The film crew wasn't as luxurious as the public often imagined. In fact, it was particularly harsh when it came to food.
Chu Ning didn't believe it. "Oh please, I heard that as a star, you can make hundreds of thousands, even millions, from one drama. How could the food be bad?"
"Heh." Chu An scoffed. It wasn't as simple as his sister thought.
First of all, around 2001, film crews weren't like those of a decade later. Back then, actors didn't have luxury cars and special catering.
The film crews of that era still retained the simplicity from the old studio days. Meals and accommodations weren't extravagant at all.
To put it another way, even if it were luxurious, having abalone and lobster every day would just mean abalone and lobster were packed into the box lunches.
A filming cycle for a drama could last for months, sometimes even half a year or more. Having box lunches for every meal, would you be able to handle it?
Besides, everyone's focus was on the stars and the director. Maybe some special people got better treatment, but what about the regular actors and staff?
To give an example, even in Chu An's 2025, there were film crews that, to save on expenses, served the staff and regular actors meals of just cabbage and radishes, and adding a chicken drumstick was considered being generous.
So, never underestimate the power of those simple pickled eggs. That stuff had the destructive power of a nuclear bomb on set.
After parting ways with Chu Ning, Chu An quietly went upstairs and happened to bump into Lan Jie waiting outside his room. "I'll give you an answer on those shops tomorrow. There shouldn't be any problems."
Chu An was overjoyed. "So soon? You're amazing, Lan Jie!"
Lan Jie, however, appeared calm, as if she had just done something trivial. "Tomorrow, I'll have the art and props teams send two people to work with you. The shop setup will follow the crew's requirements."
Chu An replied confidently, "No problem!"
Lan Jie added, "The crew has a strict budget, so I can't help with the renovation costs."
This time, Chu An nodded outwardly, but inwardly, he scoffed. This was clearly a brush-off.
He knew exactly how film crews worked.
Typically, even the most frugal production teams set aside some flexible funds. After all, making a film or drama is a creative process, and it can't always be rigidly planned.
Moreover, this money could be accessed not just by the director, but also by the executive producer, production manager, life production supervisor, and even the assistant directors.
Lan Jie was clearly trying to avoid helping.
But Chu An didn't press the issue. Not helping was just business; helping was a favor, and he couldn't fault her for that.
Besides, the renovation money wasn't nearly as important to him as other things.
He simply said, "It's fine! I'm already very grateful for all the help Lan Jie is giving our family."
Lan Jie smiled at his reaction. She wasn't supposed to say more, but given that she already had a good impression of Chu An and had noticed his behavior throughout the day, she felt like he wasn't as simple as he appeared.
After a pause, she finally said, "When you help people, help them to the end. The crew could have covered the renovation costs."
"However..." She sighed, as if mentally drained. "Why am I telling you this? Anyway, the issue with money is a hassle. Director Lu doesn't want to get into any more arguments with the producers."
Upon hearing this, Chu An raised an eyebrow. It seemed he had been a bit too suspicious.
"Arguments with the producers?" Chu An immediately thought of two possibilities: either the investment budget hadn't been agreed upon, or there was a creative difference.
In most cases, conflicts with producers stemmed from these two issues.
Considering everything he knew, Chu An began to suspect this drama could become a flop.
Chu An tentatively asked, "Lan Jie, I noticed that Director Lu wasn't in a great mood today. Could it be because of the producers?"
Lan Jie laughed. "You're quite observant. It's partly true."
Chu An's eyes widened in shock. "Which production company is it? How dare they interfere with Director Lu's crew?"
Lan Jie sighed. Perhaps because she felt frustrated and needed someone to vent to, or maybe she didn't see Chu An as an outsider, she confided, "It's Tian Du Culture! Even Director Lu can't afford to mess with them."
Chu An, "..."
He thought to himself, Forget I asked!
In this world, Tian Du Culture was like the equivalent of the CCTV Film Production Center in the original timeline.
They might not represent the absolute highest level of domestic film and television production, but they were certainly the center of power in the industry.
