Global Film Emperor

Chapter 115 "The Boxing King"

"Who are you looking for?"

"Lu Qiang, is he inside?"

On New Year's Eve, Lu Ze drove to a pawnshop in the county. Sitting behind the counter was a fat, burly man with a shaved head and wrinkles all over the back of his head. When he saw Lu Ze wearing sunglasses, he looked him up and down and then shook his head.

"I don't know you, you've got the wrong person."

“Your situation has nothing to do with me. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m his brother. It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m here to take him home.”

The man peered through the glass door and saw a Land Cruiser Prado parked in front of the entrance. He asked, "Is that Land Cruiser Prado your car?"

"mine."

"We don't have any offices here, so don't talk nonsense. Wait here, I'll go get him."

Ignoring the man's threat, Lu Ze found a seat and sat down. The man also ignored Lu Ze, stubbed out his cigarette, and turned to go inside to call Lu Qiang out.

About half a minute later, Lu Qiang came out of the room looking unhappy, wanting to see who was pretending to be his brother and who had come here to find him. But when he saw Lu Ze, he was dumbfounded.

"You came here to see me because you need something?"

"It's New Year's Eve, and your fourth uncle is still waiting for you to come home. Aren't you afraid that your fourth uncle will come looking for you at the fishpond if you hide here?"

"What's it to you? If you don't lend me money, how am I supposed to lease a fishpond? It's none of your business! Who do you think you are?"

Daqiang had completely fallen out with Lu Ze. He was glib and smooth-talking, but thin-skinned. It would be strange if someone like that could achieve great things. Lu Ze didn't care and just flicked his car keys.

"So you lost all your money? Remember Lu Qiang, I'm only doing this because I'm afraid your fourth uncle will be driven to his death by you. Otherwise, I wouldn't care if you live or die. This is the last time I'll help you. Get in the car, let's get the fishpond business settled today."

Lu Qiang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He really hadn't expected Lu Ze to help him, even if it was because of his father. Now, the depression he had been feeling for the past two weeks finally eased.

"You really want to lend me money?"

"Screw your nonsense! Get in the car!"

Lu Ze glanced at the fat man, watching the two Lu brothers make a fool of themselves without any concern. He seemed to have some skill.

Lu Ze pushed open the door, got into the car, and Lu Qiang quickly followed, sitting in the passenger seat. His disgusting smile was back on his face. Lu Ze really wanted to run him over right now, to make him a menace to the Lu family.

The car started and drove quickly toward the village, until Lu Ze suddenly stopped the car when he passed the village entrance.

"Why aren't you moving, Brother Ze? Your car is really spacious and comfortable."

"Stop talking nonsense, let me tell you, Lu Qiang, I can't lend you this money, but I'm afraid that if your fourth uncle finds out, he'll be furious with you, so I'll help you this time."

Fourth Uncle had done Lu Weiguo a great favor. When Lu Ze's grandfather died, the coffin was carried up the mountain step by step by Fourth Uncle and several relatives during a heavy snowfall. Even though their shoulders were rubbed raw, Fourth Uncle never complained.

When Lu Weiguo got into trouble, he gave him 40,000 yuan to save his life, but when it came time to pay it back, he didn’t ask for a penny of interest. How could Lu Ze not remember that?
He's getting old now, and his heart isn't doing well. He even had a heart attack a couple of years ago. If he knew Lu Qiang had gambled away his money, he'd be furious.

Lu Qiang was a little confused after hearing Lu Ze's words, feeling that there was a contradiction in what he said.

So, are you going to lend it to me or not?

“I really can’t lend you this money. What if you take it to gamble again? Do you think I’ll trust you? I’ll give you a way out: I’ll lease this fishpond. You can work there, and I’ll pay you 3,500 yuan a month. Whether you work there or not is your choice.”

Lu Qiang at least had some filial piety; after hesitating for a moment, he nodded in agreement. If he didn't agree, he really had no other choice.

"Remember, there won't be a next time."

After saying that, Lu Ze drove directly to the village committee. He had already made an appointment with Uncle Guo. It was infuriating that Uncle Guo didn't even know that Lu Qiang wanted to lease the fishpond. That bastard had just taken the money to gamble.

