Global Film Emperor

Chapter 298 Script Completed
"Director He, good morning. Um, I just ate. Haven't you eaten yet? You've been quite busy lately. Um, I've heard the news. I'll definitely cooperate. No problem. Okay, you can get back to work now. Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ze looked around the bedroom, searching for the watch he had just taken out of the walk-in closet. After searching for a while, he finally found the Lange 1815 with a leather strap under the blanket.

I don’t know when it started, but Lu Ze also developed the habit of not holding anything in his hands while making a phone call. He would either fidget with the object in his hand while on the phone, or he would just put it down somewhere and forget where he had put it after hanging up.

He Ruikuan just called Lu Ze to ask if he should remember to promote the first promotional video for "Find You" which will be released tonight.

Lu Ze had already received news about this from Jinxiu Media beforehand, so he was naturally aware of it. He Ruikuan's call was probably meant to make Lu Ze pay more attention to it.

After setting a memo on his phone, Lu Ze took off his bathrobe and changed into a black Muji cotton T-shirt, black sweatpants, a pair of basketball shoes, and a black baseball cap.

Putting aside whether wearing all black is hot or not, the main purpose is to look thinner. As people reach middle age, they always have the trouble of gaining weight, and Lu Ze is no exception. With the slowdown of metabolism, the food he ingests is more likely to turn into fat. Although Lu Ze still has the habit of exercising, without high-intensity strength training, it is difficult to maintain a strong physique.

Lu Ze now has a little belly, although it's not very big, it's very noticeable when he wears white clothes, which is why Lu Ze has started to dislike white clothes.

As for losing weight? He didn't have that idea until he got a role that required a lot of physical fitness. As long as he didn't lose too much weight, he was fine. He could lose that little bit of belly fat in half a month with cardio.

So Lu Ze didn't really control his eating habits. After all, he didn't have many hobbies. Eating was one, growing flowers was another, and then there was drinking and smoking. Tea and coffee were just things that were necessary for social interaction in this circle, and he himself wasn't very interested in them.

The sweltering summer has arrived, and the lame cat is holed up under the air conditioner, not going anywhere. Lu Ze is afraid that the air conditioner will make its mouth crooked. It's already ugly, and if it gets crooked and drools, it won't look like a cat at all. It'll probably look like it's been run over by a car. But no matter how many times he tells it, it won't work. Lu Ze can only turn up the temperature a bit and then let it be.

After instructing the cripple to stay home and giving it a mint ball, Lu Ze left home and found his car parked outdoors. He had heard that the water pipes on the roof of the underground garage had leaked these past few days, so Lu Ze did not park inside the garage, but instead parked in the paid parking lot outside the department store across from his home.

Opening the car door, Lu Ze felt a wave of heat hit his face. He frowned and opened both doors wide. He squatted on the green belt and played on his phone for a while before driving to the company five minutes later.

Last night around 7 p.m., after five screenwriters worked overtime for three hours, the scriptwriting process was finally completed, taking one month and twenty-one days.

Lu Ze went to the company today to attend an internal meeting about the film project and to settle accounts with the five screenwriters. They had worked so hard for so long, he couldn't let them do it for nothing; he had to show his appreciation.

"Good morning, Brother Lu."

The receptionist greeted Lu Ze, but not inside the reception area. Instead, she was carrying a cardboard box and preparing to leave. With her head down, Lu Ze couldn't see her expression, but he could see the scrapes and bruises on her arms.

Seeing her like this, Lu Ze's first reaction was that Meng Nixin's wife had caught her having an affair with him. This was not surprising, after all, this little thing had spread throughout the company, and everyone knew about it from top to bottom.

This kind of thing doesn't deserve sympathy, but Lu Ze also has no right to laugh at it. He just patted her on the shoulder and whispered a word of comfort to her.

The girl was only twenty-two years old and was usually very cheerful and lively. Whenever Lu Ze came to the company, he would always see her greeting him with a bright smile. Even just for all those smiling faces, Lu Ze was willing to give her a word of comfort.

"Thank you, Brother Lu. I wish you great success in the future. Goodbye."

"Okay, be careful on your way home. Change your environment and live a good life."

Her shoulders were shaking as she left, clearly from crying. Lu Ze watched her retreating figure for a while, then looked at the now empty reception desk. As usual, he took a cup of instant coffee, sipped it, and walked down the corridor.
Sometimes life can hurt you, and you can hurt yourself unintentionally. As the saying goes, you got the blisters on your feet yourself, but the pain is nobody else's business. Just bear with it, and it will heal eventually.

