I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 271
Chapter 271: Tianqi Lily: Elven Throne
I and Xiao Mo accepted Jiang Wei’s proposal. Making money is something that, theoretically, has limits if relying solely on one’s own efforts, but not when working as a team.
Working at the café, even if I work every day without rest for a whole month, from morning till night, the commission I can earn is limited, and it consumes almost all of my time, which is not worth it. It’s better to cooperate with old friends like Jiang Wei and Xiongxiong and start some side businesses.
In my impression, life seems to be like this—back when I was a teenager, I did the same thing. After work every day, I tried to learn photo editing to earn some snacks and fruits, and then I heard that writing novels could also make money, so I tried writing my first book in life.
At that time, I even learned how to make games. During meals, I would watch videos on making GPG games on my phone, understood if-else statements, learned character behavior logic, image processing, audio processing, and skill data processing.
It’s like… finding something to do for ourselves. When we encounter a new industry, we are definitely excited and curious about it. We make various efforts and learn in order to earn money here.
Finally, when we actually make money in this industry, even if it’s just a few tens of dollars, and we can only buy some fruits or daily necessities outside, the sense of achievement it brings is still remarkable.
“This is the initial draft of the contract regarding this matter, which I have already prepared.”
Jiang Wei came out of the room with a document and placed it in front of me and Xiao Mo.
“You can take a look. We are old friends after all. Feel free to ask any questions, don’t feel embarrassed.”
“Alright.”
Taking the document, I pulled it to the middle between myself and Xiao Mo, spreading it out piece by piece and carefully reading through it.
This should be Jiang Wei asking us to “endorse” his graphics card, right? Can I think of it that way? Hmm… A new part-time job, and it seems to be a relatively convenient one? I need money, I have the motivation to do other things after work, and because of my efforts, I earn extra money, allowing me to buy things I like but usually can’t afford. I am very happy because I have learned new knowledge and ventured into a new field. I will continue to work hard next time.
—I have always believed this is a very positive attitude towards life.
Otherwise, when someone enters society, comes back from work every day, eats, opens the computer to play games for a few hours, or scrolls through videos on their phone, realizes it’s late, takes a shower, and sleeps, reluctantly waking up to the alarm clock the next day, feeling gloomy to get out of bed and go to work at the company, it’s easy to start questioning the meaning of life. They might feel like life is monotonous and that they are just drifting along, ultimately leading to a breakdown in mentality.
I believe Fei Luo, Gabriel, and the others also have a similar mindset in choosing to stay on Earth, because here they have something that the other world doesn’t have – “aspiration.” The so-called “wear and tear” of the long-lived species should also be the same reason.
Long-lived species have longer lives, but doing the same thing repeatedly every day, or simply eating and sleeping, makes people become strange over time.
Now, Xiongxiong’s family company needs to open up the market in our country, with Shenzhen City as the first trial point. They first considered Tongmeng Net, which has various film and entertainment businesses, and only then considered “individual merchants” like Jiang Wei after finalizing the deal.
The reason for sending Xiongxiong as a representative for negotiation is probably also to give this young lady, who is always running around without doing anything constructive, some experience. On the other hand, Jiang Wei is precisely looking to start making money again in the computer market to fund his desire to have children.
Ye Zi happens to be a distant relative of Ye Yuqing. She heard about the needs of Xiongxiong’s family company from Ye Yuqing and told Jiang Wei the specifics. So, the two got in touch. However, the computer market is not as easy to re-enter now. To succeed, they must find a breakthrough point.
The “2D” domain of the computer market is not unexplored. There are businesses dealing with 2D motherboards, 2D graphics cards, 2D cases, 2D liquid cooling systems, and so on. As long as there is demand, there is a market. If Jiang Wei merely imitates the previous businesses by creating “bridal graphics cards” or “graphics card girls,” consumers theoretically won’t easily buy into it. He needs a special angle.
And then this guy set his sights on the “café billboard girl” who has gained some popularity online due to the café’s affairs, which happens to be me and Xiao Mo.
“We don’t have any objections to most of the content in the contract.”
After carefully reading the “copyright contract” handed over by Jiang Wei, Xiao Mo and I exchanged some opinions and replied to Jiang Wei.
“However, regarding the graphics card girl image, I hope we can be responsible for the illustration.”
Actually, if Jiang Wei were a bit selfish, he wouldn’t have told us about this matter. Although Xiao Mo and I have our own portrait rights, the photos taken are not allowed for commercial use. However, in Jiang Wei’s case, the situation involves the artist making secondary creations, not directly using our images.
