Actor: Thank you.

Chapter 1186 Prefabrication

The capital city, the suburbs, a film set.

Zhang Yuan was dragged by Ning Hao to visit the set of "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman".

Small production crews don't have particularly high costs.

Theoretically speaking, Zhang Yuan doesn't need to go.

Because he neither acts nor invests, and he doesn't have many acquaintances.

Only Ning Hao made a cameo appearance.

But the question is, why did Ning Hao make a cameo appearance?

Ning Hao received support from Hua Ge, specifically through the Asian New Star Director Project.

Because Ning Hao was brought to prominence, the project continued and was renamed "Asia's New Gravity".

And "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman" is the film invested in by this second-generation plan!
Zhang Yuan came because of Hua Ge's influence, and so did Ning Hao.

If I can bring some traffic to the big brother and make more money, I'll consider it my responsibility.

The director of this film was 523, who was not yet well-known in the commercial film industry at the time.

This person had previously won a minor award in South Korea for an independent film and had gained some fame in the industry.

But he also mingles in circles, mainly niche art circles and ethnic minority circles.

How niche is this niche art? Well, let's put it this way: before he "got on the right track," the art he was involved in was all shady.

There's a movie series in Japan called "Guinea Pig," which falls under the "perverted" category.

That's right, it's not comedy, kung fu, pornography, or art; it's just perversion.

The very famous "Mermaid in the Sewer" is one of the works in this series.

The stuff these people make is something like this.

Some people call themselves artists, but what they actually do would make even the Shang and Mayan people exclaim in admiration.

Anyway, the ringleader was eventually sentenced to prison for a very "niche" crime.

I can't go into details, but when a pervert comes along, you have to say "pervert."

Art students, especially young people who are heavily influenced by foreign non-mainstream and abstract art, are easily misled.

When someone is bored out of their mind and always wants to make a name for themselves, they will do things that leave people speechless.

In his previous life, when Zhang Yuan was in school, he went to an exhibition at the school's art department with his friends.

One of the exhibits is called "The Miracle of Life".

The contents consist of a microscope and a glass slide placed underneath.

It belongs to installation art.

I looked through the microscope and saw that they were just some cells-like things that I couldn't understand.

Just then, the owner of the device, a male student with a sharp, long face and black nail polish, walked over.

Remove the glass slide.

A few minutes later, he ran back and put the slide back under the microscope.

Zhang Yuan was curious. What was this for?
I took another look.

They discovered that the cell-like things from before had started moving, and they were shaped like tadpoles with long tails...

After that day, Zhang Yuan never went to the school's art exhibition again; he felt that he was no longer clean.

It's so life-saving, so miraculous.

This incident taught him two things.

Firstly, there are some people in the art department who are really not right in the head.

Secondly, this person was in poor health, and the miracle of life was completed in just one or two minutes...

Ning Hao and 523 actually get along quite well.

Because both of them originally majored in fine arts, but switched to film and television studies.

After debuting, he first shot commercials to save money, build connections and funds, and then made movies.

However, after several failed attempts, Big Head realized that he was not an "artist".

But 523 always carried some "artistic pursuits".

In addition, his personal preference for gloomy and eerie things may also be related to his beliefs.

So the whole person looks particularly "artistic".

Knowing that Zhang Yuan was coming, this person came to greet him personally.

He had a buzz cut, wore earrings, black-rimmed glasses, and his beard was styled in a unique way.

He doesn't look like a director; he looks more like Tony, the senior director of a hair salon.

"Nice to meet you."

This was Zhang Yuan's first meeting with this person, and no matter what he thought in his heart, he still maintained a composed demeanor.

His smile was exceptionally warm and friendly.

Especially with photographers capturing the set visit, it was essential to maintain professionalism.

Upon arriving at the location, I first took a stroll around, looked at the various scenes, and greeted the crew members.

Small film crews won't have very "high-end" sets.

Let alone a large square like the one in "Curse of the Golden Flower" that can hold tens of thousands of people.

Even the elaborate palace scenes depicted in "Empresses in the Palace" are nowhere to be found.

After all, it's a "new director" project, so Brother Hua won't give too much money.

Back then, Ning Hao only received one or two million yuan. Without the 10 billion yuan subsidy for "Zhang Duoduo," he would have had to sell his car and house.

The scenes mostly consist of small, dilapidated wooden houses and fences.

Even the most luxurious brothel scenes have a dirty and filthy feel to them.

When the film was later released, it was criticized by many people for its dirty and messy visuals, making it uncomfortable to watch.

"The style of our show is down-to-earth and relatable, like being in the mud."

Seeing him frown at the muddy mess, 523 explained.

"A dirty or messy scene and characters can increase the information density of the image. Even if the budget is limited and the artistic processing is rough, it can still cover up to some extent."

