165: Chapter 165 Dilraba Steals a Liquor Bottle

5:00 PM.

Lin Chen and his family of six departed from the apartment right on time.

Lin Chen had changed into a casual black trendy pair of shorts and a white T-shirt, looking simple and refreshing.

The five women were all dressed in matching slim-fit skirts paired with various sunglasses, showcasing their proud, long legs to the fullest.

When these six walked together, their aura was simply unparalleled.

This wasn't just going out for dinner at a seafood restaurant; with this lineup, people would believe them if they said they were walking the red carpet at Cannes.

This was the legendary saying, "Clothes make the man, gold plating makes the Buddha."

Yet, these peerless beauties managed to make ordinary casual wear look like high fashion.

This was the dimensionality reduction strike of being naturally gifted.

They were still traveling in that spacious nanny van.

The driver had been replaced by a dedicated chauffeur that Yang Mi had called in temporarily that afternoon.

It was a middle-aged woman with a buzz cut, expressionless and taciturn.

After getting into the car, Dilraba leaned into Lin Chen's ear and whispered mysteriously, "Hubby, this female driver is actually a retired special forces elite soldier. Her combat skills are super fierce; she can take down seven or eight strong men with her bare hands like it's a game."

Lin Chen looked the female driver up and down.

To be honest, judging solely by her appearance, aside from her upright sitting posture, he really couldn't see any murderous aura.

After all, real life isn't a martial arts novel; it's impossible to tell if someone has deep internal energy from a distance.

If she really had true skills, they would only know after sparring.

The high-end seafood restaurant Yang Mi booked wasn't actually far away; the navigation distance was less than fifteen kilometers.

But this was Beijing. In this city known as the "Capital of Traffic Jams," distance was never the main factor determining travel time; time and the specific route were the keys.

If you were unlucky enough to hit a main road during rush hour, even if you were driving a Bugatti Veyron, you would have to maintain the same turtle-like speed as the tricycles on the side of the road.

5:00 PM was just the prelude to the evening rush hour.

For a fifteen-kilometer journey, the nanny van stopped and started in the river of traffic, dragging on for over an hour before reaching the destination.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the hotel's luxurious Roman-columned entrance, a slim figure hurried up to meet them.

The person who arrived was none other than the capable assistant Yang Mi had mentioned earlier—Executive Producer.

Executive Producer's height was estimated to be under 1.6 meters.

Even wearing seven or eight-centimeter high heels, she still looked somewhat petite and thin standing in the crowd.

Her appearance was even more unremarkable; if she took off her makeup, she might not even be noticeable if thrown into a crowd.

However, people who manage to make it in this industry never rely solely on their looks.

Although Executive Producer wasn't particularly attractive, she exuded the capable, decisive air of a professional career woman.

She stepped forward quickly and skillfully opened the door of the nanny van for Lin Chen's family.

What was most impressive was that after Lin Chen and the five women got out of the car, she didn't immediately try to curry favor with her direct superior, Yang Mi.

Instead, she first walked up to Lin Chen, bowed slightly, and introduced herself respectfully: "Hello, Teacher Lin! It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Executive Producer from the production department of Fengxing Tianxia Entertainment, and I am also a student personally trained by Sister Mi."

This maneuver was simply textbook-level workplace emotional intelligence!

It's just like meeting a mother with her child; praising the mother for being pretty is far less effective than praising her child for being clever and bright.

Executive Producer saw things clearly.

She knew all too well that Yang Mi was deeply in love with Lin Chen, even regarding him as more important than her own life.

By showing Lin Chen the utmost respect, she was effectively giving Yang Mi immense face.

How could Yang Mi not be pleased seeing that?

Sure enough, seeing Executive Producer being so tactful, Boss Yang's smile instantly became even brighter.

"Alright, alright, don't be so formal during off-hours. We're all family here."

After Executive Producer finished her report, Yang Mi waved her hand with a smile to interrupt her.

Then, she naturally linked her arm with Lin Chen's, while affectionately holding Executive Producer's hand with her other, and led the group into the hotel, guided by the hostess.

...

After entering the private room of the restaurant and chatting for a while, Huang Bo, Guo Degang, and Han Meilin arrived one after another.

Moreover, these old buddies didn't stand on ceremony and all brought their families along.

In this vanity fair, at their level of fame, if it were just a typical business dinner, they would never bring their family members out into the public eye.

Being able to bring their families to the banquet showed that they truly didn't treat Lin Chen as an outsider; they already had the close relationship of family friends.

Nearly twenty people filled the huge mahogany round table to capacity.

Executive Producer was busy bustling about, directing the servers to bring dishes and pour tea, making arrangements in an orderly fashion.

"Tonight, everyone, try the good stuff I brought. This is authentic state-guest special supply, the top-tier goods only brought out when entertaining foreign guests."

Han Meilin stopped Executive Producer, who was about to open a bottle of Flying Fairy Moutai, and took a white, label-less, unbranded liquor bottle from his wife's hands, saying mysteriously.

