2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 5 Done

Chu An's sarcastic remarks were quite damaging.

Not only did it put Ma Guoyou in an awkward position, but the final sentence, "Let the crew film it," made his heart clench even more.

He stopped arguing and insisted on getting Sun Lianqiao into the car to leave.

But verbally, he couldn't let go of his sense of morality, saying, "Come on, let's not stoop to the level of those two kids, let's give Old Chu face!"

Sun Lianqiao was still angry and refused to leave.

Ma Guoyou simply shoved him into the passenger seat, got in the car, and sped off.

As he drove out of the family compound, Ma Guoyou felt increasingly uneasy.

He simply said, "I'll talk to the factory manager later. Let's postpone the vote at tomorrow's workers' congress until things calm down!"

Sun Lianqiao was dumbfounded. "No way, brother-in-law! You actually believe that brat? How dare he persuade the film crew to include us in the movie?"

Ma Guoyou glared at him, "Better safe than sorry!!"

"Give me a break!" Ma Guoyou's eyes were practically bulging with disdain. "You're such a coward! You always hesitate and overthink everything."

Ma Guoyou retorted angrily, "That's called being cautious!! What do you know?!"

To be fair, Ma Guoyou is indeed cautious; otherwise, he wouldn't have climbed to this position. Even with that incident back then, wasn't it because he sensed something was wrong beforehand, and went to Old Chu's house crying and kneeling, that Chu Jianjun took the blame for him?
Therefore, Ma Guoyou felt that being careful wouldn't hurt.

He glanced at Sun Lianqiao, half-threatening and half-reassuring, "It's better to be safe than sorry! The crew is practically living at his house, and I heard Chu An even got a role. Who knows what's going on? What if he's managed to get on good terms with the crew's leaders?"

"Besides, there's no rush. As long as I'm in the logistics department, no one can take the storefront from me!"

Although Sun Lianqiao was unwilling, he still had to listen to his brother-in-law. But he felt so frustrated that he slammed his fist on the car door.

"You little brat! You just wait!"

On the other side, the surrounding neighbors were also amazed. Ma Guoyou, such a capable person, was rendered speechless by Chu An's scathing remarks.

They looked at each other, realized they were bored, and felt a little guilty, so they eventually dispersed.

In the blink of an eye, only the Chu siblings remained on the main road.

Chu Ning felt a mix of emotions. He had finally gotten his revenge, but the price was high. Offending Ma Guoyou meant he would never be able to rent a shop again.

The little hope that had just been rekindled in her heart was completely extinguished, and she felt like a deflated balloon, utterly heartbroken.

But thinking about everything that happened today, she couldn't help but tremble and cry with grievance.

Why can other families live a good life, but ours can't? Why are we so unlucky?

At that moment, the inner strength and stubbornness crumbled as the Jetta drove away.

Chu Ning slowly squatted down, burying her head between her knees. Her long, black, shiny braid hung down to the cement floor, covered in dust.

Chu An watched silently, offering no advice, but quietly leaning closer so that his older sister could rest her legs against his.

Actually, she should have cried when she decided not to go to university; this catharsis was far too late.

After a while, Chu Ning's breathing calmed down.

Chu Ancai spoke calmly, "Have you cried enough?"

"Get up after you've cried enough, don't let people laugh at us!"

Chu Ning immediately realized what was happening, stood up briskly, wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, and then raised her head high.

"Life must go on. Even if you are knocked down, you must live on with strength."

Chu Ning forgot which book she had read it in, but it must have been something like that.

Chu An found it amusing; he hadn't expected his older sister to have the potential to be a literary youth.
He laughed, "That's really insightful!"

Chu Ning: "Get lost! Haven't I beaten you up in years, huh?"

Chu An: "We've cried and we've felt sentimental enough, shall we go?"

Chu Ning, "Where are you going?"

Chu An said, "Why don't you rent a storefront from the film crew? Ma Guoyou is right about one thing: the storefront belongs to the factory, so Ma Guoyou really can't make the decision."

Chu Ning didn't react for a moment, and stared blankly for a long time before her eyes suddenly lit up. "You...you...you...you wouldn't actually have gotten on good terms with the production crew and be able to get them to change the script, would you?"

