Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming

The room smelled terribly of burning firewood. Fortunately, there were cracks in the window frames and the door, so Qin Guan didn’t have to be careful about inhaling the gas.

Although he was tired, he woke up at the first crow of a village rooster. He felt hungry.

As he was trying to go back to sleep, the rooster crowed a second time.

"Is that a rooster?" Attracted by the sound, Qin Guan put on his coat and shoes and walked outside. Silence was still prevailing in the yard. Everyone else was still asleep. It was dark outside, with only a beam of morning light rising in the East.

The rooster’s third crow revealed its location. Qin Guan’s eyes sparkled in the dark like yellow weasels.

Crack!

The yard door opened and a figure sneaked out.

In every village, the rooster that crowed first was usually the strongest one. The rooster was standing on a branch by the entrance of the village, looking as if it was sitting on a throne. After its third crow, the villagers would get up and get to work. Qin Guan barely had a few minutes left. He had to take the criminal and turn him into stewed chicken with mushrooms. Of course, he would pay for the dish.

Qin Guan hunted down the rooster until he caught him. After a short, fierce battle, he finally grabbed the rooster’s legs. There were some marks left on his hand.

The respectful warrior didn’t give up though. The rooster tried to attack the disgusting man with its sharp claws once again.

Director Yin was the first one to spot Qin Guan. He had seen a suspicious man sneak into the yard and go into the kitchen with a weapon.

"Who is there?" Yin shouted loudly. Suddenly, he was stunned.

"Hush, director! I came here for Lao Wang." Qin Guan gestured nervously at Director Yin. Only the phrase "chicken feathers everywhere" could be used to describe his appearance.

There were feathers in his hair, on his clothes and on his shoes. He looked like he had just survived a fierce battle.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to eat stewed chicken with mushrooms."

"Just tell the cook then. What are you doing with that rooster?"

"It has a wonderful voice, sir. It seems really delicious, much better than the other ones."

"Did anyone see you?"

"No! It shouldn’t have been shouting by the entrance of the village."

Director Yin looked speechlessly at the shameless man. "You have to pay for the rooster. Double its usual price!"

"No problem!"

He rushed into the kitchen as Lao Wang applauded. Director Yin put on his coat out in the yard, thinking about the possibility of having lunch with Qin Guan.

Not long after, Wang Liying got assigned a task. She had to find the rooster’s owner and give him her sincere condolences along with some money. When will we leave this village? My boss has become a thief!

When she returned though, the wonderful smell all over the yard made it all worth it. Lao Wang had cut the rooster into pieces and thrown them into a large iron cauldron.

He fried the meat with ginger, onion and chilli. In three minutes, it had turned a golden-yellow color. Then the cook added water into the cauldron along with some wild Zhen mushrooms, which were a North-Eastern Chinese specialty.

Ten minutes later, he opened the lid of the cauldron. Everyone turned their eyes to the director when they smelled the fragrance.

"What are you looking at? Go have some dinner!"

Everyone cheered. The simple North-Eastern dish attracted people from all corners of China. Delicious food always brought people together. Everyone liked traditional village dishes like ribs with corn, pickled cabbage powder, and North-Eastern stew.

North-Eastern cuisine was famous for its large portions and various tastes. When the crew headed to Tibet, everyone was still obsessed with the taste.

The Tibetan Plateau was the place closest to the Sun in China, so the local residents had dark skin and red cheeks. The Potala Palace was a holy place for all Tibetan people, so they saw sincere pilgrims everywhere along the way.

The sound of prayer wheels was heard from afar. The boundless plateau was the final setting of their film.

The Tibetan Military Hospital had cleaned the deserted building and lended it to the crew for free. The prop team recreated a room of the time in the building.

By the time Qin Guan walked out of the dressing room, his skin had turned bronze. Cracks and wrinkles had appeared on his lips due to the rough living conditions.