2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 7 The Power of Tea Eggs
The film crew wasn't as extravagant as people imagine. In particular, they had a tough time when it came to food.

Chu Ning didn't believe it. "Come on, I've heard that celebrities can earn hundreds of thousands or even millions for just one movie. How could they not eat well?"

"Heh." Chu An sneered. It really wasn't what his older sister thought.

First of all, the production crews around 01 were not like those ten years later, where actors had nanny vans and special meals.

Film crews in this era still retained the simplicity of the old film studio days; meals and accommodations weren't as extravagant.

That being said, even if it's considered luxurious, with the whole crew eating abalone and lobster every meal, it's still just abalone and lobster served in boxed lunches.

A film crew's shooting cycle can easily last for several months, or even half a year to a year, with three meals a day consisting of boxed lunches. Can you try that?

Moreover, everyone is focused on the stars and directors, and maybe some of them get special treatment, but what about the other ordinary actors and staff?
To put it simply, even in 2025, the year Chu An traveled to, some film crews, in order to save money, still only served radishes and cabbage for the staff and ordinary actors. Adding a drumstick to their meals was considered a generous gesture.

So never underestimate those eggs and pickled vegetables; their destructive power is comparable to a nuclear bomb on a movie set.

After parting ways with Chu Ning, Chu An quietly went upstairs and ran into Sister Lan waiting for him outside the door. "We'll give you an answer about those shops tomorrow. There shouldn't be any major problems."

Chu An was delighted, "So fast? As expected of Sister Lan!"

Ma Lan remained calm, as if she had done something insignificant. "Tomorrow, have two people from the art and props teams liaise with you. The store layout will be completely in accordance with the film crew's requirements."

Chu An: "No problem!"

Ma Lan added, "The production budget is strictly controlled, so I can't help you with the renovation costs."

This time, Chu An nodded outwardly, but inwardly he felt contempt, because it was just a perfunctory remark.

Chu An knew very well what was going on with the film crew.

Under normal circumstances, even the stingiest production companies will leave some flexible funds for the crew, since artistic creation cannot be done in a rigid manner.

This money is not only at the director's disposal, but also has a certain degree of authority over everyone from the executive producer to the production manager, the production coordinator, the production coordinator, and the assistant director on set.

Sister Lan clearly doesn't want to help.

However, Chu An didn't dwell on it. Not helping was his duty, helping was a matter of friendship, and there was nothing wrong with that.

This also shows that the money spent on renovations was far more important than Chu An.

He simply said, "Okay! I'm already very grateful that Sister Lan has helped my family so much."

Seeing the joy on his face, Sister Lan shouldn't have said much, but firstly, she already had a good impression of Chu An; secondly, judging from Chu An's behavior throughout the day, she always felt that this child wasn't as innocent as he seemed.

After a moment's hesitation, he said to Chu An, "If you're going to help someone, help them all the way. The team could have covered the renovation for you."

"But, sigh!" I'm a little tired. "Why am I telling you all this? In short, dealing with money is too much trouble, and Director Lu doesn't want to argue with the production company anymore."

Chu An raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, realizing that he had been too suspicious.

A dispute with the production company? Chu An immediately thought of two possibilities: either the investment budget hadn't been agreed upon, or there were disagreements about the creative direction.

Generally, conflicts with production companies stem from these two reasons.

Based on what he had said before, Chu An judged that this drama might turn out to be a bad one.

Chu An tentatively asked, "Sister Lan, I noticed that Director Lu seems to be in a bad mood today. Is it because of the production company's troubles?"

Sister Lan laughed, "You're quite observant. A little bit, I suppose."

Chu An looked horrified. "Which production company is this? They even dare to interfere with Director Lu's film crew?"

"Sigh!" Perhaps he felt suppressed and wanted to vent to someone, or perhaps he really didn't consider Chu An an outsider. "This family, even Director Lu can't afford to offend them, Tiandu Culture!"

Chu An, "."

I thought to myself, "Never mind, I didn't ask!"
How should I put it? The Tiandu Culture in this timeline is equivalent to the CCTV film and television production center in the original timeline.

It may not represent the highest level of film and television production in China, but it certainly represents the power center of the industry.

The background is too deep.

Chu An had originally thought that since the production crew had done his family a great favor, he should return the favor by using his experience from his previous life to help the production crew avoid some factors that would inevitably lead to failure.

However, as soon as he heard the words "Tiandu Culture," Chu An immediately dismissed the idea.

The reason is simple: it is unwise to get involved without knowing the specific details of the conflict between the production company and the creative team.

Who knows if Tiandu really wants to make a good drama, or if he has other investment purposes?
Having offended Tiandu Culture, it's unlikely that Chu An will be able to continue in the entertainment industry.

After chatting with Sister Lan for a few more minutes, Chu An thanked her again for her help. Then, Chu An went into the kitchen to tinker with his eggs and pickled vegetables.