The artist drew the pictures based on our appearances in real life, with significant modifications. If someone who knows us sees those drawings, they might recognize us immediately, but that doesn’t mean it necessarily constitutes copyright infringement. After all, these things are very tricky to handle legally—we can’t claim exclusive rights to wearing a certain outfit or posing in a specific way.
In reality, there are many similar examples where businesses exploit this and engage in borderline advertising, pretending to endorse products as if they were endorsed by certain celebrities, using various promotional materials. They make loads of money, and even after years of legal battles, there’s often no clear resolution in court.
“Do you want to draw it yourself, Nuo’er?”
Jiang Wei seemed surprised when I said that.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard that Nuo’er can draw.”
“It’s Xiao Mo who draws, and I handle the post-production,” I explained.
“So we need you to provide us with the samples and designs. After Xiao Mo and I make the necessary adjustments, we’ll show them to you.”
I know Xiao Mo’s drawing skills well. Her alter ego has retained her thousands of years of drawing skills, so she should be able to adapt to any style of drawing. All I need to do is help her buy a drawing tablet so she can draw on the computer. The only thing Xiao Mo lacks is expertise in post-production editing.
This is an area I’m familiar with.
Even before I started writing novels, I taught myself Photoshop. I learned how to edit photos, do post-production work on images, and after getting into game development, I understood what image adaptation entails.
For example, some games only support PNG format files, some layers need to remain transparent, and in certain games, character equipment, UI elements, CG, etc., all must adhere to fixed resolutions. If the images are even slightly off, it causes problems—even a single pixel matters.
Later, when I started freelancing on platforms, I also got into web design because of its high market demand. I learned how to use graphic design software to create web pages, which involved using various image tools. Over time, I gained relevant experience.
For products like computer graphics cards and cases, just having an artist draw an image isn’t enough. You need to consider the size of the graphics card, where the character should appear when the artist’s image is printed on it, the resolution, the proportions, and how to handle details like screws and the indentation of certain parts corresponding to the image. You need to ensure no crucial layers are missing when it’s printed.
Moreover, it’s not just about the image itself. When Xiao Mo creates a painting, it can’t just be pasted onto the product. A graphics card is a three-dimensional item. When designing, you need to consider the colors and themes of the image.
For example, if Xiao Mo paints me in elf mode with green and white as the main colors, then the entire graphics card design needs to reflect the color scheme of us “graphics card girls.” Every detail, from where green looks good to where to add white with some floral patterns, to where to add RGB lighting to synchronize with the divine light, needs to be meticulously designed, pixel by pixel.
Initially, I thought all the random knowledge I picked up when I first entered society wouldn’t be of much use aside from part-time work. But now, it seems… that might not be the case.
Ouyang Xue also encountered difficulties in graphic design before, and I happen to be able to help her…
“Will you be designing the graphics and themes for the graphics card?”
Upon hearing me say this, Jiang Wei seemed curious. “Nuo’er, do you know how to do these things?”
“Have you forgotten?” I reminded him.
“I helped with the post-production of some of Pipi’s family photos before.”
“Oh, I remember now. You were indeed good at photo editing back then,” Jiang Wei realized.
“In that case, I’ll send you the graphics card samples and design drafts, and you and Xiao Mo can decide?” he suggested.
“We’ll decide together,” I shook my head.
“You handle the factory and technical coordination on your end, and we’ll only play a supporting role, so the final decision-making authority should definitely be on your side.”
“So, are we sticking to the original proposal?” Jiang Wei asked.
After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Wei suggested, “Tianqi Lily 3000 series?”
I turned to Sikong Yue, “Does Xiongxiong’s side only have the TQ3000 graphics card?”
“This is currently our top-of-the-line graphics card. There are also two entry-level models, the TQ2600 and TQ2800. They have slightly lower performance than the 3000, but they’re also relatively cheaper,” Sikong Yue explained.
Sikong Yue explained, “If Mr. Jiang Wei is interested, we can consider adding this graphics card to our mass production plan.”
“That’s definitely necessary. The Tianqi 3000 costs over ten thousand yuan. If you want to expand your business, you can’t just focus on high-end graphics cards. Ordinary people don’t have the ability to buy such high-end products. Most families spend around five thousand on a computer, with the graphics card accounting for at most two thousand yuan,” Jiang Wei remarked, looking at the two contracts.
