A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 30 Measurement
Filming for "The Flower Field Mistake" will begin soon.

The day of filming was full of surprises.

Hey... can we say that the entertainment industry in China was too poor in this era, or should we say that the entertainment industry in the capital was too small? Anyway, on the morning of the first day of filming, Lin Jianlu suddenly saw several familiar faces from later generations.

The little cannon is here.

Yu Qian, chubby and plump with a mouthful of water when pinched, has arrived.

The former was just there to join in the fun. The movie he was filming was abruptly halted by the Beijing Film Studio, supposedly because of Wang Shuo. Wang Shuo is currently being heavily criticized nationwide, and his movie was adapted from Wang Shuo's novel and co-directed by the two of them. So, it was stopped, and the resumption of work is nowhere in sight.

Little Cannon was obviously extremely depressed. He was bored and uncertain about his future. He heard that the big star Lin Jianlu was handsome and manly, much better looking than on TV, so he came here purely to see the star.

The latter was interesting. After chatting with him, I learned that he had actually attended the film and television directing program at the Beijing Film Academy. However, he started acting much earlier, having started acting several years ago and even filmed "Stories from the Editorial Department." Of course, he was a professional crosstalk performer and was also a member of the performing arts troupe, but he rarely went there. He just hung out in the film and television industry, taking on minor roles when necessary, and otherwise working on set as a production assistant, sound engineer, driver, and doing everything else.

He simply came to see the celebrities and earn some pocket money after hearing that a film crew was starting work.

Not only did Little Cannon come, but he also brought his wife, Xu Fan.

To be honest, she should be considered a younger version of Xu Fan now, and she looks quite beautiful and charming.

Several other people came to watch the spectacle.

Jiang Wenli, Huang Lei, Jiang Wu.

Jiang Qinqin also brought a classmate named Chen Shasha.

Oh, right, Gu Changwei recommended two people back then. Lin Jianlu chose Zhang Zien, who seemed to be better at period dramas, but Zhang Yang also came.

They seem to be just bored!
So much so that when Lin Jianlu saw so many familiar faces from later generations, he couldn't help but subconsciously think: Damn, are there really that few domestic films and television dramas being produced now?

There's not much to say. Just sign autographs first, and I'll sign them if you want. Then, I'll treat you to lunch. Lin Jianlu has never been stingy with money, especially since Rock Records will definitely cover it.

He didn't have the airs of a superstar or a king of pop that everyone expected, who was famous across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He rolled up his sleeves and made a splash. This time, the crew was mostly different from the group that Gu Changwei had brought before. Apart from people like Jiang Wenli who had dealt with him before, most of them were having dinner with big stars for the first time.

Wow, that's surprising. Turns out they're just like us.

She can even eat more than I can.

Many people lent a hand in the morning to help move boxes and lights. After lunch, many people especially liked Lin Jianlu's down-to-earth attitude, his ability to eat heartily at the same table, and his lively conversation. So they stayed to help in the afternoon as well.

There wasn't much to help with; it wasn't even five o'clock yet, and all the scenes that could be filmed in the studio were already finished. But Lin Jianlu still gestured for Lao Xue to give each of the people who came a genuine CD as a souvenir.

Anyway, CDs hardly sell in mainland China, and there's a huge inventory left.

There are still no accurate statistics on the sales of genuine cassette tapes, but it is almost certain that they have exceeded 300 million copies, while the estimated sales of CDs are only around 14 copies!
…………

Surprisingly, Jiang Qinqin's acting skills were actually quite good.

She had almost no scenes in the morning; it was all Lin Jianlu posing and lip-syncing. Lin Jianlu didn't take it seriously. But when she started filming in the afternoon, wow, she almost couldn't handle the first shot.

I don't know if it's acting or if they really have that skill.

Those eyes were so bright and expressive, as if they could speak. They stared at you with a melancholy and sorrowful look, and Lin Jianlu instantly felt like she had let them down sometime in the past.

I have absolutely no recollection of watching any of her movies or TV shows in my past life. I only vaguely remember seeing her frequently in Douyin's roundup of ancient costume beauties. At the time, I thought she was just average. She is indeed beautiful, especially in ancient costumes, which are truly stunning. But I never imagined that when we were acting together, I would have to endure her gaze!

If this continues, Lin Jianlu feels that she might not even be able to endure three days!
How could anyone not make mistakes?

"Hey, Qinqin, you need to tone it down. I can't take it when you look at me like that!"

Jiang Qinqin stood there awkwardly, feeling shy, timid, and bewildered. "I...I don't know how to act. When I was filming 'Xi Shi,' director Yang Jie told me that I look best when I look at people like this, so I...I..."

She clearly tensed up immediately.

This is Lin Jianlu's music video! I never thought such a good thing would fall from the sky. Not only did I get to film Lin Jianlu's music video, but I was also paid 6000 yuan for just three days! She filmed CCTV's "Xi Shi" directed by Yang Jie for almost three months and was paid a total of 7200 yuan in labor fees.

Two days ago, she went for a job interview at the New Grand Hotel. After the interview, she came to her senses and realized how incredibly stupid she was. She felt like she had left a bad impression and that the hotel probably wouldn't hire her.

