Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen-Chapter 504 - 327: Anime Group, Heading South for Filming_3

Now he was so adept at filming music videos; what couldn’t he do?

Compared to him, I feel so useless!

"What’s the matter with you?" Chu Tian asked, noticing her mood.

Xu Qingqiu just pouted. "HMPH."

"Hmm? Are you upset?" Chu Tian pressed, genuinely puzzled. "Did I say something wrong? Or do something to offend you?"

Watching Chu Tian’s confused face, Yiyi, who had observed the entire exchange, was secretly snickering. She couldn’t say a word, though.

I can’t just tell Xu Qingqiu to her face that she’s sulking because she feels inferior to Chu Tian, can I? She’d kill me on the spot!

Truth be told, Yiyi was unusually perceptive this time. Or perhaps the durian Xu Qingqiu had promised her for that night was already working its magic?

Regardless, she kept quiet from beginning to end, letting Chu Tian try to figure it out himself.

Of course, Chu Tian didn’t figure it out. Fortunately, Xu Qingqiu wasn’t the type to throw unreasonable tantrums. She just had a small fit on the spot but was already over it before they even returned to the hotel.

After dinner, she explained the whole situation to Chu Tian, which made him laugh for a long time. In the end, he still succumbed to her ’devilish palms’; the price was a fresh purple bruise on his waist.

"The next stop is Yunnan Province, right?"

"Yes. The director found a very beautiful ancient village there, perfect for several music video scenes. Once we finish filming here, we’ll head there to shoot."

"What a coincidence! My company has a film crew working there right now. If we have enough time, I can take you for a look. Would you like to go?"

"Ah? Such a coincidence? Is it far from here?"

"Not far. The straight-line distance is about thirty-odd kilometers. By car, it’s roughly a hundred-odd kilometers, so just over an hour’s drive."

"That’s great! I’ve never seen a movie being filmed. What movie is it? Who’s in it?"

"Filming a movie isn’t much different from a TV drama. This one is the first part of the "Candle in the Tomb" series—the one I told you about before."

"The scenes being shot here include some initial and subsequent footage. There are two parts: one is a war scene, and the other is set in a forest. The director is Wei’s father, Director Wei Chuan."

"Ah? So this is the movie Director Wei Chuan is making? I heard you guys invested a lot of money in it?"

When it came to money, Chu Tian suddenly felt a pang. That was no small sum.

Originally, he had planned to spend around three to five hundred million. However, as the plans kept changing, money flowed like water.

Not only was the production itself aiming for perfection, but whenever feasible, physical sets were constructed. For many locations, like the interiors of ancient tombs, they hired professional carvers to etch out every detail.

And then there were the cultural relics. Using real ones was out of the question due to cost, but for the sake of authenticity, all of them were professionally replicated.

An expert could naturally tell they were fakes at a glance, but on film, they looked exactly like the real artifacts—the kind that tourists in a museum wouldn’t be able to distinguish.

Good quality naturally came with a hefty price tag. As a result, nearly two hundred million had been spent before principal photography had even truly begun.

The only good news was that these assets could be reused for the entire "Candle in the Tomb" IP production. Furthermore, some of the sets were built on leased land, which could later be developed for tourism or other projects.

But this was just the beginning. The major expenses, particularly for special effects, were still to come. Thinking about this made Chu Tian’s headache even worse. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Before the New Year, he had been boasting about having too much cash flow, claiming it was inexhaustible. Soon after the New Year, however, reality delivered a harsh blow.

There’s no such thing as inexhaustible money. No matter how much you earn, you can always find ways to spend it.