Chapter 260 - 258: Training Old Wang

Chapter 260: Chapter 258: Training Old Wang

"President Jiang, Vice President Lin, Director Li, I’m heading off now."

"Alright, Sister Liu. Happy National Day."

"Thank you, President Jiang."

Jiang Xia slowly looked away from the new administrator. Li Weiya smiled faintly. "That girl, Xinyue, is quite excellent. She always finishes her assignments on time."

Jiang Xia nodded slightly. For a receptionist, Liu Xinyue was attractive, and from their few interactions, her interpersonal skills and her ability to analyze and organize seemed quite good.

"You’ve got to consider who hired her," he said with a smile.

Li Weiya paused for a moment. ’This kid... he’s actually buttering me up.’

"Are we off for seven days for National Day?"

"Yep," Jiang Xia replied. "Three statutory holidays for National Day and one for the Mid-Autumn Festival, plus two weekend days and one adjusted day off. Seven days in total."

"That’s pretty good."

"Ah, it’s great being a student," he remarked with a sigh. "You get a break and don’t have to worry about a thing. All you have to do is have fun."

Li Weiya chuckled. "Aren’t you two students?"

"What students are as busy as we are?"

Jiang Xia shook his head, exasperated. Ever since he’d been reborn, he hadn’t taken a real vacation. Building an animation company from the ground up had taken up half of his time, and the other half belonged to his girlfriend.

"That’s true. But then again, I’ve never met a student your age who’s already earned millions," she said. "Countless people would kill for that. You should be grateful."

"Can’t argue with that."

He looked at Lin Yanwan. The young couple exchanged a knowing smile, an entire conversation passing between them without a word.

At 6:30 in the evening, Wang Ming belatedly arrived from school.

Afterward, the four of them went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. They ordered a spread of Yu Du-style stir-fries, but it felt like the food was missing a certain something.

"Old Jiang, I’m almost finished with the storyboards you gave me. During the upcoming National Day holiday, I can work every day. I could even live at the office," Wang Ming said while eating his Maoxuewang.

Jiang Xia shook his head and chuckled, picking up the teapot to pour him a cup of tea. "If all my employees worked as hard as you, our company could probably put out a whole season in a month, easy."

Wang Ming silently rolled his eyes. ’It just feels like such a waste of time to be ’playing’ right now. I’d rather be at work drawing *Cat and Mouse*. At least then, all the exhaustion would feel worth it the moment I see *Cat and Mouse* airing on TV.’

’Besides, even my mom is working overtime every day now, so what right do I have to rest?’

"But there’s no need to be in such a hurry. If you do all the work, what’s left for everyone else?" Jiang Xia chuckled, placing a peeled crawfish in his girlfriend’s bowl.

"I can get it myself, don’t worry about me," Lin Yanwan said softly. She usually couldn’t contribute much to conversations about drawing.

Wang Ming ignored their little display of affection. "So, does this mean you’re planning to give me a vacation?"

"Nope."

Old Wang: "..."

That smug look on his face made Wang Ming speechless. The guy had covered all the bases, leaving him with jack shit to say.

"Uh, what I mean is, you can put the key animation work aside for now. I have something else for you to do."

"Spit it out. What is it?"

Li Weiya was also a little curious about what Ah Xia was planning to have Ah Ming do.

Jiang Xia put down his chopsticks. "You remember what I said before, about how I’d eventually hand over the *Cat and Mouse* project to you, right?"

Wang Ming’s brow furrowed deeply. "You’re not thinking of putting me in charge right now, are you? No way, no way. Spare me."

’He was fine with focusing on key animation, but creative work like writing scripts and drawing storyboards wasn’t his strong suit.’

"I’d like to, but even if I put you in charge right now, you wouldn’t be able to handle it."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Learn by doing. I’m going to train you to become an animation director in the shortest time possible," Jiang Xia said seriously, looking him in the eye.

Wang Ming: "???"

"I understand every word you’re saying, but I just don’t get what you mean."

"Put key animation aside for now. During this National Day holiday, start learning how to conceptualize scripts and create storyboards," Jiang Xia continued. "By June of next year at the latest, I’m handing over full responsibility for *Cat and Mouse* to you."

Wang Ming was stunned. ’June of next year? That’s way too fast! The problem is, besides key animation, I don’t know how to do anything else!’

He glanced at Li Weiya. She didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. ’It’s obvious the two of them already discussed this when I wasn’t around.’

"You’re not kidding, are you?"

Jiang Xia patted his shoulder and chuckled. "There are still eight months until the middle of next year. As long as you learn quickly, there’s enough time."

He wasn’t just saying that for nothing; he knew his brother all too well.

’In his past life, Wang Ming had been able to independently produce an award-winning animated short as a sophomore in college. His talent was exceptional. With my careful guidance, eight months should be more than enough.’

"During the National Day holiday, come to the office every day, and I’ll teach you everything. From now on, I’ll try to have Godmother assign you less key animation work, so you can learn by doing, until you become a qualified animation director," Jiang Xia said slowly.

"Ah, this... I guess that works."

Wang Ming reluctantly agreed. ’I have a pretty good idea why Jiang Xia is in such a rush. He probably wants to start a new animated series and needs to train me up quickly to take over *Cat and Mouse*.’

"But I’m warning you now," Old Wang added, "if I can’t meet your standards, don’t blame me."

"Brother, have a little confidence in yourself, alright? I have really high hopes for you," Jiang Xia said with a wide smile.

Nearby, Li Weiya was very satisfied with this outcome. ’If Ah Xia can really train Ah Ming, then he’ll be free to start a new animated series, or maybe even work on a feature film for *Cat and Mouse*.’

’As long as they can secure the foundational success of *Cat and Mouse*, Qitian Animation will be as solid as Mount Tai.’

In fact, this was Jiang Xia’s idea as well.

’During the National Day holiday, I’ll do my best to impart the creative philosophy behind *Cat and Mouse* to Wang Ming, focusing on how to write scripts and create storyboards. Once Wang Ming can meet my standards, he’ll have "graduated."’

’That way, I can extricate myself from *Cat and Mouse* sooner and focus on producing *Slam Dunk*. Now that is the real magnum opus.’

"Ah Xia, don’t you worry. I’ll supervise him too," Li Weiya said with a laugh.

"Oh right, Godmother, I took a look today. We need to get our recording studio renovated quickly, or it might seriously affect the animation’s production schedule," Jiang Xia suddenly said.

"I’ve already contacted them. The construction crew can start the day after tomorrow at the latest. It should be finished in about twenty days, and we can start using it by November at the latest."

Jiang Xia pondered for a moment then nodded lightly. At the rate of producing one season every two months, the timing would work out. It wouldn’t affect the voice recording schedule for the third season of *Cat and Mouse*.