Chapter 127: The Arcade and the Video Room

Nanming City. Headquarters of the Huakun Group.

"Boss, here are the development reports and data sheets for the Huakun Group from last month. Please take a look," Sun Bowen said softly as he walked into Lu Kun's office, holding several files.

"Hmm, just set them down. I'll read them after I finish this round. *Moonwalker* is really fun," Lu Kun replied, muttering to himself.

The game *Moonwalker* only began to explode in popularity in mainland China in 1990. To be honest, it was through this game that Lu Kun, in his previous life, first came to know the superstar Michael Jackson. Undoubtedly, *Moonwalker* was the best-looking of all the Jackson-themed games. The game inadvertently revealed many brilliant touches; each level began with a few interesting comic strips and a map marking the location of all the hostages.

Whenever Lu Kun played this game at home, his daughter, Er Ya'er, would always run over excitedly to join in the fun every time Michael let out his signature "WOOO~" shout at Mr. Big.

Sun Bowen: "..."

For some reason, Sun Bowen always felt that his boss—a big shot with tens of millions in assets—playing children's games seemed incredibly childish.

In the early to mid-nineties, every video game arcade on the streets displayed prominent signs reading "No Minors Allowed," but almost no owner actually enforced the rule. It was somewhat similar to the Republic of China era, when opium dens would hang blue "No Smoking" banners outside while inside, a large crowd of addicts puffed away. Game arcades had started to emerge in the eighties, but by the nineties, they had entered a state of frenzy. In the eastern coastal regions, every single township had at least one, if not more, game arcades.

If it weren't for the fact that running an arcade was prone to attracting criminal elements, Lu Kun would have wanted to get in on that action himself back in the day! It was practically like picking up money off the floor! Those beat-up machines were often second- or third-hand, and you could likely recoup your entire investment in an arcade in less than half a month. Kids stealing money from their parents to play games wasn't a patent exclusive to the children of later generations.

...

After the turn of the new century, the arcade craze began to fade, and internet cafes quickly took over the mantle. Many school teachers began patrolling the arcades and internet cafes near their schools, grabbing those young rascals addicted to video games and giving them a good thrashing. Tragedies occurred one after another...

As it turned out, Sun Bowen's own son had just been caught by a teacher in an arcade and personally escorted home.

The game ended.

"What's wrong?" Lu Kun asked, looking up with a faint smile.

"Uh."

"Boss, I just wanted to ask, do you think playing games affects a child's studies?" Sun Bowen asked, feeling quite awkward and scatterbrained.

"What's the matter? Is your kid addicted to games?" Lu Kun raised an eyebrow. He had met the boy before—a bright-eyed, clever lad who was also famous for having a sweet tongue.

"Er, you could say that," Sun Bowen replied, scratching his head in embarrassment. Discussing his child's education with his boss during working hours was still a bit inappropriate.

"You could say that?" Lu Kun asked, puzzled. "What exactly happened?"

"He was taken to the arcade by a few classmates, and he was caught by a patrolling teacher on his very first time. Now he's been ordered to stay home and reflect for three days!" Sun Bowen's tone carried a hint of frustration at his son's lack of discipline.

"And what about his classmates? Were they caught too?" Lu Kun asked with a smile.

Veins bulged on Sun Bowen's forehead: "That's what makes me even angrier! Everyone else ran away, but he was the only one caught!"

Lu Kun: "..."

Lu Kun held back his laughter, nearly suffering internal injuries. "Little Fatty" Sun had clearly chosen the wrong friends.

"Well, actually, playing games occasionally is no big deal. You just need to control the time and frequency," Lu Kun said with a wave of his hand. Truth be told, in the eyes of a man from the future like Lu Kun, kids playing games was hardly an issue at all.

Sun Bowen looked stunned, waiting for Lu Kun to continue.

"Compared to arcades, I actually think video parlors are more dangerous," Lu Kun said, rubbing his chin.

"Video parlors?" Sun Bowen asked, confused. In the eyes of some middle-aged and elderly people, video parlors at this time weren't as notorious as they would become a few years later. Most of them only went to watch movies during the day and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They just noticed that there was always a strange, fishy smell in those parlors...

"Ahem."

Lu Kun coughed twice, thinking about how to phrase his words. In later times, the "hookup spots" were concentrated in hotels and inns near schools. Back then, it was likely parks and video parlors.

In the middle of the night, young couples would make appointments to watch a romance film at a video parlor. Then, as they watched, one would find that, inexplicably, some of the female companions would slowly crouch down, with their heads roughly level with the man's lower abdomen. Even those with stronger self-control would rush toward the pitch-black park the moment they stepped out of the video parlor doors.

Most young people in this era were still simple and innocent; they would blush just from talking to someone of the opposite sex. But for those who were truly "open," their behavior, if seen by later generations, would be enough to make one's eyes burn!

After a long explanation from Lu Kun, he finally managed to shoo Sun Bowen away. After hearing Lu Kun's words, Sun Bowen finally understood what that strange smell in the video parlors had been all along.

...

Lu Kun picked up the reports and data sheets to review them. During the Lunar New Year, the sales performance of all Huakun Group branches had been quite good. In particular, some of the newly opened branches saw explosive sales, though the profit margins were relatively low. That was the result of the "Grand Opening Promotions" and "New Year's Gift" campaigns. While the older stores had higher profit margins and were also seeing significant growth, Lu Kun estimated that they might have hit a ceiling, making large-scale improvement difficult.

Currently, out of the 14 prefecture-level cities in Angui, the Huakun Group had successfully conquered the retail markets in 10, and their original market share was continuously expanding and solidifying. Lu Kun did some quick math: if the Huakun Group could meet its goal of capturing one new retail market per month, they would likely achieve full coverage of the Angui retail market by the fifth lunar month of this year. By then, the strategy of Huakun Group dominating the retail market in Angui Province would become an established fact.

Of course, in this matter, he also had to guard against political pressure from above.

"Perhaps, in a while, I should go and meet that 'Iron Man' Ji Keliang, the man who will one day lead Moutai to a trillion-yuan market cap," Lu Kun muttered to himself. His network of influence was not simple. One had to borrow the tiger's skin to fly the banner high. Interests, after all, are always the most reliable means of binding connections.