Unexpectedly, I've only just started filming, and I'm already being criticized!

Fortunately, Zhang Zien came over immediately and asked what happened. Lin Jianlu shrugged and said, "If she were in ancient times, she would definitely have made a story about lighting the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords. Her eyes were so full of affection. Oh my, when she looked at me, I felt like I must have abandoned her and married someone else in my past life!"

Zhang Zien laughed heartily.

Jiang Qinqin couldn't help but burst out laughing, feeling both shy and embarrassed.

Unexpectedly, Little Cannon suddenly chimed in from the sidelines, "It's not that serious, what kind of beauties haven't you seen in Hong Kong and Taiwan!" Lin Jianlu thought to herself, what do you know? Liu Ruoying and Su Huilun are considered to be somewhat attractive, Chen Shuhua, Zhang Aijia, and Lin Qingxia are all great beauties, and Liang Yongqi is even more innocent, but none of them are as seductive as her!
Of course, mainlanders today might think Hong Kong and Taiwanese beauties are more fashionable, prettier, and more charming, while mainland girls are considered too unsophisticated. But sorry, Lin Jianlu doesn't share that bias.

Without even turning her head, she threw out a single sentence: "You've eaten, but I haven't touched a single tooth!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room burst into laughter, and even Xu Fan blushed slightly as he joined in the laughter.

Little Steel Cannon grinned, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth.

Jiang Qinqin felt increasingly embarrassed.

Oh, right, if you're really asking, there really is.

Rosamund Kwan had looked at her with the same affectionate gaze back then, which made her feel incredibly pressured. However, at that time, she was at the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony, and she was actually in a state of social vigilance, unlike today, when she was unprepared and caught off guard. So, she almost fell into a trap.

"I'm sorry, I've only acted in two movies. I'll try another one."

"It's alright, come on! In this story, I'm not a tyrant! I can control myself!"

…………

Jiang Qinqin is quite an interesting girl.

As they worked together for a while longer, Lin Jianlu gradually recalled that she seemed to have married Chen Jianbin, but she didn't know why, it seemed that she had hardly acted in any works since.

But in my memory, she seemed to have been popular for a while—probably in the 1990s or early 2000s. In any case, Lin Jianlu has never seen any of her complete works.

When he started to enjoy watching TV dramas, he was already watching "The Great Tang Poet Immortal".

Thinking about it now, Fei is probably only ten years old now? Sigh, I wonder what Yuan is doing now, she's probably still in high school? I saw her in "Beijing Bicycle" in my past life, I don't know where the director found her, at least in the current literary and artistic circles of the capital, there is no trace of her.

Bingbing hasn't even played a maid yet, and I wonder if Da Tiantian has even graduated from kindergarten...

It will be many more years before our family of five can be reunited!
"Brother Lu, have an ice pop!"

"Oh, thank you!"

The next morning, everyone met up and headed straight to the outskirts of Huairou, to a place called Feiteng Film and Television Base. They rented the set for two days, as most of the filming would take place there.

The weather, though, has suddenly turned extremely hot these past two days, even though it's only been May Day.

Lin Jianlu had sent someone out to buy popsicles early on. During breaks in filming, he hid in the shade and watched Zhang Zien direct people to move the equipment and rearrange the camera positions and lighting.

In a daze, Jiang Qinqin held an ice pop in front of her.

He tore open the packaging and started eating with a slurping sound. Jiang Qinqin obediently sat down next to him—she enjoyed this status. Even when eating an ice pop, the chubby production assistant would proactively say, "Could you please take one to Brother Lu?" It seemed like she had a special right to give him an ice pop.

This was completely different from the two film crews she had worked on before. Although she played the female lead, she was just an ordinary actress. From the director to the ordinary production assistants, apart from a few people who had ulterior motives to spy on her and curry favor, basically no one in the crew truly respected or flattered her. The closer she got to Lin Jianlu, the more respect and flattery the people in the crew showed her. She really liked this feeling.

"Brother Lu, after filming is finished, can I still come to visit you?"

"Sure! Of course!"

Hearing this, she immediately became happy and was about to speak again when suddenly Xue Zhongding, the producer of the film crew, ran over and handed Lin Jianlu his ringing phone. "Hello?"

The voice coming from the microphone was that of a girl, which immediately caught Jiang Qinqin's attention.

It's Liu Ruoying.

"The music video for 'Ten Years' has been sent to the company. I've seen it, and it's not as good as our 'Fairy Tale' video! 'Fairy Tale' was so touching, but this one isn't!"

"Tch! That's because you're young, you don't understand what it means to hesitate before speaking!"

"I am older than you!"

"Next time we meet, let's find a ruler to measure each other!"

"puff……"

On the other end of the phone, Liu Ruoying burst into laughter.

Jiang Qinqin was a little stunned when she heard this. It wasn't until more than half an hour later that she suddenly realized what "find a ruler to measure" meant, and she was inexplicably surprised—was he flirting with the girl on the other end of the phone?

***
It's almost the end of the month, and I haven't even collected a thousand monthly passes yet. How about you give me a few more?
It wouldn't be good to lose face, would it?

(End of this chapter)