I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

Chapter 127 There's simply not enough baking capacity.

Before Old Zhao could react, the girls had already sat down.

"Boss, the menu!"

The daughter-in-law quickly wiped her hands and handed over a laminated menu.

The three girls huddled together, chattering as they ordered: "Twenty lamb skewers, five chicken wings, ten beef tendon pieces, one serving of grilled chives, one serving of grilled eggplant, two servings of steamed bread slices, and oh yeah, three more bottles of beer!"

"Alright!"

The rain outside was getting heavier, but the number of people inside the store was increasing.

First came two girls in JK uniforms, "Boss, twenty skewers of lamb and two pitchers of beer."

Next came three boys, carrying backpacks, who looked like students from a nearby university.

"Boss, fifty skewers and a case of beer!"

"Fifty skewers? You guys can finish them?"

"I can finish it!"

In less than an hour, all six tables were full.

There were people peering inside from the doorway, so Old Zhao could only apologize and call out, "There's no room left! Could you wait a bit?"

A young man wearing glasses stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's okay, I'll take it to go."

A few more packages arrived one after another.

White smoke billowed from the front of Old Zhao's oven, carrying the aroma of mutton mixed with cumin and chili powder, wafting far and wide.

The owner of the braised pork stall next door hadn't left yet. Her shop hadn't had a single customer. Looking enviously at the crowd, she couldn't resist asking the young couple waiting for a table at the door, "Girls, it's raining so hard today, why are you all out eating barbecue?"

The girl smiled and said, "Rainy days deserve grilled skewers and beer!"

Old Zhao and the proprietress exchanged bewildered glances. They had been selling barbecue for so many years, and they had never heard of this phrase before.

The owner of the braised pork shop suddenly slapped her thigh: "Hey, isn't that what the female celebrity in 'My Love from the Star' said?"

It's that guy—the one who was hospitalized for appendicitis!

"Yes, yes, yes!" The girl's eyes lit up. "Auntie, you watch 'My Love from the Star' too?"

"Rainy day, barbecue skewers and beer—this phrase has become incredibly popular online!"

Old Zhao then understood what was going on.

In yesterday's latest episode of "My Love from the Star," the female lead was suffering from severe appendicitis pain late at night, and since her assistant wasn't around, she had no choice but to ask the male lead for help.

The male protagonist took her to the hospital. The female protagonist had just undergone appendicitis surgery, and the nurse told her to take more walks to help expel gas.

The male protagonist accompanied her for a slow walk in the corridor, when it suddenly started raining outside the window.

Looking at the beautiful scenery outside the window, the female protagonist suddenly said, "How can it rain without barbecue skewers and beer?"

Originally, this was normal; it was just a very ordinary line of dialogue.

The main reason is that Professor Jiang posted a Weibo message late at night.

He posted a picture of his late-night snack.

A huge pile of grilled skewers, with a pitcher of beer next to them.

"Rainy days definitely call for grilled skewers and beer. I miss the sliced ​​mutton and garlic-flavored pork from Jinan; they were so delicious. Have you guys had any tonight?"

Within ten minutes of the Weibo post, it had been forwarded over 10,000 times.

The comment section instantly exploded, with the Orange Army collectively breaking down online.

"Chenchen, you're so naughty! Who can resist posting such 'poisonous' stuff in the middle of the night?"

"Which hotel is Professor Jiang staying at? I'll take a taxi there overnight to help you with your barbecue! No offense intended, I just really love to eat!"

"I'm so hungry I could cry! Who can resist grilled skewers and beer on a rainy day?!"

"Oh no, I was just about to go to sleep, and now I'm so hungry I can't sleep."

"We suggest you just start a live stream of your eating! Our Orange Army can enjoy skewers online!"

"Help! I just finished watching 'The Starry Night,' and then I turned around and saw Professor X's barbecue skewers. I give this collaboration a perfect score!"

In less than an hour, the topic "Grilled skewers and beer on a rainy day" surged to the top of Weibo's trending topics list.

Fans began to imitate this, posting photos of grilled skewers and beer on their Weibo and WeChat Moments late at night, with captions invariably saying, "How can a rainy day be complete without grilled skewers and beer?"

At one o'clock in the morning, the last table of customers left.

Old Zhao turned off the oven and squatted on the ground to brush the grill.

The daughter-in-law was doing the accounts next to her when she suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

"What's wrong?"

"Today—I made a net profit of over three thousand."

"How many?"

"Three thousand two."

Old Zhao was stunned for a moment.

Normally, there's no business on rainy days.

"This rain is good."

"It's because the show is good."

After washing his hands, Lao Zhao took out his phone.

He also has a Weibo account, with a photo of his son as his profile picture. His Weibo name is "Old Zhao Barbecue," and he has about thirty followers, mostly relatives and friends.

He usually just shares clips of the "You are not alone in this fight" commentary, and never posts on Weibo.

