Chapter 2: Joining the Crew

Looking at the youthful young man in front of him, Li Dao was clearly moved.

"You, how much capital can you provide? A few thousand or tens of thousands?"

Li Dao smiled and joked.

"One hundred thousand." Lin Nan was a bit apprehensive. The main thing was that he didn't remember the production cost of this film, but he figured that at this time, for this kind of film, the cost wouldn't be high.

"Your image is also quite suitable—a Northwest face with sharp angles."

Li Dao was silent for a while before saying, "After putting on makeup and staying at the mine in the Northwest climate for a few days, it should be a perfect fit."

Lin Nan went to urge them to serve the food; clearly, the two directors needed to discuss something.

After about ten minutes, Lin Nan knocked on the door and returned to the room.

"I urged them to serve the food; it'll be ready soon."

"Lin Nan, I suppose you've heard that this film won't get a public release permit. It can only go the film festival route and sell the film."

"If you can provide one hundred thousand, plus the venue—that is, the abandoned mine shaft—we can sign a contract, and you'll hold fifteen percent."

Lin Nan understood; this was the result of their discussion just now.

"I agree."

Now the two opposite him couldn't stay calm. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. I can transfer the money on the first day after the National Day holiday. In these few days, I'll have my family find the venue, and we can go directly there when the time comes," Lin Nan said, taking full responsibility.

"Good, we'll sign the contract after the holiday. You also need to read the original work Divine Wood in these few days; we'll give you the script then," Director Li set the time for signing the contract.

And Lin Nan's role was Yuan Fengming.

At the dinner table, there was more back-and-forth, and finally, they left their contact information and went their separate ways.

Lin Nan stood at the school gate, and as the breeze blew, he felt refreshed.

Now all that remained was to handle his old man. "My dear father, please go easy on the scolding."

In these few years, Motorola and Nokia had become popular, but Zhang Mu still found a landline.

"You dog-day brat, you want my life? Where am I going to find one hundred thousand for you..."

Unsurprisingly, Lin Nan was scolded by his hot-tempered old man over the phone for ten minutes, and finally, it was only to save phone charges that he hung up.

However, the words weren't final; he told Lin Nan to roll back home, or he would come to the school to see what kind of monster his son had become outside.

To save trouble, Lin Nan could only go back to his hometown once, though thinking of the green-skinned train made him a bit fearful.

He told the people in the dorm a few words and bought a ticket to leave.

It was National Day anyway, so not many people cared.

The train environment at this time was truly terrible, and the noise was loud.

After bumping along for a long, long time, on the third day, he finally returned to this Northwest city, Ancient Chang'an.

Fortunately, his home was in the urban area, otherwise, he would have had to endure a long journey.

"Dad, I'm back."

Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Lin Nan shouted. It was already evening, and there were still some people eating in the shop.

He walked in on his own; the thirty-square-meter hall was full of people, some ordering dishes, some having pita bread soaked in lamb soup.

There was a medium-sized courtyard in the back; this shop was the foundation left by Lin Nan's grandfather.

Two middle-aged women were waitresses; seeing Lin Nan, they shouted to the back kitchen, "Watching Watching Lao Lin, your son is back."

Lin Nan said with a smile, "Auntie, don't worry about me."

Watching Watching Lao Lin, wearing an apron, came out of the back kitchen, took a look, and went back in.

Lin Nan found an empty corner and sat down.

At night, in the courtyard behind the restaurant, there were only the father and son.

Watching Watching Lao Lin was holding peanuts, and Lin Nan was pouring wine.

"Look at you, all you know is how to mess around. One hundred thousand? Why don't you go to heaven? I don't have it."

Lin Nan looked at his father's uncompromising appearance and wasn't in a hurry.

He added some wine and then said, "This is serious film production. Investing one hundred thousand gets me a fifteen percent share. It's about things at the mine. Didn't my second grandfather die at the mine? I'm a serious university student now, at the Film Academy, and this is what I do."

As he spoke, Lin Nan walked into the room and took out a magazine, *October*, flipping to a page. "Look, look, it's this book. We're filming the things in this book."

"Divine Wood?"

"Yes," Lin Nan replied.

Watching Watching Lao Lin flipped through it, stared at it for a long time, and felt touched.

He had graduated from junior high school back then, eventually joined the army, and self-studied some knowledge in the military.

"But the money is too much. A few thousand or ten thousand, I would agree..."

Lin Nan saw that his father was showing signs of loosening up, so he added more effort.

"My school teachers all know I'm filming this movie. I fought hard for this role. In the future, this will be an achievement. This movie is going to be sold abroad for money..."

Blah blah, Lin Nan gave another hour of blowing his own horn.

"Damn you, that's what your grandfather and I saved for decades. If you blow it all, what are we going to do for the rest of our lives?"

Under Lin Nan's repeated assurances and swearing, Watching Watching Lao Lin finally lost to his own son.

Ever since the kid turned sixteen, Watching Watching Lao Lin really felt he was getting old; his son seemed to have grown up all of a sudden and started to take charge.

