As his voice fell, the scene immediately erupted with activity.
"WOOHOO! It’s a wrap!"
"It’s a wrap! It’s a wrap!"
"Actors, come and remove your makeup..."
"Costumes go here. Costume department, take inventory."
"Props team, get on set and pack things up! Label the boxes by number, and don’t mess it up. If anything’s missing, watch your pay get docked!" For origınal chapters go to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
"Site crew, come over and dismantle these things..."
The scene burst with excitement for a couple of seconds before everyone dove back into work. Xu Qingqiu watched, a little dumbfounded. Although she had acted in productions before, she’d never experienced a full wrap, or rather, she’d never seen an entire crew wrap up. Her experience was limited to her own scenes finishing, after which the crew would give her flowers, take a photo, and that would be it. She had imagined that after filming concluded, the crew would gather to celebrate. Maybe not popping champagne or setting off fireworks, but it should at least be a lively occasion, shouldn’t it? But instead, everyone was animated for just two seconds, shouting a few slogans, before immediately starting to pack, as if they couldn’t wait to go home.
Chu Tian had experienced this before, though not often, so he was equally surprised.
Noticing their expressions, Cao Zheng explained with a sheepish smile, "President Chu, that’s just how it is with a film crew. Everyone’s been exhausted for a month or two, so they’re definitely eager to rest."
"Just because we’ve wrapped doesn’t mean the work is over. The cleanup will probably keep us busy until dark, so it’s not time to celebrate yet."
"The crew has booked a wrap party at a nearby hotel. We can only really celebrate properly once we’re done here and head back."
Hearing this, Chu Tian and Xu Qingqiu understood. A film crew involved many departments and a vast amount of equipment and materials.
This was only the first season. According to President Hou’s plan, they would film this first season as a trial. If it performed well, a sequel would follow. Therefore, both the set and props needed to be meticulously preserved for future use, requiring careful organization.
Things like household sofas, vases, wall hangings, photographs, and models—not a single item could be missing, as they would be needed for scene restoration later. They had to be photographed and inventoried first, then sorted and packed, and finally categorized and labeled for storage.
Props aside, costumes didn’t have as many strict requirements, but they were all purchased with money; they couldn’t just be thrown away, could they?
Then there was the camera equipment: lenses, tripods, cameras, monitors, and so on, all needing to be dismantled, boxed, and loaded onto trucks. The lighting equipment was similar, including various lamps and cables. The general crew handled other on-set equipment, and the rigging team packed up jibs, tracks, lifts, and more.
As expected, the packing kept them busy until dark. Even lunch was a rushed and perfunctory affair.
Cao Zheng had arranged for the actors to leave early. He had wanted Chu Tian and the others to go back as well, but Chu Tian decided to stay, intending to see the work through with everyone before heading to the wrap party.
Xu Qingqiu, however, was getting along well chatting with a few of the female actors. Concerned she might be too tired, Chu Tian let her go back with them.
Once everything here was packed up, a large convoy of crew vehicles set off towards the hotel, everyone happily heading to the wrap party.
The real highlight was the wrap-up red envelopes Chu Tian had prepared for everyone. It wasn’t a large sum—just eight hundred per person, totaling only tens of thousands of dollars—but it was mainly a gesture, a kind of good luck token.
But the crew members were ecstatic, grinning from ear to ear when they received their red envelopes. Many swarmed over to have a drink with him, their investor boss. If Cao Zheng hadn’t intervened, Chu Tian probably wouldn’t have been able to get away.