Wu Family Villa

Jiang Chuangu sat down and replied in a calm tone, "News?" After thinking for a while, he glanced at the village chief, then looked back at Wu Liang, frowned slightly, and then asked with a smile, "It seems that Yanmen Village has a quota this year?"

No one expected that he would bring the issue to the topic of rural revenue.

Uncle Hong quickly poured some water and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Why don't you take a look at what you'd like to eat first? Here's the menu."

Jiangchuan Valley didn't even glance at it. "You guys know the local specialties better. Just order whatever you like, it's on me."

"Hey!" Wu Liang chimed in, "You're guests, how can we expect guests to pay?"

When Jiang Chuan Gu is in a familiar field and discussing business seriously, he will intentionally or unintentionally exude an imposing aura that leaves no room for doubt. His expression may seem to be smiling, but the aloofness in his eyes and the impatience in his actions and expressions are undisguised. "I gave you prior notice. I am here to discuss cooperation. I think it is best for us to maintain a business relationship so that we can communicate well."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chaoying took out two written contracts, a confidentiality agreement, and supplementary clauses from her bag and placed them in front of the two of them, saying, "This is the price our team can offer. You can take a look."

The village chief flipped to the last part of the account, counting each digit, his eyes widening in shock, "Seven! A seven-digit number?"

Jiang Chuan Gu smiled amicably, "Price is not an issue. Our team only wants the best and most faithful scenes to the script, and we need partners who will cooperate unconditionally."

Seven figures? Qin Ming's expression was unpredictable, but his hand was frantically tapping Qian Fei's arm under the table. Qian Fei, also without looking at the contract, silently turned around and pretended to look for something in his bag, while grinning at Kong Yue.

Wu Liang was somewhat surprised and carefully reviewed the contract. "Is this price still negotiable?"

“Of course!” Jiang Chuan Gu raised his hand, his tone arrogant. “You can tell me your price range.”

Wu Liang closed the contract. "I'm curious, for this price you could have chosen a much better and bigger resort, why the Wu family?"

Jiang Chuan Gu nodded to Lin Chao Ying. She took out her tablet, opened the PowerPoint presentation, and he took it, saying, "You should know that I was involved in a murder case last month and had to withdraw from my on-screen work. This project was something I participated in at the beginning of the year. I didn't expect that I wouldn't be able to act in it now. But I don't want to really quit. This film will be the most important project for my return to the entertainment industry as a director and investor, so I value it very much. The team has also found several resorts. I don't want any that have been used by others or that have been modified. Your place is the most suitable."

He placed the tablet between the two of them and said, "Director Qin, you know the movie best, so please give a brief introduction."

Qin Ming nodded in a mocking manner and said, "This movie, 'Green Branch,' tells the story of three generations of women living in a mansion. It spans a long period of time, showing the changes in the mansion of a large family, from the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty to its decline, and then to the impact of the new era. As far as we know, the Cuihua Courtyard where you are currently living has been renovated to suit modern life, so this time we only need the Qingfeng Courtyard and the Haitang Courtyard. It will not affect your living space. If it is convenient, we need to scout locations and discuss with the props team this week to move things forward."

Wu Liang: "I just want to know how many people you'll be bringing in during your three-month filming period? You know, Wu Family Manor is a landmark building in Yanmen Village, so if..."

"Don't worry about that." Qin Ming deliberately interrupted him, saying, "We're not a large production crew; there are fewer than a thousand people scattered around."

"What!" The village chief and Wu Liang exclaimed at the same time.

Uncle Hong was beaming with excitement; after all, where there are people, there is money.

Wu Liang was clearly worried.

Jiang Chuan Gu leaned back in his chair, tapped the table with one hand, and said, "So, do you feel that the price is a bit low now? You can discuss it. After we finalize the price, I'm willing to pay a 30% deposit first, and then you can communicate directly with the producer to pay the balance according to the filming stages."

Wu Liang looked at him hesitantly, "Mr. Jiang, my family is not short of money."

“I understand.” Jiang Chuangu continued, “After being in the entertainment industry for a long time, you will always pick up the smell of nouveau riche. Don’t take it personally. Mr. Wu, I am talking to you sincerely today, so I will directly offer what I consider to be the most sincere thing, which is money. You can tell me your concerns, and we can discuss them together. Whether it is fame or money, I can satisfy you.”

He glanced at Lin Chaoying.

Lin Chaoying stood up, picked up the menu from the center of the table, and said, "Let's order first, and we can talk while we eat."

The village chief quickly stepped down the stairs and said, "I'm here to recommend it to you!"

During the meal, Wu Liang rarely spoke. In an attempt to get him to talk, Jiang Chuan Gu deliberately kept pouring him drinks and recounting his own painful past. Only then did Wu Liang begin to chat enthusiastically with him, telling him about the difficulties he had faced in his business over the years.

Qin Ming maintained his aloof and pretentious personality throughout, only speaking in silence as he ate his food.

Qian Fei and Kong Yue would occasionally criticize the taste of the dishes, their faces full of resentment, and they didn't like to talk.

Seeing this, Uncle Hong realized that the easiest person to communicate with was Jiang Chuan Gu's production assistant, so he took the initiative to say, "Producer Lin! Why don't you stay in Yanmen Village tonight?"

Lin Chaoying smiled and said, "We were thinking the same thing. We were wondering if the Wu family had any spare rooms. Would that be considered intrusive?"

Uncle Hong had originally planned to arrange a hotel, but the other party wanted to stay at the Wu family's place directly. He awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth and hesitated, saying, "Oh, is that so? I don't think so."

