The birth of an actor

Chapter 4 Something happened
Anxin isn't actually particularly interested in whether or not she's an actress.

The real reason he adopted a coy attitude towards He Xiuqiong was that he was currently short of money and needed to accumulate some initial capital.

His parents died early, and he grew up with his grandfather. Although his grandfather was a mountain herder, he was quite old. Although he had saved some money, the old man clearly had his own plans.

A grandfather's love for his grandson isn't about setting an upper limit, but rather a lower limit.

So early on, he renovated the old house in the village and bought a house in the county town.

Whether my grandson will live here in the future is another matter, but at least after I pass away, I will have a home for my grandson on this vast black earth.

Where there is a home, there are people.

This was the old man's idea.

Anxin didn't understand at first, but when his business failed and he returned to his roots, he suddenly realized his grandfather's intention.

So he definitely can't do it with the old man's money, especially since Grandpa doesn't have much money left.

And the TV series "Princess Pearl" was indeed the best place for him to accumulate his first pot of gold.

Tens of thousands of yuan is enough.

To paraphrase a friend, living a peaceful life is like taking an open-book exam. He had connections everywhere; all he needed to do was answer one question correctly to soar to great heights. But... he got them all wrong.

Even his friends doubted whether the spirit statue erected at his altar was actually a fox spirit.

If the old masters had given him any pointers, he wouldn't have ended up living off a small shop selling local specialties from Northeast China.

But now that even something as absurd as rebirth has occurred, his awe for these mysterious and enigmatic things has only grown stronger.

Now, faced with the first missed opportunity in his life, he has no reason not to seize it.

So, as the girl chattered on about how fun it was to be an actress, he showed interest.

The two chatted until they finished brushing Ado's fur, and it was past 2 PM, the hottest time of the day. Just then, Na Shun called out from afar:
"Don't worry, Director He and the others are leaving."

When guests are leaving, they should naturally be seen off.

Upon hearing this, the girl who was lying on the lawn enjoying the sun also quickly got up.

"Oh dear, we have to go!"

"Ah."

Anxin responded and led Aduo ashore, then walked with her toward the yurt.

As he walked, he pondered how to take the initiative to ask for He Xiuqiong's contact information.

But things went much more smoothly than he had imagined.

He Xiuqiong, whose eyes had been fixed on him ever since he led the horse, said the first thing to him as he approached with a sense of security:

"Don't worry, do you have a pager?"

After An Xin shook her head, she directly took out a business card and handed it to him:

"This is my business card. Also... would it be convenient for me to give you my home phone number?"

Seeing her take out a phone book, An Xin seemed a little surprised. After hesitating for two seconds, she nodded and recited a phone number.

After quickly writing it down in the phone book, He Xiuqiong laughed and said:

"I think you look really good as an actress. If possible... let's get back to each other in a few days?"

"Uh... ok."

Anxin looked somewhat bewildered, as if she didn't have a clear understanding of what she was saying. However, He Xiuqiong didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned around, politely said goodbye to Batu's family, and the group walked towards the car.

Batu and Sarina saw them off from the front, while Na Shun pulled Anxin along behind, chirping crickets.
"You want to be an actor? You're not going to college?"

"I'll definitely go to university, but... don't you think it'll be a lot of fun?"

"...You can act?"

"will not."

"Then how do you become an actor?"

Who says you have to be a good actor to be an actor?

"...?"

Na Shun's face was full of question marks.

Can't act?

Then what makes you think you can be an actor?
"Ha~"

Seeing that his friend didn't understand his humor, Anxin shrugged and said no more.

Finally, the family watched the two cars leave and disappear into the boundless emerald green.

……

inside the car.

He Xiuqiong thought for a moment, then suddenly said to the driver:

"Stop the car."

The driver was taken aback, not understanding why, but still obeyed the order.

After the two vehicles stopped, He Xiuqiong said to the local guide sitting in the back:
"Guide Meng, would you like to sit in the car behind and switch seats with Bingbing?"

The guide naturally didn't refuse, and soon Fan Bing opened the car door with a puzzled look and got in.

The car started again, and He Xiuqiong turned to Fan Bing and asked:

What did you talk about this afternoon?

"Director He, we're just chatting."

"...Specifically?"

"Well……"

The girl thought for a moment and said:

"We talked about his university, and..."

"Oh right, he'll be a college student this September. Which university did he apply to?"

