The door to Shan Yu’s office was open, and from the outside, you could see Yue Lang sitting on the desk, one hand propped on it. Yao Yi was in the chair, and Shan Yu stood behind her, the three of them looking at the computer screen together.
Chen Jian knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Yue Lang said.
“Is the Great Hermit being transferred to Sister Xiao Yi?” Chen Jian asked as he walked into the office.
“No way. Just look at this bunch in the shop,” Yao Yi said, pointing at the screen. “You can’t even find a few decent-looking photos of them. I can’t manage a shop like this.”
“You don’t have to manage it,” Shan Yu said, tilting his chin towards Chen Jian. “The manager can handle it.”
Chen Jian walked over to the desk and saw that the screen was showing photos from the barbecue party that day. A group of people were dancing around a fire bucket. He suddenly remembered something and took the walkie-talkie from his waist. “Sanbing, did you return Liang Ye’s bucket? We just left it outside the back door after using it that day.”
“I did. I took it over. Damn, it was right at their door, and they wouldn’t even come three meters to get it,” Sanbing’s voice came through.
“You’re not happy about returning something you borrowed?” Chen Jian said.
Yue Lang and Yao Yi listened with amusement. Yao Yi rested her chin in her hand. “What a bunch of amazing employees.”
“Another amazing one just showed up,” Chen Jian said. “I didn’t know what to do, so I thought I’d come and ask.”
“Hmm?” Shan Yu looked at him. “The interviewee is here?”
“She came early,” Chen Jian said. “Applying for the waitress position. She’s checking in right now.”
“You guys are quite formal,” Yue Lang said. “The interview even has a practical test?”
“It’s not her checking someone in. She booked a standard room and is staying,” Chen Jian said.
“Wow,” Yao Yi looked up. “What’s her background?”
“…A wealthy lady?” Chen Jian wasn’t sure how to describe her.
“Does she have experience? If she has experience, keep her,” Shan Yu said. “It’s only for these two months anyway.”
“No experience,” Chen Jian said. “She doesn’t look like she can do the work.”
“Then reject her and interview the next one,” Yue Lang said.
“There are no more,” Chen Jian replied truthfully. “She’s the only one who came for an interview. Just her.”
“See?” Yue Lang poked Yao Yi’s arm. “Can you take this over? You can’t even get a second person to apply.”
“Well, you recruited a wealthy lady,” Yao Yi said.
“You two, shut up,” Shan Yu said.
As expected of the boss of the Great Hermit, what a terrible attitude. People are still helping you sort through promotional photos.
Chen Jian looked at him. “I told her there were other people to interview and that we’d notify her of the result after all the interviews were done.”
“If there’s no one else, then it’s her. Notify her after you come back from your driving practice this afternoon,” Shan Yu said. “The number of people is increasing now. In two days, with the bonfire festival, we’ll be too busy.”
“She has no experience at all,” Chen Jian said, a little worried.
“Let her try for two days first. Have Hu Pan teach her,” Shan Yu said.
“What if she makes a mistake and a customer complains?” Chen Jian asked.
“If she makes a mistake, tell the customer there are too many people and that she’s the boss’s distant older sister, here to help. Then give them two barbecue tickets,” Shan Yu said without thinking. “Then deduct it from her pay. If it still doesn’t work, let her go.”
Chen Jian mulled it over.
“If we’re short on staff, I have two more here. One wealthy lady,” Shan Yu said, pointing to Yao Yi, then to Yue Lang, “and one elite. He even knows two foreign languages.”
“What the hell?” Yue Lang looked at him.
Chen Jian couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s settled then,” Shan Yu said.
“Okay,” Chen Jian nodded. He thought for a moment and sighed. “Why do we always recruit strange people? Should we go burn some incense?”
“Because it’s not that such people don’t exist elsewhere, they’re just all rejected,” Yao Yi said. “Only you guys would keep them.”
…That makes so much sense.
Chen Jian suddenly understood.
