"Shopkeeper, how much is this popcorn?"
Lu Yao watched the little beggar walk away with the popcorn and Coke. When he returned to the lobby, he saw a customer standing in front of the counter.
He was a customer coming out of the screening room. He couldn't stand the smell of popcorn, so he ran out to buy some. At the same time, he was thinking about the movie and looked very anxious.
"Popcorn is two cents a bucket, and Coke is one cent a cup." Lu Yao walked over.
The man hurriedly took out three copper coins from his sleeve and said, "I want them all. Please hurry up."
Lu Yao took out a cup and placed it under the beverage machine and pressed the switch. He quickly filled the cup with popcorn and Coke on the other side. It took only a dozen seconds. "Here, take it."
The customer was stunned. Although he was the one who urged it to be quick, he didn't expect it to be wrapped so easily.
This cup and popcorn bucket are so convenient.
The man hurried back to the theater with popcorn and Coke, inevitably attracting another wave of attention.
Later, a few more customers came out to buy popcorn and Coke, and the little popcorn that Lu Yao had reserved was sold out.
It was the last preview in the afternoon, and people outside also heard about the popcorn and Coke.
Some people wanted to buy it before entering the screening room, but were told it was sold out.
During the third preview, Lu Yao went to the backstage to make some adjustments, adding the recruitment advertisement to the playlist of the lobby advertising screen again, and playing the trailer of "The World's Number One" in a loop.
The store is still short of staff and needs to hire at least four or five more people.
As cinemas are upgraded, more screening rooms and more films are released, more staff will be needed.
The sales clerks and cleaners we need have not been recruited yet, and security guards may be needed in the future.
Lu Yao thought about going back that night and finding a place to shoot another Coke and popcorn commercial to promote this happy duo and add some interesting content to the early broadcast.
In the afternoon, after the third preview ended, the guests came out of the screening room with a feeling of having not yet had enough. All they talked about while walking and chatting was "The World's Number One".
On that day, the three words "Ye Qingzhou" became the most mentioned name by the people of Song'an Street, Liangjing, especially young men.
Ye Qingzhou is like a dream.
A dream they had as children and then forgot.
This carefully crafted dream was more brilliant and vivid than anything they had imagined in their childhood, and it constantly excited their hearts.
Lu Yao placed the light-board poster at the door in advance, which read that "The World's Number One" will be officially screened in the cinema tomorrow, and that those who buy tickets will receive a free bottle of movie-watching water and a popcorn set.
When the customers who didn’t buy popcorn saw this, they were immediately excited.
Thirty cents a ticket is actually a bit expensive.
Even in the prosperous capital city of Liangjing, thirty cents could buy five catties of good rice and three catties of top-quality pork.
But after the preview, most of the guests felt that it was worth it to save a few days’ food money and eat two pounds less meat just to watch Ye Qingzhou!
This thing called "movie" was so magical, it was different from any opera or storytelling they had ever seen.
It may not be so elegant, but it is fresh and interesting enough.
The billboard was placed at the door, and the colorful lights surrounding the poster attracted attention.
A group of people gathered around the sign to observe it. Some even reached out to touch it cautiously, wondering why this thing was flashing and emitting different colors of light.
They turned their heads frequently to look at Lu Yao behind the counter.
The other person lowered his head on the counter, seemingly writing something with a focused expression.
After watching the movie, the theater owner became particularly mysterious in their minds.
She never tied her hair and wore thin clothes. After hesitating for a while, they were too embarrassed to call her out loud.
The few of them had no choice but to walk out of the cinema with doubts and admiration for Ye Qingzhou. They were still unable to calm down, so they made an appointment to go to Fuxianju for dinner and talk about the movie they had just watched.
When most of the guests had left, Gou Zi came back with a few little beggars.
They stood at the door of the cinema and looked in, not daring to go in.
Lu Yao looked up and saw them, then waved his hand to invite them in.
A few guys stomped their feet and took off their clothes at the door for a long time before they tiptoed into the cinema.
The little beggars were stunned by the decoration inside.
The feeling of looking through the transparent glass and actually walking inside is completely different.
It is bright and clean here. Although there are no antique display cases, it is brighter and more magnificent than the Jinyufang next to Chunxi Tower.
Gouzi returned the remaining cartons to Lu Yao and said, "We walked over a dozen streets. Everyone in this area of East City knows that the cinema will open tomorrow. But after the goods were distributed, only slogans were shouted in the last three streets. We walked around those three streets three more times. The residents should have heard it."
