Offering Itself

Before we knew it, it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

The group exchanged contact information and then called the boss over to pay the bill.

In fact, the actors and director of "The Grand Mansion" didn't need to pay for their meals here; they could just put the bill on their tab.

Once filming is finished, someone will come to handle this matter.

But since this gathering was arranged for Su Yu, the necessary procedures still had to be followed, hence the sight of a group of people vying to pay the bill.

Chen Baoguo was the most enthusiastic among them; no wonder she's Bai Qiye!

But Li Yang, that idiot, couldn't see the situation clearly. He stood up and took out his wallet to pay.

Su Yu stopped him.

They treated us to this meal, why did you go over there acting all high and mighty, trying to show off how rich you are?

In the end, Guo Baocang outmaneuvered everyone and also did Su Yu a favor.

"We're short one person for a scene tomorrow. If you're not too busy, Mr. Su, could you come and help out?"

"Isn't that a bad idea?"

"What's wrong with that... We're all family, it doesn't matter who you talk to, right?"

Hearing this, Jiang Wenli couldn't help but show a hint of disdain.

I thought to myself, if you want to act, then act. Why do you have to act so high and mighty? People who don't know better would think you can earn hundreds of thousands a day!

Just then.

Li Yang coughed, offering an untimely reminder.

"Brother Yu, we have an appointment with the distributor in Southwest China tomorrow. They've come all the way here and have ordered five million worth of goods."

"Look, Director Guo, it's not that I didn't want to come, I'm just really busy."

"..."

Guo Baocang fell silent, Jiang Wenli also fell silent, only Su Yu raised the corners of his mouth.

Sometimes that's the meaning of life.

You can only truly appreciate the beauty of life by casually teasing people.

Seeing this, Ma Sichun, standing next to Jiang Wenli, couldn't help but lower her head and count on her fingers, quickly calculating how much five million was.

A few seconds later, she suddenly looked up at Su Yu, her little face filled with surprise and disbelief.

But most of the people present looked thoughtful, thinking to themselves that those thighs were really damn thick!

At 1:30 p.m., when the weather was at its hottest, Guo Baocang sat down in front of the machine again and picked up the walkie-talkie.

Su Yu called Li Yang over and told him to stay there and keep an eye on Liu Yifei.

He was going to check out the markets in Kyoto that afternoon to prepare for his next move.

"You can stay here if you have nothing else to do. I'm leaving now."

Seeing Ru Ping watching with great interest, Li Yang paused for a second before realizing what was happening. "Okay... wait, Brother Yu, where are you going?"

Su Yu explained simply, "Let's go to the movie theater and see how much it costs to open one."

"Then I'll go for you... Brother Yu, it'll be awkward for me to go alone."

"What's so embarrassing? You're one of my people. Nobody on set will dare to do anything to you. Just watch the show from the sidelines."

"What time will you be back?"

"Around five o'clock, mainly because Liu Yifei just arrived at the film set today, and I want to go see if she's settling in." Su Yu took out his Nokia and glanced at the time.

"I knew it, Brother Yu, you're raising Tianxian like a daughter."

Su Yu shrugged after hearing this, thinking that what he said made sense.

I'm over sixty years old across my two lifetimes, while she's only a few years old. It doesn't seem wrong for her to say she's raising a daughter.

So Su Yu greeted Guo Baocang, found a car, and went to the nearest movie theater.

Upon arriving at the destination, Su Yu stared blankly at the pitch-black place before him, and it took him a while to find the entrance.

It's called a movie theater, but it's completely different from movie theaters twenty years from now.

They just tore up a curtain, put a row of wooden benches, and in the middle of summer there was no air conditioning, so all they could do was fan themselves.

The floor was pitch black and hadn't been cleaned in a long time; it was covered in cigarette butts, and you could smell a foul odor as soon as you went in.

This is a movie theater in 2000.

In short, it was dirty, messy, and chaotic.

This is also the current state of the film market.

With no one coming to watch, the total box office for the entire year of 1999 was only 9.3 million yuan, less than a fraction of the box office of any popular movie twenty years later.

On average, each person goes to the cinema only once every five years.

There are only about 1000 cinemas nationwide that can project 35mm film, and most of them have been converted into billiard halls and game arcades.

There's nothing I can do; it's not profitable.

Especially with the rampant piracy of VCDs, a movie that costs 6 yuan to watch only once is clearly less cost-effective than a pirated disc that costs 10 yuan.

What's more, the movie ticket costs more than 6 yuan.

Some movie tickets start at 10 yuan, and for foreign blockbusters, they can cost tens of yuan per ticket.

In short, it was a complete mess.

Just like Feng Xiaogang said, those people who pirate DVDs are truly heartless!

Su Yu only took one turn before rushing out and taking several deep breaths.

It would be strange if anyone came to this place!

However, the more this was the case, the more excited he became, because it would undoubtedly greatly reduce the cost of acquiring cinemas.

In 2002, the higher authorities will issue a document on the "reform of the cinema chain system," requiring each province to have at least two cinema chains.

A cinema chain must have ten cinemas...

According to Su Yu's initial estimate, to own a complete cinema chain, including acquisition, renovation, and promotion costs, it would require at least ten million yuan.

But now it seems we don't need that many?

Judging from the dire state of these cinemas, which are barely making ends meet, someone will probably take them over and sell them without hesitation.

In that case, it seems I could acquire a few more cinema chains?

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye, and that figure was also looking at him with a surprised expression.

"Su Yu?"

"Ma Sichun? What are you doing here?"

The two raised their eyebrows simultaneously and asked, then looked at each other and both pursed their lips.

They all disliked each other to some extent.

Su Yu thought she was too naive and too stubborn, while Ma Sichun simply didn't give him a good look because of Liu Yifei's sudden arrival.

"I'm just looking around, is that not allowed? Do you own this road?"

"It's my house, give me the money."

Ma Sichun was taken aback by Su Yu's words and paused for a moment. "Is this road really yours? I don't believe it!"

Su Yu shrugged. "Why would I lie to a little girl like you? If you don't believe me, go back and ask your aunt. She knows."

"Then I'll take another route."

"Don't leave. Since we've already run into each other, how about I treat you to a movie? What would you like to see?"

"Then I want to see Titanic!"

Ma Sichun made an outrageous demand, determined to have Su Yu treat them.

Actually, she wasn't as naive as people thought. After all, she had lived with her aunt since she was little, so she was quite good at reading people.

But today's dinner party is different.

Jiang Wenli is, after all, her aunt. Even if she is being used as a pawn, it is a family matter. Moreover, Jiang Wenli chose to test her for the sake of her role.

From her aunt's perspective, she could understand, but she didn't have any particular feelings about Su Yu as a person.

"Yes, I'll watch it, even the 90-yuan movies."

"Of course!"

Ma Sichun raised her chin slightly. "Since you're so rich, you'll definitely treat us, right?"

Su Yu shrugged. "Please, of course."

"Don't lie to me!"

Ma Sichun raised an eyebrow and walked straight in.

Su Yu took the opportunity to chat with the cinema owner, but he was teased after only a few words.

"Are you asking so many questions because you want to open a movie theater?"

"Is there a problem?" Su Yu raised an eyebrow.

Upon hearing this, the proprietress quickly put down the sunflower seeds she was holding. "Then don't bother with that. I'll just sell you the movie theater..."

"How much?"

The proprietress didn't say anything, but held up two fingers.

Su Yu thought she was going to quote 200,000, but when she opened her mouth, Su Yu suddenly laughed.

"Twenty thousand! No bargaining!"

"If you want it, I'll sign the contract with you right now!"