Using every ounce of strength he had, Ma Rongzhen managed not to lose composure on the spot. He swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "If Young Lu is willing to give me this opportunity, I will definitely play Yan Chixia well!"
Ma Rongzhen didn't beat his chest making grand vows, nor did he beam with excitement or smugness. Just two simple sentences displayed his confidence and determination to win the role, far more sincere than any fancy words.
Lu Chen could feel his confidence. This was the pride of a veteran actor. At this moment, this down-and-out old Hong Kong actor, who had been struggling for so long, finally revealed a trace of his former sharpness.
A sharpness that hardship and adversity had not yet completely worn away!
This was exactly the Yan Chixia that Lu Chen wanted.
Lu Chen nodded and smiled faintly. "Let's eat first. The dishes are getting cold."
This caught Ma Rongzhen completely off guard. It was as if he were a defendant waiting for the final verdict, only for the judge to suddenly announce a recess.
What a way to leave someone hanging!
To be honest, Ma Rongzhen had already summoned all of his courage and confidence just now. If he had to do it again, he might not perform any better.
Still, the delicious dishes at Shun Kee Restaurant soothed the bit of frustration in his heart. This old-established restaurant was famous for its masterful preparation of fresh seafood and was beloved by food connoisseurs across Hong Kong.
Back when he was still at the height of his fame, Ma Rongzhen used to visit Shun Kee Restaurant often.
But that had been at least ten years ago.
Ten years!
Tasting those familiar flavors again, the veteran actor nearly had the urge to burst into tears.
After several rounds of drinks and a satisfying meal, everyone had eaten their fill. The waiters cleared away the leftovers and replaced them with tea.
It was finally time to discuss the real matter at hand.
Chen Wenqiang got straight to the point and asked, "Brother Ma, what conditions do you have regarding your acting fee? Since Young Lu is here, we might as well discuss it face-to-face. If there are no disagreements, then this role is yours."
At this moment, Chen Wenqiang was essentially acting as Lu Chen's representative. As the boss, Lu Chen naturally wasn't going to personally haggle with Ma Rongzhen over salary, so Chen Wenqiang was the one handling negotiations.
Since Lu Chen was satisfied with Ma Rongzhen, things were easy enough from Chen Wenqiang's side.
Ma Rongzhen hesitated.
He had already thought about this issue on the way to Shun Kee Restaurant, and it was precisely the matter that gave him the biggest headache.
Back when his career was at its peak, his highest fee for a single production had reached two to three million. Compared to Hong Kong housing prices at the time, that would be equivalent to ten to twenty million today.
But the past was the past, and the present was the present. A true man does not dwell on past glories. Now, he had fallen to the point of scraping by as an extra or taking minor supporting roles, earning just enough to barely support his family.
Although Ma Rongzhen had long been divorced, he still had an elderly mother at home who was frail and often ill. He was a filial son, and most of the money he worked so hard to earn usually went toward taking care of her.
To him, the role of Yan Chixia was an opportunity to change his fate.
That was why the issue of acting fees left him deeply conflicted, he had no idea how much he should ask for.
If this were back in his glory days, he could have simply let his agent negotiate with Chen Wenqiang. Whatever the standard rate was, that would be it.
Well… better not mention that agent who had already been crushed into complete scum.
Chen Wenqiang was an old hand in the industry, so of course he understood Ma Rongzhen's dilemma. Smiling, he said, "Brother Ma, just name a figure directly. Of course, we can also wait until you hire an agent first and discuss it later."
"No, no need!"
Ma Rongzhen instinctively jumped up. Leaving aside whether he could even afford an agent now, hadn't he already been cheated badly enough by one before?
Grinding his teeth, Ma Rongzhen held up one hand and said, "Fifty thousand."
The moment he named that price, his heart was pounding with anxiety. He was afraid asking too much would cost him the opportunity, but asking too little would make people look down on him.
