Meritorious Official

On the morning of January 27th, Penguin Video's headquarters suddenly convened an emergency high-level meeting.

At 9 AM, the main conference room was already full. CEO Ma Mingyuan, beaming, sat at the head of the table. He looked as if he was embodying the old saying, "A man in the throes of joy is spirited."

But strangely, the meeting didn't officially start for a long time.

The executives on either side exchanged glances. Everyone was present, yet the meeting was delayed. What was President Ma waiting for?

However, one thing was certain: whatever they were going to discuss was definitely good news.

Just look at President Ma's smile; it was practically reaching his ears!

After waiting for about ten more minutes, the office door was pushed open. President Ma's secretary, Xiao Zhang, walked in with a spring in her step. She whispered something in President Ma's ear, then placed a few papers in front of him before stepping back to stand by.

President Ma first glanced at the documents his secretary had handed him, then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, apologies for keeping you all waiting. Let's start the meeting right away!"

"President Ma, is there some good news for our company?!" a department head finally couldn't help but ask.

Ma Mingyuan chuckled again and said, "You could call it a phased victory. Today is indeed a day worth commemorating."

"A day worth commemorating?" The executives looked at each other, none of them able to figure out what was so special about today.

At this, Ma Mingyuan cleared his throat and announced, "Just now, our Penguin Video's VIP member count has officially surpassed the 50 million mark!"

"Surpassed 50 million?" None of them had guessed that the good news President Ma mentioned was this.

Penguin Video had always been slightly behind iQIYI Video in terms of VIP members. How had they suddenly broken through the 50 million mark? When had iQIYI Video reached it? Why hadn't they advertised it?

Then, Ma Mingyuan continued, "In the past year, especially in the last month, the company's performance has been outstanding. The group is very satisfied with this. The chairman called me personally this morning and told me not to hesitate to reward the departments that have performed exceptionally well over the past year. So, I asked the data department to conduct a thorough count."

He paused, then picked up the spreadsheet in front of him and continued, "The big data center, based on a series of data indicators, has ranked the contribution of each Penguin Video department to the increase in new members over the past year. The top three will receive substantial rewards from the company, and their department heads will be prioritized for promotion."

Ma Mingyuan paused again and continued, "I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The third place on this year's department contribution list is—the Content Acquisition Department!"

The people in the room turned to look at Gong Cheng, the head of the Content Acquisition Department.

"Director Gong, congratulations!"

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Director Gong, you lead with great skill. You're accomplished at such a young age!"

The leaders of the other departments nearby offered their congratulations to Gong Cheng.

Gong Cheng blushed.

For the Content Acquisition Department to be among the top three in the annual contribution list was an honor he, Gong Cheng, had dreamed of for many years, an honor he had coveted for years.

Dai Ying, sitting to his left, had already risen to the position of Senior Vice President by consistently making this list with her performance year after year, surpassing him.

Last year, the Content Acquisition Department's performance was outstanding, and Gong Cheng had anticipated making the list this year. However, the sudden emergence of Young Bao Qingtian at the end of the year had worried him for a while.

Dai Ying was already a Senior Vice President at Penguin Video, so making this list held little significance for her. But for him, Gong Cheng, this list was incredibly important.

Now, the anxiety that had been weighing on his heart for so long finally subsided.

After the congratulations, Ma Mingyuan continued, "Second place on last year's department contribution list—the Original Variety Center!"

"The Original Variety Center? How could it be that department?"

Everyone was bewildered.

Logically speaking, shouldn't it have been Penguin Video's Marketing Department?

After all, the Original Variety Center had produced two incredibly popular variety shows this year: "Produce 101" and "National King."

The achievements of either of these shows were phenomenal.

Especially Produce 101, which had ignited a wave of public participation. With these two phenomenal productions under their belt this year, the Original Variety Center should have easily secured first place. How could they have settled for second place on the contribution list?

In other words, if even the Original Variety Center could only get second place, who else had the qualification to take first?

"Could it be the Marketing Department? We haven't heard of any major moves from the Marketing Department. How did they suddenly get first place?"

"This meeting is getting more and more interesting!"

What used to be a predictable outcome was now shrouded in mystery this year.

Seeing everyone staring at him intently, Ma Mingyuan didn't prolong the suspense and directly announced, "This year's first place on the Penguin Video department contribution list is—the Original Drama Center, led by President Dai!"

Upon hearing this, the vast majority of people were stunned.

"Didn't we hear that the Original Drama Center's performance was not as good as in previous years? How did they go from being the perennial third place to suddenly jumping to first?"

"Did the Original Drama Center release any hit web dramas this year? I haven't heard of any!"

