Chapter 90: The Harmonious Duo
Mu Jingzhe tried her best to help Little Bei adapt. She pointed out the camera to her and taught her the theory of where to look at and so on.
Little Bei exclaimed, “Mommy, you’re amazing! You even know all that.”
Mu Jingzhe shook her head. She had done all sorts of jobs just to pay for her living expenses and tuition fees.
She had even gone to work in Beijing and Hengdian before. She had acted as an extra, and because she was strong, she’d even worked as a stunt double.
Hence, she wasn’t that unfamiliar with the production set.
In the evening, when the production crew members who were in charge of costumes and styling had time, they were prepared to help Little Bei try on the makeup so the director could have a look.
Mu Jingzhe helped out the entire time. Initially, the stylist was a little annoyed that Mu Jingzhe was following them around, as they were busy enough as it is.
But soon… her att.i.tude changed because Mu Jingzhe was very polite to her. Furthermore, she was quite impressive. She knew all the professional terms and she helped, doing an amazing job helping with the styling and makeup.
“Little Bei’s mom, you know so much. Have you learned this before?”
“More or less.” Mu Jingzhe didn’t deny it. “In the future, if you can’t manage by yourself, just let me know if you need anything. I’m here. I’ll help you.”
“That’s great.”
Now that she had built a good relations.h.i.+p with the people in charge of costumes, it would make everything easier.
In that era, many costumes were actually limited. If they were prepared according to the production crew’s instructions, the costume might not fit Little Bei perfectly, so she wouldn’t look so good in it. Besides, the clothes weren’t that clean.
If Mu Jingzhe wasn’t on good terms with the costume team, she would only watch helplessly as Little Bei put on the clothes a.s.signed to her, which weren’t even as pretty as her previous outfit.
Now that Mu Jingzhe had communicated with them, the things she had brought were put to good use. Little Bei’s appearance was enhanced, and she was even allowed to alter the clothes to fit Little Bei and even bring them back to wash them.
That night, Mu Jingzhe took the props and clothes back to wash them carefully. The next day, she altered the clothes so they fit Little Bei again. Little Bei looked clean and energetic in them, making the director feel very satisfied.
The preparations for the start of the filming process officially started. Considering that this was Little Bei’s first time acting, the first scene was not complicated. The director had wanted to rehea.r.s.e a few more times, but Little Bei was much better after two tries and could even accurately find the camera.
“Not bad, not bad. Let’s officially start shooting.”
Little Bei didn’t disappoint, and one take was all it took. The director was in a good mood and taught her seriously. Little Bei’s improvement was obvious.
The first day was a little b.u.mpy, but it went by smoothly. The next day, the difficult stuff surfaced. Little Bei had to film wire-flying[1] scenes.
It was unavoidable that little Nezha would fly around and fight.
“Little Bei, shout out if you’re in pain, understand?”
It was said that it was very tiring and painful to film a fight scene, especially when it required hanging from a wire. Even adults couldn’t take it, let alone children. Mu Jingzhe was very worried.
“It’s okay, Mommy. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
It hurt. It was really painful and uncomfortable.
However, knowing that she had to go through this, Little Bei wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t afraid of getting tired at all.
In just three days, compared to the other children, the sensible and capable Little Bei instantly earned the adoration of the entire production crew.
Mu Jingzhe wasn’t bad at socializing either. While taking care of Little Bei, she also helped some actors with their costumes and makeup.
These were things she was used to doing. The effect was excellent, and that helped improve her relations.h.i.+p with everyone.
The director even joked about giving her a salary.
The mother-and-daughter duo had a good relations.h.i.+p with the production crew and complemented each other.
Five days later, the filming process was completed. When they were about to leave, everyone was quite reluctant to part.
The director praised Little Bei quite a bit, especially about the fact that she could cry really well.
“She’s excellent in the crying scenes. This child cries on command. Not only does she look pretty crying, but she also makes the audience’s hearts ache. In the future, I’ll definitely look for her when I have a suitable role for her. If the opportunity arises, I’ll also recommend her for some shows.”
The director was very sincere.
