Chapter 4: When the Substitute

Back home.

Little An'an was inexplicably shut out of the room.

She couldn't figure out what her parents were up to, why they had to lock her outside.

Sneaking a peek, she couldn't hide her eagerness to quietly watch the Teletubbies.

Inside the room.

Chen Pingsheng mysteriously pulled Song Yanxi onto the big bed with a pink curtain by the window.

The room was small but cozy.

"Husband, what are you up to in broad daylight?"

Song Yanxi thought he wanted 'that.' Ever since they had their daughter, those activities had been less frequent.

Mainly because the room was small and had no soundproofing.

Simply put, the conditions didn't allow it.

"Yanxi, I'll transfer the money I made today to you first."

As a genuine homebody, it was a given that his income had to be managed by his wife.

Chen Pingsheng only ever kept at most five hundred yuan for himself, and if nothing unexpected happened, this amount could last him a whole month.

After all, he had no major expenses except for his daily seven-yuan pack of Laobaisha cigarettes.

The rest, like clothes and shoes, were all purchased by his wife.

"Ding! You've received an Alipay transfer of 4,000 yuan."

Song Yanxi frowned slightly in surprise; it was normal for her husband to hand over the money he made every day.

But four thousand in one day, that had never happened before!

The highest was during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival when they made over three thousand in one day selling durians.

"Husband, you didn't do anything bad, did you?"

"Not at all, just earned it by helping people move, and on the way, delivered a truck of durians."

Chen Pingsheng had already thought up his excuse, coughing slightly, "That's right, Yanxi, I might be able to earn this much every day from now on; you should get used to it and enjoy the feeling of being a rich wife."

Enjoy what?

Song Yanxi was still very happy when he said this. For their type of family, nothing was more exciting than making more and more money.

"Wife, I suggest we go out for the candlelight dinner that your little sister is always talking about."

Song Yanxi gave him a look, "Why waste money on that? Isn't it delightful to just cook a couple of dishes at home and light a candle?"

Uh... indeed, it did smell good.

No sooner said than done, Chen Pingsheng really went to the corner shop downstairs to buy those red candles.

By the time he came back, Song Yanxi was already going over the household accounts.

With the money he made today, their little family's total savings was now 386,000 yuan.

It looked like a lot, but remember, this was the result of scrimping and saving over five years of marriage, unwilling to spend on food or clothing.

"Husband, we just need another 120,000 and we can gather enough for the down payment."

Song Yanxi said with longing, in Capital City of 2012, the average price for a house inside the third ring road was about twenty-five thousand per square meter.

Their plan was to buy a small eighty square meter apartment, just enough for the family to live in.

That came to about two million in total, with a down payment of roughly five hundred thousand.

"Let's save the romantic stuff for after we buy the house."

Song Yanxi was even more frugal than he was, wearing any piece of clothing for several years.

A candlelight dinner that costs hundreds of yuan makes her heart bleed while she eats.

Absolutely a no-go for enjoyment.

Chen Pingsheng didn't press the issue any further; as he was about to head to the kitchen, his sister-in-law Song Wu messaged him.

She was informing him to spend the New Year at their place this year.

Truth be told, visiting the in-laws with modest means was truly tormenting.

One who has experienced it would know.

When the meal was ready, Song Yanxi actually went through the motions of lighting the candle, leaving Little An'an perplexed.

She thought a birthday cake was coming next, but no, there was nothing – just giggling at the red candle.

She was too young to understand what her parents were laughing at.

It was laughter at the hope in life, a glimmer of the future.

In the evening, Song Yanxi even made a point to watch Teletubbies with her, turning the volume way up. They only sneaked into the room after Little An'an was enthralled.

They had to be quick.

You never knew when the little one would come knocking on the door.

Even quick, he was a strapping young man, unable to finish in less than thirty minutes.

Which left Song Yanxi very satisfied, tears streaming down the corners of her mouth.

The next day, after Chen Pingsheng sent his wife to work, he immediately opened the moving group chat.

Now with a clear small goal for making money, his enthusiasm for earning was unprecedented.

In the moving group, that Young Marshal was his childhood buddy.

It was Chen Pingsheng who had introduced him to Capital City to make money. A single man in his thirties, he could make more than ten thousand a month, living a carefree life.

He was well acquainted with those red-lantern adorned shops under the overpass.

Moving group chat.

Young Marshal: "Just got a job, carrying a washing machine up to the seventh floor for a hundred bucks, I'm not doing it for his grandma."

It was definitely a building without an elevator, and no one wanted to take on such tasks.

It was raining heavily today and they couldn't sell durians, so they had to rely on picking up odd jobs to make money.

Sometimes they would get jobs, sometimes they just had to rest.

