Chapter 4: Wine

Early the next morning, director Gao Qunshu shared Zhang Yuan’s idea about combining cigarettes with character traits with the entire crew.

This idea received support from most of the lead actors!

Undoubtedly, this change in detail helped with character development. More importantly, the actors playing the villains—including the lead, Sun Honglei—could now smoke better cigarettes without having to pay for them themselves. They didn't just support it; they almost laughed out loud.

This earned Zhang Yuan a huge wave of gratitude and skill points.

However, they had underestimated Gao Qunshu’s talent for being stingy... or rather, his talent for cost-cutting.

The director had the production assistant buy one pack of 555s and one pack of Hongtashan. Once he got them, he pulled out all the cigarettes inside and stuffed them with 2.5-yuan-a-pack "New Shijiazhuang" cigarettes instead.

Since the camera only ever showed the cigarette box and the audience couldn't smoke them anyway, it was enough to just keep up appearances.

This maneuver infuriated the group of heavy smokers.

"Director Gao might as well squat next to a convenience store and pick up the boxes people throw away," Zhang Yuan quipped, making the surrounding actors roar with laughter.

Everyone knew that before filming this project, Director Gao had been stood up by his investors. He had to mortgage his house and car to scrape together the funds to start production, so being frugal was understandable.

This morning, they continued filming the interrogation scenes between him and Shi Zhaoqi.

Zhang Yuan’s performance earned praise from the veteran actor, who noted that he was talented, could get into character, provided good reactions, and had solid delivery.

The entire morning passed without a single retake caused by him. Filming went very smoothly, and the crew, including the director, was in high spirits.

By noon, his roommate Zhao Jin had realized the gap between himself and Zhang Yuan, so he didn't even bother asking him to eat boxed lunches.

"Zhang Yuan, come on, let's go to the hotel private room," the director called out again.

"Is there another welcome banquet today?" Zhang Yuan wondered, as the crew should have been fully assembled by now.

"No, we're filming a dinner scene this afternoon, so I had the hotel prepare some food. You should come eat with us."

A dinner scene?

Zhang Yuan ran through the film *Conquest* in his mind. Almost every dinner scene in this movie was a legendary moment!

He thought of "Song Laohu," who had joined the crew yesterday. Could today's dinner scene be *that* scene?

Sure enough, the cast configuration when filming started in the afternoon confirmed his suspicion.

"Qiangzi, let me give you a piece of advice, brother."

"Young people shouldn't be too arrogant!"

Ma Xiaoming, playing Song Laohu, glared with wide eyes. The hand holding the cigarette butt pointed fiercely at Sun Honglei, and his trembling lips twitched along with his glued-on mustache.

"If you aren't arrogant, can you even call yourself a young person?" Sun Honglei turned back, his face full of disdain as he retorted, his presence not losing out in the slightest.

"Cut!" Just as the two were getting into the groove, the director called for a stop.

"Director Gao, did I play it too villainous again?" Sun Honglei had been told this so often lately that he was starting to wonder if he’d chosen the wrong profession—maybe he was better suited for the underworld than acting.

"You're fine. Brother Ma, your speaking speed is too fast, your expressions are too tense and not natural enough. It's a bit stiff."

This time, the problem was with his scene partner.

"Let's do it again. Brother Ma, try to relax, slow down your speech, and make your lines clearer."

Ma Xiaoming nodded, looking displeased.

They had expected the afternoon shoot to be as smooth as the morning session Zhang Yuan had facilitated, but they didn't expect this scene to be filmed nine times without a single take being usable.

"Brother Ma, I told you, relax, slow down!" Director Gao was getting anxious, his tone becoming much heavier.

"I'm already relaxed! Damn it, I'm not acting anymore!" Ma Xiaoming slammed the table, stood up, and walked out of the private room.

Sun Honglei hurried out to mediate, while Director Gao Qunshu looked helpless.

Director Gao sucked on his teeth, rubbing his brow.

Logically, the director is the boss on set; could an actor really revolt?

In reality, it depended on the situation. Ma Xiaoming was a tough guy from the streets, and the crew wasn't paying him much.

