Chapter 17

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ning Fei checked his webcast room for his statistics.

Many had left him private messages too. Some wanted to add him as a friend, while a few wealthy women asked if he was free. Several webcast channels wanted to sign a contract with him.

Ning Fei received a call at this time.

“Hello, are you the webcaster of Light Breeze Temple?” It was a man’s voice.

“Yes, I am. Is there something I can help you with?” asked Ning Fei.

“I’m Li He, the manager of Sky Cliff Union. I would like to check if you have any intention of joining a union? Sky Cliff Union has more than a hundred webcasters. We will promote you intensively if you were to join us. You will grow even more popular with us.”

“I’m not interested,” Ning Fei replied dully and wanted to hang up.

“Wait! Please consider! You’ll be more popular if you join a union. It’s tough for a newbie like you to strike out on his own.” The other party began to sound a little harsh.

Ning Fei hung up right away.

Li He’s expression turned ominous as he hung up.

Sky Cliff Union was a major union with a hundred webcasters. Li He felt that Ning Fei had great potential and wanted to invite him. He had met quite a few like Ning Fei, but there was also a majority who came back begging with their heads bowed.

At the thought of that, Li He pursed his lips before he cursed.

“A newbie has no inkling of the harsh reality of the webcasting business. He won’t know what’s lying ahead for him.”

Li He wasn’t completely wrong. For amateur webcasters, they had to resort to unions if they weren’t signed by a webcast company.

But Ning Fei was different.

He had already been invited by a good many webcast companies. He had no reason nor incentive to join a union.

“I don’t have enough popularity points to get the good stuff. Seems like I’ll have to make a trip up the mountain tomorrow,” Ning Fei muttered to himself.

He went to town today to prepare for his upcoming webcasts.

When he got back to the temple, he began to prepare food for Little Falcon.

Ning Fei was gone for nearly half a day, and that little fellow had been crying out for food hungrily.

He mixed the cod liver oil, minced meat, bean powder, and more together before molding them into the shape of worms. Then he dangled the food from the top of the box.

He had cooked the mixture before serving, so it should definitely taste better.

Ning Fei deliberately lifted the food higher to train Little Falcon. If it wanted to eat, it would have to work hard and stand up to eat.

A little down could be seen peeking out of Little Falcon’s skin. When it fell from the magical tree, it should have been in the process of shedding its skin.

Birds grew up really fast, and eagles would have to learn how to take flight before they turned two months old.

Certainly, eagles did have a harsher life as they grew up. A few days after an eagle chick was born, the mother would bring its chick to higher ground. It would then throw the baby down a tree or cliff.

During this process, the chick would sustain fractures to its wings and severe pain. Nonetheless, it still had to struggle to fly. Otherwise, it would die.

Vigorous flapping of its wings would help to stop the bleeding, and it would recover in a short time. The healed wings would become as tough and strong as steel.

As for Ning Fei’s baby falcon, it was most likely less than ten days old.

It should be able to stand. I should get a cage, Ning Fei thought to himself.

Claws were a weapon and tool for eagles. A baby falcon should never stand on flat ground as its claws would soften.

Therefore, Ning Fei went to a family in the village who specialized in birds to purchase a birdcage.

After he bought it, he tore off the wires around it. Next, he tried to get Little Falcon to stand on a small swaying log inside the cage.

At first, Little Falcon couldn’t do it, but after a short while, it succeeded in standing.

Other than its hairless skin, Little Falcon looked bright and active.

Ning Fei didn’t start his webcast at night.

…

Over at the Battling Birds Webcast Platform’s IT department…

When the head of the IT department, Lin Long, saw the statistics, he was in disbelief.

A new webcaster had achieved a viewership count of 200,000 in two days? He had attracted 5,000 subscribers and more than 30 percent of the viewers had commented, with 80 percent of his viewers watching his every webcast.

Lin Long got his colleague to analyze and check the statistics. In the end, nothing was amiss.

What kind of joke was this?

A new webcaster had retained 80 percent of his viewers?

The top webcaster at Battling Birds that year had never achieved anything like that.

Webcasts were unpredictable, and usually, only experienced webcasters would have a pool of regular and loyal viewers and supporters.

