I'm really good at this.

"No wonder it's Director Zhang's legendary crew! Just like everyone says, even the boxed lunches on Director Zhang's crew are prepared by a master chef with four dishes and a soup! Plus, there's fruit, drinks, and dessert!"

"Of course! I knew that when we were filming 'Clouds Fall into the Mortal World,' otherwise why would I have brought you all all this way here to be extras?"

"It worked! It worked!"

Listening to the praise around him, Zhang Hong suddenly felt that the twice-cooked pork in his mouth had lost its flavor.

Was this what I said yesterday?

Is Lin Chuan deliberately messing with me?

After eating the tasteless meal, Zhang Hong dragged Lin Chuan to an empty men's restroom.

By the way, three toilets were actually built for men and three for women.

Two rooms each for men and women are for general use, and the remaining rooms are for the big shots.

Now Zhang Hong dragged Lin Chuan to a corner of one of the men's restrooms reserved for big shots.

Lin Chuan was a little confused: "Brother Hong, what are you doing? Do you have to go to the toilet in a group these days?"

"Screw you, organization." Zhang Hong said expressionlessly. "Tell me, why did you betray the organization?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat: "I didn't! I'm not! I don't know anything!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong became suspicious: "So you're deliberately misinterpreting me?"

"Huh?" Lin Chuan was confused. "Brother Hong, what do you mean by that?"

So Brother Hong doesn't know he's an undercover agent yet? Oh well, that's alright.

Zhang Hong lit a cigarette and said irritably, "Didn't I tell you yesterday to cut costs, cut costs? And you're just going through the motions? Are you trying to cause trouble?!"

"Huh?" Lin Chuan paused as he pulled a cigar from his pocket. "Brother Hong, do you mean I should increase the efforts to improve the conditions for everyone?"

Zhang Hong gritted his teeth: "What utter nonsense! When did I ever say that?"

Lin Chuan asked doubtfully, "But isn't ensuring everyone has enough to eat simply about making sure the portions are large and the food tastes good? And ensuring everyone sleeps well and gets proper rest is simply about providing good resting conditions, isn't it?"

Zhang Hong's eyes were bloodshot: "I'm talking about having enough to eat and a place to sleep! Having enough to eat doesn't have to be fancy! Just enough quantity is fine! Having a place to sleep means nothing fancy, just a bed is enough!"

Lin Chuan retorted, "Then Hong-ge, just say it! I already told you to speak your mind, but you kept beating around the bush. It was just the two of us in private, so of course I took your words literally."

Zhang Hong opened his mouth, but he was speechless.

But he's the boss, so he makes the decisions.

So he punched Lin Chuan in the chest with a powerful punch, and said angrily, "Why are you wearing such an expensive suit today? To show off your wealth, right? And smoking a cigar? Do you think my smoking is too low-class?!"

Lin Chuan: "..."

You might as well just tell me why I'm not wearing a hat today.

But Lin Chuan dared not say this.

"So, Brother Hong, you mean...?"

Zhang Hong sighed and decided to speak his mind from today onwards: "Just downgrade my boxed meals and accommodation; every little bit helps."

Lin Chuan hesitated and said, "This isn't a good idea..."

"Unlike you, you rich kid, I'm going to work hard to earn my own money!"

"No, what I mean is that this isn't good for you, Brother Hong. I'm on your side and thinking of things for you."

"Hmm?" Zhang Hong took a drag of his cigarette. "What do you mean by that?"

So saving money doesn't even bring me any benefits?

"Brother Hong, this involves a matter of impressions," Lin Chuan, a seasoned rich second-generation, began to explain. "It's fine that you want to save money, but this isn't the way to do it."

Calmly lighting a cigar, Lin Chuan began to share his experience: "You've already given us such good conditions, and then you say you want to cut them. Even if you still make it the best in the industry after cutting them, everyone will feel disappointed."

Once there's a discrepancy between expectations and reality, everyone will subconsciously nitpick or shirk their duties during filming. This will prolong the filming time, increasing costs for actors, extras, equipment wear and tear, and maintenance.

It's even possible that doing it this way would be more costly than doing it the way it was before.

And that's not all.

As things stand, the filming progress and results are perfect. But what if, as you say, cost-cutting leads to a decrease in quality? Would Huaxia Heavy Machinery accept that?

After all, they gave us a billion.

What if they deny it later and take back the remaining money?

Zhang Hong was sweating profusely upon hearing this.

Yes! What he said... seems to make some sense?

