Huayu Chef

001 Conquering the Stomach is a Stepping Stone

March 11, 2013, commercial street of Beijing Film Academy residential area.

A row of old bungalows has been transformed into a "wild kitchen".

This is a newly opened restaurant that currently mainly serves braised pork rice and various braised chicken and duck dishes.

The renovation was just completed last month, and it is currently vacant. The plan is to officially open for business on the 13th.

The temperature in Beijing in March was still quite low. Zhang Jinxuan wore a black turtleneck sweater close to his body, with a black trench coat on top, creating an all-black, austere look.

A well-proportioned, medium-long, narrow square face, but with a high jawline and smooth lines, almost no visible angles.

His face has a high degree of facial folds. Although it is not as aggressive and impactful as the top-tier handsome men with strong features, and it cannot compare with the top flower boys in terms of softness, it is definitely a very attractive and mainstream-approved handsome face in 2013.

He was over 1.8 meters tall, a perfect clothes hanger, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Just standing there at the store entrance, his back view alone gave people an outstanding sense of pressure and mystery.

This morning, Zhang Jinxuan specially put on makeup, his eyebrows were sharp and masculine, exuding a strong and masculine aura. His eyes, however, were gentle and peaceful, quietly gazing at the four large characters "Wild Kitchen," his brows and eyes filled with ambition.

The regret of not becoming an actor or a star in the previous life is made up for in this life.

Zhang Jinxuan is a reincarnated person, reborn from 2025 to 2013.

He was admitted to the vocational program at Beijing Film Academy in 2008 and graduated in 2010, after which he began a two-year career in the entertainment industry.

Anyone who has been in the entertainment industry knows that success depends on three parts talent, six parts luck, and one part the help of a benefactor.

Zhang Jinxuan didn't encounter any benefactors, and like many formally trained students, his enthusiasm was worn down by reality, and he became increasingly bored with life.

I had the idea of ​​retiring from the entertainment industry at the end of last year.

Following his past life's trajectory, he would return to his hometown to help his parents run a small supermarket, but then completely stray from the path, becoming obsessed with making delicious food, becoming a "spendthrift" in his parents' eyes and a "food lover" in the eyes of others.

Later, he opened a restaurant, took advantage of the short video trend to shoot short videos, and even did live-streaming e-commerce. His business was quite diverse. He wouldn't say he was extremely wealthy, but he could be described as having "some financial resources."

From the moment of his rebirth, Zhang Jinxuan, both in his past and present lives, faced a turning point in his destiny.

Zhang Jinxuan felt he could do even better than in his previous life, making his classmates and alumni envious and jealous of his on-screen persona, rather than him envying and jealous of them.

But becoming famous is quite difficult.

Without substantial capital, influential connections, or a strong network of relationships, the memory advantage gained from rebirth is not so easily translated into tangible benefits.

You're just copying songs. Zhang Jinxuan's singing is amateur level, the kind you'd find in karaoke. He doesn't have the talent.

Although the Beijing Film Academy's performance major offers vocal courses, the fact that it produced Yang Mi and the tone-deaf Meng Ziyi speaks volumes.

2013 was another awkward year. The physical record market collapsed, and ringtones, which had been keeping physical records afloat, also declined. Copyright awareness was weak, piracy was rampant, and Xue Zhiqian released songs for free, relying on opening stores, selling fashion brands, and appearing on variety shows to support his "singer dream"...

Moreover, if Zhang Jinxuan's familiar songs were taken now and not promoted at a cost, they would probably remain forgotten for more than ten years, like Guo Ding's "We Two," before becoming popular again.

Gold will always shine; even with thick layers of soil, you need advanced technology to find gold mines.

Copying is a bit of a challenge for Zhang Jinxuan, a vocational high school student at Beijing Film Academy.

Writing a short biography of a few hundred or a few thousand words is manageable, but a graduation thesis of tens of thousands of words is a headache, let alone a novel of hundreds of thousands or millions of words.

Filming TV dramas, movies, and variety shows is out of the question for now; I'm not cut out for it, it's hopeless.

After much thought, Zhang Jinxuan decided to use his skills to return to his old profession: opening a restaurant and making short videos.

Make friends through food, build a wide network of contacts, and provide financial support.

Using short videos to drive traffic to the restaurant and Zhang Jinxuan, promoting themselves.

