Chapter 00107: Good Sister
# Good Sister
Chapter 107
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 107: Good Sister
"Zhang Tielin, you have one more scene to shoot. Wait for the notice!"
"Got it, got it!"
Zhang Tielin nodded repeatedly, feeling like he was covered in filth.
Although the horse dung was fake, it looked so real! He had been rolling around on the ground, crashing into tables, and using his back to take the brunt of the impact.
It hurt like hell.
Without even looking, he knew his body was covered in bruises.
"What a loss, what a loss! We all get paid the same, but he gets to play Xiangzi, while you get to eat horse dung. Where's the justice in that?" Xie Yuan added fuel to the fire.
"Get lost!"
Zhang Tielin glared at him.
"I feel like that guy has it out for me. He's doing this on purpose!"
"Chen Qi is a good guy. You're overthinking it!" Zhang Fengyi said firmly.
"Of course you'd say that! He recommended you to play Xiangzi. You didn't have to eat horse dung!"
After the shoot wrapped up for the day, the three of them bickered as they left.
Zhang Fengyi knew he had gotten the better end of the deal, so he didn't mind the teasing.
He had a great impression of Chen Qi, though he didn't know that the role of Xiangzi was always meant for him.
Chen Qi had just done him a favor.
...
It was already nighttime on the set.
Filming was taken very seriously these days.
Day scenes were shot during the day, and night scenes were shot at night.
There was no mixing them up.
If there were no night scenes, they would wrap up after the day's shoot and call it a day.
That's why the efficiency was so low.
When shooting night scenes, they rarely used artificial lighting.
Instead, they relied on candles and torches for illumination.
The advantage was that it looked authentic and had texture, but the downside was that everything was a bit hazy.
Half of the ancient street was lit by torches, casting flickering shadows on the stone-paved road and wooden buildings, evoking the remnants of an old dynasty.
They were about to film a scene where Yang Yuqian sneaks into the Duan Prince's Mansion at night, gets discovered, and a chase ensues on the rooftops.
This was Chen Qi's idea.
While they couldn't have characters flying through the air like in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, running a few steps on the walls, grabbing the eaves, and flipping onto the roof was relatively realistic.
As Chen Qi had said, they were trying to push the limits of contemporary martial arts films.
Most of the stunts could be performed by Jet Li, but some required the use of wires.
After what happened to Xiong Xinxin, Jet Li was nervous and kept asking, "Are you sure it's safe? Really safe? My life is in your hands!"
"We're the ones pulling the wires. What are you worried about? Just flip!" Wang Qun reassured him.
"Alright, let's start!"
Jet Li ran down the street, then suddenly leaped onto the wall, running a few steps along it.
For someone trained in martial arts, this wasn't too difficult.
It was similar to what parkour practitioners do today.
Next, he had to perform a flip upwards.
He wasn't confident, but he followed Yuen Woo-ping's instructions and jumped with all his might.
"Pull!"
Yu Chenghui and Yu Hai were in charge of pulling the wires.
It was a physically demanding job that required skill, and not just anyone could do it.
Jet Li soared like a graceful hawk, landing smoothly on the second floor of a tavern in one fluid motion.
"Perfect!"
Li Wenhua jumped up in excitement.
He was in charge of the dramatic scenes, while the action sequences were left to Yuen Woo-ping and Chen Qi.
But this groundbreaking shot, the first of its kind in mainland cinema, would definitely be recorded as a milestone.
"Beautiful! Great job, Jet!"
Yuen Woo-ping also cheered, growing fonder of the young man by the minute.
The biggest weakness of the Yuen Clan was the lack of a star.
If they could bring Jet Li to Hong Kong, they'd skyrocket in no time.
Yu Hai, Yu Chenghui, and the others gathered around Jet Li, patting his shoulders and encouraging him.
After Xiong Xinxin's accident, they no longer trusted the crew to handle the wires.
They insisted on doing it themselves and checking the equipment.
Yes, they were their own people.
They had naturally formed a tight-knit group and even considered Chen Qi one of their own.
This was exactly the effect Chen Qi wanted.
