Chapter 1: Begins with "Conquest"

2002, spring.

The crew of "Conquer".

"I asked you if this melon is ripe?"

"Card!"

"Director, why did you say cut? Is there something wrong with my acting?"

"Hong Lei...why don't you tone it down a bit? The character of Liu Huaqiang isn't as bad as you portrayed it to be..."

Taking advantage of the crew's NG break, a nimble figure brought two bottles of mineral water to the leading actor and director.

"Director Gao, Brother Hong Lei, have a drink of water and take a break."

When the two turned around, they saw Zhang Yuan's handsome smiling face.

Gao Qunshu: Thank you.

Sun Honglei: Thank you, little brother.

As soon as the two finished talking, two prompt sounds rang in Zhang Yuan's mind.

[Received thanks from Gao Qunshu, Director Skill +1! ]

[Received thanks from Sun Honglei, acting skills +1! ]

Comfortable!

Two bottles of water in exchange for two skill points, a sure win.

Three days ago, a dump truck took Zhang Yuan back to the distant year 2002.

That year, the housing price in the capital was only 5000 yuan per square meter.

That year, the total box office of movies nationwide was only 9 million yuan.

This year, Zhang Yimou's "Hero" will be released at the end of the year and become the box office champion.

This year, the posthumous work of "Brother" Leslie Cheung, "In the Mood for Love", is about to be released.

This year, Zhang Yuan started a new life and became a migrant worker working outside the Beijing Film Studio.

Along with him came something called the [Gratitude System].

This system allows him to gain skill points from anyone's thanks, gratitude, and appreciation.

The specific skills acquired vary from person to person. According to Zhang Yuan's observation, they are mainly based on what the person is good at.

Since he was here, he had to make the best of it. With the memories of two lives, he quickly adapted to his new identity and began to plan his life.

There are too many opportunities these days. Many of the top superstars and top directors of later generations are now either students or unknown extras.

After some consideration, Zhang Yuan decisively came to the crew of "Conquer".

After living his life over again, he decided to conquer the blue ocean of film and television starting with "Conquest"!
"Little brother, I see you are quite active. If you have any ideas, feel free to tell Director Gao." Sun Honglei took the water he gave him and put it aside, then smiled and passed the words to Zhang Yuan.

Although Sun Honglei plays gangsters to perfection in film and television dramas, he always has a smile on his face and is extra polite to everyone in real life.

"Hehe, thank you Brother Hong Lei." Zhang Yuan immediately put on a silly smile and turned to look at director Gao Qunshu.

"Director, my name is Zhang Yuan, and I really want to improve!"

Director Gao Qunshu burst out laughing. This boy was quite straightforward. He reminded him of himself when he was younger. He felt a bit of good impression of him.

"Oh, it's good for young people to be ambitious." The director replied with a smile, and looked him up and down: "Zhang Yuan, I remember it."

As the saying goes, it is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help when the time is right.

If Zhang Yuan were to go to a large film crew now, an extra like him would not be able to talk to the director or the leading actor, and the other party might not even pay attention to him if he wanted an autograph.

But the crew of the masterpiece "Conquer" has a very obvious feature.

poverty!
They are so poor that even the salary for extras is 10 yuan less than that of the big crews, only 30 yuan a day.

The male lead Sun Honglei’s pay was only 1000 yuan per episode.

Precisely because the crew was poor, everyone from the actors to the staff were very humble and easy to get along with.

Relying on this, he has gained a lot of skill points by delivering water in the past few days.

After a few more pleasantries, Zhang Yuan wisely stepped aside and returned to his job as a human background board.

"Zhang Yuan, how's your job as a water deliveryman?" As he returned to the group of extras, he immediately heard a sneering voice beside him.

Zhang Yuan didn't even bother to turn his head before he knew that this was his roommate Zhao Jin.

This person was also an extra like himself and came to the crew at the same time.

"The money given was not much to begin with, and you even paid for the water to give away. Aren't you stupid?"

"30 a day is only enough to eat a meal, what's the point of being so active?"

"I know the male lead, Sun Honglei. He's just a breakdancer, not a serious actor at all."

"This director Gao Qunshu is also a fool. I heard that he borrowed money to make this movie. Look at how poor he is."

"I don't think the drama shot by this small crew can even be broadcast. They can just pretend to be good at it and get by." Everyone should have this kind of poor student in the class when they are in school. It's okay for them not to work hard, but when others work hard, they will say discouraging words to wear down others' will, and try to "infect" others to become as lazy as themselves.

Zhao Jin is obviously such a "bad student".

