Chapter 7: The Value Of A True National Treasure

As luck would have it, after the big tomb-excavation scene was finished, the next scene was the robbery of a national treasure. As the most important prop, the silver sachet had to appear.

As expected, when Ye Zhen went to the stage on the second day, she saw the props team carefully holding the box containing the sachet, shouting to handle it carefully, and wiping and caring for it with a soft cloth. She looked at it from a distance and did not see anything unusual, so she continued with her own work.

After the lights and actors were positioned and the director called “Action”, Ye Zhen saw the true features of the sachet on the monitor. Although it was a replica of a prop, it was still very exquisite. The whole sachet was round, hollowed out, and could be held with one hand. The flower branches and peonies on the outside were in full bloom. Probably because of the gilding on the exterior, it was not quite as bright as gold, but had a more aged look to it. From the looks of it, it truly deserves the title of “National Treasure”.

But…

Ye Zhen narrowed her eyes, then lowered her head and said to the director sitting behind the monitor, “Director Li, I think there is something wrong with the bag.”

Her voice was not low. After saying that, not only the director, but also Xi Gu in front of the camera turned around.

Master Yao patted her shoulder in fright and tried to stop her from talking, “Little girl, don’t talk nonsense. This is the Tang Dynasty sachet. It’s a treasure that the crew spent a lot of money to order.”

“I know what the Tang Dynasty sachet looks like. I also know that this prop should be designed and imitated with reference to the “silver sachet with grape flowers and bird patterns” unearthed in Hejia Village, Shaanxi Province. “

Director Li understood what she meant, “En.” He said, “You know a lot. Go on.”

Ye Zhen continued, “It’s just that it hasn’t imitated the essence, or in other words, it hasn’t imitated the most valuable part. If the so-called “National Treasure” in the movie is just like that, I don’t think it can bear a title like Tang Dynasty’s greatest treasure.”

Her words were a bit harsh. The props team was the first to ask, “What do you mean?”

“The principle of the aviation gyroscope,” Ye Zhen recited the laws of physics instead of answering directly. “The direction pointed by the axis of rotation of a rotating object does not change when it is not affected by external forces. This principle is widely used in the field of human navigation and aerospace, as well as in the lives of ordinary people, such as the GPS positioning function in cell phones.”

“Eh?” What did you say???

“According to the Western world, this important physical principle was discovered in 1850 by the French physicist Léon, who was studying the rotation of the Earth. But in fact, more than a thousand years ago, in the Tang Dynasty, the principle of the gyroscope was used by the Chinese to make sachets.”

“Oh ho-,” Xi Gu hugged the silver sachet and hurriedly cast a few glances, “Really, our great heavenly dynasty is so powerful?!”

“What I’m talking about is the real treasure of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, like the ‘Silver sachet with grape flower and bird patterns’ unearthed in Hejia Village, Shaanxi Province,” Ye Zhen said as she walked toward Xi Gu. “It’s not the one in your hand. It’s not complete.”

Seeing her approach, Xi Gu unconsciously handed over the sachet in his hand, Ye Zhen took it, turned it over and gently lifted the sachet, pointing to the semicircular cup inside and said, “This fragrant cup is used to hold spices. If the sachet is well imitated, then according to the principle of the gyroscope, no matter how the outer sachet ball is played with, the inner fragrant cup can always maintain balance to ensure that the spices do not spill out, but now,” Ye Zhen shook the outer sachet ball, and the fragrant cup also swayed from left to right, “Obviously, it is not qualified and cannot stand the camera close-up, let alone its propaganda value.”

The whole trigger of the movie, the “National Treasure”, for which China and other foreign powers fought a battle of wits, was not completely reproduced. Indeed, it is very unjustified.

The whole crew was silent, but someone from the prop crew suddenly whispered, “Actually, the problem with the sachet was mentioned by Yege before he died…”

Director Li was worried. When he heard those words, he immediately got angry and said, “Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“Eh, Rongcheng’s President Yue said that it was not necessary,” The more the man said, the lower his voice became, but he added, “I also only heard what others said, I, I was not there…”

There is another “not at that time”. This “at that time” is really feared by everyone, and there is also a story about Rongcheng Yue in it. Ye Zhen hung her head and didn’t want people to see her complicated expression.

Sure enough, as if some kind of taboo had been touched, everyone fell silent for a few seconds in tacit agreement. Suddenly, Director Li said, “Since Brother Ye also said so, let’s change the sachet and don’t let him have no regrets.”

The person in charge of the props group immediately replied, “Okay, Director Li, then I will go ask someone to change now?”

Director Li nodded and said to the others, “Let’s continue shooting, and then fill in the close-up after the change.” He also said to Xi Gu, “Xi Gu, pay attention to your gestures and try to cover the inside of the sachet while shooting.”

“Got it, Director Li.”

Director Li sat down again, not forgetting to turn his head to tease Ye Zhen, “Are all the little girls as good as you these days? What happened yesterday was also quite impressive.”

Ye Zhen teased herself, “Maybe it’s because my last name is also Ye?”

“Ha ha ha -” Many people laughed after this remark. They all thought that she was just rubbing up against Movie Emperor Ye Yi’s reputation as a talented person in his circle. But Master Yao seemed to think of something and looked at her a few more times.

