23 Let’s Shoot the Funeral Scene

"Fat Chow, have you forgotten again? The seven brothers of the Jinyu Troupe plus the two masters, all but one, ended up dead." Yuan Ge continues.

"That settles it. Old Dude, you get a few guys to move the coffin to the filming location, set it up, and then help Yuan Ge finish shooting the funeral scene first to save us from having to order the prop later. When we're done with it, I'll get someone to turn it into table tops."

Chow Mingrun slaps the lid of the coffin and the solid wood makes a lilting sound as he smiles in satisfaction. "My congee bar happens to be short of tables and chairs. This will work very nicely."

"Boss, there are still a few roles to cast. How can we shoot the scene when we haven't yet decided who is playing who? And do you have to be so stingy that we must use something so dubious as a prop? What if...what if it's really unclean..."

When Amélie hears what Chow Mingrun said she is one hundred percent sure that this is not a good idea.

"Just give it a good wash and it'll be as clean as a whistle! Why waste good money to buy a new coffin when you've got one right here that can do the trick." Chow Mingrun brushes aside Amélie's objections and, seeing the horrified look on the faces of the few newly signed actors around her, says reassuringly, "I think this coffin is of very good quality. It's definitely better than the stuff made by the props department. Besides, we don't even have a props department, so most of our props are bought from outside anyway. You can't get coffins that easily these days. Why not use it when it's readily available."

"You can get anything on Taobay!"

He Zicheng, or Stephen as everyone calls him, a newly signed actor, mutters under his breath. Although he is not from an acting college, as the president of the drama club of Qinghua University, he is both a college hunk and an academic overlord. Using Yuan Ge's words, he is a talent with star potential who was "honey-trapped" to Dragon Dreams by Amélie's alluring beauty during her school recruitment trip.

Chow Mingrun, however, rolls his eyes at Stephen, "Even if it did, a solid wooden coffin of that size would cost tens of thousands of RMB! Besides, can it be made quickly? Will it arrive today?"

"Bloody miser!"

Yuan Ge shakes his head and mutters his complaints through gritted teeth, but at the same time he knows very well that this is typical of Fat Chow's style – He is the largest shareholder and CEO of the DDP. He has worked in the film industry for decades before setting up his own company, but has suffered a lot of setbacks over the years in business dealings, getting the rough end of the stick most of the time, and has firmly developed a reputation in his circle as a "miser". Now that he has got his own filming company, he is determined to become more financially astute, save money wherever he can, and keep his budget as low as possible.

Yuan Ge knows that if he doesn't shoot this funeral scene today as Fat Chow wanted, he would definitely refuse to pay for another coffin when it is needed again in the future. The good thing is that the coffin is elegantly shaped, finely carved and made of exquisite materials, which is more than enough as a prop, but using such a high-class coffin on mere actors of Jinyu Troupe is a bit of overkill.

"Boss, it's fine to use it for filming, but turning it to tables and chairs? Oh, please! Just think about it, if word gets out that your Chow's Congee uses coffin boards as tables, you will have no customers in the future. We Cantonese are very particular about this."

Amélie doesn't want to make a big fuss of this dubious coffin, but still she thought Chow Mingrun was talking nonsense.

"If none of us say anything, who will know? Madame Producer, dear Miss Jiang, your ladyship needn't worry at all. I know a few good joiners; they can change it into tables in no time." Chow Mingrun replies without a care in the world, grinning wryly at her.

"People you know? I bet they can't be trusted!" Amélie laughs. She doesn't like Chow Mingrun's stinginess, but she loves the family atmosphere and camaraderie of DDP.

In the end, the crew uses a trailer to move the coffin to the filming location. Yuan Ge flips through the script, weighs his options and decides to shoot the scene where Jinyu Troupe sends off the big brother and the little brother first.