Super Zoo-Chapter 775 - 754: Mixed Feelings of Joy and Sorrow

Attendance rate is the only standard to test the truth.

Three days into the opening of Taoyuan Cinema, Hou Longtao experienced both joy and worry.

What delighted him was the steady growth trend of the attendance rate. Over three days, the year-on-year attendance rate had continuously grown. On the third day, at the same showtimes, the highest had already reached more than double that of the first day, which is to say, it had more than doubled.

There had been concerns that old films would draw no viewers, but now it seemed this was not the case; classic films still had a market.

The attendance rates for several classic old films were not much lower than for the two new features, and at some special showtimes, such as the early morning or midnight shows, the old films had higher attendance rates than the new releases.

Generally, mornings and late nights are considered garbage time slots for movie viewing. Even large cinema chains have very low attendance rates during these off-peak hours, with only one or two people in the vast auditoriums, making ghostly scenes a common sight.

If judging only by these "garbage" time slots, at times, the attendance rate at Taoyuan Cinema was even higher than at the big cinema chains.

The reason was that there were still some people who wanted to revisit the classics in peace and without disturbance. Of course, the majority of people had to work or sleep and couldn't possibly come to watch a movie in the middle of the night or early morning; such people were relatively few and, when scattered across all the cinemas in the city, even fewer.

The steady growth, people watching classic films, and relatively high attendance rates during ghostly hours were the joys.

But when it came to worries, they were quite serious; the problem was very big.

The overall attendance rate was too low!

Over three days, the average overall attendance rate was still less than 16%, with the highest time slots not exceeding 35%.

Compared with large cinema chains, this figure was quite bleak, not even half of theirs, ranking last among cinemas within the city's third ring, with a clear gap from the next one up.

It was even worse than the previous performance of Changhe Cinema, which used to wobble between the last three positions among the inner-city cinemas, often just managing to avoid the last place, striving for second-last. It still had the vigor to compete with the other two equally poorly run cinemas and, with some luck, might even climb to the 'prestigious' position of third-last.

But now it had fallen completely to the bottom; crudely put, it couldn't even catch a whiff of the second-last place.

This was still the new opening phase; theoretically, this should've been the time with the highest footfall.

Nothing under the sun stays hidden, and even more so when all the cinema lines were watching Taoyuan Cinema to some extent; the news of defeat in the first battle spread quickly.

"Mr. Qian, it seems this young Mr. Su isn't as miraculous as we imagined. Fame doesn't equal reality; previous tales about him were mythologized. Oh right, there indeed seems to be a bunch of savages who worship him like a god. Now it seems, most of it is mere hype, the community effort to boost political performance by establishing an image of a young entrepreneur. Hey, I always say, youngsters are inexperienced and shaky in handling matters. They sound fancy in theory, but when it comes to real action, they fall short." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Jin from Baoke's marketing department took a bit of schadenfreude in the situation, maintaining a courteous tone when speaking to Mr. Qian, but there was an obvious tinge of mockery in his words.

He held no personal grudge against Suming, but because of Taoyuan's business, his immediate superior, the regional manager of Baoke, had lectured him more than once. It was natural for him to displace his resentment onto Taoyuan.

In terms of seniority and capability, Jin felt that Mr. Qian, who was not yet in his forties, the 'kid with no hair on his face,' was inferior to him. Yet, the young man still managed to be in charge, often leaving Jin feeling quite humiliated.

Resentful by association, he was dissatisfied with Mr. Qian and consequently carried that over to Taoyuan Cinema.

Mr. Qian, didn't you have high hopes for Taoyuan? Now that Taoyuan has made a blunder, the words you said just two days ago still ring in our ears; let's see how you'll step down from your position.

Mr. Qian, with his head low, was carefully reviewing Taoyuan's data report from the past few days. He glanced at Jin from the corner of his eye and, without taking his words, calmly said, "The marketing department will continue to observe; compile and provide me with data summaries each week for this month."

