In the kitchen.
Chen Feng had already changed into his costume.
But he wasn't wearing makeup.
The director just wanted to see his demeanor.
Any role, even a mere extra, requires you to get into character.
Once you get into character, you naturally get into the role.
So, a crowd of people gathered at the kitchen entrance.
Lights, cameras, and equipment were in place.
The director sat outside, watching the monitor.
The female lead, Qu Dan, also squeezed in at the entrance to watch.
Standing beside her was the young man she brought.
The young man looked at Chen Feng's back and whispered to the female lead, "Sister, what should we do about this?"
"Let's just watch first."
Qu Dan replied softly, "He's also very young. It's not that easy to imitate a chef's demeanor. Don't worry."
"Alright, sister."
In the kitchen.
With the clapboard operator's shout, "Action!"
Filming began.
In front of the stove.
Chen Feng skillfully turned on the fire and heated the wok.
He was going to fry a plate of egg-fried rice, a very common dish.
The director, of course, wasn't concerned with how delicious the egg-fried rice tasted, but whether Chen Feng truly had the demeanor of a chef.
As soon as he saw Chen Feng lifting the wok and wielding the spatula on the monitor, his eyes immediately lit up.
This was the feeling.
On the monitor.
Chen Feng stood in front of the stove, his movements as smooth and fluid as flowing clouds and water.
Heating the wok, swirling the oil.
Then pouring it out and adding fresh cold oil.
He casually picked up an egg and, with the most classic chef's technique, gently squeezed it with one hand, directly cracking the shell and dropping the egg into the hot oil.
One, two, three, four, five.
Then, he began to quickly scramble the eggs.
His hand speed was extremely fast.
At the same time, he held a rag in one hand, gripping the iron wok, and began to toss the rice.
Those movements...
They were truly a delight to behold.
A real chef should look exactly like this.
The director smiled.
He unconsciously nodded.
Meanwhile, the crowd gathered at the entrance also exchanged glances and all nodded in agreement.
This was very natural.
No matter how they looked at it, he resembled a chef.
Qu Dan's expression was a bit grim.
Could this guy have been a chef before?
Otherwise, how could he act so convincingly?
His wok-tossing was too natural. With this level, without three to five years of chef experience, it would be impossible to toss like that, right?
This was a disaster.
The key was that she hadn't expected the casting assistant director to actually find him.
Soon, the kitchen work was finished.
A plate of egg-fried rice was done.
When Chen Feng scooped the fried rice from the large iron ladle, his movements were both nimble and quick.
When only a small amount remained in the wok, Chen Feng even showed off a bit, extending the long iron ladle backward, scraping it forcefully in the iron wok, then circling it back to the stove with a reverse grip, and pouring the fried rice from the ladle onto the plate.
Even most professional chefs might not be able to execute this move well.
Many, when attempting this scrape, fail to control the force and angle, often spilling it everywhere.
At the entrance.
The casting assistant director's face was beaming.
This was professional.
He couldn't find any fault with it.
One could say, this guy was practically a chef, wasn't he?
At this moment.
Chen Feng shouted without turning his head, "The fried rice is ready."
This was his first line.
He delivered it very naturally.
After waiting for two minutes, Chen Feng looked back towards the entrance and shouted loudly, "Xia, the fried rice is ready. Take it out to the customer."
As soon as he finished speaking, a shout came from outside, "Cut."
The audition was over.
The casting assistant director was the first to walk in, patting Chen Feng's shoulder and smiling, "Good, this feeling is spot on."
Chen Feng had already exited his chef state.
He quickly smiled and humbly replied, "Thank you, Assistant Director."
At this moment, the director also came over.
Although his face maintained a serious expression, his eyes didn't lie.
He was very satisfied.
After reaching the kitchen entrance, he directly shouted, "He's the one. Get his makeup on quickly. Let's do a proper take. And... Xiao Chen, fry another plate of egg-fried rice, I hope the feeling doesn't change, just that feeling from before is perfect."
After speaking, he turned and shouted to everyone, "Everyone to your positions. Xiao Qu, finish your scene, quickly."
"Oh."
Qu Dan's voice revealed her reluctance.
But she didn't have the final say.
Helpless, she could only pat the arm of the young man she brought, signaling him to leave first.
At least she had to finish her scene.
So, the makeup artist applied makeup to Chen Feng.
A chef from this kind of old restaurant needed to look greasy and disheveled all over.
The director stood by, offering makeup suggestions.
After hearing a few of his comments, Chen Feng knew that this young director was a very meticulous person.
He paid close attention to details.
If the script for this low-budget TV series was decent, Chen Feng felt it should be quite good.
The soul of a drama, in fact, largely lies with the director.
The actors are secondary.
After giving his pointers, the director prepared to leave.
As he left, he glanced at the egg-fried rice Chen Feng had just finished, and as if by some strange impulse, he went over and took it away.
...
About ten minutes later.
Official filming began.
The clapboard operator clapped, and the lighting and camera crew got busy.
Chen Feng didn't show his face.
He was just cooking inside.
At the kitchen entrance.
Qu Dan, playing a Cinderella-type female lead, was squatting on the ground washing vegetables.
The camera was focused on her.
Occasionally, it would pan to Chen Feng behind her.
Outside.
The director sat in front of the monitor, watching, but his left hand was holding a plate, and his right hand held a rice spoon, as he ravenously devoured the egg-fried rice.
He didn't even realize it himself.
He was eating it with such relish.
...
More than two hours later.
Qu Dan's scene was finally passed.
Judging by the director's expression, it was probably a reluctant approval.
During that hour or so, Chen Feng had fried a total of twelve plates of egg-fried rice.
To be honest, his arm was really tired.
But that was how he felt when he switched back from the chef state.
When he was in the chef state, he didn't feel any weakness at all.
It was magical.
Afterward, they shot a few more short segments, which didn't take much time.
It was soon lunchtime.
Seeing the tables outside filled with egg-fried rice, the director gave an order: everyone would eat egg-fried rice for lunch today.
Bento boxes were canceled.
So, everyone ate egg-fried rice for lunch.
When the crowd took their first bite, their pores instantly opened up.
Holy moly!
This egg-fried rice was delicious.
Each grain of rice was distinct, the saltiness was just right, the egg wrapped around the rice grains, combined with some chopped green onions, it tasted soft, savory, and fragrant, completely winning over the entire crew.
The casting assistant director sat beside Chen Feng and asked with a smile, "Xiao Chen, have you ever been a chef before?"
"No."
Chen Feng replied casually.
"No?"
The casting assistant director looked bewildered, "You really haven't?"
"Really haven't."
Chen Feng shrugged, "After graduating from film school, I've just been an extra. I've never been a chef, but I like to cook in my daily life. So, I just happen to have this skill."
"Oh, I see."
The casting assistant director nodded, genuinely giving a thumbs up, "Young man, you're good. At least your egg-fried rice is amazing."
Chen Feng said nonchalantly, "Egg-fried rice is nothing. I can cook all the dishes from the Eight Major Cuisines, and I can also make state banquet dishes, even the Manchu Han Imperial Feast."
"Pfft."
The casting assistant director spat out all his rice.