Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Soon after, Li Ran and Guo Qilin dragged their suitcases and slowly walked along the country road toward the Mushroom House.

From afar, Li Ran saw two girls standing in the pavilion ahead, looking in his direction. One was slender with curved eyebrows, while the other had a simple ponytail and a curious expression.

Upon reaching the door, Zhang Zifeng immediately recognized Guo Qilin, his face lighting up with a bright smile. He cheerfully jogged over to help with the luggage, affectionately calling out, "Dalinzi, I didn't expect it to be you!"

At this moment, Li Ran turned his gaze to another girl and found her staring at him with her eyes slightly wide open. Her clear eyes were full of undisguised surprise, and her mouth was slightly open, as if she hadn't reacted for a moment.

"What, don't you recognize me?" Li Ran broke the brief silence with a slight smile.

The girl snapped out of her daze at the sound, a blush rising to her cheeks. She quickly stepped forward to help him with his luggage, grinning sheepishly, "No, Ran-ge, I just didn't expect it to be you."

Li Ran looked at her still somewhat childish face and smiled: "I really didn't expect this? Zhang Jingyi, after all these years, you still look a bit simple-minded, you haven't changed at all."

Zhang Jingyi seemed to be used to his slightly teasing tone, and instead of being annoyed, she curiously looked up and asked, "Brother Ran, are you really going to enter the entertainment industry? I thought the news on the internet was fake."

Li Ran nodded frankly: "I've already signed with a company! And I'm even here to record a show."

Guo Qilin, who had already reached the doorway, overheard their conversation and turned around helplessly: "Hey you two, can we go inside and put down our luggage before we catch up? My arm is about to break from all the weight of these suitcases."

Everyone laughed as they entered the house. He Jiong greeted them warmly as soon as he saw them come in: "Xiao Ran, it's great to see you again! I remember the last time we met was when you won the championship for the first time and went to record Happy Camp! It's been over a year."

He then looked at Guo Qilin and asked, "Dalinzi, are you tired from walking?"

"No way, Teacher He, this short distance is nothing to me."

Guo Qilin put down his luggage, stretched his shoulders, and then changed the subject, teasingly saying with a smile, "You should worry about Li Ran. With his skinny arms and legs, he might get heatstroke later."

Just as Li Ran was about to retort, he caught a glimpse of another person entering through the door, so he swallowed back the words he was about to say and just gave an awkward smile.

It was Huang Lei who came in, and he happened to hear the second half of Guo Qilin's teasing remark.

He crossed his arms and looked at Guo Qilin with a half-smile: "That's perfect. Dalinzi isn't tired, is he? Pengpeng, take him to plant the remaining watermelon seedlings in the field. It'll be a good opportunity for him to stretch his muscles."

Upon hearing that there was work to be done, Guo Qilin immediately slumped his shoulders in a "weak" manner and exaggeratedly wailed, "Oh, Teacher Huang, I was just kidding. Tired? Of course I'm tired! Look at how I'm covered in sweat."

"Let Li Ran go. Look at him, he's tall and strong, he must be a good man."

Huang Lei smiled and looked at Peng Yuchang beside him, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "Peng Peng, then take the two of them, and your sister and the others with you. Go early and come back early, and try to finish planting before lunch."

Li Ran wasn't averse to doing chores, after all, the training had been quite tough before, but he secretly prayed that Huang Lei wouldn't cook him a pot of green beans.

You should know that once you come to the Mushroom House, it's practically impossible not to work. No matter if you're an e-sports champion, the young master of Deyun Club, or even the legendary Bull Demon King, you'd probably have to plow a couple of acres of land first.

After the five of them arrived at the watermelon field, Li Ran first carefully observed the size of the field and the number of watermelon seedlings, and then quickly divided the work: "Da Linzi and I will use the rice transplanter to make holes, my sister and Jingyi will be in charge of placing the seedlings, and Peng Peng will be in charge of watering."

He demonstrated the efficient collaboration and command skills honed in an esports team, with clear division of labor and a well-organized approach. Everyone quickly got to work, and the progress was much faster than expected.

However, for these people who rarely do farm work, after a lot of work, their hands were covered in blisters.

Zhang Jingyi sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, looking at the obvious blisters on her hands. She frowned slightly and asked Li Ran, who was sitting next to her, in a low voice, "Li Ran, do you have blisters on your hands? They hurt a little."

Li Ran opened his hand and looked at it, and found that there was also a small blister, but it was not very obvious and it was not a big problem.

You know, for esports players, their hands are their livelihood, so Li Ran subconsciously pays attention to them when he works.

"I'm fine, it's just a small one, it's nothing. What about yours?" He pulled Zhang Jingyi's hand over to examine it carefully and found three or four obvious blisters on her palm, some of which were even slightly red.

