Huayu Chef

088 owes Wu Jing a lifetime's worth of favors

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The pork belly on the charcoal grill was charred and slightly curled by the red-hot charcoal, and the boiling oil dripped from the mesh onto the charcoal, sizzling and puffing up wisps of blue smoke.

The aroma of the meat is irresistible and incredibly enticing.

Zhang Jinxuan was hungry, so as soon as he sat down, he opened the braised dishes he had brought and invited Grandpa Yu, Wu Jing, Xie Nan, Jingjing, and the barbecue chef to enjoy them.

"Come on, try some of the braised dishes from our Wild Kitchen."

Xie Nan looked at the large, red, and tempting tiger-skin chicken feet and said with a conflicted expression, "I ate too much for dinner, and then I had barbecue. I'm so afraid of gaining weight."

Zhang Jinxuan comforted her, "Sister Xie Nan, it's okay. Just punch Brother Jing a few times for every meal you eat. Increase your exercise level, and I guarantee you won't gain weight. If you do gain weight, just keep punching him until you're completely thin."

Grandpa Yu and Jingjing grinned from ear to ear.

Xie Nan chuckled and gave Wu Jing a meaningful look. "Good idea."

Wu Jing rolled his eyes and complained, "Xiao Zhang, how much do you want to hit me? Not content with hitting me yourself, you're even encouraging Xie Nan to do it. Have I ever offended you before?"

"I haven't offended you. It's just that you're so good at fighting in the movies that I feel like if I beat you, I'll be the best fighter in the world. That would be the ultimate martial arts role."

"What do you call this? It's chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), late stage, it needs treatment."

"Brother Jing is witty."

Zhang Jinxuan gave a thumbs-up, picked up a piece of duck neck with his chopsticks, and started gnawing on it.

Seeing this, Wu Jing, Xie Nan, and Grandpa Yu all started eating.

"Hey, these chicken feet are really good. They're braised until they're tender and fall off the bone, and they're incredibly flavorful."

"The duck neck is delicious, spicy and flavorful, very chewy, and has a savory sauce aroma. Absolutely amazing! No wonder people online say Wild Kitchen is always packed."

Wu Jing gnawed on a duck wing, picked up his wine glass, and laughed, "This stuff goes so well with alcohol, Brother Yu, Xiao Zhang, let's have a drink."

The three of them were drinking beer. They clinked glasses and each downed half a glass in one gulp.

Zhang Jinxuan put down his cup, munching on a duck neck as he asked, "Brother Jing, how did you and Uncle Yu meet?"

"That's a long story."

"Then let's make it short."

Xie Nan joked, "Jin Xuan, I thought you would say, 'I won't go into the long story.'"

Those who understood the joke burst out laughing.

Wu Jing picked up a duck head and began to recount how he met Uncle Yu: "In 03, I went to Hong Kong to film a movie. I was new to the place and didn't know anyone. I couldn't speak the language and the pressure of filming was immense. Every day after filming, I had nowhere to go, so I would stay in my room and listen to Mr. Guo and Brother Yu's crosstalk to relieve my boredom."

"I first met Mr. Guo in 10 when I was on his show, 'Tonight's Show.' At the beginning of the show, I told Mr. Guo, 'You are my pillar of support.' Mr. Guo was surprised and asked me why. I told him about my experience of listening to crosstalk to relieve boredom. We became friends as we chatted. Later, I met Brother Yu through Mr. Guo."

"Xiao Zhang, how did you and Brother Yu meet?"

Grandpa Yu wiped his mouth with a tissue and said excitedly, "Let me tell you about this. Those kids from Deyun Society watched Xiao Zhang's 'Wild Kitchen' online and started making irresponsible comments and stirring up trouble everywhere."

"In the second episode, Grandma Lin suggested that Xiao Zhang form a Chef Cloud Society to compete with our Deyun Society. I thought it was quite interesting, so I watched the third episode. At the time, I happened to be in Tianjin, so I made a special trip to Xiao Dangjia's restaurant to order a plate of braised pork belly and even asked Xiao Dangjia for Xiao Zhang's phone number."

"On Monday, I called Xiao Zhang, wanting to try his braised dishes. I learned that he was filming donkey meat sandwiches in Baoding and was going to make a whole donkey feast. Wow, that immediately whetted my appetite. Without saying a word, I chartered a car and headed straight to Baoding."

"The old smoker and the little donkey you and Xie Nan saw today were bought in Baoding. My horse farm is reopening for the second time, thanks to Xiao Zhang."

"Here, Xiao Zhang, let me toast you."

Zhang Jinxuan picked up his wine glass and quickly said, "Uncle Yu, you're being too polite. If we're talking about benefiting from this, the fourth episode of 'Wild Kitchen' is doing so well thanks to you. You're toasting me, so I should toast you too."

