Extra 6
Chen Jian sat at the front desk, looking at the booking situation on the computer while stroking Mushroom, who was sitting next to his chair.
More than half of the rooms were booked. In fact, there was no need to look at this information repeatedly, but he still liked to look at it when he had nothing to do. It gave him a sense of satisfaction and security.
The security of being able to make money.
Chen Jian was on break today, but he was basically always at the shop on his breaks, becoming a screw that went wherever it was needed. This time, he was just covering for Hu Pan, who was eating breakfast.
But Hu Pan ate faster than usual and came over with a small piece still in her mouth.
“I’ll take it,” Hu Pan said. “A small group is checking in later. Seven rooms. They already called and said they’ll arrive around eight.”
“Can’t I handle it?” Chen Jian stood up and gave her the seat.
“You’re not as fast as me,” Hu Pan said, finishing the last bite of her pancake and wiping her hands. “By the way, there’s something else today. Liu Wu helped us edit the pilot episode. I’ll send it to our group chat after he gives it to me. You should take a look.”
“Pilot episode?” Chen Jian was taken aback. “A five-minute web series, and it has a pilot episode? Even a trailer would be an overreaction, right?”
“I think it’s just a trailer. The other materials are still being edited. They’ll be out soon too. Liu Wu is just being fancy by calling it a pilot. Isn’t that how it is these days? Someone even called yesterday and asked who the manager of our guesthouse is. I almost didn’t understand,” Hu Pan said.
“You are the front desk manager,” Chen Jian said.
“Chen Erhu is the fire safety manager,” Hu Pan said. “Sanbing is the security manager, Lao Wu is the cleaning manager, and Lao Si is…”
“The enforcer,” Chen Jian said.
“Ahahaha!” Hu Pan laughed loudly.
At that moment, the enforcer, Lao Si, walked by with a carton of milk and glanced at her. “What’s wrong? Why are you laughing like that?”
“I said you’re the enforcer,” Hu Pan said.
“Who can beat Boss Shan?” Lao Si asked.
“He’s the kind of person called a master,” Hu Pan said. “It’s not the same title as you.”
Lao Si clicked his tongue and walked away, sipping his milk.
Chen Jian had originally wanted to stay at the front desk to help Hu Pan. Seven rooms meant more than ten people. But Sanbing, after finishing his breakfast, stood by the front desk.
Chen Jian had no choice but to leave.
But at around eight, when he was tidying up the message board in the courtyard, a group of people walked into the courtyard. The small group had arrived. He was taken aback.
This was a group of college students.
But they were not the happy-go-lucky type like Liu Wu and his friends.
Besides their regular travel backpacks, each person was also carrying a box…
“What are they doing?” Chen Jian couldn’t help but ask.
“You don’t understand,” the cleaning manager said as he swept the floor. “This group is here to paint, to do some sketching. Their tools are in those boxes.”
“Oh,” Chen Jian glanced at Lao Wu. “You know a lot, huh?”
“Tingting told me. She used to love painting, but her circumstances didn’t allow it…” Lao Wu looked at the students who were walking into the lobby one after another. “I don’t know how she is now.”
“Did she block you?” Chen Jian asked.
“No,” Lao Wu said. “But when I talk to her, she doesn’t reply much.”
“Did she block you on Moments?” Chen Jian asked again.
Lao Wu glared at him. After a while, he said, “No.”
“So?” Chen Jian also looked at him.
“She’s started working,” Lao Wu said. “At a small clothing store.”
“Isn’t that good? She’s doing well now,” Chen Jian said.
“You don’t understand,” Lao Wu sighed deeply, his eyes a little dazed. “The ‘how she is’ I’m talking about is not this kind, it’s…”
“With a stable livelihood, things will gradually get better,” Chen Jian said. “Any kind of ‘how she is’ will be good.”
“Maybe,” Lao Wu said faintly.
“Next time you film, have Panpan change your role,” Chen Jian said, walking into the house. “It feels like you’re having trouble getting out of character.”
As he entered the house, he almost collided with a guest who was coming out.
“I’m sorry,” Chen Jian quickly moved aside and apologized to the guest.
“It’s okay. I was just about to ask you something,” the guest said. “You’re quite familiar with the mountain paths, right?”
Chen Jian glanced at this guest and found that he was the connected person who had come with Captain Huo, named Kou Chen.
Chen Jian had a deeper impression of him because of his equipment, which, according to the worldly Sun Nana, was much more expensive than the others’, and by a significant amount.
But now, as he stood in front of Chen Jian in his high-end gear, Captain Huo and the others had already set off for almost two hours.
