Global Film Emperor

Chapter 33 Returning to Ordinary Life
I drank a bit too much last night. After logging out of the system space, I immediately felt unwell. My throat was very dry, and although my head didn't hurt, I felt extremely dizzy.

He got up and washed his face. Now he's not going with the crew anymore. It doesn't matter whether he goes early or late. If he goes late, he'll just earn less.

Lu Ze was a little annoyed when he saw the huge basin of clothes piled up. There really aren't many men who are diligent enough to change and wash clothes one by one. They wear them until they can't be worn anymore, then pile them up and wash them all at once, which is more satisfying.

There's a twin-tub washing machine at home, the kind that washes clothes in one tub and spins them in the other. He bought it from a second-hand market for 300 yuan. It's fine for washing clothes, but when it's spinning, the washing machine is like a breakdancer. It could jump out into the yard if you didn't hold it down.

With his right hand on the washing machine, he would always suddenly think of Yang Dan. She once said that washing machines don't clean as well as hand washing.

He was overthinking it. He opened the rice cooker lid, and the cooked rice was already gone. He hadn't poured water into the inner pot beforehand to clean it. The inner pot had become sour from not cooking for two days.

After rinsing the rice and putting it in the pot, he, like an old man and woman, pulled the small cart left by Yang Dan to the vegetable stall, ready to cook something for himself.

How much does chives cost per pound?

"Eighty cents a pound, ma'am, would you like some?"

"You're still selling these chives for 80 cents? The leaves are all yellow, are they from the day before yesterday? Yesterday's shouldn't be like this. I'm not buying fresh this early in the morning. Why would I buy this? It's 50 cents a pound. I'll just buy a little bit to save money."

The old lady argued with the stall owner for a long time, and in the end, the stall owner couldn't persuade her and nodded to sell the chives for 50 cents a pound. Lu Ze quickly seized the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"Give me a dollar."

Carrying two pounds of chives, he tossed them into his small cart and continued wandering to the next shop. If you encounter something like this, don't make a fuss; if you really sell them, you'll definitely get a bargain.

Although he experienced a lot in the system, both in poverty and wealth, he came to understand one thing: there are different ways to live in different situations. If you have money, being generous is true generosity; if you don't have money, being generous is just pretending to be generous. If you don't have money, it's okay to take small advantages, but don't go too far, there's nothing shameful about it.

Chives, eggs, chili peppers, and two pounds of pork—wash them all when you get home.

I heated oil in a wok and stir-fried some chives and eggs with chili peppers and shredded pork. My cooking skills have improved a bit, and it tasted pretty good. I heard the old man next door coughing. It seemed like he had some lung problems; he kept coughing.

The old man had lung problems, and the house was filled with cooking fumes, so Lu Ze quickly opened the windows and doors to air out the fumes and prevent the old man from having another attack.

After finishing my meal and cleaning up, I put the dishes away, hung the clothes out to dry in the yard, and made a cup of tea—the kind of tea that costs eight yuan for a big bag, which I usually use to sober up and cleanse my intestines. I downed a whole porcelain jar of tea in one go, let out a comfortable sigh, locked the door, and rode my Mobike leisurely to the film studio.

He put aside the role in Guo Mingde's play for the time being and stopped practicing. After all, his family needed money. Lu Nan was going to school, and people in the village exchanged more gifts and favors than in the city. Although the amount given at one time was not much, the sheer volume of gifts made up for it.

Last month, Lu Ze's parents gave more than 2,000 yuan in gifts when they went around giving money. This was only because the Lu family was doing a little better. If they get through this period, they will probably have to give even more.

As for Lu Nan, he seemed to have mentioned wanting to take on part-time jobs before, but Lu Ze sternly stopped him. After all, he was a part-time king when he was at Lü Hua, doing everything from being a five-star hotel catering waiter to climbing stairs to put up small signs for unlocking doors and cleaning underfloor heating.

Girls can earn more than boys doing part-time jobs, but the prerequisite is that you have to be good-looking. Lu Nan is a top-tier girl who can earn a couple hundred yuan a day just by greeting guests at an opening ceremony in a cheongsam.

But Lu Ze didn't want her to expose her legs in the already cooled-down weather in the capital. If someone took advantage of her, Lu Ze would really be breaking the law.

It's much better to sit comfortably in the library, warm and cozy, and read a book. As for money, Lu Ze can still afford it for now.

He never forgot to lock his Mobike. Last time he was in a hurry to go to the supermarket to buy some things, he found that his Mobike had been ridden away as soon as he stepped out. It cost the other person more than 20 yuan to lock it. He wondered if that bastard had ridden it to the wolves in Xizang.

The film studio was still the same, with huge crowds of people waiting for work at the entrance. From five or six in the morning until one or two in the morning, there were always people, as if it was never quiet. After parking his car, Lu Ze walked a short distance and saw a group of teenagers in front of him, a group he wasn't sure whether he should call them teenagers or not.

To be honest, these people could be considered young adults, but judging from their joking and playful antics, let's just call them teenagers for now.

"Brother Lu, you're late for work today."

"Good morning, Brother Lu. I haven't seen you the past couple of days."

The world of extras is essentially a group of people struggling to make ends meet, but compared to the circles of migrant workers or laborers, they have more dreams and a more rigid hierarchy.

Special characters are slightly better than extras, and group leaders are slightly better than special characters. They are a level above them. It's not much trouble to kill a small fry, but they can still take care of whoever they want.

Lu Ze, the cheap and effective firefighter in the eyes of the directors, has become a respected figure among a group of extras. People younger than Lu Ze, about the same age as him, and even some older than him who are shameless all love to get close to him.

He's gotten used to people calling him "brother" and hasn't gotten arrogant. These people calling him "brother" is actually similar to how college students call their seniors "brother."

They all call you "brother" to your face, but behind your back they call you "grandson." When you think about it that way, what's there to be arrogant about?
"Er Mao, give me a bottle of water and a pack of cigarettes."

Er Mao was originally an extra. He used to play the role of a "bitter doll," the kind of character that makes people feel that his life has been particularly hard when they see him.

Later, he felt that he didn't have much of a future, so he quit his job as an extra. However, he didn't leave Hengdian. Instead, he picked up a big ladle and started selling hand-pulled pancakes, grilled cold noodles, and fried pancakes—foods that could fill his stomach. He also worked part-time at Er Mao's mobile convenience store.

But you have to admit, this job is more tiring than being an extra, but the pay is indeed high. Considering Lu Ze's usual habit of eating a hand-pulled pancake with an extra one, he probably earns more than Lu Ze in a month.

"Hey, Brother Lu, haven't seen you these past few days. Where have you been making your fortune?"

"Me? I went tomb raiding."

Sitting on Er Mao's three-legged donkey, riding along with him, Lu Ze's phone rang in his pocket. He glanced at it and saw it was Liu Le calling.

He had already called Liu Le last night, telling him to call him if there was work around noon, which was a good idea of ​​giving him advance notice.

"Hey, Brother Le."

"Lu'er, there's a job for you. Do you want to take it? It's a run-through job, three hundred. Are you in?"

"Damn, I'm right at the entrance of the film studio. Where are you? What time does it start?"

"Then walk east from the entrance of the film studio. I'm sitting under a tree. Hurry up, there's still time. I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, I'll be right there, Mao."

His phone battery was dead; it would lose about 20% of its charge in an hour if he didn't use it. After finishing the call, Lu Ze plugged in his power bank and headed east.

(End of this chapter)