The next day, when he learned that Huang Lei had agreed to join the film and had already flown to Shanghai, Jiang Cheng completely relaxed.
Although he felt it was almost certain, there was still a fear of unexpected changes until the last moment. Now, Huang Lei had accepted, and all the actors had been confirmed.
After that, Jiang Cheng called Li Ruotong and asked her to come to Shanghai as soon as possible to participate in the film's shooting. Li Ruotong naturally agreed.
Immediately, Jiang Cheng called Zheng Hai and asked him to bring the crew to Shanghai as soon as possible. After all, all the actors were in Shanghai now. If they were asked to go to Shanghai again, it would be too troublesome and might cause dissatisfaction. However, this also made Jiang Cheng determined to move Apex Films Studio to Shanghai as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Zheng Hai had already prepared all the shooting equipment and props, and had rented a car from Wuhan to Shanghai. They were waiting for Jiang Cheng's order to come to Shanghai.
Two days later, Li Ruotong arrived in Shanghai, and Zheng Hai also brought the crew. The film [Immortal] officially started shooting.
The main scenes were set in a rented apartment, which was one of the two relatively large costs and expenses in this almost zero-budget film, the other being the cost of obtaining antique models.
The story of this film could be described as bizarre, but shooting it was not complicated. Although it was a last-minute CASE, it was not a problem at all for experienced actors like Li Ruotong, Sun Li, and Huang Lei. There weren't too many demands, just memorizing lines, so they hardly needed retakes.
Jiang Cheng and Hu Ge were also okay, as they had experience from shooting a TV series, and this production didn't require much acting skill, so they had no problems. However, Jiang Cheng also had to juggle the responsibilities of a director, which increased his workload, but with his experience from his previous life, he could handle it.
The real challenge was for Yuan Hong, Sun Xiao, and Han Xue, three complete newcomers. While they had talent, they had no experience performing in front of a camera. When it came to shooting, they realized they didn't even know basic positioning. Fortunately, the experienced actors on set were willing to help and teach them step by step, and the three newcomers quickly learned how to move in front of the camera without appearing awkward.
They all expressed heartfelt gratitude to the senior actors for their selfless help, and the senior actors praised their extraordinary talent.
Initially, when they learned that this somewhat experimental film had managed to bring in Li Ruotong, Huang Lei, and Sun Li, three senior actors, Hu Ge, Yuan Hong, Sun Xiao, and Han Xue were all nervous. Hu Ge was relatively fine, having previous experience working with big stars, but he did feel the pressure, which made him more focused. However, Yuan Hong and the others were extremely nervous, alternating between excitement and fear of not getting along with the senior actors or performing poorly in front of them. But this also made them realize that Jiang Cheng's film was not just for fun; it was serious!
As they felt that the senior actors were easy to work with and not exhibiting any superstar behavior, they all began to relax. The atmosphere on the set became quite good, and Jiang Cheng, seeing this, became even more confident in the film.
Before starting the shoot, they needed to do makeup. Since the script required most of the characters to look like they were in their late twenties or early thirties, Jiang Cheng and the others had to undergo makeup to make themselves look ten years older.
At this point, something surprising happened. They discovered that Jiang Cheng was quite knowledgeable about makeup! With just a few brief explanations from him, the makeup artists quickly understood what he wanted and made Hu Ge and the others look older. Jiang Cheng even took matters into his own hands, demonstrating his makeup skills, which were no worse than those of professional makeup artists!
This further enhanced the mysterious image of Jiang Cheng in the eyes of the others. Writing, screenwriting, acting, composing, singing, and now makeup – was there anything this guy couldn't do?
Li Ruotong, Huang Lei, and Sun Li completely let go of their worries and were impressed by Jiang Cheng's talent. They no longer had to worry about the experimental nature of the film and could focus on acting.
Their curiosity about Jiang Cheng as a person also grew, but it wasn't the right time to inquire. However, after the shooting was over, Jiang Cheng would undoubtedly have some explaining to do.
After a few rehearsals, Jiang Cheng didn't waste any time and immediately started shooting.
"Three, two, one, action!"
The camera lit up, and Jiang Cheng appeared on screen, seemingly packing his belongings. The room was filled with boxes of various sizes, as if he were moving. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Jiang Cheng got up to answer it. Outside the door stood a group of familiar colleagues.
"Hahah, why have you all turned up to my place!" Jiang Cheng said with a smile.
"You're leaving soon, and we've been colleagues for so many years. We felt we should come to see you off," Huang Lei said, looking around Jiang Cheng's small house. "Speaking of it, we've been colleagues for years, but none of us have been to your place!"
"Come in and have a seat. It's rare to have visitors here!" Jiang Cheng gestured for them to come in.
