After the college entrance examination, life began to follow one's heart

Chapter 194 Homecoming Experiences: Infiltrating the Entertainment Industry
The time came the next morning.

On the 15th, the sun shone brightly and the temperature was pleasant.

Xu Lin and his group got on the bus around 8 a.m., and then Xu Lin drove off to his hometown.

Xu Lin's hometown is a rural area in a neighboring city, less than 200 kilometers away, which normally takes two or three hours by car.

However, it is currently the Spring Festival travel rush period.

Xu Lin drove for five hours before finally reaching the fork in the road leading to his rural hometown, a small county town.

"Mom, how much longer until we get there?"

"I'll be home in about an hour at most, that'll be quick."

"oh oh."

An hour later, Xu Lin finally drove his car to his rural hometown.

Xu Lin's hometown village has over a hundred households and dozens of cars. Almost every household owns a car. And since tomorrow is New Year's Eve, almost all the people who went out to work have returned here, so Xu Lin saw quite a few cars.

Xu Lin even saw a Maybach, and the key point is that it was driven by a young man, with a group of young people gathered around it.

Damn, this can't be a rental car, can it?

These days, there's no shortage of young people who rent cars to show off.

However, Xu Lin didn't think much of it, since it wasn't his business, and continued driving in his direction home.

His family has a garage that can hold two cars. Now, Xu Lin's father's car is taking up one parking space. After Xu Lin got home, he first let his mother and the others out of the car before parking his own car.

Just as they parked the car and everyone was getting their luggage from the trunk, Xu Lin saw the old man return.

Xu Cheng was carrying a hoe on his shoulder, dressed casually, and wearing canvas shoes. It was unclear what he was doing.

Is there traffic today?

"It's still a bit stuffy."

Xu Lin asked him, "What are you going to do with the hoe?"

"Go with your uncles and aunts to clean up the back hill."

"Oh."

Xu Lin's situation is similar to Ning Yuhan's; there's also a back hill that needs to be cleared.

Xu Lin also has an older uncle and a second uncle, but they are much older than Xu Lin's father. The older uncle is fourteen years older than Xu Cheng, and the second uncle is eleven years older than Xu Cheng. In addition, Xu Lin also has an older aunt, who is fifteen years older than Xu Cheng. Xu Cheng is the youngest.

Xu Lin's grandparents had passed away a long time ago; he had only seen them when he was a child.

At this moment, Xu Lin pointed to Rong Xiyan there, "This is our new family member."

Xu Cheng had actually heard about it from Ms. Ren, and it happened last year.

"Hello, uncle!"

Rong Xiyan was quite timid in front of Xu Lin's father. Although Xu Cheng was dressed plainly, and even his shoes were old and ugly liberation shoes, his aura was undeniable.

In addition, Rong Xiyan calls Xu Cheng "uncle" because she already has a father, and it would feel strange to call another one.

Moreover, she had asked Ms. Ren, and it was Ms. Ren who told her to call it that.

Xu Cheng nodded slightly, and seeing the other party's timidity, said, "Just make yourself at home, don't be shy."

"Yes, thank you, Uncle!"

Rong Xiyan was very happy, thinking that she had passed the test.

At this moment, Xu Cheng looked at Ms. Ren again.

"How about we have free-range chicken tonight?"

"You make up your mind."

Ms. Ren looked at him.

Xu Cheng stopped talking. The two had been divorced for many years, but in reality, their relationship was as if they were still married. They had known each other for many years and were very familiar with each other, so they didn't talk much, but their deep affection for each other was genuine.

It's already past four in the afternoon, and it's almost dark.

After putting the hoe away, Xu Cheng went out again.

We naturally had to ask others for the free-range chickens; my uncle's family happened to have quite a few.

However, even close brothers should keep their accounts clear. Xu Cheng paid for it, so these things should be clearly distinguished. Moreover, the uncle has always lived in the countryside and his income comes from doing some farm work nearby. Now that he is getting old, his son gives him money.

Of the three brothers, Xu Cheng was the most successful, followed by his second uncle, who also developed his career in the city. Only his eldest uncle remained in the countryside. However, his eldest uncle was also remarkable, because a large part of Xu Cheng's tuition and living expenses at university came from the hard-earned money he had made working on the farm nearby.

Before long, Xu Cheng brought back a large rooster. Judging by its size, after removing the internal organs, the rooster would weigh about six pounds, which was quite large.

You can't find this kind of chicken in the city, since the chickens in the city are all hormone-treated and taste very bad.

After Xu Cheng returned, he started boiling water in a large pot.