General: "I have a job here, does anyone want to join in? Just moving furniture, three hundred a day."

Young Marshal: "What's the point? I could spend that time strolling around Xidan; might even find a wife to take home."

Chen Pingsheng ignored their pointless chatter; although everyone was from the countryside, they each could earn just over ten thousand a month.

They indeed didn't care much for the petty gigs.

However, at this moment, the girl he had just met yesterday actually sent him a message.

"Chen, are you busy?"

"Not busy at all."

"Do you have time today? We have a special extra role that pays two thousand a day and doesn't require showing your face. Do you want to give it a try?"

Of course, he was going to give it a try.

After all, it's said that the more friends one has, the more paths open up.

Zhao Liying, though unknown in the entertainment industry, had been an extra for over four years.

She definitely had more connections than the newcomers who had just joined the industry.

Naturally, he wouldn't let this good opportunity slip by, but he still asked if the role required acting ability.

After all, that was something he truly lacked.

Zhao Liying briefly explained it required no acting at all, but it was very tough and she didn't know if he could endure it.

To put it plainly, a regular extra earned at most three to five hundred a day, so a two thousand yuan job definitely had its special conditions.

Once he got to the set, the assistant director didn't even ask his name before telling him to strip.

Earning this two thousand yuan wasn't easy; in sub-zero four degrees, they had him go mad in the lake with nothing on.

Originally, this scene was supposed to be filmed by the young male lead, but after trying the lake's water temperature, he walked off without a word.

What a joke, he couldn't deal with such low temperatures.

What if he caught a cold?

Wouldn't his fans be worried sick?

With no other choice, the assistant director had to use a body double and film with long shots.

Several people from the crew tried it; once their clothes were off, they couldn't endure it, shaking uncontrollably in less than a minute.

How could they shoot like this?

It was then that Zhao Liying thought of Chen Pingsheng, who, like her, was an out-of-towner desperate to make money.

Having worked in physical labor for years, he kept himself in great shape and could endure hardships that others couldn't.

However, after a simple makeup, when Chen Pingsheng approached the lake, the clear, jade-green water felt bone-chillingly cold.

The moment his foot touched the water, he shivered intensely.

"Can you handle it or not? If you can't, get lost," the assistant director said impatiently and rudely to these special extras.

The moment he saw Chen Pingsheng flinch from the cold, he swore at him.

Chen Pingsheng clenched his teeth and plunged into the lake.

His scene was incredibly simple: the young male lead vents his emotional turmoil in the lake after a betrayal, with no lines or expressions.

He could act crazily however he wanted.

Since it wasn't the actual actor, the assistant director couldn't shoot from close up.

Chen Pingsheng was also shivering with cold, but he kept thinking about his little house.

Expecting his wife's happy face as she moved into their new home, he could endure any hardship.

He thought once this scene was done, he would be finished.

But who knew the young male lead, with a salary of tens of millions, couldn't endure any hardship at all.

All the shots of him freezing in the winter cold must be completed today.

Not needing acting skills was one thing, but the hardest part was a scene where the young male lead accidentally falls into a lake and miraculously acquires a peerless martial art skill.

After that, he severely deals with the women who looked down on him or betrayed him.

Then comes their regret.

A classic trope in domestic dramas: the protagonist gains a peerless martial art after falling off a cliff.

That scene would normally require the young male lead to film it himself, but he couldn't bear the freezing conditions.

A body double had to do it, and he'd reshoot the highlight moments later.

Chen Pingsheng sighed internally; these people really had an easy time making money.

Earn tens of millions by just standing around.

Look at him, he had to risk his life for two thousand.

From ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, he shot four scenes in the lake.

He was almost frozen stiff, but fortunately, Zhao Liying brought him a freshly made bowl of ginger soup.

Workers truly understand other workers.

She was still an extra, playing the female lead's maidservant.

She didn't know how many times she had played a maidservant in dramas or how many people told her she was destined to be one.

"Chen, warm yourself up by the fire and rest a bit," Zhao Liying said as she also handed him a white towel.

Chen Pingsheng felt much better after changing into his own clothes.

"My sister-in-law is getting off work; I need to go pick her up."

Chen Pingsheng motioned for her to get the money from the crew; who else would suffer in this hellish weather if not for the two thousand yuan?

Zhao Liying nodded and quickly brought him his two thousand yuan.

They were part of a big production, investing hundreds of millions.

Naturally, no one was going to quibble over such small amounts.

But as he was about to leave, the assistant director approached again.

"You did well, do you have a business card? Give me one, I'll call you next time we need someone for a tough role."

He had no business card; he was just a durian seller on the streets.

But Chen Pingsheng still gave him his number.

As long as there was money to be made, he was truly willing to do anything.