Chapter 416: The Movie Premieres

August 15th!

Changbai Scenic Garden, 6:00 PM.

“Brother Chen, I brought you dinner!”

Yang Duoduo said in her sweet, childish voice, carrying a food basket.

Chen Mo smiled as he took the basket from her. Yang Duoduo, practiced in the routine, swapped her shoes for her special little slippers and dashed into the living room.

“Wait a minute before you play. Wash your hands and come eat.”

Chen Mo watched her run off, knowing exactly what the little girl was up to without even looking.

Dong Hong usually sent Yang Duoduo over with the food as soon as she finished cooking, so the little one definitely hadn’t eaten yet.

“Okay, Brother Chen!”

Yang Duoduo obediently ran from the living room to the bathroom. After washing her hands, she hurried to the dining table and climbed onto a chair.

Chen Mo neatly arranged the dishes from the basket onto the table.

The two of them, one big and one small, began their dinner.

“Brother Chen, are you going to the movies tonight?”

Yang Duoduo took a bite of rice and looked at Chen Mo with innocent eyes.

“The movies? What movie?”

Chen Mo asked subconsciously.

“Mom said it’s President Chen’s movie! We’re all going to see it tonight. Are you not going, Brother Chen?”

Yang Duoduo nibbled on her chopsticks.

Going to see my movie!

Chen Mo frowned slightly, but his expression soon relaxed.

It was understandable that Yang Dahai’s family wanted to show their support now that his movie was being released. Besides, it was just the three of them; it wouldn’t have any real impact on the outcome.

He didn’t give it much more thought.

Dinner ended quickly, and Yang Duoduo dashed back to the living room, expertly turning on the TV to watch cartoons.

Chen Mo did a quick cleanup of the dishes and joined her in the living room.

About two hours later, Dong Hong came to knock on the door. Yang Duoduo left reluctantly, and Dong Hong took the empty food basket back with them.

In the living room, Chen Mo watched TV for a while longer. Feeling a bit bored, he hopped onto his computer to play some games.

Time ticked by.

Around 11:00 PM, he logged out of his game and shut down the computer.

He walked slowly to the window, looking out at the scattered lights of the residential complex. He suddenly remembered that Yang Dahai’s family was heading to the cinema tonight.

Should I go take a look?

Chen Mo hesitated. He hadn’t planned on watching what he considered to be a total flop.

And yet, he was curious.

After a long moment, he finally made a decision: it was better to go see for himself.

He went to the wardrobe to change, then headed down to the underground garage to find his Big G^[1].

Since it was a holiday and Yang Dahai’s family was already out, he decided to drive himself.

Using his navigation, he picked out a decent-looking cinema and drove straight there.

He had read Luo Xiao’s reports and knew that this time, the movie was only scheduled for the Midnight Slot^[2].

To him, this news was undoubtedly a blessing.

The Midnight Slot was perfect. The movie had zero promotion to begin with, and with it being scheduled for the middle of the night, the audience would be even smaller.

In a few days, once the theaters saw the movie wasn’t making any money, they would likely pull it from the screens immediately.

Chen Mo thought happily to himself as he sped toward the cinema.

…

At Changfeng Apparel, two shuttle buses were parked neatly in front of the Employee Dormitory.

“Everyone line up and get on. Check if anyone’s missing.”

“This bus is full! Go to the next one.”

“…”

A manager from Changfeng Apparel was busy directing the employees onto the buses.

Soon, every employee was on board.

The manager ran over to Jiang Cheng to report.

“General Manager Jiang, all the employees going to the movie are on the buses.”

“Good. Let’s head out.”

Jiang Cheng nodded at the news.

Ever since it was confirmed that President Chen’s first movie was about to be released, he had notified everyone at the Clothing Factory. He mobilized them to support the film and encouraged them to spread the word to their relatives and friends.

Of course, this was all strictly voluntary; he wouldn’t force any employee to watch or promote it.

However, to Jiang Cheng’s surprise, after he made the announcement, almost every single employee expressed their desire to go. They were incredibly enthusiastic. Only a few individuals couldn’t make it due to specific personal matters.

Even those who couldn’t go felt very apologetic, promising that once they were finished with their business, they would definitely take their families to support President Chen’s movie.

Seeing the factory workers so proactive about watching the film caught Jiang Cheng off guard. He had originally been brainstorming ways to motivate them to go.

He hadn’t expected them to be so eager without any prompting.

Later, he looked into the employees’ mindset from a different angle and finally understood why.

The most important factor was that since the Clothing Factory had been rebuilt, its production had gradually shifted toward Pet Fashion.

Because the Pet Park hadn’t opened yet, there were no plans to sell these pet clothes. Consequently, the inventory was just piling up in the warehouse.

It was fine at first, but as time passed, the factory workers began to realize something.

The Clothing Factory wasn’t making any money. After all, if the pet clothes were just sitting in the warehouse, it meant they weren’t being sold. And if they weren’t being sold, the factory wasn’t turning a profit.

This lack of profit caused many employees to worry. They feared the factory might one day go bankrupt, and then where would they find such a good job again?

So, when they heard President Chen’s movie was coming out and needed support, they didn’t hesitate for a second.

Regardless of anything else, Blue Film Studio was also President Chen’s company. As long as Blue Film Studio was profitable, President Chen would be making money. And if President Chen was making money, then even if the Clothing Factory kept losing money, it would likely stay afloat for much longer.

With this logic, the factory employees didn’t overthink it; they chose to support President Chen’s movie directly.

Some employees even stated that after watching it themselves, they would bring their families to support it again.

This was likely the “President Chen charm.” To this day, President Chen had never shown any anxiety about the factory losing money. He was always calm and had never expressed any dissatisfaction regarding the lack of profit.

But the employees were the ones who couldn’t sit still. They were terrified the factory would close due to the losses.

It made sense, though. The benefits and treatment provided by the Clothing Factory were things no other factory could offer. If the factory ever closed its doors, every employee—including Jiang Cheng himself—would likely be sent back to their old, struggling lives.

Therefore, their concern about the factory’s survival was entirely understandable.

Jiang Cheng smiled slightly. As the two shuttle buses slowly pulled away, he got into his own car and followed behind them.

At that moment, similar scenes were playing out across other parts of Jiang City.

Nanhe Coffee, Boring Short Video, Cangxue Games, the BL Gaming Club…

Translator’s Notes

1. Big G: A common Chinese nickname (大G) for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, often used as a symbol of wealth and status. ↩

2. Midnight Slot: In the context of Chinese cinema, the ‘midnight premiere’ (零点场) is a screening held at 12:00 AM on the release day. Low attendance or poor scheduling in this slot is often seen as a sign of a film’s lack of commercial potential. ↩