Not only that, but when Ma Xiaoming had fallen asleep during his makeup test, the makeup artist had shaved his head bald without asking. When he woke up, he almost flipped out and left; it had taken a lot of convincing from the director to keep him.

But Ma Xiaoming’s anger was understandable. With his face shape, a shaved head made him look like a tea egg—it was incredibly pathetic, which was why he wore a fake mustache to cover it up.

A short while later, Sun Honglei returned, exchanged a look with the director, and shook his head helplessly.

Clearly, the other party wasn't buying it; he was throwing a tantrum.

Gao Qunshu’s face twisted as if he’d just drunk bitter melon juice.

"Director Gao, how about... I try to find a way?" Zhang Yuan, who had been planning to watch the birth of a legendary scene from the sidelines, said softly.

"What could you possibly do..." the director said instinctively, but before he finished, he remembered Zhang Yuan’s performance over the past few days.

It seemed like nothing was impossible for this kid.

"If you really have a way... Old Ma has a huge temper, don't do anything reckless."

"I'll give it a try." With that, he left the room.

The crew members present looked at each other, unable to guess what Zhang Yuan was planning.

About half an hour later, Zhang Yuan pushed the door open, his arm draped over Ma Xiaoming’s shoulder, and the two returned to the filming room laughing and chatting.

"Brother Ma, let's film first, we'll continue tonight."

"No problem, Brother Zhang."

Director Gao was dumbfounded. You two became brothers in this short amount of time?

And the age gap didn't exactly make "brothers" appropriate.

"Director Gao, shall we start filming?" Zhang Yuan reminded him in a low voice.

"Oh, oh, right. Everyone, get into position! Let's go again!"

Once they started filming, Ma Xiaoming’s performance immediately made Gao Qunshu’s eyes light up.

His speed was slower, his lines were clear, and even his emotional state and posture were incredibly relaxed and natural.

"This kid is a genius!"

"How did he do it?"

Director Gao wondered to himself.

The scene ended, and Gao Qunshu called cut, smiling.

"That was a good take."

"Brother Ma, how about we do one more for safety?"

*Snore...* The response to the director was the sound of Ma Xiaoming snoring.

"What's going on with him? Did he fall asleep while acting?" The director was baffled and stepped forward to check.

As he got closer, a strong smell of alcohol hit him along with the man's breathing.

"He's drunk..."

Director Gao realized it immediately and looked at Zhang Yuan.

"We each had a bottle of white liquor, drank it straight from the bottle. *Hiccup.*" Zhang Yuan was also feeling the effects now, his face flushed red.

When he was farming skill points yesterday, he realized that while other actors gave points related to acting, this Ma Xiaoming only ever gave points for alcohol tolerance!

Zhang Yuan had thought at the time: *Is this guy a professional drunkard?*

So, when he went out, he asked the hotel front desk for two bottles of liquor.

After a bottle of liquor, Ma Xiaoming had immediately opened up, leaving all his unhappiness behind.

Moreover, this half-drunk state perfectly matched the atmosphere of the scene. After all, the plot was about Song Laohu inviting Liu Huaqiang to drink and settle a dispute, and the two had clashed at the table.

There was no need to act; he just sat there and was the character.

After Zhang Yuan finished explaining his thoughts and actions, his legs gave out and he collapsed into his seat.

He had gained quite a bit of alcohol tolerance over the past few days, but drinking it so fast was still too much.

"Quick, get some water!" Director Gao grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.

*Finally, it's the director's turn to bring me water...* Zhang Yuan smiled, sighing at the cycle of karma.

Gao Qunshu marveled in his heart.

This kid not only knows how to act and rewrite scenes, but he can also handle emergencies on set and is well-versed in social nuances!

Just how many more surprises can he give me?

The other actors and crew members also looked at Zhang Yuan with newfound respect.

After all, without him today, who knows how long this scene would have dragged on.

The successful wrap-up was all thanks to him!

[Received gratitude from Gao Qunshu: Camera Presence +3, Directing Skills +2, Scriptwriting +5, Perseverance +2!]

[Received gratitude from Sun Honglei: Acting +5!]

[Received gratitude from Jiang Tao: Lighting Setup +1!]

[Received gratitude from Jiang Zhiwen: Photography Techniques +2!]

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