This actor has something

Chapter 390 The Vitality Monster

After filming all morning, Lao Zhang left again in the afternoon.

Unlike yesterday, He Daqi has somewhere to go today.

Perhaps it has gradually become a habit, Ning Hao is now willing to start filming in Beijing. In the past, he would go anywhere in the country, but after experiencing the filming of "After My Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill", his first reaction when preparing for Crazy Stone 2 was to find a location in this film and television city.

What a coincidence, both of our families are in Mentougou. We can visit each other whenever we have free time.

He Daqi and Zhou Huimin gained entry into the film crew by using their connections, and later Zhou Xun, who came to watch the excitement, was also brought along.

Ning Hao greeted them from afar with beaming eyes, his enthusiasm overflowing, and he even tried to put his arm around their shoulder: "Da Qi! Good brother!"

"Get lost! What did you do? Your hands are covered in dirt." He Daqi pushed him aside with a look of disgust. His clothes were all custom-made, and it was hard to wash off even a little dirt.

Ning Hao chuckled, not angry at all, like a piece of meat that's hard to swallow. He grinned and asked, "Why are you being so formal? Is it because I've been busy preparing for the film crew and starting shooting lately, and haven't had time to treat you to a proper drink to thank you? Are you holding a grudge?"

"Senior brother, do we really need another drink?"

He Daqi asked a question in return. He and Ning Hao were so familiar with each other that there was no need for much greeting. He gave a casual reply and began to look around at the set of Crazy Stone 2.

"Director Ning, congratulations on winning Best Director and Best Film." Zhou Xun greeted them with a smile and offered his congratulations after they finished chatting.

"Haha, lucky me! Lucky me! Besides, they're all double-yolk eggs, they're not worth much."

"That's because Director Ning's skill level is so high. How can you use a double yolk to judge its value?"

Ning Hao's smile at this moment showed no sign of being worthless; his mouth was stretched so wide that his back teeth were showing.

He Daqi didn't attend the Hong Kong Film Awards in mid-last month, but he still kept his promise and helped Ning Hao win the Best Director award. They even gave him a buy-one-get-one-free deal, and he also won Best Film.

The Best Director award was won for Crazy Stone, and the Best Film award was won for My Flower Blooms and All Flowers Wither.

Actually, "After My Flowers Bloom, All Other Flowers Wither" could have been submitted for publication this year, but seeing that "Curse of the Golden Flower" was submitted by Xin Hua, He Daqi will definitely follow suit.

Ning Hao knew all too well how those two awards came about, which is why he smiled like a lackey when He Daqi came to visit the set.

Newspapers are saying that Ning Hao's career has been smooth sailing. He started making films right after graduation, broke box office records a few years later, and has now won both Best Director and Best Film awards, showing signs of becoming a young prodigy.

Ning Hao scoffed at these reports. Did he think his journey had been easy? What a joke!
If you're so capable, why don't you try making a few episodes of Balala the Fairies yourself? See if you can't make them well, and then He Daqi will give you the chance to direct.

After filming "Miracle in Cell No. 7," Ning Hao felt he had mastered the skills, but He Daqi's words still made him obediently finish filming the remaining "Balala the Fairies" movies. This was the path he had taken.

The group chatted as they walked, mostly with Zhou Xun and Ning Hao talking, while He Daqi looked around. Zhou Huimin, on the other hand, held He Daqi's arm with one hand and was looking at Yabo.com on her phone with the other.

"Mr. He, Ms. Zhou."

"Hey, Brother Bo! I've told you so many times, just call me Daqi." He Daqi smiled and shook hands with Huang Bo.

Huang Bo is also doing well because his image as a loser is deeply rooted in people's hearts. The first Crazy Stone movie gained a lot of popularity when it was released. Now, He Daqi's second movie also features this image as the main character. In addition, He Daqi personally selected him to be the main character, which is equivalent to leaping several levels in status.

Huang Bo was quick-witted; he wouldn't just casually call out "Da Qi." Instead, he replied enthusiastically, "I'm used to calling him that." Seeing that He Da Qi seemed quite curious about the set, he began to introduce each element one by one.

It's clear that Ning Hao really loves the lively atmosphere of the alleyways in Sichuan, and the set design here has a similar feel to that.

"Senior brother, have you found another location? Why are you starting filming in such a hurry?" After looking around and observing the scene, He Daqi turned to Ning Hao and asked.

