"Can I ask which episodes Amin was involved in producing? I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me anything, citing company secrets," Li Weiya asked curiously.
"Actually, it's nothing much. It's mainly episodes eight, nine, and ten. However, the dubbing for episode ten is still being recorded, and Amin is currently drawing the original artwork for episode eleven."
Jiang Xia took a sip of herbal tea and smiled, "It's all thanks to A-Ming's help; otherwise, I might still be working on the ninth episode right now."
"You should be thankful if he doesn't cause you any trouble."
“Teacher Li, I grew up with A-Ming. He would never bother me if he had troubled anyone else.”
Li Weiya chuckled softly. This young, makeshift troupe only had two artists: one was her student, and the other was her son. If Tom and Jerry became popular, she would definitely be very proud.
"Xia, you can call me Auntie from now on. Teacher sounds too formal." She picked up the teapot and refilled Jiang Xia's cup.
"Okay, Aunt Li."
"Speaking of which, you are really amazing. You do all the planning, character design, scriptwriting, storyboarding, and original artwork all by yourself, including post-production coloring, editing, and voice-over. You handle all of these tasks by yourself. I have rarely seen such an all-around talent in my more than ten years in the industry, and the key is that you are so young." Li Weiya exclaimed with admiration, "Truly, the younger generation is surpassing the older generation."
"The main problem is a lack of manpower, so we have to force ourselves to do it," Jiang Xia said with a helpless smile.
He just looks young. What others don't know is that this 18-year-old high school graduate has already been working in the animation industry for ten years and has countless excellent anime works in his head, which is why he is so efficient.
As for others, if they had more than ten years of experience in the industry, they would have become animation directors or animation supervisors long ago. Who would still be drawing original drawings themselves?
Li Weiya took it as him being modest; someone as outstanding as him could easily earn a high salary at any company.
"Did you also do the voice acting for Tom and Jerry?" Li Weiya asked.
With her shrewd eye, she could tell at a glance that the reason Tom and Jerry was of such high quality was because of its hilarious voice acting; it just wouldn't be the same if it were muted.
“No, I know nothing about music.” Jiang Xia shook his head and said, “I asked a friend to help me with the recording. Thanks to her, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to continue.”
Hearing this, Li Weiya actually felt a sense of relief. The sound effects in Tom and Jerry are numerous. After watching all nine episodes, it felt like watching a complete symphony orchestra playing behind the scenes.
If Jiang Xia can achieve such perfection in the music field, then he is truly a prodigy; he is a one-man team.
"By the way, Xia, have you ever thought about switching to another company?" she asked half-jokingly.
"Aunt Li, you should at least wait until my cat and mouse game fails before you talk about poaching someone's talent," Jiang Xia said helplessly.
“I’m afraid that if you go on TV, you’ll become an overnight sensation, and then no one will be able to afford to hire you.”
"If that's the case, I'll ask Aunt Li to be the art director for my company," Jiang Xia said with a grin.
Li Weiya smiled and said, "Sure, but your Aunt Li's salary is a bit high, you can't afford her right now. So, keep up the good work, young man, I have high hopes for you and your company."
"Why don't you stay here for lunch? You can also try Aunt Li's cooking."
Jiang Xia pondered for a few seconds, then nodded slightly: "Then I'll trouble you."
Li Weiya smiled slightly, got up, and swayed her slender waist as she walked towards the kitchen.
With nothing else to do, Jiang Xia decided to go into Wang Ming's room to see how his progress was.
"Are you done talking?" Hearing the door open, Wang Ming turned around and saw his childhood friend.
"Yes, experience really does pay off; it cleared up a lot of my doubts."
So what do you plan to do?
"Once Yanwan finishes recording the voiceover for episode ten and hands it over to me, I'll go talk to the Chongqing TV station." Jiang Xia sat on his bed, silently thinking about the negotiation.
"I won't get involved in those things. I just need to focus on drawing my original artwork."
Wang Ming shrugged, took the storyboard, and asked him, "How exactly should I draw this scene where Tom gets hit by the telephone pole? No matter how I draw it, it doesn't feel right."
Jiang Xia leaned closer to take a look. The title of the eleventh episode was "Flying Cat," which was the story of Tom accidentally stepping on a roller skate while using a pole vault to catch a canary, and as a result, he luckily gained "wings."
"Well, let me put it simply. Tom chopped down a telephone pole with an axe, and the pole fell down. Tom panicked and ran in the direction the pole fell, only to be smashed down and made shorter and shorter."
He picked up a pen and sketched a rough outline on the draft paper. Tom was hit many times and finally became a square cat.
"Now I understand. Go have fun by yourself, and don't bother me." Wang Ming gave him the order to leave without any politeness.
Jiang Xia: "..."
How come he never noticed before that this guy was so annoying?
Around 12:30 pm, Li Weiya, wearing an apron, called the two to lunch. Lunch was simple, just three dishes and a soup, a home-style meal, which had a unique flavor compared to what they usually eat at home.
"Mom, I've been thinking, you watched our animation but didn't sign a confidentiality agreement, could you have plagiarized our idea and had your company quickly make a similar copy to release before us?" Wang Ming asked abruptly while eating.
Li Weiya was taken aback by the question, and after realizing what he meant, she glared at him irritably.
"So in your eyes, your mother is such a despicable person?"
"You don't know this, do you? The business world is like a battlefield. Even brothers have to keep clear accounts. Even if you're my mother, I still have to be careful," Wang Ming said smugly.
Li Weiya was both amused and exasperated.
"Don't worry, I still have that much professional ethics. Besides, Tom and Jerry is an animation that my son helped produce, I wouldn't stoop to making money from it."
Jiang Xia nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Aunt Li, when I go to talk business with the TV station, can I invite you to be my negotiation consultant?" he asked hesitantly.
"Well...don't you already have your own ideas? What am I supposed to do?" Li Weiya asked, puzzled.
"Hehehe, in the eyes of adults, I'm still a child, and I'm afraid they'll try to drive down my price. Auntie, you don't want me to be unable to pay A-Ming's salary, do you? With you here, I feel much more confident."
Wang Ming couldn't help but roll his eyes. This guy had even gone so far as to tell him to take a break in order to cut his wages.
"Alright, once you've decided on the time, have Ah Ming let me know. But remember to let me know in advance so I can arrange the time for him to take leave."
Li Weiya agreed without much hesitation, wanting to see how far the child's work could go.
...
(Phew, all done, goodnight)
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