“If you’re going to do this, it’s best to consider the majority of households and price them lower. There’s a huge market in that segment,” he added.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll talk to the family about it when I get back,” Xiongxiong nodded.
“How did you come up with the names for these three graphics cards?” she asked.
“Following your naming conventions, the Tianqi 2600 is an entry-level graphics card, like a fierce cat, with sufficient performance and stability. Nuo’er and Xiao Mo can come up with a theme similar to that and call it ‘Tianqi Cat 2600’,” Jiang Wei suggested.
“The Tianqi 2800 sounds like a mid-range model, so we can use Nuo’er’s usual working state as a theme. Let’s call it ‘Tianqi Maid 2800’,” he continued.
“As for this most powerful Tianqi 3000, we can give it a slightly more majestic name, such as… Tianqi Lily: Elven Throne 3000,” he concluded.
“I’m just giving a rough suggestion. We can all brainstorm the specific naming rules later.”
“……”
……
In the end, Jiang Wei, Sikong Yue, and I finalized the specific terms of cooperation in this four-story building.
With the upcoming public beta of the new game “Age of Aquarius” and Xiongxiong’s company entering the computer accessories market, Xiongxiong, as the liaison person with Jiang Wei, is mainly responsible for overseeing the quality of computer accessories on the family side and handling corresponding after-sales service.
Jiang Wei, on the other hand, is in charge of contacting the factory and some former technicians from computer manufacturers to modify the proposals for the graphics cards or graphics card chips sent by Xiongxiong. His main tasks are production and marketing.
Since both of them have invested significant resources in terms of technology and manpower, the main profits will go to Jiang Wei and Xiongxiong’s company. Xiao Mo and I, as “spokespersons” for the graphics cards, mainly need to cooperate with Ouyang Xue and Tongmeng Net to increase visibility… In reality, whether we cooperate or not doesn’t matter much. If Shenzhen City is to develop, Ye Yuqing will definitely spare no effort to make the café successful. As employees there, it’s impossible for us to have low visibility.
In simple terms, Xiao Mo and I just need to go to work on time every day and do our job well as usual. Then, for every graphics card sold by Jiang Wei, we will receive a share. Although not high, considering we hardly need to do anything to earn money, it’s still a very good cooperation.
“By the way, how are those little turtles from before? Have they grown bigger?”
Before parting ways, Jiang Wei, Xiao Mo, Xiongxiong, and I went up to the fourth floor of the building together, where Jiang Wei showed us the flowers and plants he planted and the pigeons he raised here.
“They haven’t grown much faster. I see them stacking rocks in the fish tank every day, hardly moving,” I replied.
I went up to the top floor and headed straight to the several open bird cages on the edge of the roof, attempting to reach out to one of the pigeons.
“Coo, coo, coo, coo—”
To my surprise, these pigeons didn’t seem to fear humans at all. They all jumped onto my hand, affectionately rubbing their little heads against my fingers.
“The elf state applies an intimacy boost effect to all animals,” Xiao Mo explained beside me.
“Even fierce beasts can’t resist this effect, so Nuo’er, if you encounter lions, tigers, or even king cobras in the wild, don’t worry, they won’t attack you.”
Why would I encounter tigers, lions, or king cobras in the wild? Are the suburbs of Shenzhen City that scary?
“These pigeons don’t bite people?”
This heartwarming scene piqued Xiongxiong’s curiosity. She took off her gloves and tried to reach out to one of the pigeons—
“Coo, coo, coo, coo!”
Unlike my experience, these pigeons behaved completely differently. I don’t know if they were scared by Xiongxiong’s appearance or if they naturally had such a temper.
When they saw Xiongxiong reaching out her hand, the flock of pigeons instantly flew away. A few pigeons even turned back and pecked at Xiongxiong’s hand a few times.
“Completely different treatment!”
Xiongxiong looked at me with some dismay. “Is Nuo’er really the mascot?”
Ah… this is actually just the effect of magic.
I didn’t know how to explain for a moment. If I were in human form, these pigeons would probably peck at me too… probably.
“How about we take a photo to celebrate the successful collaboration?”
At this moment, Ye Zi came up with a camera, stood at the entrance of the rooftop, and aimed the lens at us.
“I agree.”
Hearing this, Xiao Mo immediately pulled me into her arms and planted a kiss on my face, saying, “I’ll stand next to Nuo’er.”
Are you just trying to take advantage of the situation?!
“Yay! Happy collaboration!”
Xiongxiong put her gloves back on, held up two bear dolls, and stood behind me and Xiao Mo, saying, “With Nuo’er’s mascot buff. I have a feeling those old folks in the family can just lie down and count money from now on.”
