"Xiao Yu, wait for me a few minutes!"
Yuan Xiaoqin put down her cell phone and shouted to the employee from earlier, then rushed into the office.
"Lao Wu, Lao Wu!"
The 'Lao Wu' Yuan Xiaoqin called out was naturally Wu Chen's father, Wu Yangming.
"What's wrong? Didn't you just say you were calling Xiao Chen? Did something happen to him?"
Wu Yangming was still calculating the cost of leather materials he needed to buy that afternoon. Seeing Yuan Xiaoqin's anxious look, he immediately extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and stood up.
"It's nothing!" Yuan Xiaoqin quickly waved her hand.
"That's good!" Wu Yangming breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.
"Lao Wu, how much usable money do we still have on hand?"
"The two stalls in the shoe city have tied up over 100,000 yuan, saying that the Russian boss needs to re-inspect it. We only have about seventy or eighty thousand yuan left, which we still need to use to buy materials for the next batch of goods. What's wrong?"
"Just now, Xiao Chen said he'd come back a bit later for winter break. He's got a script, and he said he might need to spend some money to prepare for a movie during the holiday..."
Yuan Xiaoqin spoke with great pride, but then a hint of worry crept in.
"Lao Wu, we don't understand anything about movies, but I think it will definitely cost money. Although Xiao Chen said the school would help, the school isn't a charity. Whether they can give that much is another matter..."
What Yuan Xiaoqin said was crude but made sense. Wu Yangming, having been in business for many years, understood quite a bit.
"Hmm, no matter what, a man's pockets should still have some money, especially since Xiao Chen is going to make a movie now!" Wu Yangming nodded, then picked up the Hongshuangxi cigarettes from the table, about to light one, but Yuan Xiaoqin stopped him.
"Smoke less. Xiao Chen just said on the phone to tell you to smoke less, it's not good for your health."
Wu Yangming was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then put down the cigarette in his hand. A relieved smile appeared on his slightly wrinkled face. "Then I won't smoke for now. This kid is even starting to manage his old man."
Yuan Xiaoqin also smiled softly. How could she not understand the man she had lived with for over twenty years? She seemed to think of something else. "Don't we still have the money we saved for Xiao Chen's 'wife fund'? Why don't we give it to him early? If it's not enough, we can chase up the payments then."
"There's not much there. If I remember correctly, it's only a little over 50,000 yuan now, but let's transfer it first. I'm going to buy leather materials this afternoon and need to get money, so let's do it all together."
Wu Yangming put on his leather jacket directly, took out his car keys, put them in his pocket, and walked out of the office.
"You have Xiao Chen's card number, right?"
"Yes!"
"......"
......
Meanwhile, Mu Deyuan was in his office, carefully reading the script for "the dark side." He even took out a pencil and drew on a certain part of the manuscript, muttering to himself:
"This kid, his script is quite bold, isn't he afraid it won't pass censorship?"
"Hmm, this part probably needs to be toned down a bit..."
"......"
Just then, there was a loud "bang, bang, bang" at the door.
Mu Deyuan thought it was Wu Chen with the storyboard, and was about to speak, but instead, Wang Jinsong's voice came through.
"Lao Mu, are you in?"
"Come in!"
Mu Deyuan called out, and then the door was twisted open by Wang Jinsong.
"Oh, Lao Wang, what brings you here?" Mu Deyuan stood up, about to pour a cup of tea, but Wang Jinsong stopped him.
"No need for tea, I can only stay for a few minutes. I just need your help!"
"Hmm?"
"To borrow two students from your Photography Department. Our class is preparing for the final exam, right? We have a classic play revival, and we're planning to film it..."
"Is it 'thunderstorm' or 'Teahouse' this time?" Mu Deyuan asked, smiling in response.
The Performance Department's final exams were always the same: impromptu topic performances, stage play excerpts... How could he not guess?
"'thunderstorm.' The main purpose is to assess their character portrayal, line delivery, and teamwork."
"Hmm, how many days do you need them?"
"Three days in total. Two days of rehearsal are consecutive, and they also need to come help on the day of the formal performance."
"Alright!" Mu Deyuan was just thinking about who would be suitable when Wu Chen's voice rang out.
"Teacher Mu, I've brought the storyboard." Wu Chen and Pu Songri had just reached the door and found it was still open. They looked closely and saw Wang Jinsong was still inside.
"Teacher Wang!"
"Teacher Wang!"
The two quickly greeted him.
Wang Jinsong nodded slightly.
"Isn't this a coincidence, Lao Wang? What do you think of these two students of mine? Let them go."
"Hmm, they look like elites under your guidance."
Wang Jinsong was just talking nonsense at this point. After all, Wu Chen and Pu Songri were still freshmen, and Wang Jinsong was a teacher in the Performance Department; they didn't look like they knew each other at all.
"What year are you two in? Or are you first-year graduate students?"
Wang Jinsong asked with a smile. Typically, the Photography Department would send third-year, fourth-year, or first-year graduate students.
Before Wu Chen and Pu Songri could respond, Mu Deyuan spoke first, "They are still first-year freshmen."
This immediately surprised Wang Jinsong, but in front of Wu Chen and Pu Songri, he seemed to be deliberating on how to speak.
"Don't worry, Wu Chen's professional ability is no worse than that of the upperclassmen, even better. Leave the photography to him; there won't be any problems."
"Indeed, a famous teacher produces outstanding students!" Hearing Mu Deyuan say this, how could Wang Jinsong not be at ease? Even if he wasn't, he couldn't say it now, so he quickly added a sentence.
"Do you two have any problems?" Mu Deyuan looked at Wu Chen and Pu Songri and asked.
"I have no problem!"
"Me too!"
Seeing that both Wu Chen and Pu Songri agreed, Wang Jinsong then explained the time and some preparations before leaving.
"Let me see your storyboard."
Wu Chen handed it over when he heard this.
"Good, it's written very professionally. It seems you've put in a lot of hard work!" Mu Deyuan quickly flipped through a few pages and nodded slightly.
"This matter of yours will take some time. Even if the project is approved, the approval process will also take some time. Just wait for the news for now."
"Thank you, Teacher!" Wu Chen and Pu Songri were about to leave when Mu Deyuan seemed to remember something. "Oh, right, for those days Teacher Wang mentioned, whose classes are they?"
"It seems to be your class, and Teacher Li's and Teacher Xu's classes," Wu Chen replied after a moment of thought.
"Hmm, they should be in the office next door. You two go tell them, so they don't look for you during class." Mu Deyuan nodded, staring at Songri, "Songri, you still need to catch up on the lessons you miss because of the filming."
"Chen Ge, why? Why did Teacher Mu only mention me needing to catch up, and not you?" In the hallway, Pu Songri said with a bitter face.
"I thought it was a perk, but in the end, I still have to catch up on lessons..."
"Then are you going or not?"
"Of course I'm going! Why wouldn't I? I heard there are a lot of beauties in the Class of 2002 Performance Department..."
"......"