Chapter 9: Two Pieces of Trivia

"Huh? Are there two directors?" Qi Hui asked in confusion.

From a distance, he had already spotted another person holding a director's megaphone; it wasn't a bald man, but a middle-aged man wearing a jacket.

Zhang Ruoyun took a look and explained, "That is Director Chen."

"Our production crew has two main directors, Director Chen and Director Du."

"Director Du is in charge of action scenes and fight choreography, while Director Chen is in charge of war scenes and explosion sequences."

Upon hearing this, Qi Hui suddenly understood, but his eyes darted around as he recalled some news he had seen in his past life.

It seemed the *Snow Leopard* crew had an explosion accident that almost blew up Wen Zhang.

After Wen Zhang's wife, Ma Yili, found out about this, she rushed over and started berating the director and the props team directly... or so he remembered.

Qi Hui scratched his head; he seemed to have seen it while scrolling through videos in his past life, but he couldn't remember clearly.

When surfing the internet, doesn't knowledge always pass through the brain without staying?

Who would remember that clearly?

Just as Qi Hui was pondering, Zhang Ruoyun's voice suddenly rang out:

"Director Du, are the actors all in place?"

Qi Hui looked up and discovered that he and Zhang Ruoyun had already arrived in front of the bald-headed Du Yuming.

Zhang Ruoyun continued, "This is my senior from the '05 class; his acting is good, and his appearance is excellent. Are there any suitable roles?"

Qi Hui glared at Zhang Ruoyun; why was this kid so stubborn?

Zhang Ruoyun pretended not to notice. Are we men the type to set people up?

Du Yuming shook his bald head, looking at the two with interest.

In fact, before Zhang Ruoyun brought Qi Hui over, he already knew about Qi Hui.

Old Zhang had just sent him a text message, but it wasn't to ask for a role, but rather to distance himself from the matter.

If little Zhang doesn't reach out, then nothing happens, and everyone is happy.

If little Zhang does reach out, then you handle it as you see fit.

It has nothing to do with me, Old Zhang; whether you give him a role or not is your business.

Don't ask me beforehand, and don't come looking for me afterward.

"Hello, Teacher Du, I've long admired your name." Qi Hui took the initiative to greet him, smiling and saying:

"I grew up watching your work, and today is the first time I've seen you in person."

Since things had reached this point, Qi Hui knew there was no way to refuse little Zhang anymore.

Then he might as well follow his wishes and get a role.

Qi Hui didn't want any supporting roles; just being an extra or a background actor to muddle through would be fine.

"Oh? This young man is quite the talker." Du Yuming said with a chuckle; although he looked fierce, he was actually quite amiable.

Changing the subject, he asked, "Then tell me, which role of mine do you like the most?"

Ding~

[Host has made contact with director and actor Du Yuming. You have received one lottery chance. Would you like to draw now?]

Qi Hui's heart stirred, and he immediately decided to draw.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill: Martial Arts Instructor]

This thing doesn't seem very useful...

"Du Yuesheng." Qi Hui suppressed the speechlessness in his heart and answered without hesitation:

"You were still very young back then, but you acted so well."

In truth, it was simply because Du Yuming still had hair when he played that role, so Qi Hui could remember it.

As for the rest... he basically didn't remember them.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuming was delighted and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, you kid have an eye for things; that was the first play I ever acted in."

Every bald man has an unusual obsession with hair follicles, and Du Yuming was no exception.

He also missed the time when he still had hair.

Taking advantage of his good mood, Qi Hui handed him a cigarette, helped him light it, and said, "Teacher Du, is this scene still short of people?"

"Just give me a bit part or an extra role; I've never played a lead, and I can't handle a heavy workload."

The scene they were preparing to shoot was the war scene at the beginning of the first episode of *Snow Leopard*.

That is the scene where Wen Zhang and the heroine, as students, brave a hail of bullets to deliver comfort items to the 19th Route Army during the "January 28th" Incident.

Looking around, the extras were all wearing blue-gray military uniforms and British-style green "frying pan" helmets.

The costumes and props were done very well, exactly like the historical 19th Route Army.

This scene also featured many familiar actors, such as Krupp from *My Chief and My Regiment*, and the anti-Japanese drama specialist Yu Zhen.

Du Yuming looked at Qi Hui with surprise; do university graduates from the Beijing Film Academy have such low requirements?

This isn't 2024, where junior college graduates are worthless and undergraduates are everywhere.

University students in the early 2000s still had some gold content; for example, civil engineering was still very popular back then, and it didn't have the "not even a dog would do it" stigma it had later.

So, Du Yuming was a bit surprised by Qi Hui's request.

