My wife is the stand-in.

Sensing Amanosaki's praise, Kanna raised her little head, her mouth full of chocolate, and gave Amanosaki a peace sign with a pure smile.

Chapter 156: Alright, let's order first.

After getting Karenina's honest opinion, Amanosaki stopped listening to their conversation.

He had achieved his goal, and there was no need for him to continue posing. Besides, since Karenina had lost her spirit, she no longer even looked at Amanosaki. All her desires had been absorbed by Kanna, and now she just wanted to hug Kanna and become a carefree lump of mud.

With nothing else to do, he was assigned to prepare lunch for everyone.

So Amanosaki went to the kitchen again, caught some fish and shrimp, and asked Li Junzi to find a few people to quickly clean the deck, set up the grill again, and start operating the gas cylinder.

Soon, the wonderful aroma of spices and river delicacies colliding attracted Karenina's nostrils, and her stomach, which hadn't had a drop of water all morning, started growling.

Coincidentally, Kanna also pressed her belly and let out a louder and clearer cry.

Her eyes were glued to the braised fish in the pot, her drool practically dripping down to her legs.

Karenina wiped Kanna's drool, growing increasingly fond of the child who had helped cover up her cries of hunger.

“Ms. Karenina?” Lin Shuyu paused in her typing, raising her voice in dissatisfaction.

"Oh, sorry." Karenina snapped out of her reverie and smiled at Lin Shuyu. "Where were we?"

"Now, let's talk about the price of sending Allen back to his home country after his interrogation, so that Armenia can serve his '50-year prison sentence' in his stead. Regarding this matter, we hope that Allen can truthfully tell them China's purpose."

"In addition, the invitation to Amanosaki will be replaced with a commercial film centered on Amanosaki's ideas, with Spielberg directing it. In return, Amanosaki will issue a letter of understanding, and the Yushan and Fengdu branches are willing to shift all responsibility to Fan Wujiu."

Lin Shuyu's series of remarks contained too much information and the deals behind them, which Karenina had to carefully consider and digest.

The current situation is very unfavorable for her. First of all, there is the sudden appearance of Amanosaki, and Armenia's hastily prepared information is far from sufficient.

They simply gave her a few videos and an official introduction, offering no analysis of his personality, behavioral logic, education level, or past experiences, which seemed very unprofessional.

Secondly, the mission came too suddenly; Karenina only had time to prepare for seduction, and other plans simply did not have the ground to be implemented.

Finally, there was a lack of intelligence. The people and events involved in the mission to rescue Allen had all happened in the last few days, and it involved the second extermination order issued by China after its founding. The level of secrecy was extremely high, and Armenia simply did not have enough power to find out everything behind it.

So this woman, who was trying to appear calm, was completely bewildered once she entered the contract stage.

Amanosaki's letter of understanding was what she needed; it was a way to subtly express the Chinese government's stance through Amanosaki, the person involved.

But what the heck is a solo film? Can such a major issue involving international relations be replaced by a solo film? Besides, even if you were given a spot, could you attract investment? Who do you think you are? What do you mean by international star? You're just a newcomer, what makes you think you can get investment?

Karenina just couldn't understand it.

Furthermore, besides the Yushan branch to which Amanosaki belongs, why is there also a Fengdu branch? How can they shift the blame to another person? Is this legal process truly without problems? Will public opinion accept this?

'Damn knight, you self-important fool clinging to outdated dogma! A matchstick who never speaks clearly! Riddler, get out of Armenia!'

Karenina cursed the knight who issued the commission in her heart, and used the most vicious words to insult the knight's entire family.

It's clear that her negotiations have failed, and the reason for the failure isn't her own fault, but rather that her teammate is an idiot.

In contrast, her opponents' teammates were cute and intelligent, respectively, and the gap between them was too large for her to carry the team.

'No, I can't stay angry anymore, the angrier I get...'

Karenina responded with "uh-huhs" as Lin Shuyu explained the terms, but her mind unconsciously drifted back to Amanosaki.

Both she and Kanna in her arms stared at Amanosaki's hands, watching as he sliced ​​the whole fish into translucent thin slices, arranged them neatly on a plate, and poured the cooked tomato hot and sour soup into a thermos, quickly rinsing the pot and starting to stir-fry vegetables.