As he passed by the trainees, he could still hear them teasing and mocking Er Mei. However, when they saw Lu Ze, they fell silent and respectfully greeted him.

Lu Ze didn't show any other expression, nodded, and walked past them. Only now did he realize that these kids, who were more than twelve years younger than him, were no longer children. After leaving school and entering society, especially after jumping into this big melting pot, none of them were innocent.

"Hey Lu Ze, come here for a second. Here, take this card. It's all the same. Do you think this amount is appropriate?" After passing the entrance of the business department, Feng Changhao pushed open the door and came out. After seeing Lu Ze, he asked Lu Ze to follow him to an empty office, handed over five bank cards, and gestured with his fingers. As for why he couldn't just give them out openly, it was because he hadn't gone through the tax process.

This matter involved Lu Ze asking them for personal help; no employment contract was signed, and under these circumstances, it wasn't recorded in the company's accounts, right?

If Lu Ze were to accept the money, he would definitely prefer to avoid trouble. If he were caught, paying back taxes would be a minor issue; losing face for a little money would certainly not be worth it. However, these five screenwriters might not be willing to do so.

Screenwriting is a profession where you might not get any work for three years, but when you do, you can live off it for three. You might not be able to come up with anything for several years. Moreover, in recent years, actors' salaries have been rising, filming budgets have been rising, and even production crew salaries have been rising, but the price of scripts has basically remained unchanged. Don't be fooled by Huang Liu and his friends being big shots in the screenwriting circle. In fact, compared to other top professionals in the industry, they are actually living quite frugally. Therefore, they might not be willing to pay taxes on their money.

Whether they pay taxes or not is none of Lu Ze's concern. As long as he gives them the money, that's fine. When they see that there's a whole number of money in their cards, those who are willing to pay taxes will definitely contact Qian Shijia to return the money and process it in their accounts. Those who are honest will take their own money. As for those who are bold, they are still friends, and Lu Ze can't say much about it, right?

"That's a good deal, the price is top-notch. I'll be going now, see you in the conference room later."

Lu Ze put the card in his pocket, took the cigarette Feng Changhao handed him, lit it, patted him on the shoulder, and walked towards the conference room where the screenwriters were. He pushed open the door, smiled, and hugged his five good buddies goodbye.

Now that the script is finished and Lu Ze has read it and really likes it, there's nothing more for them to do. All five of them should leave and go home today.

I first chatted with these guys about how they were going to get back, and then we verbally agreed to meet up again when we had time. Since we were about to have a meeting here, these guys didn't stay any longer.

"Brother Huang, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. Brother Bo, Brother Fei, please don't refuse. We need to stay in touch. If you don't take this today, how can I ever ask you for favors again?"

"That's going too far. You already said we're good buddies, why are we talking about money? We've been in Shanghai for over a month, you've provided food and lodging, that's enough. We don't need anything else. Next time we need something, you won't provide it either. See? Next time, next time."

Don't think it's just Northeasterners who fight over the bill; judging from the scene, I bet people all over the country are in the same boat. After a scramble, these five guys finally got the card, but who wouldn't be happy to actually get the money? Even if they're artists, they still need to eat, right? After getting the card, their faces brightened considerably, and I bet their faces will be even brighter when they see the amount.

The group hugged each other, and Lu Ze escorted them downstairs. They got into Qian Shijia's business car, and Lu Ze told them to call him when they got home. After they had walked away, Lu Ze turned around and went upstairs.

Meeting!
Pushing open the door to the largest conference room, there were actually only a few people there. Bai Xiqun, Meng Nixin, Feng Changhao, and He Guohui were sitting in the secondary seats, while the person in the first seat was none other than Li Shanjun.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li, I just saw screenwriter Huang and the others off."

"It's okay, sit down."

Lu Ze nodded, pulled out a chair and sat down. Coincidentally, Meng Nixin was sitting opposite him. Lu Ze looked closely at Meng Nixin's face and saw that there were no scars.

It's probably an internal injury.

Although Lu Ze showed no expression and there was no mockery or contempt in his eyes, Meng Nixin still felt awkward. This kind of thing would be embarrassing for any man, let alone making a fool of himself in front of someone he didn't get along with.

"Alright, let's begin. Minister Feng, please tell me the details."

The project was originally supposed to be handled by Meng Nixin, but Li Shanjun raised questions to Feng Changhao instead, apparently because he was angry with Meng Nixin, making Meng Nixin even more embarrassed.

Seeing this, Lu Ze still controlled his facial expression, but took out the script and pen from his bag, picked up the pen and twirled it in his hand.

"."

(End of this chapter)