Chapter 468: Filming Frenzy at the Base

Early on the 13th, Xu Chen grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and took a taxi to today’s filming spot—the ‘Ancient Town’ area at Huairou Film Base.

Huairou Film Base is one of the most influential filming and set-building sites in China.

Its proximity to the heart of Beijing made it the favorite location for Beijing-based film companies in the 90s and 2000s.

Classics like ‘Big House Gate’, ‘Iron Teeth, Copper Teeth, Ji Xiaolan’, ‘Assembly’, and later hits such as ‘Legend of Zhen Huan’ and ‘The Legend of Miyue’ were all shot here.

Originally built in the 90s as ‘Feiteng Film City’, it had just undergone expansion and was now known as Huairou Film Base.

A assistant director from Baidu’s project team had already called Xu Chen in advance.

Following the directions, Xu Chen took a taxi to the grand archway entrance of Xingmei Jinsheng Film City.

As soon as he stepped out of the taxi, a young woman in work overalls with a walkie-talkie clipped to her chest approached.

“Are you Young Xu Chen?”

“I’m Xu Chen.”

“Hello, Young Xu Chen. I’m the assistant director Hu Jiahui who called you. Just call me Jiahui.”

The assistant director had slightly dark skin, looking like someone who spent a lot of time outdoors in the wind and sun.

“Teacher Sun Aimi is already on set, still preparing for the shoot…”

“Let’s head over.”

Hu Jiahui led Xu Chen through the main gate of the film city.

The guard glanced at Hu Jiahui’s work badge and let them pass without a hitch.

A sightseeing electric cart was waiting inside, and Xu Chen climbed aboard.

“Our shooting area is in ‘Ming and Qing Street’. We’ll be there soon.”

…

It was just a quick turn, and they entered the ‘Ming and Qing Street’ zone.

All around were replicas of Ming and Qing dynasty streets and alleys, like stepping back in time. They even spotted scenes from familiar movies and TV shows.

The path was quiet with few people around.

The film city normally charged admission and welcomed visitors, but perhaps due to the recent expansion, it wasn’t open to the public yet, so no tourists were in sight.

They passed one ancient courtyard where a crew was filming, but didn’t stop to see what it was or if any big stars were involved…

After a few twists and turns, they reached the Baidu project’s filming area.

The crew had set up four large tents in the rented space.

About a dozen actors were already made up and lounging by the ‘city wall’ props, waiting for their turn. Among them was an actor dressed as a ‘Westerner’ in a tailcoat.

“Tang Bohu” stood out too. When casting, they deliberately picked someone who resembled Stephen Chow in appearance.

For the dubbing later, they’d use Stephen Chow’s go-to voice actor, Shi Banyu.

This generation of netizens had lived through the golden age of Hong Kong films in the 90s, so they all had a soft spot and nostalgia for Stephen Chow.

Incorporating Stephen Chow’s Tang Bohu image into this ad was all about creating resonance and boosting its spread…

Inside one tent, five or six staff members were huddled together, working away.

From afar, Xu Chen spotted Sun Aimi holding the script and coordinating with the cinematographer.

In the midst of the group, a slim, tall girl with a walkie-talkie was directing things everywhere.

She turned and saw Hu Jiahui bringing Xu Chen over, then quickly set aside what she was doing and came out with a smile:

“Hello, Young Xu Chen. I’m Ba Yu.”

Director Ba Yu had her hair in a high ponytail, with high cheekbones and a prominent nose bridge, her skin a warm wheat tone, and long, almond-shaped eyes.

She wasn’t wearing makeup, but her features were naturally striking and attractive.

From their earlier phone meeting, Xu Chen knew she was of Han and Mongolian mixed heritage. Seeing her in person, the ethnic features were clear.

Xu Chen shook her hand:

“Hello, Director. I’m Xu Chen!”

Sun Aimi saw her boss arrive and quickly came over, looking eager.

Xu Chen exchanged a few simple greetings with Ba Yu and said:

“Director, you all get back to work. Don’t worry about me.

If you need any help, just let me know.”

Ba Yu gave a slightly apologetic smile but nodded and added:

“We’re just finalizing equipment and doing a walkthrough rehearsal. Shooting should start in about twenty minutes.

Young Xu Chen, if you see anything off, just tell Jiahui, and she’ll pass it along for us to fix right away.”

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“Don’t worry, I’ll speak up if I spot any issues.”

Ba Yu chuckled and turned to Hu Jiahui:

“Jiahui, take Young Xu Chen to the monitoring rest area. The client from the agency should be arriving soon.” …

The director went back to her tasks.

Sun Aimi greeted Xu Chen quickly and hurried off to continue working on the shot breakdowns and script.

Xu Chen couldn’t sit still, so he wandered around the bustling crew and even checked out the actors’ costumes.

This ad focused on creativity rather than polished visuals or elegance; its success hinged on the actors’ performances.

Xu Chen hadn’t been involved in the actor auditions, but he’d carefully reviewed the audition videos, especially for the leads like Tang Bohu and the Westerner—they were all picks he’d approved.

…

Before long, two sightseeing carts pulled up, and a group of seven or eight people stepped out.

Xu Chen spotted Baidu’s Zhao Ling and Miao Xiaoyu right away and knew this was the client team.

In the middle of the group, attended by Zhao Ling, was Li Yanhong’s wife and Baidu’s boss, Melissa Ma Dongmin.

Melissa Ma Dongmin was petite, dressed in a black suit, and led the pack with an commanding presence.

She really matched the online gossip—her face had a slight resemblance to Ma Yun from Hangcheng…

Xu Chen and Director Ba Yu went over to greet them warmly.

Zhao Ling jumped in with introductions:

“This is our Baidu Group Vice President, Melissa Ma.

