The efficiency of dispatching the police in H Town was particularly fast. Almost ten minutes after the crew called the police, the police arrived at the scene. But faster than the police were always the reporters who got the news from who knew where.
These people also knew to divide into two groups, one group swarmed the crew for an interview, and the other group followed the ambulance to the hospital. In order to hear the news of the wounded being saved or dying as soon as possible.
“Director Zhou, may I ask whether the explosion in the crew was man-made or accidental?”
“CEO Tao insists on calling the police, do you suspect that someone maliciously retaliated against the crew?”
“Mr. Zhang Mengcheng, I heard that the stuntman was helping you rehearse your position when the explosion happened. If it was filmed as normal, you should be the one who was injured. Was this explosion aimed at you?”
“Excuse me…..”
“Everyone, be quiet for a while.” Director Zhou Hong touched his scalp and said, signalling everyone to be quiet: “The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Whether it is an accident or man-made, it will take a police investigation to get the results. At that time, the crew will hold a press conference and explain it to everyone. Now please leave the set, so as not to affect the police handling the case.”
Zhou Hong and the rest of the crew managed to persuade the reporters to leave the film set. The accident site had been cordoned off by the police. After a demolitionist expert inspected the scene, it was judged that the accident was caused by man-made actions——someone had done some tamperings when arranging the bomb which was why it exploded ahead of time.
Now that the cause of the accident had been determined, the rest was much easier to handle. Because Tao Mu chose to call the police immediately, all the demolitionist of the pyrotechnic team stayed on the set and did not leave. Allowing the police to ask them to go back to cooperate with the investigation.
It was investigated that night that a demolitionist in the pyrotechnic team was instructed to make some trouble during the filming. But he explained that he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, he just wanted to scare the crew. It was Zhou Hong who changed the filming schedule, and moved the scene that should have been shot in the afternoon to the morning, therefore people were accidentally hurt.
However, when the police asked him to confess the one behind the scenes, the demolitionist who accepted the bribe couldn’t say a name. He only knew that the other party was bald, not tall, looked quite strong, and spoke with a Jinxi accent.
Jinxi? Wasn’t that former investor coal boss from Jinxi? Almost subconsciously, everyone connected these two together. But without conclusive evidence, the police could only find Boss Huang for routine questioning. Of course, Boss Huang did not admit that the explosion accident of the crew was related to him, and even gloated at the misfortune: “…That surnamed Tao is usually so arrogant, and there must be no less people who were offended by him. The way I see it, it must be some people who don’t like him who deliberately did this to scare him, but it ended up as an accident. The actor who was injured is really unlucky. The one behind the scenes didn’t dare to do anything to Tao Mu, so of course he would direct the attack on the small fries in the crew. As I see it, this whole thing might not be over just yet. If the actors who are still in the crew are smart, they should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, they might not have the life to spend the money they make.”
Of course, the police who recorded the statement could also see that Boss Huang was gloating at the misfortune and deliberately provoking anger. But it was not like they could stop him from talking like this. In the end, the police could only leave after recording a bunch of nonsense. As for the bald-headed man who the demolitionist revealed that spoke with a Jinxi accent, he had long since disappeared without a trace. The police in H Town did not have sufficient police force to track down the bald man, so they could only record the physical features of the suspect in detail according to the description of the demolitionist, and track him down slowly. As for the responsibility for this explosion accident, it was naturally fully placed on the demolitionist.
The case having progressed to here, everything was basically solved. But even Long Tianao and Miss Luo who came to visit the set were unwilling to accept this answer, let alone Tao Mu. The two got the physical characteristics of the suspect criminal from unknown channels, and then directly posted a reward online.
Of course, such a big movement could not escape the reporters outside the studio. The entertainment reporters who were always ready to report big news collectively climaxed. News or rumors related to the explosion instantly squeezed onto the headlines of major newspapers and weekly magazines. As the news spread, some gossip tabloids even compiled rumors that “Tao Mu was injured on the set due to an act of malicious revenge, and is now lying in the hospital, alive or dead unknown” to deceive sales. It was simply infuriating.
On the other side, the people around Boss Huang became a little flustered and panicked when they learned that the two major shareholders of Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment had posted a reward on FlyNews.com.
“Boss, they are making such a fuss online, would there be anyone…..”
