June 8th, 5 PM.
As the bell rang to signal the end of the last English exam, Jiang Xia seemed to hear many people letting out a long sigh of relief.
Regardless of how well or poorly you did on the exam, your three years of high school will eventually come to an end at this moment.
But his life was just beginning.
After packing up his exam supplies and leaving the classroom, he ran into Lin Yanwan at their usual spot, and their hands naturally began to touch.
"Phew, it's finally over," he exclaimed.
"You finally have time to properly work on your animation, right?" Lin Yanwan glanced at him, her thoughts perfectly clear.
"Hehe, my baby understands me best."
For most people, the summer after the college entrance exam is the happiest time of their lives, but for him, there's still a lot to do.
The most important thing right now is to use Tom and Jerry to negotiate the first-run broadcast rights with TV stations. Whether Qitian Animation Company can survive depends on this.
Both of them called home to report on their exams and said they would have lunch with their classmates and wouldn't be going home.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yanwan looked at Jiang Xia and asked, "What are your plans?"
"Of course, we should first invite my two employees to have a meal together and discuss the upcoming work matters. We are on a tight schedule and cannot delay. Tom and Jerry must be successfully released by the end of this month at the latest."
"good."
The two finally found a small restaurant near the school. Because the college entrance exams had just ended today, almost all the restaurants were packed.
Jiang Xia ordered eight stir-fries and two soups in one go, and the pocket money Xia Shanshan had given him in the past two days was almost gone in the blink of an eye.
Half an hour later, Wang Ming and Shen Ying arrived one after the other.
Looking at the table full of dishes, Wang Ming exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, boss, what day is it today? Such a generous gesture!"
"It's nothing much, just celebrating the company's first team building activity. I also want to let you guys know that after the college entrance exams, the company's development will start to get on track, so there won't be much time to play around."
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Speaking of which, how did you two do on the exam?"
Shen Ying sighed: "Don't even mention it. I can't understand English, and I can't do math. I'm doomed."
Of the four, Shen Ying had the worst grades; otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up working as a real estate salesperson in her previous life.
"It's not that bad. Just work hard, and you won't be any worse than anyone else in the future," Jiang Xia said with a smile.
"Waaaaah, Yanwan, boss lady, I'm really going to depend on you for my livelihood from now on." Shen Ying walked over and hugged Lin Yanwan's leg, pretending to cry.
"Then work hard, Yingying. You don't want to end up selling houses, do you?" Lin Yanwan said with a serious expression.
“Sell the house? No way, I’d rather die than do that. Everyone says only incompetent people sell houses.” Shen Ying shook her head vigorously.
Jiang Xia's expression was strange. From 2010 to 2020, during the decade of rampant housing price growth, countless real estate agents became rich overnight, but many more did not make any money. Shen Ying happened to be one of those people who were neither rich nor poor.
"I won't say anything else. From now on, let's all work together and wish Qitian Animation all the best." He picked up his drink and gave a speech as the boss.
"cheers!"
Four energetic young people clinked their glasses together, making a crisp sound.
Although the current makeshift team is still very rudimentary and doesn't even have a formal office, it doesn't diminish their youthful and impetuous spirit.
At least, the quality of Tom and Jerry speaks for itself, far superior to other animations currently on the market. If it successfully airs on television, it will show everyone just how remarkable Qitian Animation is.
"Old Jiang, just tell me, what other work do you want me to do next? Anyway, the college entrance exam is over now, I can draw 24 hours a day without stopping!" Wang Ming said with great enthusiasm, taking a swig of his drink from his cup.
Jiang Xia stood up, his face serious: "Old Wang, as the future animation director, your task ahead will be very heavy. I will give you the storyboard for episode eleven in a little while. You must complete the original drawings within a week."
“No problem.” Wang Ming agreed readily. Although a week was a bit tight, he was no longer a novice who had just started playing Tom and Jerry, and his drawing skills were already quite proficient.
"Baby, please finish the dubbing for episode 10 as soon as possible. We don't have any more time to drag this out," Jiang Xia said to his wife.
“Okay, I’ll start recording this afternoon and try to send you the finished product tomorrow.” Lin Yanwan nodded and said, as she knew more or less about Jiang Xia’s plans.
"Then, boss, what about me?" Shen Ying asked.
"As our company's operations director, you need to go all out during this period and continue to generate buzz for Tom and Jerry online to create momentum for my business negotiations with the TV station."
"Understood." Shen Ying rubbed her hands together and nodded emphatically.
She was indeed an outsider when it came to animation production, and she didn't think her startup founded by a high school student could go very far. But she really loved the Tom and Jerry cartoon, and when she talked about it with others online, she felt a deep sense of pride.
Moreover, they were just doing their own jobs, but Jiang Xia, the boss, had to do everything because of a shortage of manpower: storyboarding, original animation, editing, post-production, voice-over, operations. He wished he could split himself into several people at the same time.
In this situation, she had no reason to hold the team back.
Jiang Xia pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject: "Old Wang, could you arrange a time recently? I'd like to meet with Teacher Li."
"Why are you looking for my mother?" Wang Ming asked, puzzled.
“Teacher Li is an industry insider and should have a wide network of contacts. I am just a nobody and my words carry little weight, so I am likely to be at a disadvantage in negotiations. But if there is an industry leader to vouch for me, the outcome will be very different.”
He paused, then continued, "You wouldn't want to see our own animation fail before it even gets released, would you?"
“My mom is usually quite busy. Although she is a middle school art teacher, she spends most of her energy at the company. And recently the company seems to have taken on an animation project, and I see her drawing until very late every day.”
Wang Ming pursed his lips and then said, "Okay, then I'll call you tomorrow after my mom gets off work."
Jiang Xia's face lit up with joy: "No problem."
He had been thinking about meeting Li Weiya for a long time. After all, if he could use the resources of acquaintances, he could avoid a lot of detours.
Moreover, he also needs Li Weiya's advice on how to do business with television stations.
"Come on, everyone, eat your food. It'll make you more productive after you finish eating."
...
(With the initial groundwork laid, we now enter the career phase, and of course, there will be plenty of sweet moments in our romance.)
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