, and her right hand, which was supporting her with a cane, trembled.
Chen Yan discovered it.
He didn't look away, but simply reached out and placed his hand on the back of Lin Qingqiu's hand.
Cold and stiff.
"1991?"
Chen Yan turned to look at Gu Changhe.
That summer, the factory washed a batch of goods.
Gu Changhe turned the walnut in his hand.
"These are films that are not allowed to be archived. They were sealed after being developed and no one has touched them."
Lin Qingqiu abruptly pulled her hand back, turned around, and walked towards the door.
The sound of the cane striking the concrete floor was rapid and heavy.
"What's wrong?"
Su Wan asked in a low voice.
Chen Yan shook his head and did not ask any further questions.
He looked at Gu Changhe and pointed to the temperature control gauge next to him.
"Master Gu, let's not talk about the past."
Chen Yan's voice was very flat.
"Can this line guarantee color stability in the Venice edition?"
Gu Changhe stood up and walked around to the developing tank.
He lifted the lid and brought his nose close to smell it.
"The machine is fine, and the craftsmanship is fine."
Gu Changhe frowned.
"But we're missing a set of medicine."
"What medicine?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Imported developer stabilizer, specifically the Kodak No. 12 formula."
Gu Changhe threw the towel on the table.
"They were in the warehouse of a large factory in Shanghai, but Shen Congzhou's men guarded the door tightly."
"We buy from outside."
Su Wan took out her cell phone from her bag.
Chen Yan held her hand down.
"It's no use. Since Shen Congzhou has blocked it, the pharmaceutical companies outside won't dare to sell it."
Just then, Su Wan's phone rang.
It was Lin Shufen calling.
"Is Chen Yan here?"
Lin Shufen's voice was very loud.
Chen Yan answered the phone.
"speak."
"The pharmaceutical supply channels in Shanghai have all been cut off."
Lin Shufen was panting heavily over there.
"Shen Congzhou declared that anyone who sells you anything is going against the Shanghai Film Bureau."
"I can't touch this marketing fund for now; it's being watched by the auditors."
Chen Yan hung up the phone and retracted the antenna.
"Zhang Yuan, take those rolls of waste film to a legitimate film processing plant and use it as a front."
Chen Yan gave the instructions.
"Angkor, guard the gate. No one except our people is allowed to enter."
Gu Changhe looked at Chen Yan.
"Planning to rob it?"
"No fighting, just buying."
Chen Yan buttoned up his shirt.
"Find people who have stock but aren't afraid of Shen Congzhou to buy from."
Gu Changhe sneered and stomped out the cigarette.
"There is one place, the medical clinic in the old factory area."
"There was an old factory doctor who managed the equipment warehouse in the 1990s. He secretly confiscated a batch of expired medicines."
"Although it's expired, it's still original factory product, and it's more effective than current synthetic drugs."
Chen Yan raised his hand and glanced at his watch.
"lead the way."
The two walked out of the factory.
Lin Qingqiu sat on the stone bench at the entrance of the alley, head down, clutching the plastic bag in her hand.
Chen Yan paused for a moment as he walked past her.
"Qingqiu, wait for me to come back here."
Lin Qingqiu didn't look up, and her voice was very soft.
"I was in Shanghai that summer too."
"I know."
Chen Yan said.
He hopped onto Gu Changhe's sidecar motorcycle.
The motorcycle bumped along the cobblestone road, its engine deafening.
A light drizzle began to fall in Shanghai.
Chen Yan sat in the sidecar, shielding himself from the rain with his hand.
"Master Gu, what's the old factory doctor's temper like?"
Chen Yan asked.
Gu Changhe revved the engine to avoid a puddle.
"He has a strange temper and only cares about money, not people."
The motorcycle drove into an abandoned residential area.
The red brick walls were covered with red "demolish" characters.
Gu Changhe parked his car in front of a tenement building.
"His surname is Wei."
Gu Changhe got out of the car and straightened his wet clothes.
Chen Yan followed him up the narrow staircase.
The stairwell was piled with old cardboard boxes and broken bricks.
Gu Changhe knocked on an iron door at the far end of the third floor.
"Dr. Wei, there's business to be had."
The sound of slippers scraping the floor could be heard coming from inside the room.
The observation window on the iron gate was opened.
A pair of cloudy eyes looked outside.
Who is it?
"I am Lao Gu."
The door lock clicked.
A thin old man wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck opened the door.
The room was dimly lit and filled with glass bottles.
The old man glanced at Chen Yan, then turned and walked inside.
What kind of medicine do you need?
"Kodak Stabilizer No. 12, in stock."
Gu Changhe walked into the house.
The old man stopped and turned to look at Chen Yan.
"Didn't you know that Shen Congzhou forbade people to sell things to directors from the north?"
Chen Yan stepped forward, took out two bundles of cash from his bag, and placed them on the dusty medicine cabinet.
"I buy medicine, not according to Shen Congzhou's rules."
The old man looked at the stack of money and curled his lip.
He stretched out his hand, revealing black medicinal residue hidden under his fingernails.
He counted the money and put it in the drawer.
"Wait."
The old man went into the inner room, where the sound of wooden boxes being moved could be heard.
Gu Changhe leaned against the medicine cabinet and whispered to Chen Yan:
"That old man is ruthless; back in the day, nobody dared to mess with him in the factory."
After a while, the old man came out carrying two sealed brown glass bottles.
The foreign language label on the bottle has turned yellow.
Chen Yan took the bottle and shook it.
The liquid is clear and has no sediment.
"It's genuine."
Chen Yan said.
He was preparing to leave.
The old man suddenly spoke, his voice sinister.
"I heard from Wei Cheng that you're quite famous in Yanjing?"
Chen Yan stopped and turned around.
"Do you know Wei Cheng?"
The old man took out a rag and slowly wiped the medicine powder off his hands.
"He is my cousin, and he has been learning to handle these medicines from me since he was a child."
The old man looked up, his gaze fixed on Chen Yan's face.
"His skill in assessing hand injuries was also learned from me."
Chen Yan's knuckles pressed against the stopper of the glass bottle.
Gu Changhe was stunned, and the walnut fell to the ground.
"Let's go."
Chen Yan said to Gu Changhe.
He walked out of the room carrying the medicine bottle.
The heavy sound of an iron gate closing came from behind me.
Chen Yan walked down the stairs, his leather shoes echoing on the damp steps.
"Chen Yan, are you still willing to use this medicine?"
Gu Changhe caught up, his voice hoarse.
Chen Yan did not speak.
He walked to the entrance of the alley and looked at the Shanghai streets under the rain.
A black Audi flashed by.
That was Shen Congzhou's car.
Chen Yan put the glass bottle in his pocket and stared at the streetlights in the distance.
"As long as the medicine is genuine."
"As for Wei Cheng, let him settle this score."
He strode onto the motorcycle.
Gu Changhe started the engine.
White smoke dissipated in the drizzle, obscuring Chen Yan's figure.
Freeze.