Old Merchant soon arrived.
He was in his forties and had a short stature and small eyes. He gave people the impression that he was very smart and eloquent. He was very good at coordinating all aspects.
Although they didn't know each other before, Lu Chen was very satisfied with Old Merchant's ability after a few days.
A crew member was the person in charge of daily affairs during the filming process. His main task was to take care of the basic necessities of the crew members, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. It was tedious but essential.
If a crew didn't have a good crew member, there would often be a lot of problems.
When Old Merchant saw the completely substandard boxed lunches, his expression suddenly changed. He was shocked and angry.
"Childe Lu, I'm really sorry. I'll go and find out what happened right away!"
Lu Chen nodded. "Then go and ask them to change the batch, or just order the boxed lunches from another restaurant."
Although he didn't reprimand Old Merchant, Old Merchant was obviously very stressed. He left in a hurry.
Naturally, no one ate the boxed lunches. Everyone put the lunches back into the incubator. The atmosphere on the set was a bit strange. Many people sat together and whispered.
Wan Xiaoquan said helplessly, "So … they don't want to do business anymore?"
Chen Wenqiang said in a low voice, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Lu Chen was shocked and asked, "Uncle Qiang?"
Chen Wenqiang hesitated and said, "The boxed lunches in the Lion Rock Studio are occupied by two clubs. No one else can intervene. I don't know which restaurant our crew booked, but there's probably something wrong with them. Otherwise, no restaurant would do something like this."
Clubs?
Lu Chen was stunned. He didn't expect that a small matter like eating boxed lunches would involve Hong Kong's clubs.
The "clubs" Chen Wenqiang mentioned were definitely not regular and good mutual benefit organizations, but gangs. In layman's terms, they were Hong Kong's underworld gangs.
The gangs in Hong Kong were once very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, the activities of Shenghe, Xinan, Hongtang and other triad organizations were rampant. There were hundreds of thousands of gang members, and their forces were spread all over Hong Kong, Macao, Treasure Island and several countries in Southeast Asia. They even established branches in the Chinese areas of Europe and the United States.
These big gangs and societies operated drug trafficking, smuggling, prostitution, piracy, gambling, and so on. The small societies under them collected protection fees and dominated the market, causing the public order of Xiangjiang to be very bad.
At that time in Xiangjiang, even the rich and powerful felt insecure and had to bring bodyguards with them when they went out. Otherwise, they might be kidnapped and blackmailed by a few daring gangsters.
On July 15, 1987, the long-accumulated conflict between the two gangs, Xin An and Hung Tang, broke out. Thousands of gang members from both sides fought on the streets of the prosperous areas of the New Territories, resulting in the tragic result of 78 deaths and 154 serious injuries. There were countless minor injuries, and several innocent passers-by were killed by stray bullets.
The bloody case of the New Territories on July 15 shocked the whole of Hong Kong, causing the people to protest on the streets. It also prompted the Xiangjiang government to finally make up their minds to solve this cancer, and specially applied for help from the troops stationed in Hong Kong.
In March 1988, in the crackdown carried out by the Xiangjiang government, many triad organizations that had been rampant in Hong Kong for decades were uprooted. A large number of backbone members were either killed on the spot or arrested and imprisoned, which made countless people in Xiangjiang applaud.
At this point, the public order of Xiangjiang had been fundamentally improved.
However, the triad organizations that had great influence in Xiangjiang society did not completely disappear. After the old gangs such as Shenghe, Xinan, and Hongtang collapsed, new gangs emerged again.
However, these new gangs no longer brazenly engaged in illegal activities. They registered companies to engage in legal operations and secretly did some business. The members of the gangs no longer easily wielded knives and guns, and the means of making money were more hidden. They even hired lawyers as legal consultants.
This kind of new gang was even more difficult to deal with. Dealing with them was undoubtedly a very troublesome thing.
And the gangs in Xiangjiang had deep entanglements with the entertainment industry. Many film and television entertainment companies had the background and power of gangs in the past. Although they were basically washed clean, they were still secretly connected.
In just a few minutes, Old Merchant came back with three people.
Old Merchant's face was very ugly.
He introduced to Lu Chen: "Young Master Lu, this is Manager Jiang of Honghua Restaurant Management Limited. Our crew's lunch box is ordered through Honghua Restaurant. Manager Jiang and the others have something to talk to us about."
This Manager Jiang of Honghua Restaurant was a middle-aged man with the head of a mouse and the eyes of a mouse. His hair was thickly oiled and he was worried that even flies would not be able to stand on it. He was wearing a suit and a tie, and he also wore a pair of nondescript gold-rimmed glasses, giving people the impression that he was wretched.
"Young Master Lu, hello."
Manager Jiang nodded and bowed to greet Lu Chen, opening his mouth to reveal a mouthful of gold teeth.
Following behind him were two burly men. Their faces were expressionless, and their bare arms were covered with dark green tattoos. Their bulging muscles made them look like they were very powerful.
Lu Chen immediately understood when he saw this posture. He nodded and lightly said: "Okay, let's talk somewhere else."
It was definitely not okay here. The surrounding crew members were all watching, and many people's eyes were full of doubt.
The place chosen for the conversation was a meditation room in the temple, which was also used as the crew's temporary office.
After sitting down, Lu Chen went straight to the point and asked: "Manager Jiang, can you explain what happened to our crew's lunch box today? Did we not pay the fees that we owed you? "
Manager Jiang said with a smile: "Young Master Lu, your crew's food and beverage fees were paid on time. We are also very sorry that there was a problem with today's lunch box. I can guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen again."
"But …"
He suddenly changed the topic and said: "The prices in Xiangjiang are very high now. Recently, the prices of vegetables and pork have risen greatly. If we follow the original price, our company will lose money, so …"
So what? Manager Jiang did not say anymore and looked at Lu Chen with a smile.
Lu Chen calmly continued for him: "So you want to raise the price?"
"I'm really sorry …"
Manager Jiang rubbed his hands, and the smile on his face became even wider: "There is nothing we can do about the price increase. Our company's employees also have to eat …"
Lu Chen interrupted his verbose words: "Just say it, how much do you want to raise it?"
Manager Jiang gave Lu Chen a thumbs up: "Young Master Lu is really straightforward, worthy of being a big star from the mainland. In fact, it's not much. In the future, pay 55 yuan for a lunch box, we guarantee the quality."
55 yuan!
If Lu Chen remembered correctly, the original price of the lunch box was 30 yuan, and now the price was increased to 55 yuan, which was equivalent to nearly doubling!
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