Normally, those people think they are dirty and drive them away from a distance.
The aroma of popcorn was so overwhelming, and when people heard that they could get it for free, many of them approached them to ask for it.
Later, it was not enough, so Gou Zi told a few little beggars to give away all the boxes that Lu Yao had given them.
Gouzi had actually calculated it, otherwise that small box of stuff wouldn't have been able to last that far.
Lu Yao took out a small brocade bag from his pocket and handed it over: "This is a reward. I don't have any extra money, so I can only give you this. If you find it inconvenient, I can ask the clerk to accompany you to a nearby pawnshop to exchange it for silver."
The cinema had not yet opened, and she indeed had no Dawu Dynasty coins in her pocket.
The copper coins in my pocket now are all from selling popcorn and Coke today, which is only a dozen cents.
Gou Zi took the brocade bag and opened it to take a look. He saw a thumb-sized shark pearl that was round and shiny and of excellent quality.
He shook his head and said, "Don't bother the shopkeeper, we have a place to change money."
Gou Zi carefully stuffed the brocade bag into his clothes and turned around to take the little beggars away. Suddenly, an advertisement started playing on the advertising screen behind him, which was different from the trailer of "The World's Number One".
He couldn't help but look back. In the picture, a woman who looked exactly like the shopkeeper was talking about recruiting people.
The dog remained motionless, listening attentively to the woman's words. He slowly lowered his head, glanced at the beggars, turned back to the counter, and took out the brocade bag from his clothes. "Shopkeeper, I want to use this mermaid pearl to exchange for a job here. Do you think it's okay?"
When he spoke, he didn't dare to look up at Lu Yao's eyes, for fear of seeing sarcasm and ridicule in those clear and indifferent eyes.
They were beggars, and had been begging in the streets of Liangjing ever since they could remember, being looked down upon and despised.
In fact, I no longer have any feelings for that kind of look or expression. Nothing is more important than staying alive.
But this person was different. Perhaps because her attitude towards them was too normal and natural, Gou Zi was particularly averse to seeing that kind of look in her eyes.
Just now he listened carefully to what the person on the screen said, and this decision suddenly flashed through his mind.
No other store is willing to hire a beggar as a clerk, so will this person be different
The dog held a one in ten thousand expectation.
If he could work here and earn money to support the children, he could reduce his grandfather's burden.
As for why they want to exchange it for the mermaid pearl, one mermaid pearl can indeed improve their lives for a period of time.
But after all their money and food were gone, they were still beggars on the streets.
If there was ever a chance to change his identity as a beggar, Gouzi felt that this was the chance.
There was no sound from the front. Gouzi's heart, which was boiling with heat, gradually turned cold. His shoulders began to tremble slightly, and the brocade bag in his hand was squeezed into a ball.
He secretly exhaled, slowly raised his head, trying to put on a normal expression, withdrew his hand and changed the subject.
Lu Yao was looking at the dog.
Before asking these little beggars to do something, she actually observed them in advance.
These kids are quite young and they usually beg nearby. They are quite smart.
Survival is not easy.
She had compassion and just wanted to hire him into the store. She wasn't worried about anything else but any minor unclean issues.
After thinking for a moment, the child looked like he was about to cry, so Lu Yao asked, "Which position do you want to apply for? Selling things or cleaning?"
That's all.
If there are minor problems, correct them; if that doesn't work, let it go.
Having opened four stores, I have seen all kinds of ups and downs, so there is no need to be restrained when it comes to hiring store employees.
Lu Yao reflected on it and, considering Gou Zi's identity as a little beggar, he looked to be only in his teens and was quite decisive, so he was a good candidate.
Between sadness and joy, Gouzi's expression was out of control, his eyes widened as wide as they could, he blinked once, then again, and it took him a long time to find his voice: "Are you willing to take me in?"
Lu Yao groaned: "How old are you?"
Gouzi: “Thirteen.”
Malnourished, he looked several years younger than his actual age.
Lu Yao thought that since he was the same age as Zhu Zhu, he was not young.
"The mermaid pearl is the reward for today's work, you can take it back." Lu Yao tapped his fingers on the counter, asking the system to collect the dog's physical data, and then said: "Chen Chu will come to the store tomorrow morning. He will temporarily do the work of guiding customers and cleaning. There is a seven-day probation period, and he will officially join the company after passing it."
The gouzi was a little dazed, and couldn't believe that the shopkeeper was really willing to take him in. It was only when a few kids pulled at his clothes that he came to his senses.
