Lin Cheng took Lin Momo out of the small building where they lived.

At this time, the sun had only just begun to shine, but there were already many people on the road all seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere.

Many people gathered in front of one of the electronic display screens.

Lin Momo took Lin Cheng’s hand and shook it, asking, “Dad, what’s over there?” 

“It should have some crew information posted,” Lin Cheng said, leading Lin Momo over to the display screen.

Some public information about the crew recruiting actors was indeed scrolling on the screen.

However, most of the people being recruited were for supporting roles who would join the crew and had little to do with Lin Cheng who was working as an extra.

The business cards and QR codes of some film crew leaders were also posted on the display screen. However, it was difficult to judge which information was true and which was false.

After Lin Cheng glanced through it quickly, he took Lin Momo away.

… …

They went to the nearest logistics service area. There was a schematic diagram hanging on the public notice board on the right side of the entrance.

“What is this map here?” Lin Momo asked, very curious as she looked at the display in front of her.

The specific layout of the Film and Television City could not be found online, so the only thing Lin Cheng and Lin Momo had right now was a tourist guide map they received at the gates yesterday.

The general structure of the tour map was somewhat similar to the one in front of them now, but they were not truly the same.

“This is a fire map,” Lin Cheng explained.

To be precise, this was a fire safety and emergency evacuation diagram of the Film and Television City.

On this schematic map, the regional divisions of the entire Film and Television City, the fire-fighting facilities arranged along the roads, and the fire and emergency evacuation channels were clearly marked in great detail.

Although it was not as intuitive as a real map, this map was at least much more accurate than the tourist map.

Lin Cheng compared the shooting locations of several key filming crews, determined their approximate locations on this schematic map, and planned the fastest routes to get from one point to another.

“Let’s go.” 

… …

After taking a photo of the schematic diagram and writing down the route, Lin Cheng took Lin Momo to their first destination: the filming location at A-6-3 Minfeng Street.

Here, the crew of [Tidal Wave] was filming.

This was a TV drama adapted from a literary work set during the days of the Republic of China. It told the story of a group of progressive young people, of their families, of the love story between the male and female protagonists before the war broke out.¹

When the crew arrived at the filming location, there were already many people waiting outside.

There were so many people here it was obvious that they must have learned through some channels that the crew would use extras for the day’s shooting. This time, the crew had come early but even then they were already waiting.

Many of these people had even put on their own Republic of China-era clothes in advance.

Lin Cheng took Lin Momo to a place outside the crew where there were relatively few people and stood there temporarily.

Standing next to them was a man in his forties. The man was holding several sheets of information about the crew. He seemed to be a ‘permanent resident’ of the Film and Television City.

Looking at Lin Cheng and Lin Momo by his side, the man showed a surprised expression and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “Brother, you don’t look familiar, did you just come here? Are you here to be an extra?” 

No one could blame the man for feeling that way. It was really strange, mainly because these two people—one big and one small—really didn’t look like they were extras at all!

Hearing the man’s question, Lin Cheng was noncommittal and simply replied, “Just here to make a living.” 

He did not reveal to the other party the details of the program they were recording.

After listening to Lin Cheng’s words, the man was silent for two seconds, smiled, and finally said, his voice laced with emotion, “It’s not easy to make a living, it depends on luck. If you’re not lucky, you’ll probably end up like me.”

“It’s very boring…” the man muttered, shaking his head.

After saying that, the man looked at Lin Cheng and Lin Momo, changed the topic, and chuckled, “But your luck seems to be good. This crew is generous, and the work is not tiring.” 

The man told them that according to reliable information that he got first-hand, there would be three scenes that the [Tidal Wave] crew planned to shoot today that will all use extras. If they were lucky enough to be selected by the crew, then they would have their day’s work. Maybe they could even get a meal for lunch.

This was why so many people flocked here as soon as there was news.

As if he felt that the waiting time was too boring, the man chatted with Lin Cheng for a few more words.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

At this moment, a film crew operator with a walkie-talkie in his hand walked out of the shooting location.

Before the waiting extras could step forward, the crew member was already shouting in their direction, “All the extras over there, please step back and don’t block the normal passage.” 

As soon as the person finished speaking, several commercial vehicles were seen driving towards the shooting scene one after another.

As a young male star got out of the car, a group of supporting fans squatting outside the venue immediately began shouting.

“It’s Jing Xiaoyan!”

“Brother is diligent!”

“Brother, good luck!”

“Brother, you should also take care of your health when filming, we all love you!”

… …

Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi and get access to advance chapters as reward. Thank you for your support! ☺️

FOOTNOTE:

1. Republic of China (1912-1949). From the fall of the Qing dynasty to the rise of the People’s Republic of China. I’m not sure which ‘war’ they mean: there’s the Sino-Japanese war from 1937-1945 and the Chinese Civil War from 1945-1949. ↩︎