After saying these harsh words, Yin Fenghua left the set and did not reappear for the next few days. Everyone was very anxious, wondering if his threat to file a lawsuit for damages was for real or not.
However, Yuan Ge doesn't appear to be distressed. He calms everyone down and uses the last few days before Chinese New Year to continue filming other scenes, mainly because he doesn't want to lose morale by stopping work, and more importantly because the only way to find the mysterious "Rong Qiuchen'' again is for the crew to continue filming at the Rong Mansion. Yuan Ge makes up his mind that no matter what kind of trouble Yin Fenghua will cause, as long as the film "Qingqing'' is to continue, he will definitely replace the male lead! And the most suitable person for the role has to be that little porcelain-bumping loony boy!
After work that day, Yuan Ge receives a call from Chow Mingrun inviting the entire cast and crew to a hot pot dinner that night.
"What's going on?" Amélie looks incredulous, "I haven't seen Boss Chow for days. I guess he must have been burned out because of the Yin Fenghua business. I don't know how he wanted to handle the whole thing, but I didn't think he was in any mood to invite us to dinner even if he was not angry. But now, not only did he invite the whole cast and crew, but he chose that big, expensive "Dong Lai Chang" restaurant! Given how stingy he usually is, he should have ordered takeaway from his congee bar even if he wanted to treat us to a New Year dinner!"
"Fat Chow said that today is the last get-together before the New Year and we'll stop work tomorrow. Aren't you all going back home for the Spring Festival holiday?"
Seeing Yuan Ge's breezy attitude at Chow Mingrun's invitation, Du Jinghai couldn't help but worry, "You are too optimistic, I'm afraid. If you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if this meal is going to be a farewell dinner … "
"A farewell dinner?!"
Waylon, Stephen and Chestnut are all a bit dumbfounded when they hear What Du Jinghai said. They have only just signed their contracts and become actors; is Dragon Dreams going to close up shop so soon?
Each with their own worries, dozens of people step through the doors of Dong Lai Chang Hot Pot restaurant, one of the most famous traditional restaurants in Beijing, and fill the place up at once. Fortunately, Chow Mingrun has booked in advance, otherwise there would have been no chance to find an empty table at this time of day. After arranging for the general crew members to be seated downstairs, he pulled the company's key players directly upstairs to a large private room with two tables.
Du Jinghai looks at the situation and can't help but make a dejected face at everyone, which clearly means, "See, a farewell meal, just like I said."
"Come, come, come! Hurry up, all sit down please. You guys are really taking your time. I was getting hungry while waiting for you! Leaving me alone in a hot pot restaurant is so inhumane! It's torture to smell it but not be able to eat it!"
Surprisingly, Chow Mingrun is in high spirits. When he sees the crowd entering the room, he greets them, standing up to welcome them as if they are his precious clients. He puts his partners and main cast at one table and the lighting, props, make-up, set and editing crew at another.
"Fat Chow, what's the deal today? Instead of eating at your congee bar, you bring us here for an expensive hot-pot banquet. Do we have the budget for it?"
Noticing that Chow Mingrun is wearing a designer suit today - a rare occasion that he actually looks like a big boss, Du Jinghai becomes even more suspicious and can't wait to bring out the questions in his mind.
"Today is the farewell dinner. You have all worked so hard since the inception of our little start-up Dragon Dreams, but I haven't treated you all to an authentic Beijing hot pot experience. That won't do! Just look at how good the ingredients are at this restaurant! Tender five-month-old lamb! Look how good the knife work is …" says Chow Mingrun as he picks up a plate of thinly sliced lamb and stands the plate up on its side without the lamb falling apart, "Look at the way the lamb is stacked! Look at this traditional knife work! Look at how thin each slice is! "
The crowd doesn't care about the lamb, their attention is focused on the words "farewell dinner".
When Chow Mingrun sees that everyone is staring blankly, not looking excited at all, he is quite puzzled, "What's wrong with you all? The pot is boiling, waiting for the lamb to go in. Why don't you sit down and enjoy it?"
"Fat Chow, you said, uh, farewell dinner? …"
Chow Mingrun can't understand what Du Jinghai is talking about and replies, "That's right, it's a farewell dinner. It's only a few days before New Year's Eve, aren't you going back home to Anhui for the New Year? Amy is going back to Canton, Chestnut is going back to Hebei, and Waylon's home is in Dalian … I have a good memory. Only Stephen and Yuan Ge are local to Beijing and don't have to fight the Spring Festival travel rush[1], definitely the luckiest of us all. I've already booked a flight back to Xiaoshan the day after tomorrow. Alas! I have to be on time every year to spend New Year's Eve with my wife's family."
"So you don't mean to dissolve the company?" Du Jinghai asks uncertainly.
"Dissolve the company? Where did you get that idea!" Chow Mingrun has the waiter open beer, wine and various spirits and says with a big grin, "Dragon Dreams is going to soar from now on! We're on our way to becoming the top of show business!"
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[1] Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The travel season in China usually begins 15 days before New Year's Day and lasts for around 40 days. It has been called the largest annual human migration in the world.