24 To Congee or Not to Congee

"I thought we haven't decided on the actor for the little brother yet. How are we going to shoot this scene?"

Du Jinghai shakes his head at the last-minute change of shooting schedule.

"Big brother... Let Waylon play it, little brother..."

As the executive production director, Amélie has to do all the on and off-set producer's work during DDP's start-up phase as well as taking on the casting director's job. Such an impromptu arrangement today has caused a lot of trouble for her, making her have to juggle around things again.

She nods in agreement with Du Jinghai, and sighs, "What can you do when you have a stingy boss who insists on saving money on everything and an arty director who often wakes up from a dream and adds new roles without any warning."

She then turns her head to look at Waylon Song whose thick eyebrows, bright piercing eyes and righteous look does suit the role of the heroic elder brother of the Jinyu Troupe, despite the fact that he had failed the Imperial Film Academy's entrance exam. But to find a suitable little brother on such short notice …

"Amélie, I know what's troubling you. I thought about it, why not let Chestnut try out for the role? I think she has a boyish gallant look, so it might work surprisingly well for her to play a boy."

Amélie, reminded by Yuan Ge, thinks about it in her head. "Chestnut" Zhao Lizhi, the latest actress signed up by DDP, is a pure surprise – she was discovered by Yuan Ge and herself at a chestnut stall, only 19 years old, a working girl from the countryside who came to Beijing to try her luck and still carries the air of an innocent country girl, but she is simple and sincere, a sweet girl at heart. Although she has no acting training, she is hard-working and has a lot of potential. Who knows, she might become a major force in Dragon Dreams one day.

"Agreed! Let's go with your suggestion. Hey, Waylon and Stephen, where's your little sister Chestnut?"

"Ugh …" Before Waylon and Stephen could say anything, Chow Mingrun walks over with a sheepish smile, "Since there weren't any scenes for her to take part in today, I sent her over to the congee bar to help out. There were not enough people to serve the congee."

"How ridiculous! Chestnut is an actress we signed, not a working girl hired for your congee bar!" Amélie doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry, and hurriedly calls Chestnut to come back asap.

Luckily, Chow's Congee and the Rong Mansion are on adjacent streets, so it's only a quick ten-minute jog for Chestnut to get back. Amélie has the make-up artist create a special look for Chestnut. A slight change of the style makes her look surprisingly handsome. Everyone expresses admiration for Yuan Ge and Amélie's choice of candidate. The little brother of the Jinyu Troupe was very gifted and had the potential to be a superstar, but he was too young to be a master; moreover, he was weak in personality and secretly in love with his big brother. Ignoring the acting and just looking at Chestnut's appearance, she does exude a boyish charm. Such an inherently androgynous role was unexpectedly suitable for Chestnut to play.

"Amy …" Seeing Chestnut being made-up into the little brother look, Chow Mingrun dare not object to Yuan Ge's arrangement, instead gives Amélie a pleasing smile, saying, "It's all well and good for Chestnut to come back to play her part in this scene, but … but what about the congee bar? That's the financial backbone of the Dragon Dreams after all. How about … could I trouble you, Amy darling, to keep an eye on it for me, just for a little while?"

"Can't you see that I'm not dressed to serve congee!" Amélie points to her fancy suit and says in a fury, "I have to go and talk to Siensiendo about a sponsorship deal at two o'clock, and you want me to go to stir congee in this outfit? Do you think I haven't got enough on my plate already? Now you want me to be in charge of the congee production as well?! Oh please!"

"I've got it covered here. Anyway, I've been in showbiz long enough to know how to handle things on set when push comes to shove. You know, once upon a time I was a household name too! But I'm just a guy, not good at making congee, and if it's not done right, my wife will kill me for ruining the family brand. Amy, good girl, just do it for me this one time, will you please?" Chow Mingrun folds his palms together, looking pitifully at Amélie like a Chow Chow, "Pretty please, the congee will be ruined if it boils over..."

"Told you before to buy a fully automatic machine to make congee but you didn't want to spend the money!" Yuan Ge taunted from the side line.

"Do you want an industry-sized congee maker or a camera filler kit? Your choice. It's about the same price anyway." Chow Mingrun shoots back instantly.

That shuts up Yuan Ge instantly.

"Here we go again! Money! It always goes back to the same old problem! When will our poor little company escape its fate of being a subsidiary of a congee bar?"

"My lady, just be grateful. If it wasn't for the century-old congee bar in South Luogu Lane, would we be able to get an office address in such a prime location in the CBD? It's as awesome as getting an address on les Champs-Élysées in Paris, d'accord?"

Amélie doesn't care what Chow Mingrun had to say, "Yeah right, what's the difference between a manager of a luxury flagship shop on les Champs-Élysées and a congee-stirrer on South Luogu Lane!" Amélie lets out a helpless sigh, but she knows it would be useless to argue any more, so she leaves a number of instructions and makes some necessary arrangements, then sets off to Chow's Congee reluctantly in her red-soled high heels.