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"Could he really be a genius?"
Inside the Haicheng History Museum, Xiao Zhou was in charge of reviewing the entries for the cultural competition. He stared at a document on his screen. He was completely stunned.
Young people today are returning to traditional culture in huge numbers. To attract them, you have to come up with something truly novel.
The museum launched this competition for two reasons. One was to find fresh inspiration. The other was to one up the Haicheng Museum next door.
Xiao Zhou originally expected a few decent ideas. But after reading this proposal, a single thought crossed his mind.
"If we let this guy enter, won't it just be a slaughter for the other contestants?"
Xiao Zhou looked at the signature at the bottom of the file. It read: 【Super Invincible Cosmic Berserk Cool and Dazzling Little Prince of Wood Carving】.
He felt a bit numb. He expected to see a famous name or a professional studio.
"How is this possible?"
Wasn't this just the random blogger he had invited on a whim last night? He only sent the invite yesterday. This blogger already finished a full proposal today?
"What is wrong, Xiao Zhou?"
Gong Zhenbao, the head of the operations department, noticed Xiao Zhou’s daze. He walked over with a confused expression.
Xiao Zhou shivered. He immediately answered.
"Nothing is wrong, Teacher Gong. I was just checking the emails for our creative competition."
Xiao Zhou was quite afraid of Gong Zhenbao.
People on the internet said the post-00s generation was going to "rectify the workplace." But Xiao Zhou was just a timid employee. He didn't dare to cause trouble.
(TL: Rectify the workplace (整顿职场 - Zhěngdùn zhíchǎng): A popular Chinese social media trend. It refers to the "Post-00s" generation (Gen Z) refusing to follow toxic office culture, like working unpaid overtime or sucking up to bosses.)
Luckily, Gong Zhenbao was just a serious man. He never made things intentionally difficult for his staff.
Gong Zhenbao had organized this competition because the museum next door had a hit product. It was selling like crazy.
Failing on your own is bad enough. Seeing your rival succeed is much worse.
Whenever he heard the other museum bragging, Gong Zhenbao would get so angry he would punch the air in the middle of the night.
"Have you found any outstanding emails?" Gong Zhenbao asked.
Xiao Zhou was only a first level reviewer. His job was to filter out inappropriate content. He didn't make the final choices.
But since the boss asked, he told the truth.
"Teacher Gong, I think this one is actually very good."
"Super Invincible Cosmic Berserk Cool and Dazzling Little Prince of Wood Carving?"
Gong Zhenbao read the name. His hope immediately vanished. What kind of ridiculous name was that?
Despite his doubts, he saw Xiao Zhou’s nervous recommendation. He kept a straight face and started reading the first page.
Ten minutes passed. Gong Zhenbao sat down in Xiao Zhou’s chair to read it again.
Another ten minutes passed. He stretched his neck closer to the monitor to read it a third time.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Xiao Zhou."
Xiao Zhou snapped to attention. "Yes, Teacher Gong! Please give your orders!"
"Quickly! Contact this Prince immediately!"
Xiao Zhou was confused.
Gong Zhenbao finally showed his teeth in a wide smile.
"His Royal Highness noticed that we have reliefs in our new exhibition. He wants us to carve ancient surname totems onto wood products. This gives tourists a sense of personal connection. It promotes traditional culture. We can even use our staff scholars to verify the totems!"
The other staff members were curious.
"What if a surname is too rare? What if we can't find a totem for it?"
Gong Zhenbao laughed happily.
"Do you think His Royal Highness missed that?"
"He wrote that tourists with rare surnames can receive a special hidden style wooden figure. This is a perfect marketing point. We can film videos of people with rare surnames like Dugu or Nangong. It will go viral!"
"He even mentioned the even rarer surname Diwu. We could do a crossover with a popular game for it. The man is a genius!"
(TL: The surname "Diwu" literally means "The Fifth." A reference to the game Identity V (known as Diwu Ren'ge in China). It’s a very popular gothic horror game.)
The entire office was stunned. This was a complete marketing masterclass.
"How do we price it? Did he write that too?"
Gong Zhenbao smiled mysteriously. Xiao Zhou nodded and answered for him.
"He did. The price is thirty yuan higher than our standard products."
Someone hesitated. "Will tourists think that is too expensive?"
"For just one extra yuan, a master carver will engrave a custom character on the back of the totem."
The room filled with gasps of "holy f*ck."
Buying a hundred yuan item with free shipping feels very different from buying an eighty yuan item with twenty yuan shipping.
"This person understands technology. He also understands psychology and marketing."
Gong Zhenbao was beaming with joy.
"Xiao Zhou, contact him now. We need to secure a long term partnership!"
...
On the other side of the city.
Lu Xing and Professor Song really did work until the sun came up.
In the end, Lu Xing lost.
He couldn't help it. Professor Song was a machine. Her passion for research was terrifying. She had a "burn the candle at both ends" energy that was almost supernatural.
When the sky turned bright, she finally ordered Lu Xing to go to sleep.
Ring ring ring!
The alarm went off. Lu Xing snapped his eyes open and sat up instantly.
He used to love sleeping in. But sleeping in meant no money. He had developed a trick to survive.
The moment the alarm sounds, you must move. If you grit your teeth and jump out of bed, you will stay awake.
"Eight o'clock."
He had only gone to bed at six. He had slept for exactly two hours.
He went to the bathroom to wash his face.
"When I graduate, I am going to sleep for three days straight."
Before leaving the room, he looked around at the decor.
Since moving in, he realized this bedroom was a dream for any man.
The computer and consoles were all top tier. The chair was the most expensive model on the market.
There were Iron Man helmets, rare cards, and Gundam models everywhere. In the corner, there was even a full set of Emperor Armor.
Every cool gadget he had ever seen online was right here in this room.
"You are truly wealthy, Professor Song."
This room was perfectly designed for an eighteen year old with "middle school syndrome."
Lu Xing took one last look, then stepped out into the hallway.
He looked down from the second floor balcony. He saw Song Junzhu with her back to him. She was staring intensely at her computer screen.
However, Lu Xing narrowed his eyes.
The video on her screen didn't look like physics. It didn't look like research at all.
He stood quietly in the corridor. He took out his phone and opened the camera.
He zoomed in. Then he zoomed in again.
Until he saw clearly the video playing on Song Junzhu's computer, he fell into a silence.
...
...