Henry Clark nodded in agreement. “That’s true. Watching those anti-Japanese war dramas always feels like reading a fantasy novel. There are only a little over a hundred million Japanese, but in Hengdian, they get wiped out several times a year. Oh right, what’s this ‘speaking fee’ about?”

“The speaking fee is for when you’re picked on set to say a line. Sometimes the director needs an extra to exchange lines with the lead actor on the spot. It’s pretty normal.”

Henry Clark didn’t say anything and kept reading.

After the pay chart came the stunt performers. There are three types: temporary stunt performers, who basically get 100 yuan a day; peripheral stunt performers, who get about the same, maybe a bit more; and then there are the ones who get beaten up, earning 200 yuan a day.

After the stunt performers are the featured extras, also known as “special extras.” To qualify as a special extra, there are requirements: men must be at least 175cm tall, women at least 165cm, and you have to look decent. There are also different levels of special extras. The ordinary “small special” has no lines or just a few short lines, starting at 150 yuan per day for 12 hours of work.

A step up is the “medium special,” which pays between 300 and 500 yuan and comes with a few lines. Above that is the “big special,” which is basically 500 yuan a day or more. The higher-paying ones, like middle-aged or elderly people with special skills, can even get one or two thousand yuan a day. Of course, you need to speak good Mandarin and have a good appearance. For big specials, the pay is usually calculated by the number of episodes you appear in.

In addition, there’s another type of extra called a “crew-following actor.”

As the name suggests, a crew-following actor goes wherever the production crew goes, performing wherever needed. They usually earn two to three thousand yuan a month, with food and lodging covered by the crew, but they have to be on call at all times.

After reading the pay chart, Henry Clark had a clear idea of how much money you could make as a Hengdian drifter. It seemed that unless you made it to special extra status, working as a regular extra or group special all year round would only be enough to get by.

“As soon as I get the hang of things, I’ll go for special extra roles.”

Henry Clark made up his mind.

……

“Undercover Before Dawn” was a newly formed crew that had only been in Hengdian for three or four days, so nothing was running smoothly yet. The acting was still rough, and filming was stop-and-go. Henry Clark and the other Kuomintang members had only shot one scene, and then no one paid them any attention.

At first, Henry Clark was a bit reserved and didn’t dare wander around, since filming had already started and running around might make the director think he wasn’t professional.

But after waiting half the day, even past noon, he still didn’t see the director pay any attention to the extras.

Watching the other extras wandering around, some going off to play cards, others sleeping against the wall, and Simon King going to watch the card games, Henry Clark lost the motivation to keep up appearances. After all, no matter how much he tried to look the part, no one was watching.

He wasn’t interested in playing cards, and he was still too excited to sleep. So he just drifted toward wherever there was something going on.

“Hey, bro, give me a hand.” A staff member moving props spotted Henry Clark wandering around with nothing to do and called out to him.

Henry Clark saw that the staff member was trying to move an old-fashioned telegraph machine onto an Iveco van, but the machine was fixed to a table and too heavy for one person.

It was no trouble at all, so Henry Clark was happy to help.

Together, they counted “one, two, three” and lifted the telegraph machine onto the van. Then, since he was already helping, he also helped carry the rest of the props onto the van.

When they finished, the staff member let out a long sigh of relief, clapped his hands, and smiled at Henry Clark. “Thanks, bro.”

“No problem.” Henry Clark shook out his sleeves. “You’re done with all these props for today?”

“Yeah, we’re done for today… Hold on a sec.” The staff member hurried off and came back a few seconds later with two bottles of mineral water, tossing one to Henry Clark. “Have some water. We’ll be filming late tonight—won’t be done until two or three in the morning.”

Henry Clark was indeed a bit thirsty. He twisted open the bottle and took several big gulps, then leaned against the van and chatted with the staff member. “What’s your job in the crew?”

“Me? I run errands and do odd jobs, part of the props team. Nice to meet you, John Lane.”

“Henry Clark, extra.” Henry Clark asked curiously, “John Lane, is that your name? It sounds a bit unusual.”

“It is a bit unusual, doesn’t really sound like a Chinese name, right? But there are actually quite a few people with the surname Lao. You’re new here, aren’t you? You don’t look like a seasoned Hengdian drifter.” John Lane laughed.

“How can you tell?” Henry Clark asked.

“Old Hengdian drifters are all old hands. They’d rather sleep than help you with anything. If you want them to do something, you have to pay them—even saying a line costs money, let alone helping out. Only you newcomers are willing to lend a hand.”

“No way, it’s just a small favor. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Who says so? Most people won’t even help with a small favor, or even bother to put on a good show. Yet they still hope to make it big—life’s not that easy. Henry Clark, I’m a few years older than you, so I’ll just call you Little Henry. Are you here for fun, or do you really want to be an actor?”

“Of course I want to be an actor.”