Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen
On the other side, Yan Shu ended his livestream on time and quickly lay down in bed.
For his first livestream, he surprisingly gained over three hundred followers, and there were many private messages in the background.
He had carefully read each message. Some expressed their admiration for him, praising his embroidery skills, while a few asked if he accepted custom orders, as they wanted to purchase an embroidered piece.
Yan Shu knew the purpose of his livestream ultimately was to make money and profit from it.
When it came to embroidered products on the market, they were divided into several categories. There were ordinary industrial products with low prices, made in assembly-line workshops for quick production. Pure handmade crafts were time-consuming, labour-intensive, and therefore more expensive, with slower production times.
Lastly, there were master-level artistic pieces, infused with the designer’s soul, which couldn’t be measured by price. Even if they were priced exorbitantly, collectors would still purchase them.
Yan Shu’s grandmother belonged to the last category. The pieces she truly sold were few and far between. As she grew older, each piece took several years to complete, with some even considered not for sale.
If Yan Shu wanted to earn money through embroidery, he first needed to identify his target customers.
Should he quickly produce simple embroidery pieces and sell them cheaply, or should he focus solely on high-end custom orders?
Yan Shu hardly needed to think about this; he would inevitably choose the latter.
No artisan would willingly undersell their own work. Yan Shu’s standard for himself had always been: to become an embroiderer like his grandmother, capable of passing down this craft and culture.
Regarding high-end custom orders, there were also subcategories. Different designs and sizes of embroidery would have varying prices.
Yan Shu hadn’t made a concrete decision yet, so he hadn’t replied to the private messages in the background.
There were many things he needed to handle, but he decided to leave them for tomorrow.
Putting down his phone obediently, Yan Shu closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.
After a long day, Yan Shu slept soundly. The next day, he woke up an hour earlier than usual.
It was only 6 AM when Yan Shu got up to wash up and was surprised to see his grandmother already preparing to go out with a bamboo basket on her back.
Yan Shu hadn’t seen his grandmother leave this early before and couldn’t help but call out, “Grandma, where are you going?”
“Awake already, Shu-er? You’re up quite early today! Grandma is going to the nearby mountains to gather some herbs. Every month, I take a day to search around the mountains,” explained Zhou Huaixiu.
Yan Shu noticed that the sky hadn’t fully brightened yet, feeling somewhat worried about his grandmother going out alone. Although his grandmother was very familiar with this mountain, Yan Shu kindly offered, “Grandma, I’d like to go too. I’ll help you gather herbs.”
With her beloved grandson making this request, Zhou Huaixiu naturally didn’t refuse. She immediately agreed, saying, “Alright, I’ll wait for you. Our mountain is a treasure trove, with medicinal herbs everywhere. Some are used for external applications, and I prefer to personally make them, which is more effective than what you’d find in a pharmacy.”
This was the first time Yan Shu had heard Zhou Huaixiu talk about something other than embroidery.
After quickly washing up and changing his clothes, Yan Shu also grabbed a bamboo basket and headed out with his grandmother.
“Since my grandfather’s generation, our family has been involved in medicine. They have many traditional herbal remedies they developed themselves, which are especially effective. By the time it reached my father’s generation, we only had a few pages left, but fortunately, those pages are still preserved at home. Especially the herbal remedies for treating bruises and injuries – grandma isn’t exaggerating, the specially prepared medicine made from these exclusive formulas works wonders!” Zhou Huaixiu sighed with a hint of regret.
Yan Shu enjoyed listening to his grandmother talk about the past. He never would have imagined that his ancestors were not only skilled artisans but also knowledgeable in medicine.
Yan Shu knew that gathering herbs was a habit his grandmother continued to preserve the traditional herbal remedies, despite the advanced state of modern medicine.
“Good, look at this. This is the herb for treating bruises, also known as the broadleaf plantain. We have this herb in our medicinal recipe. They are all along the road; when you see them, pick them and put them in the basket,” Zhou Huaixiu pointed to a plant by the roadside and patiently explained the origin of its name to Yan Shu.
Although Yan Shu was born in ancient times, he had no knowledge about herbs. Therefore, after listening to his grandmother’s explanations, he couldn’t help but admire her even more.
“In our yard, there’s a plot of land where we grow medicinal herbs. You probably haven’t noticed it’s a medicinal herb garden, have you? Inside, we grow herbs from the medicinal recipes. Later, we’ll take the herbs we gather today and the ones at home, and I’ll take the time today to make them into a paste to store. I’ll give you a jar of it later,” Zhou Huaixiu continued.
“No need, Grandma. I probably won’t need it,” Yan Shu replied, afraid that his grandmother would worry too much and strain herself. He was still young and unlikely to sprain his ankle just walking.
“These are essential items for daily life. In our journey through life, there will always be times when we need them. It’s good to be prepared,” Zhou Huaixiu reminded casually with delicate consideration.
The grandmother and grandson spent half an hour gathering herbs along the way, and before they knew it, they had inadvertently approached the filming location of the “Sword Mountain Blood Jade” crew for the day.
The crew members and actors on set were focused on their work and hadn’t noticed anyone on the small path hidden by trees.
For the old lady who had never left her hometown, seeing people come to their village to shoot a film for the first time felt quite unusual.
She stretched her neck to look and saw people in ancient costumes being suspended in the air, flying back and forth on ropes, occasionally somersaulting in mid-air.
“Oh my, this requires some serious skill! It’s easy to get injured if you’re not careful. Acting is indeed hard work,” Zhou Huaixiu was astonished by the martial arts actors’ movements, her mouth wide open.