“What are you afraid of?” Boss Huang disagreed: “They don’t even have a photo. Just based on these verbal descriptions, who the hell would know who they are looking for. You just tell Qiangzi to hide carefully at this juncture, and if the situation really goes bad, send him to Southeast Asia by boat to play for a few days. He can then come back when the limelight passes.”
Speaking of this, Boss Huang frowned fiercely and couldn’t help scolding: “…..Motherf**ker, can’t even handle such a trivial matter. He almost killed someone.”
He also didn’t expect the demolitionist to be so shoddy when doing things. He was kicked out of the crew by a little brat like Tao Mu so of course Boss Huang couldn’t bear it. He had been paying attention to the movement of the crew of “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” this whole time. Then he found out that Boss Wang didn’t invest in the crew at all, and that Tao Mu pulled in a young man who was not even a few years older than him instead. Apparently this newcomer was in finance. It seemed that the surname was Li or something.
But whether it was finance or the Internet, in the eyes of an industrialist like Boss Huang that was all synonymous with having no background. Because in China, people with real background were all engaged in industry or real estate. Because of such a mindset, Boss Huang didn’t even investigate Li Xiaoheng’s net worth and background——after all, a big boss with real wealth would not personally fly to a small town like H Town for the New Year because of a mere five million yuan investment. At the same time also put on the face of holding an inspection of the set. It was estimated that this person, like Tao Mu, was just lucky enough to make some money in the financial market and actually dared to run over to snatch his bread crumbs.
As for Boss Wang who had talked harshly to him on the phone, Boss Huang didn’t even have to think about it——he wouldn’t even make an investment of 5 million yuan. It was estimated that Boss Wang and Tao Mu were just perfunctory acquaintances.
Because of such a misunderstanding, Boss Huang directly determined that Tao Mu had no background. Since there was no background and no backing, it was natural to carry out his revenge. But concerned about Boss Wang, Boss Huang didn’t dare to go too far. He simply bribed the demolitionist from the crew and asked him to cause a few more accidents when setting up the explosion scene, so as to scare the crew. He would then take the opportunity to spread rumors, and scare the cast away. See how this little bastard planned to shoot his film without a crew.
But Boss Huang didn’t expect that the demolitionist he bribed was so useless. Not only did he fail to get things done, but he almost killed people. If this happened in his coal mine, this kind of idiot who did things without regard, he would definitely throw him into the mine to dig coal.
“Then what should we do now?” Boss Huang’s confidant asked. That demolitionist made such a huge mistake, should they still keep going?
“Aren’t you speaking nonsense? Everyone knows that I don’t get along with surnamed Tao, and I already made my declarations. Yet I didn’t do anything in the follow-up. Won’t they suspect me even more?” Boss Huang’s thinking was also amazing, he felt that when doing bad things one must do it frankly. That way people won’t associate him with the previous wave of bad incidents. His actions could only be considered as throwing stones while his enemy was already down, revenge on Tao Mu and the crew of “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood”.
Besides, Boss Huang felt that he cleaned up any trails left behind. Even if those people were suspicious, they couldn’t find any evidence.
Boss Huang had done this kind of thing many times, and he had never made a mistake. He didn’t care this time either, and was happily preparing to watch a good show where the little bastard hit a wall because the crew members went on strike and didn’t perform.
Damn him, he deserved it. Who asked a bastard like you to not keep your eyes peeled, offending me for a little girl!
Of course, Tao Mu didn’t know just how proudly Boss Huang thought of himself. He had to keep an eye on the police to investigate the truth of the accident, hire someone to take care of the stuntman who was accidentally injured in the blasting accident, and maintain the normal filming of the crew——
On the second day of the blasting accident, the stuntmen and extras hired by the crew went on strike one after another, insisting that the blasting accident of the crew was a deliberate act of revenge, and they dared not go to work normally, for fear of encountering the same end as the injured stuntman.
“CEO Tao, it’s not that we want to make trouble on purpose. You also understand us. Now the police have come to the conclusion that the blast was caused by man-made reasons. Although those demolitionists were all invited by the police for questioning. But none of us dare to guarantee that the person who wants to take revenge on the crew only bribed one demolitionist, what if he also bribed the props engineer, or other staff? If the crew has accidents one after another, it would not be auspicious, right?”