Kuaishou entered the short video field last year, Youku acquired Tudou, iQiyi and Tencent Video began to exert their efforts, Bilibili is about to take off, smartphone shipments have been increasing year by year, 3G speeds up, and the Internet environment is still relatively favorable for Zhang Jinxuan.

It is very easy to operate.

The key is that it has low cost, and even if it doesn't work, it won't cause serious damage.

Give it a try.

"Brother Xuan."

Just then, a shout came from behind.

Zhang Jinxuan turned around and saw a tall, thin young man with a backpack walking towards him.

His nickname is Zhuangzhuang, I forgot his real name Zhang Jinxuan. He is a student in the photography department of Beijing Film Academy, class of 09, and will graduate in a few months.

"Zhuangzhuang, you're here early."

"It's 8:30, that's getting late." Zhuangzhuang glanced curiously at Wild Kitchen and asked, "Brother Xuan, when did your shop open?"

"The day after tomorrow, the 13th."

"Okay, I'll send you a wreath that day..."

"Give it to your grandpa."

Zhang Jinxuan laughed and cursed, then grabbed Zhuangzhuang by the neck and dragged him towards the parking lot.

Zhuangzhuang quickly explained, "Brother Xuan, Brother Xuan, I was wrong, I blurted it out. I meant to say we're sending flower baskets..."

Did you know that Koreans send floral wreaths at weddings?

"real?"

"So I got married..."

"Send a wreath..."

Zhang Jinxuan lightly punched him, took out his car keys from his trench coat pocket, opened the trunk, and said with a smirk, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and grab your gear, let's quickly shoot the opening scene and then go get breakfast."

Zhuangzhuang joked, "Wow, you bought a car? Only an Audi A6? That doesn't match your status, Brother Xuan. It should be at least an Aston Martin, Maserati, or McLaren!"

"Junior Brother Zhuangzhuang, your vision is too narrow. The cars on the market don't meet my standards. I prefer custom-made models, equipped with rocket boosters, so I can fly and disappear into the ground, and do anything."

Zhuangzhuang grinned and said, "Brother Xuan, when it comes to bragging, I admire you the most. Where did you get that car?"

"It's rented, hurry up and get the machine."

"Which one did we look at yesterday?"

"Yes, Sony cameras."

Zhuangzhuang took out the handheld camera and said while installing the accessories, "Brother Xuan, you don't have high requirements for shooting this kind of video. A regular DV camera can handle it. Nowadays, TV programs are equipped with DV + GoPro for shooting on location. There is really no need to borrow a camera."

Zhang Jinxuan explained, "We're filming the process of making Peking duck this afternoon. The filming will take a long time, so a video camera is more convenient, and the built-in microphone system is also more stable."

"Tsk tsk, Brother Xuan, what have you been doing these past two years? Instead of focusing on filming, you've been obsessed with food, even learning to make Peking duck! Who taught you that? Did vocational high schools offer cooking classes?"

Zhang Jinxuan shrugged, "You think you're paying 19000 yuan a year for nothing?"

Zhuangzhuang exclaimed in disbelief, "Wow, you guys really have cooking classes?"

"An actor needs to know a little bit of everything."

"It's a pity the vocational college program stopped enrolling students in 09, otherwise I would have definitely audited some classes." Zhuangzhuang seemed to have been misled by Zhang Jinxuan, and sighed regretfully before asking, "Brother Xuan, are we only filming the opening scene this morning?"

"You're only filming the opening scene? Did you even read the script?"

Zhuangzhuang complained, "Brother Xuan, don't even mention your lousy script. It's the first time I've ever seen something so rudimentary. There's no storyboard at all; I had to design it on the spot."

"It's simple, just film me. In most cases, use medium to close-up shots."

"OK, come on."

Zhang Jinxuan led Zhuangzhuang to the entrance of Wild Kitchen. He stood with his back to the store signboard and helped Zhuangzhuang find the best angle to capture him and the signboard in the shot.

"Brother Xuan, you can put on the microphone now."

The microphone should not be worn too high; if it's too close to your mouth, it's prone to popping.

Zhang Jinxuan adjusted himself a few times, saw Zhuangzhuang gesturing, and smiled at the camera, saying, "Hello everyone, I'm Zhang Jinxuan, the head chef of Wild Kitchen, an actress who possesses both beauty and talent..."