Zhang Hong really had no experience in this area.

He used to be just a wage earner, an ordinary office worker, someone who was exploited and taken advantage of. He really didn't understand the intricacies of the situation.

Then you'll have to ask someone who knows about this.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let's stick to the current plan." Lin Chuan said confidently. "Brother Hong, it's true that we've spent 500 million, but that's a fixed expense. This is the effect that Huaxia Heavy Industry, or rather, Old Master Liang, wanted. We can't afford not to spend this money."

And of the remaining money, even if they really went all out, how much could they actually spend?

Zhang Hong thought about it carefully for a while, and suddenly felt... that it seemed to make sense.

He's a pretty simple person.

At first, filming was like being forced into it; I found myself in a time-travel story and became the director, so I had no choice but to make the film.

Then the "keyboard warrior" mentality kicked in, and he thought I was really good at it, so he just went ahead and did it anyway.

Then, after filming his first TV series, he discovered that he had actually made money!

I earned 800,000 from the TV series and 500,000 from writing songs, that's 1.3 million!

Although opening the studio cost a lot, Zhang Hong felt it was worthwhile.

Because if I take on more TV dramas later, I can earn it back!

He's a simple person, or rather, he's good at comforting himself.

I'll be satisfied as long as I earn more money next time than last time, or even more than before.

For example, if he earns 3,000 a month at his current job and then earns 5,000 a month after changing jobs, he would be very satisfied.

Because if you do the math, 3,000 a month would amount to 36,000 a year.

If it's 5,000, that's 60,000 a year.

The difference is 24,000 yuan, which translates to 3,000 yuan a month, meaning he earned eight months' salary more.

So even though he only earned 800,000 from "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World," he still felt great, and that's the reason.

And now Lin Chuan's words make sense.

Even if you spend money, where can you spend it?

That's a billion!

Even if there are only 400 million left, so what?

Can't we spend it all?

Even if you spend 990 million, you can still make 10 million!

That's equivalent to him filming 12.5 parts of "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World"!

Zhang Hong suddenly realized something.

Yes! Trying to catch fish by thirsting for water will never end well!

It's fine as it is now!

He put his arm around Lin Chuan's shoulder and playfully punched him, saying, "Chuan, you're really something! You're a rich kid for real!"

Lin Chuan clutched his chest and chuckled sheepishly, "Not at all, Brother Hong, you're a man who does big things, it's normal that you don't care about such trivial matters."

"Okay, I'm going to film now. Lunch and accommodation are the same as always!"

"Okay!"

After the two of them left the restroom, watching Zhang Hong's departing figure, Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, I managed to fool him. This was really tough for me. But I never expected that Brother Hong was making movies for money."

"It's not about the money."

Lin Chuan was startled because the voice that appeared behind him was very familiar.

Looking back, it was indeed true.

The "Devil of the Lin Family" stood leisurely behind him.

That doesn't make sense. Hong and I were in the bathroom just now, and I spent a lot of money to build this bathroom. The soundproofing and quality are naturally very good. There's no way she could know what we were talking about.

Then Lin Chuan's expression changed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that was only a third the size of a button.

"A bugging device?!" Lin Chuan's face turned ashen. "When did you put something like that on me?!"

"Don't worry about these details," Lin Muqing naturally changed the subject.

She said calmly, "No one understands Zhang Hong better than me. He's just being stubborn, or he's testing you."

Lin Chuan didn't continue that topic: "Huh? How so?"

"He was testing you to see if you were a heartless capitalist, since he entrusted you with all the logistics work. He wanted to see if you were one of his own. And when he said he was only in it for the money..." Lin Muqing flicked her hair and smiled, "You know what kind of person he used to be, an arrogant, condescending, and pretentious intellectual."

Although he has changed a lot now, his inner self remains the same. Do you believe he's only in it for the money?

Recalling Zhang Hong's cold, condescending, and disdainful demeanor from the past, Lin Chuan muttered, "That was just a stubborn tsundere... *cough*!"

Without even glancing at her brother, who was kneeling on the ground clutching his stomach and convulsing, Lin Muqing withdrew her fist and said calmly, "There are some things that, even if you know them, you can't say them out loud."

PS: Daily vote request 1/2

This chapter is scheduled to be written while I'm out helping my friend who's getting married on the 18th tidy up his house, and also as a thank-you dinner for my friend who's getting married on the 15th.

Chapter Two: I came back late at night and stayed up all night writing.

o (╥﹏╥) o