Global Film Emperor

Chapter 84 Taking the two home for a visit

Perhaps feeling the pressure, the filming went very smoothly, with all the easy parts completed in one take without any retakes.

Including Lu Ze, the three main actors only needed to grab the script and start rehearsing their lines as soon as they stepped off the set. The company didn't actually put much pressure on the production team. However, this was, after all, the first film invested in by Qian Shijia. The expectation of a successful start and the anxiety about the future turned into a huge psychological burden.

Lu Ze was alright; he had developed a strong heart through the system and could withstand the pressure. However, Zhang Haopeng was struggling to cope. Occasionally, when Lu Ze woke up in the middle of the night, he would see Zhang Haopeng memorizing scripts under a small desk lamp.

In just over ten days, Zhang Haopeng lost his appetite and sleep, lost a lot of weight, and his smoking habit didn't decrease much. Lu Ze understood his mentality. He had already wasted ten years, could he be willing to waste another ten years by changing companies?

He was completely tense, hanging by a heavy weight in his heart. Lu Ze tried to comfort him, afraid that he would be crushed by the pressure, but it didn't have much effect.

Not only Zhang Haopeng, but Li Jianni was the same. Lu Ze had heard Wang Zixuan say that Li Jianni had once cried in her quilt. She was energetic when filming, but became extremely depressed off set.

This film crew gave Lu Ze an unprecedented experience. The two film crews he had worked with before were usually full of laughter and joy. Unlike now, the staff were exhausted like dogs, and the actors had lost their smiles.

This couldn't go on. Less than a third of the scenes had been filmed when the crew's condition started to deteriorate. Although Han Chen was also losing clumps of hair, he still decisively gave the crew three days off.

Lu Ze also wanted to take advantage of the two-day holiday to go home and visit his family. After all, he was already in the same province. He wasn't Yu the Great, so how could he not go back and visit his family when he was at his doorstep?

"How about you come to my house for a visit, Lao Zhang? We can't go to the beach right now, so let's go to the countryside for a couple of days. What do you think?"

The beach is definitely out of the question. If they did go, viewers would probably notice the lead actor's face turning pale and then dark during the show's premiere. Of course, there are other attractions besides the beach, like amusement parks, but which man in his thirties would go to an amusement park by himself?

Zhang Haopeng was clearly tempted. He was also wondering where to go to relax. If he just stayed in the hotel, it would be better not to have a holiday at all. As for visiting night markets, he felt that all night markets were the same and there was no difference.

"That's not really appropriate."

"Hey, it's no big deal, just a couple more chopsticks. I'm a hospitable person, so I'm inviting you. Just come with me."

"Then I'm sorry to bother you."

Zhang Haopeng didn't hesitate too much. He still longed for rural life. Although he was in his thirties, he was a true city dweller. Apart from visiting farmhouses when filming or traveling, he hadn't been to the countryside many times.

The two quickly packed their luggage, booked a high-speed rail ticket, and if they were quick, they could arrive by noon.

"Wait a minute, let me ask Jenny if she wants to go. It'll be more lively with more people."

Lu Ze picked up his phone and called Li Jianni. After all, he and Zhang Haopeng had gone to the countryside together, and whether she came or not, he had to invite her, otherwise it would seem like something was going on.

Then, three people carrying small bags appeared at the train station, eating grilled cold noodles at a roadside stall. Liu Bin and Wang Zixuan and Lu Ze invited the two men and one woman waiting for the train to join them, but the two women declined and did not go with them.

After taking the high-speed train, Zhang Haopeng and Li Jianni were quite calm when they took a bus. However, when Lu Ze took them on a three-wheeled donkey-drawn cart, they were really surprised. They had never seen such a thing before, but they sat on it out of curiosity. Although it was a bit crowded, they had no luggage and everyone could sit down.

"Lu Lu Lu Ze, how far is your home?"

Zhang Haopeng's speech was so jolted that he started to stutter. His buttocks were so numb that he couldn't feel anything. Whenever he spoke, he would make a trembling sound, which was a real tremor.

"We'll be there in five or six minutes. Should we stop and stretch a bit?"

