Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

Chapter 43: Retirement? From childhood to adulthood, whatever I raise dies.
"Me?! I... I'm not worthy." Yang Chaoyue paused for a moment, bit his lower lip unconsciously, and shook his head repeatedly.

"Because you can't act yet, your reactions aren't realistic enough, so I, the supporting actor, have to guide you in this play so that you can perform well."

"So, the supporting role needs more acting skills than the main character?"

"In some cases, that's the case, like our upcoming performance."

Yang Chaoyue felt that his understanding of acting had been overturned: "I understand. I will be obedient."

"In improvisational performances, which are short and fast, the best way to make them exciting is to meet several key points: intensity, reversal elements, and the emotional intensity of the characters. The plot should be designed based on these three points."

As Jiang Yang spoke, he stirred the flour into flocs. The veins on the back of his hands were faintly visible as he kneaded the dough, and the fine white flour fell onto the wooden table.
He spoke in a very serious manner, but in fact he himself had only a vague understanding of this aspect.

I learned all of this from the book "An Actor's Self-cultivation".

Everyone knows how to learn from books, but it is extremely difficult to integrate it into reality.

Jiang Yang is different, he has a system.

As long as Yang Chaoyue can understand a little bit of knowledge in this area under his influence, he will be able to grasp the attributes in this area and learn it immediately.

Now is a good time to cultivate Yang Chaoyue's knowledge in this area.

Yang Chaoyue didn't quite understand, but he still listened carefully.

"Now let's set up the characters. Since I'm the noodle stall owner, your character's identity had better conflict with mine."

A maid accompanying her master, a singing girl in costume, a peasant woman selling her own vegetables, a chivalrous woman with a sword on her back... Many roles that Yang Chaoyue could play emerged in Jiang Yang's mind.

It needs to fit the theme in a short period of time, have twists, emotions, and be down-to-earth, and it also needs to be a role that Yang Chaoyue can play, but there are not many of them.

Jiang Yang thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you just play a female beggar?"

"A female beggar?"

"Yes, you came to my stall to eat noodles without paying, and you often stole my side dishes and coins. As soon as I saw you approaching my stall, I cursed at you. You were afraid of me, but you would also talk back to me stubbornly."

Jiang Yang put the kneaded dough in a basin and covered it with a wet cloth to let it rest.

He slowly and methodically told Yang Chaoyue the general plot of the performance, trying to make it easy for Yang Chaoyue to understand, and ideally to allow Yang Chaoyue to immerse himself in the character and feel the emotions of the character:
"Today I found you crouching near my noodle stall again, trying to steal my hard-earned money. I scolded you as usual, but I didn't feel as disgusted with you."

"Because I was delivering noodles to a customer a few days ago, I passed by your alley and saw your seriously ill father lying in bed."

"Your mother starved to death a long time ago. You have no money to treat your father's illness, and you are too weak to make money."

"A brothel madam asked you to sign a contract to sell your body, but you refused. However, you also knew that you couldn't hold on for much longer. You were desperate for money to save your family, even if your life would be tortured and you would only have a few years to live..."

Jiang Yang did not finish speaking all at once. His tone was low, slow and full of emotion.

It tells the story of a beggar woman who eventually signed a contract to sell herself to a brothel madam, but ultimately failed to save her father. She herself was manipulated by officials and wealthy gentry to the point that she could no longer receive customers, and died alone in a dilapidated rammed earth house.

There are no relatives around her, only the memories of her childhood.

Yang Chaoyue's eyelashes trembled when he heard this.

At first, I just tried hard to remember the story that Jiang Yang was telling, but as I listened, I became more immersed in it.

The eye sockets are red and the pupils are sparkling.

This female beggar looks very similar to me.

I am also working hard to make money and give my family a good life.

But her luck was better than that of the female beggar. She met Jiang Yang and was no longer a factory girl.

Through Jiang Yang's narration, this female beggar seemed more like a living person with flesh and blood. Yang Chaoyue could no longer simply hold the mentality of a spectator, and unconsciously developed empathy:

"In other words, from that day on, the noodle stall owner was willing to help the beggar woman, and her fate also changed?"

"That's it." Jiang Yang nodded. If Yang Chaoyue still couldn't grasp it, Jiang Yang planned to enrich the social environment in which the female beggars lived, explore the culture and human nature behind it, and analyze how the feudal ethics of society gradually destroyed the lives of the lower classes at that time.

Since Yang Chaoyue already understood, there is no need to say more.

While Yang Chaoyue was in high spirits, Jiang Yang talked to him about the plot that would be performed next.

It is impossible to really improvise. It is too difficult for Yang Chaoyue who has zero experience in this area.

If Jiang Yang hadn't gotten a lot of attributes from Yang Chaoyue, he wouldn't have been able to do it himself.

So we can only take shortcuts.

He took out a pen and paper and wrote down the lines that Yang Chaoyue was going to read later, and asked Yang Chaoyue to write them down.

Look at Yang Chaoyue's clothes again.

It’s still the chiffon skirt that was withdrawn from the counter in the county town.

Jiang Yang gave Yang Chaoyue money to buy her a new set of clothes, but Yang Chaoyue was reluctant to buy it.

Not to mention clothes, I can't even bear to part with warm stockings.

So much so that even though it has been a month since Yang Chaoyue was signed, I still haven't seen him wearing stockings.

"Chao Yue, do you think you can, in just a few minutes, not only memorize all the lines but also deliver them with great emotion, and portray the beggar woman's tough exterior but tender heart?"

Yang Chaoyue spoke hurriedly, but his voice got stuck in his throat: "I... I can't do it now, I'm sorry."

If she was facing Kang Wen, she might even lie and get away with it.

But looking at the way Jiang Yang was staring at her, Yang Chaoyue couldn't lie.

Brother Yang knows himself too well.

She avoided Jiang Yang's gaze, holding the manuscript in her hand, a few strands of hair tremblingly drooping on her forehead, the tip of her nose red, and she replied unconfidently: "I will definitely be able to do it in the future!"

"In a few minutes, maybe Director Kang will come for an audition. My acting skills won't improve in a short time, so I might as well focus on my appearance."

"In terms of appearance?"

"Beggars' clothes aren't that clean. Dirty your clothes, mess up your hair, and try to look like a real beggar. But if you do that, your image won't be as pretty as it is now. Are you willing?"

"I'm not that pretty..."

Yang Chaoyue looked down at her chiffon skirt.

I bought it from Sister Yan for 300 yuan.

It was the most impressive piece of clothing she had ever worn.

Even if it is a second-hand item, it means a lot to me.

Now I have to dirty it...

Yang Chaoyue stood by the noodle stall, her eyelashes casting tiny shadows on her eyelids. The cheap chiffon skirt was blown close to her calves by the cold wind. Her throat rolled, and it took several seconds for her to utter a trembling sound:

"I am willing."

Jiang Yang's fingers sank deeply into the dough, and the fine wheat flour fell with the rise and fall of the blue veins on the back of his hand. He smiled and sighed:
"I really want to make you famous as soon as possible, so I can take a cut of your announcement fee and use it to support my retirement."

"From childhood to adulthood, whatever I raise dies." Yang Chaoyue said seriously.

Jiang Yang's smile froze.

I will return one chapter in the afternoon. Please give me a monthly ticket.
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(End of this chapter)