Seeing Qian Wenqi's expression, Wang Xuan felt he had made his point. Only then did he withdraw his imposing aura and return to his gentle demeanor. He pulled open the drawer beside him, took out ten bundles of cash, and placed them on the desk before continuing, "Talk is cheap. Here's one hundred thousand dollars. Take it with you later. Ten thousand is your first month's salary; use the rest to find people for me. I'm paying your first month in advance. I'll give you five days to assemble a film crew. I want it ready by then."
Only after seeing the money on the table did Qian Wenqi realize that Wang Xuan kept his word. He let out a heavy sigh of relief. What he feared wasn't working for Wang Xuan, but finishing the job and not getting paid. If that happened, his entire family would have to starve.
Still, he felt rather uncertain. After all, he had no real filming experience yet. He had only shot a few adult films with practically no plot, and he was terrified that he would do a poor job, lose money, and anger this powerful figure.
Seeing that he wanted to speak, Wang Xuan gestured for him to go ahead. Qian Wenqi took a deep breath and said boldly, "Boss, I don't have much experience. I'm afraid I won't be able to shoot it well!"
"It's fine. Start with videotapes and build up some experience."
"Well..." Qian Wenqi hesitated. Shooting that kind of material was genuinely humiliating. How would he ever have the face to meet people afterward?
Wang Xuan saw his predicament and smiled. "I'm not making you put your name on it as the director. What's there to hesitate about? This is a nightclub, so we have plenty of actresses. You don't need to worry about that either. All right, it's settled. Call me if you run into trouble. Come see me with your team in five days. Go get to work!"
Qian Wenqi left with the money from the table, feeling a mixture of excitement and unease. Ten thousand in wages was indeed quite a lot, twice what he earned now. On top of that, the boss had promised him a percentage of the profits, and it didn't look like he was lying. Still... he was working for a gang boss, after all, and he couldn't help feeling insecure.
There was one good thing about gangs: many matters didn't require discussion. They could simply use coercion. As long as you didn't shortchange them financially, they would be grateful to you.
After all, what more could you expect from a gang? It was already good enough that they weren't threatening to beat or kill anyone. They weren't exactly good people.
Four days later, a team had been assembled. The thugs went out twice more. Qian Wenqi didn't know those two men well and felt he lacked the ability to hire them, so he simply told Wang Xuan about them. Wang Xuan used the same old trick and forcibly brought them back. After only a few glares, the two men "happily" agreed.
Over those four days, Zhu Libo had also gotten the company registered. The film company was called Starlight, and its address was set in a building near Tsim Sha Tsui. The location was somewhat remote, but the rent was cheap, so Wang Xuan immediately decided to lease two floors.
To celebrate the film company's establishment, Wang Xuan arranged for the entire team to spend a night enjoying themselves at Starlight. He assigned each person a beautiful woman for company. Two of them were Starlight's most popular hostesses and would also be the leading actresses in the future films.
At the same time, Wang Xuan settled on the films' theme.
To give the films depth and charm, and make them an instant hit, Wang Xuan also invited two screenwriters. They were the reporters who had previously collaborated with him on reports about the "police offensive and receptive" incident. He commissioned one story from each of them at five thousand dollars apiece, as a trial.
Wang Xuan even gave them some special pointers.
After listening to Wang Xuan's clear and accessible explanation, everyone on the team expressed sincere admiration for their boss. This was an innovative path, and it was bound to shine brilliantly.
Qian Wenqi also declared that, with the guidance of his leader, he could write a good script too. Of course, he wanted five thousand dollars as well.
None of that mattered. Once he had finished speaking, Wang Xuan left directly. Everyone felt too constrained with him around.
Ah Wai, who had been watching from the sidelines, developed a strong interest in the film company. Wang Xuan went along with his wishes and let him oversee things. The lecherous man then decided to personally take on the male lead.
The script was fairly simple and was finished in less than two days. After Wang Xuan made a few minor revisions, filming began immediately. They only needed to find a room in the building and make some simple modifications to turn it into a classroom, so the first film began shooting just three days after the company was established.
They didn't hold any grand opening ceremony. Wang Xuan felt embarrassed about making a big spectacle of it. However, he still went to the set in person for the first film, mainly because he wanted to see how the adult films people watched were actually made.
Qian Wenqi had, after all, shot several adult films before, so he was quite adept at productions that could be completed in a single setting.
Since everyone was a novice, they first ran through the scenes and the whole process before filming to save costs and avoid unnecessary problems that might waste film once shooting began.
Watching several fairly decent-looking thugs he had selected sitting in the classroom, while one of the club's hostesses stood on the podium in a uniform with a pointer in hand, Qian Wenqi explained to each of them the lines they would soon have to say.
When they actually began filming, however, there were still quite a few mistakes. Fortunately, this kind of film didn't demand high quality, so they could simply fix things during editing.
Under the camera, Wang Xuan was so amused that he nearly laughed himself to death.
Especially when he saw Ah Wai's body covered in rolls of fat.
Only then did he understand,
Just thinking about it was disgusting!
Before you continue