Chapter 100: Chapter 100 What the heck, this is unbearable!
What’s going on here?
So whether I go to work or not is just up to whether I step in dog poop…?
And another thing! Who says to someone’s face that they’re a mascot?! I’m not Monkey Sai Lei!
But the crew is in trouble? Then I definitely should go take a look. Who’s got the nerve to make moves on Brother Hao’s turf?!
Soon, Zheng Yue sent the location, and Wang Hao glanced at it. It wasn’t very far from here, about a dozen kilometers away. It was a relocation building in Zhangjia Village to the south of the city that had been abandoned for over two years, actually a great spot for shooting outdoors.
Well, the location is all right, but the fare’s a bit steep…
A dozen kilometers will cost a good few dozen!
But no worries, Brother here just made twenty grand yesterday and spent ten, still got ten left, you know what cash flow is? It means having money!
Wang Hao arrived quickly at the address Zheng Yue had sent, and from a distance, he saw a big crowd sitting on the ground, chatting about something or other. The usually bustling film set was rather listless now, with Director Gao Mingxing sitting on a chair, looking utterly dismayed.
“What’s the problem?” Wang Hao walked over, curious, and asked, “Why isn’t everyone filming? You all seem a bit down?”
“Brother Hao, Brother Hao, you finally came!” Upon seeing Wang Hao approach, Gao Mingxing pounced on him like a starving dog that had just spotted a big white bun: “Brother Hao! Whether we can film today is all up to you now!”
Holy shit, saying that puts a lot of pressure on me, you know that?
“Don’t panic, what’s going on exactly?” Wang Hao looked around and asked, “Director Gao, everyone seems a bit off, what happened, tell me?”
As soon as the crew saw their strongest mascot arriving, the people on site immediately gathered around. Before Gao Mingxing could even speak, everyone started chattering:
“What else could it be? The other crew is just bulling us with their power, refusing to give up the place!”
“Exactly, they’re not even filming, just loafing around, hogging the spot like it’s a latrine!”
“They’re banking on their investor being a big company, hired a bunch of thugs to stand guard, and won’t budge, saying something like ‘every minute costs tens of thousands,’ pfft!”
Listening to the chatter, Wang Hao got the gist. Looking at Gao Mingxing, he asked, “Director Gao, someone took over our location? Negotiations didn’t work?”
“Exactly,” Gao Mingxing replied with a face full of gloom, as if he had eaten an entire bitter melon: “This scene is actually very simple, it would have been no problem to finish in one or two hours, but the other crew’s investor is too powerful. They’re just bullying us, occupying that spot and not letting us shoot. They said they’re waiting for someone, and they’ll only let us have the place after their person arrives and they finish filming.”
Holy shit, this is kind of bullying, isn’t it…?
“Can’t we change locations?” Ideally, it’s best to avoid conflict, so Wang Hao first suggested, “Let’s film something else first, and once they’re done on their side, we can use the location. This area is so big, it’s not like we must use their spot.”
“In theory, it was a good idea, and that’s what I did at first,” Gao Mingxing sighed dejectedly, “but everyone’s mood has been spoiled, just now nothing went right no matter what we tried, we just couldn’t shoot properly.”
“That’s the case,” Wang Hao replied with a cheeky smile: “No worries, those are minor issues. I’m here now, aren’t I? Brother is invincible today!”
“Really?” Director Gao looked Wang Hao up and down carefully, “Are you truly invincible today?”
“Totally invincible. Watch me!” Wang Hao grabbed the megaphone and shouted, “Come on, guys! Let’s nail our scenes here in one take! If we do, I’ll take care of that other crew!”
Director Gao backed him up decisively: “Right, Brother Hao’s got it spot on! Everyone perform well. Brother Hao didn’t step in dog poop today, so let’s aim for one take here! Once we get this done, Brother Hao will handle the other crew, badass! No need to explain!”
“Hahahaha, seriously? Let’s get going, guys!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just for Brother Hao’s words, wait and see how he deals with that other crew!”
“Holy shit, we’ve got to hurry up!”
Everyone burst into wild laughter and then started filming!
Turns out Brother Hao really is a lucky charm, the filming went fantastically well, and very soon Director Gao called “CUT,” then laughed heartily and wrapped his arms around Wang Hao’s neck, exclaiming, “Hahahaha, Brother Hao, you truly deserve to be our film set’s mascot! Badass! Everyone’s performance was top-notch! This take is OK!”
A large group of actors walked over, laughing and greeting Wang Hao, “Brother Hao is the real deal, we got it in one take as soon as he showed up!” “Yeah, yeah, Brother Hao, let us catch some of your good luck!” “Brother Hao, your luck is unbeatable, I’m begging to be your flunky!”
Damn, I really want to turn around and leave!
But nobody had forgotten what Wang Hao said earlier. A big crowd surrounded him, ready to move:
“Let’s go, let’s go, Brother Hao, we’ve sorted it out here, now we’ve got to fix that other crew! Damn them for being too arrogant!”
“Absolutely, Brother Hao specializes in dealing with the disobedient!”
“Let them see how formidable our film set’s mascot can be!”
Holy shit, not herding ducks on a perch!
Wang Hao really wanted to cry! A mascot, damn it! Now I’m totally being treated like Money Sai Lei!
“Umm…” Wang Hao said with a face full of cold sweat, “Let’s take a break first, no rush, alright…”
But everyone’s heads were shaking like rattles: “How could that be? Strike while the iron’s hot!” “Exactly, Brother Hao, you don’t know, just now five or six of us went to negotiate with them but got booted back. Even Teacher Li Fei was sent packing, they even talked big, saying some junior screenwriter was prancing in front of them!”
Even Teacher Li Fei was sent packing?!
Hearing this, Wang Hao immediately looked towards Li Fei at the side, who had a dusty face and a bitter smile, “It’s true. I thought I’d go have a sensible talk with them, but I was sent back before I could say much. Sigh, it seems my face isn’t that valuable anymore, heh…”
Damn, I can’t stand for this! That’s my legit screenwriter teacher!
Damn, you’ve got a strong backer, huh? Today I’ll see just how powerful your backer really is!
“Holy shit, this can’t be tolerated!” Wang Hao rolled up his sleeves and took the lead: “Let’s go, let’s see just how awesome this crew is. I don’t believe it, could they really dare to run amok on my turf?!”