1. In the mid-80s, under the blue sky in Dafangqian Village, Junan, Shandong, a dark-skinned and sturdy teenager was running in the countryside. This young man named Guo Xiaodong has a unique fierceness in his eyes.
Sometimes, you can see his vigorous figure from the Yimeng Mountain, shuttling through the fields. For today's city dwellers, this picture may be full of poetry – fields, teenagers, domestic dogs, blue skies and white clouds.
For the young Guo Xiaodong, this is exactly the life he wants to get rid of, the environment he longs to escape. Although the surrounding rice paddies stretch as far as the eye can see, his gaze is further afield.
"A good man is ambitious in all directions", this sentence is deeply engraved in Guo Xiaodong's heart. Although the rice fields in his hometown are vast, what he longs for is a bigger stage and space.
The world on the television fascinates him, and he dreams of one day being able to sell himself to thousands of households through the screen. This idea may have seemed unrealistic in the countryside at the time, but Guo Xiaodong's grandmother and Da Xiaodong became his staunchest supporters.
Under the traditional Chinese concept of "eldest brother is like father", the relationship between Guo Xiaodong and Da Da is particularly deep. My father and Da have had a good relationship since they were children, and they have experienced the most difficult times together.
Such a deep friendship was also passed on to Guo Xiaodong, and for him, he was as close as his father. Whenever Guo Xiaodong mentioned his dream, he always encouraged him: "Son, you will definitely be able to make a name for yourself in Beijing."
"Da Da not only supported Guo Xiaodong spiritually, but also gave great tolerance in action. I remember when I was a child, Guo Xiaodong often recruited a group of young people to sing and dance at home.
Although it costs money to light kerosene lamps and use electricity, and his family is not wealthy, his parents and Da have never stopped him from these hobbies. They often played until 12 o'clock at night, and it was during that time that Guo Xiaodong cultivated his interest and love for literature and art.
Second, this trust and expectation from his family has become the driving force for Guo Xiaodong's future struggle, and it has also made him full of longing for the future. He secretly made up his mind: he must break out of the world in the big city, realize his dreams, and live up to his family's expectations.
With great expectations and the blessings of the whole family, Guo Xiaodong finally embarked on the journey to Beijing. When he first stepped into this bustling metropolis, everything made him feel new and excited.
For this college student from the countryside, Beijing is like a magical world, full of infinite possibilities. From the magnificent Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, to the modern Wudaokou nightclub, Sanlitun bar, and then to the antique Erhuanli Hutong, each place is deeply attracted to Guo Xiaodong.
He greedily tasted all kinds of delicacies in Beijing, from high-end roast duck that could receive foreign guests, to popping belly and stewing that ordinary people on the street could also eat, as if he wanted to taste everything in the city.
In Guo Xiaodong's eyes, there is everything that rural children want. However, Guo Xiaodong soon realized that Beijing is not only a place full of opportunities, but also a stage full of challenges and risks.
The city can make some people famous, and it can also ruin others. He understands that here we must always stay sober, work hard, and advance step by step, and we must never rush for quick success, let alone take risks.
Despite this, Guo Xiaodong's heart still burns with enthusiasm for the future. He secretly made up his mind: to take root here, get ahead, and make a lot of money. He fantasized that one day he would be able to return to his hometown in fine clothes, bring his parents, Dada, and grandmother to Beijing, so that they could become new Beijingers and live a prosperous life.
The gap between the ideal and the reality is often wider than imagined. Guo Xiaodong, who first arrived in Beijing, soon felt the pressure of life. The intensity of work, irregular diet, and serious lack of sleep all made the young Guo Xiaodong seem to be several years older all of a sudden.
But whenever he feels tired or depressed, he thinks of the expectations of his relatives back home, especially Dada's confident eyes, which become the motivation for him to persevere.
3. On the fiercely competitive stage of Beijing, Guo Xiaodong profoundly realized that in order to realize his acting dream, he must work harder than others. He began to devote himself to his studies and practice, laying the foundation for his future acting career.
Despite the arduous road, Guo Xiaodong always believes that as long as he perseveres, one day he will realize his dream in this city and live up to his family's expectations. With his love for acting, Guo Xiaodong began his career as an actor.
The road was much more difficult than he had imagined. In his first days, he often ran around for a small role. The intensity of work, irregular diet, and severe lack of sleep have all made the young Guo Xiaodong's condition worse.
In the filming process of those years, day and night reversed became commonplace. Sometimes, Guo Xiaodong will find that his face is puffy because he has stayed up late, his body is skinny because of malnutrition, and his lips are frozen and cracked because of the cold.
Such hard work is a common thing, but even so, he never thought of giving up. Whenever he was tired, he would think of great encouragement and the expectations of his relatives back home, which became the motivation for him to persevere.
The hard work paid off, and Guo Xiaodong's efforts finally paid off. Through representative works such as "New Marriage Era", "Half Life", and "The Colonel's Daughter", he has gradually become a hot actor in the film and television industry.
