Following the commentary, Liu Sheng, the director from Modu TV, also turned on his television and switched to Sunnan TV. He was eager to see what kind of show could achieve such high initial viewership.
After all, Modu TV had secured the rights to most of the big productions for the entire year, and none of those had achieved an initial viewership rating of over 1%.
Therefore, he was very curious about what kind of drama could be stronger than the big productions and high-traffic works that his station had acquired.
Moreover, Sunnan TV's publicity efforts seemed to be minimal this time. In contrast, Modu TV spent tens of millions on new show promotions.
This only deepened his curiosity. What kind of drama, featuring megastars, could achieve such high ratings on its premiere with so little promotion?
When the TV was turned on, Liu Sheng directly tuned to Sunnan TV. The screen displayed a simple, rustic rural scene.
"What the hell is this? So many people are watching a rural-themed show?"
Seeing the screen for "Soldiers Sortie," Liu Sheng became even more perplexed.
It was simply unbelievable that a rural-themed drama could garner such high ratings.
To understand the nature of this drama, he sat down in front of the television and watched several episodes in one go.
He became increasingly engrossed, and before he knew it, the three episodes aired that day had concluded.
After watching, Liu Sheng still felt a sense of dissatisfaction.
Although the drama wasn't in the currently popular urban romance genre, it managed to capture the audience's anticipation.
Viewers would gradually be drawn into the plot, focusing on the growth of the character Xu Sanduo.
"Sunnan TV has truly surprised me this time, managing to pick such an excellent drama."
Liu Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
Suddenly, he had an epiphany.
They had been too narrow-minded, constantly fixated on urban romance.
They rarely paid attention to excellent works from other genres. This was why, despite Modu TV's dominance, their viewership ratings had been declining over the past year.
The market for similar themes was saturated, and audiences were familiar with the tropes of urban romance dramas. Consequently, even with the addition of popular young idols, some shows were destined to fail.
"It seems we need to change our approach!"
Liu Sheng thought to himself. As one of the directors in Modu TV's marketing department, he deeply felt the missteps the station had made in the past year.
"Notify everyone, we'll have an online meeting in ten minutes to discuss the recent trends!"
Liu Sheng picked up his phone and called his secretary.
...
"Old He, this is excellent. This time, Modu TV will be overshadowed by us. We've finally given our station some satisfaction!"
The deputy director said with a look of joy, patting He Jiaye's shoulder.
He Jiaye replied with a fawning smile. After all, this deputy director always wore his emotions on his sleeve.
He might be cheerful one moment and then slap you the next, so He Jiaye couldn't afford to be too complacent.
Although he wasn't sure why "Soldiers Sortie" had suddenly achieved such high viewership, he could at least provide an explanation for this result.
Furthermore, if the subsequent viewership ratings for this drama could be maintained, it would undoubtedly be a huge success.
The total investment for this drama was only ten million, and with promotional expenses, it was less than twelve million.
If the viewership ratings could consistently remain close to one percent, the drama would earn at least a hundred million in advertising sponsorships upon its completion.
After deducting the ten million cost and the revenue share with Wang Shu, the station would still make a net profit of tens of millions.
This was precisely why the deputy director was so happy just now.
The station's finances had been quite tight throughout the year. Now, with the golden brand of "Soldiers Sortie," there was no longer a need to worry about funding.
Advertisers, sponsors, and investors would come flooding in.
"Everyone, no need to rush home after work tonight. I'm treating everyone to a meal!"
After the deputy director left, He Jiaye announced to everyone in the studio.
"Long live Director He!"
"Oh, this is awesome! My salary for this month is all spent, and I've been eating steamed buns for days!"
"I love it, Director He is a great leader!"
When the studio staff heard He Jiaye's words, their faces lit up with joy.
They quickly tidied up their things and followed He Jiaye out for the meal.
...
After watching "Soldiers Sortie," Wang Shu uploaded the remaining chapters he had saved.
His objective had been achieved, so he naturally wouldn't stop updating his work.
After all, each chapter not written meant less money earned.
Now that all three of his books had entered a relatively stable phase, Wang Shu had grown accustomed to his current update schedule.
In fact, his typing speed had even increased.
