Global Film Emperor

Chapter 29 A Play (Bonus chapter for our valued readers!)

Ever since Lu Ze became popular in the Hengdian actor market, his meals on set have really improved a lot. He now gets three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a bowl of soup. Each boxed meal costs at least seventeen or eighteen yuan.

After Yang Dan left, the landlord rented the room opposite his to an old man, who wasn't an extra but worked as a gatekeeper at a factory not far from the film studio.

Moreover, the old man worked the night shift, and usually went to work before Lu Ze returned home. The old man could only come back after Lu Ze woke up and went to work, so they never had much interaction.

So Lu Ze has been cooking for himself ever since Yang Dan left. But for men, cooking once or twice is fine, but after a while, just thinking about what to eat at night gets annoying. So usually after work, he asks the production crew if there are any leftover boxed lunches, takes them home, heats them up, and that's his meal.

Just as Lu Ze was enjoying his meal, Zeng Long walked over and plopped down on the stool opposite him.

"Hey, Zeng Ge, not busy today? You even came to see me on set? Have you eaten yet? Zhang'er! Is there any food left? Could you get me another box?"

Lu Ze buried his head in his lunchbox and stuffed himself, his mouth bulging and his lips shiny with oil. When he saw Zeng Long, he greeted him warmly and didn't forget to grab a mouthful of chopsticks.

After the production assistant handed Zeng Long a boxed lunch, Zeng Long opened the lunchbox, broke off his chopsticks, took a bite of the food, and said, "What the hell am I looking at? You're not a young lady, why would I look at you? Your crew needs another supporting actor, so I brought someone over."

Zeng Long had also been in charge of coordinating with Lu Ze and other film crews, so the two were quite familiar with each other. They were always joking around and neither of them were serious. It was only because Lu Ze was popular that he spoke to Zeng Long like that; otherwise, most character actors wouldn't dare to talk to Zeng Long like that.

"What do you want from me? Let me tell you, don't drag me into this massage or prostitute stuff, I'm not going."

Lu Ze poured the remaining food into his rice bowl and shoveled it around a bit. Without looking up, he took out a cigarette case from his pocket and handed one to Zeng Long. He lit one for Zeng Long first, then lit one for himself and took a puff.

Zeng Long glanced around to make sure no one had noticed what Lu Ze had just said, then pretended to be angry and said, "What the hell are you talking about? When have I ever gone to a prostitute?"

"Don't talk nonsense. At the end of last month, you asked me if I wanted to go for a massage. I said no. Then you took Lao Song and a few others to take a bath. What's there to hide? There are four girls living in my courtyard. I'm quite familiar with them."

"Really? You've been a patron of that business? How much does a full night of escort services cost?"

Seeing Zeng Long's eyes practically glowing green, Lu Ze chuckled and threw down his chopsticks: "I've never hired a prostitute. A couple of days ago, a girl even offered to live with me, but I refused. Why would I spend money on that? Alright, alright, what's the matter?"

When it comes to work, Zeng Long finally becomes a bit more serious and doesn't seem like a typical vagrant anymore.

"Let me introduce you to a job, a big one!"

"Come on, with my small frame, any job you introduce is a big one. Just say you'll work for a few days, that's all."

"This is a really big job. I have to audition, with all the male supporting actors in the show!"

Lu Ze was shoveling rice into his lunchbox when he heard this and almost spat rice grains onto Zeng Long's face. He asked excitedly, "Which film crew is it? What are they filming?"

"Aren't you small? Didn't you think working in a group for two days was a big job? Then you keep doing it, and I'll look for someone else."

"No way, I can do it! I love doing big jobs! I'm over 1.8 meters tall and weigh about 150 kilograms, who's bigger than me? Stop messing around, Brother Zeng, just tell me what I want to do?"

Zeng Long pinched the cigarette butt between his thumb and forefinger, took a deep drag, and then threw it hard on the ground, his face beaming with excitement.

"This is the first time I've received such a big audition offer, Guo Mingde! Do you know that?"

Lu Ze was stunned when he heard the name. He had thought it was just a minor supporting role in a small drama, but with this name, it couldn't be a small drama!

"How could I not know! 'Special Forces'! A famous director of military films! A top-tier young director in China! Brother Zeng, really!"

