Chapter 1: Traveling Through Time
"Run, run! The dog official has sent people to chase us again."
…
In the chaos, Jun Qiulan didn't hear what the man was shouting at all. He just instinctively followed the crowd in front of him and ran, as if it had become a conditioned reflex.
But his feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and his legs could hardly stand. Fortunately, the man next to him pulled him up.
Jun Qiulan was about to say thank you, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He didn't know the man in front of him at all.
What is this place?
Before Jun Qiulan could figure it out, a high-pitched "cut" in the distance almost turned the whole world upside down. He looked at this strange scene in a daze.
The people who had been busy running around just now stopped in an instant, sat down on the ground, took a breath, and then chatted about family matters. The panic and fear on their faces disappeared, and there was a sense of relaxation that he could not understand.
If you look closely, you will find that these ragged people seem to be stronger than him. The dirt on their faces looks more like it was smeared on, and there is no odor from a long journey of fleeing.
At this moment, Jun Qiulan's expression gradually became clear. Hadn't he been exiled to the border and placed in a cowshed?
Why is he here? Where are his parents and sister?
He looked around, horrified in his heart, and felt that everything was weird.
Not far away, several men and women in strange clothes were surrounding a few black square objects, whispering to each other about something.
Looking closer, the ground is lined with neatly arranged stone slabs, each of which seems to be a work of art. Even the stone slabs on Suzaku Street in the imperial city are not as neat and clean as those here.
Also, it was clearly late at night, so why were the lights still on as bright as day?
Jun Qiulan's heart sank, fearing that he had died in the cowshed and gone to the underworld?
"Another one." A bearded man with short hair walked over and pointed at a few people. "You guys, run over here and knock over all the baskets on the roadside. Look even more terrified."
Among the people he was referring to, there happened to be Jun Qiulan.
The man who had just pulled Jun Qiulan came over and said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up, once we finish filming this scene, we can get our lunch."
Jun Qiulan analyzed from these few words that they seemed to be acting?
Is this a stage? But where are the audience? How did he get here from the cowshed?
Until the situation is clear, it is best to remain inactive.
Jun Qiulan silently followed the man to a corner. When the short-haired man with a beard shouted something in a foreign language, the people who had been named just now ran out, and he followed them.
He stumbled and ran only a distance of more than ten meters, looking very awkward.
When the bearded man with short hair shouted "Cut", everyone stopped again.
"Okay, that's all for today's scene. Extras, go over there to get your lunch boxes. Take as much as you can eat. There's a problem with your account for today's pay, so go over there to get the cash."
The enthusiastic older brother pulled Jun Qiulan up from the ground. "I don't recognize you, little brother. Are you from here? This must be your first time filming. You look so nervous. My name is Zhang Li. I used to work at the Hengcheng Film and Television Base. I just came here a few days ago."
Jun Qiulan smiled and nodded, "Call me Xiaolan, I don't know much about this yet, Brother Zhang, why don't you introduce me to them?"
He did not answer the question directly and cleverly avoided it.
After all, he was once a prince. The education and experiences he had received since childhood enabled him to cope with the current situation. At least, he did not feel any malice in the eyes of those around him, which showed that he was safe now.
Although I am anxious and worried about my parents and younger sister, the more important thing now is to figure out the situation.
"Come on, let's go get our lunch boxes first. It's easy to get hungry when shooting night scenes." Zhang Li enthusiastically pulled Jun Qiulan to line up and answered a few questions by the way.
Jun Qiulan listened more and spoke less, and gained a rough understanding of the matter.
This is the newly built Fengcheng Film and Television Base. Although I still don’t understand what a film and television base is, it’s probably a place for performances?
It had just recently opened to the public, and there were not many film crews settled in. Jun Qiulan roughly understood it as a theatre troupe.
People like Zhang Li are basically young actors who came from other film and television bases and want to pursue their careers in this new film and television base.
