So what if I work with celebrities?

The next day,

The production of "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" has stopped. People in every group have taken leave, either because their wives are giving birth or their aunts have passed away.

They all have seemingly legitimate reasons. These people would rather forgo their salary than miss a few days of leave.

Huang Jiaxi had no choice but to try to bring in more people from within Shao's company, but the other directors refused, since no one wanted their underlings to work for someone else.

Li Hanxiang even went so far as to say, "My crew is short-staffed, why don't you all come and help me?"

He is currently filming a series of palace dramas. Last year's "The Beauty of the Country" was a huge hit, and this year he has put in extra effort to film "The Crying Blood of Yingtai".

These were arguably the most glorious years for Li Hanxiang after he returned to Shaoxing.

Even the usually composed Huang Jiaxi complained to Miss Fang, "Miss Fang, I can't do anything about it. Mr. Xu was too impulsive, provoking two underworld forces at the same time. Now everyone in the crew is afraid of retaliation and dares not start work."

Miss Fang tapped her fingers lightly on the table, glanced at the calendar, and said, "Young people, they're full of energy, so they're bound to act rashly. Let me think of a solution!"

On the other side, in the Shaoshi employee dormitory, Liu Jiahui was exercising his arms with a barbell, sweat streaming down his bald head.

He looked at the older brother smoking beside him and asked in a deep voice, "Brother, Director Xu, why did you have to offend Digital Head and Xinyi? Couldn't you have just spent some money to make the film?"

"Who knows? They probably don't know anything about Hong Kong and still think it's Taiwan!"

Yesterday, Liu Jialiang tried to mediate and persuade Xu Zan to withdraw the lawsuit and not to prosecute that big-headed dog, since that person is, after all, the younger brother of the current head of the Dezi Group.

But Xu Zan wouldn't agree; he insisted on sending the big-headed dog inside. This cornered both sides.

The United Bamboo Association has a lot of influence in Taiwan, but this is Hong Kong, and distant water can't quench immediate thirst.

"So, is this show going to be over?" Liu Jiahui asked.

"It's not as simple as you think. Do you think the Shao family can stop filming? Don't they know the status of Master Shao in Hong Kong?" Liu Jialiang wasn't worried about the filming going wrong at all.

After all, Xu Zan is gone, and he can take over. Since reading the script, Liu Jialiang feels that he has learned a lot and is confident that he can make this movie well.

Because of this incident, many actors and crew members approached Wong Ka-hei to protest, demanding that even on the days when filming was suspended, they should still be paid as if they were working normally.

Xu Zan was reading in the hotel when she received many phone calls this morning, including long-distance calls from Taiwan.

"You've fallen out with Digital Head and Xin Yi?" the sailor asked specifically. After hearing the details, he exclaimed, "Damn it, they dare to bully us! You can't back down from this!"

Zhang Che also called, asking if he needed help finding someone to mediate, since he had been in the business for so many years and had a wide network of connections.

The most interesting thing was Wang Yu, who directly called Xu Zan and said, "It's okay, I'll have Changmao apologize to you. Damn it, instead of keeping vigil over the dead boss, you have time to mess around here!"

"Oh? His older brother is dead?" Xu Zan asked curiously.

"Yeah, he died in Amsterdam, shot dead. Tch, what a stupid idea. Going to that place to do illegal business, no wonder he got beaten up!" Wang Yu said disdainfully.

Clang, clang, a knock came at the door.

The door wasn't closed, and a lot of people came in one after another; they were all extras and staff from "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin".

"Director Xu, are you reading?" Huang Shaohui, the head of the extras, said with a smile.

Seeing Xu Zan nod, he gestured for the people behind him to be quiet. "Director Xu, I had no choice but to step forward. They want their wages for the few days of work stoppage. We approached Huang Jiaxi, who said only Director Xu could make the decision. We've dared to come here today because we want to reach an agreement. If you don't agree, we'll go to another film crew!"

Huang Shaohui spoke politely, but his tone left no room for argument. They had calculated that Xu Zan would not let them leave, so why not make more money now?

Xu Zan didn't reply, but instead dialed a number. "Huang Jiaxi? This is Xu Zan. Tell the person who asked for leave that I don't care who died or who is hospitalized. The official start of filming is this afternoon. If they're not coming, they don't need to come at all."

