Entertainment News: Follow Wang Baoqiang's Rise to Film Emperor

The next day.

Just as dawn broke, Wang Baoqiang, who had barely slept a wink all night in a state of excitement, cruelly dragged the sleeping Lin Zhi out of his warm bed...

"Lin Zhi..."

"Wake up, we're leaving..."

"If we're any later, we'll miss the bus!"

Wang Baoqiang practically plugged Lin Zhi's ear, urging him on.

This shows how eager he was to go to Beijing to work as an extra!

That's something we can't wait even a moment longer...

"yawn!"

Lin Zhi rubbed his sleepy eyes and couldn't help but let out a long yawn after being dragged out of his comfortable bed by Wang Baoqiang.

Actually, he didn't sleep well last night either!

after all……

Experiencing rebirth for the first time inevitably evokes a range of emotions.

So his mind wandered, his thoughts a jumbled mess, and it wasn't until the roosters outside crowed late into the night that he finally managed to close his eyes...

Who would have thought that she had only been asleep for a short while when Wang Baoqiang, who was impatient, suddenly pulled her up and woke her up!

What a miserable life!

However, having lived two lives, Lin Zhi could endure this hardship without showing any impatience.

Looking up at the diligent young man Wang Baoqiang, who had already packed his bags and was just waiting to leave, Lin Zhi chuckled and teased, "You're really fast, kid. I haven't even gotten up yet, and you've already packed your luggage... Are you getting ready for the front lines?!"

"Hehe, I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up in the dark to pack! Hurry up, we need to catch the early bus to Zhengzhou... Don't dawdle! Let me help you pack..."

Standing at the head of the dormitory bed, Wang Baoqiang chuckled and, without a second thought, helped Lin Zhi, who was getting dressed, pack his bags.

In fact, although they lived in the dormitory of Shaolin Martial Arts School for many years, they did not have much personal luggage because they were young.

They had only a few changes of clothes and some toiletries; it was simple and clean. As for any valuables, given their family's financial situation, they didn't have a single one...

therefore!

After Lin Zhi finished dressing and washing his face, Wang Baoqiang had almost completely packed all the luggage he needed to take into a large black suitcase.

"Alright... let's go!"

Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang, who were also in high spirits, left Tagou Martial Arts School quickly with only a few pieces of luggage, without even having breakfast. They took the first bus to Dengfeng City as the first rays of sunlight appeared in the morning.

After arriving in Dengfeng, they immediately transferred to a bus to Zhengzhou. At Zhengzhou Railway Station, they bought two direct train tickets to Beijing from the long queue at the ticket window. While waiting for their train, they went to a small shop inside the station and bought a bucket of instant noodles to fill their stomachs.

By the time I boarded the K-train bound for Beijing, it was almost 11 a.m.

"Lin Zhi, once we arrive in the capital tonight, we'll stay at my uncle's place. Tomorrow we'll start filming..."

"Once I make a lot of money, I'll send it home so my parents can build the biggest and most luxurious house in the whole village..."

"When I go back for the New Year, I'll have face to save, won't I..."

Along the way, as the green train rumbled forward, Wang Baoqiang kept chattering away.

Clearly, the excitement hadn't worn off yet!

I'm still incredibly excited!

Lin Zhi, however, kept his gaze fixed on the scenery outside the car window, carefully observing the unique and rare sights of this era that would not be seen in later generations.

He would occasionally reply with a few perfunctory words to Wang Baoqiang's rapid-fire and excited chatter...

He was, after all, a young man's body containing a mature soul from the future, so there was actually a tiny bit of a generation gap between him and the still very young Wang Baoqiang!

No words were spoken the whole way...

By the time their train arrived safely and smoothly at Beijing Railway Station, it was already midnight.

Fortunately, the train wasn't delayed too much, otherwise the night would have been even darker.

Because it was 98, there was a lack of strict supervision at all levels of society. As a result, it was not uncommon for young people from remote areas to drop out of junior high or elementary school and go to the city to work. Everyone was used to it. Therefore, Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang's trip to Beijing did not attract much attention.

After the train arrived at the station, the two of them carried their luggage and followed the bustling crowd out of the Beijing Railway Station. They found a public phone booth on the street, put in a coin, and Wang Baoqiang took out a small blue phone book with a worn cover. He found his second uncle's contact number and quickly dialed it.

"Second Uncle, we've arrived... We're outside the train station, in front of the Construction Bank... Okay, okay, we're not going anywhere, we'll just wait for you here! Come on over... It's so cold in Beijing!"

