Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Chapter 116 Happy Birthday!

In August 2012, Shanghai was like a giant steamer, so hot that it was hard to breathe.

The subtropical high pressure system has been pressing down on the city for days on end, causing extreme heatwaves in Shanghai. The meteorological observatory has issued high-temperature warnings repeatedly, with the highest temperature even reaching 36 degrees Celsius.

Even more outrageous, Typhoon Haikui also joined the fray, bringing a large amount of moisture and driving straight in, resulting in continuous wind and rain. As a result, the air humidity in Shanghai exceeded 80% for most of August, especially at night and before and after rain, making the whole city feel like it was being soaked in warm water.

The combination of high temperature and high humidity makes the stuffy feeling unbearable.

Although the weather station reported a real-time temperature of only 31 or 32 degrees Celsius, the perceived temperature easily soared to around 42 degrees Celsius. Walking outside, you felt sticky all over, as if you were wrapped in a hot, humid towel.

Every time Zheng Nan leaves her home for the company, it's only a short ten-minute walk. After walking for two minutes, her back starts to feel damp, and her armpits are soaked.

By the fifth minute, sweat was already streaming down my spine, and my waistband was completely soaked.

By the eighth minute, even his underwear was stuck to his legs, and every step was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Boss, give me thirty bottles of iced cola and deliver them to Sennan Entertainment on the twelfth floor." Zheng Nan first went to the supermarket downstairs from the company.

It's been hot lately, so Zheng Nan buys ice water and popsicles whenever she has free time, as a company perk.

"Okay!" The supermarket owner readily agreed and quickly began loading iced cola onto the shopping cart.

The boss pushed the cart and followed Zheng Nan upstairs. As soon as the two stepped into the office building lobby, the cool air from the Sino-British air conditioner hit them, instantly shutting out the summer heat outside.

"It's so nice for you guys to sit in an office, you're really enjoying yourself," the boss sighed enviously.

"The property management fee is thirteen yuan and fifty cents per square meter," Zheng Nan replied with a pained expression.

Upon arriving at the company, Zheng Nan instructed the staff to distribute iced cola to the employees, and then habitually headed towards the editing room.

The editing room is a small, separate room in a corner of the company. There is a "No Entry" sign on the door, and the curtains inside are opaque to prevent light from entering.

Zheng Nan knocked on the door twice, and only went in after hearing a response.

The company has two editors: Liu Bo, who is thirty-six years old, and Wang Yunlong, who is thirty-two years old.

These two look quite alike. Perhaps because they spend so much time in the editing room without sunlight, they are both quite fair-skinned and each wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

The monitors in front of the two were displaying footage from "The Best of Us," with the timeline densely packed with editing points.

"How's the editing progress of 'The Best of Us' going?" Zheng Nan pulled over a chair and sat down.

Liu Bo took off his headphones and rubbed his sore eyes: "At the current pace, the rough cut should be out around the beginning of next month."

A rough cut is when an editor takes a large amount of footage and arranges it into a complete film according to the script and the director's intentions.

Rough cuts are usually much longer than the final cut, with rough visuals and no fine color grading, sound effects, or background music, but the structure is complete.

After rough cutting, fine cutting is required, which involves a much larger workload than rough cutting.

"Try your best, speed up the progress, and try to get the rough cut out by the end of the month. I'll give you overtime pay." Zheng Nan patted the two of them on the shoulder, not saying anything empty, but that more work would earn overtime pay.

Zheng Nan demanded a rough cut by the end of the month because several things had piled up at once.

Firstly, the Shanghai Theatre Academy will start its new semester next month, and Zheng Nan didn't attend many classes last semester, so it's not convenient for her to take too many leave this semester.

Secondly, Sohu, the investor, wanted to see what the finished product would look like, and Zheng Nan also wanted to take the opportunity to discuss hiring Wang Fei.

Also, Zheng Nan is planning to visit Happy Twist and try to acquire the copyright for "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

"Dada, I'm leaving." Reba slung her large and small bags over her shoulder, ready to leave home.

"It's only the 7th, why are you going back so early?" Reba's father put down the TV remote and asked, puzzled.

Road.

"I need to re-record a few lines for the web series I'm filming," Dilraba said, making up an excuse.

"Be careful, and keep your guard up when you're in the entertainment industry," Dilraba's father said earnestly.