These dozen or so people would become his future martial arts team—heroes, villains, supporting roles, and behind-the-scenes assistants.
Everything was in place!
As for the dramatic actors, there were fewer of them: Gong Xue, Ge You, Liang Xiaosheng, and little Jiang Shan.
Perhaps Zhang Fengyi and his group could be added, but more talent still needed to be discovered.
And by "team," Chen Qi meant he was the boss.
After watching Jet Li's scene, Chen Qi walked to the outskirts of the set, where a few tables and chairs were set up behind a curtain.
It was a makeshift dressing room.
Gong Xue was sitting on a chair, patiently waiting for her turn.
She had a scene coming up.
"Are you tired?"
"Not at all. I'm wide awake. Did you succeed?"
"Yeah, it went really well!"
Seeing that no one was around, Chen Qi pulled out two scripts from his bag: Wrong Turn and The Descent.
"There's something I need your help with again. It's about drawing."
"Another script? Why do you always need drawings?"
"Without the drawings, I'm afraid they won't know how to shoot it! If the monster ends up looking like Doraemon, that would be a disaster! A horror movie needs to be scary!"
He sighed, feeling the weight of the leftist filmmakers' struggles.
Gong Xue took the scripts and flipped through them, frowning.
"Mutant deformed cannibals? Can't you write something normal? And even if you do, why do you have to ask me to draw them? I studied traditional Chinese painting, not mutant deformed cannibals!"
She was a bit annoyed.
She saw painting as an art form.
The first time, she had drawn for The Miracle Fighters as a way to repay his help, but she couldn't keep drawing these bizarre things.
"Because you're the only one who can help me!"
"You have so many friends. Can't you find someone else?"
"Honestly, you're the only one who's kind, gentle, and loyal enough to lend a hand."
Chen Qi crouched down, leaning forward like a puppy, and smiled.
"What do I have to do to convince you? Should I call you 'good sister'?"
"You!"
"Don't call me that!"
Gong Xue's face turned bright red, the blush spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
Fortunately, it was dark, so it wasn't too noticeable.
At the same time, a strange, tingling sensation crept up her spine to the back of her head.
She quickly suppressed the feeling.
It was too unsettling!
Huh?
Chen Qi, however, seemed to have discovered something new.
She had a strong reaction to that term.
Maybe he should use it more often.
The more he called her that, the closer they'd get.
"So, will you help me?"
"..."
Gong Xue pouted but eventually stuffed the scripts into her bag.
She suddenly realized that she couldn't resist his requests.
A while later, it was her turn to film, and she hurried to the front.
As Chen Qi watched Gong Xue and Jet Li perform their scene effortlessly, he suddenly remembered something.
Gong Xue had also contributed to The Miracle Fighters, and he had taken the entire 10,000-yuan fee for himself, leaving her with nothing.
"What a mess!"
He scratched his head.
Giving her money directly wouldn't be appropriate.
He'd find a chance to buy her some gifts to make up for it.
...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Xiong Xinxin, fresh out of the hospital, was showing off his leg techniques, launching a flurry of attacks at Jet Li.
Jet Li remained calm, using softness to overcome hardness.
After blocking a few strikes, he effortlessly threw Xiong Xinxin to the ground.
Xiong Xinxin flew backward, soaring two or three meters into the air before crashing into a specially designed wall.
He bounced off and rolled to the ground.
"Cut!"
"How is he? Is he okay?"
Li Wenhua rushed over, worried that another accident might occur.
"I'm fine! I'm not that unlucky to keep falling every time!"
Xiong Xinxin stood up quickly, stretching his arms and legs to show he was unharmed.
Li Wenhua breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Yuen Woo-ping, who gave a thumbs-up.
"Great, this scene is done!"
"We've passed the first level of the Seven Heroes Tower!"
The atmosphere was electric.
Xiong Xinxin's brief hospitalization had only brought the team closer together.
They felt like they were Yang Yuqian, climbing the tower—first level, second level, third level, all the way to the top!
"The morale is high!"
Chen Qi was also pleased.
He felt that with this momentum, they could definitely finish the movie in one go.
(End of chapter...)