King of Kings of the Overachievers

Ugh— Ugh!!

Chen Pi vomited.

It wasn’t because he’d drunk too much, but rather that, in his thirty-something years of life, he had never worked overtime or traveled for business at such a high intensity.

And what about Li Jie?

He was as calm as ever. After signing the contract with Lü Yu’s mother at the Qingpu District TV station, he immediately rushed to the banks of the Han Canal. Then the two rented a car to go to Xutai District. As soon as they finished their business there, they hopped on a long-distance bus to the Huating Enclave Farm TV station...

Who’s the real agent here?!

Chen Pi began to question his existence.

Ugh!!

For the first time, working overtime had made him vomit.

He really did throw up.

“Useless. Can you handle this or not?” Li, impatient as always, waited for Chen Pi to recover and urged him to hurry out of the train station.

This time, there was no high-speed rail to their destination, only an ordinary diesel locomotive.

Chen Pi lay over the sink in the train station restroom, not wanting to say a single word. At the mere thought of another rush, he felt like he was about to collapse.

After all, at thirty-plus, his stamina and energy were clearly on the decline.

“Little Pi, you’re almost forty. Think about your goddess—if you don’t hurry up, she’ll be in the delivery room soon, and that’s a high-risk situation. You need to work hard! Otherwise, what difference is there between your goddess and early menopause?”

...

Chen Pi fell silent for a moment. He wanted to retort, but the urge to vomit overwhelmed him, and he bent over, retching again.

His vision was spinning, his head dizzy; no cold, no fever—just pure psychological nausea.

He was utterly sick of business trips and overtime.

Why doesn’t Li Jie just change his name to Li Steel or Li Iron?! What is this, treating business trips like vacations?

“If we run around half the province, that’s at least five million in revenue. Little Pi, think it over—Master Li doesn’t always bring you such good fortune. Miss this chance...”

“Don’t say it, don’t say it...” Chen Pi, back turned to Li Jie, raised a hand to stop him. He quickly rinsed his mouth and washed his face, then rubbed his cheeks furiously, slapped them a few times, and let out two low roars. Then he turned around, hastily switching to a submissive, deferential expression: “Master, thank you for your concern. I feel much better now!”

“Do you still feel like vomiting when you hear about overtime and business trips?”

“Absolutely not. Serving you, Master, is the blessing of several lifetimes for me. I love overtime, I adore business trips. Sir, please, this way—watch your step, the floor’s slippery...”

“Mm~~” Li Jie nodded in satisfaction. He thought Comrade Pi was quite perceptive.

Want to pursue the goddess? Without you, who’s going to chase her?

After this round of running, they’d have to rush back to Jianye overnight, not only to edit episodes two and three but also to start filming episodes seven and eight tomorrow.

Then they’d need to shoot several scenes of the “Dark Monster” growing gigantic—Li Jie had commissioned three proportional models, and Uncle Wu Guang had already signed them into inventory.

The micro-models and giant models printed by themselves would start assembly the day after tomorrow.

It was a considerable workload. Fortunately, the rented warehouse had a crane; otherwise, it would have been inconvenient.

The scenes with exploding models would be filmed in concentrated batches—thirty explosions in a day, enough for ten episodes.

Subsequent location shoots would still center around Niutou Mountain’s “Hengqiang Loving Kindergarten.” The first season of “Masked Gourd Hero” wouldn’t introduce a female lead, following a “lone super hero” format. But if it succeeded, the second season could bring in a female lead.

At the end of season one, whether to shoot an extra episode would be decided based on ratings and social impact.

This wasn’t Li Jie’s decision; it strictly followed the settings in the “Masked Gourd Hero Shooting Guide.”

According to the guide, season one was “30+1” episodes—thirty consecutive episodes, and then, depending on market response, possibly an extra.

Li Jie was very busy, but no matter how busy, he handled it with ease.

After returning to Jianye, he immediately got back to work and shot another episode’s worth of material.

“Damn, Old Wu, what kind of monster is this? How are we filming so fast?!”

Chen Bosheng had never experienced such efficient production progress. Even more outrageous, the edited footage was not only decent—it was absolutely up to standard.

“That’s why Teacher Ai wanted to adopt him as a son ten years ago. Teacher Ai has a sharp eye.”

After packing up the day’s props, Uncle Wu Guang looked at Li Jie massaging Tiger Wenjing’s shoulders and stretching her legs in the distance, and sighed, “We’re just a bit short on resources. If we were in the Cultural and Creative Industry Park, we’d definitely be incubating a star company.”

“By the way, doesn’t President Li want to move to Zhuque District’s Cultural Park?”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but President Su’s grandfather used to be a councilman in Canglong District. Looks like he’s planning to switch districts and make a comeback.”

This morning, Su Yongzhi had visited the company. After seeing Li Jie’s business trip achievements, his fighting spirit was reignited, and he planned to return to politics.

This time, he switched to running for a council seat in a sector of Canglong District with more cultural and educational industries. His slogan was “Millennium Capital, Culture Hidden in the Dragon,” and his promise was that, if elected, he would promote the development of Canglong District’s cultural industry.

How did a sixty-something veteran end up on a “Power Red (Hero)” poster?

His campaign posters were even displayed alongside those of “Power Red (Hero).”

To finance his campaign, Su Yongzhi mortgaged his son Su Jianping’s small shop—land and building together—and took out three million as campaign funds.

Come November, with “Masked Gourd Hero” being promoted, Su Yongzhi would participate in street events and publicity, then officially start fundraising for his campaign.

This month, Su Yongzhi would train—intense training.

He needed to restore his physical condition.

After all, if you didn’t already have a solid reputation, running for office wasn’t just a mental task—it was a physical one.

Without youthful vigor, it was hard to endure all the street campaigning, public debates, rallies, and speeches.

And the time left to Su Yongzhi was short—only four months to prepare. Entering the race now was already a bit late.

His competitors in Canglong District’s cultural and entertainment sector had started preparations last year.

He had switched districts and fields, with zero preparations, and only four months left. The difficulty was sky-high.

But unlike his useless offspring, Su Yongzhi came from a beggar dynasty—a tradition of living off the street!

Street survival was in his very genes!

So...

“Damn, President Li’s father-in-law is intense! Out jogging this early?”

“He was just in the gym next door doing strength training.”

...

Inspirational, truly inspirational!

Outside the warehouse, Wu Guang watched the old Su jog off into the distance, feeling a surge of admiration. He took a gulp of cola to replenish the sugar his brain was lacking.