It was hard to guess the response of the audience when the TV series aired. Everyone was too timid to do that.
As she stood among a group of maids, Cong Nianwei felt as awkward as if she was posing for a prom picture.
The camera was still filming as Qin Guan followed Dou Ying to the bank. Cong Nianwei decided to think about this later. The whispers around her made her stick to her plan.
"Ha ha!"
"What's the matter?"
"I just saw his underpants..."
Cong Nianwei felt both angry and ashamed, but Qin Guan's next scene cheered her up.
Her boyfriend was wearing a white loose robe that revealed his bare chest. He looked as unrestrained as a scholar. The fact that he was not a government official allowed him to talk in a jovial mood with Dou Ying, who was the Grand Preceptor.
He was holding a fish in his hand as he tried to persuade the man to lend a helping hand to his nephew. As they talked and ate happily, Cong Nianwei thought that the fish did not look tasty from a distance. There had not been that many herbs available at the time, so the fish was roasted without any seasoning.
Ma Shaohua, the actor who portrayed Dou Ying, was an honest man, so he took a real bite of the fish expressionlessly. When it was Qin Guan's turn, he just turned his back to the camera.
When the fish was returned to Dou Ying, he put the tail in his mouth. Qin Guan set the fish down on the fire again.
Dou Ying ate half of it as Qin Guan waited for his clothes to dry.
He turned down an offer to have more fish. Ma Shaohua almost got mad at him. I see. He is playing tricks! I never thought about that...
When the scene ended, Qin Guan's part of the fish was still intact on the fire. When Dou Ying decided to go back to the capital with Qin Guan, the camera zoomed in on the young man.
Qin Guan couldn't escape his destiny. Ma Shaohua grinned. Suddenly, he was shocked by Qin Guan's performance.
The young man opened his mouth wide to bite the fish. He was really happy to hear that Dou would return to the capital with him. As soon as his teeth touched the fish though, he took it out of his mouth with a hiss, as if his lips had gotten burned by the hot meat. Qin Guan blew on the fish as the scene came to an end.
After editing the footage, the scene would take up a full 15 minutes of that episode. Qin Guan had used all kinds of tricks to avoid tasting that disgusting fish.
Cong Nianwei burst into laughter. Her boyfriend was a really picky foodie!
Her laughter attracted Qin Guan's attention as he changed clothes. He suddenly spotted Cong Nianwei in the crowd.
"Wei! You're here!" Ma Shaohua, who had been trying to talk to Qin Guan about the fish, was shocked. Is that his girlfriend? He has really found a girl outside of the circle. I should leave them alone.
"Did you have any breakfast? I found some goodies in town. Here, try this!"
Cong Nianwei opened a container and a delicious fragrance spread in the air. Ma Shaohua paused. They had worked really hard that morning, so everyone was hungry.
The older actors suddenly gathered around them.
"Wow! That's a good meal!"
"It's crab porridge!"
"What a large crab! Can you finish it all by yourself?"
The visiting film crew had created business opportunities for the small town, so the natives had started opening traditional restaurants one after the other. Cong Nianwei had found the porridge on the way. She had bought a custom-made portion at a high price to please her boyfriend's soul and stomach.
The main ingredient of the porridge was a large crab that weighed almost one kilo. The cook washed it carefully and cut it into slices before pickling it and throwing it into the boiling porridge. Then he added fresh clam, shell meat, a little salt and pepper, and some drops of sesame oil before moving it out of the pot.
Seafood made even the plainest porridge taste sweet and delicious.