Chapter 48

The production crew finally wrapped up their filming in the capital city. To coordinate some matters at the Chengde Mountain Resort, the director gave everyone a rare half-day off. Even though it was just half a day, it was still very precious.

Because of the intense shooting schedule over the past two days, almost all the actors were physically and mentally exhausted. Ye Ming had suggested going out for a walk, but seeing that it was already past eight and no one had woken up yet, he gave up on the idea.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Wei appeared in the corridor in slippers. Seeing Ye Ming, she immediately perked up: "Ye Ming, where are you going? Are you going out? Where to?"

No matter how you looked at it, Zhao Wei's eyes were listless, completely different from her lively appearance in front of the camera. Ye Ming thought for a moment and said, "I was thinking of going out with everyone, but it seems no one is up for it. So, I plan to go to Will International to handle some patent-related matters."

Ye Ming had applied for a patent for the pillar-type track car, and Zhao Wei was very clear about this.

But at this moment, Zhao Wei was even more puzzled: "Didn't you ask Zhongjie Company to help with the application?"

Ye Ming shrugged: "That's for the patents in Taiwan and Hong Kong. I want to apply for international patents, which are valid in countries around the world."

Shaking her head in confusion, Zhao Wei exclaimed, "That sounds complicated. By the way, could you help me bring some allergy medication when you go out? Xinru and I have been getting red spots on our foreheads and ears recently, and it's getting harder to control."

Ye Ming walked over and saw that Zhao Wei indeed had some small red spots on her ear. He immediately said, "You should be careful. I'll bring some back for you."

Will International, a U.S.-based agency specializing in international patent applications, had just set up an office in the capital city this year. However, in the past six months, they had only received ten small orders, all for patents in specific countries. This made the head of the office, Francis, very frustrated. He thought it shouldn't be this way.

With so many people in China, why were there so few applications for international patents? Didn't they know the importance of patents?

Today, Francis was leisurely reading a newspaper, with a cup of black tea by his side. Initially, he used to put coffee there, but he eventually decided that a cup of black tea was more appropriate for the local culture, even though he found it tasted like medicine.

However, what truly made Francis bitter was the lack of customers.

For a month, not a single customer had come in.

The receptionist, Tony, ran over excitedly: "Boss, we have a big order today. You'll be pleased."

Ye Ming then appeared in front of Francis. Tony introduced him: "This gentleman wants to apply for an international patent, and he wants to apply for a patent in all countries."

Hearing this, Francis's eyes lit up, and he waved his hand: "Tony, go get a cup of coffee, no, Mr., do you prefer tea or coffee?"

Ye Ming put down the file bag in his hand: "Coffee, thank you. Mr. Francis, I heard from a friend that your company is very professional in international patent applications, so I came here. I have an invention that has already been granted a patent in my country. Now, I hope to obtain an international patent as soon as possible. I believe you are familiar with the PCT process."

Francis said excitedly, "You've come to the right place. We at Will International are the most professional agency. However, I have two questions. First, have you applied for an international patent? If not, it will be more complicated. Second, the funds you need to prepare will not be small."

Ye Ming waved his hand: "Mr. Francis, don't worry. I have already applied for an international patent with our country's patent office, but I found the process too complicated, so I decided to find an agency. My friend recommended you. As for the money, don't worry."

Hearing that money was not a problem, Francis became even more interested. Could this young man be one of those rich second-generation heirs?

At that moment, a predatory gleam appeared in Francis's eyes.

He smiled and said, "As you wish. Generally, it takes 28 months to get a preliminary investigation report for an international patent application. However, you can trust the professionalism of Will International. We will control the display period to within six months to a year, depending on the agreements of various countries. During the patent application period, our professional legal team will provide the best protection for our customers. If someone infringes on your patent, our lawyers will sue them until they go bankrupt.

However, the cost is high. It will cost 80,000 yuan for each patent application. What do you think?"