Ning Hao sighed and explained somewhat irritably, "If we don't start filming soon, I'll drive people crazy. After I came back from receiving the award, people have been harassing me every day since they found out I was preparing for the production. If I don't get things roughly settled soon, I feel like I won't even need to choose the actors; the production team will already be set up for me."

"What are your plans for scenarios involving stadiums and highway tunnels?"

"We can just search as we go. A living person can't be killed by holding their pee, right? Besides, we're not in a rush to finish filming this movie, so let's take our time."

“No problem.” He Daqi nodded in approval.

"To be honest, I feel a bit out of place without Lu Yang around. The last collaboration went quite well, and he helped me a lot."

Ning Hao looked dejected; it seemed that the rushed start-up had made him miss the kind of helpful assistant he needed.

……

……

Time flies, and June is here soon.

Both film crews are doing quite well, taking their time and leisurely working out the schedule.

However, after so much time has passed, it's time to change locations. Ning Hao is taking his crew to Sichuan, where most of the other filming locations he's found are located. Meanwhile, the Painted Skin crew is heading to Yinchuan to film night scenes and desert scenes.

Both crews are packing up. Actually, a group of people from Painted Skin had already gone there a week in advance to check on the set construction progress. It is said that the progress is quite good, and it is estimated that the remaining people will be able to start filming as soon as they arrive.

Zhang Yimou and He Daqi each had a glass of iced drink, chatting casually as they watched the logistics staff working.

"Which child is Director Zhang planning to take to film a program next year?"

"Second son."

"how old are you?"

"04 years."

He Daqi was slightly taken aback when he heard this. Because he had resolved the matter for Lao Zhang quickly, there wasn't much information about Zhang Yimou's children. At this moment, He Daqi didn't know how many children Zhang Yimou had. Now that he heard that there was one born in 04, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

Wow! Old Zhang's physique is impressive. His second son is about the same age as his two sons. If I count the time, Old Zhang was probably already fifty-five back then.

"Director Zhang, how old is your eldest son?"

"01 years."

"Director Zhang is truly an old horse still eager to gallop," He Daqi couldn't help but sigh.

Zhang Yimou smirked. He'd known He Daqi for almost three months now, so how could he not know what kind of bastard He Daqi was? He'd heard even more outrageous things from He Daqi before, and he was used to it.

He squinted at He Daqi, his tone smug, and said casually, "I also have a little daughter, who was just born last year."

"Awesome!" He Daqi calculated Old Zhang's age. When this little girl comes of age, Old Zhang will be seventy-five or seventy-six, right?
Thinking of this, He Daqi gave a thumbs up. No wonder Old Zhang was so heartbroken when he paid the fine. With so many children, he couldn't afford to spend too little money if he wanted to make proper arrangements for them in the future.

Could this old guy really have been photographed to be over seventy?
He Daqi was just about to go into the film archive to see when Zhang Yimou's last film was shot when he heard Zhang Yimou ask, "Daqi, didn't you say you also have children? How old are your children?"

"Also born in 04, twins, a boy and a girl." When talking about this, He Daqi couldn't stop smiling, his pride was evident.

"That little rascal is really lucky!" Zhang Yimou thought to himself.

……

……

The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

The desert at dusk has a strange beauty.

He Daqi stared blankly at the setting sun on the horizon, lost in thought. A gust of wind blew by, and he subconsciously shielded his face.

The desert is already very hot in June. Even as the sun is about to set, the heat doesn't drop much. If the sand blows on your face, it's not very comfortable.

It's strange, it's hot during the day and cold at night. The heat hasn't dissipated yet, but it will drop below zero at night.

As a poor student, He Daqi didn't understand the mystery behind it, but he did know one thing: a large temperature difference between day and night would definitely make the fruits sweeter.

Thinking of this, he turned around and glanced at Zhou Huimin, who was happily munching on a big red apricot.

Zhou Huimin noticed that He Daqi was looking at her, so she immediately took out a big red apricot, smiled sweetly, and her eyes curved like crescent moons: "Try it, it's so sweet!"

"Mm." He Daqi smiled gently and took it from her.

It's really sweet!
"There's really nothing to miss here except for the fruit, Daqi. Didn't you ask Director Zhang how much longer we'll be filming here?"

“No, didn’t we say it would take half a month when we came? Let’s take advantage of Lao Zhang’s free time during this half month to film the main scenes in the desert, and then Lu Yang will lead the rest of the crew to finish up. Lao Zhang will go back to the Olympic preparation team, and we’ll go back to Beijing to rest as well,” He Daqi said with a light laugh.

