Chapter 85: Filming Location Troubles

"There are many outdoor scenes in our drama, and there are no suitable places near the imperial capital, so we contacted the film and television base in Guangdong Province."

Zhou Xiaowen didn't expect Zhang Yuan to react so strongly after hearing the word "Guangdong Province".

"Do you dislike the weather there, or are you afraid that you won't be able to get used to the food there?"

Flying cockroaches are a bit scary... Zhang Yuan recalled the time when he was working on a project in Guangdong Province in his previous life. He got goose bumps all over his body.

But that wasn't the reason why he was so excited.

"Director Zhou, have you watched the news recently?"

"I watch it occasionally, mainly because I don't have the time." Zhou Xiaowen was already drunk and his reaction was very slow, and he became even more confused after hearing what he said.

Zhang Yuan frowned.

It is now mid-November 02.

At this point in time, a major event is taking place in Guangdong Province, which has changed the public health system of the entire China!
At first, no one paid any attention to the disaster.

It was just a flu, a few sick people, a few cases of pneumonia.

Until it becomes relevant to everyone.

It was not until years later that this disaster attracted attention.

In 04, there was a TV series called "Water Moon Cave", starring Yu Bo, Ada Choi, and Zhang Jin.

That’s right, Ada Choi and Zhang Jin met on this drama and later got married.

The filming of this drama started in early 03, and the filming location was initially chosen in Guangdong Province.

As a result, due to a single order, the production crew stopped filming for half a year and almost went bankrupt.

Later, the filming was changed to Suzhou, and the program was able to continue.

After hearing what Zhang Yuan said, Zhou Xiaowen felt as if a cool breeze hit the back of his neck. His whole body shuddered, and even he was already eight points drunk, but at that moment he sobered up seven points!

If that filming location really affects the filming, or even causes it to be interrupted, it would be a matter of life and death for the crew!

Zhang Da Huzi is a man who likes grand scenes. The crew of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" is expected to have nearly a thousand people on the crew at the same time.

Among these one thousand people, even if we remove half of the extras, there are still nearly five hundred permanent crew members.

With so many people, if we can't shoot for a few months...

Zhou Xiaowen felt his scalp tingling just thinking about it.

"Is it really that serious?" The bearded man looked at Zhang Yuan with a bit of fear in his tone, "Isn't this just a cold? As the saying goes, just cover yourself with a blanket and sweat it out and it will be fine."

Zhang Yuan did not answer him directly, but gave several examples.

"In 1918, before World War I, the Spanish flu, which originated in the Beacon Country, killed 5000 million people."

"In 57, a flu pandemic broke out in western Guizhou, sweeping the world in eight months, killing millions of people."

"In 68, the Hong Kong flu infected 15% of Hong Kong's population and killed over a million people worldwide."

"In our country, colds are not taken seriously, but in fact, this disease can be serious or minor, ranging from a few sneezes to pneumonia, meningitis, or myocarditis. It's hard to say."

"Oh..." Zhou Xiaowen pondered for a while, then gave Zhang Yuan an affirmative look with serious eyes: "I understand, I will study this matter."

Nothing more was said as the topic was quite heavy and the good atmosphere at the table had vanished.

"Brother Yuan, let's go." Shu Chang pulled his sleeve.

"Don't you doubt what I said?" Zhang Yuan looked at the other person curiously.

But Shu Chang shook his head: "I believe you. It's better to be careful than to get into trouble."

Zhang Yuan sighed, although they are of the same age, Shu Chang is much more mature than Liu Qianqian.

It’s true that children from poor families have to grow up early.

I sent Shu Chang back to her own community, or rather, to the community of her relatives on her mother's side. This girl has no property of her own. Although she has started to make money, she is still a minor and still lives under someone else's roof.

"You must have saved a lot of money from acting over the years, right?"

"Brother Yuan, how much money do you need? I'll lend it to you, but... I don't have much saved."

Before he could continue, Shu Chang took the initiative to speak.

"I'm not asking you to borrow money, at least not now."

Although he had no intention of lending money, the other party's attitude made him feel very warm.

In this world, those who are willing to lend you money are true friends, and those who are willing to pay you back can be considered your best buddies.

"What I want to say is that if you have the chance, you should buy a house in the capital as soon as possible, the closer to the city, the better."

"I quite like living with my family. There are old and young at home, and it's lively." Shu Chang said, but still listened to his words.

"Changchang, you're back!" As she arrived at the gate of the community, she saw a middle-aged couple with a little kid standing in the night waiting for her return.