For new webcasters, it was common for most of their viewers to leave.

Yet, an outdoor webcaster had managed to achieve such a terrifying and amazing record?

They were in luck!

“What is management doing? Why aren’t they getting him on board?” Lin Long exclaimed after noticing that this webcaster hadn’t signed a contract with them.

“Director Lin, the other party has received a contract, but he didn’t reply,” a subordinate hastily said.

“What contract was he being offered?”

“I think it’s Grade B…”

At these words, Lin Long erupted in a rage. “F*ck! How could we offer him a B-Grade contract? Thank God our rivals can’t access our data. Otherwise, he would have been stolen. I’m going to talk to Old Zhang.”

He picked up a document and strode purposefully out.

…

At night, Ning Fei received another phone call from Battling Birds Webcast Platform.

“Mister Ning, good evening. I’m the PR manager of Battling Birds Webcast Platform. My name is Xu Sheng,” spoke the man politely.

“Hello.” Ning Fei had a hunch that it would be about a contract.

“May I ask if you have read the contract offered by Battling Birds Webcast Platform?”

“I’ve read it, but I don’t intend to accept due to the terms.”

“After discussion amongst the management team, we are willing to offer you a new contract.”

“What grade?”

“A,” Xu Sheng replied politely.

Grade A!

Ning Fei frowned, and then his expression changed again.

A Grade A contract was indeed a really good one. Rarely would new webcasters be able to land such a good offer.

A new webcaster would usually start from Grade D and slowly work his or her way up after gaining experience.

“How about the specifics? Such as annual salary, the earnings, and contract expiry.” Ning Fei probed on.

“The annual salary is 1,200,000 yuan1. You will get 65 percent of the earnings, and the contract will last five years,” Xu Sheng answered.

Ning Fei frowned again at this answer.

Five years was indeed a long time…

In reality, the contracts that webcast companies had offered were usually harsh and rigid. They had to in order to prevent their webcasters from being poached.

In addition, some webcast platforms thrived on the compensation that these webcasters had given.

“Five years is too long.” Ning Fei shook his head.

“Mister Ning, this offer is the best I’ve ever seen in my years in this industry. Other than those Grade S webcasters, yours is the best. I feel that you should accept.”

“I’m fine with a lower annual salary and smaller portion of the earnings, but I want the contract to last for a year,” Ning Fei replied firmly.

“All right, I got it. I will discuss this with my superiors.” Xu Sheng heard Ning Fei and nodded before he hung up.

“I wonder what’s on his mind to decline a Grade A contract.” Xu Sheng shook his head helplessly. “Did he think that he could be promoted to a Grade S webcaster in a year?”

The span of the contract also meant that the progression was restricted.

If Ning Fei were to sign a contract with Battling Birds for five years, even if he were to gain popularity worldwide, all the terms and clauses would still be the same as per contract.

That was what the contract was about.

If he wanted to end it, he would have to give a hefty sum as compensation.

That was why many webcasters had fallen out with their platforms.

Despite the abilities and skills of the popular webcasters, the platforms didn’t provide the remuneration and treatment they deserved, and that was why those webcasters would be eager to break off the contract.

The webcast platforms had one simple method. It would continue to suck the blood from the webcasters. If not, they would have to compensate the platform to leave. Either way, the platform wouldn’t be on the losing end.

If a popular webcaster were to leave, there would have still been plenty of others waiting to seize the throne.

“It’s so troublesome! But this affects my future, so I should be careful.” Ning Fei sighed to himself.

He didn’t like such trouble, but he knew when he should tread cautiously.

The next day, Ning Fei packed his equipment and started his webcast on time.

‘I’m the first!’

‘Good morning, Host!’

‘You’re finally here! Why didn’t you do the livestream yesterday?’

‘Host, what style are you wearing today?’

Many of his avid supporters swarmed into this webcast room.

They were curious about Ning Fei’s style.

Ning Fei carried a gigantic backpack with all sorts of tools hanging out from the sides.

There were hammers, axes, fishing lines, and more.

“Hello, viewers. Today, I’m going into the mountain to earn some quick bucks!”