Chapter 942: Xiao He: A Tribute to My Fans!
At this time, Xiao He was unaware of the discussions taking place in the country.
The rest of the match had little to do with Xiao He.
Having essentially secured the gold and silver awards, all the troupe has to do now is wait.
Qu Kangcheng and his team of instructors were waiting for everyone outside.
When he saw the actors from the troupe running out, chatting and laughing, a smile also appeared on his face.
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"
Yang Heng went over first and hugged the elderly man who had come all the way with them: "Teacher, we are currently ranked first in total points! Did you see that?"
"certainly!"
Qu Kangcheng hugged his most prized student back and said with a smile, "Although it's been six years since you last participated in the World Olympic Drama Competition, didn't you participate before? Why are you making such a fuss this time? Don't be so happy now. Before the final results are out, everyone should stay calm and not get carried away."
"Can that be the same? When I came here, I was just a supporting character," Yang Heng complained, somewhat embarrassed.
Six years ago, Yang Heng was not the chief, and he was even a minor.
Back then, when the seniors took me out to participate in competitions, I always felt that they had my back, so I wasn't worried at all.
This time it's his turn to play the lead role, and he feels like he's carrying the expectations of many people on his shoulders, so he's still a little nervous no matter what.
"Haha, good, very good! You all did a great job this time!"
The rest of the troupe laughed along with them.
At this moment, Liu Rulan walked over with her arms crossed, smiling at everyone, and said, "We have arranged the most famous and distinctive local restaurants. Would you all like to go and enjoy the food and relax?"
Xiao He responded most enthusiastically: "That would be perfect! Since arriving here, apart from the first meal, I haven't been able to eat any other traditional local delicacies. I've been looking forward to it for so long."
Since they were out to participate in a competition, they were naturally quite cautious about their diet. It wouldn't be good if the entire crew got food poisoning. So, after landing here, they ate the hotel's standard food, and when they went out occasionally, they ate very light meals.
Xiao He had been holding back for quite a while. If Liu Rulan hadn't been holding him back, he probably would have already climbed out the window to find something to eat.
Liu Rulan nudged Xiao He with her elbow in exasperation: "As an artist, can you please stop thinking about food all the time? Besides, none of us are eating out."
Aside from the actors, the rest of the support staff who came with them also didn't eat out much.
Xiao He: "...Fine, it's on me! Don't anyone try to take it from me!"
...
After relieving themselves of their burdens, everyone happily went to a local specialty restaurant to enjoy a delicious meal.
Influenced by Mediterranean and Central European cuisines, the traditional specialties of Bosnia and Herzegovina are mainly chebacheche and kebabs.
Cevapi, also known as Balkan sausage, is a very common food in this region. As the name suggests, it looks like a sausage, but it doesn't actually include a casing. Instead, it's handmade and shaped like a sausage roll made from minced beef or lamb. It usually contains a lot of onions and garlic.
This dish is the signature dish of the restaurant that Sister Liu chose. It is grilled by the chef in the kitchen. The sausage is shiny and sizzling with oil. The skin is slightly charred and firm. The charcoal fire under the food is crackling and popping. The smoke rises and the rich aroma of meat is very appetizing.
Once the food was served and put into your mouth, the juicy and tender meat filling burst on your taste buds. Then, coated with a rich and creamy local cream sauce and paired with a pocket-shaped Bosnian pita bread, the fragrant yet not greasy feast completely won over everyone here.
"Wow! Sister Liu! Perfect!"
Xiao He gave Liu Rulan a thumbs up and praised her enthusiastically.
"Where did you find this restaurant? It's absolutely delicious."
While it's true that different regions have their own unique cultures and cuisines, it's undeniable that some regional cuisines do have distinct taste barriers. This is especially true for Chinese people, who are born into a culinary powerhouse. When they travel to other countries to eat food, they often find that it doesn't quite suit their palates.
However, tourists from outside the area may not be able to accurately find the truly delicious local food shops.
In the end, all I could do was visit the popular spots on the internet one by one and order a plate of food to enjoy.
Liu Rulan raised the corners of her lips, tilted her head slightly with great humility, and said in a light tone, "I just picked this randomly, I'm glad you like it."
Xiao Chen, while stuffing food into her mouth, asked in confusion, "Hey, but Sister Liu, didn't you find this shop from Brother Xiao's fans?"
Liu Rulan: "..."
The woman rolled her eyes and shoved a large pancake into Xiao Chen's hand with a very annoyed tone: "Eat yours! You've been my assistant for so long, and you still blurt out everything. I'll have to deduct your bonus next time!"
Xiao Chen said with a wronged expression, "Oh."
Xiao He: "Wow, Sister Liu, I never thought you were this kind of person! You said before that I only thought about eating, but your manager contacted fans privately, wasn't that also for a bite to eat? Is this the darkness of the entertainment industry, or the depravity of managers? Seeing you like this, I am truly heartbroken."
Liu Rulan: "I'm just asking if you've eaten yet? Was it good?"
Xiao He chuckled and remained silent.
"Besides, I didn't really ask on purpose. Last time you went to see the first performance of the theater troupe's competition, I happened to run into one of your biggest fans, so I just asked about it," Liu Rulan said. "It was that uncle who sat next to you and chatted with you all night last time."
Xiao He recalled for a moment, then his expression cleared with understanding: "Ah, it's him—"
Then, pointing to himself with some disbelief, he said, "You're saying he's my fan?"
That uncle was very friendly and knew a lot. He knew the strengths of the participating theater companies from different countries, their best performance styles, their favorite popular plays from various theaters, and the most common adaptations...
Xiao He could clearly sense that the other person was a very seasoned theatergoer who genuinely enjoyed these things, which was why he had accumulated so much knowledge, rather than an enthusiastic fan who came specifically to see him.
The fans came to see him, but he came to see the show.
That's obvious.
So Xiao He never expected that he was actually his °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° fan.
Moreover, the other party had never mentioned this to him, nor had they asked him for an autograph or a photo.
"Which fan is he?"
"【The fighter jet in the box】".
Xiao He quickly retrieved the key information from his mind, and then immediately realized: "Is he the one who won the Best Actor award at the Baiming Awards and was the one who won a car in the fan forum?"
Thanks to his current "photographic memory," Xiao He has many fans now, but he can basically remember the names of all the fans who have appeared.
Liu Rulan nodded: "His previous ID was a string of random characters. It first appeared when he was commenting on your 'Twelve Mirrors,' so I guess that's when he started paying attention to you. And he just happened to run into you here to watch the competition."
"So it was him!" Xiao He said with some regret. "I didn't expect Uncle to have such a name. Why didn't he ask me for an autograph or anything?"
Liu Rulan covered her mouth and chuckled, then said with a knowing look, "People their age are indeed more reserved, and they're not good at expressing their affection and admiration for a young person the same age as their daughter, so they can only use that subtle way to build a good relationship with you."
"That's why he recommended this restaurant to me. Apparently, he flies abroad all year round and has been to the capitals of these countries, so he's quite familiar with them."
No wonder—
Xiao He took another bite of the delicious food, then raised his glass with great emotion: "To my fans!"