Zhang Wenli was thirty-eight years old. Though her looks were ordinary, her temperament was exceptional—intellectual and elegant.
"Tiancheng!"
While Zhang Wenli looked intellectual and elegant, she had been gentle and virtuous in her youth. However, after studying at a university in the United States and living there for a time, she had met Zhang Kailin.
Having studied abroad in the US and lived in Hong Kong for so many years, her personality had changed somewhat; she lacked the reserve of people from Mainland China, and as soon as she saw Zhang Tiancheng, she gave him a tight hug.
"Auntie."
When Zhang Wenli released Zhang Tiancheng, Zhang Kailin and their daughter, Zhang Ying, walked over.
"Uncle, Cousin."
Zhang Kailin had a straight posture, regular features, and wore gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a scholarly and refined demeanor. In Zhang Tiancheng's view, his aunt had married above herself in terms of looks alone.
Like father, like daughter: Zhang Ying was only thirteen, but she was completely devoid of childish mischievousness and was very quiet.
"Cousin."
Zhang Ying's dark, rolling eyes gazed curiously at Zhang Tiancheng.
Zhang Tiancheng rarely came to Hong Kong; his last visit had been two years ago.
Zhang Ying also rarely went to the Mainland. Having not seen each other in two years, she could barely remember what Zhang Tiancheng looked like.
"Tiancheng, let's go, let's head home first," Zhang Kailin said warmly.
Zhang Kailin thoroughly detested Zhang Zenghua, generally avoiding contact whenever possible, but he was exceptionally fond of his nephew Zhang Tiancheng, who was well-read, polite, and thorough in his thinking—completely different from Zhang Zenghua.
In Zhang Zenghua's eyes, Zhang Kailin was just a poor wage earner. In reality, however, Zhang Kailin's net worth was far from low. Although the apartment he bought wasn't a detached house, it was located in a high-end residential complex and spanned over a thousand square feet, which could certainly be considered a luxury home in Hong Kong.
After arriving home and chatting for a bit, Zhang Kailin brought up the subject of making a movie.
"Tiancheng, have you prepared the script? Is there any issue with the investment?"
Zhang Tiancheng took the pre-written script out of his backpack and handed it to Zhang Kailin.
"Uncle, here is the script. As for the investment, my parents gave me seven million."
Zhang Kailin, who had just taken the script, was dumbfounded. He had assumed Zhang Tiancheng was just dabbling, spending a few hundred thousand on a low-budget film, especially since Zhang Tiancheng hadn't even graduated yet.
Yet seven million—currently, the exchange rate between the RMB and the Hong Kong dollar was roughly on par—seven million Hong Kong dollars could hardly be considered a small investment in the Hong Kong film industry. Zhang Zenghua and Li Yiling were certainly generous.
"Tiancheng, starting out with such a massive investment right off the bat, do you feel confident?"
While Zhang Tiancheng spoke quite tactfully, Zhang Wenli was much more direct.
"Tiancheng, you haven't even graduated yet, and you're investing seven million right out of the gate—make sure you don't lose it all.
Even though your parents have money, it shouldn't be spent like this. Listen to your aunt: your investment budget shouldn't exceed one million at most."
"Uncle, Auntie, this seven million won't all be spent; I'll definitely cut costs wherever possible.
I don't have any experience and don't know roughly how much the investment should be, so I brought a bit extra.
However, I've already decided: I'll direct and star in it myself. This project won't need many actors—just finding a few unknowns with passable acting skills will do.
The cost of actors isn't much; the main expenses are filming locations, crew members like cinematographers and costume designers, and shooting equipment. I'll need your help a lot on this front, Uncle."
As soon as Zhang Tiancheng finished speaking, Zhang Wenli's startled voice rang out.
"You're acting in it yourself?!"
"Yes, I studied performance at the Central Academy of Drama, and I'm confident I can do a good job."
"Tiancheng, even if your acting is fine, this is your first film! You have no experience, and you want to direct and star in it at the same time? Whether you can keep it all under control is a big question!"
Zhang Tiancheng turned his gaze to Zhang Kailin. "I've considered that as well. I just need to trouble Uncle to help me find an experienced assistant director. With an assistant director helping me keep things in check, I think it should be fine."
Zhang Wenli knew nothing about films, so she had no idea whether Zhang Tiancheng's plan would work.
Knowing that Zhang Kailin certainly would, she turned her head and asked him, "Will the method Tiancheng suggested work?"
