Chapter 442: The Unexpected Answer
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Understudies were divided into several types—minor-scene, martial arts, nude, lightning, and stunt understudies, etc. Among them, martial arts and stunt understudies shared certain commonalities, and were often deemed the same. The understudy Feng Xuan referred to would replace Famous in some dangerous shots.
Although the special effects in the film industry were improving rapidly, understudies would not disappear for the foreseeable future, and would remain an indispensable and important part of most films. They were hidden behind the scenes, and their names will not appear in the credits. Their salary was trivial compared to celebrities', but they often risked injury or death. Flowers and applause belonged to the stars, while the understudies were only responsible for bleeding and sweating.
As for why they should choose retired police dogs as understudies, Feng Xuan believed that, although this movie was strongly supported by the Tie Dun Television and Film Center, and the Binhai City Police Force, injuring police dogs would result in negative consequences; however, if they chose ordinary German Shepherds from some pet shop, the quality of these dogs would be a far cry from that of the police dogs'.
It was a good compromise to choose police dogs that had been retired from the police dog training base. These "police dogs" were retired during training, and were unlike real police dogs. But in terms of individual quality and obedience, they were much stronger than average dogs, so Feng Xuan made up his mind to buy these retired police dogs, who would serve as Famous's understudy and other important supporting roles. In other words, the understudies would take the danger away from the other dogs.
Zhang Zian had been thinking about this matter all night long and barely got any sleep. Lying in bed, looking through the dim light of the night lamp, he had been staring at the ceiling and was lost in thought. He heard Famous was also tossing and turning, as if it were in the middle of a nightmare. It whimpered and sobbed from time to time.
He could more or less guess what Famous was thinking—it wanted to be an angel, and it was unwilling to see its peers be wounded or die for it. Apart from that, could there be a deeper reason? He did not know. Maybe he would find out when Famous came to realize its true identity.
After getting up in the morning, Zhang Zian first made the beef and potato, then practiced boxing, and cleaned up the store a little bit as usual.
"Mr. Store Manager, why do you have dark circles? Did you not sleep well last night?" Lu Yiyun was still very observative. The moment she entered the store, she noticed Zhang Zian with dark circles around his eyes.
"Yes, mild insomnia." Zhang Zian did not intend to explain more. For whatever reason, he did suffer from insomnia.
Although the quality of lunch provided by the crew had improved a lot, it was meant for human beings, and the meat was too little for dogs. So, Zhang Zian still prepared stewed beef with potato for the three German Shepherds, but the amount was less than before.
While putting dices of potato and beef brisket into the lunchboxes, Zhang Zian asked Lu Yiyun how things had been in the store the past few days. The answer was everything was normal. There were several customers who wanted to see the Abyssinian cats do ballet, but because Zhang Zian was absent, Lu Yiyun could not direct the cats. But her cat Jasmine, after being taught by Fina, had learned how to dance. Even if its dancing was not as good as the Abyssinian cats, at least the customers could be entertained, and their trip to the pet shop had not been completely in vain.
After getting up, Famous appeared to be so down that it did not even finish its breakfast, the rest of which was snatched and eaten by Red Dragon and Prince. Zhang Zian knew that Famous was still resisting having an understudy, but Zhang Zian did not have a valid reason to stop Feng Xuan.
When the other elves in the shop also finished breakfast, in order to pass the time, Zhang Zian played hide-and-seek with Galaxy for a while. Then he stood at the door and chatted with Lu Yiyun about painting, looking outside the store from time to time. After a while, a police car marked with "Binhai City Police Dog Unit" stopped at the door. He said goodbye to Lu Yiyun, and led Famous and the two dogs outside.
Yesterday, it was Wang who picked him up, and today it was Liu again. The moment it left the shop, as if it had felt the presence of its owner, Red Dragon lunged in the direction of the police car. Liu came out from the car and intimately hugged Red Dragon.
Zhang Zian praised Red Dragon's excellent performance during shooting, making Liu so happy that he hugged Red Dragon cheerfully with excitement. How Liu wished that he could be in the crew so that he could personally witness Red Dragon complete a series of difficult training moves.
On the way to Binhai Studio, after some small talk, Zhang Zian suddenly changed the subject, "Liu, I want to ask you something."
Staring at the road in front of him, Liu casually said, "What happened, Zhang? We are so familiar with each other now, you can ask me anything. Oh, yes, I'm single."
"What are you thinking about? I'm not introducing you to girls! Even I don't have a girlfriend myself!" said Zhang Zian. It is said that one out of every five male adults in China was doomed to be a bachelor. But wasn't the probability slightly higher for Zhang Zian to run into some singles?
"Haha, Zhang, I'm kidding. I don't think any girl is willing to lay an eye on us dog trainers. We earn so little, not to mention we always smell like dog urine, which can never wash off. Girls just avoid us when they see us!" In a good mood, Liu laughed heartily. "I'll stop joking now. Zhang, what did you want to ask?"
"Well, I would like to ask, do you what happens to dogs that fail to pass training? What happens to them in the end?" Zhang Zian asked with a serious expression.
The smile on Liu's face suddenly froze. He became silent with no answer.
"Why, you can't say?" Zhang Zian was surprised. This was not a private affair, and it stood to reason that there should be no unspeakable implication in the answer.
"No, nor that, it's just that…Zhang, why are you thinking about this?" Liu's tone was somewhat abstruse.
"Oh, here is the case, the director fears that Famous, Red Dragon, and other dogs might be accidentally hurt while filming, and he would like to go to the police dog training base to buy a couple of retired dogs as their understudies. What do you think?" Zhang Zian told him frankly, carefully observing Liu expression as he spoke. He had prepared himself that Liu would get angry once he heard this. He felt that since Liu was so fond of police dogs, he would be fiercely opposed to this idea.
Famous, who had been listless, raised its head and looked at Liu's face from the backseat when it heard "understudy."
However, to Zhang Zian's surprise, Liu suddenly became emotional. He blurted out, "Zhang, please be sure to convince the director to try and buy a few more!"
Huh? Zhang Zian was shocked. He exchanged a curious glance with Famous. Famous gently shook its head, meaning that Liu was not lying—he really meant it when he said he hoped the crew could buy a few more dogs.
"Why?" Zhang Zian could not get the answer from Famous, so he had to ask Liu directly.
Biting his lower lip, Liu said with a straight face, "Zhang, you know what? Police dogs, even the retired ones, are not allowed to enter in the market in accordance with the provisions."
Zhang Zian nodded, "This I can understand." Police dogs were breeds imported from abroad at high prices, and it was too much of a loss for the police force if the dogs became available in the market.
"However, the training base has been secretly selling retired dogs, because if we don't, in accordance with the regulations, they will be slaughtered!" Liu said painfully.
"What?" Zhang Zian was astounded! Famous was trembling! One man and one dog were stunned and speechless.
Liu slightly slowed down. He wiped the corners of his eyes and continued, "There are a lot of dogs that fail to meet the standards during training. They cannot become police dogs, and it's impossible for the base to keep raising them for nothing, so we have to think of a way to 'dispose' of them."
Goosebumps were all over his body when Zhang Zian heard the two cold words "dispose of."
Liu sobbed and said, "To tell you the truth, Zhang, the money we get from selling those dogs could subsidize funding for the base. The rest of the dogs can eat better and lead a better life. Most importantly, whether those dogs are bought as a child's playmate or as a doorkeeper, at least they can continue living. Even if they are bought to become understudies for a movie, it's better than imminent death!"
The hazy morning light cast into the car window, but Zhang Zian felt chills all over his body.