Chapter Fifty-Two: Happiness Is Built on the Suffering of One’s Enemies

"So you're still trying to default on your debt," Jiang Wen said.
"Bullshit. I'm not withholding the money to welsh on it, I'm withholding it to buy his shop. I'm not paying him today, and I'm not paying him ever," Xu Ming replied.
Jiang Wen rubbed his stubbly hair. "Well, what do you know, we've got a regular rogue on our hands."
"To deal with a rogue, you have to use a rogue's methods," Xu Ming chuckled.
He had indeed watched *Let the Bullets Fly*, but from the other man's perspective, he was someone who had never read the script and knew nothing about the plot. Naturally, he couldn't follow Little Liu's tragic path; he had to follow his own heart.
"If struggle were really that simple, it would be fine. But some blood has to be shed to awaken the masses," Jiang Wen sighed.
It was unclear whether he was speaking to Xu Ming or muttering to himself.
In any case, Xu Ming didn't dare to take up that thread.
After a moment, Jiang Wen looked at Xu Ming. "I have two roles here. One is the person who frames someone else, and the other is the person who gets framed. Which one do you want to play?"
"No audition needed?" Xu Ming asked, puzzled.
Surely his fame wasn't great enough to make the director compromise to this extent, was it?
"Just now was the audition. You're an interesting guy, and I like acting with interesting people." Jiang Wen paused, then added with absolute confidence, "As for whether you can act it well, that's my problem to worry about."
Fine. Everyone knew you had a special knack for training actors.
I really should send you a certain untalented pop idol to try out...
"The latter one."
Xu Ming answered decisively. "I have a spine just as stiff as yours; I couldn't possibly play someone who frames innocent people."
Jiang Wen's eye twitched twice, and he briefly suspected that this punk was taking a dig at him.
Whether his own spine was stiff or not was debatable, but the flash of cleverness in the eyes of the kid sitting across from him clearly marked him as a sharp-witted operator.
"The latter one has a lot more screen time, though," Jiang Wen reminded him.
"My schedule is actually a bit tight anyway," Xu Ming replied with a smile.
The back-and-forth between the older and younger men left the bystanders breathless.
The screenwriter, Shu Ping, couldn't help laughing. "Old Jiang, you have to admit, if this kid didn't have such a youthful face, I'd say he could replace you as Zhang Muzhi. He's got an absolute bandit aura."
"Alright, since you've got such backbone, sign the contract and go take some makeup test photos," Jiang Wen said cheerfully, making his decision on the spot.
"Just like that?"
Now it was Xu Ming's turn to feel awkward. The pace was so fast it made him a bit nervous.
It felt like going on a blind date where, on the very first meeting, the woman drags you to the civil affairs bureau to get a marriage certificate, making it hard not to wonder if there was already a kid desperately looking for a father.
"What else? Did you expect a second and third round of interviews, followed by fierce competition among many candidates before a final decision?"
Jiang Wen raised the corner of his mouth and said domineeringly, "This is my movie. Whoever I like gets the part."
It was rare to be able to put this kid in his place. Ever since he walked into the room, he had been acting as if it were his own home—way too casual.
"Is that so? How come I heard that your project was originally supposed to be a one-man show?" Xu Ming asked with an innocent, clueless expression.
Things might indeed have been that way for Jiang Wen in the past, but now that he had invested his own money, compromising with the market was inevitable.
This guy had the exterior of a tough guy and the flexible demeanor of a soft one.
Back when he was caught by Granny Xiaoqing's ex-husband, that self-criticism letter he wrote was as neat as a pin; he knew how to bend and stretch when the crucial moment called for it.
On the other hand, his younger brother Jiang Wu looked honest and simple on the surface, but his mind was exceptionally steadfast.
He would later become the first actor in future generations to boldly promote Han culture on public platforms—just for that alone, he was a real man.
Jiang Wen's face darkened, and he waved a hand dismissively. "Superficial. Tweaking and revising a script is perfectly normal."
In reality, it was the investors who hoped Chow Yun-fat would star, which was why Huang Silang's role was expanded. During subsequent script revisions, Master Tang's role was also significantly increased.
Only then did the final film achieve its tripartite balance of power.
As for Jiang Wen's later claims that he hadn't known Chow Yun-fat's market value, that was pure nonsense.
