My Front Desk Cashier

Chapter 12: My Front Desk Cashier

The phone was answered before it could even ring twice.

"Hello, this is the owner of Anju Hotel, my name is Cheng Yun," Cheng Yun said into the phone.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a somewhat timid female voice, sounding young. "Ch-Boss Cheng, hello, my name is Yu Dian."

Cheng Yun frowned, then said decisively, "Hello, Miss Yu. I've already written down all the requirements for the front desk cashier position at our hotel, the scope of work, and salary standards in the recruitment notice. We haven't found a suitable cashier yet, so if you think it's a good fit, you can come take a look anytime. I highly recommend you come and see for yourself, as some things are not easy to explain over the phone, and it will also help you get a feel for the hotel's location and environment."

There was another period of silence on the other end before she said, "Then... can I come over now?"

"So soon!" Cheng Yun was a little surprised. "Of course, you can come anytime. You can just search for the hotel's name on a map to find the location. It's very close to the north gate of Yida."

"I know, I live nearby," Yu Dian said. "Then... shall I hang up?"

"Okay, goodbye." Cheng Yun felt a bit weary.

This girl, judging by her voice, was at most a college graduate. Hmm, she was about his age, but talking to her on the phone made him feel like she lacked confidence and wasn't very sociable. He couldn't help but wonder if she was really suited for the job of a hotel front desk cashier...

But front desk work was quite simple. As long as one wasn't unintelligent and had a decent personality, there shouldn't be any problems.

Just then, Cheng Yun received another text message--

Hello Boss Cheng, I'll arrive in about an hour. Will I be disturbing your lunch?

Cheng Yun shook his head again and replied, "No."

He then opened a mobile app and clicked on the girl's profile. The photo in her avatar was quite delicate. She looked about twenty, but upon checking her profile, she was actually twenty-four, two years older than Cheng Yun.

"Hmm..."

Whatever, the girl was quite polite. It was just a small hotel, after all. How many requirements could they have!

He'd just hire someone to fill the spot for now!

Thinking this, Cheng Yun turned to Cheng Yan and said, "This one seems quite reliable. She said she'd come to take a look. If the job is confirmed, you'll be free."

Cheng Yan turned to stare at him. After a long silence, she managed to say, "That would be for the best!"

She said an hour, but Yu Dian arrived at the hotel entrance in half an hour at most--

She first walked around the street opposite the hotel, then cautiously peered through the glass door at Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan sitting behind the counter. After a while, she gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and carefully crossed the street, avoiding the passing vehicles, heading towards them.

Cheng Yun saw the hotel's glass door being pushed open by a somewhat pale hand, and then a young woman in a white shirt and black skirt suit walked in. She was about 1.6 meters tall, a bit thin, with a delicate face, but her complexion was not very good, as if she had been malnourished for a long time.

As soon as she entered, she looked at Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan somewhat nervously, her voice trembling, "Hello, excuse me, are you Boss Cheng?"

Cheng Yan sized her up, then glanced at Cheng Yun.

"Hello," Cheng Yun walked out from behind the counter, scrutinizing Yu Dian, who looked like she was looking for a job for the first time. "You must be Miss Yu. I'm Cheng Yun."

"Hello, I'm Yu Dian," Yu Dian didn't even dare to meet his eyes directly. She quickly lowered her head and took a folded A4 paper from her small handbag. The paper seemed to have been torn from somewhere, and it was damaged in some places. At the top were four large characters--

'Recruitment Notice'

"I'm here to apply," she said.

"Uh..." Cheng Yun's eye twitched.

This girl probably watched too many TV dramas about people tearing down imperial decrees. Why did she tear this one down? If this girl decided not to work here, wouldn't he have to print another one and stick it back up?

"Um... is... is there a problem?" the girl asked, seeing his silence. "Why... why aren't you speaking?"

"No, no," Cheng Yun quickly came to his senses and said, "Since you've decided to come over, you must have understood the requirements, salary, and job responsibilities on the recruitment notice."

"No, I haven't!" Yu Dian quickly waved her hands, her face turning red as she shook her head. Then, holding the recruitment notice in one hand, she pointed to a section with the other, saying, "I... I don't know if I meet your requirements."

