"Huh? Two directors?" Qi Hui asked, looking puzzled.
In the distance, he spotted another person holding a director's viewfinder. It wasn't a bald man, but a middle-aged man in a jacket.
Zhang Ruoyun took a look and explained, "That's Director Chen."
"Our crew has two main directors, Director Chen and Director Du."
"Director Du is in charge of action sequences and fight choreography, while Director Chen handles war scenes and explosions."
Hearing this, Qi Hui understood, but his eyes rolled as he recalled some news he had seen in his past life.
The crew of *Snow Leopard* had apparently experienced an explosion accident that almost blew Wen Zhang to pieces.
After finding out, Wen Zhang's wife Ma Yili had rushed over in a fury and started chewing out the director and the prop master... or something like that.
Qi Hui scratched his head. He seemed to have seen it while scrolling through short videos in his past life, but he couldn't remember clearly.
When surfing the web, doesn't information just pass through the brain three times without leaving a trace?
Who remembers things that clearly?
Just as Qi Hui was deep in thought, Zhang Ruoyun's voice suddenly rang out:
"Director Du, are all the actors in place?"
Qi Hui looked up and found that he and Zhang Ruoyun had already reached the bald-headed Du Yuming.
Zhang Ruoyun continued, "This is my senior from the Class of '05, great acting skills and top-notch looks. Do you have any suitable roles for him?"
Qi Hui glared at Zhang Ruoyun. Why is this kid so damn stubborn?
Zhang Ruoyun turned a blind eye. *Are we guys the type to screw people over?*
Du Yuming stroked his bald head and looked at the two of them with amused 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, not to ask for a role, but to wash his hands of the matter.
If Little Zhang doesn't reach out his hand, nothing happens, everyone's happy.
If Little Zhang reaches out his hand, handle it however you see fit.
It has nothing to do with me, Old Zhang. Giving him a role or not is entirely up to you.
Don't ask me beforehand, and don't come looking for me afterward.
"Hello, Teacher Du, it's an honor to finally meet you," Qi Hui took the initiative to greet him, smiling cheerfully. "I grew up watching your work, and today is the first time I'm seeing you in person."
Things had reached this point, and Qi Hui knew he couldn't refuse Little Zhang anymore.
Fine, he would just go along with it and get a minor role.
Qi Hui didn't want any supporting roles; just a background extra or a bit part to coast through would do.
"Oh? This young man has a smooth tongue," Du Yuming said with a smile. Despite looking fierce, he was actually quite amiable.
Changing the subject, he asked, "Then tell me, which character of mine is your favorite?"
*Ding~*
[Host has made contact with director and actor Du Yuming. One lucky draw obtained. Would you like to draw now?]
Qi Hui's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately decided to draw.
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Martial Arts Choreography.]
This skill didn't seem particularly useful...
"Du Yuesheng," Qi Hui suppressed his inner speechlessness and answered without hesitation. "You were still very young back then, but you acted so well."
Actually, it was purely 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 anything.
Hearing this, Du Yuming was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, you've got an eye for this, kid! That was the very first movie I acted in."
Every bald person has a peculiar obsession with their hair follicles, and Du Yuming was no exception.
He, too, deeply missed the days when he had hair.
Taking advantage of his good mood, Qi Hui handed him a cigarette, politely lit it for him, and asked, "Teacher Du, are you still short of people for this scene?"
"Just give me a bit part or a background role. I've never played a major character, so I couldn't handle too much screen time."
The scene they were about to shoot was the war scene at the very beginning of the first episode of *Snow Leopard*.
It was the scene where Wen Zhang and the female lead, as students, braved a hail of bullets to deliver comfort packages to the 19th Route Army during the January 28th Incident.
Looking around, the extras were all uniformly dressed in blue-gray military uniforms and green flat-bottomed British helmets.
The costumes, makeup, and props were exceptionally well-made, identical to the historical 19th Route Army.
There were many familiar actors in this scene as well, such as Krupp from *My Chief and My Regiment*, anti-Japanese drama veteran Yu Zhen, and others.
Du Yuming cast an appreciative yet surprised glance at Qi Hui. Did a Beijing Film Academy university graduate have such low expectations?
This wasn't 2024, where college diplomas were worthless and bachelor's degrees were a dime a dozen.
College students in the 2000s still carried some genuine weight. For instance, civil engineering was still a heavily sought-after major back then, without the later stigma of being a career fit for no one.
Therefore, Du Yuming was somewhat surprised by Qi Hui's modest request.
He had expected this kid to refuse to act unless it was a major role.
At this thought, Du Yuming took a drag of his cigarette and nodded with satisfaction.
This kid knew how to conduct himself; he was much better than the arrogant and conceited Wen Zhang.