But he had no idea that the "breakdancer" he mentioned would become a popular male star because of this drama.

And this "poor director" will direct the spy war movie "The Sound of Wind" a few years later!
The most amazing one is this “small crew”.

Even though more than 20 years have passed since the scenes such as "Hua Qiang Buys Melons", "Night Show with Feng Biao", and "Song Lao Hu Holds a Banquet" were written, they are still talked about by drama fans and have become famous online memes.

Besides, I can get a bunch of skill points with just a few bottles of water, what does he know?

Zhang Yuan just smiled at his roommate and didn't say much.

The following time went on as usual. Zhang Yuan prepared two whole boxes of Nongfu Spring in advance and took the initiative to deliver water to the actors during their breaks.

The crew was so poor that they didn't even have a tea table, so everyone was naturally happy to see someone offering to bring them water and expressed their gratitude repeatedly.

[Received thanks from He Tiehong, acting skills +1! ]

[Received thanks from Baihongbiao, alcohol tolerance +1! ]

[Received thanks from Liu Weiwei, temperament +1! ]

……

I gained a lot in one afternoon and became a familiar face in the crew.

Around five o'clock, the extras prepared to finish work and go home.

"See what I said? We put in two boxes of water and got nothing."

Zhang Yuan was too lazy to pay attention to him, and Zhao Jin was still standing there.

At this moment, He Tiehong, the actor who played Zhou Guoquan, walked towards them. He also served as the on-site producer of the crew.

"Your name is Zhang Yuan, right? The director wants to see you."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan smiled and turned around and said something to his roommate.

"I have something else to do, please go back first."

Then he followed the other party away in a swagger, leaving Zhao Jin alone standing there, his face gradually gloomy.

I am not afraid of my brothers suffering, I am just afraid of them driving a Land Rover. At this moment, Zhao Jin had mixed feelings and was wondering whether he should prepare a few boxes of water tomorrow.

But when I thought about the money I would have to spend, I hesitated again. It would be difficult to achieve anything great if I was so stingy.

Separately, Zhang Yuan came to Director Gao's side. The other party was smoking one cigarette after another, and it was obvious that he was worried.

"Here you go, kid." He finished one cigarette, lit the next one with the dying one and put it in his mouth: "Before you said you wanted to improve, and now you have a chance."

After a brief explanation from the other party, he understood that a supporting actor had something urgent to do and could not come to the crew.

"You and Tiehong have a try. If it works, the role is yours. If it doesn't, don't blame me."

This was an unexpected opportunity, but if he hadn't recommended himself before, this pie in the sky would never have fallen on his head.

"No problem!" Zhang Yuan immediately issued a military order.

Today alone he showed off his acting skills to the point of 10, and this minor supporting role was totally worthy of him.

After receiving a thin page of script, Zhang Yuan spent ten minutes reading it carefully to fully understand the character.

This supporting character is named Gao Erlin. He is the number one henchman of the villain Feng Biao in the film. He appears many times in the play and has a considerable role in the play.

After the preparations were completed, He Tiehong, who played Zhou Guoquan, acted with him in a scene where Zhou Guoquan was GANKed by Zhang Yuan while sweating in a sauna at a bathing center.

Picking up the prop knife, Zhang Yuan's aura changed, and he turned his wrist and put the knife on the opponent's neck.

"I'm telling you, learn your lesson and don't be shameless!"

Zhang Yuan's eyes were red and his face was twisted. Every time he uttered a word, the muscles on his cheeks would tremble. His originally handsome face now became extremely ferocious.

That look seemed to speak - unless I make you bleed a little today, no one can leave this door!
The actor who played Zhou Guoquan was so overwhelmed by Zhang Yuan's aura that he slipped and fell off the stool.

"That's enough." Director Gao immediately called a stop upon seeing this.

This guy's acting skills are obviously much better than I thought...

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

Originally he thought that this young man was quite capable and likable, and just when he was short of someone, he thought of this rather attentive boy.

He didn't have much hope for Zhang Yuan's acting skills. If it weren't for the fact that tonight's scene was so urgent, he really wanted to wait until the professional actors were in place before filming.

But he never expected that Zhang Yuan's performance gave him a surprise!
"Go to the dressing room on the second floor to change your clothes. There will be a scene tonight after dinner. Here is the script."

Zhang Yuan was overjoyed; the opportunity came faster than he had imagined.

After taking the script and giving it a quick read, a strange smile appeared on Zhang Yuan's face.

Because the scene that is about to be filmed is one of the three famous scenes.

Liu Huaqiang has a night show with Feng Biao!
(End of this chapter)