Zhang Jingyi's cheeks flushed slightly and her heart skipped a beat at his sudden affectionate gesture. She whispered, "It's okay, Ran-ge, it'll be fine in a couple of days."

At this moment, Zhou Xun came out of the house and saw the two of them together, with Li Ran holding Zhang Jingyi's hand. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Jingyi, did you and Li Ran know each other before?"

Like a startled rabbit, Zhang Jingyi quickly withdrew her hand and explained somewhat awkwardly, "Ah, yes, Li Ran is my senior from high school, and also my senior at Beijing Film Academy."

"However, when I went to college, he had already gone to play professional games, so we didn't actually see each other much."

Zhou Xun nodded knowingly, not bothering to delve too deeply into the girl's little thoughts. What girl doesn't dream of love?

She began to observe Li Ran with great interest. This young man had an outstanding appearance, a unique temperament, and an astonishing amount of online traffic.

However, Zhou Xun felt a pang of regret considering that he had already signed with a company. But it wouldn't be a bad thing for Zhang Jingyi to interact with him more; perhaps it would gain him some fans after the show aired.

Zhou Xun, worried that the two might get too intimate, reminded them, "Oh, I see! But please be careful, we're still recording a show."

Li Ran smiled, understanding what the "Triple Crown Actress" meant. "I understand, Teacher Zhou. Jingyi and I were very good friends in high school."

Upon hearing the word "friend," Zhang Jingyi's face showed a hint of disappointment. She looked at Zhou Xun and said, "I know, Gugu."

Zhou Xun paused, then glanced at Zhang Jingyi beside him, as if remembering something, and looked at Li Ran, saying, "By the way, our company has a training program for new actors, and the teaching staff is quite good."

"Since you're going to enter the industry, a solid foundation in acting is very important. Jingyi is also learning there, and the feedback has been quite good. If you're interested, you can come and visit; consider it a chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other."

Li Ran thought to himself that he already had an A-level acting skill as a reward from the system, so this basic training was completely unnecessary for him.

However, she still politely said, "Thank you, Teacher Zhou. I will definitely study here when I have time."

Li Ran recognized this as the academy at the foot of the mountain. It seemed that many newcomers in the entertainment industry had studied there, such as "Little Ears" Chen Duling and "Lucky Koi" Yang Chaoyue...

Just as they were talking, two more guests arrived at the entrance of the Mushroom House. Li Ran looked over and saw that they were Sha Yi, who called himself "the most handsome guy in the military arts school," and actor Tao Hong.

Li Ran was all too familiar with Sha Yi, knowing all about her techniques like "Golden Bell Cover, Iron Shirt," and "Yingzi, open the door, Daddy!"

At this point, Zhou Xun also said that they wouldn't leave today and wanted to stay one more day.

This really worried Huang Lei. He had to cook for ten people all at once, and both the ingredients and his energy became a problem.

"Shayi, you've come at just the right time!" Huang Lei said with a half-smile as he looked at Shayi who had just entered.

"Of course! I came here specifically to work for Teacher Huang! I've been thinking about it for a long time." Sha Yi replied cheerfully, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

"Did you order the steamed chicken in a clay pot?" Huang Lei changed the subject and asked.

"Yes, yes, I've been craving this!" Sha Yi nodded repeatedly.

Huang Sanshi laughed upon hearing this and patted Sha Yi on the shoulder: "That's great! This afternoon, you can lead everyone to pick bananas! We're out of ingredients at home, so you need to work to get some, otherwise we won't have anything to eat tonight."

Teacher He, who was standing nearby, also chimed in, saying, "The production team said you have to carry twenty bundles of bananas to get enough ingredients for ten people tonight. Not even one bundle less is acceptable."

"Seriously? Twenty bunches of bananas for just one chicken? Fine, I won't eat it then!" Sha Yi said dismissively, looking utterly incredulous.

When Huang Lei saw that the "coolies" were about to strike, he quickly offered a sweet treat, "That won't do. Here, I'll get you a bowl of chicken soup rice noodles to fill your stomach first, so you'll have the energy to work!"

The so-called "chicken soup rice noodles" were served quickly. The soup was thin and watery, with a few wilted green vegetables at the bottom and only a thin layer of oil floating on top. It didn't look appetizing at all.

This bowl of rice noodles was hardly a decent lunch, but everyone, out of concern for the camera, still managed to say a few words like "delicious" and "thank you, Teacher Huang," though they each had their own feelings. Sha Yi, in particular, looked at the rice noodles in her bowl with a wry smile on her face.

After the meal, the group dragged their heavy steps toward the banana grove. The afternoon sun was particularly scorching, making the ground almost hot.