Chapter 9: The Tape Was Almost Ripped to Smoking!

"Everyone, come over here for a moment!"

Before preparing to leave, Jiang Ming called the entire team to his side.

"Brother Ming, wha—"

"Huh?"

As red banknotes were pulled from the brown paper bag, the rustling sound made everyone freeze. "Brother Ming, what is this?"

"Well, it's December now, so I'm giving you your November salaries!"

"But today is only the 1st," the team's AD, Xu Jing, muttered weakly, only to be met with death glares from the four teammates beside him.

*No, damn it, are you an idiot? Being paid early is a good thing, isn't it?*

Xu Jing: ...

*I suppose that's true. Why the hell am I being so difficult about getting paid early?*

Jiang Ming smiled coolly and handed the divided cash to the players one by one.

"Take it. You've earned it."

"I’m not going to give you any empty talk. From now on, the team’s salaries will be paid at the beginning of each month. That way, you won't have to worry about the team suddenly dissolving one day and leaving your wages unpaid."

"Don't say that, Brother Ming, you're joking. Our team won't dissolve..."

"Nothing is impossible. If we don't play well and the results are garbage, are we keeping the team around to breed?"

Jiang Ming said with a serious expression, "Your salaries will be paid in full, down to the last cent. The bonuses promised for making it into the preseason and the LPL regular season will also be issued to you on time and in full as the team advances. I have only one request: during the season, strengthen your self-discipline and ensure you maintain the necessary fundamentals and pre-game warm-up training volume..."

"Only by making it into the LPL can you truly transition from being a gamer to a professional esports player and realize your own value."

"Understood!!" x5

When the team was still at the "basement operation" stage, it wasn't realistic to have very high expectations of the players.

Not to mention whether the players could accept it, the team didn't currently have the proper management infrastructure.

He himself was already running between streaming, managing the team, and handling the school online store; for the time being, he could only rely on a bit of "chicken soup for the soul."

Of course, Jiang Ming wasn't the type to believe that motivational talk alone could conquer the world. In this land of China, he preferred to believe that as long as he paid fast enough and the amounts were large enough, he wouldn't have to worry about the players’ efforts falling behind.

...

Exiting the team's basement training room, Jiang Ming was full of resentment after hitting his head on the low ceiling for the nth time.

"Dammit, the first thing I’m doing once we make the LPL is securing a proper base."

It didn't have to be fancy, but it at least needed to be on the ground floor. The basement had no doors or windows; winters were fine, but summers were truly miserable. Not to mention the smell of athlete's foot permeating the room, after a couple of matches, you’d be absolutely drenched in sweat.

"But the biggest problem right now is capital. I can get someone to find a venue. Given the current state of domestic esports, the club base doesn't need to be luxurious—no need for villas or anything like that. A standard one or two-story building with enough space for a training room, a player lounge, and basic living conditions will suffice."

Jiang Ming calculated as he walked back to his rented room.

"Right, I’ll head back to school tomorrow. I can't waste the reputation of being the 'model student entrepreneur.' Let me see if I can squeeze a bit more support out of the Dean..."

After all, the Dean held the title of his "Entrepreneurship Mentor." It wouldn't look good for the Dean not to help when a student was in trouble.

With the part-time jobs his online store provided for underprivileged students and the scholarship sponsorship he provided for the School of Economics and Management every semester, the Dean had no reason to refuse.

Once he had that figured out, Jiang Ming's mood improved significantly.

Having lived once before, he knew all too well that his greatest asset at this stage wasn't anyone else, but the university, which most people felt had very little connection to their daily lives.

There’s a saying: university is the best way for an ordinary person to come into contact with the top movers and shakers of society.

If you feel like your university has little to do with you, it’s just because you aren't outstanding enough. When you are strong enough, you will find that your alma mater is more than happy to provide you with support in funding, space, and even networking.

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day, he woke up early. Jiang Ming didn't disturb his teammates, whose sleep schedules were different from ordinary people's. Before leaving, he just told the restaurant owner to make sure to deliver lunch to them around 12:00 PM.

There was no help for it; with a small business, you save where you can. He’d think about hiring a cook once they made the LPL and had a couple of "gold daddy" sponsors.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked as he rolled down the window.

"Jinling University!"

"Got it."

The driver didn't ask any more questions, his attention focused on traffic, thinking only of getting to the destination quickly to pick up the next fare.

...

The winter sun was very warm, casting dappled golden spots on the white path as he entered the campus gate.

Jiang Ming arrived at the student entrepreneurship park and walked to the front of a small shop named "Bright Mirror Domain." A bronze wind chime hanging on the doorframe gave a clear, crisp sound.

The layout of the shop was very simple. The two rows of shelves in the middle were stocked with various snacks currently popular with young people, while the cabinets along the walls were, quite unusually, filled with all sorts of electronic and digital products. A junior student wearing a navy blue apron was restocking snacks on the shelves.

"Beep-beep!"

"Hey, Sister Lin, there are new orders again."

The part-time receptionist shouted toward the back of the shop.

"Got it, got it... Ugh, when that guy Jiang Ming gets back, I’m definitely going to demand a raise. You can't just exploit people like this."

"Five hundred orders a day! I’m tearing tape until I’m smoking. Does he think he’s going to heaven?!"

"Senior, it's not nice to talk behind people's backs."

Jiang Ming walked to the counter, taking the order the part-time student had just torn from the printer, and headed toward the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, piled high with various goods, the "Senior Sister Lin" who had just been complaining about Jiang Ming was now busy packing boxes with several part-time junior students. A rich, savory aroma of meat-floss biscuits filled the air.

Jiang Ming leaned over to help with the sorting and then looked at the information on the order labels.

Hmm... all meat-floss biscuits!

The shop consisted of three rooms. Aside from the small convenience store in the front that was open to the rest of the university, the core of the business was actually the two warehouses in the back.

Except for a few special items, orders placed by customers on the online store were basically shipped from here.

"Yo, look who it is! The big busybody finally decided to inspect his empire today?"

"Cough, cough. I’ve been busy making videos to promote our new round of shop products. Look, our orders are exploding..."

"Exploding?"

"Yes, it is exploding." Lin Yidan, who was expertly pulling tape and sealing a package in under five seconds, gave him a resentful look. "But do you know how many packages we’ve packed since yesterday after your video went live?"

"Five hundred orders! Five hundred orders, that’s three or four hundred packages!"