Chapter 65: Chicken Noodle Soup p2
Director Pan found it strange. Since the day Jiang Lingling caught a cold and Zhang Zijing called in sick, after they recovered and resumed filming, Zhang Zijing’s performance had actually improved. Not that his acting skills had suddenly improved, but he was clearly more serious and dedicated, especially in his scenes with Jiang Lingling. Director Pan had been ready to lower his expectations for him, but with Zhang Zijing’s efforts, his completion rate gradually increased. Some scenes, although not perfect, were passable. Much better than his previous forgetting of lines, spacing out, and making mistakes, which made it impossible for Director Pan to even lower the bar. Director Pan even praised Zhang Zijing a few times and subtly suggested that he help Jiang Duo, sharing his experience and tips on how to improve her completion rate.
Zhang Zijing humbly accepted Director Pan’s praise and advice, but he was fuming inside. That night, filming the rain scene with Jiang Lingling, he was still recovering from his illness and wasn’t in his best condition. After just a few NGs, Jiang Lingling went crazy. In the original script, Jiang Lingling’s character ran through the rain, found the emperor under the eaves, and hugged him tightly. No matter how many times they NGed, the emperor, standing under the eaves, wouldn’t get wet. At most, his outer robe would get a little damp from being hugged repeatedly, but it didn’t matter, he was wearing layers underneath. So, at first, even after several NGs due to his own mistakes, Zhang Zijing remained calm and collected, adjusting his state. But the next time Jiang Lingling hugged him, he felt like his bones were being crushed. So, naturally, he showed an expression of pain and fear, and they NGed again.
Watching Jiang Lingling dejectedly walking back into the rain to prepare for another take, Zhang Zijing almost thought the intense pain he had just felt was a dream. But the lingering ache in his body told him it was real.
For the next take, Zhang Zijing tensed his muscles, his face serious, waiting for Jiang Lingling to pounce on him, ready to confirm whether the feeling of being crushed in a giant’s hand was really caused by this beautiful and flamboyant girl.
Jiang Lingling, running towards him through the rain, like a lost swallow, gently and tenderly embraced him.
Oh… so it was a hallucination earlier? Zhang Zijing relaxed. And because his relaxed expression didn’t match the script, they NGed again.
Zhang Zijing swore… this time, when Jiang Lingling walked back into the rain, she gave him a look of utter disdain.
Zhang Zijing was annoyed. Who hadn’t NGed a few times while filming? Why was she looking at him with such disdain? He was even sick! Thinking this, he became careless. Anyway, he was just standing there, not getting rained on. If she wanted to give him that look, then she could just get drenched a few more times. Zhang Zijing thought this and became completely unfocused.
In his current state, even if he was focused, he couldn’t have delivered a good performance, let alone unfocused.
So, Zhang Zijing was almost crushed again by a hug.
This time, when Jiang Lingling walked back, her gaze was not only disdainful but also threatening, and Zhang Zijing, his body aching, understood. But he was a man, he couldn’t run to Director Pan and complain that the girl was hugging him too tightly, could she please stop hugging him? If he did, he would become a laughingstock.
This time, Zhang Zijing didn’t dare to be careless. But he was still recovering, and startled by the earlier pain. Director Pan hadn’t given up on him yet, so the standards were still high. NG after NG, Zhang Zijing was in so much pain that he almost fainted.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and went to Director Pan, subtly hinting, “If I do something wrong, can you call cut earlier? Every time I have to wait for Jiang Lingling to hug me before you call cut, it’s a waste of time.” His intention was for Director Pan to call cut sooner to save time, so he could be hugged fewer times.
Who knew that Director Pan would glare at him and scold him angrily, “You know it’s a waste of time? Then don’t NG! That girl is getting drenched every time, she’s soaked, and she hasn’t complained. You got a little water on you, are you feeling cold?” He waved his hand, signaling them to get back into position.
So, after two hours of filming in the rain, Jiang Lingling caught a cold, and Zhang Zijing’s upper body was numb with pain. The final take was only approved because Director Pan felt sorry for Jiang Lingling, who was drenched, and seeing that Zhang Zijing wasn’t improving, he reluctantly let it pass.
