Huayu Chef

First batch of submissions for review

Around midnight, Zhang Jinxuan dragged his tired body back to his residence.

He lives not far from Wild Kitchen, in the Beijing Film Academy residential area.

The two-bedroom apartment is over 40 square meters, with the master bedroom being less than 15 square meters, the second bedroom 10 square meters, the living room about 10 square meters, a tiny bathroom and kitchen, and the living space is cramped.

This run-down place has a monthly rent higher than Wild Kitchen. Ten years later, even that tiny 10-square-meter secondary bedroom will cost two or three thousand a month.

Living in the capital is not easy.

Who's in the capital?

Because his business was just starting out, Zhang Jinxuan had less than 15 yuan left of the 2 yuan his parents had given him for starting a business. He had to be careful with his money and had to make do with what he had for the time being.

Tears.

Zhang Jinxuan sat down on the V-shaped sofa, took out his phone from his pocket, and opened WeChat to check unread messages.

All messages were voice messages.

In an era when voice-to-text functionality was lacking, Zhang Jinxuan had no desire to even click on a voice message that was only a few dozen seconds long, but he had no choice but to listen to it.

I felt cold and shivering.

One of them was sent by a senior student from the directing department.

"Jinxuan, your 'Wild Kitchen' video is edited according to your requirements, and the subtitles are done. We proofread it two or three times and didn't find any typos. I've sent the complete video to your QQ email. Take a look when you have time, and let me know if you need any changes via 'V'."

Is the first episode of "Wild Kitchen" finished?

Zhang Jinxuan sat up abruptly, opened his QQ email client, and found an email from his senior in the directing department in his inbox.

"very good"

Zhang Jinxuan cheered, his face beaming with joy, his fatigue vanishing. He excitedly went into the master bedroom to watch videos on his laptop.

He maintained constant communication with the studio via WeChat. The editing approach and logic of "Wild Kitchen" completely followed Zhang Jinxuan's opinions. Some cheap special effects and emoticons were also added at his request. The audio was processed, the sound was clear, and the subtitles were error-free.

That's right, this is Xia Yuhe by Daming Lake, the fast track to the entertainment industry that Zhang Jinxuan has always longed for.

Wuhu, ready for takeoff!

Zhang Jinxuan was in high spirits. He picked up his phone and sent a voice message to his senior from the directing department, "Senior, you guys are so efficient."

"I watched the video, and it perfectly meets my requirements."

"Senior, you have to go to work tomorrow, right? Come to the store early and settle the remaining payment."

"Ding-dong."

A senior from the directing department replied with a voice message: "Dude, what time is it that you're sending this WeChat message?"

"Sorry, I got a little carried away."

"I understand, Wild Kitchen was packed today, they must be making a killing, right?"

"I'm only getting home now after preparing the ingredients; it's all for the hard work."

"Running a restaurant is indeed tiring. I'll come to the store tomorrow morning to return the plates to you. You can decide how to pay the balance. If you're short on cash, you can settle it later. Anyway, your store is there, so consider it as our studio's membership fee."

"Everyone has their difficulties; let's settle the account tomorrow morning."

"Okay, go to sleep early, see you tomorrow morning."

Goodnight, senior.

"Good night."

Zhang Jinxuan placed his phone on the table, listening to unread voice messages while logging into his Youku, Bilibili, and Kuaishou accounts.

Youku and Bilibili still primarily focus on UGC (User Generated Content), where users showcase or share their original content with other users through online platforms.

Tudou and AcFun both operate on this model. The former has been acquired by Youku, while the latter, although larger than Bilibili, frequently experiences service outages and is very unstable.

Previously, Zhang Jinxuan was browsing the news and saw that Youku was making great efforts to produce its own programs, and had already taken the lead over iQiyi and Tencent Video. He planned to throw out some bait to entice them.

Bilibili is just a side note; the little Bilibili is really not up to par right now. It will only slowly rise to prominence when the right person takes the helm next year.