Xu Lin helped kill the chickens; he was in charge of catching them, while Xu Cheng was in charge of slitting the rooster's throat and bleeding it out.

This was the first time Rong Xiyan had witnessed such a scene, and she felt a little sorry for her.

Seeing her like this, Xu Lin said, "Come pluck chicken feathers with me later!"

"Ah, how do I pull it out?"

"Just follow my instructions to pull it out."

After boiling water is prepared, it is poured onto the chicken, and the feathers soften.

Then Rong Xiyan followed Xu Lin to pluck chicken feathers.

Rong Xiyan's hometown is Suzhou, a new first-tier metropolis. She is a native of the metropolis, raised in luxury since childhood. She has never tried plucking a rooster's feathers before. Moreover, the rooster's feet were covered in chicken droppings. That's already bad enough, but the feathers on the rooster's rear end were covered in droppings.

"Xu Lin, chickens are disgusting..."

This scene would probably trigger OCD in even someone who isn't a germaphobe.

"You think you can just come into my house and not do any work? You'd better pluck the chicken feathers properly, or you'll have to pick out the chicken intestines later!"

What should you pick out from chicken intestines?

Rong Xiyan was puzzled.

"Let's pick up chicken droppings! Choose one: pick up chicken droppings or pluck chicken feathers?"

"Ah! No, I'll pluck the chicken feathers, okay!"

"hurry up!"

Startled, Rong Xiyan could only reluctantly pluck the rooster's feathers.

However, her actions in plucking the chicken feathers were not as simple and crude as Xu Lin's; she plucked them carefully.

After plucking the chicken feathers, Xu Lin used a knife to make a slit at the chicken's rear end, then reached inside and pulled out the chicken's intestines and internal organs.

"Disgusting!"

Rong Xiyan couldn't bear to look at it, especially since the chicken intestines contained feces.

"You don't know anything."

Actually, Xu Lin also felt quite disgusted. The chicken intestines had to be cut open with a knife to get out the chicken droppings inside.

It took another twenty minutes to process the chicken intestines and internal organs before it was finally done.

Overall, it's quite complicated.

As for cooking the chicken, I'll have my dad do it.

Ms. Ren also went out to ask acquaintances in the village to buy vegetables.

The dinner tonight was quite lavish.

Ms. Ren is from eastern Guangdong and eats poached chicken, so Xu Lin also likes to eat it.

My dad has rather unusual tastes; he wants his chicken stir-fried with chili peppers, like spicy chicken.

So tonight's chicken is half poached chicken and half stir-fried chicken with chili peppers.

In addition, chicken wings and chicken feet are used to make soup.

Add some green vegetables.

It's just three dishes and a soup.

It's around eight o'clock in the evening.

Everyone was full and satisfied.

Xu Cheng brushed his teeth and went outside to smoke.

Before New Year's Eve, the village was quite full, and every household had its lights on. This was the only time of year that the village was lively, especially with the sounds of many children playing nearby.

Xu Cheng seemed to realize something, "Our family is still too small, not lively enough."

"What do you mean there aren't enough people?"

Xu Lin had just come out, a toothpick still dangling from the corner of his mouth.

“There used to be three people in our family, now there are four, but I still feel there are too few people, it’s quite lonely. After you get married, let’s have a few more children to make the house more lively.” Xu Cheng laughed as he spoke.

"We'll talk about it later. I guess you're just getting lonely in your old age, old man."

"Yes, Dad is a little lonely."

The loneliness that Xu Lin and Xu Cheng were discussing wasn't the kind of loneliness of having no one to accompany you. Rather, Xu Cheng felt that his parents were no longer by his side. When he was young, because he was the youngest of the three brothers, his parents still lived with him. But later, the two elders passed away one after another, and Xu Cheng would often miss the time when his parents were still alive.

As people reach middle age, they inevitably think about these things from time to time.

When your parents are alive, most people take it for granted and don't think much of it. That's why some people say that if you're twenty years old and your parents beat you, you might be angry, but if you're sixty years old and your parents beat you, you might even laugh and enjoy letting them beat you.

Everyone is like this.

Xu Lin realized this and decided to spend some time with his old man. To be honest, they only saw each other a few times a year.

The father and son chatted for a while, and then Xu Cheng was about to go out, saying he was going to the village store, so Xu Lin went with him.

Xu Lin's village has been equipped with streetlights, so walking at night is not a problem.

"Cheng, our son has grown so tall and handsome!"

Just then, a middle-aged man came out and saw Xu Cheng.

"Yes, he's almost nineteen."

Xu Cheng asked, "Have you had dinner?"

"Haha, everyone's full!"