After the other party finished speaking, Zhang Yuan ruthlessly tore off the veil of pretense.

If you're not good enough, just say you're not good enough; don't bring up artistic style.

Zhang Yuan knew this all too well, because that's how "Crazy Stone" was done back then.

Seeing that the other party was an expert and had hit the nail on the head, 523 awkwardly touched his nose.

Then she gestured to the cameraman, "Cut this part out, don't broadcast it..."

Actually, Zhang Yuan had already saved face.

Cost was not the decisive factor in the film's messy visuals.

The main reason is that 523 just likes this kind of "dirty" style.

This film is short of money, but not that short, because...

At this moment, a woman dressed in red, with cherry lips and a Tang Dynasty-style makeup, walked out from the temporary makeup area.

This red dress isn't the kind that covers you up completely.

It was open at the chest, revealing the red undergarment underneath.

"Teacher Zhang is great, Teacher Zhang..."

The person who came was Zhang Yuqi, the female lead of this drama.

Many people were captivated by her portrayal of Teacher Yuan in "CJ7".

He first became famous through KFC commercials, and later worked with Stephen Chow.

Her early image was youthful and innocent, leaning towards a vibrant and serious persona.

And like Xin Zhilei in the early days, this one is also known as "Little Song Hye-kyo".

They do have some similarities, especially the simple double ponytail hairstyle.

Until this show!
Not only did she change into period costume, but she also played the role of a courtesan.

The flavor is coming!

Tsk tsk tsk... Zhang Yuan smacked his lips.

This is more like her; this outfit is really cool.

After all, are any women who catch Stephen Chow's eye "easy targets"?

From Cecilia Cheung to Huang Shengyi, and then to her, none of them have been honest and quiet.

Stephen Chow likes this kind of thing.

Therefore, Zhang Yuqi's appearance is known as "Little Song Hye-kyo", but in reality, she is "Little Cecilia Cheung".

Looking at this person's attire, face, figure, and temperament, Zhang Yuan felt it would be a waste not to use him as a "mount".

But he had no intention of going up to chat with her.

Although Pang Hong said he was "unethical," there are actually very few people in the entire entertainment industry who are more ethical than him.

This film is divided into three stories, and the title "The Swordsman and the Smile" is an imitation or parody of the old film "The Swordsman and the Smile".

The content is divided into three parts, with pigs, snakes, and chickens representing the three thoughts of greed, anger, and ignorance, and a kitchen knife connecting the stories.

The ideas are there, and the forms of expression incorporate a lot of "postmodern art," adding many new techniques.

What's most memorable, besides Zhang Yuqi's red dress, is probably the scene of "the eunuch falling into the cesspool".

This part relates to the theme of "anger" in the story. They cast Masanobu Ando from Japan as the male lead, a chef whose entire family was massacred by his gourmet father, and who has been secretly plotting to assassinate him for revenge.

Just before he was about to kill his opponent with a black iron cleaver by performing a famous dish in front of him, the eunuch went to the toilet and fell into the dry latrine.

Ultimately, out of fear of his punishment, his subordinates killed him together in the latrine.

The cook's lifelong pursuit of revenge was accomplished in this way, just before he was about to achieve it himself.

Because of his obsession and the cruel twist of fate, he eventually went insane.

The way the Grand Eunuch died was clearly a tribute to Duke Jing of Jin.

This entire revenge story originated from a novella published in the magazine "Story Club" some years ago.

Anyway, if you just keep saving and saving, it will become movie content.

Screenwriting has always been 523's weak point.

Some people remember the old man falling into the cesspool, but most people have a vague memory of this story.

Even fewer people would remember the name of the restaurant where this vengeful chef worked.

The restaurant in the film is called "South Beauty".

It shares the same name as a currently popular Sichuan restaurant.

Because it was sponsored by "South Beauty"!

Besides Andy Lau, South Beauty Group also funded this film.

The reason why South Beauty sponsored this movie is because Zhang Yuqi is currently very close to Wang Xiaofei, who is known as one of the "Four Young Masters of Beijing"!
Even if Teacher Zhang were attractive, Zhang Yuan wouldn't have any romantic thoughts.

If it involves a man, or even the film's financial backer, I shouldn't get involved.

On the surface, the "young master" of South Beauty (俏江南) sponsored the film for his girlfriend.

Actually, the company has been racking its brains to expand its influence in order to create momentum for its IPO.

Zhang Lan was a torchbearer before.

Wang Xiaofei's constant public appearances are also aimed at increasing the company's exposure.

After wandering around for a while, Zhang Yuan saw Ning Hao getting his makeup done and preparing for his scene. Having already given away most of his favors, he decided to leave.

But before he could leave, someone stopped him.