"Thank you! If the cooperation goes through, village chief, our crew has over a hundred people. I wonder if there are any suitable hotels or guesthouses nearby?" Lin Chaoying began to probe for information.

Uncle Hong thought about how generous Jiang Chuan Valley was, and if the film crew really did shoot there, there would be plenty of money to be made! The more he thought about it, the happier he became, and that fawning smile reappeared as he said, "Of course, a place will be arranged!"

Kong Yue chimed in, "I saw some bloggers visiting here on videos the other day! Village chief, didn't you guys do any promotion? We don't want a bunch of tourists to come here as soon as our crew arrives!"

"Huh?" Before the other person could speak, Lin Chaoying frowned and asked, "Blogger? Not the blogger with millions of followers, right? If they really come, our production team still needs to maintain secrecy!"

"No, no!" Uncle Hong hurriedly waved his hand to explain, "There are only a few scattered tourists from nearby villages now, there are no popular bloggers here."

"Blogger?" Wu Liang spoke up, his face flushed from drinking, revealing no emotion. "What blogger?" he asked.

Uncle Hong: "It's possible that they borrowed the three people from your family a few days ago, but they left a long time ago?"

Wu Liang nodded slowly: "It seems so, they left yesterday..."

Qin Ming typed on his phone and sent a message in the group chat: "Could they be talking about Cen Ting? How could she have left?"

Lin Chaoying: [At this time, only three people are staying at Wu Liang's house. Is it just a small team? Could it be that Wu Liang's house is not only a tourist attraction but also a hotel?]

After exchanging a silent glance, she kicked Jiangchuan Gu under the table, signaling to him that it was time to end things.

Jiangchuan Gu raised his glass: "Then I'm sorry to have bothered you today!"

Wu Liang hadn't reacted yet, his eyes still blank, when he uttered a confused "Huh?"

Lin Chaoying said, "We couldn't refuse the village chief's hospitality; we really have been bothering you!"

Wu Liang glanced at the stunned Uncle Hong, not knowing what to say. "It's alright, it's alright. As the host, I will naturally do my best to be hospitable. If there are any empty rooms, we can discuss the follow-up matters!"

Wu Family Manor is located in the southwest of Yanmen Village, nestled against the mountains to the southwest, with its main gate facing east.

When the gate is pushed open, the welcoming wall is covered with one hundred ways to write the character "寿" (longevity), which is like the feudal etiquette of more than a hundred years ago, with its own oppressive and disciplined atmosphere.

A woman wearing a blue suit, her hair neatly pulled back over her shoulders, and frameless glasses, holding a tablet in her hands, smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Wu, you're back."

Wu Liang said, "These are very important guests, let's arrange accommodation for them."

The woman bowed slightly. "Hello, I am the housekeeper, surnamed Zhang. Please come with me."

Lin Chaoying felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze and suggested, "It would be best if our teams were arranged to work together, since there's still a lot of work to be done."

Butler Zhang: "Okay."

The threshold of the Wu family's house was exceptionally high, almost reaching the calves. Qian Fei silently complained, "No wonder they used to say the threshold was high. I thought it was a figure of speech, but now I see it's a fact."

After going around the wall and through the side door, you are faced with a long and wide passageway that is more than ten meters long. On both sides are small gates to various courtyards, and your voice echoes here.

Housekeeper Zhang explained: "We are currently staying in Cuihua Courtyard, which is divided into South Courtyard 2 and North Courtyard 3. The main courtyard in the south is where the host family lives, and the secondary courtyard is where the driver and bodyguards live. The three courtyards in the north are where the guests live in the main courtyard, and the housekeeper and I live in the secondary courtyard closest to the entrance."

The group passed through the main gate of the courtyard and then crossed the main room of the smaller courtyard.

Steward Zhang: "Please rest here tonight. The main house on the north side is a room, and there are two side rooms on each side, for a total of five rooms. You can choose whichever you like. The room facing west in the outer courtyard is the dining room. I will bring some dinner around 6 o'clock. The room facing east in the outer courtyard used to be the kitchen, but now there is only the master family, so the chefs cook in the south courtyard. You can use the kitchen here if you need it. My room is in the next courtyard. Please contact me by phone if you need anything."

As her assistant, Lin Chaoying took the initiative to add her contact information.

Just as Butler Zhang was about to leave, he stood at the gate of the courtyard and suddenly turned around. A loud "thud" pierced the sky, and the white light that struck down illuminated half of the woman's face. Combined with the framed doors and partitions behind her, she looked as eerie as a wronged ghost in the courtyard.

She said, "It's going to rain later tonight, so please rest well in your rooms."

"My God!" Qin Ming took off his glasses, quite frightened by what he had just witnessed. "How could this woman be so scary?"

Even Qian Fei, who was usually fearless, was stunned for a moment and said, "This is the main north courtyard where Cen Ting and the others live?"

Almost simultaneously, the five people entered the room behind them, searched and checked, and finally gathered in the courtyard.

The room was very clean, without a trace of anything, and didn't look like anyone had lived there.

Where can the three of them go?

Lin Chaoying: "Maybe they're still inside the villa and haven't gone out at all."

Suddenly, raindrops began to fall softly. In a daze, she heard the sound of wind chimes ringing in her ears, clear yet ethereal. Along with the changing light and shadows before her eyes, her mind began to spin.

Lin Chaoying covered her ears and grabbed Jiang Chuan Gu's arm, asking, "Did you hear that?! There's a wind chime!"

Her deathly pale face frightened the group, who led her into the room.

But the incessant sound of the wind chimes seemed like a death knell, growing more urgent and shrill. Lin Chaoying felt herself falling into the water, choking and unable to breathe, slowly sinking to the bottom...