Filming scenes involving animals and children was the most troublesome. Crying scenes involving children were even more troublesome. One had to ask the kid’s parents to help and tell them that their parents didn’t want them anymore. Only then would they cry.
There was no need to resort to this with Little Bei. She would cry on command, and in the exact way you asked her. Also, her tears felt genuine.
The director felt that this was talent, but he didn’t know that it wasn’t just talent. It was also because Little Bei had suffered through enough at a young age and had enough scars in her heart.
He only saw her looking blissful by Mu Jingzhe’s side, but he didn’t know that young Little Bei had scars in her heart.
Mu Jingzhe stroked Little Bei’s head, her heart aching for her. When Little Bei started crying during the filming process, she also started crying like a dog.
In the end, even when Little Bei stopped crying, her eyes were still red.
Little Bei would become a movie queen in the future. This felt very real to her now.
This child indeed knew how to act and was very good at influencing people’s emotions. The other people in the production team also cried upon seeing her acting. In the past two days, many more people had started giving Little Bei sweets. No one could bear to part with them when it was time to leave.
“Thank you, Director. Thank you so much.”
Mu Jingzhe knew how precious the director’s words were. They had just entered this industry, and she didn’t have any connections in this field. If the director could help put in a few words and recommend her, it would be an opportunity that many people would kill for.
Before leaving, Mu Jingzhe distributed the specialties sent by Shao Qiyang.
There were some hair ornaments, some small gifts for the female crew members, some walnuts, and some dried fruit.
The dried fruit had been made by Mu Jingzhe previously. There were many fruit trees planted in Great Eastern Village, and every family planted them. There were plums, peaches, apples, and plums, just to name a few.
However, no one could finish that much. Many of the fruits were left to rot just like that, and even if they were sold outside, they wouldn’t fetch much money.
Mu Jingzhe felt that it was a pity. In the end, she had tried making dried fruit, thinking that if she succeeded, she could sell these.
Although she was a little inexperienced, she still succeeded in making them.
There were very few snacks in this day and age, so these things were really suitable as gifts.
After everyone received the snacks, they all said that they would help if they could.
Regardless of whether it was genuine or not, some people must have taken it to heart. Maybe Little Bei had left a certain impression on them. This way, she would have more opportunities going forward.
Little Bei had been born for this line of work, and she liked it too. At the moment, there was a limit to what Mu Jingzhe could do. She could only try her best to do more so that Little Bei’s path would be smoother.
It was already afternoon when she brought Little Bei back to the county. Mu Jingzhe went to the art school first.
Xiao Wu was in piano cla.s.s, and Ji Buw.a.n.g was sitting beside him. In high spirits, the two of them improvised a duet.
When it ended, Xiao Wu and Ji Buw.a.n.g clapped happily.
After clapping, Xiao Wu looked at Ji Buw.a.n.g’s long fingers and then at his own. He secretly encouraged himself.
A bit longer. They could grow a bit longer.
“Don’t worry, they’ll grow longer. Your hands were born to play the piano.”
Xiao Wu was the one who interacted with Ji Buw.a.n.g the most. The two of them had hit it off. Ji Buw.a.n.g was in a jovial mood as he gazed at Xiao Wu. “Rest and eat some sweets.”
Ji Buw.a.n.g took a few pieces of soft candy out of his pocket. Xiao Wu reached out to take them, and so did Ji Buw.a.n.g, who was laughing. In the end, the two of them reached for the same one.
“Our taste is quite similar.” Ji Buw.a.n.g let Xiao Wu have it.
Ji Buw.a.n.g sat on the piano, while Xiao Wu sat on the chair. The two of them swayed their legs and squinted their eyes as they enjoyed their break.
When Mu Jingzhe arrived, they had just finished eating the candy and were continuing their practice. Even though there was quite a big age difference between the adult-and-child duo, there was no barrier in their communication. The two curly-haired guys—an adult and a child—looked harmonious sitting there together.
Mu Jingzhe couldn’t bear to disturb them.
[1] suspending an actor from high-tension wires to simulate the action of flying or falling