I am a master in India

Chapter 156 Start of Construction

Whether traveling by car or in a vehicle in Mumbai, Ron never exceeded 50 mph.

Because there are too many people, you can't drive fast, and you can't speed even if you want to.

But on dirt roads like those in Varanasi, drivers were able to drive at speeds of 80 or 90 miles per hour.

Because the road is narrow, the lower side of the road overlooks a steep slope, while the higher side of the road is often used by rows of people and livestock.

Ron and his companions were in a bulky, shaky bus. The driver made sharp, sudden turns, showing no regard for their lives.

Mary clung tightly to Ron's arm the whole way, her body tense, not daring to relax for a moment.

"Who is this white man?" the driver asked, still having the leisure to chat with Ron.

“She’s my master’s girlfriend,” Anil blurted out, trying to appear nonchalant and conceal his inner pride, but ultimately failing.

White people are already rare, and ordinary Indians generally have a sense of awe towards foreigners, let alone a white girl and an Indian man becoming a couple.

This is enough to cause a sensation throughout Varanasi and be talked about for a whole year.

"Wow! Girlfriend? You got a white girl as your girlfriend?" The driver and everyone else on the bus stared at Ron in astonishment.

"You could say that," he nodded.

Where did she come from?

"Europe."

"Is Europe very rich?"

"Yes, most people there are richer than Indians."

Does she speak Hindi?

"Less likely."

"People in her country don't speak Hindi?"

"Yes."

"They don't speak Hindi or Urdu?"

"They only speak English."

"Oh my god, poor idiot."

Mary couldn't hold back any longer; she gripped Ron's hand tightly, subtly increasing the pressure.

"She was very tall, taller than Indian women."

“Yes.” Ron nodded with a smile.

"Don't let her go hungry, give her plenty of milk."

"it is good."

"milk."

"Yes," Ron replied patiently.

When the driver spoke to him, he deliberately raised his voice so that everyone in the car could hear him.

Not only that, he also wanted to share the news with passersby.

Whenever someone was walking outside the window, the driver would honk the horn to attract their attention and use his thumb to indicate that there were foreigners inside the car.

"A foreign girl found an Indian man to be her boyfriend."

He slowed the car down to a snail's pace, letting each pedestrian have a good look at him.

This kind of novel experience doesn't come often, and it's enough for him to brag about for two or three months.

What should have been a 15-minute journey was stretched into an hour by him.

Ron and his group got off the bus. The bus had a sign written in bright red Hindi on the back that the bus was strictly limited to carrying 48 people.

But in reality, there were seventy people crammed into the truck, along with two or three tons of cargo, but nobody cared.

The bus groaned and sped away, leaving them alone in an endless silence, so silent that the breeze brushing past their ears sounded like the whisper of a sleeping child.

“Let’s go.” Ron led the way. Neither he nor Anil were unfamiliar with the surroundings.

It's only a few kilometers from the city center, considered a suburb, and conveniently located on the way to their own village.

Unfortunately, despite being so close to the city center, there are still very few people around.

On both sides of the dirt road are endless sugarcane and millet fields, all of which are taller than a person, and look like a maze with thick walls when viewed from a distance.

"I haven't seen a sight like this in a long time; it reminds me of my childhood."

Schiff, a rural boy from Bihar, which is right next to Uttar Pradesh, was reminded of his hometown by what he saw.

"There aren't many utility poles here." Mary turned her head; the sparse power lines looked pathetic compared to the spiderweb-like network of wires in the city.

“Rural people rarely need electricity, unless a large family pays for electricity to be installed.”

Yes, it's the Suer family.

The temple of Enduram, which they were going to, was a tourist attraction. Ratan said it was usually very popular with worshippers.

As they approached, some of the cowherds shyly stepped forward.

Anil gave him a piece of candy and chattered on and on, finding out the current situation at the Temple of the Difficult Mother, where there weren't many people today.

As we passed the entrance to a village, a huge advertisement on a mud wall caught our attention.

It was an oil painting with yellow background and red lettering that read "Two is good enough," and below the red lettering was a simple line drawing of a family of four.

This is an Indian birth control advertisement, which initially said, "Don't have any more children, no more than three."

Later, another layer was added: "There are two of us, and two children too."

The latest illustration features two leaves and a flower, symbolizing the wish to have only one child.

With new and old advertisements overlapping, the amount of parenting advice being promoted has gradually decreased.

It is said that Gandhi forced eight million Indian men to undergo sterilization, which sparked riots, and she was forced to step down a year after the policy was implemented. It's virtually impossible to prevent Indians from having children.

The Nanjin Temple next to the village has weathered many storms, but its sculptures are grand and ancient, possessing a unique grandeur.

Schiff was very excited; he was also a follower of Durga. After exchanging a few words with the monks at the temple, he almost immediately decided that this was the filming location.

