I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 221 Fortune Arrives!

"Station Master Xu, you've really helped me a lot this time!"

Director Luo presented the teacup with both hands, beads of sweat still clinging to his forehead. "If something happens to the actors in such a big film project, all our work will be for nothing!"

Xu Ying accepted the tea, smiling somewhat apologetically, "You're too kind. It's what I should do."

"This Zhang Chenyi is truly lawless."

Director Luo shook his head and sighed, then his eyes lit up. "By the way, do you have time to work part-time on our set? You could be the director and instructor for these animal actors."

"Director?" Xu Ying blinked in confusion.

Director Luo quickly explained, "Yes, it's about instructing these little animals on how to act."

"I believe that with your explanation, these animal actors will be able to give even more amazing performances."

He gestured with his hands as he spoke, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Instructing small animals on acting," Xu Ying pondered, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. "But I'm already very busy at the rescue station; I really can't spare that much time. And..."
She looked up, a troubled expression on her face. "I'm not an actress myself, how can I give them acting instructions?"

"That's very simple!"

Director Luo excitedly pointed to the script, "For example, with this peregrine falcon, Lightning, you only need to tell it where it should fly from and where it should fly, and what poses it should strike. The script has all the details marked."

Seeing that Xu Ying was still hesitating, Director Luo continued to persuade her: "Nowadays, animal actors in the crew need to be trained by animal trainers for a long time before they can perform a scene. Different animals also need to be trained by different animal trainers, which is too costly."

"Many scenes are just a few lines for you, but animal trainers need to train for a week or even longer."

Xu Ying scratched his head, a look of hesitation flashing across his face.

Director Luo then pulled out his trump card: "How about I tell you about the going rate for animal actors?"

During the ensuing conversation, Xu Ying learned about the going rate for animal actors' pay, and her eyes widened in astonishment.

"The pay for ordinary domestic animals is between 500 and 2,000 yuan a day, while professionally trained dogs can earn between 3,000 and 10,000 yuan a day."

Director Luo recounted the details with great familiarity, stating, "The daily cost of the Akita Inu in 'Hachiko' exceeded ten thousand yuan!"

Xu Ying couldn't help but ask curiously, "Which animal actor has the highest pay?"

"The more special, the more expensive!" Director Luo's eyes lit up. "The basic salary for tigers and lions is 50,000 to 100,000 yuan a day, and high-risk actions like pouncing and chasing will cost an additional 30% or more."

"Dolphins and whales are even more expensive; I've seen some cost 200,000 yuan a day! That's because they require specialized transportation and equipment!"

"My God!" Xu Ying gasped. "Couldn't they have used special effects instead?"

"Do you know the tiger in 'Life of Pi'?" Director Luo asked mysteriously. "The CGI special effects cost 100,000 yuan per second."

Xu Ying gasped, covering her mouth in shock: "This is really 'burning money'!"

"Moreover, he is an internationally renowned director, which is why he can assemble a top-notch special effects team."

Director Luo shrugged helplessly.

"Many production teams choose special effects, but nowadays, the special effects teams are becoming more and more unreliable. Sometimes, poor special effects can ruin the entire show."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Special effects are incredibly expensive, enough to feed a raptor for a year! And with so many layers of outsourcing, the final result is simply awful." He then made an exaggerated expression of disgust.

"This money would be better given to someone with real ability," Director Luo said sincerely.

Then he looked at Xu Ying eagerly, "If you don't have time to come to the set, you can give remote guidance! These little animals listen to you." Xu Ying blinked and glanced at Jiang Mo beside her.

At that moment, Jiang Mo received a look from Xu Ying: "I think we can give it a try."

He turned to Xu Ying, his eyes encouraging, "Besides, doesn't your Fox San San particularly like the camera?"

Xu Ying then realized that this man had brought her here to make a fortune!

Earning two salaries by working part-time on a film set is like having a god of wealth come knocking on your door!

“I’ll give it a try,” Xu Ying finally relented, “to see if there are any aspiring actors willing to ‘debut’.”

Director Luo immediately beamed with joy: "That's great! Station Master Xu, we'll do whatever you say. We'll absolutely respect the animals' wishes."

"You can also help recruit some animals that are eager to perform and easy to cooperate to be actors. Animal actors who meet the requirements of the script are really scarce in the film and television industry now, and animal actors are also very popular in the advertising industry."

Xu Ying nodded: "Okay, I'll go back and issue a recruitment notice."

With the biggest hidden danger on set eliminated, Xu Ying, Jiang Mo's "security assistant," can now clock out.

*
Inside Jiang Mo's van after the filming of "The Desert Swordsman" wrapped up.

Jiang Mo took out a checkbook from his inner pocket, his slender fingers deftly signing a check, and gently pushed it in front of Xu Ying.

Wow, the boss transferred the money so fast!
Xu Ying wanted to be polite verbally, but her hand had already reached out and caught the check—a seven-figure sum!
"The full amount of the payment hasn't arrived yet."

Jiang Mo tapped the check with his fingertip and said calmly, "I'll give you the rest after the settlement."

Xu Ying then learned about the payment rules for actors' salaries from Jiang Mo.

The industry practice is to pay in installments: 30% upon signing the contract, another 30% upon starting filming, another 30% after filming is halfway done, and the final 10% is settled only after all scenes are completed.

A-list actors like Jiang Mo receive additional bonuses, and can also earn revenue based on viewership ratings and clicks after the series airs.

“The Desert Swordsman will be broadcast on CCTV,” Jiang Mo explained, his fingers tapping lightly on the table unconsciously. “Because of its high commercial value, the pay is lower than that of self-produced dramas on the platform.”

He explained his compensation structure in detail: one million per episode, with an expected total of forty episodes, resulting in a pre-tax income of forty million.

After deducting company profits and taxes, the actual amount received was approximately 19 million.

When Xu Ying saw the number "5,714,000" on the check, her breath hitched.

This is half of Jiang Mo's salary after tax has been settled!
She quickly calculated in her mind that there was still 40% of the final payment outstanding, which meant that she would eventually receive 9.52 million!

"Rounding up," she muttered to herself, then shook her head self-deprecatingly, "No, this can't be rounded up, it's 480,000 short!"

The check trembled slightly in her hand.

Xu Ying unconsciously leaned closer to smell it, as if to confirm the authenticity of the paper. The fresh scent of ink mingled with the unique aroma of paper, lingering around her nose. Her eyes reddened, her head buzzed, and she felt lightheaded, as if she were about to fly away.

"Is this...is this real?" Her voice was trembling, her fingers gripping the edge of the check tightly.

Jiang Mo was amused by her appearance, and his eyes curved slightly: "It's true, it's for you."

"You just... gave it to me like that?"

Xu Ying still couldn't believe it, and her voice changed.

She thought to herself that Jiang Mo was being too generous; he could have waited until all the film fees arrived before transferring the money, as the interest alone would have been a considerable sum.