He had thought this kid wouldn't act unless it was a lead role.

Thinking of this, Du Yuming took a puff of his cigarette and nodded with satisfaction.

This kid knows how to conduct himself; he's much better than the incredibly arrogant Wen Zhang.

"Teacher Du, the crew's costumes and props are very well done." Qi Hui praised.

"It's alright." Du Yuming laughed, "Costumes and props are the foundation; of course, we have to be serious about them."

"Does Teacher Du know a piece of trivia?" Qi Hui smiled, "The 19th Route Army was the Cantonese Army, people from Guangdong Province."

Du Yuming laughed, "Of course I know that."

It was explained in the actors' lines.

He wasn't just working when filming this; he also wanted to do his best to restore that tragic history so that future generations would remember it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to make the costumes and props so detailed.

"Does Teacher Du know another piece of trivia?" Qi Hui continued, "The white-headed spring couplets of Guangdong Province."

Du Yuming was surprised, "Oh? Is there a story behind that?"

He had worked in Hong Kong in his early years and had certainly seen the white-headed spring couplets of Guangdong.

He had always thought it was just a difference in local customs, but now that it was mentioned, it seemed to be related to the 19th Route Army?

Qi Hui explained, "When the January 28th Incident began, it was only 10 days away from the Spring Festival. The 19th Route Army, the vanguard of the resistance, held out for 35 days and was nearly wiped out."

"That Spring Festival, the elders of Guangdong spent it as if it were a funeral; almost every household hung white silk. To commemorate the 19th Route Army, the white-headed spring couplets came into being."

Upon hearing this, Du Yuming was filled with respect, "So that's how it is!"

Little Zhang was also shocked; there was such a thing, he had truly learned something new.

"What are your thoughts?" Du Yuming asked.

"How about changing all the lines of the 19th Route Army to Cantonese-accented Mandarin or Cantonese?" Qi Hui suggested. Historically, General Cai Tingkai also used Cantonese to call on the military and civilians to resist Japan and save the country.

Now that the preparations for filming were complete, they were just waiting to start.

If they wanted to change the script, the cost would be too high, and it wouldn't match the screenplay, so it was impossible.

This was the only way to make the Cantonese Army easier for people to remember.

Qi Hui still remembered Ma Dazhi from *My Chief and My Regiment*, who spoke with a Cantonese accent.

In the original *Snow Leopard* novel, a few lines of dialogue made it hard for people to associate the 19th Route Army with Guangdong; it would just pass by after one listen.

After all, knowledge always passes through the brain without staying.

"Hmm... I'll go discuss it with Old Chen." Du Yuming pondered for a moment and said:

"You come along too; I'll help you get a role later."

"Many thanks." Qi Hui smiled; he hadn't asked for a role for nothing.

On the other side, Director Chen Haowei was inspecting the explosion points.

He was responsible for filming the war scenes, and there would be a series of explosions next.

This kind of scene must be handled with caution; safety comes first.

"Director Chen, when are we starting?" Tao Feifei came over and asked.

"Oh... Feifei." Director Chen looked up and put down the wires in his hand, "It's about time."

His inspection work was basically finished.

Tao Feifei's eyes darted around, and she pointed into the distance, asking in confusion, "Hey, Director Chen, who is that person with Director Du over there?"

Director Chen took a look and replied, "That's Zhang Ruoyun's university senior, a graduate from the '05 class of the Beijing Film Academy."

"He has a good relationship with little Zhang and is here to visit the set."

He had also just received a text message from Producer Zhang and knew about Qi Hui's background.

Of course, he didn't mention any potential requests for a role, as it hadn't happened yet.

Or perhaps it had, but it was over at Old Du's side, so it had nothing to do with him.

He didn't like people who used backdoors; it felt very wrong.

"I see." Tao Feifei chuckled and turned to leave.

She had been quite interested in Qi Hui at first; he was handsome, tall, and looked very strong—he was her type.

She wasn't young anymore and should be preparing to settle down, so getting to know him would be a good thing.

However, upon hearing that he was a penniless university graduate, she lost most of her interest.

The gap in age and status was simply too great.

"Oh... I see, thank you, Teacher Tao." After hearing the information Tao Feifei had gathered, Wen Zhang nodded.

It was much as he had expected; that pretty boy was someone preparing to use back-door connections.

However... judging by Director Chen's expression, he didn't seem very interested in that pretty boy?

Wen Zhang stroked his chin, watching from afar with doubt in his heart.

Could it be that Director Chen, just like him, also couldn't stand people who used back-door connections?

If that were the case, then things would be easy to handle... Wen Zhang raised an eyebrow slightly.