Ye Yaodong rode a bicycle with his child, while the photo studio owner rode a bicycle alone, carrying his equipment and following behind.
It was just after 10 o'clock in the morning when they arrived at the village. Smoke was already rising from the chimneys of some houses, while most of the men were still sitting in their doorways playing cards in the sun.
When Ye Yaodong was riding his bike towards the main road, he stopped at a crowded place and asked his son behind him to shout.
"Someone came to take pictures. Someone came to take pictures."
What you promised to publicize must be done.
The villagers looked over curiously and said, "Someone came to take pictures?"
Ye Yaodong said: "Someone came to take pictures. Now they have to go to my house to take pictures first. If any of the villagers want to take pictures, please go to my house and invite this big brother later."
The villagers whispered to each other and discussed the matter in whispers.
Ye Yaodong didn't pay any attention to these people. After shouting and making arrangements, he rode his bike and took them home.
The photographer also hurriedly followed on his bike.
The children at home had known that Ye Yaodong had gone to the town to have someone take photos at home. When they saw him coming back on a bicycle from afar, they all excitedly went to greet him.
"Uncle San is back!"
"Uncle San is back!"
"Uncle San, can we take pictures too?"
A group of children, their faces flushed from the noise, looked up at him with bright eyes.
Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "Go back and tell your mother to change you into nice and clean new clothes. We will take a family photo later. All photos will be taken together. It's my responsibility. If they want to develop the photos, just develop two more."
It's a rare opportunity to take photos, so I definitely have to wear my best clothes.
"Great~"
“That’s great~”
"Great, we're going to take a photo together too~"
"Mom~ Uncle San asked us to take a photo together~"
"Dad, Mom, we are going to take a photo..."
The group of children scattered instantly and ran home to ask their mothers to help them change into new clothes.
Lin Xiuqing came out of the house with a smile on her face, wiping her hands on her apron. "You're back so soon? I thought we could only invite you back after dinner."
Well...I was coaxed back by him.
"Come earlier and finish the shoot sooner. Who knows, the villagers around here might also want to shoot. Come earlier and maybe you can get a few more orders, which makes the trip worthwhile."
"Indeed, no one in our village has ever come to take pictures. It's almost the New Year, and I think the villagers will be willing to take one or two pictures."
"That's what I mean. Put the food aside and cook it later. Go change your clothes first. Dress nicely. Dress the children nicely, too. Dress them up and look more energetic. That way the photos will look good."
"Hey, good~"
Lin Xiuqing also happily took the child back to the house to change clothes.
There are already several photos saved at home, but there is no large group photo. What's more, there is a new member in the family this year, so Ye Xiaoxi must be included.
Mrs. Ye Dasao and Mrs. Ye Ersao also came out of the house to ask questions and inquire about the price.
When they heard that it would cost one dollar to take a photo and develop it, they both hesitated, but Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua decided that they wanted to take photos too.
"I've never taken photos before, so spending a few bucks is nothing."
"It's Chinese New Year, so let's take a couple of photos to make the whole family happy and keep it as a souvenir. Our family has never taken a photo before."
Ye Yaodong smiled and nodded, "That's the truth. If you take a photo now, you can take it out and look at it when you are old. Otherwise, when you are old, you will not remember what you looked like when you were young. Anyway, we may not take a photo for several years, so what's the big deal about spending a few dollars?"
Mrs. Ye and Mrs. Ye thought it made sense, so they made up their minds and decided to take a few photos of their own.
The two sisters-in-law hurriedly took the child back to the house and changed him into clean and beautiful new clothes.
Ye Yaodong also asked his eldest brother to ride his bicycle and asked his father and mother to come over for a group photo of the whole family, and of course they could not be missing.
As for why he didn't go...
He was tired from going back and forth to town, so of course he needed to rest for a while, and he also needed to change his clothes, after all, their family was going to shoot first.
When the children from the neighboring houses heard that they were taking pictures, they also ran home and clamored to have their pictures taken.
As a result, while I was waiting, the neighbors on both sides also made appointments to take pictures.
The photographer was very happy as he got several jobs right after arriving.
Ye Yaodong raised his eyebrows, "See, I was right, wasn't I? I told you to come earlier, remember to give me a discount later, it's cheaper."
“Okay, okay~”
The photos we take now are still in black and white, and there are no color photos yet. If you want color, you have to color them manually, which is a technical job.
It costs more than ten yuan to manually colorize a color photo, which is equivalent to one-third of the monthly salary of an average worker.
Thinking that his parents wouldn't come so soon, Ye Yaodong and his family of five changed their clothes and decided to take pictures first.
After taking the photo, I took a separate photo of the old lady.
The old lady was reluctant at first, thinking that she had just taken photos a few months ago and it would be a waste to take more.
However, she thought about how she had just changed into the big cotton-padded jacket with red flowers that Ah Qing had made for her last year, and that she still had the red scarf around her neck that Ye Yaodong had bought for her during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
She also felt that she looked particularly energetic and beautiful today, so she reluctantly stood in front of the bicycle and took a photo.
"Dad, now that Atai has finished taking pictures, is it our turn? Can we take a picture alone, too?"
