Chapter 55: The Fire and Smoke of the Mortal World, a Legend of the Marketplace

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Fire and Smoke of the Mortal World, a Legend of the Marketplace

"Push in."

Zhou Ling directed, her eyes glued to the image on the camera’s monitor.

As an executive director from the national broadcast station who had participated in filming a famous food documentary, Zhou Ling’s aesthetic sense and technical skills were in a class of their own.

Her shots always managed to capture a unique warmth and color—

What is a night market?

The clamorous noise? The acrid, oily smoke? The greasy environment?

It’s all of those things.

And yet, none of them.

It is the humble fare of streets and alleyways, the heart and soul of a bustling metropolis, a carefree legend of the common folk.

And within this night market, there was a fried rice stall that, as if equipped with its own filter, effortlessly stood out from its surroundings to become the focus of the lens.

It was the heart’s desire of countless diners, and a nexus where joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness intertwined.

What Zhou Ling wanted to film was not just how delicious the food was, but also the human emotions that were stirred by it.

She thought for a moment, took out her notebook, and jotted down:

’All the diners are saddened that this fried rice stall is coming to an end, but the owner, Nan Zhi, remains perfectly calm, using her delicious fried rice to soothe their taste buds and awaken their delight. Sorrow from fried rice, joy from fried rice—all things in life move in such cycles.’

Once they had filmed enough, Zhou Ling had her crew pack up the cameras, her mind bursting with inspiration.

...She practically wished she could rush back to the editing room that very moment!

"What day is Director Zhong coming back to the country again?" Zhou Ling asked.

"I think next Tuesday. But Sister Ling, are we really going to act first and report later? According to procedure, we’re supposed to wait for Director Zhong to come back, have a meeting to decide on the filming content, and then..."

"And then it’ll be too late."

Zhou Ling’s words left everyone speechless.

Filming a documentary is much more strenuous than filming a typical drama or variety show.

A single documentary might take over a year, flying all over the country to gather footage, or waiting for a ham to cure.

They had actually filmed most of the content for this new documentary. It was just this episode, themed "The World of the Night Market," that they hadn’t been able to nail down, which was why Zhou Ling had been traveling all over the country with her team.

So, now that Zhou Ling had finally seized upon this flicker of inspiration, how could she possibly let such a golden opportunity slip away just for the sake of procedural timing?

Zhou Ling said in a relaxed tone:

"Alright, when have you ever seen Director Zhong do things completely by the book? We’re in a creative field; we have to be bold and break the rules! Otherwise, we’d have to submit the topic for approval, discuss it in a meeting, and then slowly decide on a filming plan... Can you imagine how long that would take!"

Of course, Zhou Ling didn’t forget to add, "If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility."

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhou Ling glanced at her watch.

"It’s about time. Let’s head back to the station... Huh? Where’s Xiao Xie?"

The others exchanged awkward glances.

Finally, the prickly male colleague revealed the truth:

"They were craving the fried rice, so they sent Xiao Xie to get in line."

Zhou Ling froze on the spot!

The others were about to offer an explanation.

Then they heard Zhou Ling say in a panic:

"How could you only send Xiao Xie? Did you forget the fried rice stall has a purchase limit? One person can only buy two orders! That’s nowhere near enough to share!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. ’So *that* was her biggest worry?’

But on second thought, her concern was completely valid!

Someone immediately said:

"We were all busy working just now. How about we go get back in line?"

Zhou Ling shook her head and sighed.

"Too late."

The gears in her mind were already turning. ’If I use my connection with Fu Chao,’ she thought, ’could I buy a few extra orders of fried rice?’

Just then, the Xiao Xie they were talking about came running back, panting.

"I’m not late, am I... Oh, Sister Ling, are you done filming already?"

Zhou Ling asked impatiently:

"How many orders did you get?"

Xiao Xie: "Two... two orders."

"If we go back and get in line now..."

"It’s no use, Sister Ling. I was the third to last person. I heard the owner say she ran out of ingredients."

Everyone let out a long sigh of disappointment.

Even the prickly male colleague kept sneaking glances at the fried rice in Xiao Xie’s hands.

—In the face of absolute Food, not even the most cynical person had any resistance!

With no other choice, Zhou Ling and the others had to share the two precious orders of fried rice.

As a crew that filmed Food documentaries, they had tasted just about everything—expensive or cheap, famous or obscure... They had tried flavorful Food from all over the country!

They thought that no matter how good a serving of fried rice was, it was still just fried rice at the end of the day. There had to be a limit to how good it could be.

But reality slapped them in the face.

From the very first bite of fried rice, they couldn’t help but be amazed.

Then, the more they ate, the more fragrant it became; the more they savored it, the more captivated they were.

Before they could even begin to analyze the flavors, the container was already empty.

After they had scraped up every last grain of rice, their stomachs still felt empty.

They didn’t want to eat anything else; they just wanted more fried rice.

"Why don’t we come back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I don’t think we have enough footage from today. We should film some more."

"Agreed! We should come earlier! So we can, uh, film for longer!"

...And so, the decision was happily made!

After saying goodbye to Fu Chao and doting on Qing Xi for a bit, Zhou Ling prepared to leave.

Before she left, she made sure to see Nan Zhi and share the news:

"The footage we got just now was amazing! Thank you for agreeing to it!"

Nan Zhi beamed:

"Not at all. This is mutually beneficial."

Zhou Ling was taken aback for a moment, but then she gradually understood, and her smile grew even brighter.

"After we finish filming the documentary, I’ll treat you all to a meal!"

Nan Zhi didn’t refuse.

After Zhou Ling and her team left, Nan Zhi and Fu Chao also packed up their food cart and departed.

They turned off the livestream not long after leaving the night market.

Everyone was too tired to talk, so it wasn’t a good time to keep filming.

Fu Chao in particular was moving sluggishly, looking even more listless than their two little ones.

Nan Zhi asked, "What’s wrong with you?"

Fu Chao sighed. "It’s such a shame. We missed such a great opportunity."

"Huh? Didn’t I already agree to the filming?"

"Just filming for two or three days is nowhere near enough!"

In fact, Zhou Ling had proposed two options earlier—

The first, which was the one they were currently doing, was to only film B-roll. Nan Zhi wouldn’t be featured directly, 90% of the footage would likely be cut, and in the end, she might get a few minutes of screen time in the documentary.

But the second option was to make Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall the main subject, filming for about a month. In the final product, at least a quarter of an episode would be dedicated to Nan Zhi!

Anyone could see that the second option was better!

But Nan Zhi’s fried rice stall was about to close down, so there simply wasn’t a month’s time for filming.

So they could only settle for the next best thing and choose the first option.

Just thinking about it made Fu Chao feel a sense of regret.

Nan Zhi, however, was unconcerned:

"I wasn’t really running a stall for a living anyway. Even if the documentary becomes a hit later, it won’t have much to do with me."