Chapter 235 - 233: Recruiting Again

Chapter 235: Chapter 233: Recruiting Again

After a friendly chat with the dorm manager, the Baonao Hui employees were finally allowed to bring the computer into the dorm room.

In truth, Jiang Xia knew how to set it up himself. Besides, he had bought a pre-built PC, which only needed a few cables plugged in to be up and running.

He was just worried about receiving a defective product—for instance, a faulty monitor, an unresponsive mouse and keyboard, or frequent blue screens and black screens. By having the Baonao Hui staff handle the installation, any issues would be their problem, not his. All he had to do was give it the final approval.

Thus, many freshmen saw that Jiang Xia had bought a desktop computer—and the latest Lenovo model at that—on just the second day after registration. They couldn’t help but shoot him envious looks.

’It must be nice to be rich.’

About half an hour later, the computer was fully set up. The system was a genuine copy of Windows XP, and it ran smoothly without any lag.

The installers even threw in two pirated AAA single-player games he could play offline.

"Brother Jiang, don’t tell me you went out this afternoon just to buy a computer," Zhou Zijian said, smacking his lips. As a programmer, he was beyond envious.

He didn’t have a computer of his own. To run a program, he had to use the school’s computer lab for the time being. He was thinking of buying one eventually.

"Yeah... more or less." Jiang Xia gave a slight nod. He couldn’t very well admit that he had actually gone to check out the startup incubator.

That would be a little too much for a college freshman to reveal.

"Brother Jiang, how much did this computer cost you?" Zhao Ning asked.

He had been thinking about buying a computer recently, agonizing over whether to get a desktop or a laptop. Logically, a laptop was more convenient for a programmer, but one with comparable specs was so much more expensive!

"A little over six thousand," Jiang Xia said seriously. "It’s a bit pricey because it’s a new model. An entry-level one would be cheaper and perfectly fine for everyday schoolwork, but I have specific needs for graphic design, so I went with this."

He wasn’t trying to show off in the slightest. At the end of the day, this computer was his production tool.

"That is a bit expensive," Zhao Ning agreed with a nod.

"Also... I’m not putting a password on the computer. You guys can use it whenever you want, but I have just one rule: only for study-related work. No games."

"Whoa, Brother Jiang, from this day forward, you’re my actual brother!" Zhou Zijian exclaimed, ecstatic. This solved his most pressing problem; he wouldn’t have to keep running to the computer lab anymore.

Zhao Ning was also overjoyed. ’A Nanny Su and a Brother Jiang in one dorm room... what kind of god-tier roommates are these?’

Su Qing chuckled. "Old Jiang, I think you’re the real ’Mrs. Jiang,’ aren’t you?"

"No, no, no. What I did was nothing. The ’Nanny’ title still belongs to you." Jiang Xia looked at the others and smiled. "So, I nominate Nanny Su to be our dorm leader. Any objections?"

Zhou Zijian and Zhao Ning: "Agreed!"

Su Qing looked resigned. ’How did I get saddled with the ’nanny’ title?’

After sorting out the computer, Jiang Xia went to the student community service center to sign up for the campus network. Rumor had it that Tsinghua’s broadband was the best in the country, but he had no idea if that was true.

After filling out a few forms, he was told the internet wouldn’t be activated until the day after tomorrow. Jiang Xia didn’t mind, since many of his design programs worked fine offline anyway.

Once that was all taken care of, he called his wife. "Babe, want to get dinner?"

"Okay, where are you?"

"I’m at the student community center."

"Okay, I’ll be right down."

A few minutes later, Jiang Xia was waiting downstairs for his wife. She seemed to have just showered; a faint scent of lavender clung to her, and her cheeks were faintly flushed.

"What do you feel like eating?" He smoothly took her hand, gave it a little sniff, and then planted a kiss on the back of her soft, fair skin.

Lin Yanwan felt a slight tickle, but after so many years together, she was long used to his handsy-ness. As long as he didn’t get too indecent with all the hugging, kissing, and touching in public, she just let him be.

"Something light, maybe. I don’t really have an appetite."

Jiang Xia nodded, and they headed toward the Taoli Garden Restaurant together.

At this hour, the cafeteria was mostly empty. Lin Yanwan only ordered a bowl of sweet white fungus soup, while Jiang Xia got a bowl of beef noodle soup.

As he was eating, he suddenly noticed someone.

Lin Yanwan followed his gaze and saw a heavyset guy with a backpack, a massive bowl of egg-fried rice set before him. She whispered, "Do you know him?"

Jiang Xia nodded. "Yeah, he’s in my class. He was the last one to show up for the class meeting yesterday, and his self-introduction left a pretty strong impression."

His name was Luo Peng, and his nickname was Fatty Luo. He had said he was looking for like-minded friends to build a career with in the animation industry.

That was exactly the kind of person Jiang Xia was looking for right now.

"Babe, wait here a sec. I’m going to go talk to him."

He carried his bowl of noodle soup over to Luo Peng’s table. Luo Peng glanced up, thinking he looked familiar.

"You... You’re..."

"Jiang Xia. We met yesterday," he said with a smile.

"Oh! Right, I remember now! You’re ’Study Bro’! Hey, man, I’m Luo Peng."

Jiang Xia’s expression darkened. "What the hell is ’Study Bro’?"

"You said it yourself, didn’t you?" Luo Peng chuckled. "That you came to Tsinghua for three things: studying, studying, and more damn studying."

Jiang Xia was rendered speechless, unsure how to even begin to respond. He decisively changed the subject.

"...Why are you eating so late, too?"

"Ah, it’s nothing." Luo Peng sighed. "I went to a publishing house this afternoon to submit my work, but I got rejected again."

Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow. "What kind of work?"

"It’s a manga I’ve been drawing since middle school. I’ve been trying to get it published, but every single publisher has rejected it."

"Hmm... would you mind if I took a look at it?"

"Sure, it’s no big deal."

Luo Peng took a stack of manga drafts from his backpack and handed them over, sighing softly. "To be honest, I have a pretty good idea why. The art style is inconsistent from when I started, the story is pretty simple, and the target audience is small. But... I just can’t bring myself to accept it."

Jiang Xia didn’t pay much attention to what he was saying, instead quickly flipping through the panels. Setting aside the quality for a moment, he was surprised to see it was a Magical Girl manga.

’Interesting.’

He took a shallow breath, set the manga down, and said with a serious expression, "Luo Peng, what if I told you I want to invite you to join my studio?"

"Your studio?" Luo Peng asked, stunned. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I’m putting together a studio, and I need people. I looked at your work. The art in the early stages isn’t very solid—that must have been from your middle school days. It gets much better later, and some of your paneling is perfect. But, in my opinion, the publishers had good reason to reject it."

Luo Peng nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

Jiang Xia paused for a moment to organize his thoughts. "The story is simple and the core theme is one-dimensional. It’s not strong enough to support a complete series, which is a fatal flaw for a manga. But this was clearly based on your ideas from middle school, so the shortcomings are obvious."

Luo Peng’s expression was unreadable. "Then do you think there’s a market for the Magical Girl genre?"

"Yes, and it’s huge!" Jiang Xia said without a moment’s hesitation.

Luo Peng’s eyes lit up. "If I join your studio, will you get this animated?"

"No. Like I just said, the core is weak and the story is too simple. To make it into an anime, we’d have to tear it all down and start from scratch. But at that point, we’d basically be making a completely new show."

’Speaking of which,’ he thought, ’I have plenty of classic Magical Girl titles in my head. This could be a chance to open up a whole new lane for the business.’

"Fine. I’m in."