When he stood in the spotlight and accepted the applause of the audience, Guo Xiaodong felt that he could finally raise his chest and proudly face his relatives in his hometown. However, success often comes at a cost.
Due to his busy work, Guo Xiaodong has little time to go home, and the time he spends with his relatives is becoming less and less. He always comforted himself and said that he would go home more when his career was more stable, but he didn't expect that life would sometimes be too late to wait.
When his career was thriving, Guo Xiaodong took advantage of a short free time to return to his hometown Junan County in Shandong. This time, he brought back his wife, Cheng Lisha. Neighbors came out of their homes to watch the big star who walked out of the countryside.
Fourth, Guo Xiaodong, who returned to his hometown, returned to his yard and shoveled corn with his wife like a professional farmer. However, at this time, there were already some things in the empty yard.
Da, who has been close to Guo Xiaodong since he was a child, has long passed away. Standing in the familiar and unfamiliar courtyard, Guo Xiaodong suddenly realized that in the process of chasing his dreams, he had missed too many precious moments with his relatives.
This experience of returning to his hometown made Guo Xiaodong begin to reflect on his life. He deeply understands that his achievements today are inseparable from the support of Dada and other family members. However, when he finally succeeded and was able to make his family proud, he had already lost the most important person.
This complex emotion makes Guo Xiaodong cherish the present and everyone around him even more. Fate always likes to joke. Just when Guo Xiaodong's career was thriving, a bad news fell from the sky.
It was during the filming of the movie "Warm", Guo Xiaodong was filming nervously in Wuyuan, Jiangxi. At this moment, the relatives who were far away in Yimeng Mountain were experiencing a parting of life and death.
He died of a sudden myocardial infarction. When the news reached Guo Xiaodong's ears, he instantly collapsed. The pillar of his heart collapsed, but at this moment, he could not rush home immediately.
It is impossible for the crew to stop work because he is alone, "saving the scene is like fighting a fire", and he has to stay. That day, the sudden heavy rain drenched the entire reeds and Guo Xiaodong's face.
He couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears flowing on his face, and he couldn't tell whether he was moved by the role or sad for the great. It wasn't until the night of the third day that Guo Xiaodong was able to return to his hometown.
When he stepped into the dark-lit village and walked step by step to the large mourning hall, he felt that the short distance was like a lifetime. When I entered the house and saw Guo Xiaodong, the whole family burst into tears.
Fifth, the mother hugged him and shouted in a hoarse voice, "My son is back", and then sat down on the kang. Grandma finally couldn't bear the huge pressure, and she cried like a child: "Why do you say you are so disobedient, such an old man, how can you be so selfish, how can you leave our family and leave like this."
Looking at the large portrait on the wall, Guo Xiaodong felt a real loss for the first time, and for the first time realized how vulnerable he was. He began to regret that he was too philistine, too realistic, too obsessed with so-called fame and fortune, so much so that he did not leave precious time for his loved ones.
At this moment, Guo Xiaodong deeply understands that all achievements, all the pursuit of dreams, including money, fame and fortune, seem so small in the face of life and death. How he wished he could say again: "Great, please, you can't go, I miss you".
But it was already too late. This experience became the biggest regret in Guo Xiaodong's life, and it also made him re-examine his attitude towards family affection. He secretly vowed to dedicate the rest of his life and love to the most important people around him.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Guo Xiaodong is 47 years old. On an early autumn day, he took his wife Cheng Lisha back to his hometown Junan County, where he had been absent for a long time. The weather in the north has gradually cooled, but Guo Xiaodong's heart is surging with complicated emotions.
When they came to the once familiar courtyard, Guo Xiaodong suddenly felt in a trance. The courtyard is still the same yard, but the once familiar figure is no longer there. He and his wife picked up farm tools to shovel corn in a decent manner, as if they wanted to regain their childhood memories.
Sixth, the neighbors came out of their homes one after another to watch this big star who went out of the countryside return to his hometown. At this moment, Guo Xiaodong really realized what is the most precious thing in life.
He began to regret that he had been chasing fame and fortune too much in the past and had not been able to devote more time to his loved ones. He was annoyed that he was not good at expressing his feelings since he was a child, and buried his great worship and love deep in his heart and never said it.
Recalling the rainy day when filming the movie "Warm", Guo Xiaodong still can't face that memory. That scene became a work that he still didn't have the courage to see, especially the last scene of the film, where Lin Jinghe left the mountain village and passed by on his way back to the city, which was filmed the day after learning of Dada's death.
At that moment, Guo Xiaodong's world seemed to collapse. Standing in the courtyard, Guo Xiaodong put on his favorite military uniform. He knew that this military uniform was the backbone of Dada's life.
Looking at the big portrait, he seemed to be able to see Da Zheng looking at himself with relief. At this moment, he also believes that Da is looking at himself in another world. On this autumn afternoon, the 47-year-old Guo Xiaodong finally understood what is truly precious.
Compared with all achievements, money and fame, being able to be by the side of your loved ones and express your love is the most valuable wealth in life. He secretly vowed to dedicate the rest of his life and love to the most important people around him, and never let regrets happen again.