We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

After the actor meet-and-greet, Lin Mo went to see Director Wang.

I'm not here to report on the script's progress, I'm here to report on the project's overall progress.

Director Wang's office door was open, and he was standing by the window making a phone call, his voice very low. Lin Mo waited at the door for a while, and only knocked on the door after he hung up.

"Come in." Director Wang turned around, saw it was Lin Mo, pointed to the sofa, and said, "Sit down."

Lin Mo sat down and gave a brief report on the meeting – all the actors had arrived, all the roles had been claimed, everyone approved of the script, no one made any demands, and no one asked about their pay.

After listening, Director Wang nodded: "Zhang Yi and Zhang Songwen, these two are your choices?"

"right."

Director Wang didn't ask why they were chosen; he simply said two words: "Pretty good."

"Director Wang, there's one more thing," Lin Mo said. "The script is still being written, but I don't want to wait until it's finished before starting. We can do location scouting and team building simultaneously. I plan to take the team to Guangdong next week to scout locations, writing as we go, so it won't delay anything."

Director Wang thought for a moment and asked, "Where do we choose?"

"Jiangmen," Lin Mo said, "is located in western Guangdong, by the sea, with arcade buildings, old streets, and an old town. It spans more than a decade, from the old factory streets of 2000 to the commercial streets of 2000. We need a place that can simultaneously satisfy the scenes of different eras. Jiangmen is an old hometown of overseas Chinese, and the buildings are well preserved. The feeling of the transition between the old and the new is very natural, and there is no need for major renovations."

Director Wang had never been to Jiangmen, but he trusted Lin Mo's judgment: "You decide. When do we depart?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Be careful on the road." Director Wang paused for a moment. "Filming is filming, but don't overwork yourself."

"Thank you, Director Wang."

The day after tomorrow morning, Lin Mo, along with Lao Zhao and two colleagues from the Ministry of Public Security, flew to Guangdong.

Old Zhao arrived in Yanjing a day early from Hainan. It was already past midnight when he arrived. His eyes were red, but he was in good spirits.

Even on the plane, Lao Zhao wasn't idle. He flipped through the information about Jiangmen stored on his phone, muttering to himself, "Arcade buildings, old streets, old factory market..."

Lin Mo sat by the window with his eyes closed, going over the script for episode eight in his mind.

After landing, the local public security bureau sent a car to pick them up.

A young police officer was driving, and in the passenger seat sat a section chief surnamed Chen, who was in his early forties and had a smile on his face. He introduced Lin Mo to the situation in Jiangmen along the way.

"Director Lin, Jiangmen is an old hometown of overseas Chinese, and many old buildings are well preserved. You'll definitely like the arcade streets. Although part of the old factory street market has been demolished, the core area is still there. There are also some old wharves in the fishing villages by the sea, with fishing boats and harbors."

Lin Mo felt much more at ease after hearing this.

It was almost noon when we arrived in Jiangmen.

Director Chen led them to have a meal first. It wasn't a fancy restaurant, just an old roadside shop with eel rice and roast goose from Gujing.

Old Zhao took a bite of the roast goose and his eyes lit up: "Director Lin, this is delicious! When we film eating scenes later, we don't need props, we can just eat it for real!"

Lin Mo was amused by him.

After the meal, Director Chen took them directly to their first chosen tourist attraction – the Old Factory Street Market.

The car stopped at the entrance of a narrow alley. Lin Mo got out of the car and froze on the spot.

The road is made of grayish-white cement, with old arcade buildings on both sides. The ground floor is a shop, and the upper floors are residential buildings.

Some signs were faded, some iron gates were rusted, electrical wires tangled overhead like spider webs, and colorful clothes hung on the clotheslines.

The air was filled with the smell of salted fish and the smoke from the coal stove.

This is the old factory street he was looking for.

Gao Qiqiang should be selling fish here.

An Xin should have first met him in this alley.

Old Zhao stood to the side, took out his phone and started snapping photos: "Director Lin, this place is perfect. Look at that corner, the moss grows so naturally, and the iron gate is rusted just right. The fish stall next to it, with its basins, plastic bags, and electronic scale, is all ready-made."

Director Chen explained from the side: "This used to be the old town of Jiangmen, which was most prosperous in the 1980s and 90s. Later, the new town was built, and this place gradually became deserted. But it is precisely because it is deserted that the old buildings have been preserved."

Lin Mo walked along the alley, feeling more and more at ease as he went.

The prototype of "The Storm" from his previous life was right here. The images in his mind matched the scene before him perfectly.