This is Xu Chen from East Morning Star Advertising, and this is Director Ba Yu…”

Melissa Ma Dongmin smiled warmly and shook hands with Xu Chen and Ba Yu.

After a quick hello, she turned her attention to Xu Chen:

“Xu Chen… you’re so young!”

She looked genuinely surprised.

Xu Chen joked, “To serve an innovative internet company like Baidu, you need young, energetic ideas.”

It seemed like he was sidestepping, but it cleverly addressed any doubts about his age.

Melissa Ma Dongmin paused for a second, then laughed heartily.

Xu Chen’s smooth response left a great first impression on her.

Melissa Ma Dongmin’s phone buzzed briefly.

She glanced back and said:

“Melissa, Zhao, Xu Chen, we’re about to start shooting.

You three can head to the monitoring rest area.

There’ll be two assistant directors there to handle any feedback.”

Zhao Ling: “Go ahead with your work, Ba Yu.”

Ba Yu nodded and hurried off.

…

The filming area was buzzing with preparations, and Xu Chen accompanied the Baidu executives to the rest zone.

Xu Chen thought about making small talk with Baidu’s boss to build rapport, but he could tell Melissa was all business and not one for chit-chat.

So, he skipped the formalities and naturally went over the key points of today’s shoot.

He didn’t dive into the nitty-gritty of the filming process or plans—after all, as vice president and the boss’s wife, Melissa wouldn’t care about those details.

Instead, Xu Chen focused on the strategic side of the ad.

Like why they chose this creative approach, the symbolism of Tang Bohu and the Westerner characters, and how they cleverly wove in Baidu’s key selling points.

Since he hadn’t pitched this directly to Melissa before, it was a good chance to align on the strategy.

The background strategy was complex, but Xu Chen kept it straightforward, hitting the main points in just a couple of sentences.

Melissa listened intently without interrupting.

Once Xu Chen finished, she closed the script and said:

“Excellent!”

She glanced at Zhao Ling behind her, exchanging a look that seemed to convey something.

Xu Chen just smiled, not quite sure what it meant.

Melissa cleared her throat and turned to Zhao Ling:

“Did you catch what Xu Chen just said?

If Robin has any questions, you repeat everything Xu Chen said word for word!

He’s always buried in tech—he doesn’t get markets or promotions?!

If we go with his plan, this promo will just be throwing money away!”

Melissa was blunt and didn’t hold back on Baidu’s founder Li Yanhong.

Zhao Ling just smiled awkwardly and stayed quiet.

Xu Chen got the picture—it was still about Li Yanhong’s side.

In the original pitch, Li Yanhong had picked another company’s idea, but after Zhao Ling showed Melissa ours, it switched to East Morning Star Advertising.

Li Yanhong might not be fully on board, but he had to go along because of Melissa’s influence.

Melissa turned back to Xu Chen, her expression serious:

“This year’s promo is crucial for us. Besides this online ad, we have a bunch of other moves lined up.

You know the project background, Xu Chen…

The battle between Baidu and Google for the domestic search market has turned into a full-on war of attrition.

The next six months to a year will decide it all.”

She said this with clear confidence.

As someone reborn, Xu Chen knew that soon Google would face setbacks in China and pull out of the market.

Baidu would win this ‘search engine throne’ and join Tencent and Alibaba as the big three—BAT.

But years later, Baidu would stumble with scandals and bad decisions, falling behind.

For now, Xu Chen didn’t want to dive deep into Baidu’s future—he had no clear benefits yet.

He could build ties first and see what happens…

Melissa continued:

“Xu Chen, this creative idea is our key weapon in this final battle!

So, it has to hit the mark!”

Xu Chen put on a serious face:

“Being part of Baidu’s project and experiencing this ‘century war’ in the Chinese internet world is an honor for me and East Morning Star Advertising.

We’re proud to contribute to our own search engine and will give it our all!”

Xu Chen was great at playing along and boosting morale.

Though it sounded a bit dramatic, Melissa clearly appreciated it.

She smiled with approval and said:

“With your words, Xu Chen, I’m at ease!

I don’t know much about ad-making, but I came out today because I wanted to make sure everyone takes this seriously.

This ad is that important to us.”

Xu Chen assured her again:

“Don’t worry, Melissa. The quality will be top-notch. We’ll nail it.

And I’m confident it’ll go viral after launch!”

Melissa smiled approvingly but glanced at Zhao Ling beside her.

Zhao Ling seemed nervous around Melissa, just smiling without saying a word.

…

…

The shoot went smoothly, though coordinating the actors was a hassle.

With the client boss around, and after Melissa’s earlier comments, Xu Chen was on high alert.

He watched the monitors closely and pulled assistant director Hu Jiahui to his side, relaying even minor issues through the walkie-talkie.

This was all for Melissa’s benefit.

Hu Jiahui was cooperative, though probably rolling her eyes inside—Xu Chen was being overly meticulous…

As noon approached, Melissa cleared her throat slightly.

Zhao Ling caught on and said:

“Xu Chen, we’ll need you to handle the afternoon shoot!

Melissa has a company meeting to get to.”

Xu Chen smiled: “No problem, Melissa and Zhao. I’ll keep an eye on everything.”

Melissa nodded approvingly: “You’re thorough and professional, Xu Chen. I feel better knowing you’re here!”

With that, she stood up.

Xu Chen set down his headphones and escorted Melissa and Zhao Ling out.

At the sightseeing cart, Melissa shook Xu Chen’s hand again.

She smiled: “I really like you, Xu Chen. Ever thought about joining Baidu?”

She glanced at Zhao Ling and added with a grin:

“You could be the marketing VP, and Zhao Ling would report to you.”

Xu Chen: “Ah?!”

Zhao Ling: “(O_O|||)…”