The seven of them entered the house, standing or sitting. Jiang Cheng poured tea for each of them and said with a smile, "I'm leaving soon, and I don't have anything special to offer you all. I hope you'll understand."
"No problem, are you... really leaving?" Han Xue asked, with a hint of reluctance on her face.
"Yes, I've almost packed everything, just a couple pieces left to be taken care of. I have no attachments here anymore. The car is coming tonight!" Jiang Cheng replied with a smile.
Yuan Hong looked puzzled and asked, "You're about to become the department head. You've worked hard for so many years, and you're just giving up?"
"Yeah!" "What a pity!"... The others added also trying to persuade Jiang Cheng to stay.
Jiang Cheng shrugged and said, "I call it 'reclusive illness.' Every once in a while, I get itchy feet. I've done this before."
Sun Xiao shook his head and said, "Is that even possible. How old are you? How could that be?"
Li Ruotong suddenly smiled and said, "In the past five years, his appearance hasn't changed much, every female instructor wants to know how he maintains himself!"
At this point, Huang Lei took a sip of tea and suddenly exclaimed, "Hmm, this is an aged Pu'er tea! This is excellent stuff; the taste is incredible. This tea, it must have been aging for at least fifty years! And you said you didn't have anything good to treat us with?!"
Everyone, after tasting the tea, soon realized that it was indeed different. This Pu'er tea was much richer in aroma compared to the ones available in the market. According to Huang Lei's explanation, Pu'er was known as a "drinkable antique" because it was one of the few teas that didn't deteriorate with age. A tea like this, with its age, was not common in the market, and its price could go up to thousands of yuan per gram. A pot of this tea was worth at least tens of thousands of yuan!
Hu Ge laughed and said, "It seems like you're living quite well and making quite a bit of money!"
Jiang Cheng also chuckled and said, "These were all gifts from friends in the past. If you have good things, you should share them with friends. These are nothing special to me."
"What about these pieces of furniture? Your place is filled with antiques!" Suddenly, Sun Li touched a sandalwood tea table and asked.
"Are all of these antiques?" Hu Ge looked at Sun Li in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that everything here was antique.
"Yes, my father is an expert in this field, and I've been exposed to it since I was young. I have some knowledge," Sun Li confidently said, "This tea table, for example, is definitely from before the Song Dynasty. It's not just the style, but also the material and everything else. And this bowl, it's a type of late Northern Song Dynasty production, one of the most prolific products of that period. Because this bowl resembles an inverted cap, people call it a 'cap bowl.' Isn't it extravagant?"
Everyone looked at Jiang Cheng, waiting to see how he would explain everything. Jiang Cheng shrugged and said, "Perhaps it's more logical to say that these are all fakes, but unfortunately, I have to tell you that these are all real!"
"How is that possible?" Li Ruotong asked.
"If these are real, then these antiques must be worth a lot of money!" Sun Li said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"For an ordinary person, it's difficult to obtain these things. But for me, it's straightforward. I have many more of these kinds of things," Jiang Cheng paused for a moment and looked at everyone. "There are some things I've never told anyone before, and I don't know what will happen if I reveal them. Do you still want to hear?"
"Tell us, what is it?"
"Go ahead, we want to hear!"
"It must be something very interesting!"...
"Alright, I'll tell you. Imagine if someone from ancient times lived to the present day, for example, from the Qin Dynasty, and lived for over two thousand years, through more than 20 centuries. What do you think?" Jiang Cheng said.
"Come on! That's impossible!" Hu Ge exclaimed.
"It's not impossible," Yuan Hong, who studied biology, suddenly said, "In fact, from a biological perspective, every one of us could live up to 190 years theoretically, but most of us die from chronic poisoning. The metabolism of all the cells in the human body takes seven days, but this process is not stable, and the accumulation of metabolic waste in the body eventually leads to organ failure. However, if someone had a special immune system that could perfectly detoxify and regenerate cells, then theoretically, they could live forever."
Li Ruotong smiled and said, "We can all certainly dream for that."
Jiang Cheng asked with a strange expression, "Is that really the case? Would you really want to live for over two thousand years?"
Huang Lei said, "Why not? If it means you can stay healthy and not age, and live forever!"
Sun Li also said, "What a great opportunity for learning! If someone has a thirst for knowledge, they can study to their heart's content. Their knowledge would be incredibly extensive. And this person could easily accumulate a large fortune because the everyday items they use would become antiques hundreds of years later..."
As Sun Li spoke, her voice grew quieter because this situation sounded too much like Jiang Cheng's behavior! The atmosphere became quite strange, and everyone looked at Jiang Cheng with a mix of shock and suspicion.
Jiang Cheng shrugged again and said, "So, for me, these antiques are nothing special!"
There were various doubts and questions about Jiang Cheng's statement, and everyone was intrigued.