Old Zhao followed behind, taking notes in his notebook as he walked: "The core area of ​​the old factory street market is well preserved. There aren't many areas that need renovation; it's mainly cleaning and interior decoration."

After visiting the old factory street, we went to the seaside fishing village.

After driving for more than forty minutes, we arrived at a small fishing port in Taishan.

Fishing boats are moored on the dock, their masts standing tall, with fishing nets and light bulbs hanging on their hulls.

The sea breeze carries a strong, salty smell.

Old Zhao muttered from the side, "Director Lin, this place is fine for filming beach scenes, it's just a bit far, it's almost a two-hour drive round trip."

Lin Mo thought for a moment and said, "That's acceptable. We can use this location for wide shots, and for close-ups, we can shoot at the beach in the city."

Old Zhao wrote it down in his notebook.

I spent the whole afternoon looking around, visiting five places: Jiuchang Street Market, Changdi Qilou Street, Taishan Fishing Port, Xinhui People's Hall, and Kaiping Diaolou.

Old Zhao had several pages of notes in his notebook and more than a hundred photos stored on his phone.

Back at the hotel, Lao Zhao collapsed onto the bed, motionless.

Lin Mo then took out his phone and sent a message to Sun Jianguo: "Director Sun, the location has been selected. Jiangmen is a good place, the conditions are excellent, no major changes are needed, and we can start work next week."

Sun Jianguo replied immediately: "Okay, I'll take care of the venue."

Lin Mo posted another message: "There are a few places in the old city that need to be temporarily closed for filming. We will need the cooperation of the local police."

Sun Jianguo replied even faster: "I've already contacted the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. Just contact them when you arrive."

......

Three days after the selection was completed, Lao Zhao led the advance team into Jiangmen.

Renting venues, building sets, coordinating with local police, and arranging accommodations for actors—Lin Mo didn't have to worry about any of these tasks. Old Zhao had been an executive director for most of his life, and his specialty was untangling a mess.

Lin Mo continued writing the script. When he got to the twelfth episode, Old Zhao called: "Director Lin, the set is almost finished, and the actors will all be here next week. When would you like to start filming?"

Lin Mo flipped through the calendar and then looked at the script in his hand. Twelve episodes, enough to film for a while. He could write the rest as he filmed: "Next Monday, let's not delay. The higher-ups are pushing us hard. The sooner we start filming, the sooner we can finish."

Old Zhao replied on the other end of the phone, "Okay, I'll arrange it. Should we have a launch ceremony?"

"Let's do it simple. Just use the same method as last time's 'All or Nothing': an offering table, roast suckling pig, incense, for good luck."

Soon, the actors arrived in Jiangmen one after another.

The night before filming began, Lin Mo called all the actors to the hotel conference room for a short script reading session.

Each of them had a stack of scripts in front of them. Zhang Yi's script was covered with notes, as was Zhang Songwen's. The two sat opposite each other, neither looking at the other, both engrossed in their own scripts.

Lin Mo didn't waste any time and just said three things.

"First, this drama spans a long period of time, from 2000 to 2016. The actors' state of mind needs to follow the timeline; it's not enough to just change clothes. Zhang Yi, your An Xin is passionate and impulsive in the early stages, exhausted and forbearing in the middle stages, and weathered but determined in the later stages. The walking posture, speaking speed, and eyes of the actors must be different in each of these three stages. Zhang Songwen, your Gao Qiqiang is humble and timid in the early stages, ambitious and ruthless in the middle stages, and calm and ruthless in the later stages. The actors must portray three different people in each of these three stages."

Zhang Yi nodded, and Zhang Songwen also nodded.

"Secondly, there are no absolutely good or bad people in this drama. An Xin is not a saint; he will have doubts, waver, and want to give up. Gao Qiqiang is not a born devil either; he loves his family, is loyal, and is grateful to those who have helped him. I want the audience to see their complexity. Thirdly, the pace of filming is very fast. I don't have time for the actors to slowly find their feelings. Before filming starts, you have to thoroughly understand the characters."

On the day of filming, before dawn, Lao Zhao and his team had already set up the venue.

The offering table was set up at the entrance of the Old Factory Street Market, with roast suckling pig, fruit, pastries, and incense burner, nothing was missing.

A banner was stretched across the middle of the old street, with red background and white lettering: "Wishing the TV series 'Raging Waves' auspicious start to filming."

Couplets were pasted on the pillars of the arcade buildings on both sides: the first line read "Sweep away organized crime and promote righteousness," and the second line read "Protect and safeguard the people."