On Kuaishou, they mainly distribute short, entertaining videos to drive traffic to Youku, Bilibili's "Wild Kitchen" long-form video, and Zhang Jinxuan's Weibo account, increasing exposure channels.

The video was a bit large, and it would take time to upload it to the website. Zhang Jinxuan didn't wait around foolishly; he went to the bathroom to take a shower.

When he returned from showering, the video had already been uploaded and was under review by Youku and Bilibili, so it couldn't be found in search results yet.

Having to get up early to make braised dishes, Zhang Jinxuan suppressed his excitement, turned off his laptop, and obediently went to bed.

Silent all night.

When I woke up the next morning, the video was still under review.

Zhang Jinxuan had it inspect him, and after getting dressed and washing up, he went out to the Wild Kitchen.

Sister Liu and Tang Qiwen arrived early.

Around 8 o'clock, a senior from the directing department came to the store to return a hard drive. Zhang Jinxuan paid the balance and invited him to have breakfast together.

At nine o'clock, Wild Kitchen opened its doors.

Before long, customers entered the store. Some looked at the handsome men, some took photos, and some bought braised dishes, creating a lively atmosphere early in the morning.

Starting at 11 a.m., all 44 seats in the dine-in area were occupied, with many customers waiting. People lined up to buy braised dishes, with long queues stretching from inside the store to the street outside. Business was booming.

After getting through the peak dining-in period, Zhang Jinxuan and his two companions took turns eating lunch and then started making braised chicken feet and braised pork.

Black duck sales are not as good as tiger skin chicken feet. The stock prepared last night and this morning is enough to sell. Even if it is sold out, I don't plan to make any more. Washing duck heads, necks, wings, feet and intestines is too troublesome and I don't have time.

With 150 jin of chicken feet braised, Zhang Jinxuan finally had some free time. Seeing that Sister Liu and Tang Qiwen weren't too busy, he poured himself a glass of water and leisurely drank it.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the store entrance, with screams and exclamations echoing into the store.

"It's Naza."

"Nazha".

"Nazha is here."

The allure of the celebrity beauty far outweighed the braised food. Some customers quickly gathered around Naza, looking excited, taking photos with their phones, and chattering away.

Zhang Jinxuan put down his cup and walked to the kitchen door to look around.

Miss Gulnazar is going for a cool and stylish look today. She's wearing a black leather jacket, black sunglasses, and has long, thick, smooth black hair cascading over her shoulders. With her fair skin and outstanding temperament, she exudes the aura of a fashion goddess.

She waved and greeted everyone without any airs of a celebrity: "Hello everyone."

"Nazha, are you here to buy braised food?"

Naza laughed and said, "I'm not buying any. I'm accompanying my friend to buy some because I can't eat them. It seems like they put lard in the braised dishes. How tragic, haha."

"What a pity! Wild Kitchen's braised pork rice is super delicious, I highly recommend it."

"Are you all here to buy braised dishes?"

"Yes."

Naza said earnestly, "This shop was opened by a senior from the Performance Department of our Beijing Film Academy. I saw many people recommending it on their WeChat Moments. If you like it, please come and buy more to support your senior."

Zhang Jinxuan chuckled. The seemingly foolish beauty wasn't so foolish after all; she actually knew how to do a favor. Her brief appearance and the way she spoke had a certain publicity effect.

Although she was criticized by the entire internet after "Xuan-Yuan Sword" aired last year, being criticized is still being popular. Her popularity and fame skyrocketed, attracting a wave of fans of He Jiong and many more fans who admired her looks and her physique.

To be honest, she is indeed beautiful. After undergoing minor cosmetic surgery, she is widely recognized as one of the top-tier (T0) female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry in terms of looks. In the parlance of the fan community, she is a top-tier goddess in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Zhang Jinxuan stepped forward and said enthusiastically, "Junior Sister Nazha, welcome to Wild Kitchen."