See, I knew Lord Li had remarkable insight.

Five days of persistence. One hundred and twenty hours of waiting. Seven thousand two hundred minutes of patient buildup, all culminating in the birth of—

Zhuzhuo District Cultural and Creative Industry Park, Building B, three minutes and forty seconds!
New Yuhua Culture—three minutes, uncut!
Jianye’s “Office Scandal!”

…

“Old Li, how the hell did you pull this off?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Just tell me—does it work or not?”

“It works.”

Chen Pi had to admit, even internet trolls needed to make a living. Complaining about Li Jie’s lack of class was nothing compared to the excitement of the “New Yuhua Culture” deputy general manager and the office secretary’s little escapade.

The amount of traffic was phenomenal. The “New Wave” hashtag on Weibo shot straight up from barely top twenty to number one, knocking two popular singers’ new releases down the ranks. In the end, nothing beats a juicy scandal.

Even Li Jie’s “Decade of Black Fans” chat group was flooded with requests for links, downloads, and the full version...

This round of operations was exhausting, but the cost was low. Anyway, everyone’s firepower was now aimed squarely at “New Yuhua Culture.”

Even the planned launch of “The Little Lion’s Adventure” was suspended; collaboration with the three city TV stations was put on hold—not canceled, but the other two companies weren’t stupid and started working their PR magic.

New Year’s Day was just around the corner, and the release date was set for the coming month. Compared to raking in cash, dealing a blow to Creation Ability Limited’s “Masked Gourd Hero” was a small matter. That could wait.

There are many ways to resolve a conflict. Li Jie chose to escalate it…

Three city TV stations’ procurement orders—was that not more important than stifling a newcomer like him?

Everyone’s in business to make money.

Now “New Yuhua Culture” was in chaos. Not only did they have to handle media PR, but they also had to smooth things over with their partner TV stations and, most crucially, their investors.

It couldn’t be helped—the deputy general manager’s wife was one of the investors, and the deputy himself was a live-in son-in-law. Now that their “office play” had been exposed, what do you expect?

The whole company was thrown into upheaval for several days.

Some employees jumped ship, investors withdrew, and the TV stations were uncertain—why stick around if things were falling apart?

As for the company’s promise at the start of the year—a big bonus after finishing “The Little Lion’s Adventure”—that bonus might as well be offered to the boss to burn at his family’s ancestral graves.

Zhuzhuo District’s Cultural and Creative Industry Park had a dozen animation companies, but almost all were focused on outsourcing and commercial shorts. “New Yuhua Culture” was the only one independently producing long-form series. It was the result of years of careful incubation.

In the end, a three-minute “office play” short film killed off this year’s feature animation. The district’s cultural affairs office even hoped “New Yuhua Culture” would change its name, just to ride out the storm.

While “New Yuhua Culture” was in turmoil, Creation Ability, though operating in shabby circumstances and with modest resources, had in Li Jie a visible dynamic and static talent. Everyone believed this tokusatsu series had potential.

At least, it would make money.

After editing the first episode, Li Jie sent Chen Pi to deliver the tape. The first stop was, naturally, Wohu District TV. Liu Deyu didn’t even bother to watch it himself, simply sending his assistant and the review team.

The review team was highly satisfied. The first episode, “The Birth of Red Power,” was extremely well done. The introduction of the villains—the “Dark Demon Realm”—and the heroes—the “Gourd Sky”—was seamless and smooth, never forced or awkward.

Aside from a visible lack of funding, the show was eye-catching and engaging enough to make viewers overlook the simplistic set design.

“The actor playing ‘Red Power (Hero)’ has some solid martial arts skills, and the choreography is really innovative. According to the credits, Li Jie did all his own stunts?”

“He’s got the chops—so why couldn’t he even land a bit part before?”

“His acting’s no good.”

“His facial expressions are as stiff as ever—a dog could emote better. But the fight scenes are top-notch. For a children’s show, just those moves will guarantee popularity.”

In “Masked Gourd Hero,” each of the seven Gourd Heroes has their own signature moves, spawning various adaptations. These signature moves are really just “wind-ups,” designed so kids can shout out the moves and imitate them.

One hand on the hip, straight-arm chop, both hands slowly tracing a circle...

Everything’s kept to upper body movements, since most kids have shaky stances—try to get them to do a flying kick, and you’ll get the clumsy mess of a dog chasing a chicken.

The movements have to have rhythm—each beat marking a step, with the full sequence completed in three to six beats. Anyone can pick it up.

Li Jie had already finished a full set of stills for these moves and had arranged for printing at Jianye Art College’s affiliated print shop, ready to start cashing in.

But while Wohu District TV was reviewing the episode, Li Jie was once again out on business with Chen Pi. Shengtu Sheng had secured a deal not just with Tieshan District TV, but also with a county TV station.

Tieshan was offering five thousand per episode; the county station, a bit less, at three thousand per episode.

After Shengtu Sheng’s two thousand per episode kickback, that still left six thousand pure profit—definitely a sweet deal.

“Old Li, am I dreaming? I never imagined, at thirty-something, I’d get a second shot at life!”

“Tch, look at Jiang Taigong and Baili Xi—weren’t they both in their seventies and eighties? Thirty-something is nothing. Xiao Pi, if you stick with the Li family, do you think I, Master Li, will let you go hungry?”

“Boss, I’ll listen to everything you say. If you tell me to chase a dog, I won’t go after a chicken; if you tell me to go east, I won’t head west; if you’re thirsty, I’ll be horse piss for you; if you’re cold, I’ll be your cotton coat…”

“Are you planning on taking grad exams or something?!”

Li Jie pulled out a tablet, flicked to a list, and circled a name with his stylus. “First, we’ll go to Qingpu County and visit Director Lü. He’s an old classmate of my buddy’s dad—always fair and upright. So, the gift doesn’t have to be expensive, just presentable.”

“Say no more, Boss Li. These ‘Pingjiang Silks’ are the best in the world. How about a set of embroidered scarves for all four seasons?”

“I trust your judgment. If I’ve got meat to eat, you’ll get the bones to gnaw.”

“…”

Li Jie swiped past Lü Yumou of Qingpu County TV, moving on. “Next is Director Fan of Anyi District TV—the nephew of my wife’s grandfather’s old friend…”

“…”

Chen Pi paused, then asked curiously, “Wait, Old Li, I just realized—why are we only targeting the local county TV stations? They’re all small stations. Do they have any real clout?”

“Isn’t it obvious? What, you think we should go for the provincial station?”

“Not quite, but shouldn’t we at least think about the city stations? Anyway, ‘New Yuhua Culture’ is in chaos, and their three city station partners are just sitting there.”

“As if. You think Huating and Guangling are pushovers?”

Li Jie looked at him with disdain. “With your brains, you want to make big money? Use that walnut-sized mind of yours. I bet you don’t even know how many district and county TV stations there are in Sanjiang Province.”

“What, thirty or forty?”

“Ninety-five.”

“…”

“Stunned, aren’t you.”

Transforming instantly into the “Crooked-Mouth Dragon King,” Li Jie continued, “Now, with the Wohu District TV contract, my godfather’s face, my wife’s grandfather’s faded but still useful reputation, and my buddy-slash-counselor’s dad’s connections, if we stir things up just right—ninety-five district and county TV stations. If we land ninety-four, do you think that’s something?”

“…Whoa.”

Chen Pi sat in the business class seat, dazed. After a moment, he gave Li Jie a big thumbs-up. “I knew you were the real deal, Boss Li.”