[BL] R-O-A-M-S

Chapter 26 - New Owner

He didn’t think that today his casual question would actually yield an answer. Was the incident about to happen?

Que QiMing was also curious. He smiled and said, “Give us some hints Director Zhu so we can be happy as well ah.”

Zhu Kuan’s pudgy face was wrinkled from smiling so much. He said in a pleased manner, “It’s okay to tell you now. Things are already set and won’t change. So I’m no longer afraid it will affect your mood when filming.”

“Affect our mood?” Bai Lang’s heart leapt. He didn’t care about looking suspicious anymore and immediately asked, “Could it be that the funding ran into a problem?”

Surprise flashed through Zhu Kuan’s face. “Wow, that’s amazing. How did you guess straight away? Or is that you got wind of it before?”

Que QiMing was also shocked. He said with a grave expression, “If there’s a problem with funding then Director Zhu you really need to let us know the details carefully.”

Based on Que QiMing’s long experience, he knew that one of the primary problems that could arise with a movie funded/owned by industry outsiders was that the investment might dry up.

If the owner’s experience was not enough and the team did not cooperate well, then it was very easy to exceed the budget. Then the shortfall would have to be made up. At this time it would be difficult to find a new investor. After all, the movie had already been shot halfway and had already taken shape. It would be difficult to meet a new investor’s requirements to obtain their funding. And if the shortfall couldn’t be made up, then there was a high chance the entire production would wind up being cancelled.

Because Zhu Kuan had carefully planned and tried to save money throughout “Gold”, the situation should already be good. However, it was still Zhu Kuan’s first time filming a movie in China. It was his first time getting to know the location, logistics, equipment, pre and post editing requirements, etc. So of course there would be many unexpected costs.

Zhu Kuan saw these two people’s faces had changed and was a bit annoyed at himself. He smacked his own mouth. “Aiya, my wife always says that when I’m too smug I say the wrong thing. She’s not wrong.” He came closer and lowered his voice. “Don’t spread it outside, although everything is okay now, however I don’t want to affect other people’s mood when working.”

Bai Lang immediately said. “Of course we won’t. However is there anything we can help with? Director Zhu, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Zhu Kuan didn’t see the genuine panic Bai Lang felt and instead patted his chest and said in a reassuring manner. “Don’t worry, this is your first movie and it’s also mine. You and Old Que have also somehow managed to grasp and express many things that I wanted to show but don’t know how to say. It’s really like the Gods are on our side. No matter what, I will definitely complete this movie well….”

“Then exactly what is the situation that Director Zhu was talking about?” Bai Lang asked the follow up question immediatelyz

“Ai, it’s to do with Old Zhao. Old Zhao’s family has a few factories which are being managed by their relatives. During the new year that group of relatives, young and old, all didn’t go back to their hometown and couldn’t be contacted. After the new year when they went to check the company, they found that they had embezzled all the money from those factories and run away. A total of 4-5million. Some of them were prepaid fees for goods that hadn’t been delivered yet.  Old Zhao was troubled to death. And the elders in his family refused to allow him to notify the police. He had no choice but to move funds from the other factories but it really was a big problem getting the money around. So the old people in his family told him to cut us off first.”