Super Zoo-Chapter 766 - 745 Shareholder or Professional Manager
Is Hou Longtao just a lump of mud?
In the eyes of Song Lulu's family, Hou Longtao was just a lump of mud, over twenty years old, without any proper career, spending all day in some run-down private cinema that hardly made any money, unable to even pay rent—a typical worthless youth.
In Suming's eyes, someone who, during their university days, could see an image and instantly recite the corresponding code, definitely possessed excellent traits that ordinary people did not have.
Despite watching the same films, Wang Hao, Lin Mu, Yang Tao, and even myself, didn't have this ability. At the very least, this proved Hou Longtao was willing to put effort into his work.
This comment was somewhat joking, and carried a hint of comforting Hou Longtao. However, Suming believed that some people desired ready-made fruits, someone who sees a pile of property deeds, company shares, and luxury cars in front of them, they will think that person is capable, motivated; but for young people just out of school, how many could own these within a year and a half through their own abilities? Without walking crooked paths, without leveraging family resources, it's simply impossible.
Struggle requires a process, and not all struggles will necessarily yield good results. Coming across people like Song Lulu and her daughter was Hou Longtao's bad luck; he displayed his striving attitude in front of them, but they turned a blind eye.
In reality, there is no such thing as a fully perfect person, nor is there one who is entirely useless—the key is whether the person has found their suitable place.
Looking farther, encountering one's "noble person" is also very important. "Noble" here might refer to someone who can provide financial support, help with career advancement, or offer moral support and encouragement, even silent companionship can count as meeting a noble person.
Clearly, Hou Longtao hadn't met many noble people before. Wang Hao joked that he had met quite a few lesser people, though.
Different flowers attract different eyes. Regarding the talk of nobility and meanliness, Suming did not wish to judge. He observed Hou Longtao himself.
His social skills, market development ability, managerial and research capabilities were far behind Wang Hao, Yang Tao, and even Lin Mu—these were his weaknesses.
But being able to persist in doing what he believed was right, what he liked, and persevering in silence through thick and thin—this was Hou Longtao's strength.
Using people means playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses.
Previously, Hou Longtao was solely responsible for all the internal and external affairs of the private cinema; the so-called boss lady, Song Lulu, was clueless and careless, knowing nothing and wasting everything, spending her days with a large tub of popcorn, watching Korean dramas in a rented room—it was no wonder the business wasn't doing well.
Suming's style has always been either not to do it or to do it thoroughly; this time was no different, he was preparing to directly buy a cinema, additionally providing Hou Longtao with a team.
"Monkey, I'm offering you two choices."
A clear account between brothers, no matter how good the relationship, since they were going into business together, certain things had to be clarified before getting started, and clauses that should be on paper must be made explicit.
Among many classmates, Wang Hao was an exception. On one hand, there is still a degree of closeness among brothers and friends, and the relationship between Wang Hao and Suming was somewhat different from the others, using internet slang, he's one of those 'who gets me,' with similar temperaments and much that went unsaid. On the other hand, Wang Hao's identity and background were also different from the others, the relationship between Suming and Wang Hao wasn't entirely hierarchical. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"First, you act as a professional manager; I hire you to manage the cinema, you get an annual salary, dividends, and maybe shares in the future. Second, you have some money in hand, which you can invest. By having a stake in the cinema from the beginning, you'll be a partner," Suming said.
Both choices had their pros and cons.
If he became a professional manager without investing a penny, Hou Longtao could use the more than two million he won at the Horse Club to buy a house and a car. Adding the title 'cinema manager,' he could immediately transform into what ordinary people considered a 'successful person.'
Moreover, because there was no investment, he could minimize economic disturbances during the operations and management process, avoiding worries about gains and losses.
Investing as a shareholder meant that Hou Longtao would probably have to put more than half of his two million into it, facing some 'tough times' for a while. No one could guarantee what scale the cinema could reach in the future; this investment could potentially bring him a huge return later on or could come to nothing.
Suming thought Hou Longtao would need some time to consider since not everyone can invest more than half of their fortune without blinking. However, Hou Longtao didn't hesitate to say, "I'll be a shareholder. I'll keep thirty thousand from the money I've earned from the racetrack, and I'll invest the rest."
"Monkey, think about it, that's over two million in cash. To put it bluntly, even if you do nothing with that money and just collect interest from the bank, you could live quite comfortably," Suming said with a laugh.
Hou Longtao thought for a moment and said, "From what happened with Song Lulu, I've realized one thing: what's mine will eventually be mine, and what's not will never be mine, no matter how careful I am. Those two million literally fell from the sky. Cui Bijia said something right, 'When luck comes your way, you have to grab it.'
Hou Longtao said earnestly, "Su, you didn't say it, but I know in my heart that you're the one who brought me this luck. Getting involved in the cinema is largely you supporting me. If at this time, I still cling on to those two million and pretend to be naive, then I truly am a lump of mud that can't be helped to stand on the wall."
"Alright, Monkey, that's enough said." Suming nodded. "Come on, let's go talk about the acquisition."
There were initially three potential approaches for starting a cinema: build from scratch, lease, or acquire outright.
To build one from the ground up would be too time-consuming and take too much effort, and the costs might exceed those of outright acquisition, without necessarily achieving better results than buying an existing cinema.
Leasing a venue was cheap in the short term but came with too many restrictions, making it not reassuring.
In the end, Suming decided to go for outright acquisition of a cinema.
There were several conditions for the acquisition.
First, the size had to be manageable.
A cinema that was too big, Suming couldn't afford to acquire at the moment. For instance, establishments like Wanda or those under Jackie Chan were prospects he would indeed like to swallow in one bite, but he didn't have enough money.
Even if he had the money, with his current limited understanding of the cinema projection industry, he might have been able to take it on but not necessarily manage it well.
Moreover, in comparison with the major cinema chains, Taoyuan's foundation was still relatively weak, so making a high-profile entrance from the start could easily alert the major cinema chains and lead to their suppression.
Second, the cinema to be acquired needed to be fairly well-known, so Suming wouldn't have to spend a fortune on advertising—at least it should be a cinema that ordinary people in Yangchuan City were aware of.
Third, the background of the cinema had to be straightforward, preferably without being entangled in overly complex issues from various sides. Otherwise, even if he managed to acquire it, he would not be able to run it with peace of mind.
After a dedicated investigation, there were three cinemas in Yangchuan City that met these three conditions, among which Changhe Cinema was the most suitable.