Today he thought about it and decided to ride the wave of popularity.

"I've been busy until now tonight. 'My Love from the Star' is so good! If you want to eat authentic Jinan barbecue, you can come to Lao Zhao's Barbecue on Qipan Street. Lots of mutton and garlic-flavored pork! Thanks Jiang Chen! Wishing it great success in ratings!"

After getting home, he took a shower, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep.

I dreamt I was grilling skewers all night, constantly collecting money, and I even laughed out loud in my sleep.

The next morning, Lao Zhao rode his electric bike to the shop.

When he turned into Qipan Street, he was completely dumbfounded.

The area in front of his own shop was packed with people.

The queue stretched from the store entrance all the way to the alley entrance, with at least two hundred people.

"What... what's going on?"

He tried to push his way in, while the people in front of him grumbled, "What are you pushing for? Get in line at the back!"

"I'm the boss—"

"You're the boss? Even bosses have to wait in line!"

"No, I really am the boss!"

"Then you should be in line even more. Is it right for the boss to lead the way in cutting in line?"

'

Old Zhao was both amused and exasperated. He finally managed to squeeze to the doorway, only to find his wife already there, surrounded by a group of people taking pictures.

"Boss lady! Has Jiang Chen been here before?"

Which table is he sitting at?

"How many skewers did he eat?"

The daughter-in-law was completely bewildered by the questions, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Old Zhao squeezed through, "What's going on?"

"Check Weibo!"

Old Zhao took out his phone, opened Weibo, and his hand trembled so much that he almost dropped the phone.

It turns out that Jiang Chen retweeted his Weibo post and said that he wanted to try the taste next time he went back to his hometown.

Just a few days ago, Jiang Chen's Weibo followers surpassed 5000 million!

She has officially surpassed Yao Cheng, who held the title of Weibo Queen for three consecutive years, to become the celebrity with the most Weibo followers!

His casual Weibo post or retweet now generates an astonishing amount of traffic.

Old Zhao got a taste of what a trendy online store is all about.

That day, I was busy from morning until 3 a.m.

The wife invited all her nephews, cousins, and other relatives from her family. The six of them worked together to skewer the skewers until their hands were numb.

Old Zhao grilled skewers with great skill; although he was so tired he could barely lift his arms, his eyes shone with excitement.

So what if it's tiring? It's good for making money!

There is hope in life —

In the following days, even more people came to take photos, and traffic on the entire street came to a standstill.

Traffic police came three times, and finally simply put up a cordon at the intersection to specifically guide the flow of people.

The TV station arrived later.

A reporter's van pulled up in front of the store, and the reporter squeezed through the crowd with a microphone in hand.

The cameraman carried his equipment, and the lens swept across the long queue.

"Recently, the TV series 'My Love from the Star' has been a hit, and a line from the show, 'How can a rainy day be without barbecue skewers and beer?' has boosted the barbecue business in Jinan. In particular, a small shop called Lao Zhao Barbecue on Qipan Street has become an overnight internet sensation after being recommended by the lead actress Jiang Chen."

The camera zoomed in on Lao Zhao's face.

"Boss, what does it feel like to have business booming?"

Old Zhao slowly raised his head, his eyes vacant, devoid of any light.

"We can't finish baking them all, we simply can't finish them all!"

But the popularity of "My Love from the Star" extends far beyond just one barbecue restaurant.

At the entrance of Baotu Spring Park, the line of people in front of the ticket window snaked around three bends.

The security guard had been shouting through a megaphone all morning, his voice hoarse: "Move forward, move forward! Don't take pictures at the entrance! I told you not to take pictures! That's a stone tablet, what's there to photograph!"

Nobody listens to him.

Everyone had to hold up their phone in front of the Baotu Spring stele, wait for the person in front of them to finish taking a picture, and then stand in front of them and make a peace sign.

The team moved slower than a snail.

The park management office's phone was ringing off the hook with calls asking, "Where is the spring where Jiang Chen filmed?" and "What time does the Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall close?"

The director was sweating profusely with anxiety. He called all the resting employees back to work overtime and opened two more temporary ticket windows at the entrance.

It's still not enough.

Several girls in orange T-shirts squeezed out of the window, each holding a ticket, jumping up excitedly: "We got them! We got them! We can finally go and check out the place where Jiang Chen stood!"

The ticket seller leaned out of the window, looked at the sea of ​​people outside, and said to her colleague, "I've been selling tickets for twenty years, and I've never seen anything like this."

My colleague wiped his sweat and said, "Don't even mention you, I've never even seen you before."

The nighttime lighting at Chaoran Tower in Daming Lake was originally turned off at 10 p.m.

It's been extended to 11 PM now, and it still can't be turned off.

At 11 o'clock, there was still a row of people standing by the lake, holding up their phones and waiting to take pictures of the moment when the lights of Chaoran Tower went out.

