The work of a Makeup Artist and stylist is quite tough; even after finishing the makeup, you still need to touch up. Although it’s not 24-hour on-call, you basically have to treat the crew as your home.
This kind of life is perfect for someone like her with a Golden Finger; she can find an empty space to rest anytime.
The crew also needs kids of her age. A child of this age coming to the crew definitely needs an adult accompanying them. Without a guardian, you can’t get a group acting certificate; without it, you won’t get wages or boxed meals.
But she’s a child, so people’s guard is low when she comes in and out of the crew, and they just assume she’s a kid from some family, not like the strict guard against adults.
Without taking photos or causing trouble, she naturally got in touch with the Makeup Artist, and after a few days, she asked them to help her get a group acting certificate.
"Sis, my home is nearby. During winter break, my parents have to work, and I’m bored at home by myself, so I sneaked over to help you, okay? When you’re busy, I’ll help you; when you’re not, I’ll be a group actor. If they pay me, I’ll give the wage to you as a labor fee, as long as you feed me a few meals a day."
A kid gets fifty or sixty, even seventy to eighty yuan a day as a labor fee, plus three meals; such a good deal! Can this kid really walk the talk?
The Makeup Artist’s surname is Zhou, named Zhou Yao. Although she’s not pretty, she is from a rural background and has worked hard for years to get to her current position.
She’s always been low-key among all Makeup Artists. No wonder Hua Yan’s got such a good eye; she chose her, recognizing this girl’s steadiness and kindness.
Although Hua Yan said so, Zhou Yao didn’t take it seriously. This ten-year-old is quite sensible, didn’t cause any trouble staying by her side, and was quite helpful, but she didn’t really want to take advantage of her.
"Group acting is not easy; you’re sneaking here, will your parents allow you to go out early and come back late?"
Hua Yan immediately lowered her eyes with a hint of melancholy: "Haha, they don’t care about me. They’re busy with their business outside all day, just give me money and leave me at home. When I was in school, a nanny took care of me; now the nanny is gone, it’s just me at home. I can cook and take care of myself, which makes them feel even more at ease."
As Hua Yan spoke, her eyes reddened, showing a look of grievance on the verge of tears, which made Zhou Yao feel terribly sorry for her.
"Really? So they’re not home at all?"
"They’re either abroad or in other cities, and I don’t dare go to other places. I’ve been here for many days and can tell you’re the kindest, so please take me with you. I promise not to cause trouble. I don’t lack money, but I find group acting interesting. Of course, if I can learn the craft with you, that’s even better. I don’t want money; I can give you the group acting wage. Please don’t kick me out, help me get a group acting certificate; at least it gets me meals."
Zhou Yao pinched her brows with a headache, God, is she being clinged onto? But this young girl is quite pretty, dressed clean and neat, really doesn’t look like a scammer. Besides, she has nothing worth being scammed of; the kid said she’d give her the wage, so what’s wrong with taking her along?
"Then where are you living?"
"Sis, don’t worry about me; I live at my home. It’s really close to here. When the crew finishes, everyone leaves together; I won’t give myself the chance to be alone. I grew up here, really familiar with everything, won’t put myself in danger."
Zhou Yao agreed under Hua Yan’s performance, not only taking her to get the group acting certificate but also really keeping her by her side during makeup, teaching her about people’s face shapes and suitable makeup styles.
Since both lead actors and group actors get their makeup done together, after learning the makeup, Zhou Yao put makeup on her, and she changed clothes to act as a group actor. She didn’t have any lines, just acted as a background, but these days were fulfilling.
The crew works hard, but no matter how hard, they allow people time to rest. If they need to stay up late, she’d sneak back home. Fortunately, kids hardly have night scenes unless they have lines. After all, she remembers she needs to transform between ten at night to six in the morning.
Group actors are not needed every day, so in Hengdian with so many crews, she wanders around various crews; she only shoots daytime scenes. They are all uniformly under Hengdian Film City management, also Film City gives the wages. Kids get fifty to eighty yuan a day depending on the scene (made up), excluding breakfast, lunch, and dinner are considered.