The next day, Jiang Lingling came to the set with a cold, but Zhang Zijing called in sick, infuriating Director Pan.
Actually, it wasn’t Zhang Zijing’s fault. After the rain scene, he thought his ordeal was over and tearfully bought a bottle of safflower oil, preparing to massage his bruises and post a photo on Weibo to show his dedication, perhaps even gaining some fans.
Zhang Zijing’s plan was good, but when he returned to the hotel and examined himself, he was surprised to find… no bruises… his skin was perfectly fine… it was just the internal pain! No external injuries, just internal ones. Zhang Zijing was so scared that he had his assistant rush him to the emergency room, where he underwent various scans. The result… nothing, just pain.
The worst part was that his actions alerted his manager, who scolded him, made him pay for all the medical expenses, and told him that his and Jiang Duo’s frequent NGs on set had attracted attention from the higher-ups at Dajin. He was told to focus on his acting and stop trying to gain sympathy with his fake illnesses.
Zhang Zijing hadn’t been in the industry for long, and his career had been smooth sailing. These consecutive blows devastated him. But on the third day after being hugged by Jiang Lingling, when he still needed painkillers to sleep, he finally realized that his image and pride were nothing compared to his physical well-being.
So, during November and December, while filming the early palace scenes, Zhang Zijing became extremely serious and dedicated, especially in his scenes with Jiang Lingling. It had to be said that his efforts paid off. He worked hard, and Director Pan, coincidentally, lowered his expectations, so Zhang Zijing’s completion rate improved, and Jiang Lingling didn’t have to resort to violence anymore.
One of the two NG kings, Zhang Zijing, had seen the light. But after two months of filming, Jiang Duo’s performance hadn’t improved. She tried, but her efforts only ensured that her lines and movements were correct, her expressions and emotions still lacking. Director Pan was helpless. But fortunately, she was just a supporting character. They could film from multiple angles, edit it in post-production, and even hire a good voice actor.
Actually, both the emperor, Ji Yan, and the villain, Consort Zhu, were essential to the story. Director Pan hoped they could perform well and elevate the film. Not just because he was the director, and not just because his granddaughter was the screenwriter, but also because he truly believed that this film, if done well, would be excellent.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, and he had to lower his expectations for Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo. It was frustrating.
Anyway, two months passed, and the first part of “Imperial Secrets,” the palace scenes, was almost finished. Director Pan, wanting to maintain continuity, had the entire crew and equipment moved to the estate location for the next part of the film, the confinement scenes.
Although changing locations just meant the completion of one part of the film, most of the crew members were relieved. Progress was always good, and significant progress meant they were one step closer to finishing.
This included Ji Junxin. But she wasn’t just happy about the progress, she was also excited about the estate scenes, which included several cooking scenes for the young empress.
The head chef of the restaurant Jiang Lingling bought was indeed the thin chef’s naive apprentice. The reason, naturally, was because he was patient and made decent chicken rolls, appeasing Jiang Lingling’s rage after being drenched in the rain for two hours. The two chefs initially couldn’t accept that a kitchen hand who used to just wash and chop vegetables was now their boss. But the apprentice was truly naive and still listened to his masters. After a couple of days, they realized that it wasn’t much different from before, even easier. Except that the new boss, for some reason, insisted that they practice making chicken soup, and they couldn’t stop until they replicated the taste of Mi Hongdou’s soup.
As the thin chef had said, their new boss was indeed a rich fool. Jiang Lingling’s task for them was to stew three chickens a day, and if they couldn’t replicate the taste, they had to eat all three chickens, soup and all! For the first couple of days, the two chefs thought she was just paying them to eat chicken. But after a few days, their waists expanded, the thin chef becoming chubby, the chubby chef becoming fat, and the soup still didn’t taste like Mi Hongdou’s.