The security guard, wielding a flashlight, shooed them back and forth, shouting, "It's closed! It's closed! Come back tomorrow!"

The tourists grinned and agreed to "leave right away," but didn't move an inch.

Helpless, the uncle squatted on the steps, looking at the lights reflected on the lake, and sighed softly, "These aliens are even more formidable than Xia Yuhe back then."

The bluestone path by the lake has been polished to a shine by the footsteps of fans.

Fans have accurately reconstructed the route that Professor Jiang and Jing Yiren took for their walk.

Starting from Chaoran Tower, walk three hundred steps along the lake shore and stop under an old willow tree.

The old willow tree had a layer of bark scraped off, so the scenic area had to put up a fence around it and a sign that read: "Please protect the ancient tree and do not climb it."

The area under the sign was packed with people queuing to take photos.

At Jinan Railway Station and Yaoqiang Airport, the majority of the crowds emerging from the exits were young people pulling suitcases and carrying backpacks. They spoke with accents from all over the country.

Beijing dialect, Shanghai dialect, Cantonese, Sichuan dialect.

But the first question they all asked was surprisingly consistent: "Sir, which bus do I take to Baotu Spring?"

Taxi driver Lao Liu has picked up several passengers like this in the past few days.

He chatted with his passengers as he drove: "You're here to see the locations featured in that play, right? I've driven more than twenty of you in the last few days."

"Uncle, you know this show too?"

"My daughter keeps it at home every day; you can't help but want to know."

As Old Liu spoke, he took out his phone while waiting at a red light, scrolled through it, and said, "Look, I started watching it yesterday too. That alien is really good at pretending. It's entertaining!"

The passengers in the back seat burst out laughing.

Unbeknownst to Lao Liu, his comment "It looks good" was recorded by a passenger and posted on Weibo with the caption "Jinan taxi driver confirms 'My Love from the Star' is good," which then trended on Weibo.

Old Meng from the Tourism Bureau has been extremely busy lately.

He didn't take Jiang Chen's suggestion to "prepare more people" seriously at the time.

Now he wishes he could travel back in time and slap himself twice across the face.

Fueled by the combined popularity of hit TV dramas and trendy barbecue restaurants, Jinan's old city has seen an explosive influx of tourists, with the Baotu Spring scenic area experiencing nearly a fivefold increase in daily visitor numbers, far exceeding its usual maximum instantaneous capacity.

Although the city immediately activated its emergency response plan for the flow of cultural and tourism personnel, urgently drawing personnel from street offices and government agencies, coordinating with traffic management and urban management departments to increase security and guidance efforts, and having all sanitation workers work in three shifts, it was still far from enough.

Parking spaces around the scenic area are completely full, garbage collection cannot keep up with the increase in tourists, long queues form in front of public toilets, and manpower is in short supply at ticket gates, street and alley guidance, and order maintenance.

People are needed everywhere!

The complaint hotline rings from morning till night.

Every day, Lao Meng gets called into the bureau chief's office and scolded, then comes back and scolds the bespectacled guy below him, and after that, he quickly coordinates with all parties to send more manpower.

He felt like he wasn't a deputy director, but a firefighter.

Wusong Island also couldn't escape this wave of popularity.

The few minutes of footage in the drama where Professor Jiang and Jing Yiren embrace in the snow directly propelled this island, which was originally only well-known in the photography circle, onto the "travel wish list" of audiences across the country.

On Weibo and WeChat Moments, screenshots of the embrace in the snow are being shared everywhere, with the same caption: "I must go to Wusong Island at least once in my life."

The problem is, it's July now!

There was no snow in Northeast China in July.

The Jilin Tourism Bureau cannot wait until winter.

This incredible amount of traffic, which finally landed on my head, how could I let it slip away for nothing?

The Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism held a meeting overnight, and the ashtrays in the meeting room were filled to overflowing.

The leader slammed his fist on the table and said, "No snow in summer? Does that mean we can't have snow? How did Jiang Chen manage to make snow when he was filming? They can make snow, but we can't?"

Someone nearby whispered a reminder: "Director, Jiang Chen borrowed those two snowmaking machines from China Film Group —"

The leader waved his hand: "Borrow! We'll borrow too! Does Changchun Film Studio have any? Go borrow! Rent! Buy is fine too!"

Thus, a grand "summer artificial snowmaking" campaign was launched on Wusong Island.

Two large snowmaking machines were dragged out of the equipment warehouse of Changchun Film Studio. They were said to be old relics from the filming of "Tracks in the Snowy Forest". It took three days to repair them.

There were also four new snowmaking machines that were urgently transported from Harbin Ice and Snow World, escorted by police cars along the way, for fear of any delays on the road.

The scenic area staff worked through the night binding simulated ice crystals to tree branches. The props team, squatting under the trees, cursed as they bound the crystals, "Isn't this the same thing Jiang Chen's crew did? Why are we doing it again?"

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