"Mike, Manager James asked me to inform you that the poster distribution payment for this period has been transferred to you; it's almost ten thousand dollars. You can check it when you have time..." Jack's voice came from the phone.
"Ten thousand dollars?" Mike, on the other end of the line, was silent for a moment before saying, "Okay, I understand."
It was now early May, more than a month since the Spring Invitational ended.
Mike had also received three poster distribution dividends from the newspaper office.
This time, the ten thousand dollars was much less than the previous two amounts.
Clearly, after such a long time, the peak bonus period for Mike's posters was coming to an end.
However, Mike, who had received over forty thousand, almost fifty thousand dollars, from the newspaper office in total, was already very satisfied.
This was much better than his previous estimated earnings.
Doing nothing but taking a few sets of photos and getting so much money—there was no easier business than this.
And don't forget, Mike's economic focus was on the stock market.
Lacking initial capital, with this money as leverage, he would only earn more in the stock market in the future.
"By the way, Mike. Have you seen this morning's newspaper?" Jack asked from the other end of the phone.
"Of course, I think I made the newspaper's color headline again," Mike replied.
More than a month later, Mike once again appeared on the state newspaper's color headline.
Moreover, this time he was given a large spread, like a systematic summary of his football career.
"In fact, the newspaper is preparing to do one last wave of publicity for you. After next week, the 'Star-Making Project' will probably end..." Jack revealed the newspaper's plan.
Then, he complained discontentedly, "That James is really too stingy. The newspaper clearly made a lot of money this time, but he only gave us, the employees below, a tiny bit..."
The poster distribution plan was originally meant to be extra income.
If Jack were just an ordinary employee, getting some extra money would make him very happy.
However, this was an opportunity for him to earn money personally, but now he saw Manager James taking the lion's share.
Although he was mentally prepared, seeing large sums of cash go into the manager's pocket still made him feel very unbalanced.
Therefore, Jack grew angrier as he spoke.
"Alright, Jack. Is there anything else? I'm about to have dinner..." Mike interrupted the other party's negative emotional outburst.
To be honest, after receiving his rightful share of the dividend, Mike wasn't very interested in the newspaper's affairs.
Moreover, everyone in the Cooper family's dining room was still waiting for him to have dinner.
"Oh, okay. I do have some good news to share with you..." Jack seemed to realize that he had interrupted Mike's private time.
So, he quickly said, "Someone from the TV department has already contacted me. Given my recent performance, they are willing to let me go back and continue as a team leader."
"As your friend, I had to share this good news with you first."
Jack, whose career could be described as having twists and turns, was able to return to the TV department so smoothly this time, largely thanks to the implementation of the "Star-Making Project."
Therefore, having bet successfully again, he felt grateful to Mike.
"Congratulations, Jack. You finally succeeded." Listening to the other party's joyful tone, Mike immediately offered his blessings.
"Thank you." After sharing the good news, Jack said, "Alright, I won't disturb your dinner. We'll talk again when we have time..."
"Okay, goodbye." Mike hung up the phone.
The quality of the Cooper family's meals had greatly improved since George became the team's head coach again.
At the moment, a very sumptuous feast was laid out on the dining table.
However, facing this table full of delicious dinner, Cooper and Paige, among others, had not yet started eating.
They were clearly waiting for everyone to be present...
"Mike, are you done talking?" Connie asked with a smile when she saw Mike return.
"Yes," Mike returned a smile, then went to the dining table and sat down, asking curiously, "What's wrong with these two?"
Everyone else at the table had harmonious expressions, only Missy and Georgie were glaring at each other, as if they had just argued.
"This has something to do with you..." Before the pre-meal prayer was about to begin, Connie kept them in suspense, saying, "You'll know soon enough."
Then, everyone held hands and closed their eyes, led in prayer by Mary, the Christian.
"Thank God for giving us food! Amen."
"Alright, everyone can start..." After the pre-meal prayer, Mary announced the start of dinner with a smile.
"Mike, what do you think of 'Tiger' as your title?" As the meal began, Missy asked.
"No, I think 'Lion' is a better title," Georgie retorted, "Mike is the Lion King, and the rest of us teammates are little lions..."
Well, as the concluding chapter of the "Star-Making Project," this time the newspaper, while promoting Mike, also cleverly solicited titles for Mike from the public.
This move would undoubtedly give the public a greater sense of participation.
And sure enough, Missy and Georgie had argued over this very matter.
"The tiger is the king of the jungle, the most powerful animal in the world..." Missy tried to convince Georgie.
"No, the lion is the strongest animal!" Georgie countered.
"The tiger is the strongest!"
"The lion is the strongest!"
...
The two children were unyielding, both wanting to convince the other. But lacking professional knowledge, they just kept repeating these two sentences.
At the dining table, Mary listened to the children's argument, shook her head helplessly, then lowered her head to enjoy her dinner.
Now living a happy life, she didn't want to get angry at the dining table because of the children's matters.
Connie and Georgie, on the other hand, looked on with great interest, as if watching a show.
As for Paige, she seemed uninterested in the topic of titles, and was currently thoughtfully putting food onto Mike's plate.
Sheldon, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't take it anymore. He rigorously stated, "To my knowledge, the desert army ants distributed in the Arizona Basin are currently the most powerful species on Earth. No animal is their match..."
"Shut up—!" x2
Tiny ants, in the eyes of ordinary people, clearly couldn't be called "powerful."
Missy and Georgie, full of anger, listened to Sheldon's lecturing tone and, with great tacit agreement, simultaneously directed their spearhead at Sheldon, the annoying pest.
"I..." Hearing the reprimand, Sheldon was startled at first.
Then he realized he was at home, and with his parents present, his life safety would not be threatened.
So, he boldly continued to popularize science: "In terms of individual ability, ants can lift objects tens or even hundreds of times their own weight. So seemingly powerful tigers and lions are not a match for ants."
After speaking, he even looked at Missy and Georgie with disdain.
"Mike, which do you think is more powerful: a tiger, a lion, or an ant?" Missy, angry at Sheldon's statement but unable to find a counter-argument, sought outside help.
Just then, Mike's phone rang again.
"Excuse me," Mike stood up, gestured to everyone, and prepared to go answer the phone.
But seeing Missy's expectant gaze, he said before leaving, "You must be discussing my title. But why must it be chosen from animals?"
To be honest, Mike was not very satisfied with a tiger, lion, or ant as his title.
After posing the question, he went to the living room and answered the phone.
"Mike, it's me, Sean. Do you remember me?" Sean's voice came from the phone.
"Of course, Sean. Is there something?" Mike had a strong impression of that little anti-fan of his.
"Nothing else, I just wanted to ask, after all this time, why haven't you called my sister?" Sean, precocious for his age, was truly worried about his sister's lifelong happiness.
However, he probably didn't realize that with Collins's beauty and ability, she didn't need anyone to worry about her life's big events.
Clearly, Sean's concern was a bit redundant.