Chapter 332 - 329: Excellent and Hard-working

Chapter 332: Chapter 329: Excellent and Hard-working

The welcome dinner ended on a happy note. It was already past eight in the evening. Since everyone had had a little something to drink, the group stood by the roadside waiting for taxis.

After a short while, an empty taxi pulled up in front of them.

Jiang Wende said goodbye to a colleague he knew well, then motioned for Li Weiya, Wang Ming, and Shen Ying to get in the car.

"I’ll take them home first," Jiang Wende said to the others.

Xia Shanshan nodded. "Alright, you can come back by yourself later, then."

Everyone waved goodbye as they watched the taxi slowly drive away. Ji Wanqiu then led the rest of the group toward her family’s car.

At the welcome dinner, she and Xia Shanshan were the only ones who hadn’t drunk, but Xia Shanshan didn’t know how to drive.

Lin Gaoyuan sat in the passenger seat. The young couple and Xia Shanshan sat in the back, where Lin Xiaoman insisted on her brother-in-law holding her. Laughter frequently filled the car.

When they arrived at Hongyun Garden, Ji Wanqiu looked at Xia Shanshan and Jiang Xia, smiling as she said, "Xiaxia, if you have time during the day, come over and hang out with Yanwan."

"Brother-in-law, you can come over at night, too!" his sister-in-law interjected.

A blush immediately crept up Lin Yanwan’s face.

’Come over at night to play what? Play with her?’

Jiang Xia smiled and nodded. "Dad, Mom, Xiao Man, you all head back safely."

His gaze finally landed on Lin Yanwan. "See you tomorrow."

"Mhm, see you tomorrow." Lin Yanwan smiled and waved.

Back at home, Jiang Xia took a photocopy of Qitian Animation’s original business license from a locked cabinet in his bedroom and handed it to Xia Shanshan, proving once again that he hadn’t been lying.

Seeing Jiang Xia’s name written in the "Legal Representative" column, Xia Shanshan’s face broke into a wide grin. ’Just how did my son’s brain develop? How is he so smart?’

’Tsk, tsk, an eighteen-year-old animation company owner. If you told anyone, they wouldn’t believe it.’ ℯℯ𝑙.

’What great deeds did I do in my past life to deserve such an outstanding son in this one? He’s excelling in both business and his studies, quietly dazzling everyone.’

"Xiaxia, how long are you planning to stay home for winter break?"

Jiang Xia calculated the days. "About ten days or so. I have to go to the Imperial Capital on the sixth day of the new year."

"So early? You’re not staying until after the Lantern Festival?" Xia Shanshan asked, surprised.

"The company starts back up on the seventh. This is the most crucial year for our development, and there’s a lot to do right after the new year starts." Jiang Xia sounded slightly resigned. As the owner of the company and the general director for both *Cat and Mouse* and *Slam Dunk*, he had to be there.

"I see. In that case, you really do have to go."

Xia Shanshan nodded lightly. Compared to the company’s growth, other matters seemed less important.

"You should go take a shower. You’ve had a long day, so get some rest early tonight."

"Okay, Mom."

He went back to his room, grabbed a change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom. ’It’s a shame I won’t be able to take a ’lovers’ bath’ with my wife for a while,’ he thought, feeling like something was missing.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Xia Shanshan picked up the business license photocopy again, turning it over and over, a grin plastered on her face.

All the surprises in her life combined couldn’t compare to the intensity of this one today.

A little while later, Jiang Wende opened the door and came back.

"Did you get Director Li and the others home?"

"Mhm. Where’s our son?"

"He’s taking a shower." Xia Shanshan, looking overjoyed, handed over the business license. "Quick, look at this."

"Oh? From our son?" Jiang Wende raised an eyebrow slightly, his attention quickly drawn to the name in the legal representative column.

"Who else?" Xia Shanshan let out a long breath, the smile never leaving her face. "My son’s amazing, isn’t he?"

"Amazing, truly amazing."

Jiang Wende clicked his tongue a few times. He and his wife had been honest, ordinary people their whole lives. He truly never expected that kid to cause such a huge stir so quietly. To think he could use his spare time to create an animation that became a national sensation, and that just one of its copyrights could save a company on the verge of bankruptcy.

He glanced at the company’s registration date again. ’Holy cow, it was back in May.’ At that time, the college entrance exams were just around the corner. Other students were cramming for their reviews, but not him. He was secretly making an animation behind everyone’s back, and he still managed to get such a high score.

’It’s not like geniuses don’t exist in this world. The news is full of child prodigies who get into Tsinghua at fourteen or fifteen. But to be a successful entrepreneur at that age, too? That’s truly a rare few.’

’And our family just happened to have one. You’d have to call it extreme fortune.’

A while later, Jiang Xia came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. Xia Shanshan already had the hairdryer ready. After his hair was dry, the family sat down together to watch some TV and chat.

As it turned out, a random channel flip landed them right on a "Wild West" episode from the fourth season of *Cat and Mouse*. This alone was a testament to the show’s immense popularity.

But Jiang Xia knew his dad preferred watching the news or war films, while his mom liked historical dramas. After all, people their age, with no young children at home to entertain, didn’t usually watch cartoons.

He instinctively went to change the channel, but Jiang Wende said, "Don’t change it. Let’s watch *Cat and Mouse*."

Jiang Xia was a little surprised.

"Don’t you guys dislike watching this?"

"The past is the past, and now is now. How could they be the same?" Jiang Wende said casually.

When it came down to it, they hadn’t known before that *Cat and Mouse* was their own son’s creation. Now that they did, they would have watched it even if it were terrible—let alone the fact it was the hottest cartoon in the country. They simply had to watch it a few more times.

"If we watch *Cat and Mouse* on TV, do you get paid?" Jiang Wende asked.

Jiang Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "No, the broadcast rights were sold to the TV station, so no matter how high the ratings are, the price was a one-time payment. However, higher ratings do reflect a better work, and the additional intangible value is worth far more than the broadcast fee from the station."

Jiang Wende nodded. "I get it. For example, the *Cat and Mouse*-related toys that the Old Lin Family makes are a huge hit with the kids. They can’t keep up with the orders."

"Exactly."

"So how long does it take you to make one episode?"

Jiang Xia went to his room and came back with a thick stack of old key animation drawings, handing them to his parents. "There are 758 sheets here. It used to take about 10 days to make one episode. Now that the image quality has improved, one episode requires an average of about 3,000 key drawings. The project team can produce about six episodes a month."

Jiang Wende quickly flipped through the drawings. Seeing that each image in the same scene had only minuscule changes, he asked in astonishment, "Are these all drawn by hand?"

"Mhm," Jiang Xia explained. "Animation, as the name implies, is about making drawings move."

He then picked up the stack of drawings and flipped through them quickly like a flipbook. The previously static images seemed to spring to life.

Jiang Wende watched, clicking his tongue in amazement. He was just a taxi driver and didn’t understand any of this, but he knew that hand-drawing so much in such a short time—such a colossal amount of work—was something no ordinary person could do.