Although Ningxuan Street is located in the suburbs, it is surrounded by many office buildings and factories, so the daily foot traffic is quite heavy. Especially around noon and evening rush hours, this commercial street's prosperity even somewhat rivals the downtown area.
At noon, the street is bustling with pedestrians, and the restaurants and milk tea shops on both sides are lively.
Only one storefront with somewhat outdated decoration is completely deserted.
Horror Cinema!
Most passersby glance at the cinema's signboard and quickly walk away; some don't even bother to look, simply ignoring it.
The extremely low-budget sign and decoration seem to take people back over a decade. The dim interior lighting looks eerie; if it weren't for the cinema sign outside, one could easily mistake it for a haunted house.
The critical point is, not far from Ningxuan Street there is a Wanda Cinema.
Who the hell would watch movies here!
...
"Damn it, the idiot Sword Saint is stealing the tower!"
"Lulu, give me your ultimate! I'm the ADC here!"
"Are you kidding me? Such idiots — can't team fight but still insist on grouping."
"Boom!"
With the sound of his crystal exploding, Lin Chen irritably threw down his mouse and lit a cigarette.
Looking at the crowded fast food shop across the street, then glancing at his own cold and empty lobby, Lin Chen exhaled a ring of smoke and opened the system interface:
Host: Lin Chen
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Permission Level: LV1 (0/100)
Shop: Not Open
Fear Points: 0
Monthly Revenue: 0
Items: None
Skills: None
Owned Film: A Wicked Ghost
Main Quest: Achieve a shop revenue of 10,000 yuan within one week.
(Task Note: The host is not allowed to attract customers by any advertising means, nor allowed to use any cheating methods to increase revenue!)
Task Remaining Time: 69 hours!
Task Reward: Coke Machine
...
Achieving 10,000 yuan in a week is already very difficult. The key problem is that the system also set the movie ticket price at 380 yuan — ten times higher than normal cinemas!
Thinking of this, Lin Chen asked inside his head: "System, why do I feel like this task is impossible to complete?"
"Please be patient, host. Do not rush!"
Hearing the system's answer, he snorted. Four days had passed since the task was issued, but not a single customer had come. And the system forbade him from advertising — he could only fish patiently and wait for customers to come by themselves.
Luckily, there was no penalty for failure. Fail if you want.
Sighing, Lin Chen gripped the mouse and started another ranked game.
...
This cinema was the only inheritance left by Lin Chen's parents. The old couple had managed it for many years and had deep feelings for it. Before passing away, they instructed Lin Chen to manage it well and not to sell it unless absolutely necessary.
So after graduating from university, Lin Chen didn't look for a job but took over the cinema.
But society was advancing, and times were changing.
A decade ago, the cinema business might have been decent. But with the rise of shopping malls and high-end cinemas, this old-style cinema was rapidly becoming obsolete.
After more than three months of struggling, Lin Chen couldn't keep it up. Every month, not only was there no profit, but he had to pay quite a lot for utilities, plus daily expenses, which gradually became unbearable.
Just a few days ago, with only a few hundred yuan left in his pocket, Lin Chen intended to lease the cinema out — but unexpectedly, he was bound by the system...
After lunch, the tourists and pedestrians gradually left. Since people had to go back to work in the afternoon, Ningxuan Street started to quiet down.
"Little Lin, have you eaten?" At this moment, a slightly balding, greasy middle-aged man slowly walked into the cinema and greeted Lin Chen, who was at the bar playing games.
This man was Old Zhang, owner of the neighboring restaurant — actually a fly-ridden, unhygienic cheap eatery with poor food, but decent prices and business.
After Lin Chen took over the cinema, the two had visited each other a few times and knew each other, but weren't close.
"I've eaten!" Lin Chen replied and immediately refocused on his game, his hands frantically clicking mouse and keyboard.
Since most customers came from nearby office workers, Ningxuan Street shops were busy only around noon and evening; other times were very quiet.
Old Zhang, having nothing to do, wanted to watch a movie to kill time. So he came to the bar and asked, "Little Lin, got any new films? I'm bored this afternoon and want to relax."
Seeing a potential customer, Lin Chen's eyes brightened. He didn't care about the team fight and quickly looked up: "The film's on the screen."
Hearing this, Old Zhang looked up at the monitor.
He was stunned.
On the large monitor, there was only one film — and it was an old one from over a decade ago: A Wicked Ghost!
"Alright, old film it is. Give me a ticket." After hesitating for a moment, Old Zhang decided to watch it.
"How much?"
"380!"
"Oh... what?!" Old Zhang was about to pay but was stunned, thinking he heard wrong.
This was the system-set price and could not be changed. Though helpless, Lin Chen still said, "380!"
An awkward moment followed.
Old Zhang's face turned sour. He looked deeply at Lin Chen and said expressionlessly, "Little Lin, business needs integrity!"
With that, Old Zhang left quickly.
He had a good impression of Lin Chen before and thought he'd help support the struggling cinema, but he never expected him to charge such an exorbitant price. The kid must have gone crazy thinking about money.
An old film from over ten years ago, charging 380 yuan a ticket! Ridiculous!
"Pfft, no wonder no business!" Old Zhang spat towards the cinema as he returned to his restaurant.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。