This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 4 Don’t talk about acting, just treat this as life
The convoy gradually entered the Plan Valley along the compacted gravel dirt road, and some of the people inside naturally discovered the new convoy that arrived today.

As Zhuang Lin saw along the way, he found that almost all the people in the valley were dressed in ancient costumes, and there was no one wearing modern clothes.

Perhaps only the hard hats worn by people on the construction site over there seemed a bit out of place, but there were no obvious modern engineering equipment, mostly antique equipment such as wooden levers, pulleys and rollers.

"People started living here more than half a year ago. The earliest residents trained while living here, and proper clothing was a basic requirement. Since this is a perfectly functioning ancient society, it can't rely on the convenience of modern technology!"

Zhou Xianglin took the trouble to personally introduce some details to Zhuang Lin, and some people working in the fields on the road also greeted the convoy enthusiastically.

To be honest, at this moment, not only Zhuang Lin, but also the other members of the caravan who came here for the first time had the illusion that they had strayed into ancient times.

This artistic conception and atmosphere alone are enough to show the artist's skill, and it also makes Zhuang Lin look forward to how the plan will unfold.

Zhou Xianglin felt proud but also sighed in his heart.

Unfortunately, this is for medical treatment, not filming, so cameras cannot be set up. The reason is that the video equipment will leave too much trace, which will easily reveal the truth and will also cause psychological implications for the actors.

However, Zhou Xianglin has won many awards, and now he is more focused on creating art. Sometimes he feels that having cameras will tarnish this art.

"By the way, what do you think of this, Mr. Zhuang?"

Hearing Zhou Xianglin's question, which was obviously tinged with complacency, Zhuang Lin smiled and expressed his sincere admiration.

“It’s really refreshing to think that I’ll be acting here for the next few years!”

Zhou Xianglin was very pleased with the praise, but at the same time, he stopped and restrained his smile, looking seriously at Zhuang Lin, who had also subconsciously stopped.

"Don't talk about acting, otherwise you will restrict yourself, Teacher Zhuang, treat this as life! If Hongyu didn't know me, I really want to live here with you guys."

Zhuang Lin was slightly stunned, but nodded seriously.
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The scale of the entire planned valley cannot be said to be extremely large, but it is definitely not small. According to the script framework that Zhuang Lin has read, there should be hundreds of families living here.

A large part of it is about the whole family really coming here, playing with reality and also taking into account the emotional needs of the actors.

And many people have already gone through quite some time of training, and today should be the last batch.

The convoy finished unloading and the sky darkened.

Simple dinners consisted of vegetables, rice, and poultry grown in the valley.

Simple seasoning brings out the natural flavor of the ingredients and adds to the feeling of hunger, making people feel very satisfied when eating it and leaving a better impression on people who have just arrived.

After resting for a night in the scattered houses, early the next morning, a large group of new arrivals, including Zhuang Lin, got up and went to a large building next to the water source at the back of the valley.

Compared with other houses, this building is much larger. The stone slabs in the central hall are neat, spacious and bright, enough to accommodate dozens of people.

When Zhuang Lin and his companions came here, they knew as soon as they saw the plaque outside the building that this would be his future performance home.

Ningxin Bookstore!

In fact, there is no need for a cram school here.

But the plan requires this place to operate perfectly for several years or even longer. Although the actors are well paid, the education of children of school age has become a big problem.

Although many problems were avoided through deliberate selection, how could a complete ancient society not have children of all ages?

Those young actors, and even newborns who may be born here in the future, all have the need to go to school.

You can't wait until the program is over and then leave and fall far behind your peers, or even become illiterate, right?
It is not appropriate for families to teach at home, as it is easy to be exposed.

Therefore, private schools came into being, at least to enable children to learn to read and do simple arithmetic, which of course was also called numeracy.

There are also reasons to explain away the miscellaneous teachings in private schools. We just need to move the historical context forward. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the chaos of the pre-Qin period, there were hundreds of schools of thought contending with each other.