No need to burn incense anymore.
When he returned to the first floor, Sun Nana was no longer at the front desk.
Seeing Chen Jian come down, Hu Pan waved at him. Before he could even get close, she was already gesturing wildly. “Oh my god, she brought a suitcase as big as mine.”
“This is how rumors start,” Sanbing said. “It was pretty big, maybe up to her waist.”
“It feels like she’s moving house,” Hu Pan said. “My entire life’s savings probably couldn’t even fill the inner pocket of her suitcase.”
“Maybe she ran away from home,” Chen Erhu said. “A rich family’s young lady.”
“That’s possible,” Sanbing nodded. “She certainly has the air of one. She even ordered me to help her carry her suitcase into her room just now. What gives her the right?”
“Because she hasn’t been hired yet, so right now her status is a guest,” Hu Pan shot him a look.
“If you put it that way… I guess that’s right,” Sanbing said, deep in thought.
“Just to let you all know, we’re having a meeting tonight,” Chen Erhu suddenly became serious.
“What meeting?” Hu Pan was stunned.
“A fire safety knowledge training session,” Chen Erhu said. “Sanbing, remember to notify Old Four and Old Five to come over. No one can be absent.”
“Just notify Old Five. Old Four is working this afternoon,” Sanbing said.
“So formal,” Hu Pan said.
“Fire safety is a big deal!” Chen Erhu emphasized.
“Right,” Sanbing nodded.
Once a boss, always a supporter.
They hadn’t managed to hire anyone these past few days, so when it got busy, Zhao Fangfang, as usual, stopped making staff meals. When Old Four came to work, he brought everyone’s takeout lunch.
The group quickly ate their meal in a corner of the restaurant.
Chen Jian had to go to driving practice soon, so he used the mealtime to arrange the afternoon’s tasks.
“Erhu and Sanbing, go confirm the number of barbecue tickets with Da Li,” Chen Jian said, placing a business card on the table. “Then contact this person. He’s a friend of Brother Rui’s. He can rush the printing of the tickets for us. Remember to use different colors for the four establishments to distinguish them. We’ll settle the accounts separately later.”
“Okay,” Chen Erhu nodded and took the business card.
“Someone is delivering goods this afternoon, drinks and supplies. The list is at the front desk,” Chen Jian said while eating. “Panpan, get Old Four to check the numbers with you.”
“No problem,” Hu Pan said.
“The barbecue area needs to be set up,” Chen Jian said. “If they start before I get back, Boss Chen, see who’s free and take them over to supervise so nothing goes wrong. If anything comes up, call Boss Shan. Anyway, those bosses only recognize the Great Hermit now.”
“The initiative is in our hands now,” Sanbing said, lifting his head with a bit of pride.
After they finished eating, everyone went about their own business. As Chen Jian waited for Shan Yu to come down, he looked at the employees in the shop, who didn’t seem very reliable but… in practice, they hadn’t made any major mistakes in their work.
It was indeed as Yao Yi had said. If these people went to apply elsewhere, even to the few B&Bs inside, they probably wouldn’t be hired.
Besides their very deceptive appearances, everyone’s educational qualifications weren’t very competitive either.
But it wasn’t like the Great Hermit specifically wanted to hire such people!
It’s just that no one other than such people came!
Maybe they really did need to go pray.
“What are you thinking about?” Shan Yu came up from behind him, flicked him on the head, and walked towards the door.
“Nothing, just thinking nonsense,” Chen Jian said, getting up and walking out with him.
Yue Lang and Yao Yi were going hiking for a bit and would be staying in the tent B&Bs on the mountain tonight, so the two of them were driving their nice car again.
“Tonight, Chen Erhu is leading everyone in a fire safety knowledge training session,” Chen Jian said as he fastened his seatbelt. “You can’t be absent without a reason. Remember to attend.”
“What if I have a reason?” Shan Yu asked.
