"Ugh, don't even mention it! I'm still having nightmares about it!"
Zhang Ze felt bitter when he thought about his experiences over the past six months. In all his years in the industry, he had never been so tired!
"What's wrong? Is it something that even our tough guy, Teacher Zhang, is afraid of?"
"I heard you had two weeks of military training before you left, is that true?"
Lan Qing covered her mouth and laughed. Lan Qing had flown directly to Rwanda and hadn't experienced the preceding journey, so she was also curious about what Zhang Ze had gone through.
"Yeah, you bet. For the first two weeks, we had to undergo two weeks of military training. It wasn't the kind you get in school; we went straight into the army and were treated like ordinary soldiers. We started with the most basic drills and had to run five kilometers with weights every day. We were practically skinned alive!"
"Wow, that's a rare experience! Is your movie a military-themed one?"
Huang Guang followed Zhang Ze's lead, while Xu Peng and Mu Yu looked at Zhang Ze curiously. Both of them knew that Fang Yang had gone to Africa to film a movie, but he had been gone for almost half a year without any news, so they didn't know the specifics.
"It is indeed a military subject matter, and this filming is part of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China this year. Therefore, the filming requirements are particularly strict. As a soldier, one must master some basic military skills, which is a special requirement of Director Fang!"
"Teacher Lan, so you also experienced life in the military?"
"No way, I was playing a reporter, so unfortunately I couldn't go in, haha!"
When Lan Qing talked about this, she was also glad that she had experienced it. After arriving in Africa, she heard the crew members talk about their experience, and they all complained about it. The whole thing lasted for a month and a half and was so torturous that they never wanted to experience it again.
"You're still gloating here? Actually, the real hardship isn't in the military. Although it was tough then, there was plenty of time to move around every day. But when you're on a warship for more than a month, with no cell phone signal or internet, all you can see is seawater, and your only places to move around are your quarters and the deck, you'll realize that's when it's truly unbearable!"
"Haha, I've also heard about your glorious journey, but I heard that only President Fang got used to it, without a single complaint or impatience from beginning to end!"
Mu Yu revealed what she had heard, hoping to verify it with Zhang Ze.
"I've never seen such a homebody. Do you know what he does every day? You wouldn't believe it, but whether it's day or night, whenever he has free time, he's in front of the computer writing and drawing. He never even thinks about having any fun. Now I believe it. Sure enough, every successful person works harder than others. There are no shortcuts to success!"
Speaking of Fang Yang, Xu Peng had worked with him for a while. "President Fang is not only very hardworking, but also very serious. When we were filming 'Shaolin Temple,' many scenes were shot repeatedly. Everyone thought some scenes were pretty good, but President Fang insisted on achieving perfection. It was only in post-production that everyone got the hang of it and things got a little better, but his strict requirements never changed!"
Huang Guang laughed and said, "Isn't this a good thing? Even now, more than a year has passed, and no one online has been able to find any fault with it. Isn't this a result of rigorous work?"
"Yes, so I believe that the military film 'Operation Red River,' starring Teacher Zhang, will definitely be a great success."
Mu Yu offered a compliment, saying that although she wasn't an actor, who knew what the future held? Maybe one day she would become an actor after being a good singer. The people present were all veteran actors.
"Haha, success is a given. Otherwise, how could there be a saying that anything produced by Fang Yang is guaranteed to be of high quality? It is precisely because of this focus that we can go further and further on our chosen path!"
Huang Guang chuckled and cracked a joke, "Teacher Zhang, the most difficult time probably wasn't the time on the warship, right?"
"That's not true. The real hardship is in Africa. The conditions there are really tough. Although the security situation is much better than before, there are still many unpredictable accidents once you leave the city. Fortunately, we hired a large mercenary group this time to ensure that everything went smoothly. We even encountered a pack of wolves this time. Without the mercenaries' protection, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Chen, Huang Guang, and the other three were all startled. There was a pack of wolves; this was truly dangerous. "Has anyone been injured?"
"No, there are armed mercenaries guarding the surroundings. Actually, the one who was most injured was Teacher Lan. She was hospitalized for more than half a month as soon as she arrived there and suffered a lot."
Lan Qing waved her hand, "What suffering did I endure? I just wasn't careful at first, and I was also a bit unwell due to the change in environment. I didn't pay attention to the mosquito bites, but who knew those mosquitoes were so venomous that they ended up in the hospital!"
Chen and the others laughed without any sense of loyalty. It was the first time they had ever heard of someone being hospitalized for half a month after being bitten by a mosquito. "Teacher Lan, were those mosquitoes big?"
Mu Yu found this incident somewhat unbelievable. Although Africa was full of mystery in her mind, Mu Yu still found it hard to accept that she would be sent to the hospital because of mosquito bites.
"I don't remember how big it was, but it was very toxic. After the medicated oil sent from China arrived, the situation improved a lot. People in Africa really like to drink medicated oil. Can you believe it? Haha. I heard they like the minty smell that comes off after drinking it. It's especially effective at repelling mosquitoes. Every year, billions of yuan worth of medicated oil are exported from China. You didn't expect that, did you? Such a small medicated oil has such a big market!"
Lan Qing's words surprised not only those present but also the viewers in the live stream. They exclaimed that it was impossible. A bottle of medicated oil worth billions probably didn't even have that many sales in China. Was this a case of "blooming inside the wall but fragrant outside"?
"Impossible! How much could a small bottle of Tiger Balm be worth? How could it sell for billions in Africa?"
"It's hard to say. A bottle of medicated oil costs a little over three yuan in China, but after being sold to Africa, the price will probably increase several times over due to tariffs and shipping costs. As for what Lan Qing just said, drinking medicated oil directly is a bit hard to imagine. The taste, tsk tsk!"
At this point, some quick-handed viewers had already dug out a bottle of medicated oil from their homes. After carefully reading the instructions, they found that there was indeed such a line on it—oral administration, 4-6 drops each time. Unexpectedly, medicated oil, which is usually used externally in China, has been discovered by our African brothers to have another function.
An enthusiastic viewer shared the instruction manual with the live stream, especially highlighting the section on oral administration with bold and thick lines, which excited the viewers. They were amazed to discover that the medicated oil had such a hidden function, which was truly mind-blowing!
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