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Chapter 325 Cao Sheng Loses His Creative Passion?
On the eve of leaving Shenzhen.

Cao Sheng and Wang Jing had a meal together alone.

After seeing the employees Wang Jing had recruited during his trip to Shenzhen, Cao Sheng no longer regarded Wang Jing simply as his assistant.

He realized that Wang Jing, whom he had sent to be stationed in Pengcheng, was no longer just an assistant, but the head of a branch office.

So, before leaving Shenzhen, he went to a hotel with her alone for a meal, to talk about work and also to win her over.

"How much of that building has been rented out?"

During the meal, Cao Sheng asked her.

The question is about the building I bought before.

When the building was being renovated, Wang Jing made a suggestion: to renovate it in batches, dividing the entire building into several phases, renovating one phase and renting out another, so that the funds could be recovered as quickly as possible.

Cao Sheng thought it made sense and agreed to her doing so from the beginning.

Before the Lunar New Year, she reported to him on the rental situation, saying that 22 single rooms had already been rented out.

Wang Jing chuckled, "We've already rented out 56 single rooms. After the New Year, many people who come to Shenzhen to work are looking for houses, so it's peak season for renting."

Cao Sheng nodded.

There are 56 single rooms, not 56 suites.

In Shenzhen, housing prices and rents are high, so landlords generally prefer to divide a house into multiple single rooms for rent.

A stairwell can be converted into a single room, a balcony can be converted into a single room, and living rooms, bedrooms, etc., can all be converted into several single rooms.

Even a small single room of just a few square meters costs two or three hundred yuan a month to rent. And that's just now. In a few years, the rent will double and double again. In just a few years, the rent for a small single room will rise to more than a thousand yuan.

"Next, you need to arrange the renovation of the two buildings you just bought as soon as possible. Should you do it in batches? If you don't have enough manpower, find another renovation company to cooperate with. There should be many renovation companies around here, right?"

Cao Sheng changed the subject.

Wang Jing nodded, "Understood! But in that case, I'm afraid I'll have to hire a few more employees, otherwise I really won't be able to handle it."

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

At this moment, Wang Jing placed a piece of steamed pork rib in his bowl, glanced at the door of the private room, and whispered, "Boss! You hired bodyguards, why did you choose these young men? They look more like students than bodyguards!"

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "They were originally students. Four of them are students from our school's physical education department. The oldest one is their counselor."

Wang Jing looked surprised. "Huh? Why did you hire students as bodyguards? Are they reliable?"

Cao Sheng smiled, "Just someone we found temporarily to fill the space, at least they look impressive, right?"

Wang Jing frowned. "If something really happens, can they protect you?"

Cao Sheng: "Probably not. I came from Huizhou this time, and you guys picked me up as soon as I got off the plane. Besides, the public security in China is pretty good, so it's not that dangerous."

Wang Jing thought for a moment and said, "I suggest you hire two reliable bodyguards when you go back this time! How about two veterans? I think veterans are great; the government handles the background checks for us, so we can use them with peace of mind. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng looked at her and nodded slightly.

I think what she said makes a lot of sense.

……

The following morning, Cao Sheng boarded a plane to return home.

After returning to Huizhou, he treated Fan Shengzhi and the four physical education students to a meal, settled their wages, and gave each of them a red envelope containing 1,000 yuan, thus ending this short-term employment.

Fan Shengzhi was in a good mood after receiving his reward and a red envelope.

The four athletes were happy, but felt a sense of loss.

Having experienced earning several hundred yuan a day with free food and accommodation, and having the opportunity to broaden their horizons in first-tier cities like Shenzhen, they lost this job so quickly. They don't know if they will ever have such an opportunity to earn money again in their lives. They will soon have to go back to school and live a life where they spend money every day and can't earn a single penny. Of course, they feel disappointed.

On the taxi back to school.

Sun Liang stared blankly at the scenery outside the car window. He used to think that the scenery of Huizhou was very beautiful, but after visiting Shenzhen a few days ago, he felt that the scenery of Huizhou was not as wonderful as that of Shenzhen.

There's not much of a future in it.

Shenzhen is filled with skyscrapers.

Overpasses are everywhere, and the streets are bustling with traffic. Pedestrians walk much faster than those in Huizhou, as if they are rushing to rob money.

Although he has returned from Shenzhen, his heart remains there.