"It's okay, driver. Can you drive slower? I'm a little scared watching you drive."

They came right over a huge pothole. The driver slowed down, but the car had no shock absorbers! Zhang Haopeng almost bit his tongue from the jolting. Lu Ze had been thinking about whether to pave a road for the village while they were in the car. After all, this road was really too difficult to travel on. The distance from the village entrance to the national highway was not far, only a little over a kilometer, but it would take the little scooter a full ten minutes to run that one kilometer.

If the dirt road were to be paved with asphalt, the cost would be approximately 90 yuan per square meter for a 200mm thick base layer plus asphalt, and 900,000 yuan per kilometer.

I only had less than 500,000 yuan in my pocket. I had already bought some clothes, and with various expenses and sending money home for renovations, I had spent another 300,000 yuan. So I really didn't have enough money left.

Lu Ze decided to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​paving the road; he couldn't very well take out a loan to do so, could he?

After getting off the bus at the village entrance, they looked at the somewhat desolate and dilapidated village, which matched their expectations of the village. They thought that not every village could be like the ones shown on TV, all of which had achieved a moderately prosperous life.

This is the true face of the countryside.

This time, Lu Ze did not inform his parents that he was going home. The three of them were walking on the way to Lu Ze's house. From a distance, they could hear the sounds of hammering and cutting machines coming from afar.

"Hmm? Is someone renovating their house?"

"my home."

As soon as Lu Ze spoke, their expressions changed. They stared at Lu Ze in shock. "Why did you ask us to come and play while you're renovating the house? You want us to help with the work, don't you?!"

"This isn't really a good idea, is it? We won't have anywhere to stay when we get there, will we? Let's just go to town and have some fun."

"It's alright. The neighbors in this village have lived here for almost a hundred years. Although they are not related by blood, they are closer than relatives. Now that the young people in the village have all left, there are plenty of places to live. Let's go, let's go."

Since Lu Ze has said that, what can they do? They resign themselves to their fate and just keep working, considering it exercise. But Lu Ze, if I ever come to your house again, I'll be your grandson!
Lu Ze smiled slyly. Of course, he couldn't let the two of them help with the renovation of his house, but they could still do farm work. Too much pressure? Doing some physical labor would help relieve some stress.

"Daze, why are you back?"

"elder brother!"

As soon as Lu Ze entered the courtyard, he saw the three-story building. It was already completed and cost Lu Ze nearly 200,000 yuan. This price was really not expensive because many villagers helped out, so the cost of labor and materials was basically negligible.

However, Lu Ze had already spent 400,000 yuan on the renovation. This price was definitely not comparable to that of a villa in the city, but it was the top price in the surrounding villages.

"No, I was just filming in Dalian, so I came back to visit after a few days off. My parents are my colleagues. They'll stay for a couple of days. Xiao Nan, why don't you take Brother Zhang and Sister Li to the field to pick some corn? Go ahead."

Lu Nan had returned from summer vacation. Upon hearing Lu Ze's order, she first went to the storeroom to find coats and straw hats for Li Jianni and the other girl.

Covered up tightly, the two women, carrying small bamboo baskets on their backs, looked at Lu Ze with resentment. They had barely arrived and hadn't even had a chance to sit down before being put to work after having some tea? Was this how the Lu family treated their guests?
After watching the two leave with Lu Nan and enter the house, where the floor tiles were already being laid, Lu Ze lit a cigarette for the workers, looked around with the rudimentary renovation knowledge he had learned in class, and nodded in satisfaction.

It would probably take Lu Ze several years of hard work to afford a 300-square-meter apartment in the city, and buying one in Beijing... well, who knows how many years that would take.

Even though he only stayed in the village for a year, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. His thinking was still very old-fashioned. He believed that when he got old, he would want to return to his roots, because he belonged here.

Let's do the math. The money for building the house came from the extras' fees and the paychecks for "My Chief and My Regiment." The paychecks for "Youth in the Capital" and "Qin Ming" totaled 700,000 yuan, of which 200,000 yuan has already been spent. Now, there's less than 500,000 yuan left.

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(End of this chapter)