Chapter 41: Change Location

Before, Shen Hanzi came to the set, saying it was for work and visiting Shen Qingzhi.

Facts have proven that this "drop-in visit" probably contained a lot of polite and exaggerated elements.

Shen Hanzhi stayed on the set for a week. During this week, whenever she was free, she either had business with Gu Jinrong or Yu Kexin.

As for why Shen Qingzhi knew so clearly, it was naturally because they were sisters of the same heart, and even the people they wanted to chat with were highly identical.

Of course, Shen Qingzhi was definitely not dissatisfied because her chat partner was robbed.

She just felt that in just one week, there were so many mosquitoes downstairs, and so many hidden worries next door.

The day Shen Hanzhi left, she almost set off firecrackers to celebrate.

But it's not because she and her own sister didn't get along with each other, it's mainly because the filming location is going to be changed. Director Xue said the new filming location was like a hidden paradise, and just thinking about it was exciting.

The scenes at the Chengfeng Villa in the early stages of the movie were already completed. The plot progressed to a point where there was a change at the villa, and Cang Xingyun quietly set out alone to find the person the villa owner had mentioned as the key. On her journey, she once again encountered Feng Yasong, who was currently being pursued by a certain force. Interestingly, this had some connection to their previous encounter.

The two of them traveled together, and for a long stretch of the journey, it was through villages and forests. They quietly gathered information while struggling to survive in the wilderness.

Originally, the villages could have been created as set designs by the production team, but filming in the actual forest was necessary to make it more realistic.

It just so happened that there was a small village on the outskirts of H City, with a natural forest behind it. It was an excellent ready-made shooting location.

Shen Qingzhi used to want to experience rural life when she was younger, but various things always got in the way.

For this on-site shooting, she initially thought it would be a fully-funded vacation, and from the moment she boarded the plane, she was filled with hope and anticipation.

However, these hopes and dreams were shattered along the bumpy path of the eighteen twists and turns of the small tractor mountain road before they even reached their destination.

This village is relatively remote and has not yet been developed into a tourist attraction.

The advantage is that it is pure natural without artificial interference, and the disadvantage is that the transportation is not very convenient.

The location here is rugged, and the RVs and cars of the production crew are not allowed to drive in. They can only borrow local residents' transportation.

Shen Qingzhi sat in the back of a tractor, with Gu Jinrong beside her, and... two goats.

Her little head swayed with the tractor's ups and downs, almost giving her a headache.

"Urkh!"

She couldn't hold back any of it, she stuck out half of her head and retched, and now she finally understood why Gu Jinrong reminded her to eat less in the morning.

She retched for a while, but nothing came out, just making her feel uncomfortable with tears in her eyes. As she raised her head, she happened to lock eyes with one of the goats in the same vehicle.

"Meh~"

Shen Qingzhi: ...

On the other hand, Gu Jinrong who was on the side seemed to have adapted better. Although her body swayed slightly too, it seemed as if she was dancing to a tune.

Gu Jinrong gently patted Shen Qingzhi's back with one hand to comfort her and took out some sour plums from her bag, offering them to her.

Shen Qingzhi waved her hands, with tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes, "I don't want to eat sour plums, my stomach is sour enough, it's not morning sickness."

Hearing that she was still in the mood to joke, Gu Jinrong's tension eased a little. She patted Shen Qingzhi's head and comforted her, "We'll be there soon. If you feel uncomfortable, just nap and lean here for a while."

She patted her own shoulder as she spoke.

Shen Qingzhi tried her best to stabilize her body, not letting herself be tempted. Besides, with the lower body turned upside down like this, how could she take a nap?

The uncle driving the tractor in front heard the two of them talking and chatted in a mood.

"Little girl, I guess you haven't been to the village before, many mountain roads are like this. I heard that you will go into the forest later, and that area is even more difficult to walk in."

There were even tougher stretches ahead, and Shen Qingzhi's face had turned a bitter melon green by now, with Gu Jinrong trying to coax her.

"It's okay Qingqing, we don't need to ride a tractor when filming, it won't be this bumpy."

The uncle driving the tractor felt offended when his tractor was called bumpy. "What are you saying, little girl? This tractor of mine is the sturdiest in the whole village. It doesn't bump around."

If this is actually the most stable, Shen Qingzhi thought, the days ahead didn't seem very promising.

The tractor drove for another half an hour, and they finally arrived at their destination.

What Director Xue, had described as a hidden paradise, Shen Qingzhi currently felt more like it was just hidden, and she couldn't see the paradise yet.

Other crew members followed closely behind the leading actresses, and a series of equipment such as cameras and monitors were all pulled by tractors. This was an unusual sight, to say the least.

After Director Xue explained to the staff, she stepped forward to greet the two leading actresses, "How is it? I chose this place well, right?"

Shen Qingzhi saw that the other actors and staff were more or less disheveled, but she had to show a look of yearning.

