677 Shanghai, The Oriental Pearl

The fried sanbao there was delicious. There were also some tasty meatballs boiling in a large cauldron filled with grits.

Qin Guan was always patient when it came to food. He stood at the end of the line, breathing in the aroma of the food, which could be smelled even two streets over.

The line was long, but the snacks were served fast. When some people came to stand behind Qin Guan, he had already reached the front of the line.

"Two portions of sanbao, one portion of fried large intestines, and two oven-fresh flaky pastries..."

His standard Mandarin and deep, clear voice attracted the attention of the stand owner.

"One minute!"

Despite feeling uncertain, the kind man didn't stop cooking.

The fresh shrimp, mushrooms, barbecued pork and water chestnuts were mixed and cut into small pieces before some fresh fish was added to the filling.

The cook stuffed the filling into some hollow eggplants and bean curd. That was how sanbao was typically made. Then he poured oil into a frying pan to fry the sanbao. The scent of the food pervaded the winter air.

Two minutes later, the cook took the food out of the pan and poured some juice on it. Qin Guan took some coins out of his pocket, but the boss waved them away and took his phone out of his apron.

"Say cheese!"

He craned his neck back to take a picture with Qin Guan.

"My treat! Next customer!"

Content, the stand owner paid no more attention to Qin Guan. It was actually very common to come across a celebrity on the streets of Hong Kong. People were familiar with them and got along with them very well.

Qin Guan was not that famous in Hong Kong, but he had stumbled upon an indie film lover. The stand owner considered Qin Guan his idol.

...

It was in the dead of the night, when Qin Guan suddenly slapped his own thigh as he lay on his hotel bed.

"What are you doing? We have to get up early tomorrow. Go back to sleep!"

"I should have ordered more food today. There were so many kinds of tasty food at that stand..."

Cong Nianwei turned her back to Qin Guan speechlessly. One shouldn't be fooled by his looks. Despite his star quality, he was still an ordinary person in some aspects.

The next morning, Cong Nianwei left alone and Qin Guan headed to the studio to meet countless other Chinese celebrities, including Zeng Zhiwei, Wu Junru, Zhang Xueyou and Chi Zhenxi, a South Korean star invited by the company.

Director Chen had called everyone together.

Qin Guan greeted the others one by one. He hadn't expected them to be so kind to him.

Where was the discrimination he had heard existed against mainland actors? Qin Guan had never acted in a film with such a big budget in China.

He also knew nothing about the Hong Kong film circle. His big entourage the previous day had sparked some theories among the actors though. They thought Qin Guan had to be an important person on both sides of the law.

The producer wanted all the actors to collaborate harmoniously. Director Chen was also pretty straightforward. In Hong Kong, it was very common to work overnight.

The large group flew to Shanghai by chartered airplane. It was very annoying to stay with such a large group of strangers. The stars and the three Chinese merchants had brought a large number of staff with them, so they had to meet in Hong Kong and then fly to Shanghai.

On the way to their hotel, Qin Guan met Zhou Xun, the heroine of the film.

She had cooperated with Hong Kong directors lots of times, so she didn't have to meet them in Hong Kong like Qin Guan. She welcomed the exhausted cast and crew in Shanghai elegantly.

"Get some rest first. Time is pressing. We'll get to work at two o'clock!"

The group was dismissed. Two hours later, they got together again at an old European-style hotel.

Director Chen got to work on the streets of Shanghai.

"Shall we try shooting a simple scene first?"

Qin Guan nodded.

After parting with his childhood sweetheart for 10 years, the hero of the film, Lin Jiandong, had become successful and visited the girl's city with his agent.

He Gong, the chief cameraman, was carrying the camera, which weighed more than five kilos. The middle-aged man had not carried a camera personally for many years.