It is necessary to be meticulous, but considering the level of Liu Hongyu, the main person, being too meticulous would only bring trouble to the planning team.

After all, many people in the planning team also need to participate.

In Zhou Xianglin's words: What we need is a logically self-consistent ancient society, where we can give it our own background, rather than just archaeology!

All of Zhuang Lin's thoughts were just a fleeting moment, and soon he had no time to think about them anymore.

"Snap, snap, snap, snap"

A middle-aged woman in a simple dark gown clapped her hands, attracting everyone's attention. It was obvious that she was one of the trainees.

"Come, come, come, teachers, look over here, come here——"

She was dressed appropriately, with her hair tied up in a simple bun, but her face was full of energy and she was smiling. She was not in a perfunctory working state. Just standing there, she looked like a proper ancient woman.

"Teachers, don't be nervous. Listen to me. We'll first select the clothes, and then arrange appropriate training for each batch. The subjects required for training will be determined by individual roles, including grooming, gait, needlework, and farming."

The woman's voice was full of energy. After she finished her enthusiastic introduction, her eyes searched and glanced at Zhuang Lin several times.

"Who is Teacher Zhuang? Please step out!"

Zhuang Lin hurried out.

"I am!"

The woman took two steps forward and looked at Zhuang Lin.

"I just noticed you. As expected, you are Teacher Zhuang. Um, everyone, please pay attention. From now on, everyone needs to address Teacher Zhuang as Master Zhuang, and try to use honorifics. I think the script outline has instructions for this. Everyone understands, right?"

"Yeah." "I know!" "Oh, he's the Master?" "I thought he was an old Master!"

The crowd responded and talked for a while, but soon quieted down because the trainers next to them had already started working.

Sheets of hanging cloth separated the small rooms, which served as temporary changing rooms.

"Come on, come on, everyone get ready to change!" "Auntie Gu, Uncle Liu, this way."

"Li Laosi, this way."

"Teacher Zhuang, please come over here!"

"okay!"

Zhuang Lin responded and followed the woman into one of the tents. The light had dimmed. There were several open boxes on the floor, and clothes were hanging on the wooden shelves next to them.

With the help of the woman, Zhuang Lin was put on a well-fitting straight-hem dress, which made him repeatedly praise how well it fit him. It also relieved Zhuang Lin's embarrassment of having to ask others for help to put on his clothes.

When everyone came out, they all looked at each other with a refreshing feeling.

What follows is the tedious training work, not just for one day, but for many days afterwards.

Sometimes everyone is trained separately to learn various things, and sometimes they get together. The training takes at least half a year, and they gradually begin to adapt to living here alone or with their families, just like the residents who arrived earlier.

Zhou Xianglin's workload is extremely heavy. Although he knows how to delegate authority, he still has to take care of every detail and rarely appears at the school training ground.

However, Zhou Xianglin would still meet with Zhuang Lin from time to time in the evening. Whenever Zhou Xianglin was undecided, in addition to discussing with other people in the planning team, he would discuss it with Zhuang Lin the most.

Sometimes Zhou Xianglin also often found Zhuang Lin mysterious. Why was he an illegal immigrant? He seemed to have knowledge of politics, military affairs, astronomy, geography, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and everything in between. He could talk about everything, just like his character, and his imagination had no limits.
Training is integrated with adapting to life in the valley. It requires step-by-step instruction from understanding antiques to accepting their use, as well as developing manners and living habits.

As someone who has lived in a truly information society, Zhuang Lin has refreshed his cognition with a lot of knowledge.

For example, Zhuang Lin once understood that the ancients knelt and sat. It seemed that before chairs were widely used, they just knelt and sat, with at most a cushion under their feet.

Only at this point did Zhuang Lin understand that there was something called a "heel support", which was a mini one-legged stool that supported the body when kneeling, making kneeling easier and the body naturally upright.

