Chapter 19

On the day filming wrapped, Cheng Chen was pulled into Lai Shuiqing's room again for a chat.

Lai Shuiqing asked about Cheng Chen's plans afterward.

Cheng Chen intended to stay in Jingcheng and wait for opportunities, seeing if any productions needed actors.

At the same time, he was sorting out which productions would start filming this year, preparing to snatch a supporting role with lines.

He definitely wouldn't take on extra roles anymore, given that he had played Song Qingshu in the *Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* production.

It wasn't that he looked down on extra actors after playing Song Qingshu.

It was more a way of indirectly protecting his own value, since future directors casting him would have to consider his previous role.

Cast him as an extra? They'd have to dare to open their mouths.

Meanwhile, he had built up some connections on set, and could use them to secure a few audition opportunities.

With his acting skills, barring bad luck and encountering favoritism, landing a role would be no big problem.

Lai Shuiqing of course knew all this, so he first probed Cheng Chen's intentions, then slowly said:

"Cheng Zai, why not stay with the *Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* crew for two more months? I'll check if any Jingcheng productions are hiring actors—your talent is too good to waste if no suitable role comes along."

Director Lai had developed a fondness for talent!

After all, Cheng Chen had helped him greatly on set, showed great acting potential, and Lai liked actors with ambition and talent.

At the same time, Director Lai revealed a piece of news: he had another film and TV project about to start shooting, a historical light comedy.

The investors were already in place, but due to certain reasons, he couldn't reveal too much yet.

But he could guarantee Cheng Chen a role with screen time no less than Song Qingshu's.

Director Lai spoke cryptically, but based on the timeline, Cheng Chen had already guessed which drama it was:

*Shen Yi Xian Lv*.

It was a historical fantasy romance TV series, filmed in 2003 and released in 2004.

It roughly depicted the complex and tense court struggles between Lv Hou and Liu Bang's descendant Liu Xuan, as well as Liu Xuan's emotional entanglements with Qin Zi and Ti Ying.

Its leads were still Jia Jingwen, Gao Yuanyuan, and the embroidered-sleeve Zhuo Ge, Zhao Wenzhuo.

From this, it wasn't hard to see that Director Lai preferred using veteran actors he had previously collaborated with.

This was also the main reason he had sought out Cheng Chen today.

In fact, *Shen Yi Xian Lv* had far less fame than *Yi Tian* and *Diaoman Gongzhu*.

Moreover, due to production delays, *Shen Yi Xian Lv* felt like a patchwork of historical dramas.

In this drama, you could spot traces of several other shows—similar themes, character relationships, plots, even costumes.

It started strong but ended weakly, with a rushed, confusing finale.

Besides, the costumes and accessories were wildly inconsistent with the era, filled with modern elements based on pure guesswork.

Even though it was riddled with flaws by today's standards, it did nothing to prevent it from becoming the childhood memory of the 80s and 90s generation.

Especially with countless reruns on local TV stations, the leads quickly became idols for the 80s and 90s generation.

Cheng Chen nodded without hesitation and agreed to Lai Shuiqing.

…

The next day, as Cheng Chen was about to head to the set, he received a message from a fellow villager from Hui Sheng.

His family had run into trouble—they were in a lawsuit!

Hearing the news, Cheng Chen suddenly remembered something.

In 2002, his family had indeed been involved in a dispute over a piece of homestead land, and had sued the village chief's family.

The matter caused a huge uproar in their village, and they ultimately lost the case.

But in his past life, Cheng Chen had clashed bitterly with his family over acting, nearly cutting ties.

By the time he returned home, it was already years later.

After losing the lawsuit, his grandfather had died of anger at that time.

From then on, his family never held their heads high in the village again, and the village chief kept coming to harass them every few days.

In this life, Cheng Chen wouldn't act as recklessly as before—he quickly packed his things and went straight to Director Lai's residence to explain.

Director Lai immediately told him to go home, and return after handling things.

After receiving approval, Cheng Chen immediately bought a train ticket and rushed home.

…

After a day and night on the train, Cheng Chen finally arrived at his hometown, Nan County.

Nan County was in northern Hui Sheng and was extremely poor in 2002, with almost no able-bodied young people left.

All the young people had gone to work in Zhe Sheng and Guang Sheng, leaving only the elderly.

As an agricultural county, farming was the only source of income for Nan County residents.

But this life dependent on the weather earned almost no money all year, leaving families financially strained.

Cheng Chen clearly remembered that until he entered high school, the steamed buns his family ate were still dark and grimy in color.

They were very coarse to eat—if you skipped a meal, they hardened like stone.

They were indeed made from wheat flour, but wheat flour usually went through five rounds of machine grinding and filtering to become white flour.

Steamed buns made from white flour were naturally white, plump, and sweet.

But the flour his family ate had gone through only one grinding, mixed heavily with bran, so the texture was naturally terrible.

Bran was usually used as feed for pigs, cows, and other livestock.

After arriving in the county, he switched to a rusty green bus and finally reached the village.

Looking at the dilapidated, desolate scenery of the village, Cheng Chen felt no disdain—instead, he felt memories deep in his mind slowly merging with the scene before him.

"Oh, Cheng Zi's back! You must've made some money working away."

"Chengzi, you're finally back! Your grandpa and grandma have been talking about you every day at home!"

"Chengzi, you've become a star, huh? Not like my family's no-good brat—can't even keep up in school, just slaving away on construction sites, a kid barely seventeen or eighteen, sunburnt like he's thirty already."

After entering the village, people gradually recognized Cheng Chen and warmly greeted him.

Cheng Chen took out candies he had bought in the county town and handed them out to everyone.

This was a custom in Nan County: those who returned from working away always kept some candies in their pockets to give out to neighbors who came to visit.

At the doorstep, looking at the family's earthen house, Cheng Chen suddenly felt a pang in his nose.

Sitting at the door, silently smoking, was his grandfather—just as Cheng Chen remembered him.

His steps quickened involuntarily; he walked to his side and whispered:

"Grandpa, I'm back."

The old man looked up at his grandson, the one who had quarreled with the family, and his smile filled every wrinkle on his face.

He crushed out his cigarette, took Cheng Chen's suitcase, and walked into the house, smiling:

"You're back—that's all that matters, you're back…"

"Where are Mom and Dad?"

"They went to the county—this isn't about fighting a lawsuit with Liu Wenjiang's family? They went to find connections there."

Cheng Chen fell silent for a moment before asking:

"How's the family holding up?"

"What good or bad? Common folks just live day by day—as long as nothing bad happens, it's fine."

"I understand."

At the same time, Cheng Chen silently thought to himself:

"Liu Wenjiang!"

…