Global Film Emperor

Chapter 275 Family Matters
Lu Ze didn't drink too much at Hu Zhiguang's grandson's 100-day celebration that day. He just had a few drinks and then called a driver to take him home to wash up and go to sleep.

After resting for a day, Lu Ze prepared to head to the capital, while the cripple was taken away by Shen Jinghan. Since she didn't have any collaborations to discuss in other places in the short term, she offered to take care of Lu Ze.

After all, she didn't keep pets before, and her daughter lived with her father. She lived alone in Shanghai. As she got older, the 53-year-old woman sometimes felt lonely, so having a cat to keep her company was not bad.

Moreover, although the cripple was a bit ugly, he had an interesting appearance and was quite lazy and not very lively, making him very easy to take care of, which was suitable for someone like her who liked to be decisive.

Lu Ze then took Wang Zixuan by plane to the capital to prepare for the filming of "Find You," starting a ten-day script discussion and detailed revisions.

This kind of seminar is very different from the seminar on "Wrong Love". To give an analogy, it's like the difference between oral discussion and practical exercise.

For ten days, a group of big names gathered in the rehearsal room, from 8 am to 5 pm. Except for meals and bathroom breaks, they spent all their time in the rehearsal room, trying to go through the general flow of the script. Of course, the rehearsal was not as detailed as the actual filming. It was just a simple understanding of the plot and some basic rehearsal with a group of veteran actors.

He Ruikuan had even arranged the schedule in the group chat he created. Everyone had to arrive at the company's rehearsal room before 7:30, start half an hour of dialogue training, and then enter the actual rehearsal at 8:00. While others were rehearsing, you also had to watch from the side and play a game of spot the flaws together.

Until 11:30 a.m., during the half-hour lunch break, no one is allowed to go out to eat. If you don't like the company food, you can order takeout or ask your assistant to buy it, but you are not allowed to go out.

The company will then provide a rest area for a 40-minute nap to ensure you are in good spirits in the afternoon. Of course, you can choose whether or not to nap; nobody will interfere.

You'll have twenty minutes to wash up and wake up, then rehearse again until 5:00 or 5:30 in the evening. There might be overtime, but the chances aren't high. After that, nobody will care about you. You can go out for drinks with friends or have some fun at a bar, but you have to be back at the hotel the crew booked for you before midnight every night. And you might see He Ruikuan's old face peeking out from behind the door to check up on you. Just thinking about it is terrifying.

After this closed-loop management schedule was released, no one objected. After all, they were all seasoned actors, not the young idols who would stay up late partying and be late for filming in order to catch up on sleep. Obeying the crew's orders is a basic requirement for actors, and they would strictly abide by it.

Lu Ze accepted this without complaint. That's how movies with a mission-oriented feel are; everything has to be planned out and you have to act according to the requirements.

Although this might make people feel constrained and restricted, it's still much more stable than the chaotic filming process. As a result, this system resonated deeply with the veteran cadre Lu, who also disliked seeing disorganized film crews without any rules or regulations, such as the crew of "Wrong Love" or the youth crew of "The Capital" filmed a long time ago, which was a real headache to watch.

Upon arriving in the capital, on his way to Jinxiu Culture, Lu Ze suddenly thought of his silly younger sister. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time. The last time he saw her was during the seminar on "Mistaken Love." However, to Lu Ze's relief, his sister had finally seen through that guy's true colors and, despite his pleas, resolutely chose to break up with him, thus putting Lu Ze's mind at ease.

But he can't see her now. The students started their winter break a few days ago. She arrived home the day before yesterday. There are less than two weeks left before the graduate school admission results are announced. He really wants to ask Lu Nan if she has confidence.

He took out his phone and called her. After two rings, the call was answered, and Lu Ze's voice came through—a voice he knew all too well.

"Hey? Bro, what's wrong? Gaa gaa gaa."

What are you doing over there?

"I'm feeding the geese, wait a minute, I'll come inside and tell you, phew~ what's wrong? Missing me?"

"Missing you my ass! Don't make Mom and Dad prepare New Year's goods. We're going out this year, so take them on a plane. Pack motion sickness medicine, and don't let Mom sit by the window since she's afraid of heights. Oh, and I wanted to ask you, are you confident about the postgraduate entrance exam?"

Lu Nan has changed. At least she's not as naughty as before. Her behavior and tone of voice have become much quieter. This made Lu Ze, who used to be used to his younger sister clinging to him and rolling around on the floor acting cute, feel a little sad.

However, people always have to grow up. She can stop being so silly and carefree, even if Lu Ze is sad, it's still a good change.

"I'm pretty confident, there shouldn't be any problems. It's just that the results are about to be announced, and you're only now asking about my exam? Are you even my real brother?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If you pass the exam, I'll buy you a car, anything under 500,000 yuan. If you don't pass, I'll find you a job, and you'll have to go to work honestly." "If I don't pass, will there still be cars available?"