Of course, various trainings are carried out in an orderly manner in a chaotic manner.

Part of the time, the trainer's voice is always in my ears.

"Hey, hey, you can't leave like that. You're wearing shorts now, and you still want to find a place to put your stuff in your jeans pocket?"

"Pay attention to details and habits. You can walk with your hands behind your back, clasped in front of your abdomen, or swing your arms normally!"

"Be natural, and you will know naturally, right?"

"Teacher Zhuang, you are quite natural, but you can't walk like them. Those clothes you wear, such as the long gown with a deep robe and straight hem, are all long gowns. To appear elegant, you need to walk with a small square step."

"Some people also need to pay more attention to their kneeling posture. Using the heels to sit upright can help you straighten your back. Simply kneeling is of course tiring!"

"Also, if I catch anyone eating wrapped candy again, I'll report it directly to the directors. This is no joke!"

Every word from the training team seemed to linger in everyone's ears all the time, and even the beautiful scenery here was diluted by worries.

At other times, Zhuang Lin and others, encouraged to immerse themselves in the valley's life, continue to discover the beauty of the area—not just the scenery, but also the people!
Sometimes, a few people can sit in front of a house and watch the bamboo craftsman weaving baskets. He has superb skills and is nimble and dexterous. Watching him weave baskets is like witnessing the birth of art.

Sometimes, some men would squeeze into a courtyard with women and watch an aunt sitting on a chair, drawing lines on the cloth with limestone or charcoal, and gradually cutting and sewing a suitable piece of clothing.

Sometimes, it is fun to pick mulberry leaves together and feed the silkworms.

Sometimes, Zhuang Lin and some other people would go into the mountains with experienced people to collect pine resin or cut bamboo and transport it. In addition to precious animals and plants, there were also open-air iron, mountain salt and various strange stones and minerals among the mountains.

All of this opened the eyes of Zhuang Lin and others!

Zhou Xianglin and Liu Shihao are right.

No matter the cost, no matter the price, it can work perfectly and be self-sufficient!

Many of the families that enter the Plan Valley are actually not simple. A considerable number of them are already inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.

However, in this era in China, the concept of intangible cultural heritage inheritors has not yet been born.

These masters of crafts are outside in the dark ages before dawn.

On the one hand, although the Chinese people in this world have not suffered the kind of heavy and tragic suffering that Zhuang Lin’s hometown has suffered in modern times, the products brought about by the gradual improvement of productivity are impacting the craftsmen who have passed on the tradition to this day.

Before the Delusion-Breaking Plan began, some of the craftsmen here had already found other jobs, and the few who could make a living with their skills did not see much hope.

In their eyes, the tide of the times is destined to wash them, a group of old waves, to death on the shore.

Various new products, represented by factory plastics, have made these craftsmen realize that perhaps their skills are no longer needed.

Here, Zhou Xianglin spared no effort to find the right person, and Liu Shihao gave him trust and support without blinking an eye.

There are enough fields and the area is large enough.

They can be self-sufficient in all kinds of crops, and collecting in the mountains is no problem. They can make their own cloth and clothes, and there are many experts in embroidery and needlework. There is no problem with the skills of carpentry and blacksmithing. Making pottery and firing porcelain are no problem, and even pens, ink, paper and inkstone can be made!
Although there are only a few hundred households, it is truly full of extraordinary people!
Zhuang Lin realized that even if the Delusion Breaking Plan was over, this place and the people living there could still be considered treasures, and he was the least notable of them all!
This training life is intense, fulfilling, and a bit exciting!

The actors gradually became familiar with the groups of actors who arrived earlier, and like them, they slowly integrated into the local residents!
As time went on, a slight sense of tension began to rise, and everyone knew that the planned time was getting closer.
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PS: I am surprised that there is a leader so soon. Thanks to the book friend "Wheel of Fortune who likes pranks" for the reward for being the leader!

(End of this chapter)