Ye Ming opened the file bag and took out 80,000 yuan in cash.

After signing the contract, Ye Ming became the first major client of Will International's China office, the first to propose a comprehensive international application.

However, the 100,000 yuan that He Qiuqiong had given Ye Ming as a usage fee was almost entirely spent on this. But Ye Ming believed it was worth it; otherwise, it might take three to five years to obtain an international patent.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

This further reinforced Francis's belief that Ye Ming was a rich second-generation heir. However, after seeing Ye Ming's patent, Francis quickly realized he was wrong.

He felt he had encountered a genius, an extraordinary genius.

Francis sighed, "Mr. Ye Ming, I think if you were willing to sell your patent, someone would pay at least 100,000 U.S. dollars, or even more, for it."

What Ye Ming had to do next was wait. In at most a year, he would own the international patent for the pillar-type track car.

At the Chengde Mountain Resort, on the third day of filming for "The Story of a Concubine," the problem Ye Ming had been worried about finally occurred.

Allergies. Zhao Wei, Lin Xinru, and Fan Binni all showed symptoms of allergies.

The allergies were so severe that even makeup couldn't cover them up. It was impossible to shoot close-up scenes, and even regular scenes would show the red spots caused by the allergies.

The main actors were sitting in the makeup van, and Su Youpeng was puzzled: "Why did this happen? The makeup artists use the same brand of cosmetics for all of us, right?"

The production's makeup team had purchased the same brand of cosmetics, so it was unlikely that only one or two people would have an allergic reaction.

Ye Ming held a flower ornament and said, "It's not the cosmetics. It's the jewelry. These are cheap plastic accessories. They look good and are very camera-friendly, but they are plastic. Wearing them for a long time can cause allergies. This is proven by the fact that the supporting actors didn't have this problem because they wore the jewelry for a shorter time. However, Xiao Yanzi, Zhiwei, and Jin Suo wear the jewelry for almost ten hours every day, and it's no surprise they have developed allergies."

Fan Binni complained, "My head has been itchy for a week, and I'm losing hair. It's driving me crazy."

Zhang Tielin said, "As a newcomer, I can't say anything. I just thought I could endure it, but it's getting worse. Now, we can't even shoot the scenes, which is a problem for the director."

If only one of the three main actresses had an allergic reaction, they might have adjusted the shooting schedule to focus on the others. However, with all three having severe allergies, it was a serious issue.

The assistant director, Chao Guoli, approached Sun Shupeng with a worried look: "Director, this can't go on. I've seen that Zhao Wei and Lin Xinru's allergies are very severe. They can't be on camera, and it's affecting the shooting. They are the main actors, and if they can't shoot, it will severely impact the production."

Sun Shupeng was not unaware of the problem with the plastic jewelry, but the production had no money. They had to save wherever they could, or they would have to rush the shooting at the film studio.

However, Sun Shupeng never expected that all three main actresses would develop severe allergies at the same time.

The director looked at the script and said, "Let's shoot the scenes with other actors first and see how it goes."

Chao Guoli hesitated and said, "Treating the allergies will cost a lot of money."

Hearing about money, Sun Shupeng became annoyed and said, "Money, money, everything is about money. Does the production owe them? You know the situation. How much money does the production have left? We need to be frugal. I'll give them two days to go back to the capital city for a check-up and see what's going on. For now, I'll reimburse up to 1,000 yuan. They'll have to handle the rest themselves. Tell them, two days, and they must come back to shoot after that, or they won't be reimbursed."

In the end, although Sun Shupeng was very angry, he couldn't refuse to reimburse them at all, as it would be demoralizing.

However, 1,000 yuan sounded a bit stingy. How could three people get treated for allergies with 1,000 yuan?

Fan Binni said without hesitation, "Reimbursing 1,000 yuan, what a joke. This isn't the way to save money. And they want us to get better in two days. Oh no, Sister Wei, you might as well strangle me."

Hearing this news, Fan Binni was devastated.