Chapter 7: The Clever Use of Information, Part Two: Treating the Root Cause

【Daily Info 4: Nanjie, Dudu District, Hengdian — Yongkang Meat Pie: thick filling, chewy crust, juicy meat, aromatic, affordable, uniquely flavorful (Note: recommended paired with the shop’s wontons)】

【…】

On Nanjie, Dudu District, Yu Yanli bit into the meat pie, scalded by the hot oil, yet refused to let go, hopping on one foot.

He chewed noisily, his mouth filled with the savory scent of dried vegetables and meat; after two sips of smooth, fresh wontons, the fatigue and irritation from his morning makeup session vanished entirely.

All the effort of detouring on an empty stomach was worth it — another culinary treasure added to his collection.

System-recommended, trustworthy!

After finishing his meal, Yu Yanli paid, then thought for a moment and packed up more meat pies before heading to the makeup room.

Yu Yanli had a scene this morning and arrived before five, but others were already ahead of him.

“Teacher Xie, good morning.”

Xie Junhao was attaching his wig; he paused, startled, then remembered who Yu Yanli was and nodded.

“Ni hao.”

“Teacher Xie, have you eaten? I just bought these meat pies — they’re delicious, try one.”

“Thank you, but I’ve already eaten.”

Xie Junhao was polite but cold; Yu Yanli didn’t mind. The makeup artist was working, so he left one pie for him and offered the rest to others who were idle, including Wang Xiu.

“Not bad — already trying to buy people’s loyalty.”

Wang Xiu, chewing on the pie, teased lightly; Yu Yanli smiled.

“Buying loyalty”? That’s too big a claim!

He was just a minor supporting actor — no authority, no money for such things. He merely wanted to keep a friendly face, show goodwill, integrate into the crew, and avoid unnecessary trouble.

“Actually, these meat pies are pretty good. Where’d you get them?”

“Nanjie, Dudu District — Yongkang Meat Pie. The red sign on the east side of the road.”

“Yongkang Meat Pie” isn’t just the shop’s name — it’s the local snack of Jinhua, Zhejiang, like Shaanxi’s roujiamo or Anhui’s banmian.

Many stalls in Hengdian sell this snack; over the past few days, Yu Yanli had spotted two or three others, all named “Yongkang Meat Pie.” Without specific location or features, it’s hard to find the right one.

“Impressive. I’ve been in Hengdian off and on for nearly two years — you’ve only been here a few days and you already know this well?”

“I like to wander around.”

Yu Yanli deployed one of his standard excuses for sourcing information — the other two being “I have many friends” and “My intuition is sharp.”

These three excuses, used flexibly, could satisfy 95% of curiosity and doubt. If all else failed, he had his ultimate move —

【The water here runs deep, the situation’s complicated — I can’t say much. Just trust me.】

“Huh — amateur food connoisseur.”

“Connoisseur? No. But my nose is sharp. By the way, I know a barbecue spot even better than these meat pies.”

At this, Yu Yanli dropped the subject. The two had grown somewhat familiar over the past few days; Wang Xiu picked up on his hint, wiped her hands with a tissue, and cut straight to the point.

“State your terms.”

“Do my makeup and styling for a week.”

“You’re sure it’s good?”

“What would I gain by lying to you?”

“Deal!”

Wang Xiu, a greedy food lover, couldn’t resist the temptation; Yu Yanli then smiled and gave her the barbecue spot’s address.

Over these past few days, through the information system and his own inquiries, Yu Yanli had gathered plenty of crew insights.

Among them: Wang Xiu ranked among the top three makeup technicians on the “Sui and Tang Heroes” set (system-certified), liked men and food (per other makeup artists’ gossip).

Had she been skilled in anything beyond technique, she could have led a full makeup team.

Good makeup is undeniably vital for actors.

But Yu Yanli, as a supporting actor, had no privilege to choose his makeup artist — unless lucky enough to catch them free, anyone available would do the job.

Now that he’d made the arrangement with Wang Xiu, he could simply go to her directly in the future — ensuring quality makeup, and occasionally even getting to skip the queue.

Makeup often required waiting, especially during large group scenes, when makeup artists were overwhelmed. Only the leads and those with clout got priority — everyone else was at the mercy of the staff’s schedule.

Getting makeup done early — or finishing early — meant avoiding idle waiting, gaining more prep time, or leaving sooner to rest.

Especially the latter — for actors who’d endured a long day, the value was obvious.

He’d only agreed to one week to avoid scaring Wang Xiu off with excessive demands. When the time came, he’d have ways to extend it.

Every valuable piece of information holds countless possibilities — applied well, in the right place, it yields endless surprises…

————

Yu Yanli’s current scenes still centered on background roles and minor characters; the plotline involving Yuwen Chengdu wouldn’t begin for at least another week.

But that was fine — it gave him more preparation time. Beyond memorizing lines, studying the role, and training in combat, he could also spare time to learn horseback riding.

Yuwen Chengdu had horse scenes — even mounted combat — and Yu Yanli didn’t know how to ride.

But this wasn’t a fatal flaw. Especially on the “Sui and Tang Heroes” set, many actors couldn’t ride; most relied entirely on stunt doubles.

Especially in mounted combat scenes — non-action actors simply couldn’t perform convincingly, and the injury risk was too high.

So Yu Yanli’s weakness was hardly noticeable among his peers — the director and stunt team were already used to it.

Their expectations for actors like Yu Yanli were simple: stay on the horse without falling, handle a few frontal shots — everything else could be handled by doubles.

Still, Yu Yanli held himself to a certain professional standard.

He wasn’t arrogant enough to refuse doubles entirely, but some actions looked better with the actor himself — if he could do them, he’d prefer to.

Besides, signing up for an external riding class cost a fortune — here, it was free, and he could learn practical film-specific techniques. Not taking full advantage would make him a fool.

So after afternoon wrap, Yu Yanli found a riding instructor through Wang Decai on set.

Because Yu Yanli gave him two packs of good cigarettes, the instructor, feeling obligated, stayed with him until nearly wrap time.

Though it was his first time riding, Yu Yanli had decent talent — by the end, he could barely control the horse on a slow lap alone.

Now came repetition — mastering the basics, then gradually increasing speed.

In Yu Yanli’s view, riding wasn’t hard to learn — it was like driving: easy to start, but mastery required long-term training.

After half a day of riding, he returned to the hotel with sore buttocks and thighs — but his spirits were high.

As a child, he’d dreamed of wielding a long weapon, galloping on horseback, charging seven times in and out of enemy armies — and now, in some small way, that childhood wish had come true.

Too bad his role as Yuwen Chengdu offered little chance to display fearless heroism.

If he ever got the chance again, he’d love to play Lu Bu or Xiang Yu…

(End of Chapter)