In this era, a film crew is someone who can reach the highest levels of authority. Clearly, Chu Ning realized that if the film crew could intervene, there was still hope.

This time, Chu An didn't try to fool his sister like before. He told her the truth, "My dear sister! The film crew has only been at our house for less than a day. Even if your brother is loved by everyone, it's impossible for him to get along with them!"

Chu Ning asked, "Then how are you going to ask them for help?" Seeing Chu An heading downstairs, she thought he was daydreaming and quickly stopped him. "Why don't we wait a bit longer? Wait until you've built a good relationship with the crew before asking them for help!"

"No matter what, we'll wait until you've pickled the vegetables and sent them out before we beg you!"

Chu Ning's logic is simple: if you need someone's help, you either have a good relationship with them or you have something in return. Otherwise, who would help you?

Chu An laughed, "No need this time, just go directly to them."

As they were talking, they had already reached the bottom of the stairs. Chu An simply told Chu Ning to wait downstairs, and he would come down right away. He then picked up his things and went into the building.

The eggs and ingredients for pickling vegetables he bought are still lying at the entrance of the building!
At this moment, the crew was filming scenes at Chu An's house, specifically at Liu Xia's house. They needed to maintain absolute noise control and ensure there was no off-screen noise.

When Sister Lan saw Chu An squeezing in with bags and packages, she was startled. She was afraid that the boy would make some noise and provoke Lu Mingze into a rage.

Well, the actress playing Liu Xia's "mother" can't get into character, and Director Lu's face is not looking good right now; his anger level is almost full.

Chao Chuan winked at him, signaling him to keep quiet.

Chu An was clearly aware of the crew's rules, so she walked very carefully. She even pointed towards the kitchen to Sister Lan, indicating that she had something to say to her.

Sister Lan was quite puzzled. What could this young man possibly want from her?
As soon as Chu An entered the kitchen, he got straight to the point without any preamble.

"Sister, I have something I'd like to ask you. I'm wondering if the production crew can help."

Sister Lan, "What's up?" Chu An, "I saw a set in the script, it's the school's convenience store, and it has quite a few scenes."

"Oh," Sister Lan said knowingly, "Is there such a background?"

"It's just not decided yet."

Upon hearing this, Chu An asked again, "Is that a set built or a borrowed scene?"

Sister Lan doesn't shy away from the fact that she has always had a good impression of this younger brother. "Where would we get the money to build a set? We've found an art director outside."

"Set construction" means that the production crew sets up the sets themselves. The advantage is that they perfectly match the script and shooting requirements, but the disadvantage is that it costs money.

Borrowing scenery, as the name suggests, means using existing locations. Usually, the art department and location liaison of the film crew go together to find them.

Similar to the case of Chu An's house, there are ready-made old Northeast folk houses, and the film crew can start filming as soon as they spend a small amount of money to set up.

The advantages are that it saves money and time. The disadvantages are exactly the opposite of set construction; it will more or less deviate from the script, and the space cannot fully meet the shooting requirements, resulting in poor camera work.

There are three important filming locations for this drama: Ningyuan No.1 Middle School, Liu Xia's home, and this small shop, which is the base of Liu Xia and other main actors in the drama.

Unlike film crews, television production teams are not as well-funded, and their budgets are often very tight. Therefore, they try to save money wherever possible, and filming locations often require renting venues.

Sister Lan looked at Chu An with amusement, "What's wrong? Do you have any relatives who own a small shop?"

Sister Lan had seen this kind of thing many times. In China, you can't escape the importance of interpersonal relationships no matter where you are. It's normal for people in the group to introduce others with connections and then try to gain some personal benefits. That's what she did too; otherwise, she wouldn't have asked Chu An to step in at the last minute.

For scenes in a drama that are of certain importance, as long as the production crew has filmed them, it can boost business.

Sister Lan thought she had seen through Chu An's thoughts and teased, "I didn't realize you were so cunning!"

Chu An chuckled, neither denying nor admitting it.

Then Sister Lan's tone changed, and her expression changed as well. "Don't be so familiar with me! I don't fall for that!"

