◎ Why Don’t You Enter the Entertainment Industry? ◎
The weather at the end of May was unusually hot. The clock hanging on the TV wall already pointed to seven, but the sun outside had yet to set completely.
On the white coffee table were some barbecue skewers and half a chilled watermelon. The sweetest part in the center of the watermelon had already been scooped clean with a spoon. A comedy movie was still playing on the television, while Tian Miaomiao sat on the sofa with her phone, typing furiously.
“I ordered ten beef skewers, ten pork belly skewers, five skewers each of chicken gizzards, pork ribs, and chicken wing tips, along with vegetarian dishes like eggplant and lotus root slices. Not a single thing tasted good. It’s as if salt costs nothing at this restaurant. Everything was unbearably salty, and the seasoning was so heavy that it completely overpowered the natural flavors of the ingredients. What I can’t tolerate most is that all the meat skewers were deep-fried beforehand! I know frying them before grilling makes things faster, but can you still call that barbecue?! I might as well just go eat fried skewers!”
After posting her review on the restaurant’s food delivery platform, Tian Miaomiao finally felt a little less angry.
Normally, when something like this happened, she wouldn’t go out of her way to leave a negative review for the owner. She worked in a hotel herself and knew how difficult the food and beverage service industry could be. But today was different because she’d just lost her job twelve hours ago. 🙂
Who would’ve thought that such a large five-star hotel would suddenly go out of business just like that?!
She’d ordered this barbecue to comfort herself after losing her job, but she’d ended up choosing such a terrible restaurant. Not only had it failed to comfort her, but the more she ate, the angrier she became.
She crossed her legs on the sofa and began meditating while reciting a mantra. “Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If anger makes you sick, no one else can suffer in your place.”
After calming herself down, Tian Miaomiao picked up her phone again and took a look.
The barbecue restaurant’s owner had replied to her.
“If you think you can do better, then do it yourself. [Smile]”
“…………”
Tian Miaomiao fell silent for five seconds before her blood rushed to her head once again. “I really can! And I really will!”
Wasn’t it just selling barbecue? Did they think something like that could stump her, Tian Miaomiao?
She was a girl who’d been helping her father run a barbecue stall since she was seven years old!
Father Tian was an excellent cook and had sold all kinds of food in the past. Later, after the family had accumulated some savings and the reforms in Qingjing Village came along, they seized the opportunity to open an inn there.
After graduating from university, Tian Miaomiao hadn’t returned home to help with the family inn. Instead, she’d wanted to stay in City A and continue making her way in the world. But after all that effort to make something of herself, she’d somehow ended up unemployed.
…Never mind. Hadn’t a new job just presented itself to her?!
She had experience selling barbecue, and she also had the secret recipes and cooking skills. All she needed was to get herself a small stall, and she could start working immediately.
Tian Miaomiao immediately picked up her phone and began searching online for barbecue carts and the permits required to set up a street stall in City A. At first, she’d only been acting out of frustration, but the more she searched, the more feasible the idea seemed.
Setting up a small stall was much easier than opening a restaurant, and the cost of trial and error was also lower. Even if she unfortunately failed, her losses wouldn’t be too great. But if she succeeded…
Then she’d open a restaurant! Open branches! Build a recognizable brand! Expand her business and make it bigger and stronger!
…Calm down. Finding a good location for her little stall was a more practical first step.
The best location closest to her was undoubtedly North Gate Night Market at Starlight Park. Tian Miaomiao checked the time and decided to head out to scout the area.
After changing into jeans and a slightly cropped printed T-shirt, Tian Miaomiao ran a comb through her long hair a couple of times, fastened a small hair clip, and prepared to leave. There was a box of mints on the entryway cabinet. She casually poured out two, popped them into her mouth, opened the door, and walked out.
She’d bought this apartment shortly after graduating. Her parents had thought the location was a little remote, but the area had great potential for development, and there was plenty of room for the property’s value to appreciate, so they hadn’t objected much.
Their only complaint was that an apartment of just over eighty square meters was too small.