"Uncle, aunt." Shu Chang immediately trotted forward and picked up the little girl who looked only three or four years old on the ground: "Juanjuan, come and pick me up?"

"Sister, sister..." The child spoke a little unclearly.

The middle-aged couple nodded to Zhang Yuan, thanking him for sending Shu Chang home.

At the same time, seeing that Zhang Yuan was handsome and looked upright, he seemed to feel a lot more relieved.

Zhang Yuan thought of what Zhou Xiaowen said not long ago. "Do beasts in our profession still care about age?"

It seems that Shu Chang's relatives are also worried that their daughter will be forced into prostitution.

If the person who came to see her off was not Zhang Yuan, but a greasy uncle with a big belly, the two uncles and aunts would probably be so angry.

Zhang Yuan greeted the two parents and chatted with them for a while.

Just now he was far away and it was dark, but now that he was closer, he felt that the little girl in Shu Chang's arms looked very familiar.

"Little Nezha..."

Without saying much, he hurried back home soon after.

The next few days were quite peaceful. He would go to Guangde Building whenever he had time, and the three people were very welcoming to him.

When I have time, I have to go to the Heyan Restaurant to keep an eye on it. The orders have been increasing recently, with an average of more than 400 orders a day, and the growth momentum is continuing.

Zhao Jin and Cao Jianjun are honest people. They know it is not easy to go from being an extra to a small boss. They did not cut corners or use spoiled ingredients to fool people.

Zhang Yuan gave them 20% of the profits each because he was afraid that they would not be able to make money and would try other tricks.

However, as the number of orders increased, the staff became increasingly stretched.

Cao Jianjun suggested that if necessary, he had many comrades in the kitchen squad who could be contacted.

Zhang Yuan said he would consider it.

And just like that, more than ten days passed.

That day, Zhou Xiaowen called him, and his voice sounded extremely happy, as if he had married a new wife.

"Hahaha, Zhang Yuan, you really made me proud!"

This guy was so excited that his voice almost became hoarse.

What's going on?
After Zhang Yuan told him about the affairs of Guangdong Province that day, Zhou Xiaowen thought about it and went to talk to Zhang Da Huzi about this topic the next day.

But the bearded man became furious on the spot.

"I asked you to be the director. It is my right as the producer to choose the location!"

The bearded man subconsciously thought that Zhou Xiaowen was trying to compete with him for power.

He blocked it with one stick, which made Lao Zhou very angry.

However, Zhou Xiaowen was still well-mannered and did not take his anger out on Zhang Yuan who made suggestions just because he was criticized.

It was not until this morning that Zhang Da Huzi, with a cheerful face and a gentle voice, found Director Zhou and politely spoke to him about the filming location.

"Xiao Wen, I've thought about it and the scenery in Guangdong Province is not suitable. It's better near Zhejiang."

Zhang Jizhong said it was inappropriate, but after Zhou Xiaowen finished speaking, he asked someone to investigate the situation.

There are bad, evil, and perverted people who can become prominent figures in the entertainment industry, but there are absolutely no stupid ones.

After analyzing the information sent to him, Lao Zhang also felt that something was wrong. To be on the safe side, he planned to change the shooting location.

This is why what happened this morning happened.

"You don't know, the bearded guy was very polite when he spoke to me." Zhou Xiaowen was so proud.

Ever since he took on this job, he has been competing with the bearded man.

This time, with the help of Zhang Yuan's advice, he was able to gain an advantage over the bearded man. How could he not be happy?

"Congratulations, Director Zhou."

"Hey, congratulations, you are the one who has the best ideas and good observation skills."

"If you weren't there, and something went wrong, the entire crew would be at a loss."

[Received thanks from Zhou Xiaowen, photography skills +3, camera movement +2, alcohol tolerance +2! ]

"By the way, come and sign the contract in a few days. The contract has been drafted for you." Zhou Xiaowen's tone suddenly became much lower.

"But you also know that Lao Zhang likes to lower his salary. The male lead in our drama only costs 300,000 yuan."

"It's not 300,000 per episode, it's a package price of 300,000."

"So, for your role as the fourth male lead, you can only be paid 3 yuan."

Zhang Yuan's face turned bitter. How come things were getting worse and worse?

I got 12 for "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

Zhou Xiaowen seemed to have expected him to remain silent, then he chuckled a few times and spoke again.

"I know you will think it's too little, but this movie will be helpful to your future career and fame."

"Besides, if the pay is low, we can find ways to make up for it from other places."

"Where?" Zhang Yuan wondered.

"At the banquet that day, you said that you were doing the lunch box business for the crew. Isn't that right?"

……

　Please make your first order!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)