“Mr. Kou,” Chen Jian said. “Aren’t you going with Captain Huo and the others?”
“I woke up late,” Kou Chen yawned. “And it took me half an hour to pack… Today is the last route. Do you know which one it is?”
Even if I knew, I wouldn’t dare to tell you.
What if it takes you half an hour to pack?
“That one…” Chen Jian hesitated. “I roughly know…”
“It’s fine, you can do it,” Kou Chen said. “Huo Ran and the others will leave markers. I can just follow them.”
“I understand,” Chen Jian looked around. “Sanbing!”
“Hey!”
“Have Erhu help with the check-in for now,” Chen Jian said. “You take Mr. Kou to the route Captain Huo and the others are on today. It’s the one past Chen Massage’s forest.”
“Alright,” Sanbing nodded.
“Sanbing will take you there on his motorcycle,” Chen Jian said.
“Isn’t that too much trouble?” Kou Chen looked at Sanbing.
“It’s no trouble, brother,” Sanbing said, taking out his car keys. “It’s a ten-minute thing. I can save you some time by taking you there.”
Kou Chen looked at Sanbing’s motorcycle, a little embarrassed, but still asked bluntly, “How long has it been since you last washed this bike?”
“If you fall on your butts twice in the mountains, it’ll be dirtier than this,” Sanbing said, getting on the bike. “Let’s go, brother.”
Kou Chen sighed and got on the bike.
As the bike drove out of the courtyard gate, it bumped, and a flashlight fell out of Kou Chen’s bag.
…This means that he couldn’t even pack his bag properly in half an hour.
Just as Chen Jian was about to shout, he threw out a sentence, “I don’t want it! I have a spare one.”
After the car had left, Chen Jian was still worried and called Huo Ran again to tell him that Kou Chen had entered the mountain.
“I left markers for him,” Huo Ran said. “Let him follow them.”
“Mhm,” Chen Jian added cautiously, “He should be there in about ten minutes. Please estimate the time.”
“Thank you,” Huo Ran laughed.
“You’re welcome,” Chen Jian also laughed.
“Is Manager Chen busy?” Shan Yu’s voice came from behind his head.
“Hey,” Chen Jian was startled and turned his head to see Shan Yu holding a cup of coffee. “What’s up, President Shan?”
“Let’s go to your house,” Shan Yu said, holding a camera. “I’ll take some pictures. In a few days, we’ll contact someone to rebuild it. Let’s keep a souvenir.”
Your house.
My house.
Chen Jian’s house.
This way of referring to his house, specifically his house, was something Chen Jian hadn’t heard in a long time.
In these years, when they talked about ‘your house’ or ‘my house’, it basically referred to Chen Jian and his father.
When Shan Yu said “your house”, Chen Jian felt as if he were wrapped in a sun-warmed blanket.
“Mhm,” he nodded.
It was actually very close from the guesthouse to “his house”. But for so long, besides going back to see his mother, he basically never went there.
As he drove the motorcycle with Shan Yu towards the village, the wind blowing on his face was warm.
On the way, he met a few people from the same village. Seeing Chen Jian, they all asked the same question.
“Going home?”
“Are you going to see your old house?”
“Is Chen Jian going home?”
Mhm.
Yes.
Chen Jian smiled and nodded.
The old house was still the same, probably a little older. But because spring had arrived, the damaged foundation and walls were covered with patches of green new shoots, looking different from how it did in winter.
Shan Yu stood with him at the main entrance and looked for a long time.
“You can go in,” Shan Yu said, raising his camera. “I’ll take a couple of pictures.”
“Where did you get the camera?” Chen Jian asked as he walked forward, turning his head back.
Shan Yu pressed the shutter. “The company bought it. We need it for work.”
Chen Jian smiled and walked through the door.
The door frame was half-fallen, and the door couldn’t be closed. Because the doors and windows were all gone, the light inside was very good. Chen Jian walked to the window, leaned against it, and looked out.
Shan Yu pressed the shutter again.
“Doesn’t it look like a horror movie?” Chen Jian asked.
An old, dilapidated house by the forest, with a person standing in the window.
“It might be with someone else,” Shan Yu said, looking at him through the viewfinder. “But when a handsome guy stands there like that, it’s a literary film.”
Chen Jian started laughing.
Taking pictures was Shan Yu’s job. Chen Jian walked around the house for a bit and then came out, sitting on the half-broken courtyard wall and watching him circle the house.
He took pictures of the front, back, left, and right, and also went inside to take pictures. He even went up to the second floor to take a few pictures of the surrounding scenery.
“The view from your house is not bad,” Shan Yu said, standing on the second-floor balcony and looking at him. “A forest-side restaurant would be nice. The first floor for business, the second floor for living.”