Tian Miaomiao, however, felt it was more than enough for someone living alone. She really liked the environment here. Although it was relatively far from her workplace, there was a subway station right outside, making her daily commute very convenient.
Besides, she didn’t even need to go out to work anymore. 🙂
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed since she’d moved here, and the area had indeed developed better and better, just as they’d expected.
After riding a shared bicycle to the north entrance of Starlight Park, Tian Miaomiao looked at the bustling night market not far away. Miraculously, the restlessness in her heart began to subside.
North Gate Night Market was still a naturally formed, grassroots night market. The street vendors had gathered here spontaneously, hoping to take advantage of the crowds visiting Starlight Park. Because the food they sold was quite delicious, they’d managed to make a name for North Gate Night Market through their own efforts.
Of course, its scale couldn’t compare to those internet-famous night markets, but for Tian Miaomiao, it was just right.
She locked the shared bicycle and walked toward the night market.
The place was even livelier than she’d imagined, and the air was filled with the delicious aromas of food. She made a point of observing the stalls and noticed that the night market offered a wide variety of snacks. There was everything from stir-fried rice noodles and cold noodles to sizzling squid, oysters, and scallops. For the time being, she hadn’t spotted anyone selling barbecue.
Excellent. She could fill that gap in the market.
As she walked along, quite a few stall owners called out to her, but what finally made her stop was a fried rice stall with a long line of customers.
Most of the vendors lining both sides of the street operated from three-wheeled carts, but this fried rice stall was different. It was a luxurious four-wheeled food truck. On its roof was a specially designed illuminated sign bearing only two simple words: “Fried Rice.”
At night, the sign cycled through different neon colors. Together with the LED light strips decorating the body of the truck, it was undoubtedly the most eye-catching sight on the entire street.
To tell the truth, Tian Miaomiao had taken a fancy to this food truck.
When she’d searched for barbecue stalls earlier, she’d only looked at the kind her father used to operate. But now her horizons had broadened. She wanted to get herself a food truck just as cool and flashy as this one!
Of course, customers wouldn’t pay for food just because of the truck. With so many people lining up for this stall’s fried rice, the food itself must be delicious.
Tian Miaomiao obediently joined the back of the line, wanting to find out just how extraordinary this fried rice really was.
The owner was quite fast at cooking fried rice, and the line kept moving forward slowly. Tian Miaomiao searched for food trucks on her phone, and before she knew it, it was her turn.
“Only kimchi fried rice is left.”
Before she could even place her order, a deep, magnetic voice spoke first.
Tian Miaomiao froze for a moment. The voice sounded very young, and its tone was extremely pleasant to the ear. She instinctively raised her head and found herself looking at an extraordinarily handsome face.
The man opposite her had a high, straight nose bridge, prominent brow bones, and a sharply defined, smooth jawline. Even in a cramped space like a food truck, his outstanding bearing couldn’t be concealed.
Ling Chuang had long since grown accustomed to people staring at him. He asked again, “Only kimchi fried rice is left. Do you want it?”
Tian Miaomiao snapped back to her senses and hurriedly switched apps to scan the payment code. “Yes, thank you.”
“Cash only.” Seeing her open a payment app, Ling Chuang pointed to a sign hanging nearby.
The sign displayed four large, conspicuous characters: “CASH ONLY.”
Tian Miaomiao: “…”
These days, even elderly men selling fruit by the roadside had QR codes for receiving payments, yet this handsome guy had somehow returned to the most traditional way of doing things.
“I didn’t bring any cash with me…”
She’d barely finished speaking when the girl behind her said, “Sister, is this your first time here? It’s fine, I’ve got cash. Just transfer the money to me, and I’ll give you cash.”
“Ah, thank you so much.”
Tian Miaomiao gratefully scanned the girl’s payment code and handed twelve yuan in cash to Ling Chuang.
Now she finally understood. It wasn’t the fried rice that was extraordinary at all. It was the owner of the fried rice stall.
Ling Chuang used a special clip to pick up the money and place it in the cash box before starting to prepare Tian Miaomiao’s fried rice.
