There was a two-second silence in the meeting room before Zhou Lu recovered from that astonished gaze.

Seeing the calm demeanor of the young man in front of her, she immediately returned an apologetic smile: "I'm so sorry, Mr. Jiang, I just didn't expect that the person who created Tom and Jerry would be so young."

Jiang Xia smiled faintly and said, "Many people say that."

"May I ask how old Mr. Jiang is this year?"

"Eighteen years old, just graduated from high school," he said honestly.

Zhou Lu silently gasped. While most people are still studying at eighteen, he had already started a company and become his own boss.

If we consider the animation production cycle, doesn't that mean he was still studying when he created Tom and Jerry?

Moreover, there are no animation production-related courses in high school, so his self-taught skills and ability to apply them in practice are enough to demonstrate his excellence.

"Mr. Jiang is truly a young hero," Zhou Lu exclaimed unconsciously.

His daily work involves dealing with seasoned professionals in the industry, and this is the first time someone as young as Jiang Xia has done so.

"Editor Zhou, you flatter me. I've just loved animation since I was a child," Jiang Xia said with a slight smile.

"Let's get to know each other again. I'm Zhou Lu, the editor in charge of the children's channel at Chongqing TV Station," Zhou Lu said, extending her hand.

Jiang Xia replied calmly, "Qi Tian Animation, Jiang Xia."

The two shook hands amicably, and this interruption made the atmosphere in the room much more relaxed.

Li Weiya watched from the side and nodded secretly. She didn't see the slightest tension in Jiang Xia. His movements, expressions, and conversations were all just right. This kind of mature temperament is often unique to some entrepreneurs or leaders.

But as a student who got the benefits, I wasn't even a class leader at school.

All of this only proves that Jiang Tianxia is born to be a boss.

"Mr. Jiang, please have a seat," Zhou Lu said politely. "I won't bother with the pleasantries; let's get straight to the point."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Jiang Xia nodded gently.

Zhou Lu asked, "Does your company want Tom and Jerry to be broadcast on Chongqing TV?"

"Before answering that question, I'd like to ask Editor Zhou and the animation team what they think of Tom and Jerry." He smiled and passed the buck back, "This is important to me, and to Tom and Jerry."

"Can I take this question as Mr. Jiang's assessment of our TV station?" Zhou Lu joked.

"I wouldn't call it an investigation. Editor Zhou, just think of me as someone who's young and wants to learn more about the situation." Jiang Xia tilted her head slightly, making an expression typical of her age.

Simply put, it's about a handsome young man who made a cute gesture towards a mature older woman.

Undeniably, this unexpected move was very effective.

"Okay, then I'll tell you."

Zhou Lu smiled and said, "I and my colleagues in the department have watched all the videos that Boss Jiang sent me before, including some of the PVs that have been circulating online. To be honest, the quality of the content that has been leaked so far has already aroused my strong interest as an adult. And that is why I was able to sit down and talk to Boss Jiang today."

Jiang Xia nodded; these words were similar to Li Weiya's previous guesses.

A great animated work will never lack channels for broadcasting.

"Qitian Animation Company also hopes to cooperate closely with your station," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Having reached this point, the foundation for cooperation has been laid. The next step is to see if the proposed price is satisfactory.

"So, Mr. Jiang, did you bring the cat and mouse today?"

"certainly."

He handed over a backup hard drive, knowing that the TV station needed to conduct a detailed evaluation of the animation itself before submitting a quote. However, just to be on the safe side, the hard drive only contained five episodes.

"Please wait a moment."

Zhou Lu handed the hard drive out, leaving only Jiang Xia and Li Weiya in the reception room.

"Aunt Li, was there a problem with what I just said?"

"It's alright, within the normal range. However, the TV station's willingness to cooperate is quite strong."

Li Weiya said with a smile, "We'll see how they make their demands later, and you can respond accordingly. If I hear anything unreasonable, I'll cough to remind you."

"good."

About half an hour later, Zhou Lu returned with the portable hard drive. Her expression was calm, and it was impossible to tell how their discussion had gone.

"Mr. Jiang, I'd like to ask, how many episodes of Tom and Jerry do you actually have?" Zhou Lu asked casually.

Instead of asking about the production company's price, he directly asked about the number of episodes of the animation. As soon as he said that, Jiang Xia had a better idea of ​​what was going on.

"Ten episodes," he said truthfully.

"Only ten episodes..." She frowned slightly.

"What about the production speed?"

"Currently, we release one episode every two weeks. If we speed up the process, we can release about three episodes a month."

To be fair, this pace is already quite fast in today's animation market.

"Mr. Jiang, our station is very interested in Tom and Jerry, but there are too few episodes currently. The average length of each episode is so short. If we broadcast two episodes a day, it will only last for five days."

"If I remember correctly, 'Calabash Brothers' only had 6 episodes, right? It still became a classic," Jiang Xia replied unhurriedly.

“However, Calabash Brothers has a complete storyline, while Tom and Jerry uses an episodic format, with each episode being a short story, which greatly reduces audience engagement,” Zhou Lu said.

Viewer engagement affects ratings. If ratings don't rise significantly during the anime's broadcast time, it's definitely not good news for the TV station.

In other words, the TV station is deliberately trying to drive down the price.

If possible, TV stations would love to get the broadcasting rights for free.

At this moment, Li Weiya coughed softly, and Jiang Xia understood.

“Editor Zhou, you’re wrong. So-called audience stickiness is not related to the form of animation, but to the quality of the animation.”

He said confidently, "Even if it's an episodic series, as long as the story is good enough, people will naturally watch the second episode after watching the first one. Didn't you just say that just the clips that have been leaked online have already aroused your strong interest as an adult?"

Zhou Lu neither confirmed nor denied it. The online reviews of Tom and Jerry are indeed very high, and it does attract a number of viewers after it airs. But the question is, how many people will actually keep watching the series?

"Are you so sure that Tom and Jerry will bring good ratings to the station?"

"We live in the age of internet and information, and television ratings are declining year by year. Why not take a gamble?"

He continued, "Ten episodes of Tom and Jerry isn't a long time, but it's not short either. For a TV station, the cost of trial and error is pitifully low. If the ratings are bad, your station can just cancel it and won't choose to continue cooperating with me in the future. Editor Zhou, don't you agree?"

...

(One more chapter)