114 Zhu Lin, have some shame—how dare you steal my man!

After a simple preparation of costumes, Cheng Xuemin, Zhu Lin, and Lao Teng began rehearsing their roles one after another.

The camera focused on Lao Teng, who played Guozi; he entered directly from outside the house, asking Cheng Xuemin’s character, Xu Lingjun, whether he wanted a wife or not.

With simple lines, a straightforward setting, and basic costumes, the plot began to unfold simply.

Once past the initial awkwardness, Xie Jin was surprised—not only was Cheng Xuemin’s portrayal of Xu Lingjun impressive, but Zhu Lin, playing Li Xiuzhi, was also gradually hitting her stride.

The chemistry between these two actors immediately showed Xie Jin that this was exactly the Xu Lingjun and Li Xiuzhi he wanted.

After one scene, Cheng Xuemin still seemed lost in the character, while Zhu Lin gazed at him shyly and affectionately, clearly not having stepped out of the role yet.

"Good, very good!" Xie Jin applauded enthusiastically and turned to Cheng Xuemin. "Xue Min, what do you think? How about playing Xu Lingjun for me?"

Xie Jin truly hadn’t expected Cheng Xuemin’s portrayal to surpass that of Zhu Shimao’s trial performance just a few days earlier.

After watching Cheng Xuemin’s audition, Xie Jin felt that Cheng wasn’t just playing Xu Lingjun—he was being himself, performing in his own essence.

There was no question: the role of Xu Lingjun had to be played by Cheng Xuemin. No one else would do! As the director of the Yanying Film Studio, Xie Jin’s word was final on casting.

"Director Xie, please don’t flatter me so much! I was really nervous just now," Cheng Xuemin said, still lingering in the character’s mood.

Although he had thought about playing Xu Lingjun, he quickly shook his head internally—he simply didn’t have the time.

Once Xie Jin finalized the cast and officially formed the crew, they would rush to the Cilechuan Pasture in the northwest for location shooting.

But Cheng Xuemin had no time to travel even further northwest beyond northern Shaanxi to shoot a film.

His primary task now was to write well, save money, and prepare thoroughly for next year’s college entrance exam. If he went to the far northwest to film, he wouldn’t be back for at least half a year.

There was no need.

Moreover, he felt Zhu Shimao’s Xu Lingjun was already a classic; there was no need to steal someone else’s original role.

Cheng Xuemin had no intention of becoming an actor. He aimed to enter Yanjing University and use that diploma as a golden ticket to officialdom.

Besides, if Cheng Xuemin really wanted to play Xu Lingjun, he’d need his mother-in-law’s approval.

And she definitely wouldn’t agree.

The main point was that acting was just a profession now, with no concept of payment.

How could Cheng Xuemin, who wasn’t on the official roster of the Yanying Film Studio, be expected to act for free?

"Very good, very good. To reach this level on your first try—Director Xie was right, Xue Min, you are Xu Lingjun!" Lao Teng joined in the applause.

If the author of The Horse Herder was also the screenwriter and the actor playing Xu Lingjun, the film would be a guaranteed hit.

As the production company for The Horse Herder, they naturally wanted the film to succeed however possible.

Earlier, when Xie Jin suggested that Cheng Xuemin, the author and screenwriter, try out for the role, they had this hope in mind.

Xie Jin had said that unless the acting was terrible, they could coach and adjust it, but they never expected Cheng Xuemin to perform so well.

It truly exceeded Lao Teng’s expectations.

"Come on, Xue Min, just think of it as doing me, old Xie, a favor, okay?" Xie Jin’s eyes shone with eager anticipation.

"Xue Min, as far as I know, you haven’t been assigned a job yet, right?" Lao Teng added, trying to persuade him further. "If you help with the acting, Yanying Film Studio will arrange official employment and household registration for you. How about that?"

"Well... Director Xie, maybe you should ask my mother-in-law first? She wants me to focus on getting into university and then graduate and work in an orderly fashion," Cheng Xuemin replied.

He didn’t want to refuse outright, so he invoked his mother-in-law’s authority. If they wanted his help, they’d have to convince her first.

Cheng Xuemin wasn’t optimistic that his mother-in-law would allow her son-in-law to become an actor, even though there was no hierarchy of professions.

"Alright, that’s settled then! Xue Min, once your mother-in-law agrees, you’ll play Xu Lingjun, and we’ll arrange your employment, official status, and household registration!" Lao Teng nodded repeatedly. With Cheng’s words, he was confident they could persuade the mother-in-law.

After all, outside the gates, there were countless returned city youths eager to join Yanying Film Studio.

"Later, old Xie, you’ll have to talk to Xue Min’s mother-in-law!" Lao Teng shifted the responsibility to Director Xie.

"Heh! Lao Teng, I thought you didn’t know who Xue Min’s mother-in-law was, yet you seem so confident!" Xie Jin rolled his eyes.

He had immediately realized when Cheng Xuemin mentioned his mother-in-law that this was impossible.

Teacher Gu would never let her son-in-law join the film crew and jeopardize his future.

Listening to Lao Teng’s confident agreement, Xie Jin thought he was eager, but that last line was just a way to pass the buck.

He didn’t realize that by bringing up the mother-in-law, Cheng was politely refusing.

"If you have the guts, Lao Teng, why don’t you go talk to his mother-in-law yourself?" Xie Jin challenged.