"It smells so good!" Karenina exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she watched Amanosaki's hands deftly move up and down, producing dish after dish in a flowing stream.

It's true that she's dated many men—some charming, some handsome, some witty and fun-loving—but she's never been with a handsome guy like Amanosaki who's focused on cooking and has exceptional skills.

'Spending the night with someone who's good at cooking feels great. Waking up to a delicious meal and smelling the food while cuddling together is really appetizing...'

As Karenina watched Amanosaki grip the cleaver firmly, his muscular, wheat-colored forearm bulging with muscle definition, she felt an intense hunger pangs in her stomach and elsewhere.

dong dong!

"Ms. Karenina."

Lin Shuyu's dissatisfaction was written all over her face. "Could you please be a little more professional?"

"I'm just an assistant director, I don't understand laws or contracts at all." Karenina stood up abruptly, hands on her hips angrily. Her ample bosom pressed down on Kanna, who was hanging around her waist, making her head tingle and her breathing difficult.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with me! FXXK! I should be harassing young actors in the film studio, not running around on a boat getting yelled at! I haven't even had a bite to eat yet!"

Lin Shuyu frowned, "This is your job..."

"To hell with work! This is overtime! And I don't even get overtime pay!" Karenina smelled the increasingly strong aroma in the air, and she felt her stomach was about to be driven crazy by this mysterious smell.

Her teeth unconsciously rubbed against her lips, her tongue rolled around in her mouth, and she swallowed saliva.

Karenina and Kanna in her arms exchanged a glance, both seeing the hunger in each other's eyes, and their eyes simultaneously revealed a look that was half wary and half admiring.

Amanosaki brushed a layer of chives and sauce onto the grilled rice tofu, then raised his hand and handed it to Karenina: "Want some? We'll eat once the contract is signed."

He had already understood the whole process through the trembling translation.

Seeing the young man's sunny smile and his insidious intention to exploit his hunger, Karenina ultimately chose to be true to her desires.

"Okay, I'll try to convey this to my boss."

Lin Shuyu wanted to squeeze a little more, but Amanosaki preemptively raised his hand: "Let's talk about the rest as we go. First, let's order. What would the three beauties like to eat?"

Lin Shuyu rolled her eyes in annoyance, as if to say, "Fine, it's me, the emperor, who's more worried than the eunuch."

Chapter 157: Filming to Begin Immediately!

The details of the meal need not be elaborated. At first, Karenina and Kanna were evenly matched, lasting about ten seconds. But when she saw Kanna swallow a nearly three-pound fish whole without even spitting out the bones, this mature woman had to admit that Kanna was superhuman, and her eating became more restrained from then on.

When the third table of barbecue arrived, Karenina withdrew her hand from the grilled rice tofu under Lin Shuyu's stern gaze.

She glanced at the rice tofu with lingering affection; she loved this Chinese specialty so much. Reluctantly, she took out her phone to call the director.

After a long standby time, a very old voice rang out: "Karenina, you'd better have completed your mission."

“I’ve completed half of it; the other half depends on your decision.” Karenina’s words made Lin Shuyu’s eyes light up, and she thought to herself that she was cunning.

The Chinese side made exorbitant demands and imposed harsh conditions, but at least they were willing to negotiate. However, this had nothing to do with who came; it was simply that the Chinese government didn't want to clashed with foreign countries again during the extermination order period. But in Karenina's mouth, this became her achievement.

"How so?" the voice on the phone asked, becoming increasingly enthusiastic.

"A letter of understanding can be given, and people can be released, but there are two main conditions."

Karenina quickly repeated Lin Shuyu's conditions, then took a deep breath, carefully removing her ear from the microphone, bracing herself for a barrage of insults.

But there was only a long silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a suspicious question:

"You tricked that man into bed every time?"

The general fell into an even deeper silence, and a hint of danger flickered in Lin Shuyu's eyes.

“I tried, and I failed.” Karenina blushed deeply, but she forced herself to answer, “He just wouldn’t have it.”

"How could that be! There's a man you can't handle?"

"Of course not!" Karenina replied angrily. Her eyes darted around and, seeing Kanna's chubby cheeks, she had a sudden inspiration and cried out as if grasping at a straw.

"But that guy is a lolicon! He's completely uninterested in adult women!"