"I heard you're about to become a grandfather?"

"Yeah, you're about to become a grandfather! Ah Cheng, has your son found a girlfriend yet?"

"He has a girlfriend now."

The two chatted for a while, and then walked to the convenience store. Xu Lin and his companion encountered many more people who greeted Xu Cheng.

In the village, Xu Cheng is the most successful. He was the first college student in the village and is currently the richest person in the village and even in the surrounding area.

Moreover, Xu Cheng spent a lot of money in the village. Whenever it came to things that required the village to pay, Xu Cheng contributed the most.

It wasn't that Xu Cheng liked being ripped off, but he felt it wouldn't cost much, and in fact, it really didn't. Also, whenever an elderly person in the village passed away, Xu Cheng would almost always come back to help.

This is the way of life in the village. Everyone helps each other out for weddings and funerals. If your family needs help, the villagers will come to your door to lend a hand even if you don't ask.

Therefore, Xu Cheng was very popular in the village, and people would greet him when they saw him.

"Everyone chats for a bit, and we're just walking around stopping and starting, it's too busy."

Xu Lin said from behind him.

“You didn’t grow up in the countryside, so you can’t understand.”

Xu Cheng said, "Those people who greeted me just now, the uncles who are about my age, we all grew up together, you know, we're like childhood friends. Look at you, you don't have many friends."

"Yes, but not as many as you. But I feel that it must be too tiring for you to know so many people."

Xu Lin shook his head.

Xu Cheng didn't adopt a lecturing tone, but simply said, "Your life has just begun. You have to experience and understand many things on your own. You may not be able to understand what Dad is saying right now, and of course, Dad's philosophy of life may not be suitable for you."

"Uh-huh."

Xu Lin nodded.

Soon the two arrived at the village store.

By this time of evening, everyone had eaten their fill. More than a hundred people had gathered here, but not everyone was inside the convenience store. Some were inside, while most were outside. Some were warming themselves by the fire, some were playing cards, and some were even playing mahjong inside the store.

Xu Cheng took Xu Lin around to meet people and told the villagers that this was his son.

Xu Lin didn't grow up in the village, and he only came back for the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival each year, so very few people knew him.

"Ah Cheng, your son is so big!"

"He's getting more and more like Ah Cheng when he was young."

"I think she looks more like Ah Cheng's wife, especially her eyes."

"Wow, you're so handsome! Do you have a girlfriend?"

Everyone chuckled as they sized up Xu Lin, this handsome young man.

The village's pretty girls couldn't help but stare at Xu Lin with adoration.

However, Xu Lin said he had a girlfriend, which broke the hearts of several girls.

Xu Lin, in particular, had to chat nonsense with a group of women.

Later, at nine o'clock, Xu Lin finally ran back.

At this moment, Ms. Ren and Rong Xiyan were eating sunflower seeds in the yard.

"came back?"

Ms. Ren picked up the bag containing sunflower seeds and asked, "Want some sunflower seeds?"

"I'll have some."

Xu Lin found a small stool and sat down, eating sunflower seeds with the mother and daughter.

"Do you feel bored in the village?"

Ms. Ren was worried that Xu Lin wouldn't be used to it.

"I think it's okay."

"That's fine."

Ms. Ren said, "Actually, I wasn't used to it when I first married into this family. The first year I was pregnant with you, your father wasn't home. He went to Vietnam to earn money. At that time, our family was still living in a mud-brick house in the village. It was quite difficult. One summer, there was a heavy rainstorm, and one side of the house collapsed. It was the first time I had ever lived in such a dilapidated house."

"Damn, how could you tolerate living in a mud-brick house?"

“When I was young, I didn’t think that much. I thought your dad was amazing and I was completely devoted to him.”

"now what?"

"He's impressive now too."

Ms. Ren thought for a moment, "If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose your dad!"

"Mom, you're so romantic!"

"Of course! When Mom was your age, she was a romantic and artistic girl, and she was also a fairy who wore beautiful dresses!"

"Yan Yan, let me show you what Mommy looked like when she was young..."

Ms. Ren suddenly opened her QQ space and then opened the photo album labeled 2002.

Xu Lin and his group saw the young Ms. Ren. Sure enough, she was wearing a beautiful floral dress, and her attire and style were quite dated. In that era, she would undoubtedly have been considered a campus beauty.

"These are photos that were uploaded later. There are no original images anymore. They are all physical photos that were taken and then uploaded."

"Mom is so beautiful!"

"Of course, Mom is very beautiful too, so you should take lots of photos when you're young, otherwise you won't even know what you looked like when you're old!"