As the youngest junior present, Guo Qilin was very observant; he stood up, took the bottle from Han Meilin with both hands, and respectfully poured drinks for the elders and Lin Chen.

"Internal special supply from the Moutai distillery?" Guo Degang picked up the glass, brought it under his nose to sniff, and asked like an expert.

Han Meilin waved his hand with a smile: "It's different. Most of the Moutai on the market labeled as 'special supply' are 99% gimmicks meant to deceive people. But this bottle of mine came straight from the distillery's specially approved production line; you won't find it on the market at all. I had to pull strings inside to get my hands on just two bottles."

Upon hearing this, Huang Bo was delighted: "Then tonight, we must take full advantage of Old Han's generosity and satisfy our craving for feeling like big leaders."

Lin Chen also picked up his glass, swirled it gently, and smelled that rich, mellow, soy-sauce aroma.

Dilraba, sitting next to him, leaned in like a greedy little kitten. Her delicate little nose twitched twice, and she asked curiously: "Hubby, does this liquor smell good?"

Lin Chen was amused by her gluttonous look and held the glass to her lips: "Whether it smells good or not, just take a sip and you'll know."

Dilraba's eyes lit up. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she stuck out her pink, tender little tongue like a thief and gave the rim of the glass a light lick.

"Hiss—" Just after tasting a tiny sip, Dilraba's entire exquisite face instantly scrunched up like a little bun. She stuck out her tongue and kept panting: "So spicy!"

Lin Chen smiled and ruffled her hair.

As the saying goes, everyone loves a drink.

Out of ten men, eight drink, and five are addicted to alcohol.

But to say who can actually drink with expertise and discern the nuances, those are truly rare.

Most people are just looking for the pleasure of being tipsy; at most, they can distinguish between authentic and fake or low-quality, and that's already not bad.

As for things like vintage, craftsmanship, or layers of taste, that's purely like blind men touching an elephant.

Lin Chen, Guo Degang, and their group clearly belonged to the "blind drinkers" category.

If you really asked them to explain where this special supply liquor was better than what's on the market, they probably couldn't squeeze out a single word even if they tried for half a day.

However, drinking is all about the state of mind.

When the mood is right and you're drinking with people who get along, even Erguotou can taste like nectar.

The atmosphere at the table was harmonious.

Everyone exchanged toasts, always taking just a sip.

They were all their own people, so there was no need to fight to the death at the dinner table.

After three rounds of drinks, Executive Producer stood up with her glass, toasted everyone, and naturally steered the topic onto the right track, beginning to report on the pre-production work for the movie "old boys."

The people present were the core creative team for this film.

Although Han Meilin, Huang Bo, and Guo Degang didn't take much of an investment share, they knew perfectly well that this money was something Lin Chen had practically given away to them.

Compared to making money, they valued the sense of participation that came from working with Lin Chen.

"Teachers, the main filming location for the movie has been finalized; it's at a public high school in Tongzhou. It happens to be summer vacation, so the venue is available, and we have a full month to film to our hearts' content."

"As for the stage scene for the talent show competition, I compared several plans and finally decided to rebuild the set directly in the school's auditorium. Calculating it out, it can save hundreds of thousands in budget compared to renting a professional studio hall outside..."

When reporting on the work, Executive Producer radiated an air of confidence and capability.

Everything was detailed and orderly.

Lin Chen nodded inwardly; no wonder Yang Mi valued her so much and entrusted her with such an important position as Executive Producer.

With such a capable assistant, it could save the director countless troubles.

"When is the earliest we can start filming this movie?" Huang Bo asked while skillfully peeling a king crab and putting the meat into his daughter's bowl.

Executive Producer looked at Lin Chen: "The Film Crew's production team and extras are all on standby. As long as Teacher Lin gives the word, we can start filming tomorrow."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes turned toward Lin Chen.

Lin Chen picked up his glass, took a sip of the special supply Moutai, and didn't answer directly.

Instead, he turned his gaze to Huang Bo and Guo Degang: "You two male leads, have you fully grasped the script?"

Huang Bo pulled out a wet wipe to wipe his hands, the confidence of a Best Actor in full display: "No problem. This kind of story about ordinary people at the bottom of society is something I'm very familiar with; it's not difficult at all."

Huang Bo certainly had the capital to be arrogant. He had a down-to-earth look, had spent years as an extra, tasted the coldness of the world, and finally fought his way out step by step through explosive acting skills.

Playing a down-and-out middle-aged man like Huang Dabao in "old boys" was practically tailor-made for him.

But Old Guo, sitting next to him, didn't have as much confidence.

Although Old Guo was a big name in the Crosstalk world and had guest-starred in many movies and TV shows, and even invested in and starred in a few comedy films.

Unfortunately, different professions are like mountains apart; the films he starred in were, without exception, all terrible movies.

Not only did they flop at the box office, but the Douban ratings were also miserable, and he was mocked by netizens as a "lightning rod for bad movies."

After being scolded so much, Old Guo also developed deep self-doubt about his acting skills.