Super Zoo-Chapter 776 - 755 You Scheming Man

The inquiry from Song Lulu's mother yielded results that were 'not cause for optimism' for Suming and Hou Longtao, yet for her, it was fantastic news.

Despite spending a lot of money on renovating the cinema and hiring new staff, there were hardly any customers, and the projection room remained desolated...

"Are there still old movies?"

Song Lulu's mother was utterly delighted, unable to afford new films and having to make do with old ones—wasn't this just turning into a video parlor?

I knew it, when you're poor, you're lowly, can't enjoy wealth. Hou Longtao is doomed to be poor for life. Thank goodness I didn't marry my daughter to him, or who would take care of me in my old age?

I must seize the opportunity while she's young to introduce her to a few wealthy suitors.

These days, things like feelings or love are all fake. Can love be eaten as a meal? The young folks don't understand; they'll regret it when they're struggling in life with no money. Living a good life with money, that's what's real. Then, as a mother-in-law, I can bask in the reflected glory...

Song Lulu's mother walked away in a delightful mood, leaving the few bystanders she had been chatting with to exchange perplexed glances.

Is there something wrong with her? She seems happy hearing her son-in-law's shop isn't drawing customers and isn't making money?

...

It was Hou Longtao's first time taking the lead, and the cinema wasn't performing well. In front of his employees, he appeared cool and utterly confident as the general manager, but privately, the pressure was immense.

"Monkey, have you had an oil treatment?" Suming moved closer to inspect his lustrously dark hair.

That's not right, we're both in our twenties, and here I am with my hair all dry and split, snow-like dandruff flies off if I don't wash for three days, and even Taoyuan's conditioner isn't enough.

Why does this guy have a head full of shiny black hair?

How is that fair?!

As expected, Hou Longtao grimly said, "Damn it, it's only been a few days, but my hair has almost turned white with worry. I didn't dare let the staff see, fearing it would affect their morale, so I sneaked off for an oil treatment."

Hearing this, Suming finally breathed a sigh of relief. It turns out it's not that I've aged; it's this kid Photoshopping in real life!

That's so cunning of you, Monkey, you schemer!

"Monkey, it's not right for you to do this. Your hair is dyed so black and shiny, when I walk down the street with you, it looks like I'm your uncle. How am I supposed to talk to young girls about life and dreams?"

"Ah?!" Hou Longtao's mouth hung open. "Su, what are you talking about? Weren't we discussing attendance rates? That's a very concrete thing. How did we get onto the topic of young girls' life dreams and such illusory schemes?"

"Oh, oh, just making a couple of jokes." Suming changed gears back to the main topic and patted Hou Longtao on the shoulder. "Calm down, take a deep breath, hold on! Attendance rate is the ultimate standard, but there are many reasons why attendance rates can be low. No rush, no rush, we have all the time and patience to wait."

"Wait?!" Hou Longtao looked stunned, "Just wait, no other solutions?"

"What else can we do? Kidnap viewers into the cinema?" Suming shrugged. "Or maybe add some special services to the cinema? Watch a movie and get a cute girl? Get Wu Yifan? Have Nangong Huang personally grovel and fawn over every female viewer on site?"

"Uhh... that doesn't sound too good..." Hou Longtao rolled his eyes, "For real, boss? Though we're not depending on it to make money, we can't just mess it up, can we?"

"Don't worry, if it really goes under, consider the two hundred thousand you invested as mine," Suming patted his chest, generously taking on responsibility like a tycoon.

"It's not about the money," Hou Longtao shook his head, "Money, as they say, comes and goes – having enough is all that matters. I genuinely hope to focus and do things well."

"That's why I admire you," Suming laughed heartily, "Rest assured, I have the experience. Keep calm, and proceed as you should."

In Hou Longtao's eyes, his dormmate Suming had achieved miraculous success in the business world within a year, which to all classmates seemed nothing short of astounding – a true maverick in their midst. Therefore, even if some of Suming's remarks seemed joking, they were tantamount to authoritative pronouncements, providing a comforting presence.

"Alright, I'll take your advice," Hou Longtao said.

That was exactly the effect he wanted.

The outcome of a matter is composed of various factors, big and small – some certain, some predictable, and some so uncertain they can only be left to chance – hence the saying: success is 70% hard work and 30% fate.

Suming was not a deity; he couldn't guarantee with complete certainty that the cinema would prosper.

He gave that pep talk to Hou Longtao firstly to bolster his confidence. Just as Hou Longtao, to prevent base-level employees from becoming unsettled, would dye and style his hair to look assured, as his superior, Suming also needed to instill confidence in Hou Longtao.

On the other hand, based on his experience, Suming believed that what the cinema currently lacked was time. With enough patience, without disrupting their own strategic alignment, and striving systematically towards the predetermined direction, the likelihood of success would outweigh that of failure.

There is no such thing as a sure win in the world. Anyone who tells you a venture is guaranteed to make money is either exaggerating to mislead you or has been misled themselves.

The internet has greatly narrowed the distances between people, shrinking the concepts of time and space.

In Yangchuan City forums, Taoyuan interest Weibo, and even Baidu Zhihu, Douban film review networks' discussion groups, Taoyuan Cinema quickly became a hot topic.

Different websites have different styles, leading to various discussions.

The more serious and high-brow communities like Zhihu and Douban mainly discussed the Taoyuan Cinema model itself.

In China, many moviegoers have long called for every city to have one or two niche cinemas that show art films and replay classic movies.

After all, no matter how good home cinema equipment is, it can't match the experience of watching a film in a cinema.

But niche cinemas are clearly not profitable, or to put it another way, not highly profitable, and capital will not abandon high profits in pursuit of small gains.

Yet, Taoyuan Cinema's emergence perfectly filled this gap.

On Zhihu and Douban, the support for Taoyuan Cinema was overwhelmingly positive.

The movies that Taoyuan Cinema chose to show in the past two weeks were neither dull nor esoteric art films. Instead, they were classics.

It's uncertain from which article the phrase "good movies" first appeared, but those two words quickly spread, repeatedly cited and analyzed in numerous articles.

What makes a movie good? How is it good? What kind of feeling does 'good' entail...

In the past, there was always an artificial division between art films, commercial films, nostalgic films, and fan films, as if watching different genres implied different... levels of taste. Admirers of art films looked down on commercial and nostalgic films, while the latter two scorned fan films. Fans of fan films would defiantly proclaim that others simply didn't understand their world, leading to loud and messy disputes.

Now, however, 'good movies' seem to have become a new standard. No matter the genre, no matter how dated they are, as long as they're 'good,' they're considered great films.