Yan Shu had experienced the difficulty of filming before he left the circle, so seeing the busy scene on set didn’t surprise him like it did his grandmother.
Instead, he thought of someone…
Wei Tingxiao was in this crew, and he had been staying at their lodging during this time.
Yan Shu wondered if Teacher Wei was on set today.
If Teacher Wei didn’t have scenes to shoot today, he probably wouldn’t stay here—
“Director! Is this scene not finished yet? How about we shoot my scenes next? I promise not to NG so many times today!”
Yan Shu: “…”
Just as Yan Shu was about to finish his inner monologue, that familiar voice arrived.
Unseen but heard first.
A man walked over from a distance and stopped right in the center of Yan Shu’s view, seemingly discussing something with the director. After a while, the director lightly tapped the movie star’s head with the script.
Wei Tingxiao showed no intention of avoiding it and even had a look on his face…
…that begged for a scolding.
Yan Shu: “…”
Yan Shu had never seen Wei Tingxiao in this state before, exuding a lazy aura but laughing heartily and occasionally teasing the director, making him both laugh and scold in return.
This version of Wei Tingxiao was different from the one at his house that day, but they both emitted an irresistible charm.
An indescribable feeling, like the brightest star in the night sky, in short, it was dazzling.
Even on that rainy day when he looked a bit disheveled, it didn’t change the impression of a handsome man that Yan Shu had of him.
Perhaps, Yan Shu had a filter on Wei Tingxiao from the very beginning.
Since the day they entered the hot and sour noodle shop together, some feelings quietly began to grow.
“That young man in there is the most handsome, he must be the main character.”
The old lady had quite a sharp eye, although she didn’t know Wei Tingxiao, she could immediately identify his position in the crew.
“Yes, he is the male lead,” Yan Shu nodded in agreement.
“My grandson knows quite well, huh? Is he an actor you’re familiar with? Grandma doesn’t watch much TV, so I’m not sure,” Zhou Huaixiu said with a smile.
Seeing Yan Shu staring without blinking, she guessed if this actor was her grandson’s idol?
Yan Shu’s eyes sparkled, as if he had finally found something he understood, and began to enlighten his grandmother.
“Teacher Wei is a huge star. When I was in the capital city, his posters and images were everywhere on the streets. He’s quite prominent in the entertainment industry.”
“Oh, I knew such a handsome young man couldn’t be just an ordinary actor. So, he’s well-known to everyone? It seems Grandma has fallen behind the times,” Zhou Huaixiu remarked.
It was the first time Zhou Huaixiu had heard Yan Shu praise someone like this, feeling very curious. She continued to go along with Yan Shu’s words, joining in with admiration later on.
Before shooting the next scene, Wei Tingxiao sneezed several times in a row, and Xiao Lin quickly handed him a tissue.
“The outdoor temperature is still quite low. Xiaoge, be careful not to catch a cold. I’ll make you some ginger soup, and you must drink it immediately after you finish shooting.”
Wei Tingxiao blew his nose, “I’m not sick; my nose just suddenly felt itchy. Don’t work too hard, once we start filming, your body will warm up.”
He had been filming fight scenes continuously these days, coming home every day covered in dirt.
Just now, he had learned a new set of movements, tried it out with his opponent, and they were about to start filming for real.
Once the script supervisor marked his scene, he rushed out, and the camera followed his actions.
He and his opponent quickly exchanged blows, and at the end, the opponent needed to throw him over his shoulder. Wei Tingxiao had to use his own strength to flip himself in the air, then land on the ground.
The props team had prepared a few mats in advance, so Wei Tingxiao only needed to focus on his positioning and throw himself onto them.
Unexpectedly, he got a bit carried away and didn’t control the force of his fall properly. One side of his elbow didn’t land on the mat, and he had to push himself up on the ground with force.
The scene went smoothly, shot seamlessly in one go, and could be used directly.
Wei Tingxiao ended up twisting his elbow on the spot, and it was his right elbow that got twisted.
Just as Xiao Lin finished making ginger soup, his family’s brother got injured again.
He lamented, remembering how Xiao-ge had stitches on his left arm last time, and now he had twisted his right elbow.
After finishing filming over these three months, would Xiao-ge still be whole when he came down from the mountain?
“Oh my, I knew it. Those who film action scenes are the most prone to injuries, and look, he’s injured now?” Zhou Huaixiu exclaimed in shock.
Yan Shu’s heart skipped a beat too, looking over with worry.
A group of crew members went over to handle it, and Wei Tingxiao was surrounded to the point where he couldn’t be seen.
The crew had a dedicated on-set doctor, and Wei Tingxiao… should be fine, right?
“Come on, let’s go. There’s nothing we can do by staying here, and it might disrupt their work,” Zhou Huaixiu said, noticing the time was getting late. She still had to make breakfast when she got back, urging Yan Shu to leave.
“Mm…” Indeed… there was nothing they could do to help.
On the way back, Yan Shu remained quite silent.
Zhou Huaixiu saw that her grandson was distracted, and after some thought, she said, “Grandma will go back to make the bruise ointment. If you’re really worried about your little Teacher Wei, when Grandma finishes making it, you can give him a jar.”
“Really? Grandma!” Yan Shu’s drooping spirit suddenly perked up.
“Of course, for someone our dear boy likes, Grandma will find a way to help. I guarantee that if he uses Grandma’s ointment, he’ll be able to continue filming the next day,” Zhou Huaixiu reassured.
Yan Shu suddenly blushed and said, “He’s not someone I like, just… someone I want to be friends with.”
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