“Yeah! CEO Tao, don’t worry. It won’t be too late to start working again when everything has been investigated.”
“My ass!” Zhou Hong, who was already devastated by the blasting accident, became even more anxious when he heard this: “Waiting for the investigation to be clear? How clear do you want it to be? With such a big project in the works, the loss of one day’s work means a waste of hundreds of thousands of yuan. Can you take out this money?”
Everyone was silent for a while.
“Anyway, we quit.” After a long silence, someone said sheepishly: “We don’t make much money, and we have to risk our lives. Director Zhou, you are right, the crew is so big, it really can’t afford to be delayed. But our lives are more important.”
“I’ll double the wages.” Tao Mu pondered for a while, then said, “Everyone’s pay is doubled. This accident is indeed man-made, and we will pay more attention to filming safety in the future. If there is an accident, the crew will be responsible for everyone’s medical expenses and follow-up medical expenses. But I promise that such a thing will never happen again in the future. I hope everyone can tide over the difficulties with the crew. “
Some people instantly looked at each other in hesitance, tempted at the doubled wages. However, they had already received Boss Huang’s money, and they dared not do nothing——Boss Huang’s methods were much more ruthless than the approachable CEO Tao.
“Then what conditions do you want?” Tao Mu himself was an actor, and of course he was more observant. Looking at the exchanging looks of the leading group extras, he knew that someone might be playing tricks behind the scene so he probed subtly.
“CEO Tao, it’s really not about money.” The so-called greed for profit, with Boss Huang tampering behind the scene, and Tao Mu’s usually approachable and easy-going attitude in the crew, these people even dared to take advantage of the situation, and said greedily: “If you could increase all of our salaries tenfold, we’ll give in, and everyone will risk his life to help you finish this film.”
As soon as these words came out, some people immediately cheered.
“Yes, tenfold!”
“If you don’t give ten times the wages then we’ll quit!”
“That’s right. Everyone is putting his life at risk here, so you must pay us ten times the salary.”
“You guys are simply taking advantage of the situation!” Zhou Hong shook in anger, and the other main members of the crew were also very dissatisfied. One by one they all came over and tried to talk reason to these people.
“What? You people can get tens of thousands of yuan in salary for one episode. We are only paid fifty yuan a day for group extra performances, and 200 yuan a day for stunt performers. Now that something happened to the crew, we were all at risk. Can’t we even get a raise?”
“Yes, either raise the money or we’ll go on strike.”
“That’s right. Aren’t you afraid that you will lose hundreds of thousands a day if you don’t start work? Now let’s see if you want to lose hundreds of thousands a day, or give us a raise!”
“Hurry up and think about it! It won’t be just ten times the wages later.”
“Fifteen times…..twenty times…..”
Someone deliberately fanned the flames, and coupled with a large group of extras who were not high in IQ and only knew how to join in the fun, the large group of people raised the prices, and in just a while, the pay became even higher than the main actors.
It seemed that they really took Tao Mu as a pushover.
“Why are you doing this? Did Tao Mu mistreat you? Did the crew mistreat you? CEO Li visited the set and delivered takeaways, and even included your shares. At the beginning, you said that the crew’s treatment was very good, but now you turn your face and deny it?” Tao Mu’s Beijing Film classmates didn’t experience much, and when they saw this scene, they almost cried. They all felt injustice for Tao Mu.
However, this group of extras were originally instructed to come here to make trouble. They didn’t care what other people said at all.
“Brother Gou. Call Lawyer Zhou.” Tao Mu instructed expressionlessly, “Have Lawyer Zhou come over to file a lawsuit.”
He looked at the crowd of clamoring extras in front of him, and said calmly: “Group extras are not counted. The special actors and stunt performers signed contracts when they joined the crew. Either perform the contract or compensate for liquidated damages. You choose. “
Tao Mu had always been one to yield to soft approaches but rejected force. If someone dared to take advantage of the situation and rob him, then he would see if these people still have the ability to keep raising prices after he was done with them.
“Have the casting director remember the number of people. At this moment, those who are making a fuss about quitting the crew, write down their names. In the future, FlyNews.com will no longer recruit these people as group extras for movies and TV series invested by FlyNews.com.”
Long Tianao, who was watching from the side, immediately said, “Give me a copy of the list. In the future, the projects invested by Summer Star Entertainment will not need these people.”