"Yanjing People's Congress".

"...?"

He Xiuqiong was taken aback and subconsciously asked:
"where?"

"The National People's Congress of Beijing!"

The girl repeated it again, then, seemingly sensing that He Xiuqiong, being from Taiwan, didn't understand the prestige of this school, she offered to explain:

"It is a top-tier university in China, only one level below Tsinghua and Peking University, but it is still an exceptionally good one."

"..."

He Xiuqiong remained silent.

She knew the prestige of the National People's Congress of Beijing, but her heart sank at that moment.

To put it bluntly, she and Fan Bing thought the same thing when they first heard the news: if she were just a student at an ordinary university… perhaps she would be interested in acting. But Fan Bingbing is a top student from Renmin University, how could she possibly become an actress?

Unexpectedly, less than a minute after the girl sat in the car, her "Ertai" had vanished, leaving He Xiuqiong speechless.

But just then, she heard a sentence:
"However, he seems quite interested in being an actor."

"!"

He Xiuqiong's eyes lit up instantly:
"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Seeing that Director He suddenly turned his head and looked at her with a burning gaze, the fifteen-year-old beauty was stunned for a moment, then seemed to understand something and roughly recounted the conversation between the two of them while riding horses.

"...He asked me a lot of questions about acting, and seemed quite interested. He also asked me what I usually study in class..."

In an instant, He Xiuqiong's heart fluttered again.

After chatting about the film for a while longer, the driver asked:
"Director He, are we going back to Chengde?"

"Well……"

He Xiuqiong thought for a moment, then shook her head:
"Let's not go back. Let's stay in Chifeng tonight. Tomorrow we'll go scout out a few more locations to compare, and then we'll go back the day after tomorrow."

"Ok."

The driver nodded, and the two Toyotas headed towards the town.

……

Do actors need to audition?
What exactly is acting?
How much can you pay?

A thousand dollars per episode shouldn't be too high, right?

How many episodes was Huan Zhu Ge Ge again?

By then, Dong Ge should have just taken over that Sichuan-Chongqing restaurant. After I enrolled in school, just like in my previous life, I immediately signed up to work there. Then, once the chef and cashier at the restaurant started dating, the business would take a sharp downturn. At that point, Dong Ge would be in debt for one or two hundred thousand yuan. I would lend him the money I had on hand first, and then invest when the JD.com digital store in Zhongguancun opened...

Hmm, we'll have to think about this investment carefully when the time comes.

In addition, before 1999, you had to earn at least one million yuan, just in time for Alibaba to borrow money to pay salaries...

Holding shares in JD.com and Alibaba, I'll never have to worry about money again. Oh, and I also need to invest in pig farms…

Putting everything else aside, becoming a shareholder in a pig farm at least allows me to use my shareholder privileges to get San Shi to help me farm more items without level restrictions... Wouldn't that guy's Tang Dynasty sweep out an immense and prosperous era?
Slaughter those nouveau riche like pigs!

The Internet...

The best of times.

tsk...

With his mind churning with various thoughts, he sighed as he and Na Shun prepared the bean feed for the horses that evening.

But as he pondered and calculated in his mind, he suddenly realized that... his most important task right now seemed to be learning how to be an actor.

Admittedly, 96 presented countless opportunities to make a fortune. However, each of these paths required initial capital. And from the perspective of starting from scratch, his most pressing need was to cater to the preferences of that short-haired, mature woman…

Of course, there is another way.

only……

The cost was too high.

Seemingly realizing something, he shook his head helplessly.

Having been reborn, all I want is to live a more relaxed life. I could have chosen not to believe in things that harm one's karma before... but now, I absolutely cannot choose not to believe them.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the sky.

He made up his mind:
"Then go ahead."

"what?"

"Shall we go to the city? I'll go buy some books."

"……Now?"

Na Shun also looked up at the setting sun.

"If we go now, we won't be able to come back tonight."

"Hmm, let's stay in the city for one night."

"Is that so...Okay."

He tossed the half-full bag of beans on the ground and headed straight for the yurt. When he came out again, he was carrying a plastic bag and a set of keys.

“Let’s go, we can take this bag of milk to my uncle.”

"it is good."

Anxin responded and followed him into the enclosure where miscellaneous items were piled up. There was a motorcycle covered with a tarpaulin.

