CH 59

November 8, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 59: The Tycoon Crew

“Hey, did you see, over there?” One of the staff members in the corner pulled his companion’s arm and lifted his chin towards the corner where Xi Qing and Gongxi Qiao were sitting. “What do you think about Young Master Gongxi? His family is rich, he’s capable, and he’s as close as brothers to the young masters in the Imperial Capital. Why would he bother to enter this circle?”

In the eyes of outsiders, the circle seemed limitless and high profile. In fact, there were a lot of people who made a living in this circle, but how many of them could really make a fortune? Every year, how many movies and TV shows were produced without even the chance to be broadcast, and then sank into the sea?

Some artists entered this circle for fame and fortune, but this man didn’t lack those, ah. Fame? He won glory for the country, the “Miraculous Hands Growing Flowers” technique stunned the world, and ‘Palace Banquet’ made domestic painters and historians rave. Fortune? He wasn’t lacking that. Aside from the fact that he could sell a painting for more than seven figures, his father had enough money in his hands to eat for several lifetimes. What did he want that made him enter the entertainment industry?

“For some people, the entertainment industry is a place to chase fame and fortune. For others, the entertainment industry is just a game,” said Staff Member B, who was pulled by the arm. “Maybe this guy is so good at what he does that one day he will be able to win glory for the country in his acting career. At that time, you won’t think he isn’t thinking straight.”

This said, even he himself felt a little ridiculous. Their motherland was rich and strong, not lacking in cultural heritage, and one of the few countries in the world with a brilliant ancient culture.

But in the film and television industry, this area was always no match for the West. There were even a few small countries in Asia that they couldn’t match.

In recent years, although the country produced some classic works, when it came to international acceptance, there was still a big difference. Their country’s performing artists also didn’t have a particularly high degree of international recognition.

Therefore, Gongxi Qiao didn’t have problems within the domestic film and television industry, but when it came to foreign countries, the most he could do was to make a few water bubbles. If he could get to the same level as Gu Nan, it would be a great success.

“Snort.” Staff Member A smiled vaguely. “I hope so.”

These days, their film and television industry was only superior when compared to their men’s soccer team when it came to international recognition. If Young Master Gongxi wanted to win glory for the country in regards to film and television, he would be better off doing some more calligraphy and painting a few more pictures.

“If he could really ……” Staff Member B lost his smile, feeling a little ridiculous that he still had this fantasy after working in this circle for more than a decade.

At noon, the team squatted under a sunshade on the set and ate a boxed lunch. However, because President Xi brought the ingredients with him on his visit to the set, the food was richer today. There were two meat dishes and one vegetarian dish, and the taste was particularly delicious.

Xi Qing didn’t get any special treatment. Like Gongxi Qiao, he received a box of rice and a box of vegetables and ate it in front of him. However, there was a cooler containing soup on his table.

“Is this the first time you’ve eaten something so common?” Gongxi Qiao took a bite of rice. To keep his wig from falling into the bowl, he used a large black hairpin to pin his hair to his costume, and the wide hem of his sleeves were rolled up.

The head of the Xi family was eating a boxed lunch around a broken table in the wilderness with a sun umbrella over his head. There was something wrong with this picture.

Xi Qing shook his head. “I once ate barbeque kebabs at a night market.” As he said that, he opened the lid of the cooler.

The cooler was very large. There were two layers of compartments inside, one with winter melon and seaweed soup, and the other with green bean and pork ribs soup, both of which were cooling and nutritious soups for summer.

Director Jiao, who was sitting not far from the two, sniffed and looked in the direction of the small table where Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing were sitting. He felt uncomfortable and smacked his lips. This dignified company president was eating boxed lunches with them. It wasn’t excessive that he brought his own soup.

When he went back later, he could at least brag to his peers that he was the director who made Big President Xi eat boxed lunches with the crew.

But the question was …… Why did the soup smell so good?

“The ingredients over here are limited, so only two simple soups could be made.” Xi Qing took two empty bowls from the bodyguard and divided up the soup into bowls. “I’ll treat you to a few more meals later, when you’re back in the Imperial Capital.”