“Haha, that’s what I’m thinking too. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way, like preparing to embark on a great endeavor, as if I’m back to the time when I first started my business at the age of twenty.”
Jiang Wei also ran over, saying, “Wife, set up a timer shot and capture all of us.”
“Sure thing,” Ye Zi replied.
Ye Zi adjusted the angle of the camera slightly, then ran over to Jiang Wei’s side. Jiang Wei hugged her and they posed affectionately with scissors hands toward the camera.
“Three, two, one… cheese!”
“……”
……
We each came out of Jiang Wei’s neighborhood holding our contracts and got into the Xiongxiong QQ car. As we left the neighborhood, Xiongxiong waved to the security guard at the entrance booth, saying, “Uncle, we’re leaving!”
The security guard, who had tasted the sweetness of our previous visits, grinned as if he had just had a feast, “Welcome back anytime!”
“I just talked to your general manager, Manager Su, about a somewhat troublesome issue that Cafe is facing right now.”
The car smoothly drove along the relatively empty streets of the Honor District. Xiongxiong continued, as if chatting casually, “With the rise of e-commerce, people’s shopping habits have shifted from offline to online. Although Cafe is doing well now, the area in Nanqi District is still relatively remote until we establish it in the commercial street and the Mianyun District.”
“I’m aware of that,” I replied, swatting away the little hand that had been resting on my thigh.
“This month, many customers at the store have been asking me why ordering takeout is so expensive, why it takes so long to deliver, and why the taste isn’t as good. They hope that we can have our own delivery staff.”
Because Cafe had only been open for a little over a month, many aspects still relied on support from Tongmeng Network. It wasn’t a problem in the early stages, but if in the long run, the store couldn’t guarantee turnover and self-sufficiency, the situation would become dangerous.
As a restaurant, Cafe’s main income naturally came from food sales.
As Xiongxiong said, Nanqi District is still relatively remote. The reason why so many people came to the store in the early stage was mainly out of curiosity after seeing the advertisement, they came with a try-it-out attitude. What truly retains these customers is the food itself. However, if the distance is too far, most people will definitely choose a closer restaurant or takeout.
After the novelty of the early stage wears off, people won’t come here to eat anymore, and turnover will decline. Su Yunjin’s plan to open the basement “e-sports center” is a solution to save turnover. After all, if a person just wants to eat, they probably won’t be willing to run dozens of kilometers for a meal that takes only a few minutes.
But if it’s for gaming, like wanting to relax and play for eight or ten hours on the weekend, then these people would prefer to go a little further for a “cybercafe” with a pleasant environment and good service.
Cafe does have delivery staff and has also joined some delivery platforms. However, these delivery staff are all “part-time” and may not always be available. Moreover, the commission from the delivery platforms is too heavy.
Regardless of how much is sold, the platform takes a commission of over twenty percent, and there are also delivery fees. Often, Cafe only gets sixty to seventy yuan out of a hundred yuan item sold, so to avoid losses, they would definitely need to increase the prices of some food items.
But even so, from placing an order to the delivery rider receiving the goods and then delivering them to the customer, the whole process takes at least thirty minutes. For those who live far away, it probably takes forty or fifty minutes, and items like custard tarts or cakes may not taste right by the time they are delivered to the customer’s hands.
As Xiongxiong said, the “online” aspect is very likely to become a weakness for café in the future.
Ouyang Xue’s solution is to launch cafe’s exclusive ordering system online and recruit delivery staff dedicated to us, full-time ones, so that we can ensure timely delivery of meals without them being too expensive.
Although Ouyang Xue can develop the corresponding app with the help of Tongmeng Net and promotion is not a problem, considering the recent busyness, if we were to do this, recruiting program designers and graphic artists would require a lot of time. For now, we can only rely on those part-time delivery staff to cope with it.
Wait a moment.
In my mind, the image of the “Centaur Girl” that Xiao Mo mentioned to me earlier emerged.
“Xiao Mo, about that Dolly…”
Watching Xiongxiong focused on driving ahead, I leaned in closer to Yin Xiamo’s ear.
“What exactly does she look like? Is she usually in centaur form?”
“The Centaur race is similar to the Dragon race. They can usually be in a half-human, half-horse state, and if needed, they can transform into a normal human form. Dragons are suitable for aerial combat as mounts, while Centaurs are suitable for land combat,” Xiao Mo explained.
