Peninsula: The Great Producer

Seoul is bustling at the end of the year.

The streets have begun to be decorated in various ways to welcome Christmas.

A little after 3 p.m., near the company, at the Modern Department Store.

Li Zhien raised her mask and looked at the huge Christmas tree erected in the center of the mall's first-floor lobby. She exclaimed, "Wow, it's beautiful! Is Christmas almost here?"

It has been almost three years since I last celebrated Christmas since I joined the company as a trainee.

In the past, my grandma and aunt would prepare a surprise gift for Lee Ji-eun and her younger brother Lee Jong-hoon at Christmas. Looking back, it’s only been my second year of working and I haven’t bought a gift for my grandma or aunt yet.

I have always thought that after I earn my first money, I will at least buy thermal underwear for my elders and prepare some small gifts for my cousin and brother.

He swiped the money in his pocket.

But now I am still using the pocket money given by my family to buy things in such a high-end place.

Ella, never mind.

It makes sense that he bought it for Qi Yaojiu, as he bought a lot of things when he visited our home for the first time, and he also bought a lot of gifts for his family when he was in Country T before.

Cheering up, Lee Ji-eun walked through the crowd looking for a men's clothing store.

Shinmura
MAX Productions.

Qi Yaojiu stood next to the whiteboard by the window in the large office.

It's rare that Choi Jina is also in the office today.

Including the interns from school, MAX Production Company has about 30 people.

Qi Yaojiu himself was a little surprised. He didn't think so when he was filming the show. It might be because the number of people in the performing team was quite large, so he thought the working team would be about a dozen people.

The words "year-end summary" were written on the whiteboard.

As the year draws to a close, Qi Yaojiu plans to give bonuses to the employees who have worked hard this year and also discuss next year's work plans.

Everyone looked at Ki Yo-gu seriously. Ki Yo-gu fixed his gaze on Choi Jin-na and said, "First of all, this year our company has co-operated programs with K Broadcasting Station and S Broadcasting Station."

"The ratings for 'Shinhwa Send', a program currently managed by PD Choi Jina, on S Broadcasting Station, are also very good."

Choi Jinna nodded slightly.

Qi Yaojiu also said a few words about other programs, and he couldn't help but praise "Youth Never Fails" directed by Li Enying as also very good.

The show grasped the core point that fans at this stage like to watch the interactive games between male and female idols, and the ratings have almost remained stable at around 23%.

There are also some regrets after the praise, for example, the program "Shinhwa Broadcasting" did not achieve success in obtaining broadcasting rights because its theme was too unique.

However, Ki Yo-jio comforted Choi Jin-na not to be discouraged, saying that it is already the Internet age, and sooner or later this program will be seen by more fans of Shinhwa at home and abroad because of the Internet.

After a few simple sentences, the main focus is still on next year.

Next year, the three programs "New Journey to the West", "Three Meals a Day" and "Bounce Earth Game Hall" will continue to shoot new seasons.

Qi Yaojiu will still be personally responsible for these three programs, but two new PDs will be trained to learn the production process of "New Journey to the West" and "Three Meals a Day".

The eyes of the newcomers all lit up. This was an opportunity. Compared to joining the major broadcasting stations, being able to learn and grow quickly was more important than anything else.

Only MAX Production Company, right? No, only Qi Yaojiu would be so selfless.

You have to understand that production is a producer's bread and butter, and yet he's willing to teach and share it for free, truly empowering someone with no production experience to lead a show. The saying that "no one is born knowing how to do something well" continues to gain traction.

I was looking forward to hearing my name come out of Qi Yaojiu's mouth, but today Qi Yaojiu laid an ambush and asked the college students about their graduation time and their employment plans after graduation.

Everyone answered in unison that joining MAX Production Company was their only job idea and goal after graduation.

The young team is full of energy.

The first surprise that Qi Yaojiu gave to the team was that all the college students present who worked part-time could officially join MAX Production Company after graduation.

Amidst the cheers, the second surprise came. This year, MAX Production Company's variety shows and TV dramas have achieved very good results. At the end of the year, every full-time employee can get a bonus of ten months' salary, and every intern can get a bonus of three months' salary.

The only regular employees are Choi Jin-na, Lee Eun-young, and Kim Ji-hwan; the rest are all part-time students.

But this is enough. Part-time college students are already satisfied with their monthly salary, which is higher than what they earn working in convenience stores, restaurants, and cosmetics stores. Now they get a bonus of three months' salary at the end of the year. In their eyes, this is a fantastic company.

Li Enying and Jin Zhihuan were also very excited. Ten months' salary was not a small amount. Qi Yaojiu gave them a monthly salary of 500 million H yuan, which means they could get a bonus of 5000 million H yuan at the end of the year.

Choi Jinna was very calm. She was not short of money and she chose the career of producer to realize her childhood dream.

Her mentality has changed a long time ago. Now she just wants to beat Qi Yaojiu in her career, even though it is very difficult.

The third surprise followed. After the production of the TV series is completed at the beginning of next year, all employees of the company will be able to get a week-long overseas travel vacation.

Jin Zhihuan, who was quick to react, immediately confirmed with Qi Yaojiu that this week's overseas trip might be to shoot "New Journey to the West" or "Bounce Earth Game Hall". After all, both programs are filmed overseas for a week.

Qi Yaojiu deliberately showed a regretful expression as if you saw through him.

Amidst the complaints that seemed to fan the flames, Qi Yaojiu said seriously, "Am I that stingy? I'll definitely spend my vacation eating, drinking and having fun. Who would still work? But I only reimburse the vacation expenses."

The office fell silent for a moment.

If you think about it carefully, Qi Yaojiu only said to give him a vacation but didn't say to reimburse the travel expenses.

During the silence, Qi Yaojiu continued, "But everyone is happy today. Why don't we have a year-end dinner at our production company tonight? During the dinner, we'll draw a lottery and pick three lucky employees. All travel expenses will be reimbursed by the company, including the expenses for the three of us."

The deafening cheers made those who didn't know think that MAX Production Company was some kind of pyramid scheme.

Jingle Bell.

The phone rings.

Qi Yaojiu took a look at the caller ID and answered the call directly.

Very noisy.

Whether it was Qi Yaojiu's side or the other end of the phone, the background noise was very mixed.

Qi Yaojiu said, "Oh, Ji Eun."

Li Zhien on the other end of the phone asked: "Is Oppa busy? It seems like you are very busy."

Qi Yaojiu smiled and said, "No, the staff are discussing what to eat for the company dinner tonight."

Li Zhien paused and said, "Oppa, is there a company dinner tonight?"

Qi Yaojiu felt that Li Zhien must have something to ask him, so he invited her: "Do you want to join us? We are all acquaintances anyway." (End of this chapter)