"Hah—Pfft!"

Lin Shuyu immediately burst out laughing, and the translator in Amanosaki's earpiece also chuckled.

"What's wrong?" Amanosaki, busy grilling fish, brushed a layer of sauce onto the sizzling fish and asked the translator.

"No... Pfft! Ms. Karenina was praising you, but she went a little overboard." The translator suppressed a laugh and decided to conceal the truth.

Amanosaki gave a shy smile, "Oh, no, Miss Karenina, you flatter me. I'm not particularly outstanding."

"Hahaha!" Lin Shuyu clutched her stomach, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face.

Spielberg, hearing the laughter, said with some regret, "I hadn't thought this through. I thought only politicians and priests had such strange hobbies. Here's what you do: tell them I can't make the decision about the confession; I need to see what my friend thinks. As for the movie…"

Karenina quickly added, "The woman I was negotiating with was a woman fully entrusted by Amanosaki, and she seemed determined to get the film."

"Hmm, this is a difficult situation. Casting newcomers is a risky business, especially Asians. The investors I'm lobbying for scripts are all asking me to use established white actors."

“Here’s what we’ll do: tell them that if they can secure 200 million RMB in initial investment and at least 300 million RMB for venue and operating costs within two days, before I finalize the location here, I’ll agree to talk to him about making his next movie the lead.”

Spiegel's voice trembled with barely suppressed laughter as he spoke.

A total investment of 5 million yuan in the film industry could fund several mediocre online movies in China. During his stay in China, Spielberg, besides inspecting film locations, also consulted with extras and grassroots actors, accompanied by a translator, to gauge the current state of the Chinese film market.

One word: blue ocean.

With China's large population, rapidly developing economy, and the previous scarcity of domestic film production, the Chinese film market has reached a point where it's virtually impossible to make a profit by simply throwing money at it.

Although this period of even more frenzied money-making cannot last for more than a few years, for Huaxia Capital, spending a fortune to hire a famous swordsman or celebrity to participate, making some random stuff to fool the audience and make money off a wave of fans, the income is still quite substantial.

They wouldn't throw money at a movie that might take two or three years to be released. Besides, given Spielberg's ambition and status, 500 million is simply not enough.

He was subtly expressing his refusal, implying "I'll definitely do it next time."

Karenina, with her phone on speaker, shrugged at Lin Shuyu and Amanosaki.

But Amanosaki was not discouraged at all after hearing the translation. She continued to cook with a smile. Kanna had already climbed to the edge of the grill, and every grilled fish and vegetable that came out of the pot went into her mouth.

Seeing that Amanosaki didn't move, Lin Shuyu stood up and gracefully moved over. Under Karenina's astonished gaze, she took the phone and spoke in fluent foreign language:

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Spiegelberg. We have prepared all the funds. We will contact the branch and hall near your location immediately and send elites to escort you onto the plane. The journey may be a bit bumpy, so please be prepared."

"Oh, right. As for the apology, that's a political issue, and I'm not in a position to negotiate. Someone will contact you to get your friend's contact information so we can have a pleasant discussion. Please focus your energy on the film. We hope you and your team can review our requirements and select a script on the way, so we can start filming as soon as you get off the plane. Money is not a problem."

After saying that, she hung up the phone without giving Spiegelberg a chance to refuse.

As Karenina stared blankly, Amanosaki clapped enthusiastically, and Kanna, seeing this, also started clapping her greasy hands.

"I still need to go back and discuss with the other fleets. After all, he's an internationally renowned director. Let's try to handle the extras internally if possible."

Karenina's dazed gaze didn't return until a few minutes after Lin Shuyu left. She suddenly jumped up, grabbed Amanosaki by the collar, and pressed her full breasts against Amanosaki's pectoral muscles:

"Do you even know what you're doing?! This is kidnapping!"

"Calm down, Ms. Karenina. This is a decision we reached with the director. How is this kidnapping?" Amanosaki said innocently.

"Where would you get 500 million? You're still on a combat mission. Do you think the Chinese government would just stand by and watch you abandon your mission to make movies? Would they approve such spending?!"

Amanosaki shook his head: "The money issue was resolved a few days ago. As for policy... ha!"

Karenina probably doesn't know that Amanosaki learned of her arrival by plane through official channels.