enjoyebooks Chapter 65 The photo lab needs to keep a sample
Chapter 65 The photo lab needs to keep a sample
The van drove through the puddles in the downpour, the mud kicked up by its wheels sticking to the windshield.
Wu Gang turned the steering wheel twice and parked the car in front of the iron gate of the Shanghai Printing and Photo Processing Factory.
The guardhouse was lit.
A middle-aged man in uniform ran out with an umbrella and went around to the driver's side window.
"Director Chen Yan? Factory Director Zhang is waiting for you on the second floor."
Wu Gang glanced at the rearview mirror.
Chen Yan nodded.
The iron fence was slowly pulled open.
The van drove into the courtyard and parked under the awning below the main building steps.
Su Wan got out of the car first, tucking her briefcase under her arm.
Zhang Yuan took two metal boxes out of the trunk and held them to his chest.
Lin Qingqiu was the last to come out.
She leaned on her crutches, the medical brace around her waist bulging under her oversized coat.
Second floor office.
Zhang Qiming stood at the door to greet them. He was in his early fifties, with his hair neatly combed and wearing a gray polyester shirt with the top button fastened.
"Director Chen, I've heard so much about you."
Zhang Qiming handed over his business card, holding it with both hands.
Chen Yan took the business card, glanced at it, and put it in his trench coat pocket.
"Director Zhang, my film is urgent; the Venice team is pressing us hard."
"I understand, I understand."
Zhang Qiming ushered everyone into the conference room, where teacups and a stack of documents were placed on the table.
"It is an honor for our Shanghai printing and photoprocessing plant to be shortlisted for the Venice competition."
Zhang Qiming pulled out a chair and waited for Chen Yan to sit down before taking his own seat.
"I've prepared all the paperwork: the printing contract, the quality inspection process, the color calibration plan—the whole set."
He pushed the document in front of Chen Yan.
Su Wan took it and turned the pages one by one.
Zhang Yuan placed the box on the table, holding it tightly with both hands.
"Director Zhang, we brought seven rolls of negative film, totaling forty-two minutes of footage."
Su Wan turned to the third page and stopped.
"This clause—the technology sample retention clause."
Zhang Qiming picked up his teacup and blew on it to cool it down.
"Standard procedure. Take thirty seconds of each roll of negative and keep it at the factory for future reference."
"This is the rule at the Shanghai film processing plant; all films handled go through this process."
He took a red-headed document from the drawer and placed it on the table.
"Article 17 of the SH City Film Technology Management Regulations. You see, the official seal, date, and serial number are all complete."
Su Wan picked up the document and examined the watermark against the light.
The document is genuine.
"Chen Yan, this one—"
"I saw it."
Chen Yan leaned back in his chair, his fingers resting on the edge of the film box.
"Director Zhang, thirty seconds, seven rolls of negative film, a total of three and a half minutes of sample."
"Which three and a half points should we keep?"
Zhang Qiming put down his teacup.
"According to the procedure, the technical department will randomly select candidates."
"We only do quality testing, chemical composition analysis, and color reproduction comparison—purely for technical purposes."
He patted the official document.
"The samples will be automatically destroyed after being sealed. Don't worry, Director Chen, our factory has been in business for thirty years, and our reputation speaks for itself."
Su Wan closed the file and looked at Chen Yan.
She couldn't find any vulnerabilities in the program.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the terrazzo floor came from the corridor.
A young man in a dark blue suit appeared at the conference room door.
Her hair was cut extremely short, and she wore a Patek Philippe watch on her left wrist.
He didn't go inside; he leaned against the doorframe.
"Director Chen, once we get to Shanghai, we'll follow Shanghai's rules."
Zhang Yuan's hand sprang off the disc case, and he took half a step forward.
Wu Gang stretched out his right arm, placed it across Zhang Yuan's chest, and pressed him back into place.
Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth, and the muscles on his cheekbones twitched twice.
Chen Yan did not turn around.
He looked at Zhang Qiming.
"Director Zhang, are these guests from your factory?"
Zhang Qiming paused for a moment while holding the teacup, then put it down.
"Zhao, Mr. Shen's secretary, is here to deliver an approval document for Mr. Shen's personal donation of new equipment to the factory."
"It has nothing to do with you."
Chen Yan turned his chair around and looked at the young man at the door.
Secretary Zhao wore a professional smile and stood ramrod straight.
"Director Chen, don't be nervous. President Shen has a very high opinion of your work."
"Regarding the Venice matter, General Manager Shen said that the Shanghai printing plant will fully cooperate."
"The rules cannot be broken."
Chen Yan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.
"Please thank Mr. Shen for me."
Secretary Zhao nodded and turned to walk into the corridor.
The sound of leather shoes gradually faded into the distance.
Zhang Yuan leaned close to Chen Yan's ear.
"Brother Yan, this is a damn trap. Keeping a copy is like filming a remake; thirty seconds is enough for them to copy all the key footage—"
"Shut up."
Wu Gang interrupted him in a low voice.
Chen Yan took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers twice.
He looked at Gu Changhe, who had been silent in the corner.
"Old Gu, could you take a sample of that handmade thread and wash it yourself, without having to go through the process?"
Gu Changhe chewed on the cigarette holder in his mouth and spat out a piece of tobacco.
"We're short on medicine. The two bottles of Kodak No. 12 you brought back are enough for two rolls of washing, what about the remaining five rolls?"
"Forced washing?"
"If you wash it too hard, the color temperature will be off by 300K. If you send it to a Venetian house, you can tell at a glance that it came from a shabby workshop."
Gu Changhe shook his head.
"Either use the machines here, or you're out of luck."
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Chen Yan put the cigarette back into the cigarette case.
"Director Zhang."
"exist."
"I agree to keep the sample."
Su Wan turned to look at him.