Coincidentally, there are not many film crews settled in, so there are not many extras from outside. Therefore, some local residents who like to join in the fun were recruited as extras for the long-range scenes, and the requirements are not high.
Jun Qiulan's mind was working rapidly. This almost overturned his cognition. He was even more certain that he was not dead, but had arrived in a new world.
"Big sister, give me two boxes." Zhang Li said to the big sister who was distributing lunch boxes with a smile, "It's a little too late today, and I'm so hungry."
Zhang Li is a veteran in the crew. The lunch boxes prepared by the crew can only be more, not less, and there are leftovers almost every day.
The lady who was distributing the lunch boxes was also happy, "Eat more if you can. It would be a waste if you can't finish it all."
"Two boxes are enough." Zhang Li took it with a smile, squatted beside it and devoured it.
Jun Qiulan, who had not had a full meal for a long time, felt all his senses return when he smelled the fragrance of the food.
The soles of his feet, which were blistered and oozing pus, were in excruciating pain, his torso was so tired that he could hardly move, and his empty abdominal cavity even emitted a few embarrassing grumbling sounds.
"Oh, you must be hungry." The older sister teased, "Young people get hungry quickly, it's normal."
He casually stuffed two boxes into Jun Qiulan's hands.
Jun Qiulan held the lunch box but didn't move. From their conversation just now, she learned that the lunch box was free and any that were not distributed would have to be thrown away.
He endured the hunger, his face flushed with shame, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Can you give me two more boxes, big sister?"
The elder sister was stunned for a moment, then looked at the people queuing behind her. Not many people were there. The boy in front of her had a dirty face and her features were unclear, but he was too thin. "Take it, don't waste it."
Jun Qiulan smiled sincerely, "Thank you."
The eldest sister smiled and said, "Hurry up and eat. Don't forget to collect your wages after dinner."
And wages?
Jun Qiulan remained calm, squatted next to Zhang Li, and ate his lunch box in big mouthfuls.
He originally thought that the free meal would not taste very good, but this lunch box contained both meat and vegetables, and was generously seasoned with oil and salt. He could hardly put down his chopsticks, and in less than half a cup of tea, he had finished the lunch box.
If he wasn't concerned about his image, he would even want to lick the lunch box.
Hungry, very hungry.
During his three thousand-mile exile, he was only given two coarse flour buns every day. They were dry and hard, and would get stuck in his throat. Occasionally, he could eat a soft, hot bun, which was considered a delicacy.
In the past 19 years, he was of noble status, so how could he have suffered such a crime?
In the struggle for imperial power, the winners are kings and the losers are bandits. Jun Qiulan is open-minded about it and is not limited by the supreme power.
But he ended up having his biological parents and younger sister exiled with him.
He looked at the remaining three lunch boxes in silence. Now he didn't know where he was or how to go back.
"Have you finished your meal?" Zhang Li had just finished a box of lunch and had the other one unopened. Seeing the three boxes next to Jun Qiulan, he teased, "Smart! Taking it home for a midnight snack? A young man your age should eat more."
Jun Qiulan smiled shyly and did not answer. He didn't know where he was and he was penniless. If he wasn't so hungry, he would have wanted to eat the lunch box in three meals.
"Let's go, let's go collect our wages. I've been running around all day and I'm so tired." Zhang Li muttered to himself.
Jun Qiulan knew that he was not from here, and he had no idea how he got here. Should he receive the wages?
But he looked at the other people who had finished their lunch boxes and went to collect their wages. The person who was handing out the money didn't even say anything, he just handed out the money in silence.
I took a look from a distance, it looks like a banknote?
To take or not to take?
As the saying goes, a gentleman does what he should do and does not do what he should not do.
But as the saying goes, if you don't make money, you are a bastard.
After being demoted and exiled, Jun Qiulan has abandoned those so-called gentlemanly qualities.
Being alive is the most important thing.