“We all know you don’t have a reason. Your friends aren’t coming back to the shop until tomorrow,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu smiled. “Alright then, I’ll listen to Teacher Chen Erhu’s lecture…”
When the car reached the intersection, it suddenly turned towards Second Street.
“Where are we going?” Chen Jian turned to look at him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t cause any trouble. I’m in a hurry to get to driving practice,” Shan Yu said.
He didn’t exactly cause trouble, but you couldn’t say he didn’t cause any trouble either.
Shan Yu parked the car in front of the accessory shop.
Because Lili had been fired, the owner’s wife was alone in the shop.
When she saw Shan Yu get out of the car, she walked to the doorway, looking at him very warily.
Shan Yu walked into the supermarket next door.
Chen Jian leaned against his seat, looking at the owner’s wife through the car window. The owner’s wife did not make eye contact with him, just lowered the curtain and retreated into the shop.
After a while, Shan Yu came out of the supermarket with two boxes of yogurt. He got in the car and handed one to him.
“Did you just come to scare the owner’s wife?” Chen Jian asked, taking the yogurt and taking a sip.
“Nonsense, I was buying yogurt,” Shan Yu said, starting the car. “Only this supermarket sells this peach yogurt.”
Chen Jian smiled. He really didn’t know if Shan Yu was telling the truth or not. He didn’t used to drink yogurt either, but this supermarket was indeed the largest and best-stocked in the small town.
“Sanbing and the others said that if you were to handle this, you would send a coffin over,” he said, looking at Shan Yu.
“Yeah,” Shan Yu nodded. “She wouldn’t dare to take me up on that. She just wanted to take the opportunity to get more money. She’s not that bad.”
“What if you ran into someone who dared?” Chen Jian asked.
“Then I’d go to the old town and order one. It’s not much money. I could even customize it with a glass lid,” Shan Yu said.
“…Have you ever been frustrated?” Chen Jian couldn’t help but ask.
“Who doesn’t have a time when they’re young, reckless, and stumble?” Shan Yu said.
“I think you’re still pretty reckless now,” Chen Jian said.
“What, am I not young anymore?” Shan Yu glanced at him.
“You’re young,” Chen Jian said. “Six years old.”
Shan Yu laughed. After driving for a while, he looked at Chen Jian and said, “Sometime when you’re free, I’ll take you to my hometown to play, to see the place where I was once young.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian nodded.
There were fewer people practicing driving today. Including Chen Jian, there were only three, and they were all doing quite well, so the instructor was in a much better mood.
“From now on, we’ll practice like this. The good ones in one group, the bad ones in another. I’ll teach the bad group and get mad once, then teach the good group and be revived on the spot,” Instructor Li said.
Chen Jian thought of Chen Erhu. He didn’t know which subject he had failed before. With Instructor Li, he might have been in the “get mad once” group.
“Does your brother always bring you to practice driving?” one of the students asked Chen Jian.
“Huh?” Chen Jian was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded. “Yes.”
“Why don’t you take the shuttle bus? It’s quite convenient too,” another student said.
“My brother, he…” Chen Jian thought for a moment. “He has nothing better to do.”
Speaking of his brother, Chen Jian glanced towards the parking lot and found that his brother and his car were no longer where they had been parked.
Where did he go?
Did he go to order a coffin?
There’s not much to see around here. Not just here, there’s not much to see in the whole town.
He practiced until the end. After checking the parking lot twice to confirm that Shan Yu was really not there and hadn’t come back, Chen Jian took out his phone to call him. Just then, the Range Rover came roaring up to the parking lot entrance, honking twice.
“Where did you go?” Chen Jian ran over and got in the car.
“Went shopping,” Shan Yu said.
“What did you buy?” Chen Jian turned to look at the back seat and was stunned. The back seat was piled with five or six shopping bags. “You didn’t even buy this much when you went to the city.”
“It’s all clothes,” Shan Yu said.
“You can buy them in our small town too,” Chen Jian said.