Tian Miaomiao took the opportunity to steal a few more glances at him. He wore a transparent face mask designed for food service workers, but it didn’t diminish his good looks in the slightest. Even while simply cooking fried rice, he continuously exuded masculine charm.
At the roadside, an eye-catching red sports car came speeding toward them, as ostentatious as a red meteor streaking across the night sky.
A sports car like this was nothing unusual in Starlight Park’s parking lot, but people who drove such cars rarely came to North Gate Night Market for food. There were plenty of upscale restaurants inside Starlight Park for them to choose from.
However, the owner of this car seemed to have come specifically for North Gate Night Market.
After the car came to a stop by the roadside, a beautiful woman with a commanding presence stepped out. Quite a few people turned their attention toward her.
The beautiful woman seemed accustomed to being scrutinized and showed no sign of discomfort. Holding her car keys, she walked straight toward Ling Chuang’s fried rice stall.
She didn’t join the line or order anything. She simply stood there, watching Ling Chuang.
Tian Miaomiao’s gaze shifted between the two of them, and she immediately imagined a two-hundred-thousand-word melodramatic romance novel.
“If you want fried rice, go to the back of the line.”
Ling Chuang spoke calmly.
Hearing this, the beautiful woman’s red lips curved into a smile. She looked at him and asked, “Hello, could we find somewhere to have a chat?”
Without even raising his head, Ling Chuang replied, “Sorry, I don’t have time.”
The woman’s smile stiffened slightly.
Usually, she was the one who said those words to other people.
Looking at Ling Chuang as he continued cooking fried rice, she decided to forgive him on account of that face of his.
“My surname is Chi, and I’m a talent agent at an entertainment company. I saw a video of you online before and thought you had excellent potential, so I’d like to sign you. I wonder if you’d be interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry?”
“No.”
Ling Chuang rejected her without the slightest hesitation.
The smile on Ms. Chi’s face finally became impossible to maintain.
That video of Ling Chuang had become extremely popular online. She’d asked numerous people for his contact information but hadn’t managed to get it, which was why she’d personally come to North Gate Night Market.
She hadn’t expected him to reject her so easily.
“Don’t turn me down so quickly. I manage quite a few popular celebrities. If you sign with me, I’m confident I can make you even more famous.”
Ling Chuang finally raised his eyes to look at her. With a faint, ambiguous smile, he asked, “Has the barrier to entry in the entertainment industry become so low these days? Even if I have no professional training in the field, I can become famous just because I’m good-looking?”
Sensing the sarcasm in his words, Ms. Chi fell silent for a moment before replying, “Good looks are a scarce resource in themselves, and we also provide training. Surely signing with me would be better than selling fried rice here?”
“Oh? For example?”
Ms. Chi attempted to tempt him with money. “At the very least, you’d earn more than you do now. You could live in a villa and drive luxury cars.”
Ling Chuang seemed to chuckle softly as he scooped the freshly cooked fried rice into a bowl.
“Tell me something I don’t already have.”
Ms. Chi: “…”
Was the fried rice business really that profitable these days?
Mindful of the large crowd around them, Ms. Chi didn’t say anything more. She simply left Ling Chuang her business card and told him to contact her once he’d changed his mind.
Ling Chuang didn’t bother looking at her business card. Instead, he handed the packaged fried rice to Tian Miaomiao.
“Your fried rice is ready.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Tian Miaomiao had just witnessed the drama unfold firsthand and was still somewhat reluctant to see it end.
She accepted the fried rice but didn’t leave immediately. After hesitating for a moment, she looked at Ling Chuang and asked, “Um…”
“I don’t add people on WeChat.”
Ling Chuang rejected her before she could finish speaking.
“…”
Tian Miaomiao fell silent for two seconds before smiling at him.
“I just wanted to ask, can you really make that much money selling fried rice?”
Ling Chuang raised his eyes slightly and looked at her, the corners of his lips curving upward.
He handed her the business card Ms. Chi had just left behind.
“I think you’ve got pretty good potential too. Why don’t you enter the entertainment industry?”
Author’s Note:
Tian Miaomiao: Thanks a lot. 🙂