The key was that he said he would get into university, and he did—a film school, which really gave the Lin family face.

When his son said he wanted one hundred thousand over the phone, he actually already knew the result, but he still wanted to oppose it in his mouth.

"You handle it. I'll go find those uncles of yours in these few days; the mine issue won't be a problem."

Having handled his old father, Lin Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dad, don't worry. If it doesn't work out, whatever you say in the future, I'll do..."

"Get lost, get lost."

Lin Nan stayed at home for one night, and the next day he got up and prepared to leave again.

"Dad, if there's news, call my school," Lin Nan said, getting on the train under his father's impatient gaze.

The train started, and Watching Watching Lao Lin walked back reluctantly.

Returning to school again, Lin Nan felt exhausted; taking the train was very draining.

"Li Dao, yes, the money here is ready. The venue can be decided in these two days. You can come to the school once the holiday is over..."

He communicated with the director; there were no surprises, but for safety, Lin Nan thought about having the teacher act as a witness when he came to school.

Lin Nan's class teacher had also graduated from the school a few years ago and was also at school during National Day.

Lin Nan simply told her about the matter, and after being confirmed repeatedly, the other party agreed.

"You're so determined, the teacher can't persuade you, but I still hope you consider it carefully. After all, that's so much money."

"I've thought it through. My dad knows, and the director isn't a fraud. When he comes to school to sign the contract, can you find someone to help me take a look?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, Lin Nan felt relieved and returned to the dorm.

At this time, a freshman investing in a film himself, especially an underground film, was very difficult to understand.

Lin Nan only knew this was a starting point. Although the director would be banned from directing for a few years later, it was all worth it, wasn't it?

This resume would make Lin Nan's future path more stable and go further.

The next day, Lin Nan was called to answer the phone. His old man was very fast; there were four abandoned mines, and he could choose any mine shaft.

Lin Nan knew it was those uncles back home who had put in the effort, and the Watching Watching Lao Lin family was one of the few wealthy families that had come out of the village.

The holiday passed quickly, and most of the time Lin Nan was on the train.

In the morning, accompanied by the teacher, Lin Nan and the director signed the contract. A teacher from another department in the school accompanied them to look at the contract, and there were no problems.

And Lin Nan's one hundred thousand would arrive within a week.

All the crew members were also about to set off for Lin Nan's hometown, and Lin Nan followed along.

"Teacher, thank you so much, but there's one more thing I need your accommodation for," Lin Nan said with a smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Asking for leave, right? Just one month. Come back early when you're done."

"I guarantee I won't delay."

Teacher Zhou waved her hand, letting Lin Nan go.

Unlike the neighbors, the Film Academy encouraged students to take acting jobs if they had them. After all, opportunities were scarce, and practice was part of teaching, and it accounted for a significant portion.

This was also beneficial for the students' future development and employment.

Northwest countryside.

Watching Watching Lao Lin helped Lin Nan pay the money and went back to the provincial capital. Making money was important; the family had been blown away by the little brat.

The crew set up tents not far from the abandoned mining area.

And the food and drink were all supplied by the village; the crew only needed to pay, and the prices were really cheap.

Just like that, the Watching Watching Lao Lin family in the village felt they had face, all thinking it was the film crew Lin Nan's father had brought in to take care of the village.

The crew inspected several mine shafts and, after comparison, found one that relatively met the script requirements and had higher safety.

"Lin Nan, come over here, let me tell you about the play."

Several leads and the director sat around in the tent.

"You are playing Yuan Fengming, about 16 years old in the play, a rural teenager, simple, innocent, studious, inexperienced in the world, with sincere feelings. This must be expressed..."

"Okay, I will definitely do my best and try to act well..."

Lin Nan held the script on the side, listening to the director talk about the play, including the roles of Song Jinming and Tang Zhaoyang.

This film was very real and detailed. The victim at the beginning was also surnamed Yuan, and Yuan Fengming's biological father lost contact after going out to work, hinting at the father-son relationship.

It's just that the ending was different; one eventually died, and the other eventually escaped death.

After reading the script, he compared it with the original novel he had read before.

This film was a good film, and the portrayal of human nature and reality was very profound. Sure enough, it was an award-winning film.

It's just that some of the colorful content inside made Lin Nan feel a bit guilty. In his memory, this was also one of the reasons why it couldn't be publicly released.

The most important reason was the criticism of social reality, which was too direct, and the film told it too realistically.

Reading the script took a day, and everyone's emotions were more or less integrated.

The props were all ready, and they could start the next day, filming the mine scenes first.

"Two teachers, please take care of me," Lin Nan greeted the two actors playing Tang Zhaoyang and Song Jinming. They had entered the industry a few years earlier; the former's original profession was a Peking Opera martial artist, and the latter was also a graduate of the Film Academy.

"Easy, easy, you're still my junior brother," both were very easygoing. ===== CHAPTER 3 =====

"Easy, easy, he's still my junior fellow student," both of them were quite easygoing.