However, Wang Shu had no intention of starting a new book, as these three books would provide him with a substantial income each month.
Moreover, he had just extended his lifespan, now having two months of continued existence.
Therefore, he didn't need to push himself to earn money at all costs.
He had come to realize that everyone eventually dies. Perhaps one day, he would lose the motivation to earn money.
Or perhaps, one day, he would no longer be able to afford the research and technology from the system to exchange for life.
At that point, he wouldn't struggle anymore; he would calmly await the arrival of death.
The next morning, Wang Shu was awakened by an urgent knocking on his door.
"Su Yao? Are you back?"
Wang Shu immediately thought of this and quickly got up to open the door.
Outside, there was only a delivery driver.
"Are you Mr. Wang Shu? This is the Huawei phone you purchased, please sign for it!"
The delivery driver handed him a new phone.
"I didn't buy a phone?"
Wang Shu was stunned. When had he bought a phone?
Could this be a new type of scam?
Wang Shu eyed the delivery driver warily and said.
"I'm not sure about that, we're just responsible for delivery!"
The delivery driver replied.
Wang Shu could only reluctantly accept the phone.
Although he didn't know who had bought him the phone, its quality seemed quite good.
It appeared to be a new model recently released by Huawei.
Closing the door, Wang Shu directly opened the phone's packaging.
"Taotie Chip, Emergence!"
As soon as he opened the package, Wang Shu saw the words on the phone sticker.
"Taotie Chip?"
Wang Shu instantly recalled the 1nm Taotie chip technology he had recently donated.
"It's already been used so quickly?"
Wang Shu muttered to himself in surprise, then took out the phone.
Upon removing the phone, Wang Shu discovered a letter pressed at the bottom of the phone box.
Opening the letter, Wang Shu finally understood.
This phone was bought for him by that girl, Su Yao.
"This girl, she's already run off, why did she buy me a phone?"
Wang Shu couldn't help but wonder.
He then pressed the power button.
"It even has a password?"
Wang Shu was slightly taken aback to see the locked phone.
He had initially thought it was a new phone, but it turned out to be a used one.
However, Wang Shu guessed that Su Yao must have deliberately set the password for him.
Subsequently, Wang Shu entered Su Yao's birthday, but it was incorrect.
He then entered his own birthday, but it was also wrong.
"Could it be, the day we met?"
Wang Shu had an epiphany and immediately entered the date of his first meeting with Su Yao.
The phone then unlocked.
The wallpaper on the home screen was a photo of Su Yao in a wedding dress.
In the picture, Su Yao was smiling brilliantly, and next to her stood a life-sized cardboard cutout with Wang Shu's face on it.
"This girl, why is she so foolish!"
Wang Shu exclaimed as he looked at the photo.
He didn't know why Su Yao had left him. Could it be the Su family patriarch?
But Wang Shu quickly dismissed this speculation, as the Su family patriarch couldn't control Su Yao.
This departure might have been Su Yao's own choice.
Perhaps she hadn't figured out how to face him yet.
"This is really troublesome!"
Wang Shu sighed again.
After two lifetimes, he still couldn't fathom human hearts.
He also didn't know how to handle this unfortunate entanglement.
He had even considered using a time rewind card to avoid this entanglement.
However, after careful consideration, he did not use it.
Because he felt it would be too selfish.
Su Yao was also a living person with her own thoughts and decisions.
Whatever she did, he should encourage and respect it.
Wang Shu decided to stop dwelling on these chaotic thoughts and transferred all the data from his old phone to this Huawei phone equipped with the 1nm Taotie chip.
He had to admit, this 1nm chip was indeed amazing. The phone experienced no lag whatsoever, and issues like overheating or frame drops were non-existent.
"I didn't expect this technology I donated to have already benefited Longguo."
Wang Shu felt a great sense of pride.
Although this technology was purchased from the system, it was obtained with the funds he had worked hard to earn.
Now that all the people of Longguo could use his chips and no longer be bottlenecked by foreign countries, that was enough.
...
Across the ocean, in the Semiconductor and Chip Research Institute of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the lights were still on.
"This is the Longguo people's 1nm chip?"
A fair-skinned old man with blue eyes exclaimed, looking at the latest Huawei phone in front of him.