Chapter 261: The Fairy Sister Pair

The matter quickly dispersed, and all the extras and temporary workers excitedly went off to prepare their materials.

The materials were just identity information, phone numbers, and personal skill resumes—things like that.

The reason for the personal skill resume was to see if there were any special talents. Wasn't there a saying? Masters hide among the common folk.

The extras group wasn't set up yet, so the materials could only be handed over to the Now You See Me production team for safekeeping in the meantime.

But there were too many people at once, and the production team didn't have enough staff to receive them. So they simply published an email address, letting the extras put their information into electronic format and send it directly to the mailbox.

They had originally wanted a certificate of no criminal record, but it was too much trouble. Many people were migrant workers and simply couldn't return to their registered hometowns, so they let it go.

Sending it to the mailbox meant they didn't have to come in person.

Those who didn't know how to use a computer or smartphone had to figure it out themselves—no one would be assigned to help them.

After the review was passed, an SMS notification would be sent, along with a dedicated account and password.

This was for setting up a website that would record all members of the extras group, so they could check through their own phone number whether they were a member.

They could also change their password themselves.

If it wasn't the person themselves, outsiders couldn't see it—they had to enter their own account to log in.

These materials would temporarily be entered into computers by clerical staff, with the extra pay starting from the next day—the day after the materials were submitted.

This didn't require any extra budget. At most it was an extra six figures, which was nothing compared to a film with an investment of over a hundred million.

"Hey, Goudan, hurry up and prepare your identity information and personal resume and send them to this email address."

"Right, right, right—it's the job at the Jade Rabbit crew you've been to. After deducting fees, you get at least 180 a day. Just send it to the email address, I'll give it to you."

"You don't have to come in person, just send it to the email address!"

"."

The extras called their friends, and within two or three days, seven or eight hundred people had submitted their materials through email. Those who didn't know how to use a computer either got friends to help or slowly taught themselves.

Anyway, with 300,000 in funds, just transferring a few people from Jade Rabbit to handle the review would do—it usually took two or three days to pass.

The matter was still fermenting; as for how it would turn out, no one knew yet. Fang Hong was still in the exploratory stage.

Other Jade Rabbit crews would also prioritize using people from the extras group and no longer use outsiders—that way it was safe!

After the crowd dispersed, the crew continued filming; they couldn't let this delay the schedule.

The two walked together, and Liu Tianxian was very curious: "Hey, how did you come up with something like this?"

"A permanent solution. Doing it this way is equivalent to closing the distance between us and the extras, and we also have a channel for communication. If there's an issue, they can complain and communicate directly. We also have their information, so they won't cause trouble again, and it'll be very hard for anyone to stir them up."

Fang Hong looked at her and explained: "Actually, I just came up with it on the spot."

"I could tell." Liu Tianxian laughed.

At first Fang Hong said he was going to get rid of the group leaders, then he didn't, and instead offered a little benefit. It was obvious it hadn't been thought through carefully.

The matter happened suddenly, and there was no way to think it through carefully.

At this stage, they could only let the group leaders keep managing for now; they couldn't take over the group leaders' work.

Without group leaders, things would fall apart, because when you post tasks, you need someone to contact and gather people, and to load them onto a vehicle and take them to the crew.

Someone having a sudden conflict and needing a replacement, and all sorts of things!

Something thought up on the spot—how could it possibly replace the group leaders' work all at once? That would be far too wishful.

The best approach was to strip their authority and take the initiative, which was equivalent to Fang Hong directly controlling the extras through the extras group.

"It's just the name that doesn't sound great. Extras group—calling it the Extras Association would be so much better." Liu Tianxian said.

"With those last two characters, if it got too big I was afraid it would be shut down. 'Group' means it can be disbanded at any time." Fang Hong explained the reason.

Liu Tianxian understood and gave him a thumbs-up: "You did a good job on this one—praise for you!"

Instead of using the most extreme measures, he had used a gentle approach to resolve it. He hadn't offended anyone—very impressive.

"A thumbs-up is all the praise I get?" Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian pressed her thumb against the middle of his lips: "Praise."

Fang Hong put his arm around her shoulder and pressed his lips to her pretty face: "That's what praise is. Yours was too plain."

"Hehehe." Liu Tianxian giggled.

Just as the two were chatting, Lu Dabo, having finished handling things, came running over quickly, with a bamboo strip on his back.

"Principal!"

Lu Dabo finished calling out and was about to kneel down, doing it in the style of ancient times.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Liu Tianxian hurriedly held him up. Why was this man about to kneel?

"This was my fault. I delayed the crew's work, so I've come to offer punishment." As Lu Dabo spoke, he pulled out the bamboo strip from his back and presented it with both hands.

"Still copying people offering punishment—'offering punishment' means a thorny branch, the kind with thorns. Yours doesn't have thorns." Fang Hong took the bamboo strip and examined it.

"It's all the same, right?" Lu Dabo said.