"Thank you, boss." Gou Zi took a step back and bowed deeply to Lu Yao.
Several younger ones followed suit and saluted Lu Yao.
Lu Yao waved his hand and said, "It's getting dark, let's go back."
After Gou Zi and his group left, Lu Yao called over Wen Jian and Zhu Zhu and handed them two sets of work clothes: "The store will officially open tomorrow, and all employees will wear uniforms. I have made some improvements based on your dressing habits, how do you think?"
The people of the Dawu Dynasty all wore long gowns and long skirts when going out, which were very similar to the Hanfu that Lu Yao knew, with slight differences in details.
The clothes look nice, but the weather is too hot and it is very cumbersome to wrap yourself in layer after layer.
She couldn't immediately change the store clerks' perceptions of more than ten or twenty years and ask them to wear shirts and trousers like her, so she made work clothes that were a modified version of the Dawu Dynasty clothing.
It is summer now. Men wear blue shirts and women wear white and green gradient skirts, which look cool and elegant.
Zhu Zhu was pleasantly surprised when she received the skirt. "Boss, this skirt is so pretty. Not only to work, I would also like to wear it on weekdays."
After the training, Zhu Zhu's consciousness has changed a little, and she would occasionally utter some words that Lu Yao often said, such as "go to work", "trailers", and "advertisements".
Wen Jian took off his gown. The color was light and the fabric was smooth and soft. It was thinner than the common fabrics on the market. "This gown is good."
Lu Yao was also very satisfied, and finally said: "The dog who just left will also come to work tomorrow. There is no time to train new employees, so you can take care of him more."
Zhu Zhu was surprised: "Shopkeeper, you want to recruit those beggars as shop assistants?"
There was also some surprise in Wen Jian's eyes. Although the shopkeeper was a woman, she was more generous than many people he had met.
Lu Yao shook his head: "Only Gouzi came here, the others are too young. They just do some cleaning and guiding guests. I think he is quite smart, so there should be no problem."
After distributing the work clothes, it was already dark and Wen Jian and Zhu Zhu could not stay any longer.
Lu Yao came out of the cinema and it was still afternoon on the shopping street.
She inspected the furry shop, blind box shop and nail salon, and finally proposed to shoot a popcorn commercial at a snack bar.
After shooting an advertisement at the Furry Shop last time, Lu Yao realized that scenery and lighting were very important.
Snack bars can use magic to make props, and Xingzi, as a clerk in front of a movie theater, can make popcorn that is so real that it is hard to tell the difference between the real thing and the fake.
When they heard that the store owner wanted to shoot a popcorn commercial, a group of employees gathered on the fourth floor of the snack bar to come up with ideas, and finally worked together to make props and set the scene.
The train conductor happened to be having lunch with his employees in the store. When he heard about this, he generously lent his employees. The filming and editing took only more than ten hours.
In the middle of the night, Lu Yao went to the cinema with the data of the new advertisement.
It was already getting light in Liangjing and there were roosters crowing outside.
Lu Yao entered the data of the popcorn advertisement into the backend computer and put it into the advertising screen play list. When the time comes, the big screen in the cinema will also play this advertisement, which can be regarded as a trial of the advertising space.
She had just set up the data and came out to make some popcorn when she saw the dog looking out the door.
His face was washed very white, he was wearing a patched suit, he was thin, and he smiled at Lu Yao awkwardly.
Lu Yao called him in and handed him a set of work clothes that the system had rushed to make last night: "This is the uniform for work, go inside and change. It's still early now, I'll teach you how to use the popcorn machine and the beverage machine later."
She just hired the person and planned to give him a try.
Gouzi touched the clothes carefully, turned around to change them, and when he came out he found that the clothes were made exactly as they were designed for him and fit him perfectly.
Later, Wen Jian and Zhu Zhu also came.
Lu Yao took out the porridge and side dishes he brought from the snack bar from his portable storage, and the four of them sat in the rest area to eat.
After breakfast, it was already completely light.
Lu Yao took out the huge poster that he had prepared earlier, and took the clerk to the door to pull it up, and placed the colorful poster on the other side of the door.
The words "Number One Under Heaven" are written in red, along with posters of Ye Qingzhou, Senior Sister Ningshuang, and a number of other characters. The color pictures are 100% restorations of the characters in the play, which are completely different from the common character portraits of the Dawu Dynasty.
The paper was very large, almost taking up the entire width of the transparent glass on one side of the screening room, which was eye-catching and shocking.
Lu Yao’s Super Time and Space Cinema is officially open for business.