Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen-Chapter 469 - 311: New Year’s Plan

The fervor for the show lineup was expected to last for a while, but not everyone was paying attention to that. The vast internet would not revolve solely around this one hot topic.

In the following days, Xu Qingqiu was kept busy practicing and taking part in the grand rehearsals at the television station.

However, on these last few occasions, only she, along with a few assistants and makeup artists, went. Chu Tian and Sister Hua did not accompany them.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go. They simply had other matters to attend to.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, there were staff bonuses and benefits to prepare, vacation arrangements to discuss, and holiday work to sort out.

It didn’t mean that everything stopped during the holiday. At the very least, people needed to be scheduled for duty, especially in the Public Relations and Operations departments.

The PR department needed a team to monitor the online public opinion environment in shifts during the holiday and promptly spot any content related to the company.

Operations had to take care of fan engagement and New Year’s greetings, among other things.

In short, a company had too many trivial matters to handle, and nearly every single one needed to be arranged.

Luckily, the studio was under Sister Hua’s careful watch, while Chu Tian had all his focus on Unlimited Entertainment.

"Our company’s New Year holiday is a total of fifteen days, from the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month to the tenth day of the first lunar month. Here’s the holiday schedule for you to look at. If there are no issues, we’ll proceed accordingly."

The national statutory holiday only spanned seven days. However, since celebrating the New Year is a traditional cultural custom for the Chinese people, most conscientious bosses tended to give a few extra days off.

The less generous ones gave ten days, while others gave half a month or even more than twenty days.

To be honest, companies that stuck strictly to the seven-day statutory holiday either had an excessively demanding boss or were simply swamped with trivial issues.

How many workers these days actually worked near their homes? Didn’t most of them have to travel great distances just to get back?

With only seven days in total, two were spent on the journey, leaving only five. By the time they helped out at home and paid a few New Year visits, it was time to head back again. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They couldn’t even sleep in for two days and might not even get the chance to unpack their suitcases before it was time to return. What was the point then?

Thankfully, Chu Tian wasn’t the type to be overly strict. Moreover, frankly speaking, the company’s performance had been quite good last year. Everything was running smoothly even in his absence.

For that reason alone, among others, the bonuses were definitely going to be generous. But if one was willing to give generous bonuses, why be so strict with the holidays? Even if it was paid leave, how much could a few extra days possibly cost?

"Fifteen days is too few," Chu Tian said. "What amount of money is considered ’a lot’? We’re not like other businesses that are in a hurry to resume production right after returning. Add a bit more, at least over twenty days."

After Chu Tian spoke, seeing that Hou Yichuan was about to add something, he laughed, patted Hou Yichuan’s shoulder, and said,

"Alright, add a bit more. Everyone’s been working hard for a whole year. Don’t they deserve a few more days of rest? Besides, what are you going to do with all that money if you only get to spend a couple of days at home before you have to return? There’s no time to even spend it."

"You should also take a break. It will be good for you to relax. Now that you’ve earned the money, don’t forget to spend time with your family and maybe even take a trip somewhere. Wouldn’t that be nice?"

Actually, Hou Yichuan had originally wanted to say that if the holidays were too long, subsequent projects would have to be postponed.

But after hearing Chu Tian’s words and thinking about it, he realized it was true. Previously, at the internet company, he had worked day and night, hardly seeing home all year.

He hadn’t had the chance to see or spend time with his family. Then, what was the meaning of working?

So, in the end, he didn’t say anything, though he was still worried about the projects.

"I have no issue with taking a break. Who doesn’t like holidays? It’s just the projects..."

"What about the projects? Postpone them for a few days. Filming isn’t a matter of a day or two. A little earlier or later doesn’t matter. We’re not in a hurry with the schedule."

"Alright, that works," Hou Yichuan said. "’Candle in the Tomb’ mentioned that it’s too cold to start work on setting up the scenes. So, since that’s the case, let’s delay it a bit and wait until the weather is warmer."

Under Wei Chuan’s direction, ’Candle in the Tomb’ had several outdoor scenes planned in various locations. Other places were fine, but a few cities in the north were too cold, especially in winter, making them unsuitable for construction.

"That’s not a problem," Chu Tian replied. "We’ll just shoot the southern scenes first and delay the rest a bit."

With Chu Tian’s words, Hou Yichuan felt more at ease. The boss himself didn’t mind the extra expense, so what else could I say?

But as a result, the previously arranged holiday plans would need to be redone—a happy problem, so to speak.

"Oh, right, this is a summary of this year’s projects," Hou Yichuan continued, holding out a tablet. "It basically contains all the important matters for the year. Take a look and review it to make sure nothing has been missed."

"This is the work plan for after the New Year. The main projects are: ’Divas Hit the Road’ on the variety show side, ’Candle in the Tomb’ for movies, and ’Chinese Paladin’ and the ’iPartment’ series for TV dramas."

"Also, Wei—Wei Liangxiao—asked me to inquire with you about ’King of Mask Singer’. Are we doing a second season after the New Year? If so, when will it start?"

Chu Tian looked at the dense PDF file on the tablet and felt a headache coming on, but his mind was actively sorting through all the work content.

"Film it? Why wouldn’t we?"

The second season of ’King of Mask Singer’ is a perfect time to rake in money. With the first season as a model, the second season is sure to be an even bigger hit, naturally hiking up advertising fees. Why pass up such an opportunity?

"’King of Mask Singer’ will be the same as this year, starting around August or September. There’s no rush with that. But what’s going on with ’Divas Hit the Road’? Isn’t it finished filming yet?"