“If we can really do it,” Chen Jian said, “my dad can come back.”
“If you want to do it, just do it. It doesn’t cost that much. We can even do the road to Shannan. Why can’t we do it here?” Shan Yu said. “We can also get a few more characteristic houses in the village, by the water, by the mountain, by the forest. That’s all of them. We can also find someone to partner with to share the cost.”
“Who?” Chen Jian asked. “He Liang and the others?”
“Mhm,” Shan Yu said, turning and walking downstairs. “They’ve been looking for suitable spots in the village.”
“He can’t negotiate it,” Chen Jian immediately said. “The village is not that open-minded. They only recognize Director Lu and big companies. It’s not easy for these outside, miscellaneous bosses to negotiate.”
“So we can also make conditions when we cooperate with him,” Shan Yu said.
“What conditions?” Chen Jian immediately became a little wary. Shan Yu wouldn’t mess around with big things, but it was hard to say whether a few farmhouse restaurants were a big deal to him.
“Don’t worry. I’m a proper businessman now,” Shan Yu said. “I’m a bit ruthless, but I won’t be ridiculous.”
“You’d better be,” Chen Jian said.
His phone buzzed. It was a group message.
Hu Pan had sent a video to the group.
“Damn, she sent it,” Chen Jian said. “Want to see it?”
“What?” Shan Yu walked over.
“The… pilot episode that Liu Wu edited,” Chen Jian said.
“Where did she send it?” Shan Yu asked.
“In the group,” Chen Jian said.
“Which group?” Shan Yu asked, leaning against the half-wall next to him.
“…The Dayingroup,” Chen Jian glanced at his phone. This group had all the Dayinemployees, except for Boss Shan.
“I’m not in the group,” Shan Yu said.
“The Dayingroup,” Chen Jian cleared his throat. “Aren’t you from Xijian Company?”
“Alright,” Shan Yu nodded. “Then kick Manager Sun out.”
“Manager Sun… sometimes still has to be in charge of Da Yin’s housekeeping,” Chen Jian said.
“I’m still the boss of Da Yin!” Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
“You even gave me your office,” Chen Jian said.
“Hey?” Shan Yu looked at him.
Chen Jian started laughing. “Then should I add you to the group?”
“Forget it,” Shan Yu sat down next to him. “You’ll just add me to the group and then create another group without me… Let’s watch the video.”
Chen Jian opened the video.
The video’s cover was quite cool. It was a black screen, with a mysterious Shan Yu in a black coat, black hat, and black mask barely visible.
Liu Wu, full of love for his cousin, had photoshopped the only feature of his that was showing. Shan Yu’s eyes looked very beautiful.
The opening scene was Mushroom running along a small mountain path, then sitting down. The screen shrank into a circle, leaving only Mushroom’s head. Then Mushroom yawned in the circle.
Freeze frame.
Below the circle were four letters: HYDY.
“Hao Ya Da Ya,” Shan Yu said. “What is this?”
“You’re quite cute. It’s Hongye Da Yin,” Chen Jian glanced at him, a little speechless. “This was something Liu Wu thought of on the spot. We can change it later.”
“It’s good,” Shan Yu nodded.
After the opening, the screen went black. Then a bolt of lightning flashed across, and in the thunder, a white-robed… white-sheeted figure ran from far to near.
Sanbing’s face suddenly appeared from the darkness, illuminated by a flashlight he was holding.
A line of small vertical characters appeared next to him, revealing his identity and name.
Secret Agent: Chen Sanbing.
“This is the place,” Chen Sanbing’s gaze was firm as he looked at the camera. “The intelligence is accurate.”
As he turned his head, the camera panned up, and Da Yin’s sign lit up in mid-air.
As the sign appeared, the background music and a voice sounded at the same time.
“Welcome to Da Yin!”
“How many guests? Are you staying or just having a meal?”
…
Then Sanbing waved his hand, lifted the bedsheet, and walked into the courtyard with small, mincing steps.
A clap of thunder followed, and Chen Sanbing let out a shout, “Ah!”
He then fell to the ground.
“He was struck by lightning as soon as he appeared?” Shan Yu asked.
“I don’t know,” Chen Jian held back his laughter.
Three people appeared, one with a bedsheet on his head, one with a bedsheet tied around his waist, and one with a pillowcase tied to his arm.
The subtitles appeared at the same time.
Chief Guardian: Chen Hu.
Left Guardian: Liu Asi.
Right Guardian: Chen Xiaowu.
“Hmph!” Chen Hu, with the bedsheet on his head, snorted. “He’s indeed a secret agent!”