Actually, for such an important role, an acting fee of fifty thousand was already very low. But in Hong Kong, there were many low-budget productions where lead actors earning thirty to fifty thousand was perfectly normal.
Ma Rongzhen had used that as his benchmark.
These days, while working around Lion Rock Film City, he earned only two to three hundred a day as an extra. And it wasn't as if he got work every day either, his annual income only came to around fifty or sixty thousand.
Ma Rongzhen had no idea that the investment budget for A Chinese Ghost Story was 30 million.
Fifty thousand!
Lu Chen and Chen Wenqiang exchanged glances, while Wan Xiaoquan, sitting to the side, felt a pang of sympathy in his heart, just fifty thousand yuan!
After a moment's thought, Lu Chen said, "Alright. If the movie makes money after its release, I'll give Uncle Ma a big bonus red envelope later."
Since Ma Rongzhen had named fifty thousand as his price, even though the requested fee was absurdly low, there was no way Lu Chen could proactively raise the price himself. He could simply make up for it later with a bonus red envelope, which fit industry customs and avoided giving others something to gossip about.
"Thank you, thank you, Young Lu!"
A huge weight was finally lifted from Ma Rongzhen's heart, and his old face bloomed into a smile like a flower.
Lu Chen added, "Uncle Ma, I'll have Uncle Qiang advance you twenty thousand of the fifty thousand first. The remaining thirty thousand will be paid after filming is completed. What do you think?"
This was Lu Chen's thoughtfulness at work. Ma Rongzhen's situation was clearly dire, and filming a movie wasn't something finished in a day or two. He couldn't very well be left to survive on nothing during that period, could he?
Rather than making Ma Rongzhen awkwardly bring it up himself, Lu Chen chose to offer help openly, like delivering charcoal in snowy weather.
Ma Rongzhen was practically speechless. "Thank you, Young Lu."
Watching from the side, Chen Wenqiang was also deeply impressed. Lu Chen's way of handling people and situations was nothing like that of an inexperienced newcomer, it was remarkably seasoned and considerate.
Following him was definitely a path with limitless prospects!
Lu Chen smiled and said, "Then let's use tea in place of wine and toast in advance to a successful collaboration."
"Cheers!"
…
While Lu Chen was chatting and laughing away at Shun Kee Restaurant in Kowloon Tong, news about him was already spreading like wildfire on the Hong Kong Island Forum, becoming the focus of discussion among countless Hong Kong netizens.
A post titled "Has Anyone Heard This Song?", uploaded last night in the [Pop Music] section, had not even been online for 24 hours, yet its views had already exceeded 500,000+, with over 70,000 replies and comments, firmly occupying a top spot on the Hong Kong Island Forum homepage's trending list.
That afternoon, someone uploaded a scanned image in the [Pop Music] section.
The image content was none other than a report from page two of Bolo Daily.
The original poster connected this image with the video from the hot thread "Has Anyone Heard This Song?", instantly drawing another massive wave of clicks and comments.
"The appearance and outfit are exactly the same, it's definitely the same person!"
"Huh? Wasn't it said that Lu Chen is Chen Fei'er's boyfriend? Why is he mixed up with Shu Jing now?"
"Can someone tell me what exactly happened here?"
"Just here to watch the drama."
However, before long, someone posted Shu Jing's blog statement, which more or less dispelled the rumors surrounding the scandal.
But because of this, the thread, which had originally only been hugely popular within the [Pop Music] section, was reposted onto Hong Kong Island Blog, and someone even @-mentioned Shu Jing, causing its influence to expand further and further.
Even Lu Chen himself had not expected that, completely unintentionally, he had started becoming popular across Hong Kong's online sphere. More and more Hong Kong netizens were learning his name, along with his experiences and achievements.
But what truly ignited Hong Kong Island Blog was, nevertheless, a blog post that appeared at 9 PM that night!
(End of Chapter)
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