"I haven't heard of any. There were a few with decent results, but none were phenomenal! Was it Young Bao Qingtian at the end of the year? Only 6 episodes were released before the Lunar New Year! Logically, even if it was popular, it shouldn't have had such a significant impact on the entire year's performance!"

"Congratulations, President Dai! President Dai truly makes us men feel ashamed!"

"President Dai is a woman of exceptional ability!"

Ma Mingyuan looked at the disbelieving faces of the crowd and said, "Although the Original Drama Center, led by President Dai last year, didn't have any phenomenal hits, its strength lay in the consistently high average quality of all its independently produced and co-produced works. Therefore, even without a massive hit to anchor its performance, the Original Drama Center still made an exceptionally outstanding contribution to the company."

Gong Cheng, who had just secured third place, instantly felt that the honor he had received was no longer as sweet.

Then, Ma Mingyuan continued, "Originally, it was no problem for the Original Drama Center to take second place, but claiming first place was still a bit difficult. However, no one expected the sudden emergence of Young Bao Qingtian at the end of the year. These factors combined have allowed the Original Drama Center to achieve first place on Penguin Video's department annual contribution list this year."

After the executives in the office digested the information, CEO Ma Mingyuan immediately said, "The head of the data center told me yesterday that the number of VIP members on our Penguin Video has seen a surge recently. Through big data analysis, the data center found that the vast majority of these new VIP members are drawn to the following three works: Palace Scheme, Produce 101, and Young Bao Qingtian. Especially Young Bao Qingtian, in just one day, it brought over 500,000 new members to Penguin Video."

"Director Gong, President Liu, President Dai, the three of you will discuss a reward plan after the meeting. Penguin Video will never be stingy with generous rewards for such excellent works!"

"Okay, President Ma!"

"Got it, President Ma!"

"Understood, President Ma!"

IQIYI Video Headquarters.

CEO Zhao Qi had just received the latest data from the data department.

The daily playback volume of The Legend of Consort Chen on iQIYI Video successfully broke through 60 million, reaching an astonishing 65 million. Meanwhile, The Legend of Consort Chen's daily playback volume on Gua Video also surpassed 40 million. With this, The Legend of Consort Chen's total daily playback volume across all platforms exceeded 100 million.

Although due to statistical principles, trailers are included in playback volume, and offline refreshes are also counted repeatedly, inevitably leading to inflated playback volume data, this is the case for all major platforms, not just one.

Regardless, The Legend of Consort Chen's single-day total platform playback volume breaking 100 million is still a remarkable achievement worth celebrating.

Yesterday, The Legend of Consort Chen's single-platform playback data actually lagged behind Young Bao Qingtian and Palace Scheme. Although the total platform data still led by a wide margin, it wasn't as perfect.

Now, it's better. The Legend of Consort Chen's data growth is far better than expected. This time, The Legend of Consort Chen will not only be the number one in total platform playback volume but also the number one in single-platform playback volume. We must win completely.

IQIYI Video's VIP member count is rapidly approaching the 50 million mark. At the current trend, it will definitely break the 50 million threshold in at most two more days. I heard that Penguin Video's VIP member count is also very close to the 50 million mark, but it doesn't matter. IQIYI Video's member count has always led Penguin Video, and now with The Legend of Consort Chen, this trump card, it seems that being the first to break the 50 million mark is only a matter of time.

Just then, he received a call from a subordinate, and his expression changed.

He opened WeChat, tapped on the message his subordinate had just sent, and a news headline caught his eye.

"Penguin Video's VIP Member Count Officially Breaks 50 Million, Long-Form Video Paid Market Enters the 50 Million Tier Era!"

"News on January 27th: Penguin Video announced its latest VIP member scale data. As of 9:23 AM today, Penguin Video's VIP member count has officially surpassed the 50 million mark, and the China video paid market has officially entered the 50 million tier VIP member era."

"According to a leak from a responsible person in a certain department of Penguin Video to our reporter, the breakthrough of 50 million subscribed members for Penguin Video was also somewhat unexpected internally, because according to the data center's previous calculations, Penguin Video was most likely to break the 50 million member threshold only after the Lunar New Year."

"Unexpectedly, with the launch of a large number of excellent new dramas such as Young Bao Qingtian and Palace Scheme, the website's VIP member numbers subsequently experienced explosive growth. Especially with the launch of the VIP episodes of Young Bao Qingtian, it brought 800,000 new members to Penguin Video in just one day, becoming a major contributor to Penguin Video's early achievement of surpassing the 50 million member mark!"

Zhao Qi looked at the news link on his phone, his face suddenly turning ashen.

"Young Bao Qingtian, it's Young Bao Qingtian again. Why is this show everywhere!"