He subconsciously touched his chest. In the pocket of his arms was the reward and red envelope for his trip to Shenzhen. It was the first time he had ever earned money in his life, and his daily income far exceeded that of his parents.

At this moment, he couldn't help but wonder how much money Cao Sheng actually had? How much did Cao Sheng earn in royalties each month? How did Cao Sheng feel about earning so much money every month?
A sudden thought flashed through his mind—if kidnappers ask me to be their inside man when I go to Shenzhen, how much money will they give me afterward?

When the thought flashed through his mind, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

He also realized that since he didn't have a cell phone, even if the kidnappers asked him to be an inside man, he wouldn't be able to inform them.

Then he thought about his identity. The school had very detailed records. If he really became an inside man for the kidnappers, the kidnappers might not be caught afterward, but he, Sun Liang, would definitely not be able to escape.

He suspected that this was one of the reasons why Cao Sheng hired them as bodyguards.

……

Hu Rong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was also one of the students going to Shenzhen this time.

At this moment, his thoughts were not as unrestrained as Sun Liang's. He squinted and thought for a while, then looked down at his legs.

His legs were long and thick.

This is because he practiced legwork since he was a child.

At that moment, he was thinking—could I become Cao Sheng's long-term bodyguard? Would Cao Sheng even consider my leg techniques?

Sitting next to Sun Liang, Lei Zhen was thinking – he had made so much money this time, but he wouldn't have such an opportunity again. Should he look for a part-time job?
Having tasted the joy of making money, he became restless.

Unlike before, I'm no longer just an ordinary student who only knows how to spend money and not how to earn it.

Xu Jingshan sat between Sun Liang and Lei Zhen.

Sitting in the middle wasn't very comfortable, so after getting on the bus, he crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes to rest.

Although you may appear drowsy, your mind is actually quite alert.

He practiced swordsmanship from a young age.

Later, when I read martial arts novels, I came across the concept of "sword heart" in them.

After entering university, he tried to understand his own sword heart.

But he still doesn't know if he has found Kenshin or not.
But after thinking about it for a long time, he also developed his own understanding of Kenshin.

He felt that swordsmanship was not only related to swords, but also a state of mind for dealing with people and the world.

To see through the illusions of a seemingly chaotic real life and recognize the truly important people and things.

Then, use your wisdom to treat important people and do important things well.

The person he considered important at that moment was Cao Sheng.

He felt this was an opportunity for him.

Perhaps he will never again encounter such a wealthy and famous benefactor who can also help him.

But how can I seize this opportunity and truly make Cao Sheng my benefactor?
On the way back to school, he pondered this question. The taxi dropped them off at the school gate, and as he got out of the car, he looked up and saw the school's name on the gate.

The taxi took them to the old school gate.

The old school gate bears the marks of time.

It looks drab and doesn't even have the grandeur of some primary and secondary school gates.

But when he saw the old school gate, he suddenly thought of an old saying: "Having mastered both literary and martial arts, one can sell one's skills to the emperor."

As a sports student, he used to be quite lost.

Looking to the future, he felt that perhaps the best prospect for him after graduation would be to become a physical education teacher at a middle or primary school.

With a salary that's neither high nor low, when he meets a girl he likes, he displays his masculinity in front of her, showing off his muscles and swordsmanship to attract her.

But this trip to Shenzhen showed him another option, a much better one than being a physical education teacher—becoming Cao Sheng's or other big boss's private bodyguard.

Cao Sheng and those big bosses are not short of money.

The treatment given to private bodyguards should be very good.

Just like when Cao Sheng hired them for a short period of time, the treatment he gave them far exceeded that of ordinary office workers.

……

Cao Sheng was like a scumbag who flirted with a beautiful woman and then ran away. He inadvertently ignited the ambitions of those four sports students, but had already forgotten about them.

On the night he returned to school, he took a nap and didn't wake up until after 10 p.m. When he woke up, all the fatigue from the journey was gone.

It feels like I've been fully recharged.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a while.

I got up, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then turned on my computer to start writing.

Before long, he got into the zone and started typing away on the keyboard, lines of text appearing one after another in the document.

Recently, his mind and energy have been distracted. During the Chinese New Year, he took his parents to Sanya for a holiday because he was worried about potential dangers.

After returning from the Spring Festival, he bought a villa and then went to Shenzhen to buy an apartment.

This has caused his recent output to drop significantly.