Lu Mingze is a typical director who takes his time and produces high-quality work. In the past, filming a 40-episode drama usually took at least six months, with eight months considered fast. The longest he ever filmed took two years, and the production company almost went bankrupt because of him.

But the quality is absolutely top-notch. The two highest-rated Qing Dynasty dramas in this time period were both directed by Lu.

This time, the production team only gave Lu Mingze a three-month shooting schedule, which made the shooting schedule very tight.

This is also the main reason why Director Lu lost his temper repeatedly on the first day of filming; there was no way around it, the pressure was too great. However, fate is so unpredictable; the filming schedule was already heavy, and there was also a night shoot tonight. The actress playing Liu Xia's mother just couldn't find her groove all afternoon.

Director Lu not only fully embodied the image of a tyrant, but he also didn't serve dinner until 7 p.m.

While everyone was secretly cursing Director Lu as a beast, they were also cursing the Northeast as a scoundrel.

In Northeast China, summers are long and it gets dark late; it's still light outside at 7 PM. So, while filming can continue during the day, everyone misses out on meals.

As for the actress who played Liu Xia's mother, well, let's just let it go!
Some people even felt that it wasn't as good as the "Chu Shi Kuai" lunch at noon!

[Liu Xia!! Why can't you understand your mother?!]

You need to learn to understand adults!

This woman filmed over ten takes of just those two lines.

Even the cleaning ladies could tell that the acting was bad.

Lu Mingze was even more frustrated; the schedule was tight and the actors were terrible.

Moreover, he was also dissatisfied with the shots that had already been filmed. He felt something was missing, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, and he didn't even have time to think about it.

This made Director Lu's temper even worse.

Just when he was about to lose his temper over the last shot, he sniffed, "Hmm? What's that smell?!"

A strong, pungent aroma of soy sauce wafted onto the set—how could anyone tolerate that?!
Taking advantage of the actress playing the "mother" having another NG (no good take), Lu Mingze exploded again.

"Who the hell is eating? Everyone's starving, you're the only one who can't control your mouth, huh?!"

"."

"."

Gululu.
The scene was completely silent; no one dared to speak, except for a few stomachs that seemed to be protesting.

Someone secretly glanced at the surveillance camera next to Lu Mingze, where a small porcelain dish had been added, containing two tea eggs.

I thought to myself, what does this have to do with us? Chu Shikuai is just stirring up trouble, okay?

Speechless. You, Chu Shikuai, are trying to curry favor with the director. Well, look what happened—the director isn't appreciating it!
Should!
After Director Lu finished venting, he didn't have time to investigate further and urged each group to do another take.

This time, it was barely acceptable. The actress was clearly serious, and her performance was better than the previous dozen or so takes, but it still didn't meet Director Lu's standards.

Director Lu could only console himself that at least it was better than the previous one, wasn't it?
I rubbed my temples wearily, and a casual glance caught my eye as I saw the tea egg placed next to the security camera.

It's strange, Director Lu didn't even feel hungry if it weren't for this. But when he saw the tea eggs, his stomach started rumbling, and he realized that everyone hadn't eaten yet.

but! !
Don't think he'll show mercy because of tea eggs. If the schedule is delayed, no one will have a good time. And you think you can eat?!

"Hurry up and do one more take, Tongmeng, be serious and try to get it in one take!"

Tong Meng is the actress who played Liu Xia's mother.

As the stagehands clapped the clapperboard, filming resumed.

While watching the monitor, Director Lu casually picked up a tea egg, slowly peeled it, and slowly put it into his mouth.

He ate really slowly, chewing his food thoroughly!
Everyone except the cameraman who had to keep his eyes on the lens, the person recording the sound holding a microphone, the lighting crew, and the production assistants all kept their eyes fixed on Director Lu.

It's safe to say that the director's absolute power on set is on full display here.
He was eating, and we were just watching.

I hate Chu Shikuai even more now; that bastard is a complete scoundrel!

Everyone else was starving, and he was cooking tea eggs—was he even human?

Just as he was cursing in his heart, he saw Chu Shikuai peeking half his head out of the kitchen like a thief.

Seeing that Lu Mingze had already started eating, his facial features visibly relaxed, but he quickly withdrew his grip.

Just when everyone was wondering what he was going to do, they saw...
Then, our dear Chu An came out carrying a basin.

The broken enamel basin, its paint already chipped, was filled with tea eggs.

Do not! !

It's overflowing with love!
Before Chu An could even lift a finger, the stagehand had already moved sideways without moving an inch. With a swift movement, he scooped up the two eggs and carried them away sideways.

Then there was the youngest girl in the makeup team, who didn't dare to move, but kept giving Chu An meaningful glances, meaning she should save two for her.

Lu Mingze is over there.
I thought to myself, these eggs are quite flavorful, the whole house smells like tea eggs, isn't that a bad thing?

Then I thought, who cares, I've already eaten it!
……

.

(End of this chapter)