“They’re ugly,” Shan Yu said.
“They all come from the same place. If they’re ugly, they’re all ugly,” Chen Jian said.
“Don’t talk back,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
Chen Jian smiled and said no more.
But Shan Yu had finally remembered to buy clothes. Chen Jian only had two jackets for the whole winter. If he gave one to him, neither of them would have anything to change into.
“I bought some for you too. If they’re ugly, we’ll be ugly together,” Shan Yu added.
“Huh?” Chen Jian was stunned. “I have some.”
“Don’t talk back,” Shan Yu said.
“Oh,” Chen Jian replied, then turned back to look carefully at the shopping bags. They were all non-brand names. That was good. There weren’t any very expensive shops in the old town to buy from.
“It only cost two thousand yuan in total,” Shan Yu said. “You’re worrying about me…”
“How many pieces for two thousand?” Chen Jian reached out and rustled through the bags. “As expected of the boss. Do you still think you’re being quite frugal?”
“Seven or eight pieces, I think. There are jackets, pants, sweaters, and some small things,” Shan Yu said. “A big pile… do you want to see if there’s a jacket or something to give to your dad?”
“No, no, no,” Chen Jian quickly waved his hands. “I buy him clothes every New Year’s Day.”
“But you don’t buy for yourself,” Shan Yu said.
“My dad sometimes does rough work and is always running around outside. His clothes get worn out quickly,” Chen Jian said.
“Your income here is not low. Set aside the part you need to pay back your debt, and spend some on yourself,” Shan Yu said. “You’re a manager, after all. If you go out, people will think the boss is so black-hearted.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian laughed.
Returning to the Great Hermit, they arrived just in time for the guests’ dinner time. The restaurant was quite crowded, and Zhao Fangfang was already busy in the kitchen.
As soon as Chen Jian entered, he saw Sun Nana walking quickly towards the restaurant with two trays.
She was still wearing her little fluffy coat and high-heeled boots. Chen Jian was worried she would fall.
Isn’t she still a guest at the shop? Why is she working?
He quickly looked towards the front desk. Hu Pan’s eyes were already waiting, and as soon as they met, she immediately jumped on the spot twice.
Chen Jian quickly walked to the front desk. “What’s going on?”
“It’s crowded and we’re short-staffed. Chen Erhu and Sanbing went to the barbecue area to set up,” Hu Pan said. “Nana just came out and started working. I only noticed after she had made two trips.”
“So… enthusiastic?” Chen Jian said.
“Let’s keep her,” Shan Yu said, having walked over at some point. He stood behind Chen Jian, listening, and now reached out to grab a small cookie from the small plate at the front desk.
Hu Pan glanced at him.
“I’ll just have one to tide me over. I’m hungry,” Shan Yu said.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t eat it. I’m not Chen Erhu,” Hu Pan said. “I mean, are we keeping her?”
“Let’s keep her. She can run in heels that high,” Shan Yu said.
“…What kind of evaluation criteria is that?” Chen Jian asked in a low voice.
“Boss Shan,” Sun Nana walked back from the restaurant with a few empty plates. She walked like she was on a runway in her little heels. As she passed the front desk, she even turned to the side, held her head, and paused for two seconds, then turned and went to the kitchen, leaving behind a sentence, “Nice to meet you.”
“Hey,” even the usually unflappable Shan Yu was stunned by her words. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Aiyo,” Hu Pan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Has she always been like this?” Shan Yu asked.
“Yeah,” Hu Pan nodded. “But she hasn’t made any mistakes. She even delivered things to the guests’ rooms twice just now. Her work attitude is quite good, she just loves to act.”
“Then after we’re done with dinner, Manager, you can talk to her about salary and whatnot, and get to know her… personal situation,” Shan Yu said, walking towards the elevator. “Everyone in our shop has a complicated background. Ask a few more questions.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian replied.
Guests had also checked into the fourth floor. Two children from who-knows-where were pulling hard on the doorknob of Shan Yu’s office.