Now they finally understood what their apprentice meant when he rushed in and asked if there was any of that girl’s chicken soup left, and they told him they had eaten it all, and he said, “We’re doomed.”
Getting paid to eat three free-range chickens a day seemed like a dream, but in reality, it was a nightmare. The two chefs didn’t want to lose their jobs, but Jiang Lingling had even hired someone to supervise them, making sure they stewed the soup and ate the chickens every day. The two mediocre chefs, looking at each other with tearful eyes, were almost at their breaking point. Their only hope was that the girl who cooked that day would come again, and they would, even at the cost of their pride, ask for the secret of her chicken soup.
Unfortunately, two months passed, and the girl never came. Their hope turned into despair.
It wasn’t just the two chefs who were frustrated. As their new boss, Jiang Lingling was also unhappy. She had grown up eating simple food, and even after being taken in by Dong Yuannan and enjoying all kinds of delicacies, her favorite was still KFC. Until she tasted Mi Hongdou’s cooking, especially that tiny piece of chicken!
Hearing that the chicken soup in the kitchen had been eaten by the two chefs, Jiang Lingling issued a severe punishment. But it was useless, it was gone, it was gone.
Later, Jiang Lingling even told Mi Hongdou that she could use the restaurant’s kitchen anytime, as if it were her own. If she needed the kitchen cleared out, just say the word. Mi Hongdou was initially stunned by Jiang Lingling’s extravagant offer and refused. Who would clear out an entire restaurant just to cook a meal? Only someone like Jiang Lingling, whose imagination was boundless and who could use money to bury someone alive, would say such a thing.
But Mi Hongdou eventually accepted Jiang Lingling’s offer. Compared to the simple kitchenette in her and Ji Junxin’s suite, the restaurant kitchen was much better equipped, with a wider variety of utensils and seasonings. That time with the freeloaders, time had been too tight, she had used a pressure cooker for the chicken and beef, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been braised properly. And the stir-fried pomfret, ideally, the fish pieces should have been marinated for two hours before frying. But she didn’t have that much time, so she had put the fish and the marinade in a vacuum bag and used a vacuum sealer to quickly infuse the flavor. Not to mention, a pressure cooker and a vacuum sealer wouldn’t even fit in their small kitchenette, let alone all the other professional equipment… And it wasn’t convenient to use high heat or a lot of oil in the small open kitchen, limiting the dishes she could make.
Thinking about this, and the many dishes she wanted to make for the little foodie, Mi Hongdou no longer refused Jiang Lingling’s offer. Of course, she was mentally prepared for the freeloaders.
Unfortunately, these past two months, to finish the early palace scenes, everyone had been working long hours, and Mi Hongdou was also exhausted. She and Ji Junxin hadn’t been back to Jiang City for two whole months. Forget about finding time to cook for the little foodie at the restaurant, even her attempts to make breakfast or late-night snacks for Ji Junxin were stopped by Ji Junxin herself, who was worried that she would be too tired and it would affect her filming.
Now, with the palace scenes finished, the equipment moved to the estate, and the set being prepared, they finally had half a day and a night off. Mi Hongdou, noticing Ji Junxin’s cheerful demeanor since finishing the last palace scene, curiously asked what she was so happy about.
This question almost made Mi Hongdou cry.
“Because in the estate scenes, you have several cooking scenes! I can finally eat your cooking again!” Ji Junxin replied happily.
Mi Hongdou, her heart aching but her mind still rational, replied, “But the estate scenes, it’s all sweet potatoes, beans, wild vegetables, not even a piece of meat.”
Ji Junxin answered without hesitation: “But everything you make is delicious.”
Mi Hongdou’s rationality crumbled, leaving only heartache. How pitiful, her little idol was now reduced to being happy with sweet potatoes, beans, and wild vegetables!
Mi Hongdou immediately called Jiang Lingling, asking to borrow the restaurant kitchen that afternoon. She had to make her idol a meat dish before she was reduced to eating wild vegetables. And that dumpling soup she had been craving, she had to have it.
Unexpectedly, this call brought an explosive piece of news from Jiang Lingling.
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