The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 14

Herong County had no tall buildings, only low-rise structures.

After the earlier incident, they gradually approached the bustling district of the county. From afar, they could already hear the vendors’ shouts with their distinctive local accents.

As outsiders, they couldn’t fully understand the meaning behind the calls, but emotions transcended language, allowing them to sense the simple, down-to-earth way of life.

Xu Zhi suggested, “Let’s go inside and ask the locals. Maybe we can find something related to the clues?”

“Sure!” Su Yun nodded, looking visibly excited. “Let’s check it out!”

The others assumed Su Yun was thrilled about possibly uncovering clues, but Jiang Zhi had a faint suspicion.

Su Yun was probably thinking about a “business inspection” or “scouting the competition,” wanting to see where the food stalls were set up.

Spending too much time with Su Yun had a way of infecting people with her wild imagination.

In the open-air market, they headed straight for the fish stall.

The vendor was a young girl helping her family out during her break.

When she saw the group approaching, she jumped up in excitement. “Actress Jiang! I knew I wasn’t mistaken, it really is you!”

Given Jiang Zhi’s fame, running into a fan wasn’t surprising.

Jiang Zhi smiled, gentler than usual. “We’re here filming a show. Thank you for your support. Would you like an autograph?”

Overwhelmed by the surprise, the girl nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, yes!”

She grabbed a notepad and pen from the counter and handed them to Jiang Zhi. “Sorry, this is just my accounting notebook…”

Jiang Zhi didn’t mind and signed carefully.

While she was signing, the girl turned to Lin Yan and the others. “I’ve watched every single one of Jiang Zhi’s movies, they’re all amazing!”

Su Yun nodded. Back at home, she had also watched every one of Jiang Zhi’s films.

But there was a slight difference between her and the girl. “Then you must have grown up watching Jiang Zhi’s movies.”

Jiang Zhi had started acting early, and the girl had indeed been watching her films since her school days. After a brief pause, she realized Su Yun wasn’t wrong and nodded.

Jiang Zhi, mid-signature, suddenly hesitated for a split second before finishing the last words of her well-wishes: “Wishing you a smooth life.”

Lin Yan, hearing this, instantly forgave Su Yun for nearly giving her a heart attack earlier. Her impression of Su Yun immediately flipped from negative to positive.

If even Jiang Zhi wasn’t spared, what did she have to fear?

[I’m dying of laughter. “Grew up watching Jiang Zhi’s movies”, hahahaha!]

[Jiang Zhi: Su Yun didn’t say much, but suddenly I feel a lot older.]

[I hereby declare this show cannot go on without Su Yun!]

[I don’t dare leave the livestream, afraid I’ll miss a single hilarious moment.]

[Same here! I’m too scared to switch to other streams now.]

[I was eating when Su Yun said that with a straight face, almost choked!]

Once the autograph was done, Jiang Zhi returned the notepad and pen to the girl.

Unexpectedly, the girl then handed them to Su Yun. “Sis Su, I really like you too. Could you sign for me as well?”

Su Yun was taken aback and pointed at herself. “Me? You’re not mistaking me for someone else, are you?”

She still remembered that one fan who had commented under her Weibo for 99 days straight, asking when she’d quit the entertainment industry they hadn’t shown up in a long time.

Losing a die-hard fan was truly tragic.

The girl laughed. “Sis Su, I’ve been following your Weibo these past few days. I really do like you!”

When Weibo was mentioned, Su Yun also understood and took the pen and paper, signing her name next to Jiang Zhi’s: “Thank you for your support.”

She thought of Zhao Yiqing from a few days ago and felt especially grateful that this girl hadn’t brought up any “Su Yun quotes” on the show.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have to continue recording the program, she could just dig a hole big enough for a three-bedroom apartment and live in it forever.

[What? Su Yun actually has fans too!]

[Whispering here, there are a lot of active users in Su Yun’s Weibo comments.]

[Jiang Zhi’s message was “Don’t overthink, live well.” That’s kinda heartwarming.]

After signing, Xu Zhi finally asked the girl, “Do you know if there are any fish-related buildings nearby? Like structures shaped like fish or with ‘fish’ in their names?”

The girl was very familiar with the area and thought for a moment before answering confidently, “No.”

The group wasn’t surprised. The production team wouldn’t be so kind as to let them find it easily.

Jiang Zhi then asked, “Could you tell us a few nearby landmark buildings?”

Though they weren’t sure if the production team would choose any of them, at least it gave them more options and hints.

After getting the landmarks, they bid farewell to the girl and continued heading east.

Before the show, their phones and other communication devices had been confiscated by the production team.

So even though they now had a few locations and general directions from the girl, they still had to follow the routine and check each place one by one.

Lin Yan’s mind was completely fixated on fish: “Where else could fish appear? If we rule out fish stalls, should we try restaurants next?”

Xu Zhi looked around the street: “There seem to be too many restaurants. It’s not practical to check each one.”

As they were discussing, Su Yun suddenly spoke up: “Look over there.”

She pointed toward an alley, but at first glance, all they saw were a few stalls.

What stood out, however, was a stall at the very back of the alley with three fish-shaped paper-cut artworks hanging above it.

Their eyes lit up at the sight!

[It’s fish! Even I got excited when the camera panned over!]

[Is paper-cutting an intangible cultural heritage here in Herong County? I feel like they’re on the right track.]

The stall was run by an elderly woman. When she saw the group approaching, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. “Young ladies, would you like to take a look at my paper-cuts?”

