Chapter 330 - 327: The Night Talk Between Father-in-law and Son-in-law

Chapter 330: Chapter 327: The Night Talk Between Father-in-law and Son-in-law

As incredible as it was, with so many people confirming it, his parents and parents-in-law had no choice but to accept the fact that Jiang Xia was the owner of the Qitian Animation Company.

The thought that her son was the original creator of the hottest cartoon of the moment, as well as the owner of a famous animation company, made Xia Shanshan’s head spin. It was an absolutely wonderful surprise.

"Old Jiang, am I dreaming? Our son’s a big boss now?"

Jiang Wende, also a bit dazed, nodded. "This whole thing really does feel like a dream."

She pinched Jiang Wende hard. "Old Jiang, why don’t I feel any pain?"

"Because you’re pinching me!"

"Well, does it hurt?"

"What do you think!?" Jiang Wende winced in pain.

Jiang Xia chuckled. "Mom, Dad, don’t get too worked up. Just take a deep breath and relax. And please don’t blame me for hiding this from you. If I had told you from the start that I was making a cartoon right before the college entrance exams, I’m afraid you would have shot the idea down on the spot, calling it a frivolous distraction."

Hearing this, the couple’s faces flushed. They knew it was true. In fact, it was a common failing of 99.9% of parents these days: any factor that could interfere with their child’s studies would be met with firm resistance.

This was especially true for Xia Shanshan. As a traditional teacher, she already had a somewhat low opinion of art students. If she had known Jiang Xia was using his study time to make a cartoon, she probably would have thought he had completely gone astray and was beyond saving. The *Cat and Mouse* project would have most likely been dead in the water.

From that perspective, Jiang Xia hiding it from them had been the absolute right choice.

The couple felt a wave of emotion and immense pride. Who else’s son could produce a nationwide hit cartoon using only his spare time, and even manage to get into Tsinghua University on top of it all?

To call him a genius seemed like an understatement.

"Good thing you kept it a secret," Jiang Wende said.

"Yes, exactly," Xia Shanshan chimed in, nodding.

Lin Gaoyuan, on the other hand, was feeling quite conflicted. Previously, Gaoyuan Toys had stood out from a crowd of major manufacturers to win the exclusive merchandise rights for *Cat and Mouse*, and the contract terms had been extremely favorable. He had chalked it up to good luck, but now he saw that wasn’t the case at all. It was obvious his son-in-law had simply been looking for an excuse to hand him the merchandise rights.

He had really gone to great lengths.

If Jiang Xia hadn’t come clean today, all of them—the adults—would have remained completely in the dark.

"Mom, Dad, is there anything else you want to ask? I’ll answer everything today," Jiang Xia said.

Jiang Wende and Xia Shanshan exchanged a look. Logically, as his parents, they should have been asking about their son’s work. But since they understood neither animation nor running a company, they thought it over and decided it was best not to meddle.

’Leave professional matters to the professionals. There was no need to ask too many questions about work; it was enough just to know that Jiang Xia was a big boss now.’

"Jiang Xia, how many people are in your company now?" Lin Gaoyuan asked after a moment of thought.

Jiang Xia actually wasn’t sure about that, so he turned to look at Li Weiya.

"Including the *Slam Dunk* project team, we currently have 235 people in total," Li Weiya said.

"That’s quite a lot," Lin Gaoyuan remarked.

He didn’t know anything about animation either, but for a company that had just been established, over two hundred people was a huge number.

"Your classes at Tsinghua University must be demanding. How do you manage the company on a daily basis?"

Jiang Xia smiled and nodded. "The coursework is pretty heavy, but my godmother usually manages things. I head over after class to check in. The company is located in the Tsinghua Science Park right next to the university. It’s just outside the campus gates, so it’s really close."

"Is it a rented office space?"

"Mhm, we get support from government policies, so the rent is pretty cheap. It’s over 500 square meters, and the annual rent is about 300,000 yuan."

Hearing that number, both Xia Shanshan’s and Jiang Wende’s faces twitched. The two of them would have to work for who knows how long just to earn 300,000 yuan.

But to Jiang Xia, it was "pretty cheap."

One could only imagine how ridiculously fast he was earning money now.

"That’s good."

Lin Gaoyuan nodded slightly. As Qitian Animation’s partner, Gaoyuan Toys alone had paid out tens of millions in revenue sharing from merchandise. That wasn’t even counting Qitian Animation’s collaborations with other industries and television stations. Their income must be staggering, which made a rent of over 300,000 yuan seem trivial in comparison.

"So then you..."

"Alright, alright, enough with the questions," Ji Wanqiu said, annoyed, as she tapped his bowl with her chopsticks. "Are you going to let Xiaxia eat in peace or not?"

’She had plenty of questions herself, but there would be many more opportunities in the future. It wasn’t like they had to ask everything right this second.’

"Oh, right, right, I forgot." Lin Gaoyuan laughed awkwardly. "Quick, let’s eat before the food gets cold."

With his mother-in-law putting a stop to it, the welcome dinner could finally continue. Everyone talked and laughed, enjoying the meal happily.

Partway through the meal, Jiang Xia excused himself to go to the restroom. Lin Gaoyuan watched him leave, then hesitated for a moment before getting up and following.

And so, the father-in-law and son-in-law met up in the restroom.

"Have you had enough to eat?" Lin Gaoyuan asked.

"Whew, I’m stuffed. Nothing beats the food from home," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

"That’s for sure. No matter how much those other restaurants hype themselves up, they’re never as good as the authentic local places." Lin Gaoyuan’s tone suddenly shifted. "Want to go for a walk?"

Jiang Xia had a pretty good idea of what his father-in-law wanted to talk about. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, he nodded.

Outside the hotel entrance, the two of them sat on the curb. The stone was bitingly cold.

Lin Gaoyuan pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Jiang Xia. "Smoke?"

"I don’t smoke." Jiang Xia shook his head.

"Good. It’s better not to. These things are no good for you anyway. You don’t mind if I have one, do you?"

"Go ahead, Dad."

Lin Gaoyuan put the cigarette to his lips, pulled out a lighter, and lit it. He took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled a thin stream of smoke.

"The merchandise rights for *Cat and Mouse*... you deliberately arranged for Director Li to sign that contract with me, didn’t you?"

Jiang Xia no longer tried to hide it. He nodded. "Yes. I heard from Yanwan that the family’s toy factory wasn’t doing very well financially around that time."

"’Not doing well’ is an understatement. We were about to go bankrupt." Lin Gaoyuan sighed. "It’s all thanks to your help. Thank you, Jiang Xia."

"Dad, we’re family. There’s no need for that," Jiang Xia said seriously. "To be honest, from the very beginning, I was saving the merchandise rights for *Cat and Mouse* for the family’s toy factory."

Hearing this, Lin Gaoyuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of shame. He remembered landing a couple of solid punches on the kid, yet Jiang Xia had repaid his hostility with kindness. He had practically given him the merchandise rights for free, which not only saved the toy factory from bankruptcy but also put it on a fast track to success.

When their relationship had hit rock bottom, Jiang Xia could have easily used the *Cat and Mouse* rights as leverage to force him to approve of their relationship.

But Jiang Xia had chosen the most low-key approach, winning back his approval through his own character.

’Entrusting Yanwan to a man like that... Lin Gaoyuan was completely at ease.’