Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Have you ever seen Kyoto at 4 a.m.?

While the rest of the city was still asleep, Makobashi, in the southern suburbs of Kyoto, had already awakened.

On the street corner, groups of people stood waiting to start work.

Most of them wore camouflage uniforms or old jackets that were indistinguishable from their original colors, carrying buckets containing trowels and hammers, or simply had their rough hands empty, tucked into their pockets.

The white breath they exhaled formed a low-lying mist that hung above the crowd.

The intersection served as a temporary "human market".

One bread truck after another slowed down and glided past, the passenger window rolled down and a short shout came through:

"Yizhuang, two strong laborers, one day!"

"Tongzhou, anyone know how to paint walls?"

"For bricklaying, you need experienced craftsmen who can lead a team."

As soon as the sound rang out, dozens of people surrounded the area.

The chosen person excitedly opened the car door and stuffed themselves and their tools into the carriage.

Those who weren't called on simply leaned forward slightly before slowly returning to the wall.

In a corner where no one would notice, there was a seemingly ordinary-looking Jinbei van parked.

The car windows were completely covered by curtains.

There were five or six men in the car, and the man in the middle of them was wearing a worn-out long trench coat.

He wore several layers of clothing from different seasons haphazardly mixed under his trench coat, his hair was disheveled, and his beard was unkempt.

Zhang Qilin was editing his Weibo post with his head down.

This is what my first day of experiencing life here looked like.

Below the text was a photo of him after he had finished his makeup in the dressing room.

He was very satisfied with his outfit.

This is largely thanks to the senior students in the makeup and styling department, who enthusiastically designed this look for him as soon as they heard his idea.

The strong smell on the clothes made him wonder if the female students had simply taken them from people on the street.

Although the flavor is a bit strong, it's authentic, so I'll put up with it for the sake of experiencing life.

After posting on Weibo, he noticed that his only friend, Jing Tian, ​​had been updating her social media for several days in a row.

They either ask for help with lines or share their daily learning experiences with acting teachers.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Zhang Qilin turned off the iPhone and handed it to Sun Yu.

Sun Yu took it and handed a Nokia 1200 to Zhang Qilin:

"Brother Lin, you take this."

"Is everything arranged?" Zhang Qilin asked, taking the old-fashioned cell phone.

"It's all arranged."

"Then I'll go down."

As soon as he finished speaking, the side door of the Jinbei van was pushed open.

The car was well-heated, and as soon as the door opened, a rush of cold air filled the car. Zhang Qilin couldn't help but shiver and got out of the car with his head down.

Sun Yu followed along, carrying an ordinary-looking travel bag.

A camera was hidden in the bag, with a small, inconspicuous hole on the side through which the lens was quietly recording everything.

Standing by the roadside, Zhang Qilin rubbed his hands, which were almost frozen.

The wind was colder than I had imagined in the early morning.

He secretly rejoiced; thankfully, the clothes the senior from the makeup department had chosen for him, though ugly, were thick enough to keep him warm.

Zhang Qilin walked out from the corner and headed towards the area where the crowd had gathered.

As more and more recruitment vehicles arrived, many more people gathered from all directions.

Few people paid attention to Zhang Qilin, and he quickly blended into the crowd.

The air was filled with the smell of cheap tobacco and the faint aroma of fried food wafting from roadside breakfast stalls.

The hushed conversations in accents from all over the country, the sound of shoes scraping against the frozen ground, and the collective commotion that erupted every time a car approached.

Before dawn, he scanned the faces through the dim streetlights.

Dark-skinned, deeply furrowed, numb, anxious, young, old.

Their breaths formed a low-hanging cloud, and every face showed a burning desire for their work.

Zhang Qilin stood quietly to one side, watching everything before him.

He sees himself as an observer.

Memorize each person's true mannerisms, expressions, and aura deeply.

To accumulate real-life material for future portrayals of ordinary people from the lower classes.

The people around him paid no attention to the unfamiliar man; they were all focused on the truck that had come to recruit workers.

Then a man in his forties, who looked kind and honest, approached with a warm smile.

However, the smile only stayed at the corners of his mouth.

He warmly offered Zhang Qilin a cigarette.

"This guy looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"

Zhang Qilin didn't take it, but just smiled and nodded.

"Where are you from, brother?"

"From Shandong."

"Oh, what a coincidence! My mother's from Shandong too, so we're practically fellow townsmen," the man exhaled a puff of smoke, then suddenly lowered his voice, "A fellow townsman waiting for a big job?"

Zhang Qilin gave a vague "hmm".

"These days, it's not easy to find a good job," the man shook his head, his voice lowering even further. "But since we're from the same hometown, and you're in good shape, I have a way to make quick money. One day's work is equivalent to three days' work for others. Want to try it?"

As the man spoke, Zhang Qilin's gaze swept around.

Those who noticed their conversation had various expressions on their faces.

Some expressed regret, some hesitated to speak, and some even seemed to gloat.

Zhang Qilin roughly understood.

But he didn't expose him; he simply maintained that faint smile.

Seeing that Zhang Qilin did not react, the man pressed on:

"Fellow villager, this job won't wait for anyone, or someone else will snatch it away."

Zhang Qilin had a sincere expression on his face:

"Thank you, fellow villager. I've just arrived here and want to get to know the market environment first. I'm not in a hurry to start working."

The smile on the man's face froze for a moment.

He looked Zhang Qilin up and down, his eyes filled with scrutiny and barely perceptible anger, as if judging whether he was a real hothead or a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Alright, fellow villager," he chuckled twice, "then take a look first, and come find me anytime you've figured it out."

After saying that, he didn't say anything more and turned to disappear into the crowd.

Zhang Qilin ignored it and continued to observe the situation of the people around him.

After a while, a dispute arose from the right.

Zhang Qilin turned his head to look over.

Two young men surrounded the man from before, their voices low but urgent.

"We agreed on 280 yuan for the whole day last time, but they only gave me 150 yuan at the checkout..."

"It rained that day, so I didn't get to finish all the work," the man said in a slick voice. "Take it or leave it. There are plenty of other people waiting."

The two young men were so angry that their faces turned red.

"Don't even think about leaving until you pay the full amount."

"Yo, you think you can mess with me in this area?"

As soon as he finished speaking, three or four burly men who had been scattered nearby silently surrounded him.

This trapped the two young people in the middle.

They didn't say anything, just crossed their arms or stared coldly, their meaning couldn't be clearer.

As he spoke, several burly men surrounded the two young men.

The two young men glanced at the several expressionless, burly men, their chests heaving violently, and had no choice but to retreat back into the crowd.

The man dusted off his hairless collar, spat, and his face regained its shrewd and mercenary expression as he continued searching for his next potential target.

8:30

After the morning's "human market" ended, Zhang Qilin strolled around Majuqiao.

The people here are incredibly 'free'; you can see people staging 'octagon' performances on the street every so often.

Zhang Qilin would only glance at it a few times before leaving.

As a temporary stop for migrant workers in Beijing, the most eye-catching sight on the streets of Majuqiao is the rows of recruitment agencies.

Aside from real estate agents, the most common establishments are inexpensive small restaurants and foot massage parlors with suggestive pink lights.

Zhang Qilin was walking slowly with his hands in his pockets when someone suddenly bumped into him.