I am a Big Player
Chapter 655 - 646, Wuxia Dream_1

Chapter 655: 646, Wuxia Dream_1

Ren He compared the location with the satellite map and couldn’t help but frown. This place was deep in the heart of the Desert’s No Man’s Land. According to the unscrupulous innkeepers, was this not Li Kun’s territory, and would the other two poaching gangs be willing to allow them to poach yaks here?

Although this grey world seemed chaotic, it had its own underlying rules. Invading another’s territory for 10 million in hard cash, Li Kun might very well encounter complications.

Since he was here, Ren He might as well make the best of it. Lying on the sandy slope with his arms under his head, he wondered whether Director Zhang and his crew had arrived.

The land wasn’t as terrifying as imagined. It was quite stable in the cities and towns, actually. But given its vastness and sparse population, there were plenty of opportunities to exploit, which was inevitable.

Zhang Ming and his crew had spent their lives in the bustling Capital. Even when filming movies, they chose well-known locations. If it weren’t for his own script about No Man’s Land, they probably would never have chosen the great Northwest as their primary filming location.

Having come to this fierce Desert, he wondered if they could adapt.

Ren He was now fairly familiar with this grey world of the Desert. That’s why he wondered, what if Zhang Ming and his crew got into a conflict with the dodgy innkeepers?

This was actually an over-concern on the part of Ren He. What hadn’t a seasoned traveler like Zhang Ming seen in his wanderings to the north and south?

The film crew headed straight for the City that Never Sleeps on National Highway 217 just north of Karamay upon their arrival. Everyone was prepared for hardship, as there were no comfy hotels to offer during the shooting process. After all, the location was more than two hundred kilometers from Karamay. If they went to shoot in the morning and returned to the city in the afternoon, they would delay everything.

So, Zhang Ming came prepared with tents, a total of 80!

It was a rarity for the crew to encounter such a situation. At first, when they heard about the tents, they found it novel. Was this like a collective outing to the countryside? It actually sounded rather romantic!

Later, when they arrived in Karamay and heard they were going to a place called the City that Never Sleeps for the shoot, several crew members who were unaware of the details got excited. The City that Never Sleeps, huh... heh heh heh...

However, upon arriving at the City that Never Sleeps, everyone was baffled. This was the City that Never Sleeps?

What the hell! That auntie with eyes sparkling green at the group of young guys from the crew, what’s the deal with her! And these mud brick houses, what’s this all about, where’s the promised City that Never Sleeps...

Zhang Ming looked at the group of bewildered young guys and laughed heartily, "Don’t stand there dazed, this is our first shooting location."

Of course, this had to be approved by the folks in the City that Never Sleeps first.

Zhang Ming took the lead on this matter himself. They didn’t need to stay in the City that Never Sleeps, since the tiny city couldn’t accommodate so many people. Zhang Ming’s plan was to have everyone encamp to the northwest of the City that Never Sleeps. It would also allow them to use the mud brick houses as a shield against the wind and sand.

As for how to get the people of the City that Never Sleeps to agree, Zhang Ming cheerfully negotiated with the boss: provide their location for filming, and in exchange, during the two months of shooting, all meals would be provided by the City that Never Sleeps at a 20% discount.

In fact, Zhang Ming didn’t feel ripped off at all by this deal. If they were shooting in a film studio, they would have to pay location fees. However, the idea of location fees didn’t even cross the innkeeper’s mind. Zhang Ming treated the cost of the meals as if they were location and prop expenses. Sure, selling a portion of fish-flavored shredded pork for several tens of yuan was expensive, but overall they wouldn’t lose out too much.

For the shady innkeepers, this was an unexpected windfall. Normally, once poaching gangs went deep into the Desert, their influence waned. To have a film crew come for a shoot was better than they could ever have hoped for. How much could they make in a day’s worth of meal charges?

Anyway, by the end, everyone felt like they got the better deal, and all were happy.

When the others went inside to check out the menu on the wall, they nearly peed their pants, "A dish of Big Plate Chicken for 198?! Is this a golden chicken?!"

Zhang Ming laughed and chased them out, "Go set up the tents, this isn’t something you need to worry about."

At first, setting up tents was novel and fun, with the film crew instructing them. These were sturdy, wind-resistant tents; three sides were pegged to the ground, and one of the poles used to stabilize the tent was 40 centimeters, going deep into the soil.

One must know that sandstorms are common here, and it’s absolutely necessary to make ample preparations. Experienced crew members are more reliable. Otherwise, if you just set up any old tent, actors might be blown away by a sandstorm...

However, as the tent setting up was underway, the novelty quickly wore off for everyone due to the overwhelming sandstorms. Just trying to speak, one would get a mouthful of sand...

By dinner time, everyone already had bitter expressions, but the only consolation was that the chefs from the City that Never Sleeps cooked rather good, spicy food that went down easily.

The largest of the mud-brick rooms had become the film crew’s dining hall, and the gleeful innkeeper was ladling food for the crew from several large stainless steel buckets. Every ladleful doled out was equivalent to hard cash—this time he was making a killing!

Days when you could make money were naturally a bit brighter. He struck up a conversation with the actors, "Eh, how come your film doesn’t seem to have any female actresses?"

Zhang Ming answered with a smile, "The main cast in this film are male actors, with only one female actress."

The innkeeper began to sneer internally. A film without female actresses, what’s good about that... He remembered watching black-and-white martial arts films as a kid and thinking how great it would be if he could direct a movie himself; no male actors needed! Yes, a martial arts movie with only female actresses!

He then asked, "What’s the story of your film about?"

Zhang Ming thought for a moment. Telling this innkeeper about human nature would probably get him nowhere, so he simply said, "It’s about poaching."

The innkeeper’s eyes lit up, "Oh, I’ve got loads of material to provide on that!"

"Oh?" Zhang Ming was surprised, "Are there any legendary stories here?"

"Let me tell you, just recently, a tough guy appeared in this Desert, who could punch someone into the air. He got into a brawl with our... with our local boss, and more than a dozen men couldn’t subdue him," the innkeeper nearly blurted out ’local hawk trader boss’ but quickly caught himself and switched to a story he personally experienced a few days earlier, "You guys have no idea, just a few days ago right here, that teenage boy drove over in an off-road vehicle and with a single dagger move, disabled a man’s hand, just like a swordsman from a martial arts film!"

Upon hearing the innkeeper talk about someone punching people into the air, Zhang Ming started to lose interest... What a load of bullcrap, was he still dreaming?

The innkeeper saw Zhang Ming’s dismissive smile and got a bit upset, "You don’t believe it, huh? He’ll come back, and then you’ll see for yourselves!"

If Ren He were here, he would have sighed; not all innkeepers were shrewd characters, after all. Here was one who even harbored martial arts dreams...