Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 223: Close Relatives
With the start of filming of "The Lost Tomb", producer Meng Bai has become more free.

The crew's affairs are under the control of director Li Muge. Even if he has any arrangements, he can dispatch them through the chief producer or the on-site producer.

It just happened to be the Spring Festival, so Meng Bai, with nothing to do, went home to celebrate the New Year.

As the New Year draws to a close, many young people complain online that they don’t want to go home for the New Year.

He said he didn’t want to go home, but actually he mainly didn’t want to see his relatives.

We barely see each other all year round, and when we meet, he asks us “how much is your salary?”, “have you bought a house?”, “do you have a partner?”, “when are you planning to get married?” etc.

In contrast, Meng Bai was looking forward to the Chinese New Year, especially the part about asking questions.

As long as someone takes the lead, he can naturally start "output".

"Salary? Oh, I don't really get paid. I'm not really interested in money."

"I don't think the house needs to be too big. After all, it's only big enough for a bed. About 300 to 400 square meters is more than enough."

"I'm not in a hurry to find a partner. As a young man, my main focus is my career. I don't usually talk to girls."

"..."

In the past, when Meng Bai went home and faced questions from relatives, he would mainly answer with this kind of "nonsense".

Unfortunately, since Arc Light Films has become more and more famous, and Meng's mother has been promoting it in the family group all year round, few relatives have talked to him about these things during the Chinese New Year in the past two years.

All I can say is, it's a lot less fun.

This year was particularly special. He returned home on the third day of the Lunar New Year, but not only did he not see many relatives, even Mr. and Mrs. Meng were not there.

After making two calls and no one answered, Meng Bai couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

It’s strange, where did this old couple go?

Could it be that he secretly practiced his trumpet when I was not at home, and was afraid that he would be "ashamed to face" me when I came back, so he hid away?
But looking at the furnishings in the house, there doesn't seem to be any suspicious items such as baby bottles or milk powder.

I waited at home until the afternoon, and finally, I heard the sound of a door opening.

"Hey, didn't you say you couldn't come back for the Spring Festival this year?"

Looking at her son who suddenly "refreshed" from the bedroom, Mother Meng said in surprise.

"Okay, I understand. I came back at a bad time. It's okay. I'll pack up and leave now."

"Go away, stop talking to me."

Mother Meng patted Meng Bai lightly: "Have you eaten lunch?"

"No, I've been hungry for the whole morning." Meng Bai acted pitifully.

"You're so old, but you don't know how to cook for yourself when you're hungry."

Mother Meng said something disdainful, took the ingredients from the refrigerator and went into the kitchen.

Meng Bai was helping out on the side, and asked curiously, "Where did you and my dad go this morning? Why didn't anyone answer the phone?"

"Did you call?"

Mother Meng wiped her hands, took the phone and took a look: "Oh, it's true, there must be no signal in the mountains."

"In the mountains? Why are you going up the mountain?"

"Go sweep the grave and pay homage to your great grandfather."

"Huh?" Meng Bai looked over with a puzzled look on his face. "No, it's New Year's Day, why did you suddenly think of visiting the graves?"

"Well, it's your old Meng family's business." Mother Meng said, "A distant relative of yours came and said he wanted to pay respect to the ancestral grave."

"Distant relative? How far?"

"I came from Changchun."

"Ah——" Meng Bai nodded. It was indeed far enough.

but……

"How come I've never heard of you having a relative in Changchun?"

"Humph, don't talk about you. Your father and I just heard about it too."

Seeing Meng Bai's curious expression, Meng's mother explained to him.

To talk about this matter, we have to trace it back to the generation of Meng Bai's great-grandfather.

In simple terms, there were originally three brothers in his great grandfather's generation. One joined the army and his whereabouts are unknown, and the other went to Guandong and finally settled in Changchun. Nearly a century later, the eldest brother, Meng Bai's great grandfather, had already passed away, but the "third brother" was still alive.

As his death was approaching, the old man decided to return to his hometown to take one last look at his past, to put his worries to rest.

Fortunately, Grandpa Meng Bai's group had remained on Blue Island, so the two sides were able to get in touch without much effort.

We had originally planned to come here in the fall, but the old man suddenly fell ill and took several months to recover before we could leave.

The other party was accompanied by a whole family, so the main person in charge of the reception here was naturally Mr. Meng.

"Tsk, I never thought that our family could have such a magnificent history." Meng Bai said with emotion.

The framework of this thing is already there, and if we add some plot, we can make a period drama.

"Well, what a coincidence, the youngest one in their group right now is a little girl, a few years younger than you, and she's also an actress."

Meng Bai looked at Mother Meng: "So, you won't take this opportunity to tell others that your son has a film and television company in Beijing North and can help take care of it?"

"Haha, look at what you said."

Mother Meng smiled awkwardly and decisively pushed the blame, saying, "This time it was mainly because your father mentioned it to others, and I just said a few words casually. Besides, we are all relatives anyway, so you should take care of us if you can."

"Come on, mom. From the perspective of my great-grandfather's generation, we are not even remotely related. How can we call them relatives?"

Meng Bai sighed exaggeratedly, but didn't take it seriously.

Arc Light has so many projects. If we really get in touch later, I can just assign you a few supporting roles or something like that, as long as I can explain it.

"By the way, this cousin...is it a cousin?"

Mother Meng thought for a moment and said, "She's probably not your sister. The generations above them all got married and had children relatively early, so the youngest girl should be a generation younger than you... She should be your niece."

"..."

Meng Bai was speechless. Well, now he has become an elder.

"Okay, then what's my niece's name - it's so awkward to say this - and which school she goes to? Just ask her to contact me later."

"He's from the film school next to you. I didn't ask his name." Mother Meng said, "But his last name must be Meng."

"Wow, what a coincidence, her last name is also Meng!"

"Speak properly!" Mother Meng slapped Meng Bai in embarrassment, "I'll ask her later. Ask her to add you on WeChat. You youngsters can chat on your own."

"Mom, your tone sounds like you're introducing me to a blind date."

"Oh, I don't care about these things for you young people. Anyway, they are not related at all. You can handle it yourself."

"..."
-
After staying at home for a few days, Meng Bai had no contact with the "niece" whose name he didn't know, so he put the matter behind him.

I originally wanted to return to the crew of "The Lost Tomb", but Chen Sicheng called and said that he had some issues with the plot arrangement and wanted to discuss them further.

So Meng Bai changed direction and flew to Thailand.

It was already evening when we arrived, and the crew was cleaning up. In the corner, there was a cake with only crumbs left.

I grabbed a staff member and asked, "Who's having a birthday?"

"It's Director Chen's birthday, and we all celebrated together."

Meng Bai really didn't expect this.

But then again, she's not a girl. Who would remember a grown man's birthday?

But now that we know it, it would be inappropriate not to mention it at all.

Meng Bai asked a staff member to accompany him to a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, and then bought a box of high-end cigars at the first store he entered as a gift.

After taking the things back to the hotel, he planned to deliver them to Chen Sicheng and chat about the script at the same time.

As soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw a man and a woman walking out holding each other.

"...Shall we go shopping later?"

"Okay, I'll go wherever you want to go."

Meng Bai walked over, glanced at the two of them, and stopped where he was.

The man was Chen Sicheng, whom he was going to find, but next to him was a woman he didn't recognize at all.

　Thanks to "时光1979" and "天下虽大" for the reward!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)