She didn't want to lie, and she didn't want to be the only rebellious one, so she looked at Gu Jinrong, who had the most calm expression in the audience, and said, "Seeing how calm Senior Gu looks, it seems like she thinks it's quite nice."

Director Xue didn't seem to understand the implication of these words and said cheerfully: "Just get used to it, everyone just arrived today, so let's take a good rest for half a day. Someone will take you to your respective lodgings later."

The village was small, so there were no dedicated dormitory buildings like on the set. Looking around, there were only a few single-story houses.

Almost every house had a small fence in front, where chickens, ducks, and dogs were leisurely strolling around together, adding a touch of rustic charm.

Gu Jinrong and Shen Qingzhi's lodgings are more than ten meters apart, and they both have one bedroom and one living room.

Shen Qingzhi went into the room and took a look. It was made of bricks and tiles. Although the furniture was plain, it was clean and tidy.

There are also two pots of cacti on the window sill, which complement the chickens and ducks outside, adding a touch of wild charm.

Compared with the previous experience on the tractor, this place is indeed a paradise.

She walked out of the house in a good mood, and within two steps, she saw a village lady arguing with a film crew.

The village lady was speaking in the local dialect, speaking rapidly, and Shen Qingzhi couldn't make out what she was saying. It sounded like the crew member was doing a stand-up comedy routine all by herself.

"You need to have a sense of commitment. We had an agreement in place before."

"We are all here, now you're acting like this..."

"You should have some pity for me too, I'm just a part-time worker."

Shen Qingzhi only understood half of it, and when she turned around, she saw Li Qian, also eating melons nearby.

In line with the principle that eating melons in groups is better than eating melons alone, Shen Qingzhi raised her finger and pointed to the two people who were still arguing in front of her, "Go and find out what happened."

Li Qian was worried about not having enough melons to eat and was very satisfied with this temporary job. After a brief exchange, she returned with two more people beside her.

Shen Qingzhi: ...

I just asked you to find out the situation, not to bring the parties involved here for a live discussion.

The staff member was a young girl in her twenties, and she had just taken Shen Qingzhi to the new lodging.

Perhaps after arguing for a while, she was now sweating on her forehead. Faced with the confusion of the lead actress, she pointed at the local villager with a mixture of anger and helplessness.

"This aunt is the owner of this house. The production team signed an agreement with her family before and rented her family's house during the filming period. But she just said that her relatives are coming over, and they won't rent out the house anymore. How can that be?"

Seeing that other people were paying attention, the village aunt hurriedly complained, chattering a lot, and Shen Qingzhi was confused.

So she had to slow down her speech and restate the situation in poor Mandarin.

"Little girl, I promised to rent out this house before, but my sister's family will come back tomorrow. It's not easy for her to come here once. Besides, half of this house belongs to her. I can't make them go camping now. I can just give up on the rent for this house."

Shen Qingzhi understood that it was useless to talk to the locals about the spirit of the contract. The crew was in the right but not in a position to insist, so she asked the staff, "How many houses do the villager want to take back temporarily, and are there any other houses available for rent?"

"It would be great if there were other houses to rent. This is close to the center of the filming location, and there are not many houses. When the crew was planning room assignments before, it took a long time to plan. Besides, except for the lead actors who get their own rooms, the other actors and crew members have to share a room with three to five people. It's already quite crowded. Now, she's asking to take back two rooms in one go. What should we do..." The crew member was speaking and was on the verge of tears.

Shen Qingzhi thought for a moment, and then suggested: "Didn't the aunt say her sister's family is coming back, how about negotiating with her to let her take back only one room, and I'll give the one I have now? Let her sister's family squeeze a bit. We can still pay the original rent."

"But..." The crew hesitated.

"Okay, okay, as long as my sister's family has a place to stay when they come back, it's fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to explain it to her." The village aunt quickly agreed when she heard that her sister's living arrangements and rent were settled.

While one issue was resolved, the crew member still didn't look relaxed: Now, there was only one extra person, and they could probably fit, but Shen Qingzhi is, after all, the lead actress. It won't seem right to ask her to squeeze into a shared room.

Shen Qingzhi saw the staff's hesitation and took the initiative to solve the problem, "Relax, Gu... Senior Gu is in a room all by herself, right? I can go and share a room with her."

The staff was shocked: You really dare to mention it yourself, why don't you go and squeeze into a three-person room with the supporting actors?

But what shocked her even more was that the film's lead actress and producer, Gu Jinrong, appeared out of nowhere, and who knows how much of the conversation she had overheard. She nodded in approval.

"It's a good idea. We are outsiders, so try not to have conflict with the villagers."

Shen Qingzhi received praise and gave a triumphant hum, childishly tilting her chin.

Fortunately, the staff didn't have time to look at her at the moment, so she just said with a little panic: "Miss Gu, why are you here?"

"I came to help with moving the luggage."

With that, she left behind only an elegant and graceful silhouette.