Chapter 299: The Film Crew Sets Off

Mingri Group,
CEO’s Office.

Chen Mo listened to Luo Xiao’s report and nodded.

“Alright.”

Today, Luo Xiao had come to inform him that the cast had been finalized and the crew was ready to set off for filming that very afternoon.

Now that was good news!

The sooner they finished shooting, the sooner it would be over. Then they could move on to filming the next trashy movie.

“Is the filming budget enough? If not, I can add more. After all, filming is hard work. We have to make sure the crew and actors eat well, drink well, and live comfortably. Only then can we ensure a quality production, right?”

“How about this—I’ll add another 20 million to the budget.”

Chen Mo said seriously.

The reason for this sudden increase in funding was entirely due to the upcoming tournament hosted by the Sky Pavilion Game Club. Once the event kicked off, *Extreme Survival* was bound to see a surge in new players.

That, in turn, would mean increased revenue for the game.

Under that pressure, he ultimately decided to invest another 20 million into the film crew.

Another 20 million.

Luo Xiao’s mouth dropped open in surprise at President Chen’s words.

With the previous investments added in, the total budget for this movie had now reached a staggering 80 million.

But this 80 million wasn’t like the 80 million other film crews had.

In most productions, 40 to 50 million of the budget would go toward hiring big-name actors, leaving much less for actual filming.

But this was different. Of the 80 million here, at least 70 million would go directly into the production itself.

After all, they were using amateur actors, so the cost of talent was minimal.

Back during casting, many classmates had offered to act for free—just to have a role in the film.

But Luo Xiao hadn’t taken that route. He still selected the cast based on the script.

Since they were already working with amateurs, he had to be extra careful with casting. Otherwise, the film would be even harder to shoot.

He also had a pretty good idea why President Chen had suddenly decided to increase the investment. With a cast of amateurs, every scene would likely need to be shot multiple times.

That would naturally drive up production costs.

So the extra funding was probably to account for that.

It seemed he’d have to be meticulous during filming, to deliver a truly polished movie.

“Understood, President Chen.”

“Good. Then go get ready. I’ll personally see you off this afternoon.”

Chen Mo smiled at Luo Xiao. He was quite pleased with this talent he’d scouted from his hometown.

So far, the “trash film” plan was going very smoothly.

…

That afternoon,

Several vehicles were parked outside the building as the film crew prepared to depart.

Chen Mo came downstairs and saw Luo Xiao approaching with a group of young men and women.

“President Chen, these are the actors I found. They’re all from the Shanghai Drama Academy,” Luo Xiao introduced.

“This is President Chen, the CEO of Mingri Group.”

“Hello, President Chen!”

The students, who had yet to graduate, quickly greeted him upon hearing Luo Xiao’s introduction.

“Mm.”

Chen Mo nodded slightly, though he couldn’t help but wonder.

The Shanghai Drama Academy was a breeding ground for actors—many top talents had come from there.

When did Luo Xiao go all the way to Shanghai to recruit? And he hadn’t even mentioned it.

“Have any of you acted in TV shows or movies before?”

He asked, a bit uneasy as he looked at their youthful faces.

Jiang Xue and the others hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

“President Chen, we haven’t acted in any TV shows or movies yet. This is our first time, but we’ll give it our all.”

After speaking, they all looked nervously at President Chen.

First-timers, all of them!

Chen Mo let out a small sigh of relief. He realized he’d been too anxious. Sure, the Shanghai Drama Academy had produced many fine actors, but very few had become legends with their debut film.

He turned and glanced at Wang Bin, who was grinning like a fool with the rest of the crew. That reassured him even more.

With Wang Bin anchoring the cast, no matter how talented these students were, the film wasn’t going to turn out *too* good.

“Alright. Since it’s your first film, don’t be nervous. Just do your best and see how it goes.”

He smiled, then turned to Luo Xiao.

“These kids look promising. Take good care of them.”

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, you all should get going.”

“Yes, President Chen. We’ll be off then.”

Luo Xiao accepted the order and began directing the crew to board the vehicles. They were headed to the airport to catch a flight to Beijing, and from there, straight to the film studio.

They would shoot nearly two-thirds of the film at the studio, and the remaining third would be filmed on location elsewhere.

Watching the convoy pull away,

Chen Mo returned to his office in high spirits. In his eyes, that wasn’t just a departing film crew—it was 80 million yuan driving off.

Inside one of the cars,

Jiang Xue and Su Tang sat in the back, whispering to each other.

“The CEO of Mingri Group is really young.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t look much older than us. And he’s already running a whole company. That’s seriously impressive.”

“He must come from a wealthy family. Probably a rich second-generation heir.”

“And a handsome one at that. Tangtang, maybe you should make a move—see if you can become a CEO’s wife.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Su Tang shot Jiang Xue a glare, then glanced at the front seats. Seeing nothing unusual, she finally let out a breath of relief.

…

Mingri Group,
CEO’s Office.

Chen Mo looked over the revenue report for Nanhe Coffee that Shen Rou had just brought in.

It had been a while since Du Xiaoxiao’s video exposing Nanhe Coffee’s good deeds had gone viral, and the buzz had mostly died down.

He needed to check whether Nanhe Coffee’s revenue had started to return to normal.

He flipped through the report carefully.

When he reached the final page, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

All the specialty coffee shops showed a downward trend in revenue, indicating that their income was gradually decreasing.

Exactly as he had predicted.

Although the streamer did generate some buzz, and some fans chose to support Coffee Shop because of its public welfare efforts, the resulting purchases were mostly impulsive and unlikely to last.

After all, Nanhe Coffee’s prices are right there for everyone to see—many people simply can’t afford to drink Nanhe Coffee every day.

So as the hype died down and the impulse faded, those customers gradually returned to a more rational mindset.

That’s the real reason behind Nanhe Coffee’s drop in revenue.

Of course, this wave of attention did give Nanhe Coffee some recognition. While some people might not choose to drink it daily, they might still come by every few days or once in a while.

So he figured that even if Nanhe Coffee’s income declined, it wouldn’t fall back to its original level.