The mother and daughter were very excited and looked at the photos for a long time; they hadn't seen as many photos as the ones they had posted before.

Xu Lin wasn't very interested in this; after watching for about ten minutes, he brushed his teeth and went back to his room.

"I wonder what's going on with their songs?"

Xu Lin opened Chi Linyue's laptop and logged into QQ Music.

Within a day, the new songs by Nicholas Tse and his six friends have indeed dominated major charts such as the new song chart, the hot song chart, and the original song chart.

Tse Ting has the strongest overall strength, so it's no surprise that he's number one on the list.

Shortly after, Xu Lin opened his work account and entered the disciple class group.

Xu Lin: "I see that everyone's results are good. I wish you all a happy new year in advance. After the Spring Festival, around the end of February, I will have a new task for everyone, and then I will release a new song."

Nicholas Tse: "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

Xie Ting started the conversation, and then Yun Hehe and the other four acted as repeaters.

Yun Hehe: "Master, your topic has topped the Xiaohongshu page views!"

Then, Yun Hehe posted a screenshot.

Title: Top 20 Chinese Singers by Views on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)

First place: Mr. Xu.

Second place: TNT (Teens in Times).

Third place: Jay Chou.

……

"What is this stuff?"

Where did the Teens in Times (TNT) group come from?

Xu Lin's expression was strange. He had heard of BTS before, because he once saw a photo of Lao Bai Deng with them on a short video. They were a peninsula group, all pretty boys.

Xu Lin: "What kind of unofficial ranking is this? TNT (Teens in Times) is actually ahead of Jay Chou?"

"This is because the Teens in Times group has mostly female fans, and Xiaohongshu is mostly used by female users."

Yun Hehe: "But Master is number one on the trending topics list! And it's not just on Xiaohongshu, your popularity is also very high on other social media platforms. People online say that anything produced by Mr. Xu is guaranteed to be a masterpiece!"

What's the point of this list?

Xu Lin @ the other party.

Yun Hehe: "It's just a matter of popularity, just like how celebrities want to generate buzz and trending topics."

"That's alright then, I won't show my face in public."

Xu Lin thought about it for a while, but found it all rather dull.

However, Xu Lin was just acting on a whim and even searched for the Teens in Times group on Xiaohongshu.

Ok……

A bit hard to comment on.

Xu Lin glanced at it, then decisively swiped right to go back.

Xu Lin was about to exit Xiaohongshu when he noticed a pop-up notification that Jay Chou had followed him on Xiaohongshu.

Huh?
Xu Lin clicked on it and saw that he had indeed been followed by the other party.

And there are also private messages.

Jay Chou: "Hey! Mr. Xu, I've been listening to your songs lately, including the ones you've written for others. I feel your talent is simply immeasurable, and I'm ashamed of myself compared to you. Let's be friends!"

Xu Lin casually sent a message: "You are the only true god. I grew up listening to your songs."

Jay Chou: ...

Because the other person had just followed him and hadn't left Xiaohongshu yet, he happened to see that Xu Lin had also followed him back and sent him a message. When he saw that the other person said they grew up listening to his songs, Jay Chou fell silent for a moment.

Jay Chou: "Hey, do I look that old?"

old?
Xu Lin looked up Jay Chou's age.

Only then did I realize that he was several years older than my own husband.

Xu Lin: "I was born in 07."

"I vomited blood. I was born in the late 1970s."

A sense of the vicissitudes of time welled up in Jay Chou's heart. He realized that he was already 46 years old, while Mr. Xu was born in 2007, so he must be 18 or 19 years old.
Jay Chou: "How about we add each other on WeChat for easy communication?"

Xu Lin: “OK.”

So Xu Lin added the other party using his work ID.

As for his personal WeChat account, forget about it. He only adds important people around him on his personal WeChat account, and he uses his work account for anyone with whom he has business dealings. He doesn't discriminate against anyone.

Moreover, Xu Lin has no bias towards celebrities; he doesn't follow celebrities and dislikes any celebrities.

Jay Chou?
There should be opportunities to collaborate in the future.

The two successfully added each other on WeChat.

Not long after, Jay Chou sent Xu Lin another group name card.

"what is this?"

"The group includes JJ Lin, David Tao, Xue Zhiqian, and others; they are all singers in the industry."

"Oh."

Xu Lin suddenly realized.

However, he didn't click "add" immediately, but thought about it for a while.

This seems to be equivalent to infiltrating the entertainment industry, right?

Xu Lin had been thinking about how to break into this circle, and now the opportunity has come.

With this thought in mind, Xu Lin suddenly understood and clicked to join the group.

(End of this chapter)