Chapter 62: Official Employees +2
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Official Employees +2
By the time the four milk teas were ordered, the other two had arrived from their homes.
"What’s up, Old Jiang? You were so mysterious, calling us away from home like that. There’s still a lot of key animation left for episode nine," Wang Ming said. He glanced at Shen Ying and saw she looked just as clueless.
"I told you to draw before, but you wouldn’t. Now you’re giving yourself overtime every day?" Jiang Xia teased.
Wang Ming blushed slightly. He never knew making animation could be so much fun. Now, after working with Jiang Xia on two episodes, he was desperate to see *Cat and Mouse* airing on television.
Besides, the buzz online was significant. That sense of accomplishment was more thrilling than anything else.
"It’s nothing, really. I was just in a good mood today and wanted to treat you guys to some milk tea," Jiang Xia said with a grin.
Lin Yanwan pushed a milk tea to each of them and chided with a smile, "Stop dragging it out. Just tell them already."
"Alright, fine."
The missus had spoken, and Jiang Xia didn’t dare disobey. He pulled the employment contracts he had prepared days ago from his schoolbag. "Take a look. If everything seems fine, go ahead and sign."
Staring at the words "Employment Contract," Wang Ming and Shen Ying exchanged a look, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.
"Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Is the company officially registered?"
"Yep."
Jiang Xia smiled and, right in front of them, pulled the official company seal out of a document folder. He had spent the better part of a month running around for this very thing.
"There’s nothing too complicated in the contract. Besides the basic non-disclosure agreement, it’s mainly about salary. There’s a three-month probation period, during which you’ll be paid according to the local minimum wage for living expenses. After that, your salary will be based on your actual position."
"For example, Wang Ming, you’re in the key animator position. Your post-probation salary will be 2,500. Shen Ying, you’re in operations, so your salary will be 2,000."
Shen Ying asked blankly, "What’s the local minimum wage for living expenses?"
"This year, the minimum wage in Yu Du is 680 yuan. I’ll round it up to 700 for you guys," Jiang Xia explained.
"Didn’t you tell me it was 300 a month before?"
Her salary had more than doubled in an instant. Shen Ying could hardly believe it.
"Now that we’re an official company, we have to follow national rules and regulations."
The smile on Jiang Xia’s face didn’t fade. "If you think it’s too much, you can choose not to sign. I’ll just treat you as a part-time summer hire and keep paying you 300 a month."
"No way! Boss Jiang, a man’s word is his bond! Don’t even think about taking it back!" Shen Ying clutched the contract protectively. Without even finishing reading it, she frantically grabbed a pen and scribbled down her full name and ID number.
As she saw it, the three-month probation period perfectly covered the three months of summer vacation after the college entrance exams. Even if she didn’t continue working for Jiang Xia afterward, she could easily earn enough for half a year of tuition. Where else could a high school student who hadn’t even graduated find a deal like this?
Seeing how eager Shen Ying was, Jiang Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course, he was only teasing her.
Although he didn’t have the money to pay these salaries right now, that difficult situation would be resolved once he sold the first-run broadcast rights to a television station.
"By the way, Boss, what exactly does the ’operations’ position entail?"
Jiang Xia thought for a moment. "It’s pretty similar to what you’re doing now. For example, helping to build a solid fan community for the show, carrying out organized fan recruitment, actively promoting and publicizing it, and assisting the supervisor with planning and executing marketing campaigns for the animation."
Shen Ying nodded, only half-understanding.
"Operations is a very deep field. You can do some research and learn more about it to develop a more mature system as soon as possible, rather than just casually posting on forums and message boards like you are now."
Jiang Xia continued to paint a rosy picture with a smile. "Once the company grows, you’ll be the Director of Operations. The entire operation for all our products will be under your command."
The inexperienced girl was swayed by his words, her heart filled with longing for that bright future.
After settling things with Shen Ying, Jiang Xia turned his attention to Wang Ming.
"Old Wang, what do you think?"
"I don’t have any questions. We’ve been thick as thieves since we were kids. You’re not going to screw me over, are you?"
Wang Ming shrugged and signed the contract without hesitation.
"Don’t you have any other thoughts about the company’s future?" Jiang Xia asked with a smile.
"At first, I thought you were just messing around. But then you went and created *Cat and Mouse* all by yourself, and now you’ve started a company. I’m not blind. I can see you have a clear plan for your life. All I need to do is ride your coattails and reap the rewards with you," Wang Ming said calmly.
He saw the situation clearly. In many ways, Jiang Xia was already far ahead of his peers. He wasn’t jealous, though. With a good brother like this ready to help him soar, he couldn’t be happier.
"You’re right, my ambitions don’t stop here," Jiang Xia said with a smile.
"So, is *Cat and Mouse* just a test run for you? Are you planning to start a different project once you’ve made your first pot of gold?" Wang Ming stared at him. This question was very important to him.
"Of course not."
Jiang Xia shook his head gently. "*Cat and Mouse* is the company’s cornerstone. For a long time to come, the company’s resources will be heavily focused on this one project. I made it very clear on the online encyclopedia page: *Cat and Mouse* is a long-running animated comedy, planned for at least several hundred episodes. Even if the company produces new shows in the future, there will be at least one dedicated studio handling serialized updates for *Cat and Mouse*."
He paused, his smile deepening as he looked at Wang Ming. "And when that time comes, maybe you’ll be the one leading that team."
Wang Ming froze for a second, then quickly shook his head. "No, no way. I couldn’t do that."
"You can’t now, but does that mean you’ll never be able to?"
Jiang Xia signed the company’s name, stamped the official seal, and handed a copy of the contract to each of them.
"Old Wang, keep up the hard work. I need you to grow into an animation director who can handle things on his own as soon as possible."
Looking at the words "Qitian Animation" on the contract, Wang Ming nodded firmly. From this moment on, he was an official employee of the company.
’We all learned to draw together. I can’t let him down, can I?’
"Next, do either of you have any work-related updates to report?" Jiang Xia asked.
"Me, me, me!"
Shen Ying jumped in. "Online discussion about *Cat and Mouse* is growing every day! The fan forum I created is getting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of new followers daily. A lot of people are asking where they can actually watch the show."
"That’s your job as operations. Keep the buzz going, and occasionally release little tidbits of information to keep them hooked."
"My only issue right now is that I’m still a bit slow at drawing, which is holding up the progress," Wang Ming said.
"That’s fine. Speed comes with practice. Just draw more, but make sure you maintain the quality."
Jiang Xia continued, "But the college entrance exams are in a little over half a month. For now, you two need to focus on your studies. Our real stage will be this summer, and then in college. This is only the beginning."
He smiled with unshakable confidence.