Driving home, Lu Ze simply tossed the contract into the car without paying any attention to it. He was really angry with his fourth uncle. If it weren't for his current inappropriate status, he would have beaten that bastard to death. Pushing open the door to get home, he arrived just in time for lunch. Since New Year's Eve dinner was always eaten at midnight, lunch was usually eaten around two or three in the afternoon.

Li Yumei fried some shrimp, then scooped one out and put it in her mouth. She lay on the bed and started looking at her phone, feeling much more relaxed.

I scrolled through my Weibo account, which I hadn't opened in a while, and suddenly felt energized. I went out and took a picture of the snowy mountains in the distance, added a "Happy New Year" caption, and then posted it.

Soon, people who were following the story replied to the message. It was Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng. The two of them still missed Lu Ze's house. Li Jianni even asked when they could go to Lu Ze's house to play again.

After replying, he felt a bit bored. It just so happened that dinner was being served at home. Lu Ze had been drinking with his family every day lately, and now he had gained some weight around his stomach. So, Lu Ze decided to quit drinking for the next few days, and he also needed to control his appetite.

After dinner, he took a nap. When he woke up again, the annual Spring Festival Gala had already started. Looking at these familiar hosts, Lu Ze wondered if he would also have the chance to appear on the Spring Festival Gala.

Singing is out of the question. If he were to lip-sync, Lu Ze would probably struggle to even match the lip movements. If he were to sing live, it's not that it would sound bad, but it would sound dry and lifeless, without any emotion. Who would want to listen to that?

However, he might be able to perform a skit or something similar, but he's not confident in his stage performance skills. This kind of performance is rather exaggerated, and he probably wouldn't be able to do it well without learning it for a while.

Looking at the time, it was already past eight o'clock. Lu Ze returned to his room and started making phone calls to his old and new friends from previous years.

I've met quite a few new people this year, and I estimate my phone bill could have cost twenty yuan. I'll prepare a glass of water for Lu Ze, and he can drink it whenever he's thirsty, just like a radio announcer.

Just after hanging up with Jiang Wenshu, the special agent from "Mr. Tree" called again. The two didn't have much to talk about, so the agent just gave a blessing and quickly hung up, not wanting to waste Lu Ze's time.

His phone was already hot. He finally found the contact list with the surname S. The first one was Shen Jinghan. He dialed the number directly, and it took a while for the call to be answered.

"Hello? Aunt Han, Happy New Year."

"Hello, just a moment, this is Shen Jinghan's daughter, Mom! Lu Ze is calling to wish you a Happy New Year, please answer the phone."

Lu Ze waited patiently, picked up his water glass and took a sip, until a familiar voice spoke from across the table: "Sorry, Ze, I was cooking just now."

"It's alright, Happy New Year, Aunt Han. Are you spending the New Year with your daughter this year?"

Lu Ze had some understanding of Shen Jinghan's family background, until she divorced her husband and her daughter seemed to be living with her father.

"Yes, that's right. We'll be celebrating the New Year together this year. Happy New Year! By the way, Aze, there's something I need to tell you. I had dinner with Director Liu Ying before the New Year, and he mentioned a new film project to me."

Lu Ze knew Liu Ying; after all, he had won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Director, so his talent was undeniable. He had just taken a break for a few years and hadn't made any films in a long time. If Lu Ze could get in touch with Liu Ying, he would naturally be very willing.

"Yes, Aunt Han, please continue."

"The new movie is an action movie, but Liu Ying told me that it will be very difficult to film, not because of the technical aspects, but because of the casting. It will require a lot of hard work, and he hasn't found any suitable candidates yet. Auditions will start in early March, and the movie will require pre-production training. After all, it's an action movie, so it has high requirements for physical fitness. The filming time is expected to be no less than nine months, and it may even take a year or more. Are you interested?"

Lu Ze thought for a while. He didn't think it was a big deal to spend a year making a movie. The film industry is not lacking in directors who spend several years honing their skills, but whether they can do it well is another question.

He believed in Liu Ying's abilities, and since "Mr. Tree" was nearing the end of its filming, as a hardworking person, he needed a new project to take over.

"Could you talk to Director Liu Ying and ask him to give me an audition slot?"

"That's no problem. He's also expanding his search for actors, so auditions are still easy to schedule."

"What about the name? Has the title been decided yet?"

"Yes, it's settled."

"what is it call?"

"Boxing champion".

I'm finally going to write about my first original film. I'm so happy.

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(End of this chapter)