"Yes, I'll buy you an electric wheelchair, what do you think? How can you be so dreamy? Stop thinking about showing off all the time. When you earn your own money, you can spend it however you want. No way now, I'm telling you."

On the other end of the phone, Lu Nan took off her floral cotton-padded jacket and hung it on the clothes rack. She kicked her feet together in her old black cotton-padded shoes that cost twenty-five yuan a pair, sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), and pouted. The car thing was just a joke. Even if Lu Ze really intended to buy it for her, she couldn't accept it. After all, she knew in her heart that spending her brother's money and spending her parents' money were no different. Neither of them was her own.

Lu Ze often bought her luxury goods, and even after deducting the team's expenses, the biggest expense he made each month was on Lu Nan.

Lu Ze's parents have everything they need, yet he still sends them 10,000 yuan every month. Don't think it's too little; this money is just pocket money for the elderly couple.

In rural areas, two middle-aged and elderly people would struggle to spend even 5,000 yuan a month, let alone 10,000 yuan. Moreover, Lu Ze's parents are not yet too old to move. They do not farm their land anymore, having leased it out to others, but they have enough vegetables and fruits to eat from their small orchard.

The elderly couple's life now consists of getting up in the morning to feed the chickens, ducks, and geese, then Li Yumei sews cross-stitch, watches TV, and occasionally does some odd jobs. It's not tiring; they consider it exercise. If they had absolutely nothing to do, the couple would get sick from boredom.

Lu Weiguo still runs a small flour mill. When no one comes to grind flour or rice, he plays cards or mahjong with other old men who stay in the village from morning till night, losing at most thirty yuan a game.

These old men were willing to let Lu Weiguo win because the winner would have to treat them to a meal. Lu Ze would buy the liquor and leave it at home to entertain the guests. The liquor he bought was Jiannanchun, which cost 439 yuan a bottle, the beer was Snow Beer, and the cigarettes were Yuxi Hard Manor. They could get their money back from the meal.

As for Lu Nan, it's not that she's reluctant to use the things Lu Ze buys for her; she'll still use them when she needs to, otherwise they'd all grow mold in the closet. It's just that she hasn't developed the habit of spending money extravagantly. In this year, in the capital, her monthly expenses are only around a thousand yuan.

After Lu Ze covered all her clothes and cosmetics, she only spent small amounts on daily food and drinks, buying some fruit, occasionally watching a movie, and going out with her girlfriends for a meal or ice cream at a cost.

The most bizarre thing is that she is the only person at the university who wears the latest Hermes bag, carries a limited edition Prada bag, and has a pink Cartier Ballon Bleu bag, and eats a bowl of steamed egg custard for 1.5 yuan in the cafeteria in the morning, and even pours some soy sauce on it.

"I was just saying. Even if you bought me a car, I still couldn't afford the gas, so don't try to put me down with electric cars! I'd like to buy an electric bike to ride around school, but the battery is too heavy; I can't carry it upstairs, and I'm afraid it'll get stolen. I think the little bike that the ride-hailing service uses is pretty good; it's not big, you just twist the handlebars and it goes, and it's quite fast."

Perhaps the phone was too loud, and the car was well soundproofed. Wang Zixuan, who was sitting next to Lu Nan, must have heard what Lu Nan said. Lu Ze turned his head and saw that although she was expressionless, her face was red and her shoulders were shaking. Luckily, she didn't laugh, otherwise she might have really made a mess of things.

Lu Ze slapped his forehead and sighed. He was wrong. Lu Nan hadn't changed at all; she was still like a fool. In fact, Lu Ze felt that her brain was even less sharp than before. Had she gone crazy from studying? Surely not?
"It's up to you. Buy it if you want. You can even take on some jobs in your spare time, like driving for Didi or something. A designated driver makes more than ten yuan per kilometer. I'm going to hang up now that I've arrived."

After hanging up the phone, the car slowly drove through the CBD and then entered the parking space reserved by Jinxiu Media. Seeing that Wang Zixuan's fists were still clenched tightly, Lu Ze patted her shoulder.

Why are you clenching your fist? Trying to punch me?

"Brother Lu, your sister is very cute."

"Thank you so much for praising her. Brother Liu, just park the car here. You and Zixuan can find a place to rest. Today is just for reporting for duty. I'll probably be down in a bit. I won't be here for long. I'll call you back when I'm done."

After carrying his bag and parting ways with the two, Lu Ze took the elevator to the interior of Jinxiu Media. The receptionist led him to the conference room. When Lu Ze pushed open the conference room door, he was stunned and asked a question in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

"."

(End of this chapter)