After Wang Baoqiang contacted his second uncle, who was a contractor in Beijing, he and Lin Zhi waited at the phone booth.

To be honest, even though there was no snowfall in Beijing during the dead of winter, the biting cold wind made people shiver.

Especially in the middle of the night, standing on the street...

Fortunately, Wang Baoqiang's second uncle was a quick-witted man. Less than half an hour after the call, he arrived in a dilapidated Jinbei van.

"Second Uncle, this is Lin Zhi, my classmate and good friend from Shaolin Temple. He came to Beijing with me to work as an extra in a film crew... Lin Zhi, this is the uncle I told you about."

After the two met, Wang Baoqiang immediately introduced Lin Zhi to his second uncle.

"Hmm, the young man looks quite capable. Not bad, do well in the capital in the future..."

Wang Baoqiang's second uncle was named Duan Defa. He looked to be around forty years old, with an unremarkable appearance and a stocky build. He seemed like an honest and kind man. After Wang Baoqiang introduced him, he patted Lin Zhi on the shoulder warmly and said with a smile, "You must be hungry after a long day's journey. I'll take you to eat..."

"No, no, I'm not very hungry." Since it was their first meeting, Lin Zhi pretended to be polite and said a few words.

"I'll take you to the night market and we'll have jajangmyeon (black bean noodles). The jajangmyeon here is delicious..."

Duan Defa smiled, then insisted on driving Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang to a nearby night market stall. After they tasted authentic old Beijing-style fried noodles, he drove the two of them to a construction site in the HD district.

"I've contracted this construction site. The site dormitory is over there, and there are plenty of places to stay. You can stay here for now without worry. If you can't make money as an extra, you can come here to break steel bars, or learn to weld. That's not bad either..."

Upon arriving at their destination, Duan Defa parked the old Jinbei van at the entrance of the construction site, then helped Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang unload their luggage, saying with a smile.

"Oh, okay, thank you, Uncle..." Lin Zhi quickly expressed his gratitude.

then……

He and Wang Baoqiang then temporarily settled down at the construction site.

One night passed.

The next morning, Wang Baoqiang got up early, excitedly dragging Lin Zhi along. After washing up, they left the construction site and headed towards the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio...

Fortunately, the Beijing Film Studio is also located in the HD area, quite close to the construction site where Wang Baoqiang's second uncle was working. It's only five bus stops away, and in no time, you can see the gate of the Beijing Film Studio in the distance.

At this point in 98, Hengdian, the main gathering place for extras in later generations, had not yet fully developed...

and so!

Nowadays, most of the aspiring actors and extras in Beijing who dream of working in film and television still come to the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio every day to wait for roles!

For convenience, film crews usually recruit extras at the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio.

therefore--

When Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang rushed to the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio, they looked up and saw a huge crowd of people everywhere, with even the trees at the entrance of the studio hidden among the crowds.

Needless to say, they were all there to wait for the filming to start; a quick glance revealed at least several hundred people…

"This industry... is incredibly competitive!"

Lin Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Damn, there are so many people!" Wang Baoqiang exclaimed.

Crunch!

Just then—

A bus sped up and screeched to a halt next to the two of them.

Then the car door opened, and a location producer from a film crew wearing a yellow vest strolled out, holding a megaphone. He shouted to the extras waiting outside the North Film Studio, "Thirty people needed, men and women are fine, urban drama, 25 yuan, 12 hours... Get on the bus, hurry up!"

"Lin Zhi, let's go—"

Wang Baoqiang's eyes suddenly lit up, and she immediately grabbed Lin Zhi and rushed towards the bus next to them.

"We're lucky, huh? We've landed a role right away."

After getting on the bus, Lin Zhichong and Wang Baoqiang muttered something to each other.

Next, a large group of extras boarded the bus.

Lin Zhi looked up and saw that these old Beijing drifters were all carrying folding chairs on their shoulders, and some of the girls also had a bag on their backs, which seemed to be filled with clothes...

Once the bus was full of extras, and it seemed that enough people had been recruited, the film crew's location manager, who had a megaphone, walked onto the bus, cursing and swearing. He pushed aside the extras who were trying to squeeze onto the bus, blocking them outside, and then turned to tell the driver to close the door and start driving.

"These idiots..."

Next, amidst the insults and curses from the film crew's external production manager, the bus drove for a while before turning into an old alleyway in Beijing.

at this time……

There's a film set here, and people are busy setting up the lighting and scenery.

