Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Children from ordinary families rarely have the opportunity to study the arts.

Among the four people in Zheng Nan's dormitory, Zheng Nan's family was the worst off. Her mother was a police officer at the local police station, and her father was a middle school teacher. Together, they earned less than nine thousand yuan a month.

Lin Wenruo's family background was undoubtedly the best among the four, because he could afford to study directing.

While children from ordinary families used to have the opportunity to study directing and direct, with the emergence and rise of the fifth generation of directors, along with the emergence of the Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Northwest film and television circles, children from ordinary families, unless they are mentally challenged, will not choose to study directing.

The reason is simple: what can you do after learning it? You won't have the opportunity to direct.

Even the opportunity to get mentorship from a young man is highly competitive; how can an ordinary student like you possibly compete with the privileged kids?!

So, although Lin Wenruo was a spoiled brat with poor academic performance, he still had a basic understanding of photography after photographing so many human figures.

He stood behind Zheng Nan, looking at the contents of the notebook.

Episode 1, Act 1.

Location: Small restaurant.

Characters: Customers eating, shop assistants, and 2 extras (diners at a neighboring table, with blurred backgrounds, acting in response).

Lines:

Customer: Boss, come here for a moment.

Shop assistant: What's wrong, bro?

Customer: Can you check if there's something wrong with your vegetables?!

Shop assistant: Don't yell, bro. All our dishes are made with the freshest ingredients, so you can eat with peace of mind.

Customer: Look for yourself, see if there's a problem!

The sweet and sour pork on the table: I just want to ask you, why are you eating me?!

Fish on the table: Yeah, why are we eating sweet and sour pork first? Come on, come at me if you dare!

……

Customer: (making a phone call) Hey! Bro, I'm having a fight with dried fish!

The simple words pass through my mind, and vivid content is immediately conjured up in my imagination.

Lin Wenruo couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahaha……"

"Holy crap, who is this?!"

People can be terrifying, and Zheng Nan, focused on recalling and creating, didn't notice when someone stood behind him.

I was startled, and my hair stood on end.

"Hey, Lin, did you copy this from the internet or create it yourself? It looks really interesting." Lin Wenruo reached out and stroked his hair, not wanting to scare him.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, memories from the depths of Zheng Nan's mind surfaced.

Lin Wenruo, his college roommate and best friend, was 1.75 meters tall and of average appearance. After they became close, he often used his photos to hook up with women during college.

After graduating from university, Lin Wenruo used her family connections to shoot several short films and invited Zheng Nan, who didn't have much work at the time, to star in them.

Then, due to their extremely low professional standards, the short films flopped completely.

In the end, he could only go back to his old profession and make a living by taking portraits and nude photos.

The photobook industry is a good place to make a living, but it's also really chaotic. Lin Wenruo couldn't control her lust and got a young model pregnant after getting her pregnant.

The young model knew that Lin Wenruo's family was wealthy, so she wanted to use her unborn child to tie Lin Wenruo down.

Lin Wenruo was no pushover either, so she threatened the other party to abort the child.

The young model, being young, didn't choose to ask Lin Wenruo's parents for money; instead, she directly posted their conversation history.

Actually, Lin Wenruo's situation is not a big deal in the modeling industry.

But some things don't matter much on the scale, but become different once they are.

After the scandal broke, Lin Wenruo's career in China was ruined. Fortunately, his family had some money, and after some maneuvering, they sent him to North America. However, he contracted a disease after less than two years there and became a Gundam in his forties.

"Going out to play again? Be careful not to catch a disease," Zheng Nan sincerely advised.

"It's okay, I've taken excellent safety precautions!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's not related to measles, it won't cause warts, the probability is urinary tract infection, and AIDS is just one type of infection!"

"Zheng Nan, your sarcastic remarks have improved quite a bit since we last met over the holiday." Lin Wenruo was so annoyed by the comments that she thought she should go to the hospital for a check-up when she had time.

"So-so, people from Northeast China are naturally humorous and can't hide it."

"Stop being sarcastic, did you create this?"

"Yes, I'm going to film it."

Zheng Nan briefly explained the situation: he was a student with no background or connections, and he was preparing his work in advance in order to break into the entertainment industry in the future...

"It's good to plan ahead, but you're only a freshman! Isn't it a bit early?"

"Opportunity favors the prepared mind! Tell me, buddy, isn't this script interesting?"

"It looks really good. How do you plan to film it? How much will you invest?"

Lin Wenruo couldn't honestly say no to a work that could make her laugh just by reading the words.

Zheng Nan silently held up two fingers.

"Two hundred thousand? That's a bit low."

Zheng Nan silently made a six.

"Two hundred and sixty thousand, that should be about right."

"It's 26,000."

The missing two thousand is Zheng Nan's living expenses for this month. If she spends all twenty-eight thousand, she will have no money for food again.

Zheng Nan's words almost caused Lin Wenruo to strain her back.

"How much? Twenty-six thousand? You think this is for shooting a photo album?" Lin Wenruo, being a director, immediately started calculating the costs for Zheng Nan.

"Let's not even go into details, but the most basic filming equipment, lighting equipment, recording equipment, plus consumables like memory cards—can you afford to spend less than 100,000?"

"I've considered this. Normally, it's not feasible to come down here." Zheng Nan nodded as she listened. In her previous life, Zheng Nan had been in the entertainment industry for over a decade and knew that what Lin Wenruo was talking about were essential items for filming.

"Are there any abnormalities?" Lin Wenruo asked, puzzled.

Zheng Nan slowly walked towards the Canon lying on Lin Wenruo's desk and picked it up.

"How much did you pay for this Canon 5D Mark II?"

"The camera body and kit together cost over 24,000, right? Wait a minute! You're not planning to use my camera to take pictures, are you?"

"You guessed right." Zheng Nan nodded.

Why not make use of the existing conditions?

Men's roommates in college or high school can generally get along well, as long as the other person isn't particularly foolish.

They're all good roommates, all brothers. What's wrong with using their things? It's not like I'm borrowing my girlfriend.

Zheng Nan had already planned it all out; he intended to make use of all his roommates, including Duan Xingye and Ren Yi.

Hiring extras outside is too expensive, but roommates are free; at most, you can treat them to a couple of meals.

Besides, Zheng Nan just won't pay them, but he'll make sure they get screen time in "Men's Diary," so it's a win-win situation!

"Stop touching me, put my 'wife' down gently."

"You tell me first whether you'll lend it to me or not." Zheng Nan took the opportunity to touch it a couple more times; the Invincible Rabbit did feel quite nice.

"Okay, even if we save on filming costs, there are still venue fees, transportation costs, post-production costs, personnel costs, costumes, props, etc... Your 20,000 yuan won't be enough, will it?"

"Didn't you notice that most of the scenes I designed were free sets? There were practically no location fees, I handled the post-production myself, and I can use everyday clothes for costumes and props. Basically, I'll do whatever it takes to save money!"