The forelegs of the Howling Celestial Dog were somewhat thick.

“Brother Wei!”

“Come on, do you really need to be so formal? Picking me up in a 'DreamCar'?”

“If you’re coming to support me, how could I just grab any random car?”

He had specially rented a high-end business vehicle, the 'Brioid Your Dreamcatcher' DC series, model DC800, complete with first-class features, zero-gravity seats, and privacy protection. With a hundred and fifty kilowatt hours, you could even run an impact meeting inside.

“So, should I be calling you President Li now?”

“Hahaha...”

Li Jie burst out laughing, quickly inviting Ding Wei on board.

Before coming, Ding Wei’s agent had worried about draining his already scarce popularity. But after watching the promo for 'Masked Gourd Hero: Power of Red', he perked up immediately, reported to the company, and got funding approved the same day.

“Damn, this car is comfortable. Spacious, too.”

“Brother Wei, how much filming do you have left?”

“Just two scenes, both dialogue. Almost done. You’ve got one left, don’t you?”

“Mine’s barely above a background role, won’t take long at all.”

“Hey, Li Jie, can you share how big your children’s drama promo is?”

“Mostly within Sanjiang Province. In December, I’ll be out on business again.”

“You’re going yourself?”

“I can’t afford a proper team. Might as well run it myself. Mainly I sell on my godfather’s reputation—brings in quite a bit.”

“Damn… That’s better than me.”

He couldn’t help but show a hint of envy. Ding Wei used to be an idol, but never made much—the bulk went to the company: training fees, development fees, and so on. After deductions, he’d get maybe six or seven hundred thousand a year, post-tax.

Recently, some trouble hit the company. A few B-list stars’ taxes hadn’t been paid, causing chaos, so Ding Wei hurriedly checked his own records.

Good news: his taxes were paid.

Bad news: the company didn’t even bother to cheat him…

If he couldn’t bounce back this time, he wouldn’t get good resources. Renewing for a long-term contract was uncertain.

Which star with real talent would want to be tied down to a company?

Everyone wants to go solo.

But Ding Wei was different—he had no real talent.

And he knew it.

So his plan was to secure a retirement contract. If his career fizzled out, he’d become a mentor for new idols at the company, guiding rookies.

His life and career plans were the pragmatism of a true working man—no wild dreams.

This time, Lu Xiaoguan’s 'Fairy Monkey' was a holiday comedy film. He played a flamboyant 'True Lord Erlang', a rare good opportunity.

But it still wasn’t solid; his agent said future resources were uncertain.

Nowadays, variety shows favor fresh faces or returning veterans. Ding Wei was already on the fringe, nearly forgotten.

Li Jie invited Ding Wei to do offline promotional events, and he wasn’t without ulterior motives.

He knew Ding Wei’s contract expired in February—around the New Year. Whether Ding Wei could sign a decent contract, instead of the current “child labor contract,” depended on Lu Xiaoguan’s big-screen debut, 'Fairy Monkey'.

Thus, Li Jie started scheming…

Why not sign Ding Wei and let him play Gourd Kid—no, Gourd Hero?

The first installment, 'Power of Red', was thirty episodes plus a finale. Once that was done, the dog system’s mission would be complete, and all that remained was waiting for reputation points.

The dog system’s mission had two goals: the surface one was to make 'Gourd Hero' a ray of light in the darkness; the deeper one was to push the host toward “superstar” status.

Understanding the dog system’s logic, Li Jie pondered how to maximize laziness.

Seven Gourd Heroes: he played the eldest, 'Power of Red'. Why play all six others himself?

Just recruit people.

As long as he held the center position, he’d get all the traffic, reputation points soaring.

Now he was a boss, so of course he wanted his “oxen and horses” to generate surplus value.

If not for the dog system’s peculiarities, with its ultimate goal of “superstar,” Li Jie would have fully transformed into Boss Li, commanding a legion of “Bear Ridge” all-purpose lumberjacks.

So, for now, he quietly worked his way in—building rapport with Ding Wei, ready to pull him up when Ding Wei ran out of options.

After all, the second installment, 'Wisdom of Orange', featured the “Second Hero”—with “Far Sight” and “Wind Listener”—no need for a muscleman.

If Lu Xiaoguan’s 'Fairy Monkey' bombed in reviews and had mediocre box office, signing Ding Wei probably wouldn’t cost much.

“Brother Wei, want to drop by my company first?”

“I’m easy—your call.”

Ding Wei’s appearance fee this time wasn’t high, just twenty thousand.

His real online fan count hovered around fifteen thousand. At that tier, five thousand was the baseline, the ceiling depending on current project or personal hype.

He had five hundred thousand followers on 'Houlang' Weibo, but his posts drew less than one percent of Li Jie’s replies.

Most fans were company-generated.

For low-profile offline gigs like this, his company usually charged ten thousand—show up, grab the mic for a song or some nice words, and that was it.

Ding Wei knew his own situation, so Li Jie’s twenty thousand was genuinely respectful—he appreciated it.

Now, the main office for 'Creative Ability' had moved to the urban-rural fringe of Canglong District. A bit distant from campus, but not too far, a non-standard warehouse converted into office space; the standard warehouse was used for prop-making and indoor filming.

Outdoor locations were convenient, with a river nearby and plenty of scenic shots stored. Thirty episodes recycling footage stretched the runtime nicely.

Li Jie led them to the filming site. Ding Wei, seeing the lively scene, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn, this is legit already!”

“This is just the beginning. Come on, Brother Wei, let me show you next door.”

Just across a wall was a restarted factory, leased by Li Jie. Annual rent was three hundred fifty thousand. Previously, it was a spinning mill, quite large, with both front and back spinning sections.

Now it was split into three work areas.

“What’s this?”

“This side is the accessories area—brooches, wristbands, belt buckles, glasses, rings, pendants… We're already selling. Back when I was 'Masked Brother', we sold a batch. Now with higher volume, outsourced production isn’t always enough, so I rented a factory for in-house manufacturing. It's only been open a week—the workers aren’t fully up to speed yet, so it’s still ramping up.”

“And over there?”

“Stamping workshop—metal products’ semi-finished parts come from there.”

“Damn…”

Ding Wei was dumbfounded—wait, you can do this?

His agent’s eyes went wide. If only Li Jie were their client, they’d be raking it in.

“That area’s the injection workshop—various masks, with a painting line right beside.”

“My god, President Li… your business is booming.”

“Of course. Just from non-exclusive premieres, I’ve made five or six million. Back in the 'Masked Brother' days, I took in over a million. A couple interviews bumped up the hype again. With bigger volumes, my margins are better now than before.”

Li Jie hadn’t even mentioned the online licensing fees from the 'Masked Brother' era.

A quick calculation—if he didn’t have to pay employees, Boss Li would already be a solid multimillionaire.

Not just assets—actual cash.

Ding Wei was stunned. He’d always thought the “Howling Celestial Dog” was just a little brother.

Now, seeing this, it wasn’t a lackey—it was a big thigh.

He had to cling on.

Absolutely had to cling on.