Na Shun secured the plastic bag to the rear axle of the motorcycle, started the engine, and skillfully rode out of the fence. He then confidently stepped onto the motorcycle.

What books are you going to buy?

"A book for actors."

"...Do actors need to read books?"

"What kind of talk is that... How can you learn acting without reading books?"

"Isn't acting just acting?"

"...Shut up and ride your bike properly!"

"Cut~"

Na Shun curled his lip in disdain.

Actors act on television, but you... you read books?

If you can become an actor just by reading books, what's the point of having a television?
As Shun pondered in front, he calmly squinted his eyes amidst the rushing wind in the back seat.

Enjoy this moment of beauty unique to the grassland and the sunset.

Beautiful.

……

It took almost an hour to ride the motorcycle from Nasun's ranch to downtown CF. By the time we arrived at Nasun's uncle's grocery store, it was already past 5 p.m.

"I can go by myself."

"it is good."

Na Shun confidently handed the motorcycle keys to An Xin, who also didn't have a driver's license, and then carried a bag of dairy products into his uncle's grocery store.

An Xin was very familiar with Chifeng, having visited almost every summer. Besides, Chifeng wasn't as prosperous as it was in later years; there were no state-run bookstores like Xinhua Bookstore in the city, only privately owned ones. The bookstores offered both rentals and sales, a wide variety of books, from professional texts to martial arts novels. Although not large, the selection was still quite impressive.

Unfortunately... the book he wanted was too obscure.

The bookstore owner thought the title "An Actor Prepares" sounded like gibberish.

I've never heard of that name before.

An Xin knew it wouldn't be easy to find someone, since Zhou Xingchi's "King of Comedy" hadn't been released yet, so he was just trying his luck this time.

If one place doesn't have it, that's okay, we'll find another.

Yeah, I miss the first day on Taobao.

Around 7 p.m., he searched through the few bookstores he knew.

not a single one.

"Tsk."

Riding on his motorcycle, he thought about it and ultimately had to change his plans.

In his previous life, he stayed here for half a summer vacation before returning to his hometown to pack up and prepare for the start of the new semester.

But now... it seems I'll have to go back ahead of schedule.

Go to Changchun. There's a film studio there, so there must be relevant books.

Having made up his mind, he headed back. When he arrived at his uncle Na Shun's house, he saw Na Shun and his uncle drinking together.

So, naturally, I sat down at the table.

Tonight, I definitely won't be going back to the grasslands.

It's dark, and it's not safe on the road.

Just stay here for one night.

……

After a satisfying meal, I settled down in front of the TV to watch "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" on CCTV-1.

He used to watch it casually, but now he moved a stool and sat very close, watching up close the historical figures who were portrayed so vividly...

Look, think, and learn how others perform.

He yawned as the two episodes of the TV series ended, accompanied by Mao Amin's song that "dimmed the glint of swords and shadows."

It's time to sleep.

He squeezed onto the same bed with Na Shun, chatting about the plot of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and then he drifted off to sleep.

Then, early the next morning, he and Na Shun went to the market again, bought some daily necessities needed for the ranch, and then rode their motorcycles to the ranch around noon.

We were traveling at a leisurely pace, but just as we were about to exit the national highway and turn into the pasture, we suddenly heard a beeping sound behind us.

Anxin instinctively turned around and saw a very familiar Toyota Prado flashing its headlights at the two people.

?

He paused, then patted Na Shun on the shoulder:

"Stop the car, the car behind us is looking for us."

Na Shun parked his motorcycle by the roadside, turned around, and said in a puzzled tone:
"Isn't this Director He's car?"

Anxin didn't answer because the car had already driven up to them, kicking up dust.

The passenger door was pushed open, and upon seeing who got out, An Xin and Na Shun simultaneously exclaimed:
"Uncle Meng."

This man is the local guide who took He Xiuqiong to the horse farm yesterday, and he is also a friend of Batu.

"Ah."

Guide Meng nodded:

"I was just about to go find you two."

As he spoke, he looked at An Xin:
"Anxin, can you... tell fortunes for people?"

"...?"

An Xin was taken aback, but a possibility suddenly occurred to her, and she subconsciously asked:

"Could it be that Director He...?"

"……Um!"

Guide Meng nodded, a hint of awe appearing in his eyes as he looked at the boy before him.
"Director He... something has happened."

(End of this chapter)