He scoffed, "A mere extra trying to pull strings on her very first day on set? I've never seen anything like it before. She really thinks she's one of us!"

This was a half-joking, half-subtle remark, typical of adult conversation. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't be a big deal for Chu Anzhen to suggest a small shop as a filming location; it would even indirectly help the production team, provided the conditions were suitable.

If it's inappropriate, and Chu An still shamelessly clings to her, that won't be good for anyone.

"Tell me, where is the shop? What are the conditions? If it's about right, let the art director take a look before we can make a decision."

Only after Sister Lan had finished her groundwork did Chu An speak.
"I don't have any relatives who own small shops, but sister, do you think it would be okay for my family to open a small shop?"

This surprised Sister Lan. "You're opening one?"
She immediately realized what was happening, and the way she looked at Chu An changed completely.

I thought to myself, "This kid's got some nerve! He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve!"

He didn't want to share the benefits of using the production crew's influence with anyone else; he wanted to keep them for himself. How wishful thinking!
He squinted at Chu An, wanting to tease him, "You're quite direct, aren't you? Why is it that the film crew didn't even build a set, but they still opened a shop for your family?"

Chu An quickly shook his head, "The production crew doesn't need to pay. We'll open the shop ourselves and lend it to them for free, without them having to pay us!"

Sister Lan just looked at him with a smile on her lips. You could only say that he was still too young and naive, and his thoughts were written all over his face.

She opened the shop with her own money, decorated it according to the film crew's requirements, and then gave it to the film crew to use for free. So this wasn't asking her for help, but rather Ma Lan asking Chu An for help.

Chu An definitely has something he wants; we're just waiting for him to say it himself.

As expected, Chu An did not disappoint Sister Lan. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Anyway, we will definitely cooperate if we can, but there is one condition!"

Sister Lan, "What?"

Chu An said, "My family has our eye on the row of shops outside the South Gate, but those shops are a bit hard to rent."

Sister Lan's smile deepened. "Why is it not easy to rent?"

Chu An: "Those are factory buildings, and quite a few people are watching them. Among them are the family members of factory leaders!"

Sister Lan's brows twitched slightly, somewhat unnaturally. "That's it?"

Chu An: "That's all."

After a moment's hesitation, Sister Lan said, "Let me ask first and see what the situation is. I'll try my best to help if I can."

To be honest, it's not a big deal. The director could decide on this role, which is completely unrelated to her, without even needing to go through Lu Mingze and the executive producer.

However, Sister Lan hesitated because she didn't want to cause this trouble.

If it were any other shop, with Sister Lan's approval, the production crew wouldn't have a problem subsidizing the Chu family's renovation costs.

However, when it comes to complex local relationships, things are different.

It wasn't that Sister Lan couldn't break through the power network of the agricultural machinery factory; it was simply that she didn't want to cause trouble.

Who knows what really happened? So saying things like "ask and see what happens" is just a perfunctory response.

Meanwhile, Chu An was overjoyed to see that Sister Lan had agreed to ask, "That's great! Thank you so much, Sister Lan!"

Perhaps because she relaxed, she suddenly started playing the emotional card: "You know a little about my family situation. My dad went to work in another city to support my schooling."

"My sister didn't go to university because of the same reason. So I don't want to be a burden to them."

"If you could help me with this."

Sister Lan paused, her brows furrowing deeply. Finally, she murmured, as if to reassure Chu An, "I'll ask right away!"

After saying that, without wasting any more words, he left the kitchen. Seeing that Lu Mingze was still filming, he quietly retreated to the stairwell and made a phone call.
"Hello? Secretary Yao, this is Ma Lan. I need to ask you something. Is it convenient for you?"

Chu An followed Sister Lan out, but instead of getting in her way, he got off the bus and greeted the anxious Chu Ning with a smile, saying, "It's all settled! The storefront is ours now."

"Huh!?" Chu Ning was dumbfounded. His underling had only been upstairs for five minutes, right? And it was already done?
"How...how did you do that?"

Today feels like a dream; I have absolutely no idea how Chu An did it.

.

(End of this chapter)