Zhou Lu was silent for a moment, and had to admit that what the young man said made a lot of sense.

Ten episodes of animation would only cost a few tens of thousands of yuan at most, which is negligible for a TV station.

She looked into Jiang Xia's eyes and said, "Mr. Jiang, do you plan to continue making Tom and Jerry?"

"Of course, the biggest advantage of episodic dramas is that you don't have to worry about the plot falling apart. There is no so-called grand finale, and you can make it as long as you want."

Jiang Xia paused, placed his hand on the table, interlaced his fingers to support his chin, and slowly said, "In my plan, Tom and Jerry will be a long series of at least several hundred episodes, but for now, due to production capacity constraints, we can only proceed slowly."

Listening to his grand promises, Zhou Lu remained silent. As things stand, a story spanning hundreds of episodes is still too far off, and many long-running animations have even been abandoned midway due to poor performance of the animation companies.

TV stations only care about current viewership ratings.

As the editor in charge of the children's channel, she has encountered countless animation companies that talked a good game during negotiations but then messed things up afterwards.

Those guys will do anything to scam government subsidies.

"If the animation does well in terms of ratings after its release, and Mr. Jiang has more dramas in hand, would you continue to choose to cooperate with our station?" She looked into Jiang Xia's eyes and said, word by word, "I'm referring to the exclusive first-run broadcast rights."

Jiang Xia nodded gently: "Of course. If there is a need in this regard, Chongqing TV Station will be my first choice."

Hearing this promise, Zhou Lu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Then, Mr. Jiang, name your price." She smiled professionally again. "How much do you think the cat and mouse are worth?"

Jiang Xia slowly extended a finger.

"One hundred per minute?" Zhou Lu raised an eyebrow slightly.

"No, it's a thousand."

One thousand per minute, and based on the average duration of Tom and Jerry at 7.5 minutes, that's seven thousand five hundred yuan.

Zhou Lu refused without much thought: "Mr. Jiang, although the quality of Tom and Jerry is indeed good, no local TV station would agree to this price. Even CCTV Children's Channel would think the price is too high."

"So what price do you think is appropriate?" Jiang Xia asked with a smile, silently passing the buck back to Jiang Xia.

Zhou Lu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that the young man in front of her was actually a cunning old fox in disguise, and his conversation skills were quite high.

Thinking about the bottom line the station had just given her, she lowered it even further: "Three hundred per minute."

Jiang Xia also shook his head: "Editor Zhou, this price is too low. Others can only cut it by half at most, but you cut it by 70% at once. It's not even enough to pay my employees' salaries. To be honest, a few local TV stations contacted us before, and the prices they offered were much higher than this."

Why did your company choose us?

"It's simple, because I'm from Chongqing."

He smiled and said, "How about this, I'm too lazy to haggle like the aunties at the market. Let's be straightforward, one price, four thousand per episode."

Zhou Lu frowned. This price was still higher than the station's bottom line. Converted to per minute based on the frequency, it was probably between 500 and 550.

"Mr. Jiang, I can't make a decision on this price. I need to discuss it with the station again." She said, and left the meeting room once more.

"Ah Xia, if I had to guess, five hundred per minute is their target price, but they don't think it's much more than that, so they want to think about it some more," Li Weiya said after a moment's thought.

"I think so too."

Shortly after, Zhou Lu walked into the meeting room with a smile: "Boss Jiang, the station has agreed to your quote, but to be honest, this is the highest price offered this year."

"I guess they agreed because there are relatively few episodes?" Jiang Xia said with a smile.

Zhou Lu didn't hide these things, nodding with a smile: "Yes, mainly because the leaders at the station really think highly of the Tom and Jerry animation, otherwise they wouldn't have agreed."

She took out a pre-prepared standard contract and handed it over, explaining the relevant clauses to Jiang Xia bit by bit, including the animation trailer and the arrangement for Tom and Jerry to officially air during prime time on June 30.

With the peak summer TV season approaching, coupled with the recent animated hit, Chongqing TV might just see a small ratings peak.

Jiang Xia read it carefully once, and then showed it to Li Weiya again. He didn't think there were any traps. The contract signed this time only covered the first twelve episodes. As for the subsequent cooperation, they would discuss it later.

It is worth noting that during the exclusive first run, Jiang Xia cannot sell Tom and Jerry to other TV stations.

"Mr. Jiang, if you think the contract is fine, then sign it." Zhou Lu smiled slightly.

"OK."

He reviewed it carefully again, signed all the contents, and finally both parties affixed their company seals at the signature area, thus making the contract effective.

"Mr. Jiang, it's a pleasure doing business with you." Zhou Lu stood up and shook hands with him.

"It was a pleasure working with you, and we look forward to working with your station again in the future."

"Wishing Tom and Jerry great success in advance."

"Haha, then I wish for a huge increase in viewership during the broadcast period."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Mr. Jiang, would you like me to show you around the TV station?"

"No need, I only have 10 episodes of Tom and Jerry right now, I still owe you two episodes, I have to hurry back to work overtime." Jiang Xia shook his head and said.

Zhou Lu chuckled and said, "In that case, I won't see you off. Take care, both of you."

She suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Mr. Jiang, my son also really likes the Tom and Jerry cartoon. He says it's really funny."

"It's an honor for me to be liked by children."

As the two entered the elevator, Zhou Lu was slightly lost in thought.

An eighteen-year-old animation producer, that's truly outstanding.

◇

Jiang Xia and Li Weiya walked out of the TV station building, both of them letting out a sigh of relief.

"Aunt Li, I did a pretty good job just now, didn't I?"

She gave a thumbs up: "Not only good, you've got the negotiation in your hands. 4,000 yuan per episode, if it's successful, the subsequent acquisition price will only go up, not down. Other TV stations will probably contact you soon. It's no exaggeration to say, Xia, you're going to make a fortune."

Jiang Xia smiled without saying a word. He knew very well that the true value of the cat and mouse was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Speaking of which, where did you learn those negotiation skills? Schools don't teach that."

"From childhood to adulthood, my elders have always said that I'm outgoing and eloquent, and that I'm destined to be a leader," Jiang Xia said shamelessly.

"So, you mean it's innate?"

"Haha, maybe."

"Auntie, are you hungry? Let's go eat, it's my treat today!"

Jiang Xia was in high spirits after successfully selling the first-run broadcast rights for Tom and Jerry. It wasn't for the 48,000 yuan, but because the reputation of Qitian Animation Company would truly take off when Tom and Jerry was released.

...

(good evening)