Although Chow Yun-fat's box office record had suffered repeated failures, his fame in Asia was undeniably massive.
The point Xu Ming had previously attacked was merely the guy's inflated status and exorbitant salary.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. You're entirely right," Xu Ming nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Wen had initially thought the kid was worth molding, but the more he pondered it, the weirder it felt.
Stringing three "rights" together like that low-key sounded rather sarcastic.
Annoyed, he said, "Any other questions? If not, go sign the contract."
"I actually do have one."
Xu Ming didn't mind Jiang Wen's resigned look and continued, "The investor for this film is Emperor Motion Pictures. How did you end up thinking of me?"
The crucial point was that he also had conflicts with both the Hong Kong circle and Chow Yun-fat.
Which little genius came up with the brilliant idea of throwing all his enemies together in one place?
Weren't they afraid a brawl would break out on set?
Hearing this, Jiang Wen's expression turned odd, and he suddenly burst out laughing. "You didn't know?"
"Know what?" Xu Ming was baffled.
"China Film Group has also invested in this film, and Chairman Han recommended you to me," Jiang Wen said meaningfully.
China Film Group? Chairman Han?
A name flashed instantly through Xu Ming's mind.
All the confusion in his head dissolved in an instant.
No wonder a movie primarily invested by Emperor could let him audition.
No wonder the role of Little Liu, originally slated for Zhang Mo, was handed to him by Jiang Wen without hesitation.
Could Emperor ever be bigger than China Film Group?
Could Zhang Guoli ever be bigger than Han Sanping?
Recalling what his master had told him the other day, turbulent waves surged in Xu Ming's heart.
Fatherly love is truly as heavy as a mountain.
Whether Chairman Han acknowledged it or not, he was definitely going to cement his status as this adoptive son.
Are there any other adoptive fathers out there?
I can adopt ten of them!
"Understood. Then I must also thank Director Jiang for his appreciation," Xu Ming said.
Jiang Wen was quite pleased by this and chuckled, "If we're really talking about it, I should be the one thanking you."
"Huh?" Xu Ming was dumbfounded.
All he did was get Jiang Wu a perm—was it really that useful?
"Heh, thanks to you, one of our leading actors slashed his salary by a huge margin, saving us a massive chunk of the production budget." Whenever Jiang Wen brought this up, he couldn't close his mouth.
This sort of thing fell into the category of unexpected windfalls. Given Chow Yun-fat's original asking price—even if it were a friendship rate—it still would have consumed a major portion of the shooting budget.
Now that money was saved on the actors' salaries, it could be reinvested into filming and production.
Xu Ming turned his brain slightly and figured out why.
He rubbed his nose, never expecting that he could trigger such a butterfly effect. "You're enjoying the blessings, but I've completely offended those people. Aren't you worried a fight's going to break out on set?"
Still, he figured Chow Yun-fat's old bones probably couldn't take him in a real fight.
"Heh, why do you think Chairman Han recommended you to my crew?" Jiang Wen sneered.
His crew gathered filmmakers from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan precisely to let everyone know who the real master of this turf was.
It was also an open, upfront declaration of support for the current trend of setting things right.
Once Xu Ming figured this out, he cheered up as well—it turned out he now had top-tier golden armor protecting him.
He then asked, "So don't you have some other more tangible token of appreciation?"
"Get lost. Don't rush off after taking your photos; stay for dinner tonight."
Jiang Wen had finally figured it out: this kid was like a monkey, always climbing up the pole the moment it was handed to him.
"You got it."
Xu Ming chuckled and followed the assistant director to sign the contract.
The salary was unexpectedly high: one million.
"Teacher Xu, Director Jiang specifically instructed this as a bonus to thank you, but you'll have to keep it strictly under wraps. A lot of the supporting actors are performing for zero pay, and even Teacher Ge You only got five million," the assistant director said.
Damn, he really had wronged old Jiang; what a generous guy.
Xu Ming casually asked, "How much was Chow Yun-fat's salary cut?"
"Let's put it this way: it used to be calculated in US dollars, but now it's in RMB," the assistant director replied.
Xu Ming's mind cleared up entirely. His greatest joy in life was building his happiness upon the misery of his enemies.