Chapter 406 - 337: Petty Thief

Wang Qing was from Mountain City, so she also loved spicy food.

When she first joined the crew, she brought a whole case of spicy gluten strips in addition to her luggage. On several occasions, Ni Bingyan had arrived on set early in the morning only to find her eating spicy strips sandwiched in a steamed bun for breakfast.

Finding the sight unbearable, Bingyan had given her a jar of the Ni Family’s secret recipe spicy beef sauce.

She hadn’t thought much of it at the time. She just knew that styling for historical films took forever, and they’d have to spend a lot of time together each day. Since they’d be seeing each other constantly, getting along well would make the days ahead much more pleasant.

Using food to pave the way worked wonders. Wang Qing became exceptionally diligent in her work and would even chat with her from time to time.

As the days went by, the two had become quite close.

So, while many others were swallowing hard as the aroma wafted by, only she had the nerve to speak up.

"Oh! Bingyan, what are you making? Wow! Spicy shrimp? That looks amazing! How about I taste it for you, just to see if it’s seasoned right?"

Ni Bingyan was speechless. "How about I just make you a plate while I’m at it?"

"Hehehe, you know me best! In that case, I won’t be shy!"

"It’s no trouble at all."

They were good friends, and stir-frying one more dish wasn’t a big deal. Ni Bingyan agreed, returned to the stove, took the shrimp the chef handed her, and began to heat up the wok with some oil.

While waiting for the oil to heat up, Ni Bingyan thought for a moment and asked, "We’re usually so busy, we rarely get the chance. Besides spicy shrimp, is there anything else you’re craving?"

"This is more than enough. I’m not greedy."

Ni Bingyan wasn’t a hired chef, after all. Besides considering Bingyan’s feelings, Wang Qing also had to think about the restaurant owner.

For those who love spicy food, going too long without it makes everything else taste bland.

Aside from being a bit mild, the quality of the set meals was actually quite good. The logistics department said it was healthier this way, so no one could really complain.

After all, the crew came from all over the country, and everyone had different tastes. It was impossible to please them all.

As time went on, everyone started to find ways to cook their own meals on the side.

Now, with Ni Bingyan leading the charge with spicy food, Wang Qing breaking the ice, and Bingyan agreeing so readily, others who were on familiar terms with her quickly gathered around.

"Me too! Me too!"

Seeing a dozen people gather outside the kitchen in the blink of an eye, Ni Bingyan sighed. "Alright, alright, what does everyone want to eat? But let’s get one thing straight—the owner has a business to run. You still have to pay for whatever you order!"

"Spicy shrimp is good enough for us!"

Everyone was tactful enough not to make too many demands.

"But I don’t have that many shrimp!"

The owner didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Then what do you have?"

"I have one grass carp, two chickens, half a duck, and a rabbit. As for vegetables, they’re on the shelves, you can see for yourselves. Anyway, you all know my prices. Feel free to pick and choose whatever you want to eat!"

The more substantial main dishes were generally eighty-eight, stir-fries were thirty-eight to forty-eight, and vegetarian dishes were fifteen.

Seeing this, the group hurried forward to scan the payment code and place their orders.

"I’ll have the spicy rabbit."

"I’ll get the beer duck."

"Do you know how to make fish hot pot?"

...

Ni Bingyan had arrived relatively late, but many crew members had to stay behind after the actors left to clean the set and take inventory of props. They arrived even later than she had and still hadn’t eaten.

On previous sets, Ni Bingyan would inevitably treat the crew a few times. However, this ancient town was some distance from the city and currently sealed off for filming, making it difficult to treat everyone. As a result, she hadn’t done so since arriving.

Ni Bingyan wanted to take this opportunity to treat everyone, but then she remembered that many people had already eaten. ’It’s not scarcity but inequality that breeds discontent.’ Her intentions were good, but she feared that those who missed out would later complain.

Besides, it was unrealistic for her to cook for one or two hundred people by herself.

So, she just helped with the cooking and didn’t offer to pay for everyone.

The owner found the situation amusing. Seeing everyone line up to pay before waiting outside, he simply took out his phone and started filming a short video.

The set had been robbed today, so Ni Bingyan’s scenes were canceled. She was feeling down and just wanted some spicy food, but ended up having to play guest chef. The whole thing was actually quite funny.

The theft on set was a hot topic online right now; a lot of people would surely be interested in what Ni Bingyan was up to.

But before he could post it online, Duanmu Li was already walking over.

"The security team was almost fired today. Don’t you dare leak the female lead’s costume—the official stills haven’t even been released yet!"

The owner gave an embarrassed smile, quickly deleted the video right in front of Duanmu Li, and then went to warn the others.

Everyone who worked on set had signed a confidentiality agreement. It was just that people sometimes forgot. Once reminded, they were naturally extra careful.

Ni Bingyan was quick and efficient. With several burners going at once, she had all the requested dishes ready in just over half an hour.

Everyone gave her a thumbs-up and praised her profusely. Then, with an unspoken agreement, they all placed their dishes on the same large, round table and gathered around to eat.

With each person contributing a dish, they made a full spread, allowing everyone to try a bit of everything.

Ni Bingyan was exhausted. As soon as she sat down, she found a corner and quietly dug into her food.

She was only halfway through her meal when a junior assistant from the director’s team ran in, calling for the props department. The assistant said the petty thief had been caught and most of the items had been recovered. The props team needed to go identify everything to make sure nothing was missing.

The members of the props team dropped their bowls and chopsticks and hurried away. Ni Bingyan finished another half bowl of rice, figured enough time had passed, and then headed over, intending to see if the matter had been resolved.

If all the set pieces were back, she would need to prepare for her scenes tomorrow.

Walking along the bluestone path back to the set, she could hear a man’s voice from a distance, blubbering and making excuses through sobs and sniffles.

"You can’t pin this all on me! Who told you to advertise that you were using real antiques in the movie? I’m just so desperately poor, I had to take the risk! SOB, Officer, this is my first time! SOB SOB SOB!"

"It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time or not, breaking the law is breaking the law! Even though these are just handicrafts and not that expensive individually, their total value is over thirty thousand, you understand? A sum this large means at least three years in prison. As for the exact sentence, that’ll depend on your luck!"

"SOB SOB SOB..."

Hearing the voices, Ni Bingyan didn’t go any closer. She rounded a corner and went straight to find Producer Zhao to ask about the schedule for tomorrow.

Upon learning that everything had been recovered and that filming for her scenes would resume tomorrow, Ni Bingyan breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to the inn with Duanmu Li.

To her, it was just a minor incident. The production team, however, used it to generate a week’s worth of hype, successfully milking it for a huge amount of public attention.

Sometimes, when she had nothing else to do, Ni Bingyan would even wonder, ’Don’t tell me Producer Zhao hired that petty thief himself?’

’Then again, it involves a prison sentence, so probably not.’

Because of the incident, the production ended up switching security companies.

The new security company implemented military-style management, even having their guards do morning drills in several shifts.

Ni Bingyan was thoroughly impressed. She would sometimes even join them and other crew members for their morning workout.

Management on set also became stricter. Before, she had heard of people sneaking out, but now, such rumors were a thing of the past.