"Nice to meet you!" Young Master Wang happened to be looking for his girlfriend and started chatting with him when he met him.

He even said that he invested in the play and that he would invest in it for him if he followed him in the future.

Zhang Yuan readily agreed and thanked the other party.

But the assistant and bodyguards standing next to him almost couldn't hold back.

My boss needs your investment?

Zhang Yuan glanced at the two of them. Brother Long was alright; he always had the poker face of a bodyguard.

He gestured for Zhao Dandan to tone down her expression.

"Boss, who is he?" the assistant asked, curious about the man's arrogant demeanor.

"There are more than twenty restaurants."

"That's just average," Zhao Dandan estimated.

After all, the assistant has seen it all now.

She had met Wang Wei of Tudou, Gu Yongqiang of Youku, Yang Shouchen of Yinghuang, and Han Sanpin of China Film Group.

Compared to the place we visited a few days ago, Jun'er is on a completely different level.

However, judging from his conversations, Jun'er is concise and reserved in private.

All that boasting and empty talk is just a performance at press conferences.

Anyone with a modicum of knowledge could tell from their conversation who was the one who actually got things done.

However, Zhang Yuan believed in a principle: precious jade has its use, and stubborn stone has its use; the key is how to use them.

He thought about it for a moment, and realized that this person might not be completely useless to him.

It's not that I'm craving their Sichuan food...

Rather, it concerns some technical issues related to the catering industry.

It just so happened that he arrived in the afternoon, and the film crew wrapped up shortly afterward.

Young Master Wang said he was treating everyone to dinner, and he invited the lead actors as well.

So we went to a restaurant called South Beauty in Beijing for dinner.

They ate, fine, but they even took a group photo.

Zhang Yuan estimated that it would need to be printed out tomorrow and hung in a prominent place.

"Young Master Wang," Zhang Yuan said politely, addressing him as "Young Master."

“I’ve tried other South Beauty restaurants before.”

"Logically speaking, chefs have varying skill levels, so the taste of each restaurant should be slightly different."

“But yours is exactly the same, which is quite interesting,” Zhang Yuan began.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaofei immediately began to boast.

"Because our family has the most advanced central kitchen system in the country!"

Let's discuss this in detail.

From cutting and pre-processing to packaging and transportation, they have a complete system.

The concept of "pre-made food" didn't exist at that time.

However, the purpose of a central kitchen is to pre-prepare food, enhance quality control, and simplify processes.

Chain stores that want to maintain consistent quality cannot escape this hurdle.

The only difference is that the central kitchen is slightly different.

Even if Sichuan cuisine like South Beauty is pre-prepared, it's at most just cutting the meat, marinating it, packaging it, and delivering it to each store.

Stir-frying, simmering, pouring hot oil—all of these processes must be done in the shop.

It's not like the "pre-made dishes" that you can just unpack, microwave, and serve.

Sichuan cuisine becomes inedible when dried like this; it completely loses its aroma.

Zhang Yuan was particularly interested in these things and asked about them in detail.

Young Master Wang was happy to say that it was his comfort zone for showing off.

The reason he was so interested was because he was worried about his subordinates.

The reason is that the two guys who made boxed lunches had already reached a bottleneck.

To keep up with the times, we need to industrialize and standardize our operations. We can't keep using small workshop methods, or we'll be eliminated by the times.

I don't care. Losing a little income each year is no big deal, and it saves me trouble.

But what about these two brothers, and the dozens of men under their command?
He ultimately couldn't let go of his old friends.

Therefore, we must transform!

A central kitchen system is a good solution.

It's not that pre-cooked food is bad; in fact, it's very suitable for certain specific scenarios, such as airplane and train meals, which are all pre-cooked.

The crew's boxed lunches were also like that.

Moreover, the biggest advantage of pre-cooked food is its cleanliness, which makes it less likely to cause large-scale public health problems.

At least it won't be like the "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" crew, where "the bearded man fell into the latrine"... This kind of thing can't be repeated.

Moreover, the crew members, especially those from lower-level positions, don't care about taste.

In recent years, it has become fashionable for lead actors and directors to bring their own chefs to the set, and they don't necessarily have to eat boxed lunches.

Veteran actors like Andy Lau disapprove of bringing chefs onto set, but many idols do it.

They might even sign a contract with the production team.

It didn't originate domestically; it's all imported from Hollywood.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan judged that this set of equipment could be used in the crew's meals.

"Young Master Wang, may I have a look around?" he asked abruptly.

This left Wang Xiaofei completely bewildered.

This is the first time someone has made this request.

how?

Are celebrities' hobbies really that strange these days?

Seeing the other party's confusion, Zhang Yuan gave a brief explanation.

Wang Xiaofei revealed a disdainful look.

Oh, it's just a place that sells boxed lunches... totally low-class.