"Alright, alright, let's not argue about this anymore. It's annoying. From now on, you'll call me 'brother' like Wu Jing does. Calling me 'grandpa' every day is making me feel old. I'm only 24 this year."

"A man in his late twenties is like a flower, in the prime of his life, and incredibly handsome."

"Ha ha."

The whole audience burst into laughter.

"The meat is cooked."

"Wu Jing, Xiao Zhang, Xie Nan, Jingjing, eat meat, eat meat, eat it while it's hot!" Grandpa Yu called out, instructing the barbecue chef, "Grill some more beef, lamb, chicken wings, vegetables, potatoes, and stuff like that."

Zhang Jinxuan didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up a piece of hot roasted pork belly, dipped it in the sauce, and then ate it with gusto.

After a few drinks, Zhang Jinxuan and Wu Jing became more familiar with each other. Suddenly, Zhang Jinxuan asked, "Brother Jing, I heard from Sister Xie Nan last time that you're preparing for a new movie. Is it about to start filming?"

Wu Jing smiled, revealing crow's feet: "It's still in preparation. There are a few actors who haven't been cast yet, but it'll be soon. We plan to start filming in June."

"What movie is it?" Grandpa Yu asked.

"It's a low-budget military film that I wrote, directed, and starred in myself."

Grandpa Yu exclaimed in surprise, "You're amazing to be the screenwriter, director, and lead actor all at once!"

"I'm not that great." Wu Jing picked up his beer glass, took a sip, coughed twice, and said with a bitter and frustrated tone, "To be honest, brothers, I mortgaged my house and sold everything I owned to scrape together some money to make this movie. I couldn't get any investment. The film companies all shook their heads as soon as they heard I was making a military film. I approached several companies, but none of them were willing to put up any money."

"Do you think I want to be a director? It's just that no one is asking me to act in movies. We can't afford big directors, so I have to do it myself, multiplying myself into three roles."

Zhang Jinxuan asked curiously, "Without a film company investing, how will you solve the funding problem? The loan you took out by mortgaging your house probably won't be enough, right?"

"Mr. Lü from the Spring and Autumn Period and Nanjing Military Arts University each held one-third of the investment share, with each family investing 500 million yuan."

Zhang Jinxuan shook his head: "These days, it costs several million to make a proper theatrical romance or modern comedy. Fifteen million won't even cover the marketing and distribution costs."

Wu Jing smiled helplessly and said, "Let's keep filming for now, and we'll figure something out when we run out of money."

"Let's drink." Zhang Jinxuan picked up his glass, clinked it with Uncle Yu and Wu Jing, took a sip of beer, and said, "Brother Jing, my financial resources are limited, so I can't be of much help. If you're still short of funds, I can invest a million or so, and I can also dedicate an episode of 'Wild Kitchen' to help you with promotion."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Yu, Xie Nan, and Jingjing stopped eating their barbecue and all turned to look at each other.

Wu Jing was astonished: "Brother, are you serious?"

"Does Brother Jing think I'm joking?"

Wu Jing emphasized with considerable uncertainty, "We're making a military film. Film companies in the industry all think this subject matter isn't profitable, won't make any money at the box office, and is very likely to lose money."

"I know," Zhang Jinxuan said seriously. "I invested money because I value you, Brother Jing, and also because I might be involved in some film and television projects in the future, and I plan to use this movie to practice and gain experience."

"But let's make this clear first. I need to review the script and get a detailed understanding of the preparation progress. Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. After the investment, the necessary contracts must be signed, and my rights must be guaranteed."

"Of course, that's perfectly reasonable," Wu Jing readily agreed, then confirmed again, "Xiao Zhang, are you really going to vote?"

"Absolutely true."

Without hesitation, Wu Jing said, "It's too late today. I'll call General Manager Lü and the leaders of Nanjing Military Arts Academy tomorrow to talk about this. It should be fine. I'll let you know if there's any news."

It's not that there shouldn't be any problem, it's that there's absolutely no problem. Wu Jing and Lü Jianmin are desperate for money. One mortgaged his property, and the other borrowed money from loan sharks. In their previous life, Wolf Warrior 2 was sued by the investors of Wolf Warrior 1 and lost millions.

Because the industry was not optimistic, Nanjing Military Arts Academy was afraid of being ripped off and having its investment go down the drain, so it was very cautious about spending money.

Zhang Jinxuan joined with money and promotional resources, and the other two parties had absolutely no reason to refuse, so they welcomed him with open arms.

Wu Jing was deeply moved by Zhang Jinxuan's trust and timely help. After thinking for a moment, he took it upon himself to say, "Little Zhang, didn't you want to beat me up in the movie? That's easy. You play a role, and I'll have the screenwriter write a fight scene just for you."

"Is the script not finished yet?"

"It's written, let's add it now."

Zhang Jinxuan: "..."