Rebirth: I became rich by farming

Chapter 615: Chapter 615: Scolded for Being Stingy (4/5)

As a result, just Yan Keke and He Yiran alone, they would have to prepare 300 mooncakes. Not to mention, the count on Pei Ziyu’s side hadn’t been tallied yet, but a boyfriend always has his privileges. Whatever amount he wants, she can provide at any time, with no need for reservations.

The flour needed for 300 mooncakes was readily available in her Spatial Mall. With just a few clicks, the mooncakes were made. After they were made, she replenished the used flour before checking on the finished mooncakes.

The completed mooncakes were piled up in a vacant area of the Spatial Mall. Although they didn’t look particularly numerous, they still took up a lot of space, and she had to make room for even more in the future. She first cleared out the storage cabinet in the Spatial Mall, shifting and stacking the items inside. After all, both the space and its storage cabinet could be operated by thought. By piling the original goods tighter, she managed to make enough room for the mooncakes.

Once the mooncakes were properly stored, Mei Mengzhen finally went to sleep, feeling at ease.

The next day, at the agreed time, Mei Mengzhen arrived at the parking lot and made her way to the makeup room. When she entered, Ji Chengnan had just finished with his styling. They exchanged simple greetings and said no more.

The two ladies who had styled her before were there to do her makeup again. Seeing them, Mei Mengzhen’s eyes lit up, and she greeted them warmly, "Morning, beauties!"

Being called a beauty was really sweet—both of them responded immediately: "Good morning, Teacher Mei."

Mei Mengzhen paused her step forward for two seconds, then continued naturally, though in truth, that title was too shocking for her. Even after being called it for several days, she still hadn’t fully accepted it.

Today, she would be filming the first scene in which the male lead sees her. She was dressed in an off-white and pale yellow brocaded silk jacket with arrow sleeves made of mango-fold fabric, worn over a grape-colored magnolia-patterned brocaded skirt. The undergarment swaying slightly was a crystal blue pleated lantern skirt. Draped over her shoulders was a pink double-sided embroidered cape. Her hair was done up in a round bun, and dangling from her ears were lilac jade earrings. Her slender, fair hands were adorned with a blue-patterned stone bracelet, and around her waist was a mocha-colored sash, holding an embroidered coin purse. She wore double-layer lotus flower embroidered satin shoes in a smoky cream color.

In this outfit, Mei Mengzhen looked delicate and graceful, matching her face perfectly. Even though they had seen her in this outfit before, they couldn’t hide their astonishment at how stunning she looked.

However, the discrepancy between some people’s appearances and personalities is vast. When she was silent, it was fine, but as soon as she spoke, Yan Keke and Fan Tianyu couldn’t hold back, "Zhenzhen, don’t talk, please. Such a pretty face, how could it come with a mouth like that?"

Yan Keke chimed in: "Exactly, when you don’t speak, you fit the image of Zhenzhen in my heart."

Though the costume was beautiful, putting it on was indeed time-consuming and laborious. Not to mention, the wig was extremely heavy. Ignoring their comments, Mei Mengzhen asked the two stylists, "How heavy is this headpiece? It feels like it’s really pressing down on my head."

The stylist responded quietly, "It’s about 4 or 5 pounds. I remember the wig alone is 4 pounds, and we’ve added some accessories to it as well. That should be roughly the weight."

With a weight of 4 or 5 pounds entirely on her head, could her neck really take it?

Mei Mengzhen quickly asked Huang Jing, "How many scenes do I have today?"

"Two scenes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, no costume change needed." Huang Jing meant to inform her that all scenes were set for the same day, so there was no need to change the costume, sparing the hassle. However, what Mei Mengzhen thought was that she had to bear the 4 or 5 pound headpiece for an entire day. Could her neck really withstand it?

But right now, the concern wasn’t about her neck.

After getting styled, Huang Jing took her to the set, as An Fang had requested, bringing her directly to his side.

When she arrived, Ji Chengnan’s scenes were still not finished. Puzzled, she inquired again to Huang Jing: "How many scenes does Teacher Ji have this morning? I remember you said it was just one scene. But one scene shouldn’t take long to shoot, right? I’ve been in makeup for 2 hours, and the scene still isn’t finished?"

Huang Jing had briefed her on such details before—usually, a single scene could be done in 15 minutes if the acting was good. Even with mediocre acting, half an hour might suffice. However, if the acting was poor, plus with the high demands of the director, the time required could be unpredictable.

Huang Jing whispered back, "Teacher Ji has just one scene. In theory, it shouldn’t take long, but... Teacher Ji is filming with Teacher Ren. That requires more time."

So, it was Ren Li who was delaying things. "How much longer will it be then? I’ll just wait here on the side... watching is fine, right? There’s nothing I need to do?"

Mainly because Ren Li couldn’t act, and neither could she. How could she keep calm and perform her parts when she watches another inexperienced actor making repeated mistakes?

"That’s why Director An said you could come two hours later. Otherwise, you’d have to get up at 5 a.m.," said Huang Jing, pausing for a moment before suggesting, "Why don’t you take out the script and go over it again, just to look the part and avoid getting scolded."

Mei Mengzhen was speechless, but she heeded Huang Jing’s advice and took the script (paper) into her hands.

...

Ren Li’s scenes took 2 consecutive hours to shoot and still weren’t over. The atmosphere on set plummeted to freezing, even somewhat solidified. Seeing this, even Yan Keke started to get nervous, "Zhenzhen, I have a feeling you’re going to get scolded."

"Is that just a feeling?" Isn’t getting scolded a certainty? She had mentally prepared herself for criticism when she took this role. But she felt somewhat guilty as the delay was substantial—surely she and Ren Li couldn’t take an entire day to finish today’s scenes, right? That would really set the schedule back.

Mei Mengzhen felt awkward for a moment, and her embarrassment deepened when An Fang, after scolding someone, saw her sitting to the side. An Fang tried to steady his emotions and asked her, "Are your lines memorized? Don’t just sit there, go over your script."

Mei Mengzhen quickly lifted her script paper higher, prompting An Fang to immediately close his mouth. Regardless of the performance, at least she looked prepared on the surface. An Fang didn’t press further, and Mei Mengzhen even glanced appreciatively at Huang Jing, thinking that indeed, long-timers on the crew knew the ropes.

But although An Fang didn’t scold her, he didn’t stop venting his frustration on others, lashing out at the photographers, the lighting crew... he gave everyone a piece of his mind, and his tone wasn’t as gentle as it had been with her. By then it was past 10 a.m., and the crew had been preparing since before dawn. Yet they hadn’t finished a single scene, and even Mei Mengzhen could understand An Fang’s frustration.