"Sigh! Half a month... I'm already tired of it after only four days. There are still ten days to go. Just thinking about it makes me anxious." Zhou Huimin sighed with a droopy face.

He Daqi found it amusing, turned around and walked to Zhou Huimin. The setting sun made her face flushed, like a big red apricot in his hand. He Daqi reached out and pinched her nose, teasing her softly:

"Weren't you full of energy when you came? You had a ton of plans, and on the first day you even dragged me barefoot to run in the desert. But you got tired of it after just a few days?"

"I didn't expect that I would have to take three showers a day here. The water is not convenient here, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't shower." Zhou Huimin hummed and grabbed He Daqi's mischievous hand, flattened it, and then pressed it against her face, pouting and acting coquettishly.

"Okay, okay, it'll be quick..."

Before He Daqi could finish speaking, the film crew started calling him and Zhou Huimin.

Filming night scenes and having to work overtime every night—she's been here for four days and has worked overtime for three of them. No wonder Zhou Huimin is a little unhappy. As the saying goes, "One is influenced by one's company," and spending too much time with He Daqi has made her quite lazy.

It was 9 p.m., and the temperature had already dropped to single digits, when the film crew finally started to wrap up.

The full moon shines exceptionally bright over the desert, far from human habitation, and the Milky Way in the sky is also much more dazzling.

He Daqi and Zhou Huimin, both wrapped in the same military overcoat, hurriedly got into the jeep. Once inside, feeling the warmth of the air conditioning, they took the overcoat off.

"Sister Bai, let's go, let's go, no need to wait for them. Hurry back, have some hot soup, and get some sleep. We have to get up early to come here tomorrow," He Daqi instructed.

"Mm." Bai Wei nodded gently, and the jeep quickly drove away from the film set.

The filming location is on the edge of the desert, which is quite far from where we live. It takes about an hour to drive there and back, meaning we finish work around 9 p.m. and don't get back until at least 10:30 p.m.

Moonlight streamed into the car through the windows, illuminating the road ahead as well. In fact, with such bright moonlight, one could drive slowly without turning on the lights. But this wasn't a slow drive; the jeep sped along the highway, and the red willows on both sides appeared somewhat serene under the moonlight.

This scene was not very friendly to He Daqi. It was late at night, and the trees outside were bright red, but he didn't feel any coolness; all that was left was a dim light.

……

……

Eighth day of filming in the desert.

Around noon, a refrigerated truck specially arranged by He Daqi drove into the film crew.

Before the driver could even get out of the car, the back door was immediately surrounded.

Everyone eagerly awaits this moment each day, waiting patiently from early morning.

As soon as the back door opened, a cool breeze rushed out of the carriage, and all the logistics staff standing guard shivered comfortably. Then they began to climb onto the vehicle and unload drinks and fruits.

He Daqi came over, grabbed a bottle of soda, gulped down more than half of it in one go, let out a sigh of relief, and then downed the rest.

At this moment, he really admired Lao Zhang. The rest of the crew had been exhausted and listless these past few days, but Lao Zhang was full of energy every day.

As far as He Daqi knew, Lao Zhang stayed up until the early hours of the morning every day and then went to the film set early the next day. Despite all this, he was still very active every day. Keep in mind that he was almost sixty years old. It felt like Lao Zhang's HP limit was even higher than He Daqi's, who had taken some kind of health-boosting pill.

"Quick, give me a bottle too." Deng Chao looked like he was about to die, and the hand he patted on He Daqi's shoulder was a little weak.

Good brother, what a coincidence! Both Deng Chao and Sun Li's characters have desert scenes.

He Daqi handed him two bottles, then picked up a bag of ice mineral water for himself. Ignoring Deng Chao's hearty drinking, He Daqi turned and walked towards the sun umbrella.

The actresses, like delicate flowers battered by wind and sand, sat under the parasol with blank faces and droopy eyelids, their souls probably already wandering off.

"Come on, have some ice water."

He Daqi's words seemed to rouse these people to a new lease on life. They immediately got up and hurriedly tore open the packaging, pulled out the mineral water, and started chugging it with a twist of the cap, showing no signs of being delicate fairies who couldn't open the bottle.

"Sigh, how did Director Zhang find this place? It must have been really tough on him." Zhou Xun drank a few sips of water and perked up, then chirped a few words.

“I also filmed desert scenes in Inner Mongolia before. There was electricity and water on the edge of the desert there, which is much better than here.”

"There are still seven days left, just bear with it. We won't be filming here for the next few days, things will get better then."

(End of this chapter)