“Then I’m looking forward to it.” Gongxi Qiao smiled and took a sip of the winter melon, seaweed, and old duck soup. Then he said, “I think you should give your bodyguard a raise when you get back. This cooking skill is a match for our Aunt Luo.”

“Okay.” Xi Qing picked up a duck wing and put it into Gongxi Qiao’s bowl. “I’ll give the guys a bonus when we get back.”

The bodyguard standing behind Xi Qing stood motionless as a mountain. Only the eyelashes under the sunglasses fluttered. He didn’t have money troubles.

“But, you would eat barbeque at a night market?” Gongxi Qiao finished gnawing on the duck wing, and was a bit skeptical. “According to your personality, you wouldn’t go to that kind of place.”

“There are always unexpected events in life.” Xi Qing picked up another duck wing and put it in his bowl. “Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to have an unexpected event every now and then.”

“So, did you think the barbecue was good?” Gongxi Qiao asked curiously.

Xi Qing shook his head. “It was years ago, I don’t remember anymore.”

The only thing he could remember now was the person who accompanied him to eat the barbecue, and the hustle and bustle along the street at that time.

“You don’t even remember the taste. It seems like it was a long time ago.” Gongxi Qiao nodded with understanding. “Barbecue isn’t something interesting to eat by yourself. If you’re suddenly curious one day and want to do some taste testing, you can ask me to accompany you.”

Xi Qing looked at Gongxi Qiao, suddenly showing an extremely faint smile. “Okay.”

After eating, less than an hour later, it was Gongxi Qiao’s turn to act. It was the hottest time of the day at two o’clock in the afternoon. However, luckily for him, the scene was shot under a tree, so he was spared the bad luck of being exposed to the sun.

This was a set of eye scenes in which his character, the Venerable Immortal, was meditating under a tree, watching the wind and clouds rise in the sky, and expressing his understanding of life through his eyes.

On the big screen, every tiny tremor of the pupil would be infinitely magnified. If the cinematographer, editor, director, and actor didn’t do a good job, the eyes that should be very dramatic might become blank or pompous after the movie was released.

Director Jiao was very good at shooting details, and the cinematographers were all masters in the industry. With the Xi Group’s financial resources, it wasn’t impossible to find reliable post-production editing. Therefore, Gongxi Qiao’s performance was especially important. This was also the first time in the crew that he was shooting such a close up eye scene, and it was even in slow motion. It caused the whole crew to start sweating.

“Camera one, move closer. Pay attention to the close-ups of the eyes. Keep the scene quiet and don’t disturb the actors’ emotions.” Director Jiao, who was caught up in his work, no longer had his smiling tiger facade. When he spoke, the whole crew quieted down.

However, from where Xi Qing was sitting, he could only see several cameras surrounding Gongxi Qiao. Not far away, a staff member held a large fan that was violently fanning him, making his sleeves, hair and leaves fly in the wind as much as possible.

At this moment, Xi Qing suddenly felt that these people who worked in the film and television industry…… Also didn’t have it easy.

“Good, good, good good good.” Director Jiao actually said good five times, excitedly patting his thighs. “Just use this, this is the feeling, this is the feeling.”

Xi Qing looked at Director Jiao, who was so excited that he was patting his thighs and hammering his chair excitedly and felt a little fortunate at the moment. Both of them were in the art business, but Xiao Qiao was more normal.

After finishing today’s shooting, Gongxi Qiao sat on a chair and let the make-up artists take off his headgear. Because the headgear had been on for too long and the weather was too hot, his forehead was a little red and there was a heat rash on his back.

Changing back to his own clothing, Gongxi Qiao said goodbye to the rest of the crew because he wanted to leave with Xi Qing.

Chen Yi looked enviously at Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing, who were surrounded by bodyguards and leaving. He also looked at his own scenes and let out a long sigh. He also wanted to take off his costume and lie back in the inn with air conditioning, ah.

Xi Qing stayed there for two days and three nights. Gongxi Qiao didn’t see him handle official business in these two days. What Xi Qing did every day was accompany him to meals and watch him filming at the shooting site. He was too leisurely to be the owner of a big prestigious family.