"I got it! Anyone who dares to bully me, I'll smash their head in!" Dilraba waved her little fist, indicating that she wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"Be mindful of your boundaries when you're fighting, and remember to leave room for others." Reba's father didn't think there was anything wrong with fighting; if someone bullies you, it would be wrong not to fight back.

On August 7th, Dilraba quietly returned to Shanghai.

Zheng Nan wasn't notified because Dilraba's return was intended to surprise him.

At 8 p.m., Zheng Nan closed the ECEI spreadsheet on her computer, rubbed her slightly sore neck, and stood up from her office chair.

I've almost finished my work for today, time to go home.

Zheng Nan's uncle appeared and stopped her, saying, "It's not good for you to leave after you've made Liu Bo and the other guy work overtime."

"?"

What are you saying? What are you saying?

Zheng Nan was completely bewildered. "I'm the boss! I paid overtime! Why should I work overtime with my employees?"

I work overtime but nobody pays me overtime pay?!

Uncle, are you sick? Otherwise, why would you say something like that?

"What I mean is, it's the first time those two editors are working overtime, so you should spend more time with them. Otherwise, they might quit because of too much overtime. A boss has to have a conscience too," Ding Xiu said, offering a reason that seemed reasonable at first glance.

"Uncle, is something wrong?" Zheng Nan wasn't a child, so how could he be fooled by such a lame excuse?

"It's nothing, I just really think you've become a bit lax, you're getting a little out of touch with the people!"

"Forget the old-fashioned way of doing things, I'll stay and work overtime." Zheng Nan couldn't figure out why his uncle wanted to do this, but since his uncle wouldn't harm him, Zheng Nan obediently stayed and worked overtime for free.

This overtime work lasted until almost midnight.

In the editing room, Liu Bo and Wang Yunlong worked for more than ten hours, their eyes almost getting tired from staring at the screen.

Although Zheng Nan didn't need to edit the footage herself, since she had stayed, she couldn't just sit there doing nothing. So she stayed by her side to help review the materials, offer suggestions for revisions, and ordered four late-night snacks.

At this moment, Ding Xiu spoke up and advised, "Don't work too late, you still have to go to work as usual tomorrow."

Is my uncle going through early menopause after getting his marriage certificate?

Zheng Nan couldn't very well expose his uncle's shortcomings in front of the employees, so he could only pat Liu Bo and his colleague on the shoulder and say, "You've worked hard, you've worked hard. Go back now and just don't be late tomorrow. If you are late, just contact administration and let them know. They won't deduct your wages."

Liu Bo and Wang Yunlong nodded quickly, and their packing was much more efficient than when they were editing; they disappeared in less than two minutes.

Zheng Nan turned off the company lights and went downstairs with her uncle.

Shanghai was still sweltering in the early hours of the morning.

"Come on, Uncle, let's go home." Zheng Nan yawned.

The Shanghai Theatre Academy is quite far from the company, and since my uncle couldn't live in the dormitory, he rented a two-bedroom apartment nearby after the company was established.

If Zheng Nan is busy too late or has a holiday at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, she will go directly to her uncle's place to stay, so as to avoid the hassle of traveling back and forth.

"No, your aunt is coming to Shanghai to see me, so I won't be going back to stay tonight." Ding Xiu stood by the roadside, preparing to hail a taxi.

Zheng Nan suddenly realized why her uncle didn't want to leave work; it turned out her aunt had come.

My uncle's current state is like that of a middle-aged man who is married but doesn't want to go home, preferring to sit in his car.

"I'm going back to sleep now. Uncle, if you can't come tomorrow, don't call me. I understand." Zheng Nan had an expression that said, "I understand, I understand."

After walking for ten minutes, I returned to my place. Half of the streetlights in the neighborhood were off, and it was very quiet in the early morning when only a few houses in the residential area had their lights on.

Zheng Nan tiptoed upstairs, deliberately slowing down her movements when taking out her keys to open the door.

The door clicked open, and he went inside, changed into slippers in the dark, and then turned on the living room light.

He froze the moment the light came on.

The living room had been decorated at some point, with colorful balloons and ribbons floating on the ceiling, and a sign spelling out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" in gold letters on the wall behind the sofa.

Then a girl appeared in front of Zheng Nan with a cake, smiling and saying, "Happy birthday!"