After Getting A Job in the Nether World, I Became Famous - Chapter 1.1: The Smell of Ghosts
The filming for the TV series Treasure was almost finished, and the majority of the roles have completed their parts. The remaining ones had to go to Yantang Village to shoot the leftover scenes. There were hundreds of ancient dwellings in this village, including well-preserved ancestral halls, theatres, and other buildings which existed since the Ming and Qing dynasties1Ming and Qing are the last two dynasties in Chinese history; Ming ruled from 1368 to 1644, and Qing ruled from 1644 to 1912.
The local government had always wanted to develop this area, and this film production company was attracted here as well
Parked at the parking lot near the entrance of the village, the film crew got out one after the other.
Lan He got off the car with his luggage. The air here in the mountain was much cooler than that at the bottom. He was wearing a dark blue sweater and dark trousers, and because of his role’s requirements, his fringe was so long that it was almost covering his eyes.
There weren’t many male characters in this show, and he barely could be counted as the fifth male character ranking from importance. But as a nobody in the Z list, the company, and the film crew did not arrange for him any assistants. He had to do everything himself.
Lan He didn’t mind. The crew had already rented a few houses to live in, so they started to walk. Along the way, he chatted with Cheng Haitong, the film group’s cameraman. The two met through the film crew, and although they had different jobs, they were from the same area and had similar interests. After a few months, the two became friends.
Qing-style buildings were everywhere alongside the road. Although the crew had already sent people here to familiarize the surroundings, the guides from the village still introduced everything to them, “As for these two carved lions, one of them is called the Tai, the other, Shao. This is to honor Tai Shi and Shao Shi2Tai Shi and Shao Shi are government position names. Back in Ancient China where there still were monarchs, a Tai Shi position was one of the highest government positions that a person could get Yes, that’s right, there were government officials from our village.”
Lan He followed along. The buildings here were preserved extremely well. Even the ones that have been repaired were done by old carpenters with traditional methods, allowing the original flair of the buildings to stay. No wonder the film crew would choose this place to do the filming.
The village guides continued to boast bout how the ancestors of that government official once invited the descendants of Gui Guzi3A renowned philosopher during the period of Warring States, Gui Guzi pioneered the techniques of rhetoric based on Taoist thinking to check the feng shui4Also translated as Chinese geomancy, feng shui a traditional Chinese practice, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment of the land… Everyone laughed and didn’t take it seriously. It was just like a random street restaurant saying how they used to serve the Emperors. They just used a famous name, one shouldn’t take it too seriously.
Although a lot of the crew members had already left, there were still plenty left. As they heard some firecrackers and loud noises ahead, their pace slowed down.
“Achoo!” Lan He rubbed his nose and heard someone say in front, “Someone in the village passed away, and they’re having a funeral…”
When passing by, everyone lowered their heads and some even bowed to respect the deceased
Lan He’s vision was blocked by the crowd, and as he walked to the front, he saw an open space. A mourning hall was set up, and there was also a coffin and an Eight Immortals Table5A square table commonly used for dining and was designed to seat eight people, with a bench for two on each side. On top of the table was a picture of the deceased, an electoral eternal flame, and it was also flanked by paper children. In front of the table was a metal bowl with smoke coming out of it and a person constantly burning Joss Paper6Aka, Spirit Money. It is a form of fake money that designed to be burnt so that it can be used by the deceased in the Nether World.
On the other side of the main road junction, a few strong young men were trying to set a tall paper banner7Setting up paper banners is another common tradition used at funerals in China. These banners could be up to 15 meters tall up.
There were no objects for it to lean against, so they tried to support it with wooden sticks. The banner was made of four sections, and they also had to assemble them together before setting it up, but for some reason, no matter how hard they tried, the banner wouldn’t go up.
The villagers started to discuss:
“They can’t even put the banner up? Did the filial son spend the money for nothing?”
“Who knows?”
As they discussed, the face of the deceased’s son grew dark.
Cheng Haidong put his palms together and bowed, as he whispered, “What is that? Why wouldn’t it go up even after such a long time?”
He hasn’t ever been to a traditional funeral ceremony before, and Yantang Village still used the traditional funeral ceremony that has been used since ancient times.
Lan He replied, “It’s a gold and silver banner, one of the harder funeral items to obtain. One of these would cost at least a thousand yuan8Approx. 150 dollars, and it is usually set up at the most eye-catching places.”
The head of the film crew was also nearby. After he heard Lan He, he surprisingly glanced at him, “You’re so young and yet still knew this? Last time, when you were drawing divination sticks9Aka. Lottery poetry: a fortune-telling practice where a user will choose a stick with poetry written on it out of a bucket and the fortune teller would interpret the meaning behind the poem with Haidong, you were drawing with your phone and you didn’t even bother to pay a yuan for the interpretation.”
Lan He: “… you didn’t have to repeat the whole story…”
Cheng Haidong also mumbled, “Do you think it’s okay to not take money seriously?”
Lan He glanced at all the paper and nostalgically reminisced, “My grandfather used to make and buy these too, but not these big ones. Not everyone is willing to spend the money, I can rarely ever seen them.”
“Ah I see,” said the lead cameraman, “Well, according to the traditions, these banners are used for the deceased to accumulate virtue and luck. If they can’t put it up, it’ll cause quite some trouble… Welp, it’s not our business anyway, who knows what’s going on. Let’s go.”
Although the styles of the rented houses were all very ancient, people lived there all year round. Except for the poor lighting, the conditions were acceptable. Lan He picked up his luggage and watched Cheng Haidong walk into his house. They lived right next door.
