Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 367 Quickly, take out the ring!
Jing Tian's team clearly lacks crisis management skills. Jing Tian has always let herself be ridiculed without retaliating, which has led to Starlight Entertainment being completely clueless about crisis management as well.

They allowed topics like "Jing Tian acting like a diva," "Jing Tian abusing her assistant," and "Jing Tian having poor character" to escalate.

Jing Tian is an actress with poor professional skills and a bad track record, yet she is shrouded in a mysterious background that is hard to fathom.

Now, if you say she has character flaws and acts like a diva, mistreating her assistant, some people will actually believe you!
Who can blame Jing Tian for having a bad public image? If you were to say that Andy Lau was arrogant and mistreating his assistant, who would believe it?

Li Qiutang was unaware that Jing Tian was being targeted; he was busy reviewing the materials brought back by the site survey team.

The scenes in the ancient tomb palace of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" were all filmed indoors, with only two outdoor scenes: the grassland and the streets of New York.

After the script was finalized, Li Qiutang sent two location scouting teams to the Mongolian grasslands and New York, hoping to improve efficiency. However, it still took the two teams nearly three months to complete the initial location scouting.

The producer of the New York team said, "I think we should film in Toronto, where they offer great deals for the crew. When we went to New York, we talked to the local government officials about the requirements for filming, and it was too expensive."

Toronto is also a major film and television shooting base, with many film crews working there every year. The supporting hardware and software facilities are very mature.

Many Hollywood production teams consider Toronto a more affordable alternative to New York – even Hollywood production teams feel that filming in New York is too expensive.

Li Qiutang accepted the suggestion, indicating that he would give priority to Toronto when he conducted his own re-inspection.

The team from the grasslands went as far as the Bashang Grassland and even as far as the grasslands of Sichuan Province. In the end, they found a few excellent scenic spots in Mongolia and brought them back to show Li Qiutang.

The producer from the grassland team showed Li Qiutang the footage they had shot: "When we went there, the grassland was almost in winter, so the scenery wasn't great. But it will be much better when the grassland turns green again next spring."

This was Li Qiutang's first time filming deep in the grasslands, and also the first time he had to film outdoors for such a long time. Li Qiutang asked a very practical question: "How do you plan to deal with the food issue when filming outdoors?"

When the site selection team is conducting site selection, they must consider the supporting facilities on site.

The producer of the grassland team pointed to the photos on the screen and said, "This place is indeed a bit far from the nearest settlement. We are considering having the crew cook their own meals. We have discussed this issue with the local film company in Mongolia. They usually do this too, either by hiring meals from nearby scenic spots and having special vehicles deliver them."

However, Li Qiutang said, "If we contract it out to the scenic area, they may not take it seriously. It's not good to do it too early or too late."

"Yes, so we thought we'd bring our own chefs from Yanjing and hire a few more locally. Whether we're cooking large batches of food or hiring someone else's kitchen, we'll do it all ourselves."

"Okay, when I do the re-inspection, the production manager will come with me to see how to solve the problems of eating and using the restroom."

The grassland team highlighted two locations: the Ulanhada volcanic cluster and Moon Lake.

"Director, when we first saw this volcanic cluster, we felt it was perfect for our crew. Look at the colors, we don't even need to adjust them, it's exactly our style."

The producer showcased Volcano No. 6 of the Ulanhada volcanic cluster, which is dark brown with reddish-black hues, and indeed fits the art style of "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

There are also various aerial photographs, which are very spectacular and beautiful.

"This is great!" Li Qiutang liked it at first sight.

“We asked the local government, and they welcomed us to film there because their volcanic cluster is about to be developed, and our filming there can also help promote their business.”

"They're already preparing to develop it, why are they letting us in?"

“No problem. Their development is very slow. They are still applying for qualifications. We may finish filming before they get the qualifications. They won’t lose anything if we go in to film.”

Next, let's talk about Moon Lake. The final scene of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" involves the four-person group floating up from an underground river in a coffin. Li Qiutang planned to find a real lake for the actual filming, rather than digging a pool and using special effects.

The site survey team found Moon Lake in Alashan for him.

"Actually, we also looked at other places, such as Lushan West Sea, Changbai Mountain Tianchi, and Sayram Lake, which are all very beautiful, but considering the cost, we chose Moon Lake in Mongolia."

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "Are you suggesting we go into the water with these places? You're really daring to talk about them. Aren't they all key national tourism resources?" "There's always a way to overcome difficulties. I actually tried. Lushan West Sea said they were open to negotiation, but Tianchi and Sayram Lake were absolutely unyielding."

By the time the reports from the two site survey teams were finished, it was already afternoon.

Li Qiutang gave her colleagues in both groups a break and arranged for her to personally lead a team to New York and Toronto two weeks later. The grasslands are now in winter and there's nothing to see, so they'll go next spring.

Li Qiutang is off work tonight and is going home to have dinner with Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli.

As the year draws to a close, Liu Xiaoli asked Li Qiutang where they were going to spend the New Year this year. Li Qiutang could tell that Liu Xiaoli didn't want him to take Liu Yifei back to Fengtian. Last year, it was a must, but this year she wanted to leave her daughter and future son-in-law in Yanjing, or, to be bold, have them go back to Jiangcheng with her.

Li Qiutang actually has plans for this year: "Let's go to Sanya for the Spring Festival this year. We'll bring my parents along, and our two families can celebrate together."

Liu Xiaoli said there was no custom of celebrating the New Year with her in-laws, but she was actually very willing to do so.

At this point, the son-in-law should act understanding. Li Qiutang said, "Yifei and I are both only children. We can't bear to leave either of our parents behind, so it's better to bring them to live together."

Liu Yifei had already conspired with Li Qiutang: "Qiutang and I have already discussed it. From now on, we won't say whether to go to your house or mine, we'll just invite you to spend the New Year together. It'll save us the trouble."

Li Qiutang added, "Arguing about these things too much can easily lead to fights."

Liu Xiaoli didn't argue about such things and readily agreed, casually asking, "Is your dad about to retire?"

"It's still a long way off. My dad was born in 63, so there are still 10 years to go."

"Your dad got promoted to head of the teaching department?"

"Yeah, I got promoted last year. That's about it. Just keep teaching and you'll probably retire as vice principal at most."

"Your mom's little shop is doing pretty well?"

"It's alright, covering household expenses isn't a problem, the main issue is that she can't stay idle."

Li Qiutang still insisted on opening some kind of shop for Liu Xiaoli, such as a coffee shop, flower shop, or pet shop.

But Liu Xiaoli still refused with a smile, saying, "I'm already this age, why would I bother with all this? Running a shop would be a distraction. In a couple of years, after you have your children, I'll help you take care of them."

So that's what she was planning.

Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei exchanged a glance. Neither of them planned to have children in the near future, as they were both too busy with work.

But you can't say that, or you'll get scolded.

Liu Xiaoli added, "We can discuss the wedding arrangements with your parents during the Chinese New Year this year."

The two remained silent.

Liu Yifei thought to herself, "He hasn't proposed to me yet!"

But this thing is not important to Liu Xiaoli. Both of their parents have met and both families have agreed. The next step is to get married and hold a wedding. The proposal is just a ceremony and it doesn't matter whether it is there or not.

Liu Yifei kicked Li Qiutang under the table, signaling him to speak.

Li Qiutang ignored Liu Yifei's movements under the table and continued eating.

Damn it, you've been preparing the ring for two years and still haven't brought it out! Do you expect me to propose to you?!

(End of this chapter)