"Teacher Du, the crew's costumes and props are really well made," Qi Hui praised.
"Not bad," Du Yuming laughed heartily. "Costumes, makeup, and props are the foundation. Of course we have to take them seriously."
"Does Teacher Du know a little-known trivia fact?" Qi Hui smiled. "The 19th Route Army was the Cantonese Army, consisting of people from Guangdong."
Du Yuming laughed heartily, "Of course I know that."
It was mentioned in the actors' lines.
He was shooting this drama not just as a job, but also out of a desire to do his utmost to restore that tragic and heroic history so that future generations would remember it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to prepare such detailed costumes and props.
"And does Teacher Du know another piece of trivia?" Qi Hui continued. "The white-headed Spring Festival couplets of Guangdong."
Du Yuming looked surprised. "Oh? Is there a story behind that?"
Having hustled in Hong Kong in his early years, he had naturally seen white-headed couplets in Guangdong.
He had always assumed it was just a local custom, but hearing it put this way, it seemed to be related to the 19th Route Army?
Qi Hui explained, "When the January 28th Incident broke out, it was only 10 days away from the Spring Festival. The vanguard 19th Route Army resisted for 35 days and was almost completely wiped out."
"That Spring Festival, the elders of Guangdong spent it as if attending a funeral. Almost every household hung white mourning cloth. To commemorate the 19th Route Army, the tradition of white-headed Spring Festival couplets was born."
Hearing this, Du Yuming looked at him with newfound respect. "So that's how it was!"
Little Zhang wore an equally shocked expression. There was such a story? He had truly learned something new.
"What do you have in mind?" Du Yuming asked.
"How about changing all the lines of the 19th Route Army into Cantonese-accented Mandarin or actual Cantonese?" Qi Hui suggested. Historically, General Cai Tingkai had also used a mouthful of Cantonese to rally the soldiers and civilians to resist Japan and save the country.
Now, the preparation work for the shoot was already complete, waiting only for action.
To rewrite the script now would require too high a cost and wouldn't match the original screenplay, which was impossible.
The only way was to use this method to make the Cantonese Army more memorable.
Qi Hui still remembered Ma Dazhi from *My Chief and My Regiment*, who spoke with a Cantonese accent.
With just a few passing lines in the original novel of *Snow Leopard*, it was hard for people to associate the 19th Route Army with Guangdong; audiences would just hear it and let it slip right past them.
After all, information really does pass through the brain three times without leaving a trace.
"Hmm... I'll go discuss this with Old Chen," Du Yuming pondered for a moment, then said, "You come along too. I'll help secure a role for you shortly."
"Many thanks," Qi Hui smiled. At least he wouldn't be getting this role for nothing.
***
On the other side, Director Chen Haowei was inspecting the explosion points.
He was in charge of shooting the war scenes, and a series of explosions would follow shortly.
This kind of shoot had to be handled with extreme care, with safety as the top priority.
"Director Chen, when are we starting the shoot?" Tao Feifei walked over and asked.
"Oh... Feifei," Director Chen looked up and put down the detonator wire. "Pretty much ready."
His inspection work was basically finished.
Tao Feifei's eyes rolled as she pointed into the distance and asked curiously, "Hey, Director Chen, who is that person over there with Director Du?"
Director Chen glanced over and replied, "That's Zhang Ruoyun's university senior, a graduate from the Beijing Film Academy Class of '05."
"He's very close with Little Zhang and came by to visit the set today."
He had also received the text message from Producer Zhang earlier and knew Qi Hui's background.
Of course, the potential request for a role hadn't been mentioned since it hadn't happened yet.
Or perhaps it had happened, but since it was over on Old Du's side, it had nothing to do with him.
He didn't care for people who used backdoor connections; it left a very bad impression.
"I see," Tao Feifei gave a faint smile and turned away.
At first, she had been quite interested in Qi Hui—he was handsome, tall, and looked like he had plenty of strength, exactly her type.
She wasn't young anymore and needed to start preparing to settle down, so getting to know someone like him wouldn't be a bad idea.
However, upon hearing that he was a penniless university graduate, she lost most of her interest.
Their age and status were simply too far apart.
"Oh... I understand. Thank you, Teacher Tao," Wen Zhang nodded after hearing the information Tao Feifei had dug up.
It was pretty much what he had expected: that pretty boy was just someone planning to use backdoor connections.
However... judging by Director Chen's expression, he didn't seem very interested in that pretty boy either.
Wen Zhang rubbed his chin, watching from afar with growing doubt in his heart.
Could it be that Director Chen, just like him, couldn't stand people who relied on connections?
If that was the case, things would be much easier to handle... Wen Zhang's eyebrows twitched slightly.