Ye Chenghu felt a little unsatisfied as he had only taken one photo. He even tied a red scarf around his neck today. He felt very happy and good. He wanted to take another photo to record his heroic appearance.
"That's fine. Then take a photo of the three of you together. It would be too extravagant for each of you to take one photo."
“Okay, okay~”
As long as he can take a photo, he doesn't mind taking a group photo.
The three siblings stood from tall to short. Ye Xiaoxi could only stand in the standing cage, looking ahead with a silly look. She had a pink hat on her head, looking extremely cute and adorable.
The couple also took a photo together, standing at the door of their house, which felt quite meaningful.
After the photo shoot, Ye Yaodong urged Lin Xiuqing to take another photo of herself.
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "I've already taken enough photos. There's no need for me to take another one. It's quite expensive. It costs one dollar to take a photo..."
"It's okay. We can afford it. What woman doesn't like to have her picture taken? We've already taken a picture at the door. Why don't we go inside? You can sit in front of your sewing machine and take another picture."
The backgrounds people chose for photography at this time were relatively monotonous. They were either standing next to home appliances such as televisions and tape recorders, or leaning on bicycles or holding a bunch of artificial flowers.
After all, these electrical appliances are big items in the home, so it is only right that they appear on camera.
When they were taking the photo just now, the bicycle also showed up on the side, and now it’s the sewing machine’s turn!
This is important evidence of their family’s living standards in the 1980s. Of course it must be included in the photo. Otherwise, how would future generations know how successful he was decades later
No! The radio just forgot to appear on the screen!
It doesn't matter, when we take the group photo later, let the old lady sit down. Then put a stool next to her and put a radio on the stool!
Perfect!
Ye Yaodong happily pushed Lin Xiuqing into the house, and the children also ran into the house in a hurry.
There was laughter and joy everywhere, and the family was having a great time. The neighbors were very envious and did not even bother to eat. They followed in to see, looking forward to when it would be their turn.
Ye's father and mother also changed into new clothes and came late happily.
Seeing Lin Xiuqing sitting in front of the sewing machine with a gentle smile on her face, Ye's mother felt itchy and after she finished taking the photo, she took the initiative to ask for a photo of herself sitting in front of the sewing machine as well.
The whole family watched with joy. Even Mrs. Ye and Mrs. Ye were very excited. It was a pity that they didn't have a sewing machine at home.
I always feel a little uncomfortable when borrowing my sisters-in-law's sewing machines to take photos. After all, it's not my own, and they are reluctant to spend that dollar to take photos of me alone.
After Ye's mother finished taking the photos, they prepared to take a group photo at the door.
After all, Ye Yaodong paid for the photo, so of course the location was chosen to be in front of their house!
"Ah~ It's finally our turn!"
“It’s finally our turn to take pictures~”
"I'm going to stand here~
"Then I'm going to stand here~"
"Ah~ Don't stand in front of me..."
"I'm going to ride on a bicycle..."
"Ah? I want to ride on a bicycle too..."
Finally it was the turn of a group of children to perform. They were all very excited, crowding together and clamoring to find their own seats.
As a result, they stood randomly, one here and one there, and two of them even climbed on a bicycle, which made people laugh and cry...
In the end, it was the photographer who arranged how they should stand, forcing them to reluctantly give up their personal wishes and follow the arrangements.
Ye Yaodong also took out the radio and placed it on a stool, and let the old lady sit on the armchair and placed it next to her. There was nothing to decorate the house anyway, and the only thing missing was the radio!
The photographer also thought his arrangement was great.
"Stand up! Stand in an orderly manner..."
"Wait...wait...there's also Da Hei Zi and my dogs..." Ye Chenghu suddenly jumped up, "Dad...Da Hei Zi and the others want to be photographed too!"
Everyone's heads were filled with black lines in an instant!
Lin Xiuqing glared at Ye Chenghu, "What does it have to do with those dogs that we adults are taking pictures? Stop messing around and stand still. There are many people waiting to take pictures."
"But they are also part of our family, we can't forget them! I want Da Heizi and the others to be photographed together too!"
The group of dogs seemed to know they were talking about them, and walked up to them excitedly, wagging their tails and rubbing against their feet.
"Do you want to drive the chickens and ducks over to take pictures together?" Lin Xiuqing asked unhappily.
"Ah? Do we have to take photos of the chickens and ducks together?"
Everyone burst into laughter instantly.
Lin Xiuqing scolded her eldest son, "Stop messing around!"
Ye Yaodong also felt that what his eldest son said made sense. These dogs were quite smart and cute. After raising them for so long, they were of course part of their family.
"Then just take a picture of them too. It's all one picture, whether it's a person or a dog..."
Lin Xiuqing was confused. Is he a human or a dog? Is this how the word is used
Ye Chenghu was instantly happy and quickly ordered the group of dogs to squat in front of him.
"You have to laugh too, okay?"
"Card!"
The photographer thought that the scene of Ye Chenghu directing the puppy like this was quite interesting, so he took a picture of it as a gift to them.
Then I asked them all to stand up straight and take a group photo properly.
In the picture, several puppies appear in front of the children. Different from the formal photos, it feels quite loving.
"It's good. Your house is quite lively."