Jun Qiulan clenched the three lunch boxes in her hand and took two banknotes from the short-haired man who was distributing the film pay.
One is red and the other is blue.
"Hey, I only make 150 yuan after a hard day's work," Zhang Li complained. "Those leading actors make hundreds of thousands per episode. When will we ever be able to make it?"
As he spoke, he squeezed the money into his palm and said, "Let's go and change your clothes. Do you have a place to stay for tomorrow? How about going with me to another crew? It's also 150 yuan a day."
Although they were all playing refugees today, with dirty faces and bodies, Zhang Li still keenly noticed that the young man had superior facial features and looked more attractive than the male lead of the crew.
If you want to develop in this industry, you may be able to succeed if you put in some effort.
It would be too difficult for him to make a name for himself in the acting industry with his mediocre looks. Why not make some friends with potential people? Who knows, they might be useful someday.
Jun Qiulan looked through the light and saw the familiar words on it: one hundred yuan, fifty yuan.
I still don’t know the purchasing power of this banknote, but from what Zhang Li said, it shouldn’t be much?
As for changing clothes, he glanced at the extras who came out after changing their clothes. They were all wearing weird short-sleeved shirts, paired with pants or skirts.
He took another look at his clothes. Although they were tattered, they could at least cover his body, and he didn't have any extra clothes.
"Brother Zhang, go change your clothes first. I'm going to the toilet."
Zhang Li waved his hand and said, "Go quickly, and add your contact information later."
Jun Qiulan left without stopping, what is his contact information?
This world is really weird. He has just barely understood this so-called film and television base, but this world is still unfamiliar to him.
He was more worried about his parents and younger sister.
Now that he has come to a new world, what will happen to his parents and younger sister?
Not to mention that he was adopted by the emperor and served as a prince for eighteen years. His father was also a pampered royal family member. Although his mother was a merchant girl, she was also the legitimate daughter of the famous imperial merchant Song family. His younger sister was also a little princess who was raised in pampered condition.
But on the way to exile, his father injured his leg, his mother was also sick, and his sister was often coveted by scum. What should they do if he disappeared?
Jun Qiulan walked into the darkness with a lunch box in one hand and 150 yuan in the other, feeling heavy on his mind.
"Hey, little brother, you haven't changed your clothes yet." A field worker chased after him.
Jun Qiulan quickened his pace.
He didn't know where to go, but he definitely couldn't stay here.
After turning many corners and passing through various alleys, he finally walked out of that area. But as soon as he raised his eyes, he froze in place.
If the filming location, the actors and the sets just now made him realize that he was no longer in his original world, then everything in front of him now made him feel it personally.
The place where we were filming just now still had red walls, green tiles and bluestone slabs, but the street in front of us had a completely different style.
There were carriages with four wheels that could run without the need for oxen or horses, and buildings that were taller and larger than the imperial palace's observatory. The people walking on the road were also wearing all kinds of strange clothes, some similar to those in his world, while others were wearing short-sleeved clothes that he had seen before.
There are shops and stalls lined up on the street.
Jun Qiulan stood at the intersection, wearing tattered clothes and holding a lunch box in his hand. He seemed out of tune with this world, but no one even looked at him twice.
This world is too weird, he dare not move no matter what.
But where should he go?
"Young man, are you looking for the way home? Or are you looking for where you came from?" A strange voice sounded in my ears.
The author has something to say:
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I'm finally back. There are randomly dropped red envelopes in the comment section. Thank you for your support, my dears. There are three chapters in total today.
It’s still a plot-based story, but this is the most miserable protagonist I’ve ever written at the beginning, hahahaha.
Don’t worry about getting paid for the film, the world consciousness will automatically fill the gap.
Let’s take a look at the inspiring experience of our little prince falling from the clouds to the dust and then standing up step by step.
It’s still the same old rules, updates at 9 am, starting at 3 the day before v and 6 the day after v. Except for special circumstances, we generally don’t take leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