They had too much influence.
Initially, Chu An had thought that since the crew had already helped his family, he could use his knowledge from the past to help the crew avoid some obvious pitfalls.
But once "Tian Du Culture" was mentioned, Chu An quickly dismissed the idea.
It was simple—without knowing the exact nature of the conflict between the producers and the creative team, it would be foolish to get involved.
Who knew if Tian Du wanted to make a good drama or if they had other investment goals?
If he offended Tian Du Culture, even if he wanted to stay in the entertainment industry, it would be nearly impossible.
After chatting with Lan Jie for a bit more, Chu An once again expressed his gratitude for her help. Then, he went into the kitchen and began working on his eggs and pickled vegetables.
Director Lu Mingze was the type who believed in "slow and steady" in his filmmaking. In the past, when directing a 40-episode drama, he would usually take at least six months, and eight months would be considered fast. One time, a production took him two years, and the production company almost didn't survive the wait.
But the quality of his work was unquestionable. The highest-rated Qing Gong drama in this world was directed by Lu Mingze.
This time, however, the producers only gave him a three-month shooting schedule, which made the filming schedule very tight.
That was one of the main reasons Lu had been so irritable on the first day of shooting. The pressure was immense.
And as luck would have it, today, despite the heavy shooting schedule, there was a night shoot, and the actress playing Liu Xia's mother couldn't get into character the whole afternoon.
Director Lu was so furious, he made sure to delay dinner until seven.
Everyone cursed him for being a tyrant while also blaming the Northeast for the heat.
The summer days in the Northeast were long, and it didn't get dark until late. This meant the crew had to keep filming during the day, while the cast and crew had to go without dinner.
As for the actress playing Liu Xia's mother? Well, the crew just had to endure!
Some even thought the actress couldn't hold a candle to "Chu Shiguo" at lunch earlier.
[Liu Xia!! Why can't you understand your mother!?]
[You need to learn to understand adults!]
These two lines had been filmed over ten times. Even the cleaning lady could tell the actress was struggling.
Lu Mingze's frustration grew. The schedule was tight, and the actress wasn't performing well.
Even the scenes they had already shot didn't satisfy him. He felt something was missing but couldn't pinpoint exactly what. And he had no time to figure it out.
This made his temper even worse.
Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the last scene still wasn't quite right, and there was no outlet for his anger. He suddenly smelled something.
"Hm? What's that smell!?"
The rich aroma of soy sauce mixed with something fragrant wafted through the set. Could he stand it?!
While the actress was still struggling with the scene, Lu Mingze erupted.
"Who the hell is eating? Everyone is starving, and you can't keep your mouth shut, huh?!"
Everyone froze, not daring to speak. The only sound was a few rumbling stomachs.
Someone stealthily glanced at the monitor next to Lu Mingze. There was a small ceramic plate there, with two tea eggs on it.
Everyone thought, What does this have to do with us? Is Chu Shiguo up to something?
They rolled their eyes. Seriously, Chu Shiguo is trying to butter up the director now?
At that moment, Lu Mingze, after venting his frustration, quickly rushed everyone to film another take.
This time, it was passable. The actress was more focused and her performance was better than the previous ones, but still not up to Lu Mingze's standards.
Lu Mingze could only console himself: At least it's better than the last one, right?
Exhausted, he rubbed his temples and absent-mindedly looked at the ceramic plate with the tea eggs.
Strange, if it hadn't been for the tea eggs, he wouldn't have noticed how hungry he was. Seeing them, his stomach started to grumble, and he remembered that everyone hadn't had dinner yet.
But!!
Don't think he was going to let them eat just because of the tea eggs. If the progress was delayed, no one was going to have a good time, and as for eating?! No way!
"Hurry up and do another take. Tong Meng, focus, and let's get it right this time!"
Tong Meng was the actress playing Liu Xia's mother.
As the scene was ready to be filmed again, everyone continued working.
Lu Mingze, while watching the monitor, casually grabbed a tea egg