These low-budget web movie directors are not the kind of well-established, famous directors who can afford to be willful.

They also need to build connections, hope to advance in their careers, and wish that one day the films they direct can make it to the big screen and win various awards.

"Yixia, here's the situation." John Grant took Ethan Brooks to a quiet corner and got down to business. "A minor supporting actor in the crew had some family issues and needs you to fill in. The role doesn't have much screen time, just a few lines and about ten seconds on camera. I've already spoken to Emily Bolton, and she'll arrange for the crew to sign a supplementary agreement with you later."

"Okay, I'll follow your arrangements, Brother Grant." Ethan Brooks nodded.

He naturally had no objections.

Such minor supporting roles don't pay much, but a role is a role, and he also wanted to see if he could draw a skill card.

John Grant was very pleased with Ethan Brooks's attitude, and became even more sincere with him, taking out the script and explaining the supporting role to Ethan Brooks.

This supporting character is called William Moore, a traditional Jiangnan-style bun-making craftsman who made it to the quarterfinals in the King of Chefs competition, but lost to the third male lead in the round of eight.

Ethan Brooks only needed to film a few background shots, entrances and exits, and a scene where he's interviewed by a reporter, plus a close-up of him seriously making xiaolong mantou during the competition.

After losing the match, he would say to the third male lead: "Your culinary skills are superb; I am not as good as you."

After saying his line, he could exit the stage.

The rest of the story is that the third male lead is easily crushed by the main villain, highlighting the villain's terrifying dominance in cooking.

Then, in the finals, the main villain is defeated by the protagonist against all odds, the protagonist wins the title of "King of Chefs," and preserves the signboard of his grandfather's old brand, 【De Hong Lou】.

Ethan Brooks understood that his role was to set off the third male lead, who in turn sets off the villain, and in the end, all the glory gathers on the protagonist. This is a typical "爽文" tournament arc.

"Yixia, don't worry about not knowing how to make xiaolong mantou. Later, the director will shoot close-ups of a professional chef's fancy techniques. You just need to act the part and look convincing."

"Of course, to make your actions and expressions more realistic and avoid any obvious mistakes, you still need to learn the basic process of making xiaolong mantou—mixing the filling, kneading the dough, pinching the pleats, and so on. Get a feel for it, and then design some camera-friendly moves and expressions."

After saying this,

John Grant took Ethan Brooks straight to the De Hong Lou bun kitchen, hoping to have the head bun chef, Charles Carter, personally demonstrate and teach Ethan Brooks.

Charles Carter was an old man nearing sixty, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a stern face.

He wasn't very happy about the filming disrupting De Hong Lou's normal business, but since the boss had already given instructions, he could only cooperate reluctantly.

After listening to John Grant's request, he nodded without saying much, and directly had his apprentice bring over some pre-mixed filling, kneaded dough, and a kitchen scale.

"Young man, I'll show you how to make xiaolong mantou. Watch carefully." Charles Carter first pinched off a piece of dough. "The dough should be about fifteen grams. If it's too much, the skin will be thick and uneven; too little, and the skin will be thin and easy to break."

He didn't even weigh it, just started rolling out the skin with a rolling pin: "The mantou skin must be uniform in size and thickness."

In just a few moves, he finished rolling the skin, scooped a spoonful of filling into the center, curved his palm slightly, and the skin wrapped most of the filling. Then, rotating his palm, his right fingers deftly pinched and twisted.

In just two or three seconds, a xiaolong mantou was formed in his hands—thin-skinned, white and tender, plump and round, each pleat curving upward in perfect symmetry, resembling a chrysanthemum or a carp's mouth, giving a pleasing sense of beauty.

"The filling is about thirty grams, and the pleats should be controlled between eighteen and twenty-three."

After this brief explanation, Charles Carter stepped back and said coldly to Ethan Brooks, "Young man, doesn't look too hard, right? Give it a try."

John Grant, watching from the side, broke out in a cold sweat.

What do you mean, "doesn't look too hard"?

This is the classic case of "looks easy, but is actually super hard once you try," and the way you explained it so concisely—anyone who could learn it that fast would be a genius.

But Ethan Brooks remained perfectly calm and nodded in agreement, "I've memorized it all. Let me give it a try."

After speaking, he washed and dried his hands.

First, imitating Master Carter, he casually pinched off a small piece of dough.

This action looked very simple, but Master Carter raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Ethan Brooks didn't roll out the skin right away. He put a bowl on the kitchen scale, tared it, and weighed his piece of dough: sixteen point three grams.

Huh?

Was it off by that much?

He pinched off another piece and weighed it: fourteen point four grams.

Another one: fifteen point three grams.

Pinch, pinch again, and again!

From the sixth to the tenth piece, every piece of dough Ethan Brooks pinched off was exactly fifteen grams, with a margin of error within zero point one grams.