“You should be familiar with Fei Luo. She usually transforms into a humanoid form with dragon horns and wings if needed. Centaurs are the same. They transform into humanoid forms similar to Fei Luo, and if they want to run at full speed, they can switch to centaur mode.”
“So, you said Dolly’s mother wants little Dolly to come over… Is she looking for a job?” I continued to ask quietly.
“What’s going on? Can’t the Centaur race stay in the other world anymore?”
“It’s not that they can’t stay, but Centaurs and Dragons are different. Dragons are the type to lie down whenever possible and avoid fighting if they can. Centaurs are completely opposite. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘life is movement’? Almost all Centaurs can’t sit still. After eating, they want to move around. When the Demon King was still around, there were wars everywhere, so Centaurs could charge into battle alongside humans every day. Now that the Demon King is gone and the world is at peace, not many humans are willing to take Centaurs into battle anymore.”
Yin Xiamo said as she rubbed my thigh, “Little Dolly is a rather lively child, full of energy. It’s probably because Dolly has been told too many stories about heroes before. When I went back, she was practically clinging to me the whole time, wanting to come over here to play. So Dolly asked me to help take care of her. Children of the Centaur race like her can’t stay still… You know about Huskies, right? If you keep a Husky at home without taking it out for a run every day, the end result will be your house being torn down.”
Is it that serious?
“I have an idea.”
I swatted away someone’s hand that was making my thigh itchy again.
“Could we have Dolly come over to do deliveries?”
“In theory, it should be possible,” Yin Xiamo hesitated. “It’s just…”
“Just that she’ll be slower in human form?”
“No, Nuo’er, you’re underestimating the Centaur girls. After all, they were the main ground forces during the Demon King’s war. How could their speed be slow?”
Yin Xiamo looked at me as if I were a little silly.
“Even in human form, their full-speed running is about as fast as a car. My concern is that it might be difficult to explain to ordinary people on the roadside.”
That fast?!
“But your idea is pretty good.”
She reached out to pat my head as if soothing a little kitten, and after a moment of thought, Yin Xiamo suggested, “How about we go find Su Yunjin or Ye Yuqing later and ask them to provide the specific street and camera data for this city?”
“Um…”
Although I wasn’t thrilled about being patted on the head like a kitten, I found it quite comfortable and didn’t push away Xiao Mo’s hand.
“What do we need that data for?”
“If Dolly can really do this, we can install a small software on her phone to monitor the road conditions in real-time. She can speed up in areas with no people and slow down to a normal level in crowded areas.”
“Can she really run with the delivery box on her back?”
I was surprised. “I thought she would ride a bicycle or something…”
“Centaur who can’t run steadily are easily sacrificed on the battlefield.”
Yin Xiamo neither confirmed nor denied. “Don’t mention carrying a delivery box, even if she carries Nuo’er on her back and runs around the city, Nuo’er, you probably wouldn’t feel any bumps.”
Ah… Dolly… Is she really such an amazing child?
“Whatever the case, let’s wait until she gets here before we talk about it. Even with my guidance, forbidden magic isn’t that easy to learn.”
Yin Xiamo pulled me into her arms. “Before that, little Nuo’er probably wants some kisses from her mommy.”
Huh?
“I feel like you guys are discussing something extraordinary.”
Xiongxiong, who was driving in front, turned around. “Is it something related to the naughty stuff?”
“No… uh… definitely not…”
I struggled as someone kept leaning her face closer while being pulled onto her lap.
“Boss Xiongxiong, how much longer… How much longer until we reach the convention?”
?Good morning! We just left the Honor District. The distance from Honor District to the Shenzhen Lake in Dadong District is roughly equivalent to the entire city of Shenzhen.?
Xiongxiong in front uttered words that filled me with despair.
“If there’s no traffic, it’ll take at least twenty minutes, but if there’s a lot of people, it’s hard to say. It could take anywhere from half an hour to an hour.”
At this moment, I couldn’t resist anymore, and Yin Xiamo planted a kiss on my face.
Then this person, not satisfied, took advantage and nibbled on my pointed ear.
“Ah—”
My whole body shuddered. “Don’t… don’t mess around, we’re in the car!”
“What’s the big deal? Besides, we’re officially a couple to others.”
Yin Xiamo pinned me down.
“Look at this shy little Nuo’er, definitely up to something weird!”
“……”
Right before being pushed down, I saw Xiongxiong at the driver’s seat take out a mini cross from a box on the side.
“Holy Mary, forgive me of my sins… Amen.”
“……”
……