Although there have been some twists and turns, everyone’s filming progress has been surprisingly fast today. Before the sunset, Director Li tapped the table to announce the end of work, which was really rare. The prop crew took the time to pack the sachet into a box and asked Ye Zhen for some physics precautions before sending it to the repair shop.

While Xi Gu was removing his makeup in the makeshift dressing room, he called Rongcheng Jue to gossip: “Dang bro! Something big happened to the woman you are interested in!”

“Ah, what?!” Rongcheng Jue on the other end was so scared that he couldn’t stop thinking, “Ye Zhen was injured? Was she being bullied? Her parents denied her career change and went to the movie crew to pick her up?!”

“Oh no, she did another big thing that shocked the audience.” Xi Gu vividly interpreted today’s “National Treasure” incident, except for the principle of the gyroscope, because he didn’t remember it.

Rongcheng Jue heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, then remembered to scold Xi Gu, “Can you change your damn problem of always saying the opposite, you want to scare me to death ah!”

“Is that the point? Brother, don’t you think she is too powerful? She seems to know everything. That’s not scientific!”

“Uh-huh, do you think anyone can enter Hua University at the age of thirteen? Can anyone publish a paper in a world-class scientific journal at the age of twenty?” Rongcheng Jue said proudly, “Can you?”

“What’s wrong with me not being able to do it,” Xi Gu was just about to childishly mock Rongcheng Jue for “not being able to do it either” when he noticed a buddy talking very happily to their gossip heroine, “Wow, wow, this is a big deal! Your woman is so good, I saw someone confess to her!”

How can this be!!! Even his majestic president didn’t dare to profess his love, “Which bastard dares to dig my corner?”

“Let me see… Well, he seems to be the crew’s production manager*.”

“What does the production manager do, oversee the production?”

“Pfft—” Xi Gu burst out laughing and started to talk some sense into his brother. “Well, even though he is the manager, he is actually below the movie producer*.”

[TL/N: While the line producer sets the limits on budgets and negotiates the key contracts, production managers carry out the decisions that have been made.]

“Tch.” It sounded like this person’s identity was very far from his super-rich president/local tyrant identity. Even such a person dared to go after his family’s Ye Zhen. She won’t like this kind of… No, wait a minute, his family’s Ye Zhen was not some shallow gold digger. In case his shining identity was also a burden in her eyes, “Quick, lean over and listen. Interrupt them if necessary.”

At the critical moment, Xi Gu was willing to stab others twice for the sake of his brother, so he immediately listened to Rongcheng Jue’s instructions and leaned towards Ye Zhen.

The handsome production manager, Zheng Siwen, said, “…Yes, the film crew doesn’t have to go to Macau to shoot anymore. Brother Ye’s scenes there have just been completed, so we don’t need to use the assistant role played by Xi Gu to help him retrieve the national treasure.”

“Ah, what a pity,” Ye Zhen said with a bit of liveliness, “I thought I could go to Macau with the crew. I’ve never been to Macau.”

“So Little Ye, you came to work in the film crew from the Academy of Sciences of Hua University, is it to come out and play for some fun?” After saying that, he felt like he came off a little offensive, so he explained, “I’m sorry, it’s just that your performance in the crew these past two days was too outstanding, so everyone is saying that…”

“Haha, En.” Ye Zhen said with a smile.

Hearing the person involved admit it, the production manager, who had always been calm, was also a little excited. It’s rare to be a top student, and it’s even rarer to be a top student in the film and television industry! “So, you really are a talented woman, how old are you? You must have a high IQ, and your memory is good too!”

“This year, I—”

“Cough, cough, cough…” Suddenly, Xi Gu appeared from behind the two people, coughing continuously as if he was Lin Daiyu*.

[TL/N: Lin Daiyu, female character in The Dream of Red Mansions, cousin and thwarted lover of Jia Baoyu.]

The production manager immediately rushed over and grabbed him. “Xige, what is wrong with you, Xige? Are you alright? Let me help you rest.”

Xi Gu obediently put the weight of his whole body on him, but tremblingly extended his hand to Ye Zhen, “Hurry up, cough, cough, answer the phone. It’s from Ah Jue. He has something to tell you!”

Rongcheng Jue: Grandson, I asked you to patrol for me, not to betray me… Besides, you’re saying the damn opposite again…..

Although she couldn’t appreciate Xi Gu’s exaggerated acting skills, she still answered the phone professionally, “Hello, Mr. Gu. I’m Ye Zhen.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“President Rongcheng, are you still there?”

“En. I’m here, the signal wasn’t very good just now,” Rongcheng Jue’s cold voice finally came through. “Here’s the thing, I’m going on a business trip two days later, and I’m going to inspect the work of the filming group and attend the wrap party on behalf of the management. You can come and get me when the time comes.” After saying that, he probably felt that it was too presumptuous, and carefully added, “Well, can you?”

“Okay, Mr. President,” The corners of Ye Zhen’s mouth turned up. Looking at the red glow outside the shed, she said, “Welcome to another world~”

TL:

Hey!! I just noticed that I have formatted some names and nouns wrong so far, so I will note it here and also change it in the previous chapters:)

容成珏 – Rongcheng Jue [previously Rong Cheng Jue]

*The Rongcheng is formatted that way because it is a compound surname

容成娱乐 – Rongcheng Entertainment [previously Rong Cheng Entertainment]