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi exchanged glances clearly, they hadn’t gone wrong. This was the clue left by the production team.

Naturally, they couldn’t refuse the old woman’s offer and carefully picked up the pre-cut artworks on display.

The red paper-cuts were intricately carved, their lines flowing smoothly. Every scale on the fish seemed to come alive, vivid and lifelike a testament to the artist’s extraordinary skill.

As they admired the pieces, the old woman took the opportunity to educate the audience about Herong County’s paper-cutting tradition.

“Herong County’s paper-cutting has a long history, passed down through generations. It’s been over 1,500 years to this day. But fewer and fewer people are willing to learn it now. We really want to keep this craft alive.”

[Wow, you can see every single detail so clearly, I love it!]

[The production team put thought into this! But can they make cultural and creative products out of these? I’d buy them.]

[I’d buy them too, they feel so meaningful.]

After examining them, Lin Yan said, “Did you cut all these yourself, Grandma? That’s amazing.”

The old woman’s smile was kind and gentle. Upon hearing Lin Yan’s words, she said, “I cut all these myself. If you’d like to learn, I can teach you. If you reach a passable level, I can tell you what you want to know.”

Hearing the grandmother’s offer, the group picked up the tools on the stall and exchanged uncertain glances. “Have any of you done this before?”

They all shook their heads.

[So this is where the production team was waiting to trip us up. But isn’t paper-cutting really hard to learn?]

[They’re studying so seriously, but it reminds me of me trying to learn advanced math knowledge just flows in one ear and out the other, leaving nothing behind.]

[Did you guys see that? While the grandma was explaining, Lin Yan picked up a piece of paper, looked up, and her face just screamed: Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing?!]

After numerous attempts, they finally earned the grandmother’s approval and received the clue to their next destination.

As they stepped out of the alley, Xu Zhi suddenly remembered to ask Su Yun, “The grandmother’s stall was so hidden, how did you even spot it?”

If not for Su Yun, they would have completely missed it and walked right past.

Jiang Zhi: “…”

She knew the reason but chose not to say anything.

Su Yun humbly brushed it off. “Just a coincidence, really.”

–

Meanwhile, on the other team.

As they headed west, their approach mirrored Su Yun’s group searching for any buildings or hints related to feathers.

Liu Yangran was particularly enthusiastic, and not without reason. She still remembered her manager’s pre-show advice: perform well, and the trending topics would come naturally.

Especially after meeting Su Yun in person today, she was even more determined not to lose.

So, far from resisting the production team’s challenges, she was eager to outperform Su Yun and secure the first points.

The production team had also set up a paper-cutting stall along their route, this one adorned with feather-shaped cuttings.

Unfortunately, none of them shared Su Yun’s entrepreneurial foresight. They circled the area several times before finally spotting the stall.

By noon, the sun was at its peak, and even the leaves on the roadside trees drooped under the scorching heat.

When the four of them arrived at their destination, they found Su Yun’s team lounging comfortably in the shade, chatting leisurely with the director.

[You can practically feel the resentment radiating through the screen! I can sense their frustration!]

[Su Yun really made a huge difference. Without her, it’s hard to say which team would’ve won. Liu Yangran was actually pretty fast at paper-cutting, she’d learned it before.]

Seeing the second team return, the director smoothly moved on to the next segment.

Su Xue, still catching her breath, asked, “Director, the next challenge won’t be this hard, right? I’m worried we won’t even get lunch!”

The director replied soothingly, “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely make sure you get lunch.”

Su Yun frowned. “Somehow, hearing the director say that makes me even more certain we won’t be eating…”

[As everyone knows, when the director smiles, trouble follows.]

[Su Yun, your instincts are probably right. But I’m all for it, let’s see what tricks the director has up his sleeve!]

With more viewers tuning in during lunchtime, the director wrapped up the conversation and had the crew bring out the props for the next challenge.

Director: “Our second segment is the classic ‘Draw and Guess the Idiom’ game. Within the allotted time, the top two contestants who guess the most idioms correctly will earn a point and enjoy a sumptuous lunch provided by our production team.”

As the director finished speaking, the staff wheeled out local specialty dishes from Herong County visually stunning and aromatic, their enticing fragrance wafting through the air even from a distance.

[So the top two get a lavish meal, meaning the bottom two get something less impressive?]
[As expected, the production team is full of traps!]

Liu Yangran was the first to react, asking the director, “Then what about the bottom two?”

With a grand gesture, the director pointed beside the lavish spread plain white steamed buns paired with a small dish of pickles.

“After dragging your exhausted body through the first challenge, you believe only delicious food can heal your wounded soul.

And so, at this very moment, you see on the table these rare, limited-edition steamed buns especially crafted by a top-tier chef from a five-star hotel.

Accompanying them is an exclusive, premium fermented pickle, aged for years to concentrate the essence of its ingredients, uniquely created for this exquisite lunch.”

After his introduction, the director turned to the contestants with a beaming smile. “I wonder which of these two lunch options you all prefer?”

[Let me answer for them: Of course, it’s the rare, limited-edition steamed buns and premium fermented pickles aged for years to concentrate their essence!]
[Director, since I’m interning this year, could you write my resume? Just follow this standard!]
[The guests’ expressions: Director, if you’ve got nothing better to do, maybe visit a hospital? It seems like the perfect place for you.]
[Director, how’s my impression: “You’re so special. Unlike any steamed bun I’ve ever met plump, with an intoxicating aroma of wheat that defies reason…”]

The contestants: “…”

That was a great pitch, Director. You should keep it for yourself.

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