The thing he felt most guilty about was arranging for the group dormitory of the karaoke hostesses to be in a new house belonging to a high school classmate, and even having to lower the height of their courtyard wall.

This made him feel guilty for a long time. The reason he chose that place was because the visual relationship between the house and the road outside was very interesting.

There were only a few night scenes in the whole film, so basically after the daytime shooting schedule was done, everyone was free to do as they pleased in the evening.

Fenyang was a small place. The most fashionable girls were still wearing clothes that had been popular in Beijing five years ago; the most luxurious buildings here were houses with white ceramic tiles on the walls. There were quite a few vehicles, but rarely any with four wheels.

On the second night after arriving, Samuel Reed took Andrew Clark and the others to check out what was said to be Fenyang’s new economic growth spot: a small street a few hundred meters long, lined on both sides with rows of two-story buildings, with all sorts of names hanging above the doors that had nothing to do with this county town. For example, “Vienna,” “Night Jasmine”...

There were also some stylishly dressed girls, speaking with Sichuan or Northeastern accents, strutting along the street.

These scenes made everyone misunderstand, and they all glanced at Old Reed with a strange look.

Thinking to themselves, “You look so proper, but turns out you’re this sleazy!”

So after his explanations failed, Director Reed just let it go—do whatever you want, I’m not getting involved, no need to get myself into trouble.

Andrew Clark didn’t like to go out and play; he basically stayed in his room at night watching TV or chatting with Richard Morgan.

But in the past couple of days, he had become obsessed with a local dish—stir-fried tofu with shrimp paste. After having dinner with everyone, he would even go out to a small restaurant by himself to satisfy his craving.

Today’s shoot was very important, but who knew it would be overcast from the morning, and by noon, a light rain started to fall.

The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was annoying. Shooting was definitely out of the question, so Samuel Reed announced with a dark face that everyone would have the day off.

For this kind of low-budget film, every extra take meant more film used, and every extra day meant more money spent—they couldn’t afford the delay.

The rain lasted all day and only stopped by evening.

The air outside was damp, and in this kind of poorly equipped little inn, it was easy for things to get damp. Fortunately, Andrew Clark had anticipated this and got some quicklime from outside, distributing some to each room.

He felt the bedding—still okay, a bit cool, but at least dry enough to sleep on. He was relieved; in a place like this, there was no way to get a change of bedding.

“Qingzai, thanks to you, otherwise we’d definitely get sick.” Richard Morgan lay on the bed, chatting with Andrew Clark, clearly satisfied.

His Mandarin wasn’t standard, so after he spoke, Andrew Clark had to take a moment to understand before replying.

“I used to live in a mud-brick house, I’m used to it,” Andrew Clark said with a smile, flipping through the channels absentmindedly, finally stopping on a channel airing the TV drama “Justice Bao.”

This was his favorite show as a teenager, especially He Jiajin’s bright red costume—it was dazzling, and in his mind, always the model of a perfect hero.

Richard Morgan glanced over too and said, “Oh? ‘Justice Bao’? I like watching it too. This is the Taiwan version, but the Hong Kong version is good as well.”

Andrew Clark asked in surprise, “Hong Kong made a version of ‘Justice Bao’ too?”

Richard Morgan replied, “Of course, TVB—the wireless station—made one, and ATV made one too. I still prefer TVB’s; the actresses in it are all gorgeous!”

Andrew Clark was interested and asked, “Oh? Who’s in it?”

“Uh, Jin Chaoqun, He Jiajin, and also...”

Richard Morgan paused, then probed, “Do you know Zhou Huimin?”

“Of course, the goddess of pure beauty!”

“What about Chen Songling?”

“Yeah, I know her too.”

“And Guan Yonghe?”

“Of course, I like her shows the most!”

Damn!

Richard Morgan’s first reaction was that this guy was bragging.

It was understandable if he knew Zhou Huimin, since she was really famous, but knowing both Chen Songling and Guan Yonghe, who were just emerging as leading ladies, was a bit much. Besides, with how strict the mainland was about importing TV shows, where the hell did you get to know them?

If Andrew Clark knew what he was thinking, he’d definitely look down on him—where else would I know them from? Of course from “Cold Blood Warm Heart,” “Armed Reaction,” “The Legendary Siblings”!

I haven’t watched many movies, but when it comes to TV dramas, I know them all.

But honestly, he’d never heard of the Hong Kong version of “Justice Bao,” and it didn’t seem to have become popular later on either.

So the two of them launched into a heated discussion about the plot of the show.

Andrew Clark usually didn’t talk much, but when it came to his favorite TV dramas, he could go on and on. Back and forth, even if they sometimes couldn’t quite understand each other, it was all about the vibe.

Unknowingly, night had deepened.

In the middle of their conversation, suddenly there was a “knock knock knock” at the door.

Andrew Clark called out, “Who is it?”

“Me!”

Andrew Clark recognized Samuel Reed’s voice, slipped on his slippers, and ran to open the door.

He saw Samuel Reed standing at the door, holding a bottle of liquor in one hand and two plastic bags in the other.

“Old Reed, what’s up so late?” Andrew Clark asked bluntly. After spending some time together, all the guys had become pretty close.

“Nothing much, I couldn’t sleep and wanted to find someone to chat with. I was going to look for Steven Grant, but passing by your room, I heard voices inside, so I thought I’d knock and see,” said Samuel Reed.

“Where’s Mr. Cooper?” Andrew Clark asked.