When Lin Zhi and the other extras arrived at the filming location, they were first registered by name. Then, a costume assistant distributed the costumes and props to each of them. After receiving the costumes and props, they had to sign a form on the spot, noting what they had taken, so that they could return them to the crew after work that night. If anything was damaged, they would have to pay for it, etc.

After finishing all that, the crew brought some breakfast for the extras to eat for free. It included steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and other things, which was quite a good meal.

After breakfast, the lighting was basically set up, the cameras were on track, and the main actors of the crew arrived on set, rehearsing their lines with the script.

"What kind of TV series is this? I don't recognize a single celebrity in it..."

Wang Baoqiang stood in the crowd, looking around curiously. Seeing that there wasn't a single familiar star on set, she couldn't help but mutter to Lin Zhi beside her.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be... 'The Happy Life of Zhang Damin'."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhi replied to Wang Baoqiang.

At the scene, he saw Huo Siyan, Pan Yueming, Liang Guanhua, Zhu Yuanyuan, and other actors who are relatively well-known in later generations.

Although these people are not very famous at the moment and are relatively unknown, they will all become first- or second-tier celebrities in the future.

In particular, Liang Guanhua, a pillar of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, starred in "Detective Dee," which was very successful and well-known in the future.

The phrase "Yuanfang, what do you think?" went viral online!

Therefore, Lin Zhi is very familiar with these celebrity actors.

The TV series "The Happy Life of Zhang Damin," which is currently being filmed in 98, is not very famous, but Lin Zhi, who has always enjoyed watching TV dramas and has seen a great deal of films, was fortunate enough to have seen it in his previous life.

I recognized it immediately; this was the film crew shooting this movie.

"How do you know all this? The person who just hired us didn't mention the name of the TV series!"

Wang Baoqiang glanced at Lin Zhi curiously, her head full of question marks.

Lin Zhi immediately made an excuse: "I just saw the script the assistant director was holding... that's the name on the script."

"Oh." Wang Baoqiang believed it and didn't ask any more questions.

Later.

After the stunt doubles had tested the lighting, the cameras were turned on, and under the direction of the assistant director, the crew began filming slowly and methodically…

Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang were both watching a film shoot up close for the first time, so they were very excited and full of curiosity about everything around them.

"Lin Zhi, this won't do. We're standing too far back; the cameras can't capture us..."

"When they start filming, let's squeeze to the front and try to get on camera, otherwise our trip will have been for nothing!"

During a brief pause on set, while moving the lights and camera sliders and waiting for filming to begin, Wang Baoqiang sneakily leaned close to Lin Zhi's ear and whispered something.

"Okay, whatever you say!"

Lin Zhi nodded slightly, indicating that he had no objection.

After filming resumed, Wang Baoqiang tried her best to squeeze to the front of the extras to get into the shot.

Despite drawing disapproving looks from other extras, Wang Baoqiang remained unconcerned.

Seeing this, Lin Zhi followed suit...

When it was lunchtime, the crew provided the extras with a free lunch. Although it was just a boxed lunch of average quality, it still had a few pieces of meat. Lin Zhi and Wang Baoqiang, who were hungry, naturally ate with great relish.

After lunch, the crew rested for fifteen minutes on the spot before hurriedly starting filming again.

That's how film and television crews are. Once filming starts, they work like crazy to save money, as if they're chasing stars and the moon. They're afraid that if they delay even a moment, the production budget will be exceeded. So when they get busy, they work day and night.

Therefore, if you want to rest a little longer on set, you can only find a place to slack off.

However, it was a different story for Lin Zhi and the other extras.

Extras, although they have the word "acting" in their names, are honestly treated much like props on a film set—basically living props...

Basically, all you need to do is walk around on set, or sit or lie down; there's no skill required, and it doesn't require any brainpower or physical exertion.

therefore!

Although being an extra often means being bossed around by the executive director, verbally abused, and treated like a nobody, it's actually quite easy!

This is why those long-time Beijing drifters, even though they spend their days drifting from one film crew to another, knowing they have no hope of ever getting ahead, are unwilling to change careers and leave the capital...

This industry is just too easy to get by in!

A day can pass by in the blink of an eye, whether you're sitting or lying down!

"Lin Zhi, I think when we have free time, we should spend more time with the director over there at the monitor. Once we become familiar with him, maybe he'll promote us to a role where we can speak..."

"Otherwise, how can they get ahead?"

After filming resumed normally in the afternoon, Wang Baoqiang suddenly had a sudden inspiration and leaned close to Lin Zhi's ear, whispering his idea.