"You want money before you've even started filming? That's ridiculous. You guys preferred to pay by the day rather than by the whole film. Is that my fault?" he said, looking at Huang Shaohui.

"If you don't agree, I..."

"Leave? How many extras are there in all of Hong Kong? How many cameramen? How many lights? Or do you think I'm definitely going to be taken advantage of by those few gangsters?" Xu Zan sneered.

Just then, Xiang Hua forcefully pulled Zhu Touxi along, carrying cigarettes and alcohol in one hand, and laughed, "Director Xu, this is the kid, tell me quickly!"

He didn't have any scenes to film yesterday, so he went shopping with his girlfriend. He never expected this to happen. He should have known better than to ask for leave.

With the arrival of Pighead Xi, the others fell silent. Seeing his bruised face, they remembered Xiang Huaqiang's background.

"Mr. Xu, I'm sorry, I really didn't know you had this relationship. I deserve to die, I was wrong!" Pighead was helpless. He had a thousand grievances in his heart, but after learning that Xu Zan was a distinguished guest of Four-Eyed Dragon, he knew he was in the wrong.

"If I made things difficult for you, it would make me seem petty. I'm not the type to hold grudges; we always discuss things openly. Logically speaking, if you asked me for it through Hua Qiang, as the boss, would I refuse to give it to you?"

Xu Zan took out a wad of cash from his bag. "You wanted two thousand? Here's four thousand for you. Take your brothers for tea."

Pighead paused for a moment, then hesitantly took the banknotes. He looked at Xiang Huaqiang, wondering what to do next.

"Take it if Director Xu gives it to you. Keep your eyes open in the future. If anyone dares to cause trouble, you'll know what to do," Xiang Huaqiang said.

They were in the wrong from the start. Xu Zan had first paid his respects to the leader, who said there would be no problem within his sphere of influence and even arranged for the leader's younger brother to act in a movie. This was a great show of respect, but the people below made them lose face.

I've now incurred this favor.

Pighead repeatedly thanked him, but as soon as he stepped back to the door, he saw Longhair leading more than a dozen men. His face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Mr. Xiang, Mr. Xu, hurry! The De-character gang is here!"

The dozen or so actors and staff inside the room all changed their expressions. It was too late to leave; they were trapped inside.

A group of henchmen pushed their way through, and Long Hair followed Chui Shui Min inside, carrying XO and cigars.

"Director Xu! Director Xu, Director Xu!" Chui Shuimin hurried over and grasped Xu Zan's hand. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. My name is Chen Huimin."

"Oh, I know you! I've even seen your movies!" Xu Zan said with a smile.

"It can't compare to Director Xu's brilliant films. I'm just a roughneck, so my filming is rather crude." After rambling on about movies for a while, Chui Shui Min continued, "I'm also preparing to shoot a film recently, a gangster movie, which I think has great potential. It's adapted from the story of his deceased older brother!"

Chui Shuimin pointed at the long-haired man, whose face turned green. How could anyone talk like that?

"Brother Chen has a keen eye. If the media reports on this first, your filming will definitely generate buzz!" Xu Zan laughed.

"Really? Director Xu is quite farsighted," Chui Shui Min's eyes darted around, "Director Xu, would you be interested in investing some money?"

"Sure! How about I invest HK$200,000?"

"It's a deal!"

"But Brother Chen, it will be difficult for your film to be shown in Taiwan; the censorship there is too strict."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Chui Shui Min kicked the long-haired boy. "What are you looking at?"

"Director Xu, this guy is one of my underlings. His younger brother is the one who caused trouble on your set yesterday. When Longhair found out, he rushed to me, hoping I could put in a good word for him. So, I'll treat Longhair's brother... what's your brother's name?"

Chui Shui Min is preparing to host a dinner party, not for any nonsense about the big-headed dog, but to discuss investment matters with Xu Zan.

The people inside were surprised that even though Xu Zan didn't show up, two underworld forces rushed to reconcile with him and even reached an investment agreement for HK$200,000.

They slunk away one by one without even saying goodbye.

At the drinking party, Chui Shui Min acted as a go-between, and Chang Mao promised that in the future, in Tuen Mun, Xu Zan would only need to ask for his help whenever he needed it.

He became even more enthusiastic when he learned that Xu Zan was a mid-to-high-level member of the Taiwan Alliance, since if something happened to him in Hong Kong one day, he could still do business in Taiwan.