Lu Ze swallowed hard, his fists clenched until they were red, and he was breathing heavily like an old ox, waiting for Zeng Long to give him a positive answer.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! It's definitely true, no, it's certain, absolutely certain! But they're still in the project approval stage, and they can't announce it to the public yet. They're currently trying to secure further investment and cast actors!"

Zeng Long hissed, saying that the little act was indeed quite intimidating, at least making Lu Ze's voice as quiet as it could possibly be, but it also made Lu Ze's face turn bright red.

Guo Mingde! If I were to act under his direction, even in a supporting role, it would be incredibly beneficial! It would definitely act as a crucial lever for my future acting career, propelling me to even greater heights!

"Then you have to tell me the name of the play!" "Don't rush, it's chaotic here and I'm afraid I'll say something wrong. Wait for me at the union after get off work tonight, I'll give you the audition script, there are quite a few roles! Don't worry! By the way, can you speak Sichuan dialect?"

"What the hell am I talking about?! I'm speaking standard Mandarin! What do you mean by this? Why did you have to find an actor who can speak Sichuan dialect?!"

"Hey~ You silly goose, your Sichuan dialect is pretty authentic! You little rascal, you're something else."

Lu Ze speaks Sichuan dialect very authentically. When he came to Hengdian, there was a man from Sichuan in the courtyard, and Lu Ze learned some Sichuan dialect from him.

After having a long-term relationship with Kong Lingzhu, a girl from Sichuan Province, during a university simulation course, he naturally speaks Sichuan dialect very fluently. People from other provinces generally can't tell the difference, and even people from Sichuan can't tell the difference unless they listen carefully.

This also excited Lu Ze. Although he had forgotten all the skills he learned in the simulation course, his verbal prowess still came in handy!
Zeng Long finished his lunchbox, burped, and patted Lu Ze on the shoulder: "Then it's settled. Come find me after work. I have another job to do, so I'll be going now."

"I'll see your brother Zeng off."

"Hey~ when did you learn to be so polite? What kind of 'gift' are you talking about? Wait a minute."

"What's wrong? You really want me to drive you? I have to film a scene later."

"I knew you'd just be all talk and no action! Be careful, I gave you the script! I was just asking."

Zeng Long whispered in Lu Ze's ear, "Pick one of the four girls in your courtyard, and ask her how much it costs for an overnight stay. See if you can give me a discount. Remember to ask her for me. I'm leaving now!"

After saying that, Zeng Long grabbed his briefcase and ran off, leaving Lu Ze behind him with a face as black as if he had eaten shit.

Starting at noon, Lu Ze entered a state of anxiety and uncertainty, even interrupting filming, which greatly displeased Director Liu.

Fortunately, that scene was between the main character and the second male lead, and there were no war scenes. So Director Liu only scolded Lu Ze a couple of times before having no choice but to reshoot.

Actually, Lu Ze shouldn't be blamed too much, because he was really on edge, constantly thinking about Guo Mingde's new play; he cared about it a lot.

This feeling is a hundred times stronger than when you're at school and your mom is cooking a huge pot of braised pork at home. You can't help but crave it, and you're craving it so much you're going crazy!

After finishing work that evening, I apologized to the director and lead actors, grabbed my coat, and rushed to the union office. I was covered in sweat as I pushed open the union door and went inside.

"Brother Zeng! Brother Zeng! I'm here!"

"Alright, alright, I saw him a long time ago. He was such a fool, he was running so fast he almost lost his shoes. Who wouldn't have seen him? Come here, come to my office."

Zeng Long's voice came from the second floor. Lu Ze greeted the receptionist at the union who was about to leave work, and then scurried upstairs on both hands and feet.

Pushing open the door, Zeng Long sat in a chair and beckoned Lu Ze to come in.

"Close the door."

"Boom!"

Lu Ze slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

"Couldn't you be a little gentler? Come sit down. Here, take a look at your script."

Lu Ze sat in his chair and swallowed hard. He found that his hand was trembling as he picked up the script. Then he turned his gaze to the center of the first page of the script and read the title of the play aloud.

"My...Commander, My Regiment?"

"."

(End of this chapter)