“Which class are you from!” Shan Yu asked from behind them, his voice quite authoritative.
The children were startled. When they turned around, their hands were already behind their backs. “I… we…”
“Who is your homeroom teacher?” Shan Yu asked. “Pulling on other people’s door locks, it’s such a rude thing to do. Didn’t your teacher tell you not to do it?”
“We didn’t…” the children’s voices got smaller and smaller, then they suddenly turned and ran, going down the stairs to the third floor.
“If I catch you again, I’ll find your principal!” Shan Yu shouted after them.
After entering the office, Shan Yu threw the things onto the sofa. “Isn’t it vacation now? Why are there children?”
“It’s the weekend,” Chen Jian said.
“So annoying. Can’t we choose to refuse children when booking rooms?” Shan Yu asked.
“Not all of them are like that. Xiao Dou’er is so cute, and Sister Zhao’s daughter is so cute,” Chen Jian said.
“That Snot-Nose is so annoying,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue, then went over and shook out the clothes from the bags. “Hurry up, Manager. Pick your clothes and get to work.”
Chen Jian walked over, looked, and picked up a short, dark blue down jacket. “This one.”
“This one is also fine,” Shan Yu said, picking up a sweater and handing it to him. He rummaged through and picked up a long down jacket. “And this one…”
“What about you?” Chen Jian asked, feeling a little embarrassed at his gesture.
“The rest are mine,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian saw that there were two thick jackets among the remaining clothes and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Go on, get to work,” Shan Yu waved his hand.
“Okay,” Chen Jian said, holding the clothes and turning to walk out.
“Come back,” Shan Yu said.
“What?” Chen Jian turned his head.
Shan Yu opened his arms.
Chen Jian had no choice but to walk back, put the clothes back on the sofa, and go over to hug him.
Shan Yu lowered his head and rubbed his neck against his forcefully. “Bring my dinner up for me later.”
“Just to say that?” Chen Jian asked.
“…You don’t know how to talk anymore,” Shan Yu said.
“You were the one who didn’t know how to talk first,” Chen Jian said, laughing. He also lowered his head and rubbed against him forcefully, even taking a breath.
The faint scent made him close his eyes.
“Which room is the dorm?” Sun Nana’s voice suddenly came from the corridor outside.
“Aiyo, this wealthy lady,” even Shan Yu was startled and suddenly lifted his head.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Chen Jian said.
“Hurry up,” Shan Yu sighed. “Leave the clothes here for now.”
Chen Jian walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.
Sun Nana was standing at the elevator entrance, dragging her huge suitcase. When she saw Chen Jian, she smiled. “The first floor is full, and another guest wanted to stay on the first floor, so I gave it up.”
“Is it… Hu Pan who told you to go to the dorm?” Chen Jian went over to help her with her suitcase and walked into the dorm next door.
“No, she can’t make that decision, can she?” Sun Nana followed him in and walked around the small living room of the dorm for half a circle. “I saw that it was really impossible to coordinate, so I proposed it myself. We can’t delay business.”
Hu Pan can’t make the decision, but you can.
Chen Jian pulled out a chair from beside the table. “Sit, let’s talk for a bit.”
Sun Nana went over and sat down, leaning back gracefully in her chair. “Go ahead.”
“You’re… hired,” Chen Jian said, sitting down opposite her. “Now I need to talk to you about your salary and job description.”
“Anything is fine. I don’t really care,” Sun Nana shrugged. “It’s quite busy downstairs. Let’s keep it simple.”
“Then I’ll briefly get to know your situation,” Chen Jian said. “Why… did you think of working here?”
“To escape,” Sun Nana said.
“What?” Chen Jian’s heart almost skipped a beat. Sister, we only take in ex-convicts! We don’t take in fugitives!
“To escape a marriage full of domestic violence,” Sun Nana said, sadly brushing her hair.
“…Oh,” Chen Jian replied.
What is all this…