“How did you know?” Shan Yu asked.
“Drag him out and bury him,” Chen Hu said.
“Don’t we need to finish him off?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Xiaowu, with the bedsheet around his waist, and Liu Asi, with the pillowcase on his arm, jumped over and dragged Chen Sanbing out of the courtyard.
As Sanbing was being dragged out, his legs kicked twice. It was unclear whether he was acting out a struggle or if it was a blooper where he was helping Chen Erhu and the others.
“Buried alive?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian was shaking with laughter.
With a transition, the camera cut to the interior. The background voices grew louder, and the lighting became brighter.
“Hello, guest. Your soybean juice!” Hu Pan came out with a tray, on which was a cup of coffee.
The subtitles lit up.
Bartender: Hu Mianbao.
Hu Mianbao walked into the coffee shop and placed the coffee in front of a guest.
The guest was a big brother. He picked up the “soybean juice” and sniffed it, then slapped his thigh. “Good juice!”
A line of small characters appeared at the bottom of the screen: All guests appearing in this drama have given their permission.
“Quite rigorous,” Chen Jian said.
“They actually got a guest to cooperate,” Shan Yu said. “They might as well have them shoot some cleaning scenes.”
“That’s too ruthless, boss,” Chen Jian said.
Hu Mianbao’s attire was much more high-end compared to the two bedsheet wearers. She had a shawl on her head, which was tied into a flower, like a bride’s headdress.
Then the camera followed Hu Mianbao to the outside of the kitchen.
“Today’s food is really delicious,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Repetition doesn’t count,” a person turned out from the kitchen, with a silk scarf tied on her head and two kitchen knives in her hands. “You’re the third one. I remember it in my heart.”
The white subtitles turned blood red.
Cook: Zhao Fangfang.
“The only one with a real name,” Shan Yu said.
“They’ve found us,” Hu Mianbao said, placing the tray on the table.
“There’s no escaping,” Zhao Fangfang said in a deep voice, placing a green pepper on the tray. “This day will come sooner or later. It seems I am destined not to fulfill my dream…”
“Does this green pepper have any symbolic meaning?” Shan Yu asked.
“It expresses Liu Wu’s homesickness,” Chen Jian said.
“He doesn’t eat spicy food. Whose home is he homesick for,” Shan Yu said.
“No,” Hu Pan-Mianbao slammed her fist on the green pepper.
The next second was a shot of the green pepper being smashed to pieces.
“It expresses Hu Mianbao’s profound inner strength,” Chen Jian corrected himself.
“We will definitely realize your dream,” Hu Mianbao said.
“Who!” Zhao Fangfang raised her knife and looked towards the main entrance.
The camera panned over with a whoosh.
Chen Jian walked in from the courtyard entrance, glanced coldly at the camera, and then walked out of the frame.
The subtitles returned to white font.
Shopkeeper: Chen Dian Dian (Dian Dian).
“Why do I have parentheses?” Chen Jian asked.
“It’s cool,” Shan Yu said. “When was this shot taken?”
“I don’t know,” Chen Jian said. “Panpan said she shot it at least seven or eight times, both day and night. I don’t know which take they used…”
“Does he know?” Zhao Fangfang asked.
“Don’t worry,” Hu Mianbao said. “As long as he’s here, it’s safe.”
“Whoa,” Shan Yu said.
The camera turned again, from night to day.
The shot from far to near showed the small path at the entrance of Da Yin.
Chen Sanbing, draped in a bedsheet, woke up from his coma and was lying by the courtyard wall.
“Wasn’t he buried?” Chen Jian asked.
“If you don’t finish him off, he’ll come back to life,” Shan Yu said.
“I will not…” Chen Sanbing propped himself up with one hand on the wall and the other on his chest, struggling to stand. He was still a little wobbly. “be killed so easily.”
Then he waved his hand, and as the bedsheet flew up, he walked into the courtyard again.
A black shadow appeared, in a black coat and black mask. A black hat covered the last of his features.
Unlike before, there were no identity subtitles when this person appeared.
Chen Jian felt that if there were, it would probably be—
Mysterious Person: Shan Ban Ban.
Shan Hei Hei.
Shan Hei Yi.
…
The man in black didn’t speak, just swung the baseball bat in his hand fiercely at the camera.
The bat spun towards the camera, and with a thud, it seemed to have hit something, and then it spun back into the man in black’s hand.
Then the screen went black, and only Chen Sanbing’s miserable scream could be heard.
“Ah!”
“He’s dead again?” Shan Yu asked.
Liu Wu’s script has some personal grudges in it.
Then two large characters floated out from the darkness.
DayinJianghu, to be continued.