Miss Luo was slower in taking the step and could only echo Long Tianao’s words,
As soon as the three of them said these words, the group of extras instantly exploded.
“Isn’t this bullying?”
“How can you be so unreasonable.”
“Damn it, I just know these guys don’t treat us like people. Come on guys, let’s beat them——”
Before he finished speaking, the person who spoke suddenly screamed. He was kicked three meters away by Gou Rixin.
“You all f**king give me a break!” Gou Rixin hadn’t returned to H Town for more than half a year, but he still had a lot of influence in the hearts of some old group extras in H Town.
Especially after Gou Rixin finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion outside the studio. It turned out that Da Luo had led Gou Rixin’s group of martial arts brothers and more than a 100 group extras over.
“Brother Gou, brother Mu, we aren’t late are we?” Da Luo hurriedly ran over with a grin: “I just got a call from brother Gou, so I contacted everyone. I called over all the group extras that could be recruited. Now, including the special and stunt performers, there are a total of 132 people. Some brothers are filming in other crews so they can’t come over today. If it’s not enough, we can call them to come over tomorrow.”
Anyway, the wages of group extras were calculated on a daily basis. Under normal circumstances, everyone would act in the same crew until the end of filming. But if there were special circumstances, quitting midway was also something that could not be avoided. Besides the crew wouldn’t care, anyway, group extras were like props, and no one cared about who they were.
“It’s enough for the time being. Thank you all.” Tao Mu walked in front of the crowd and said directly: “Thank you for coming to help. Not much to say, but for those who come today, the salary will be double the market price. Everyone will be paid later. Report all your names, in the future, when FlyNews.com, Summer Star Entertainment, and Longteng Entertainment film again and need group extras and special actors, we will give priority to everyone.”
As Tao Mu spoke he bowed deeply to Da Luo and the group of extras and martial arts brothers he brought. After getting up, he didn’t even spare a look to those group extras making trouble just now. He just directly said to Gou Rixin: “Tell them all to piss off!”
Tao Mu, who had always been heavily burdened by idol baggage, was so angry that he actually swore in public. While everyone was surprised, they also felt refreshed.
While the young students of Beijing Film might not see it, old fritters like Zhan Bin could see that these group extras were instructed by others to deliberately come to make trouble. The purpose was probably to keep the crew from filming. The crew of “The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood” just started filming a few days ago. Who could have such a deep hatred for them? Everyone didn’t even have to think too hard about it.
On the one hand, they were disgusted with the behavior of the coal boss, and on the other hand, they were also worried about the crew. But unexpectedly Tao Mu was so capable at such a young age. And Gou Rixin, who followed Tao Mu silently and looked like a very honest lad, was actually able to pull in more than 100 people without making a sound, including special actors, stunt performers and group actors…..He was practically more competent than the casting director in their crew.
Tao Mu was determined to kill the chickens to set an example, and directly asked Gou Rixin and the crew to kick all the group extras who had made the most commotion out of the crew. The rest of the group extras who followed their lead looked at each other in dismay. Some people left by themselves out of pride, and some people stayed due to concerns about future consequences.
Tao Mu didn’t say anything. Although he had the heart to kill chickens to set an example, he couldn’t kick everyone out. So as not to cause this group of people to unite against him under shared hatred, it would be more troublesome at that time. Might as well dismantle them from within. Except in order to teach these group actors and stunt performers a lesson, Tao Mu had the crew double the pay for the new group actors and purposely overlooked the old group actors.
As for the group extras who were not incited just now and were still honestly waiting for the crew to go back to work, they were delighted to find that their wages also increased.
Sweet jujube along with a hard hit from a stick, and the crew that had been flustered and panicked completely calmed down. Some people were happy, and some people felt regret. But it all mattered not to Tao Mu.
Tao Mu turned around and called Wang Ye’s father. He remembered that Wang Ye’s father once said that the small coal kiln of Boss Huang might not have proper procedures. He wanted to ask about the reporting process. As a result, he learned from Uncle Wang that it turned out that Li Xiaoheng had already asked him to do the reporting. Apparently Li Xiaoheng personally communicated with the Jinxi local government using his status as the Li family’s son.
It was estimated that this time, Weasel Huang wouldn’t be given a chance to escape at all.
Comment