Huayu02 started by making films.

Han Yi nodded, then turned his gaze to Chen Chen. She spoke first, "I'm inviting her too! My teacher even encouraged me to learn more on set. Be careful when you're looking for locations, bye!"

After saying that, she grabbed Zhao Ke and skipped away.

Han Yi watched the two men leave, then turned to look at the dense crowd of workers at the dock, feeling a sudden headache coming on. Most of these people were from out of town, working as loaders, ship cleaners, crane operators—all sorts of people from different walks of life.

After standing there for a moment, he first went to a nearby convenience store and bought two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes, then took a pack of Hengda cigarettes that locals often smoke, and then walked towards the crowd.

He offered cigarettes to everyone he met and asked for directions. After asking around, he finally found a person in charge of the small dock, Wu Jun.

Han Yi took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and handed it to Wu Jun, then lit one for him before explaining his purpose: "Boss Wu, I'm Han Yi, a student director from the Beijing Film Academy. I'd like to shoot some footage here. This is my student ID."

In 2002, college graduates were still in high demand. Wu Jun was a middle-aged man with a slick, worldly appearance, the kind that comes from years of working at the docks. He took the student ID Han Yi handed him, looked at it, scrutinized it carefully, and after confirming it was correct, asked:

"Wow, an undergraduate student! That's really something, making a movie out of it. Like Jet Li's 'Shaolin Temple'?"

Han Yi explained, "Boss Wu, I can't afford Jet Li. I'm making a short film. Do you have any spare docks or abandoned ones available these next couple of days? I'll film there for two days."

"Oh, a short film, huh?" Wu Jun scratched his head, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "There really is an abandoned dock to the west; they're only planning to renovate it later this year. Want to come take a look?"

Wu Jun led the way, with Han Yi following closely behind.

This is an old dock near the sea, and its antiquity is immediately apparent. There's a high slope in the distance, perfect for taking wide-angle shots, which meets Han Yi's expectations.

He asked Wu Jun, "Boss Wu, this is the place. Name your price, I'll rent it for two days."

Wu Jun waved his hand: "This place is all abandoned, why would we need money? Besides, you're just a student, how much money could you possibly have in your pocket?"

Han Yi felt a warmth in his heart. Appearances can be deceiving. This Boss Wu might seem slick because of his position, but he was honest with young people, which might be partly due to Han Yi's handsome face.

He quickly took out several cartons of cigarettes he had just bought from his bag and stuffed them into his hand: "Thank you so much, Boss Wu. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

"Oh no, no, no!"

After some polite refusals, Wu Jun finally took only the carton of Hengda cigarettes, a popular brand among locals, and a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes. He said earnestly, "Just a token gesture will do. I'll find someone to watch over things for you tomorrow. You can come and take pictures as you please; nothing will go wrong."

Han Yi nodded repeatedly: "Boss Wu, would you be willing to make a cameo appearance in the movie?"

"Me?" Wu Jun pointed at himself, his face filled with disbelief. "I can act?"

"Of course!"

Han Yi nodded emphatically, pulled Wu Jun to the center of the dock, pointed to the sea in front of them and said, "Boss Wu, tomorrow afternoon, take a small boat to this dock, and I'll film a long shot of you to be included in the movie. That way, you'll be an actor."

Wu Jun's face immediately lit up with excitement: "That's great! Now I can brag to my buddies even more when we're drinking!" He then patted Han Yi's shoulder heavily and laughed heartily.

After the dock was finalized, Wu Jun went back to arrange the boats. Han Yi scouted the dock alone, taking out paper, pen, and pre-drawn storyboards from his bag, checking the locations one by one.

He also picked up some debris that had fallen from the cargo ship while it was loading and unloading coal, and marked it on the cement ground so that once everyone was gathered the next day, they could start filming immediately.

……

After finishing everything, it was already six o'clock in the evening. Han Yi went to the address sent by Chen Chen via text message, which was only a four or five-minute walk from the pier.

As he approached the hotel entrance, he saw Chen Chen and Zhao Ke squatting in front of a pancake stall next to the gate, each holding a pancake and eating it with relish.

"Hey, two beautiful ladies are eating." Han Yi's voice preceded his arrival.

"Mmm..." Chen Chen looked up and saw Han Yi. He puffed out his cheeks and said, "Tianjin's jianbing guozi is much better than Beijing's!"

"Really? Then I'll try some too." Han Yi smiled and walked to the stall. "Boss, give me the extra-large one, with sausage, meat, and egg, slightly spicy."

"Alright! Handsome, you've brought your girlfriend out for fun, right? Let me tell you, Tianjin might not be as good as Beijing in other aspects, but when it comes to jianbing guozi (Chinese savory crepes), I can say it blows them out of the water..."

It's said that everyone in Tianjin is a master of crosstalk. As Han Yi watched the boss making pancakes, he muttered a string of witty remarks.

He took the pancake and squatted down next to Chen Chen to eat it. Zhao Ke noticed the soot on his hands and quickly asked, "Director Han, what happened to you? Did you go coal mining?"

Chen Chen noticed it too, and quickly took out a thermos from her bag, poured out the remaining half bottle of mineral water and mixed it: "Don't eat it yet, your hands are so dirty, you might get sick if you eat it."

Zhao Ke took the pancake from him, Chen Chen poured water, and Han Yi spread out his hands to wash them while explaining, "I've found the dock. My hands are from drawing on the machine site. I didn't bring chalk, so I picked up some coal ash to draw on the ground."

"I've already rented the hotel. It's 80 yuan per room, so I'll rent four rooms for two days. Plus, I ordered two days' worth of boxed meals from the restaurant. It cost me 980 yuan in total. Director Han, here's the rest of the money. Please count it." Chen Chen said, reaching into his bag to take out some money.

Han Yi quickly interrupted, "Keep it for now. You can decide if the crew needs money unexpectedly. Besides—" He changed the subject, "Chenchen, why don't you quit being a makeup artist and become my producer?"

Chen Chen was caught off guard by his words and asked nervously, "Huh? I'll be a producer? Am I capable of that?"

After finishing the last bite of his pancake, Han Yi downed the water in his thermos in one gulp: "Let's learn by doing. Lao Du, Da Gao, Xiao Zhao, which of them has ever actually made a movie? That's settled then. Once this short film gets nominated, we'll start the next one."

Chen Chen nodded blankly, while Zhao Ke beside him looked equally curious.

After finishing his business, Han Yi took the key and went back to his room to sleep.

……

In the next room, Chen Chen and Zhao Ke finished showering and lay on the same bed, beginning their intimate conversation.

"Hey, Chenchen, what's your relationship with Director Han? Why did he suddenly make you the producer?" Zhao Ke poked Chen Chen's lower back with his finger.

"I don't know, maybe he just said it casually."

"Then why didn't he even take the rest of the money?" Zhao Ke expressed disbelief and drove off. "He wouldn't be trying to take advantage of you, would he? You're not bad-looking."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Chen Chen from behind, squeezed the pomelo, and teased, "Look at this granary, so full. Even if I were a man, I wouldn't be able to resist."

"Hey, it'll change color if you rub it for too long!" Chen Chen slapped away the hand on his body, turned around and said seriously, "Aren't all the big directors in the industry the same? I think Han Yi only said that because he sees how serious I am about my work. I wrote down every penny I spent today, I didn't embezzle a single cent."

"I know you're a hard worker, but isn't putting on makeup your favorite thing?"

"Let's just take it one step at a time. We don't even know if Han Yi's film will be nominated..."

"I'm sure it'll work. The lead actors are the Wenwu brothers; which film festival wouldn't accept them?"

……