“Do you know what’s the best part?” he rambled on, “There are also wooden cabins nearby for tourists, which can be used as filming locations for our rural dramas.”

“No problem, I’ll take care of the guesthouse.” Ron can handle this kind of thing easily.

His local Brahmin identity allows him to overcome all obstacles.

“We’ll start filming tomorrow,” Director Schiff decided immediately.

He didn't even wait until tomorrow; in the afternoon, he ordered the crew to set up the scenes, arrange the scenes, schedule, and so on.

Ron then took Anil to find the guesthouse owner.

It is a tourist attraction after all, and it is very close to the city center, with a handicraft market nearby.

The Temple of Difficulty Approaching here used to attract many visitors.

Therefore, it's not surprising that places like guesthouses exist. The owner has installed electricity, telephones in each room, and various commonly used electrical appliances.

Indeed, Ron finally experienced a modern atmosphere, and the room layout also had a distinctly Indian rural feel.

I learned from chatting with the owner that the guesthouse was originally designed to attract foreigners from the city center.

They might be curious about rural India and make a special trip to experience it for themselves.

As a result, most of the people who actually visit this place come from major cities in South India.

On special Hindu holy days, hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people come to the Ganges River to worship.

Hotels and guesthouses in the city center will be fully booked, so newcomers will spread to guesthouses in the surrounding areas.

"I don't usually have much business here, but during holidays it gets packed with people," the guesthouse owner said casually.

His three daughters stared at Ron, scrutinizing him, wondering why they had never heard of such a handsome young man in the neighborhood before, given his local accent.

“We’d like to use your guesthouse to film a movie for about twenty days,” Ron stated his purpose.

“No problem,” the boss agreed without hesitation after learning his surname, “as long as you let me have a scene in the movie.”

“No problem.” Ron can make the decision himself in this matter.

The story of "Ode to the Mother" takes place largely in the countryside, so the film crew will stay here for a long time.

Ron will handle the pre-production preparations for them, so that he can free up his time to do other things once filming officially begins.

The actors have gradually taken their places on set, and Urmila is recovering well, thanks to Ron's miraculous healing.

Other supporting actors have already transformed into production assistants, some helping to carry equipment, some climbing up and down lighting fixtures, and some cleaning up...

That's how it is with low-budget film crews: they're short-staffed, and everyone has to do multiple jobs.

Lanka, who is usually a hard worker, was now clinging to the producer.

Last night's sleep experience was indescribable. Not to mention the mosquitoes, my roommate was a heavy smoker who snored loudly.

Lanka barely slept all night and demanded that the producer change his room. To make it more convincing, he even recorded his roommate snoring on his Walkman.

Ron couldn't help but chuckle and waved to the producer to change his room.

"I heard your parents are going to sell their business in Dubai and return to Jaipur?" Ron already knew about Sri Lanka's background.

“Mr. Suer, as you know, business in the Persian Gulf is not easy right now.”

The Gulf conflict shattered the economic growth momentum of the Persian Gulf region, and the Lanka family's business was also affected. His mother is preparing to sell her jewelry and return to her hometown of Jaipur to buy property.

"How long did you stay there? Do you know anything about Dubai?"

“Of course, my parents have been in business for many years,” Lanka assured, patting his chest.

"Do you know Daoud?"

“Oh! Mr. Sue, you know him?” Lanka asked, somewhat surprised.

“No, I have a travel agency in Dubai, I just want to get a feel for things there. You know, these gangs often target Indian businessmen.”

"You can rest assured, Daoud is very rich, but he can only hide in his apartment in Dubai and dare not come out. Dubai is not Mumbai. Even gangsters have to keep a low profile there."

This is one of the reasons why Sri Lankans like Dubai; the security there is so much better than in Mumbai. Drivers there drive very properly and don't honk their horns incessantly like Indian drivers.

The gang leader who fled Mumbai has long since lost his former glory and is now a complete fugitive.

After listening to Lanka's explanation, Ron had a general idea of ​​what was going on. It seemed he had been too cautious before.

Are your parents still urging you to go back and take over the business?

Lanka laughed and pulled out a headshot to show Ron, saying that his parents had asked him to send it back.

“They used to only pray to the gods: ‘Please let my son change his mind and come home soon.’ Now they want to tell everyone that I’m the leading man.”

Ron smiled knowingly; all parents in the world are probably the same.

Everyone in the crew was busy, except for Ron, who was just loafing around.

"Mira, how are you feeling today?" He moved closer to the female lead.

His affectionate address made Urmira quite embarrassed, but she was too shy to point it out.

"Much better, Dr. Su's medicine is very effective."

"What should you call me?"

“Ro...Roonbaba…”

Emma, ​​that's right, the old pervert really enjoys being called that.

Just as he was about to make a few jokes, Ratan suddenly walked over excitedly with his uncle Prash.

(End of this chapter)