Zhang Yuan opened his mouth, but was forced back down by Wu Gang's gaze.
"But I specified the extraction location."
Zhang Qiming was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Director Chen means—"
"Seven rolls of negative film, with sample sections marked by me on each roll. You will cut according to the marked positions, without touching the other frames."
Zhang Qiming placed his hands on the table and tapped the surface three times with his index finger.
"This... isn't quite compliant. The regulations state that it should be a random selection."
"Director Zhang, how many of the films your factory handled last year were submitted to the Venice Film Festival's competition section?"
Zhang Qiming's finger stopped.
"Venice has strict standards for the color reproduction of submitted copies."
Chen Yan took the contract from Su Wan and turned to the last page.
"Once this contract is signed, your factory's name will be printed in the technical acknowledgments section of the official Venice manual."
"This is the first time in thirty years that a Shanghai film processing plant has experienced this."
Zhang Qiming rubbed his right hand against the knuckles of his left hand.
There was a silence of about ten seconds.
"OK."
Zhang Qiming reached out and took the contract.
"You label it, we cut it. But the sample must go through the sealing process; this step cannot be changed."
"no problem."
Chen Yan picked up the pen on the table, signed his name on the last page of the contract, and handed the pen to Su Wan.
After Su Wan signed the contract, she pushed it back.
Zhang Qiming put the contract away and stood up to shake hands.
"Director Chen, filming will begin at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. The technical staff will be there in advance."
He led everyone out of the conference room and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"The printing and processing workshop is on the east side of the first floor. I had someone adjust the temperature and humidity in advance."
"Where are you all staying tonight? The factory has a guesthouse—"
"Need not."
Chen Yan said.
The group walked down the stairs, through the awning, and back to the bread cart.
Chen Yan opened the car door but didn't get in.
He turned to look at Zhang Yuan.
"Move the film box back to the car."
Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment.
"Not tomorrow morning at eight o'clock—"
"Move it back."
Zhang Yuanzhao did it.
The seven boxes of tablets were repacked into the trunk.
Chen Yan took a marker out of the inside pocket of his trench coat and squatted down.
He opened the clasp of the film box and checked the number labels one by one.
Volume 3, Volume 5, Volume 7.
Chen Yan pushed the three boxes of films aside.
"These three volumes are of the main working position and two side working positions of the collapsed clock tower."
He looked up at Zhang Yuan.
"Now go back to the factory, tear off the labels on these three rolls, and replace them with test numbers."
Zhang Yuan squatted down and took out a white label from his toolbox.
"What number should we change it to?"
"T-01, T-02, T-03. The purpose is marked as 'camera internal exposure test'."
Zhang Yuan tore off the old label and pasted on a new one, the handwriting messy but clear.
Chen Yan stood up and walked to Lin Qingqiu's side.
Lin Qingqiu leaned against the car door, her cane tucked under her arm.
The heavy rain pounded against the metal sheet of the awning, creating a dense, resounding sound.
"Qingqiu, take off your protective gear."
Lin Qingqiu looked down at him.
"The one on your waist."
Chen Yan took out three rolls of film labeled with test numbers from the trunk.
Each roll was tightly wrapped in a black plastic bag, and then three layers of tape were applied.
He squatted down and stuffed the three rolls of film into the lining of Lin Qingqiu's waist brace.
The metal support and the medical sponge fit together perfectly.
Is it heavy?
Lin Qingqiu stretched her waist, tightening the straps of the protective gear.
"Not heavy."
Chen Yan unzipped her coat and then zipped it back up, concealing the outline of the protective gear.
"We'll go into the factory tomorrow morning, but you won't. Brother Wu will take you to the train station so you can take the earliest train back to Yanjing."
"When you arrive, find Teacher Yan and hand the items to him personally."
Lin Qingqiu gripped her cane tightly.
"understood."
Chen Yan straightened up and patted her shoulder.
"These three tapes are the backbone of the entire film."
"I don't trust anyone but you."
Lin Qingqiu didn't say anything more.
She turned and got into the passenger seat, placing her cane between the seat and the door.
Wu Gang started the engine, and the van backed out from under the awning.
Chen Yan patted the roof of the car twice.
The van drove into the downpour, its taillights swaying a few times in the mist, before turning onto the main road.
Su Wan walked over to Chen Yan and lowered her voice.
"The remaining four volumes are all setup scenes and transitional segments, so it doesn't matter if we give them samples?"
"It doesn't matter."
Chen Yan wiped the rain off his face.
"What Shen Congzhou wanted to see was the collapse of the clock tower. Since he couldn't get that footage, any samples he kept would be useless."
"But he will find—"
"By the time he discovered it, the negatives were already in Yanjing."
Chen Yan glanced at the lights in the office on the second floor.
The curtains were pulled open a crack, and someone was standing behind the window.
"Let's go find a place to spend the night. We need to be at the factory by eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning and deliver the remaining four rolls without missing a single frame."
Su Wan folded her briefcase and opened her umbrella.
The next morning.
The printing workshop of a Shanghai printing and photo processing plant.
Zhang Qiming, wearing a white coat, stood personally beside the control panel.
The four negatives were cut according to the sample positions marked by Chen Yan.
Zhang Qiming took the pre-packaged sample fragments and placed them into an iron box marked with a sealing number.
"Director Chen, the sample collection is complete. Now, load the remaining sample into the machine."
Chen Yan nodded.
Zhang Qiming carried the iron box out of the workshop, through the corridor, and pushed open the door to the darkroom.
The red safety light comes on.
Place the tin box on the worktable.
The door to the dark room was closed from the outside.
In the corridor, Secretary Zhao leaned against the wall, holding up his flip phone in his right hand and dialing a number.
The call was connected.
"Mr. Shen, the goods have arrived."