"Okay." Jin strutted off, smugly thinking to himself that if the performance wasn't good at the opening, how could it possibly improve later? Mr. Qian's previous talks about 'not making enemies' would have saved face if everyone had stopped bringing it up by now, but now you want a weekly report of the numbers? Mr. Qian, you're really setting yourself up for a slap in the face.

Fine by me, it's not my face that's hurting anyway.

Those who were paying attention to Taoyuan Cinema included major theater chains but also two ordinary people not from the business circles.

Song Lulu and her mother, particularly Song Lulu's mom, had been paying close attention to Hou Longtao ever since the day Suming and Hou Longtao coldly pricked them with the two million statement.

Such an old woman, having nothing better to do, had actually been inquiring about things related to Hou Longtao during this time.

As soon as Song Lulu heard that right after she had broken up with Hou Longtao and left Xiangjiang, Hou Longtao won over two million, she was flabbergasted.

The typical trait of a small-town mindset is not being able to stand the sight of silver; they're shallow. Despite her family owning several houses worth far more than two million combined, hearing that Hou Longtao had gone from an 'impoverished youth' who couldn't even afford 'rent' to a millionaire still gnawed at Song Lulu with annoyance and regret.

Mainly because the houses had come too easily, all allocated through demolition and relocation, and she herself could never earn two million in her lifetime, making that amount seem like a huge sum of money to her.

"It's all your fault, Mom!" Song Lulu complained. "It was you, always saying he was worthless, pushing me to break up with him in such a rush. Look now, if you hadn't pressured me, and I had waited a bit longer, he might've made that money. If I go back to him now, who knows what he would think …"

"I pressured you? Girl, you ought to speak with some conscience!" Song Lulu's mom retorted, her face turning pale with anger. "You have your own mouth and legs, you're over twenty years old. If you really cared about him, could I have forced you?"

"Whatever, you incited it! More than two hundred thousand! If we were still dating, he totally would've bought me a BMW!" Song Lulu said.

"Let me tell you, the poor have thin luck, that boy is bound to be poor for life, you can tell. Doesn't matter if today two million falls from the sky, he won't catch it! I'm putting my words right here; sooner or later, he'll be a penniless bum again!" Song Lulu's mom insisted with conviction.

"Mom, did you hear something? Why are you so sure?" Song Lulu's face actually showed a hint of joy.

She was in the midst of her irritated, regretful phase, not over the breakup itself, but because Hou Longtao suddenly had money after it!

If Hou Longtao ended up poor again, she would have no reason to feel conflicted.

"I'm telling you, I heard that he invested in a cinema!" Song Lulu's mom said mysteriously.

"What?!" Song Lulu's eyes widened. "Really a cinema, not a private theater?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, it's all your fault, all your fault!" Song Lulu was even more upset now; not only did Hou Longtao have money, but he had also become a successful entrepreneur!

Going out and saying my husband is the boss, owns a cinema, this cinema is ours ... just thinking about it carries prestige.

But now, after holding out for so long, to lose at the last moment, she didn't know which woman would end up enjoying all that glory!

"What are you panicking for, let me finish!" Song Lulu's mom waved her hand and whispered, "Do you know which cinema he invested in? The old Changhe Cinema, that dilapidated place? Nobody goes there to watch movies. Hmph, I knew it, that kid is doomed to be poor, he doesn't know how to make money. Throwing money into Changhe Cinema, he might as well have thrown it into the water! Just wait, in less than half a year, not only might he lose everything, he could end up deep in debt!"

During the opening days of Changhe Cinema, Song Lulu's mom actually wandered around the cinema every evening before and after her square dance sessions, scoping out the foot traffic. She even went as far as pretending to make small talk on a few occasions, stopping people who came out to ask all sorts of questions.

"The shop opened by my son-in-law, we, as elders, worry that they might find it annoying if we ask directly. How's the business going?"