The snack counter was supposed to be Yang Ruoqian's safest battlefield.
Films could grow reputation. Old halls could grow memory. Retirees could grow habits. Students could grow observations. Staff training could grow into a course without using the word course.
But snacks were simple.
Snacks had prices. Prices could be set badly. Set them too high, customers complained. Set them too low, margins disappeared. Yang Ruoqian preferred the second option. Low-margin snacks were honest, ugly, and easy to defend as customer care while quietly chewing through the old cinema's weak revenue.
So he called Director Chen into the office and said, "The snack counter must stay cheap."
Director Chen nodded. "Basic pricing."
"Not basic. Cheap."
"Affordable."
"No. Cheap."
Yang Ruoqian needed that word to stay poor. Affordable sounded like a brand value. Cheap sounded like an accounting injury.