However, Gongxi Qiao didn’t ask him about this, and Xi Qing never mentioned work matters to him. Only when he said goodbye to Gongxi Qiao, he said with some regret, “If it wasn’t for company matters, I was going to wait until you return to the Imperial Capital.”

“It’s okay. We still have a few days left before we finish filming.” Gongxi Qiao looked at the jeeps that he heard downstairs. Unlike the muddy jeeps that came, these jeeps were already washed and clean, bright and reflective in the morning light. “I’ll come to you when I get back.”

“Take care of your health. Don’t only focus on filming.” Xi Qing reached out, paused slightly in mid-air, then gently patted Gongxi Qiao’s shoulder. “I’m leaving.”

“Call me when you get there.” Gongxi Qiao accompanied him down the stairs. The two walked to the jeep, where the bodyguard thoughtfully opened the door for Xi Qing.

“Have a safe trip.” Gongxi Qiao smiled at Xi Qing. The corners of his mouth curved up in a pretty arc.

Xi Qing looked at him for a long time before bending down to sit in the car. “Bye.” Before the door closed, he slipped a small bottle into Gongxi Qiao’s hand.

The jeep convoy slowly drove away from the inn. Gongxi Qiao reached out and waved his hand. He stood still and looked down at the object in his hand. It was a bottle of medicated oil to treat heat rash.

The crew members standing behind him were a little relieved and a little sorry that President Xi had left. They finally didn’t have to be so formal in what they said and did, but the quality of the food was going to decline.

It was true that you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too.

Only when Gongxi Qiao was no longer visible did Xi Qing turn around and take the phone from the bodyguard in the passenger seat.

“The plan against the Bai family is ready to be implemented.”

Cutting off the call, his eyes were cold. But when he thought that someone from the Bai Group was planning to make things difficult for Gongxi Qiao because of a small endorsement, he didn’t want to put up with it anymore.

Originally, the Bai family was an upper crust family, and he didn’t want the Bai family to lose face when the time came. However, since the other side was so eager to brandish their teeth and claws, he didn’t mind making them lose face.

Two days later, a small accident occurred in the inn. In the middle of the night, two thieves broke in. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to do anything before Jiang Long, who got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, found the two thieves. In the end, they were sent to the local police station.

The local area was a poor and remote mountainous region, and the leaders were trying to take advantage of ‘Cultivation’ to develop the tourism business. So, after hearing that the hotel where the crew lived was patronized by thieves, they were so angry that they immediately ordered the two thieves to be severely interrogated, and even paid a few locals to patrol the hotel.

Not only were the local leaders angry, the residents of this town were also very upset. They had known for a long time that someone was making a movie there. Although they didn’t know what they were making, they were proud to think that their scenery here could be on TV. As a result, this kind of disgraceful theft happened. Wasn’t their reputation ruined? Would other film crews dare to come in the future?

In this kind of small town, everyone was familiar with each other, and whenever an unfamiliar face appeared, it would cause people to look twice. So, for the next few days, the hotel where the ‘Cultivation’ crew stayed received complete support from the people.

After the filming, several of the main actors of the crew each donated a sum of money for the local people to use to build a school and health clinic, in order to thank them for their help.

And it was only then that the local people learned that the crew that had been here for a month was actually the ‘Cultivation’ crew. Unfortunately, by the time they got the news, the crew had already left. So, even if the entertainment media rushed in, they couldn’t get any useful news.

However, the media did report the news that the main actors of the ‘Cultivation’ cast donated to build a school and a health center for the town.

After the news was sent out, some netizens teased, “As expected of a tycoon crew, they went to shoot a month of scenes and actually gave the local area a school and a health center.”

Jokes aside, everyone was very complimentary of the behavior of the main actors.

There were too many news stories about a certain crew going to a certain location to film. However, it was unusual to see news about a certain crew going to a certain location to film and realizing that the local education and medical conditions were very backward, so they simply donated money to build a school and a health clinic.

“The ‘Cultivation’ crew is too low-profile. If not for the fact that the media happened to interview the local town leaders, it is possible that nobody would know about this apart from the local residents.”

“For this, when this movie is released, I’m willing to donate a movie ticket.”