Zhang Kailin thought for a moment and nodded slightly. "This method is viable. With an assistant director keeping things in check, Tiancheng will have a much easier time, and it can also minimize friction between Tiancheng and the crew."
A flash crossed Zhang Tiancheng's eyes, and he said, "Uncle, regarding the crew members, I'd appreciate your help. I'm still young and from the Mainland; if the people we hire aren't suitable, it might easily cause trouble."
Zhang Kailin hadn't expected Zhang Tiancheng to have thought of even this. He chuckled helplessly and said, "You've considered things very thoroughly indeed, Tiancheng. Don't worry about this part; I'll arrange for people from Edko Films. Out of respect for me, the people from the company won't cause any major issues.
Besides, I'll be the producer for your crew, and I'll manage the accounts. I guarantee they won't misappropriate your money."
Zhang Tiancheng breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
He had long since heard that when Hong Kong film crews worked in the Mainland, the staff would often gang up to embezzle money, leaving the production teams helpless and forced to swallow their losses in silence.
With Zhang Kailin managing the crew's accounts, no one would dare to embezzle anything. Zhang Kailin was a local in Hong Kong and a man of Edko Films; given Edko Films' influence in Hong Kong, anyone trying to steal money under his nose would simply be throwing away their career in the Hong Kong film industry.
"Tiancheng, let me take a look at your script first."
With that, Zhang Kailin opened *Lone Cop* and began reading.
"Tiancheng, you haven't even graduated yet—how did you think of coming out to make a movie?" Zhang Wenli asked curiously.
"The classes for the second semester of my junior year aren't very important, so I figured I'd come out and shoot a film first to gain some experience."
Zhang Wenli nodded approvingly. "That's true. They say you should make a name for yourself early. Even if this first movie fails, it will still build experience so you won't make the same mistakes when making films in the future."
"How are things at school? Have you found a girlfriend?"
"Things are just so-so at school. I got a girlfriend a year ago; she's also from the Central Academy of Drama, majoring in performance."
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After Zhang Wenli asked a few more questions about Zhang Tiancheng's situation over the past few years, Zhang Kailin finished reading the script.
"Not bad, Tiancheng. You didn't make the mistakes common to rookie directors; the script is simple and clear," Zhang Kailin praised.
Zhang Wenli's eyes widened in surprise. "A simple script is a good thing?"
Zhang Kailin nodded slightly and smiled. "Of course it's a good thing. Rookie directors should shoot simple scripts; if things get complicated, they won't be able to handle them well.
I've seen plenty of rookie directors who love trying to cram all their ideas into a film, only to end up with a messy hodgepodge of nothing."
Zhang Wenli thought about it, and that made sense—newcomers at her company always started out doing simple tasks.
Zhang Kailin rolled up the script and tapped it against his palm while pondering.
A few seconds later, Zhang Kailin spoke up: "Tiancheng, I've roughly calculated the costs for you. Although the film doesn't feature large-scale action sequences, it requires quite a few shooting locations: a police station, a shopping mall, a bathhouse, a basement, and car chase scenes. The total investment will likely be at least four million."
"That much?!" Zhang Wenli exclaimed.
"Four million is necessary; location expenses cannot be cut," Zhang Kailin nodded and said.
Zhang Wenli immediately looked at Zhang Tiancheng. "Tiancheng, why don't you revise the script, cut a few scenes, and keep the investment under control?"
"Auntie, four million is four million. As long as we can make the movie well, that's what matters."
Zhang Wenli wanted to keep persuading him, but as the words reached her lips, she remembered that Zhang Zenghua and Li Yiling each had a net worth of tens of millions; four million was nothing to them.
So, she stopped trying to persuade him.
Since Zhang Wenli had stopped, Zhang Kailin was even less likely to object.
Zhang Kailin handed the script back to Zhang Tiancheng. "Tomorrow I'll take you to Edko Films to arrange your crew.
As for the shooting equipment, we'll rent it from Edko Films.
As for the locations, once the crew is assembled, I'll have someone go look for them."
"Uncle, I don't know anything about these things, so just arrange whatever you see fit."
Zhang Kailin smiled and nodded. "Alright then. This afternoon, I'll take you to register a company. Only with a company in place can you properly sign contracts with the actors."
"Uncle, I've already registered a film company in the Mainland. Can I use the Mainland film company to sign contracts with the actors?" Zhang Tiancheng asked hurriedly.
Seeing that Zhang Tiancheng was somewhat nervous, Zhang Kailin felt a bit puzzled—what was there to be nervous about?
Yet the next second, a thought crossed his mind, and he understood immediately.