"Hey, old Xie, you’re the director and casting chief. I’m just here to assist, assist, okay?" Lao Teng laughed awkwardly.

He had been too excited earlier and forgotten who Cheng’s mother-in-law was.

Realizing this, he cleverly passed the issue over to Xie Jin, who refused to take it and exposed his embarrassment.

"Xue Min, why don’t you think it over carefully and discuss it with Teacher Gu?" Xie Jin tried once more.

"We won’t arrange official work for you yet. Maybe just take a month’s leave to help with filming?"

"It definitely won’t affect your college entrance exams next year. What do you think?"

Xie Jin was reluctant to give up and urged Cheng Xuemin to reconsider.

"Director Xie, I’ll discuss it with them first," Cheng nodded.

He didn’t want to reject outright, especially since Lao Teng’s two thousand yuan script fee hadn’t been paid yet.

"Alright, go home and talk it over with Teacher Gu and your wife. Just one month, it won’t affect your exams," Xie Jin said.

He had originally wanted to say three to five months but feared that would scare Cheng off on the spot.

He figured that after the preliminary preparations, one month of shooting would suffice.

Post-production would be handled by the director and editing team, unrelated to the actors.

They could also schedule Cheng’s scenes flexibly, perhaps taking even less than a month since he had already embodied Xu Lingjun so well.

If it hadn’t been for a bit of awkwardness at the start, the entire scene would have passed in one take.

"Alright, I’ll consider it seriously," Cheng agreed.

"Teachers, is this okay?" Zhu Lin, just out of character, still shy and bashful, heard the praise for Cheng’s Xu Lingjun and the talk of officially recruiting him with a permanent position at Yanying Film Studio. Delighted, her beautiful eyes sparkled.

This time, the studio was hiring without official posts—only apprentices receiving apprentice wages.

In this era, there were no contract or temporary workers. Besides official employees with established positions, everyone else was an apprentice.

Master craftsmen took on new apprentices, which was a lifelong teacher-student relationship, akin to family ties.

But Cheng Xuemin was different. The studio was eager to give him official status and household registration after just a brief audition, yet he himself was reluctant.

Moreover, wasn’t this Zhu Lin’s audition? Why was the auditionee being ignored by the examiner?

"Ah, oh! Zhu Lin, you’re good too. Lao Teng approves," Xie Jin snapped back to reality and nodded, mentioning it to Lao Teng.

"Old Xie, you’re the director and chief examiner. Your word is final here," Lao Teng agreed, "Zhu Lin, you have good acting talent. Come to the studio to report tomorrow."

Zhu Lin was the first candidate Lao Teng immediately approved on the spot; the others were told to wait for notification.

Overjoyed, Zhu Lin jumped with excitement and said, "Okay, okay! Thank you, Teacher Teng, thank you, Director Xie, thank you, Teacher Cheng!"

She even slyly thanked Cheng Xuemin as “teacher,” elevating him in status.

This woman—no matter how much she sweet-talked, Cheng already had Feng Jiayou. No one else could sway him.

Zhu Lin left first, but Cheng Xuemin’s second-round auditions were not yet over.

They had lunch at the film studio and continued working until past three in the afternoon before wrapping up the first round of auditions.

Next, the Yanying Film Studio would conduct the final selection and confirm the cast, which was no longer Cheng’s concern.

Cheng Xuemin was pleased to receive the two thousand yuan script fee from the studio.

"Big brother, old Xie and the others mean to have Zhu Lin play Li Xiuzhi?" Feng Jiaozhao asked, discussing the casting choices and seeking Cheng’s opinion.

Besides the male lead Xu Lingjun, who was still undecided, Zhu Shimao and Siqin Gaowa had tried out for Li Xiuzhi’s role.

But after this open audition, they planned to replace the initially chosen leads altogether.

There was no problem with Xu Lingjun since Cheng never seriously considered acting.

But the role of Li Xiuzhi was apparently going to be played by Zhu Lin, which prompted Cheng to ask when he was heading home with his brother-in-law.

"What objections could there be? Old Xie never really decided before. Siqin only tried out once, and both old Xie and Lao Teng shook their heads, unsatisfied."

"They felt Siqin’s image lacked something for Li Xiuzhi."

Feng Jiaozhao knew a bit about the casting since it was his brother-in-law’s script and their first film; he wanted to stay close.

When Siqin Gaowa auditioned, old Xie and Lao Teng felt it wasn’t quite right.

After Zhu Lin’s audition today, even Feng Jiaozhao understood what was missing.

"Spirituality?"

Cheng asked.

"Exactly," Feng Jiaozhao agreed. "Xue Min, you and old Xie and Lao Teng said it right—it lacked Li Xiuzhi’s spark."

"Today, that girl Zhu Lin performed very well. Her spirit was so fitting I almost believed she was Li Xiuzhi, and you were Xu Lingjun."

"So it’s no surprise old Xie wants Zhu Lin. Siqin won’t mind; she never intended to play Li Xiuzhi anyway. She was just a last-minute stand-in."

Hearing this, Cheng Xuemin nodded.

He quickly reminded his brother-in-law, "Big brother, when you go home, don’t tell Jiayou or Mom that I’m Xu Lingjun and Zhu Lin is Li Xiuzhi."

"Otherwise, the backboard I didn’t kneel on last night, I’ll definitely be kneeling on it tonight!"

...

The month began, shamelessly asking for monthly ticket and recommendation support—thank you!