As a result, he was only able to submit one chapter of the manuscript to the publisher this month.

This gave him a sense of urgency.

I once had a homeroom teacher who repeatedly reminded them: grades belong to the past. If you want to achieve great results in the future, you need to work twice as hard now.

Therefore, whenever he has free time or his writing volume decreases, he feels guilty, always feeling that he is wasting his time and that he will definitely go downhill before long.

In front of the computer.

He made the most of his time to write.

But two days later, when it came time to submit the manuscript to Xinchang, they still only had one episode's manuscript.

Upon receiving the manuscript, Chang Qingshu, the editor in charge of receiving manuscripts at Xinchang, immediately thought that Cao Sheng had missed submitting the manuscript, and that there must be two more episodes that had not been successfully sent.

Since Cao Sheng started collaborating with Xin Chang, he has been submitting at least two episodes of manuscript every month, and during winter and summer vacations, he can even submit three episodes of manuscript every month.

But there's only one episode this month? How can there only be one episode?
He instinctively picked up his phone and dialed Cao Sheng's number.

It was a little after 10 a.m.

Cao Sheng was in class and his phone was on silent, so he didn't receive the call.

But at 11:40 a.m., Chang Qingshu called Cao Sheng again.

At that moment, Cao Sheng was eating in the cafeteria.

Upon receiving Chang Qingshu's call, Cao Sheng guessed the likely reason why Chang Qingshu was looking for him, and couldn't help but smile wryly, but still answered the call.

"Hey?"

Evergreen: "Hey, Mr. Cao, good afternoon! Have you had lunch yet?"

Cao Sheng: "Hehe, I'm eating now. What's up?"

Evergreen: "Oh, I see. Well then, let me make a long story short! Mr. Cao, I saw the manuscript you sent me last night. I wanted to ask, how many episodes did you send me this time? I only received one episode. Did you miss sending it, or did one or two episodes fail to send successfully?"

Cao Sheng: "..."

At that moment, Cao Sheng inexplicably recalled a time before his rebirth when a girlfriend asked him in surprise when he wasn't feeling well, "Why are you so fast today? Don't you usually take at least half an hour?"

He remembers feeling exactly the same way he does now.

Evergreen even called him specifically to ask why he only submitted one episode this month.
What's wrong with a single episode's script?
These days, most writers can only submit one chapter of manuscript per month, right?

I only submit one episode a month occasionally, and you call to ask why?
Cao Sheng pursed his lips, chuckled, and said, "There were no omissions or failed submissions. I did indeed only write one episode this month."

This time, it was Evergreen's turn to remain silent.

After a long silence, Chang Qingshu spoke again: "Oh, I see! Mr. Cao, may I ask why? Are you not feeling well this month? Or has something happened in your life? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Cao Sheng didn't want to talk to him about his private life.

"No! I'm just lazy. It's just the New Year! I feel lazy and want to rest."

Evergreen: "..."

After a few seconds of silence, Evergreen said, "Oh, I see! I understand! You've been writing non-stop these past few years, producing so many works in a row, you must be tired. Okay! I know, then you should rest well and I hope you can recover soon. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'll definitely help you if I can."

Cao Sheng: "Yes, thank you! Thank you very much."

Evergreen: "Then... goodbye?"

Cao Sheng: Goodbye!

call ended.

Chang Qingshu frowned, seriously suspecting that Cao Sheng had lost his passion for creation, for two reasons:

First, Cao Sheng has written many works in recent years, including "Living with an Air Hostess", "I Want to Become an Immortal", "Tomb of the Gods", "The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth", and "The Romance of the Primordial Era" which is currently being serialized.

In addition, he wrote so many screenplays.

Cao Sheng is only 21 years old. A 21-year-old young man will not have much cultural or life experience.

It's quite normal for a young person like him, who has written so much in a row, to have run out of creative ideas.

Secondly... Cao Sheng made too much money.

In particular, two scripts that were reported in the news at the end of last year sold for more than 100 million.

With so much money in his account, does Cao Sheng, only 21 years old, still have the motivation to strive? With so much money, he'd be too busy enjoying life to even think about serious creative work.
Thinking about all this, Evergreen's brow remained furrowed for a long time.

His expression was very solemn.

Because he was well aware of Cao Sheng's importance to Xinchang.

Cao Sheng now seems to have lost his passion for creation, which will certainly have a significant impact on Xin Chang. He needs to report to headquarters as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)