Cheng Haidong started chewing on a marinated chicken foot10Aka. Braised Chicken Foot, an extremely popular dim sum dish and is fried and marinated with a delicious sauce out of nowhere, and said as he chewed, “Aren’t we supposed to be having a night shoot tonight? I think it’s right to the side of the mourning hall; I heard the director discussing this.
“Will there be adjustments?” asked Lan He.
“I don’t know, maybe,” replied Cheng Haidong.
After eating, they received an emergency notice that the night shoot was canceled.
“Maybe it’s because the director doesn’t want to disturb the deceased,” said Cheng Haidong, “Even the night shoot was delayed until they finish the funeral. Our plan needs to be changed, and we’ll get working tomorrow.”
The death happened just yesterday, and the mourning hall was set up very close to the desired site for the filming. These kinds of things were not part of their plans, but for people in this industry, most people would like to avoid misfortune, so this news of having a delay didn’t come as a surprise.
“Come with me to buy a pack of cigarettes,” said Cheng Haidong as he waved to Lan He. It was because of his addiction, and there was only one small shop in the village at the intersection of the main road junction.
Lan He complained, “Did you ask your classmates to accompany you to the restroom when you were in elementary school too? You seemed to be really used to it.”
But it was just a casual comment, he still went with Cheng Haidong anyway.
Again they passed near the mourning hall. At this time, it was already night. According to the custom, the head of the family had to stay beside and watch the deceased body overnight. The members of the deceased’s family were still on the side trying to set up the banner as if they couldn’t believe they wasted so much money on such a thing.
Cheng Haidong muttered to himself, “Why is it still not set up yet…”
Lan He thought, to himself, if they keep pushing it in the opposite direction, it would be indeed for them to set up.
Cheng Haidong went to the small shop to buy cigarettes and didn’t notice that Lan He beside him disappeared. When he walked out, he saw Lan He walking from the mourning hall. He said in surprise, “What were you doing?”
Lan He glanced back and replied, “Nothing much, I had nothing to do, so I lit an incense for the old man.”
The probably was, the quality of the incense wasn’t good: the powder was uneven, and it even smelled a little musty.
“Oh,” Cheng Haidong wasn’t sure what to do as he scratched his head, “Should I go too?”
“Haha, it’s okay. Let’s go back now,” replied Lan He.
When they reached the door, Cheng Haidong suddenly said again, “Wait, let’s go grab some more chicken feet, they taste great.”
The crew hired some women from the village to cook meals for them. They were stationed right beside their houses because there was a well right outside, making it convenient for them to wash the food.
When they got to the front doors, Cheng Haidong used his eyebrows to signal Lan He to speak. He already asked them this morning, and according to his experience, they would be more welcomed if Lan He asked.
At this moment, there are a few women in the yard preparing ingredients for tomorrow’s breakfast. Lan He knocked on the door twice and asked politely, “Sister, can we please buy some chicken feet?”
Although none of them knew Lan He, his handsome appearance, remarkable clear eyes, and sweet dimples all made them soften their hearts unknowingly.
“You don’t need to buy, I just made a big bowl myself. Wait for a second, I’ll go get some for you.” She quickly got up to wipe her hands and went to get the chicken feet.
Lan He followed to give her the money, but several other women had already started asking him questions.
“How old are you?”
“Are you an actor?”
“What shows did you act in?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
…
Cheng Haidong sighed. As expected, after seeing Lan He, all of them would open their hearts within three minutes.
Lan He didn’t care about these questions as he just stared at the chicken feet.
The porcelain bowl they were using seemed quite old. The chicken feet were cut in half and were thoroughly marinated, looking extremely delicious. Along with green onion, ginger, dried chili, and bay leaves that were all marinated into a dark color, the delicious fragrance instantly came towards his face.
A hand suddenly grabbed onto Lan He’s wrist when he reached forward to take the chicken feet. The woman said mysteriously, “Young man, be careful at night. The yard next door was where the man who passed away, Lao11The word Lao (meaning old) is placed in front of an elder person’s name when they’re usually being called by good colleagues, villages, or friends. It’s just a friendly term to add in front of a name Song lived.”
Translated by: UnderTheMoon
Edited by: Summit
Translator’s note: Hello everyone, thank you for reading. I know the first few chapters are already translated by Isohungry Translations, but I feel like my translation style is a bit different, and on top of that, there’s a lot of Chinese culture-related information as well. So I felt like it’s necessary to retranslate it and add all the footnotes. Hopefully, they can help you understand the novel better. Let me know what you think in the comments!
- 1Ming and Qing are the last two dynasties in Chinese history; Ming ruled from 1368 to 1644, and Qing ruled from 1644 to 1912
- 2Tai Shi and Shao Shi are government position names. Back in Ancient China where there still were monarchs, a Tai Shi position was one of the highest government positions that a person could get
- 3A renowned philosopher during the period of Warring States, Gui Guzi pioneered the techniques of rhetoric based on Taoist thinking
- 4Also translated as Chinese geomancy, feng shui a traditional Chinese practice, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment
- 5A square table commonly used for dining and was designed to seat eight people, with a bench for two on each side
- 6Aka, Spirit Money. It is a form of fake money that designed to be burnt so that it can be used by the deceased in the Nether World
- 7Setting up paper banners is another common tradition used at funerals in China. These banners could be up to 15 meters tall
- 8Approx. 150 dollars
- 9Aka. Lottery poetry: a fortune-telling practice where a user will choose a stick with poetry written on it out of a bucket and the fortune teller would interpret the meaning behind the poem
- 10Aka. Braised Chicken Foot, an extremely popular dim sum dish and is fried and marinated with a delicious sauce
- 11The word Lao (meaning old) is placed in front of an elder person’s name when they’re usually being called by good colleagues, villages, or friends. It’s just a friendly term to add in front of a name