It was just a formality, wasn't it? A couple of hits to vent anger would do—did he really have to go through with it?

"Big difference. With thorns, it can dig into the flesh; this one would only cause superficial injuries." Fang Hong said. "Principal, isn't that a bit harsh?" Lu Dabo probed—he was really going to dig into his flesh.

"If it doesn't dig into your flesh, you won't know where you went wrong." Fang Hong looked at him: "Do you know where you went wrong?"

Lu Dabo shook his head; he didn't know where he went wrong. He had only taken some money, that's all.

"You were being used." Liu Tianxian said.

"No, he wasn't being used. Whether he was there or not, those people would still have stirred people up to cause trouble." Fang Hong said.

"He did take money, though." Liu Tianxian said.

"Taking money is taking money—he's been taking it all along. Whether he takes it or not, those people would still only give those extras 50 yuan and then say it was our crew's problem." Fang Hong explained.

"Oh."

Liu Tianxian understood: whether Lu Dabo was there or not, this would still have happened.

It had no essential relation to whether he took money or not.

Lu Dabo was moved inside — the Principal really understood him. He had no idea those people would do something like that.

Looks like the Principal didn't really blame him. Good thing!

"But you still took the money, you went along with the dirty crowd." Liu Tianxian wouldn't let it go.

Lu Dabo instantly felt that Fairy Sister wasn't so fairy anymore.

"You're way too kind-hearted. Who doesn't skim a little off the top? If you really lived on a dead salary alone, you'd have starved to death long ago." Fang Hong said to her.

Lu Dabo instantly felt the Principal was far more lovable than Fairy Sister.

These two had completely different ways of thinking — how did they ever end up together? He was quite curious.

"Hey, what he skimmed was your money, and you're still sticking up for him." Liu Tianxian knocked on his head.

"He wasn't skimming my money — what he skimmed was the money I was about to spend." Fang Hong said.

"What do you mean?" Liu Tianxian didn't get it for a moment.

"A kickback. Say he introduced me to buy a 100,000-yuan bag from you, the deal goes through, and then you give him 10,000 yuan as a kickback."

Fang Hong went on: "That 10,000 yuan was money I was going to spend anyway. He brought you the business, so he took a bit of profit back from you. Get it?"

Liu Tianxian's phoenix eyes rolled as she thought it through carefully: "But isn't that still your money? You only needed 90,000 yuan to buy it, yet you paid 10,000 more — isn't that right?"

Fang Hong was dumbfounded and exchanged a look with Lu Dabo.

Lu Dabo was also rather dumbfounded, and said without any confidence: "Fairy Sister is right!"

Don't discuss these kinds of convoluted issues with women — they only think along normal lines.

Even if the merchant doesn't give the kickback, the price won't be any cheaper. The market has its market pricing.

Say an extra is 150 yuan — that's the market price. If Lu Dabo doesn't take it, those extra-actors' bosses won't pay the extras more; they'll pocket it themselves.

"It was my point all along." Liu Tianxian kicked his leg to emphasize.

"Yes, yes, yes." Fang Hong chimed in.

Lu Dabo secretly laughed — he never expected the Principal to be a henpecked husband.

"What's so funny? Back to the earlier question — do you know where you went wrong? Do you know why I want to cut off this part of your income?" Fang Hong straightened his face.

Lu Dabo shook his head — he had simply taken the money.

"You're just snobbish. You've forgotten how you clawed your way up — how could you forget your roots?" Fang Hong pointed at him, speaking with the frustration of one who hates iron for not becoming steel.

No sympathy for those at the bottom, and on top of that, raising a big fuss.

"Principal, I was wrong." Lu Dabo lowered his head.

"You're my right-hand man. You're supposed to help me, not make trouble for me. The group you manage is the largest and also the most complicated. Don't look down on them — if you look down on them, they'll distance themselves from you in their hearts."

Fang Hong added: "Take this incident, for example. If even one extra had come to you to stand up for justice, or tipped you off, this whole thing could have been avoided. Right?"

Lu Dabo nodded — what he said made sense.

He normally came into contact with a lot of these people, and whether these people could get work on a film crew all required his nod. If he could really become one with them,

they wouldn't have been stirred up by the extras' bosses at all — they would have come to him first to reason it out. After all, he was a local boss himself by now.

Liu Tianxian felt Fang Hong made sense — if Lu Dabo were upright and kind-hearted, upright and incorruptible, this whole thing could have been avoided.

"Also, these people of theirs are constantly going in and out of all kinds of crews, and the people they come into contact with, the gossip and information they pick up, is also the most. If you can make good use of it, it'll benefit you." Fang Hong didn't say too much more.

Lu Dabo naturally understood and nodded.

"Go on, get back to work properly, and don't let something like this happen again." Fang Hong tossed the bamboo strip on the ground.

"It definitely won't happen again, Principal."

Lu Dabo picked up the bamboo strip, then left. The Principal really was on his side.

(End of chapter)