Cheng Yun looked down.

Cheng Yan also turned her body to look.

On the recruitment notice was this section: Presentable features, good appearance, optimistic and positive personality, able to endure hardship and work hard.

Yu Dian was pointing at this section, her head lowered, her eyes glancing upward, nervously stealing glances at Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yan's face immediately darkened: "Cheng Yun, you're really something! Other big hotels only require presentable features, but you dared to add the word 'good-looking'!"

"Ahem," Cheng Yun coughed and said to Yu Dian, "Don't dwell on these details."

"Oh," Yu Dian nodded.

"Let me explain the hotel situation first," Cheng Yun said with a smile. "The hotel is newly opened. I'm the owner, and this is my sister, Cheng Yan."

"Hello, hello," Yu Dian quickly bowed her head and said, "I'm Yu Dian, please take care of me."

"Hello," Cheng Yan nodded and forced a smile.

"Let's skip the pleasantries," Cheng Yun waved his hand and continued, "Because my sister just finished her college entrance exams and will be going to Yanjing University, currently, it's just me and a cleaning lady named Tang at this hotel. The cleaning lady isn't here much, so if you decide to work here, for a while, it will likely be just you and me taking shifts. Of course, after the semester starts next term, I'll hire a weekend part-timer from the nearby Yida, which will allow both you and me to have weekends off. But now, this semester is ending, and it might be hard to find weekend part-timers, so you'll probably have to work full-time for the two summer months."

"Mhm," Yu Dian nodded and softly hummed, indicating she could accept the arrangement.

At the same time, she secretly glanced at Cheng Yan, because Cheng Yan was truly beautiful, with a well-proportioned face. Without her school uniform, neither her appearance nor her temperament suggested she had just finished her college entrance exams.

"Actually, it's not that much. Our hotel can't compare to big hotels. Even if all rooms are occupied, there are only about thirty rooms, so the workload isn't huge. You'll probably spend most of your time sitting at the counter playing games. Even on weekends, you'll essentially just be playing games in a different location," Cheng Yun continued. "And I won't interfere with what you do when there are no guests. As long as you don't wander off and provide attentive service when there are guests, you can do whatever you want otherwise."

"Mhm!" Yu Dian nodded vigorously, then asked, "Can I... can I bring my own laptop?"

"Of course," Cheng Yun glanced at her.

"Mm-hmm." Yu Dian sensitively noticed his gaze, hesitated, and replied softly, "I've always wanted to find a job that allows me a lot of free time to arrange as I please during work hours."

"But most jobs like that pay very little," Cheng Yun said.

"It's, it's okay."

"……" Cheng Yun gave a thumbs-up for her simplicity and straightforwardness, then asked, "Do you have something you need to do? Like an online side hustle?"

Yu Dian lowered her head, blushing, and didn't answer.

"In that case, the job of a small hotel front desk cashier perfectly meets your requirements," Cheng Yun said. "You just need to operate the hotel management system and the hotel booking website backend, accept bookings and process booking information, check guests in and out, and keep the front desk clean and tidy. Also, when guests make some requests, within reason, we can give them a better stay experience. You can use the free time in between to do what you want."

"I don't know how to use that… system," Yu Dian said softly.

"I'll teach you."

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you think it's okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Then let's talk about working hours and shift arrangements, salary, and meals and accommodation," Cheng Yun said. "For shifts, there are day shifts and night shifts. The day shift is from 7 AM to 5 PM, ten hours. The night shift is from 5 PM to 2 AM, nine hours, but if guests arrive late at night, the person on the night shift will have a harder time. Of course, if you have something and need to temporarily swap shifts or leave early, we can discuss it. I'm very easy to talk to."

"I… I generally don't have anything," Yu Dian said.

"Then let's talk about salary. We previously discussed a monthly salary of 2200 plus commission. Because there are no weekends off for these two months, I'll adjust it to 2400 plus commission. It will revert back once we have weekends off. Do you think that's acceptable?" Cheng Yun asked.

"Yes." Yu Dian nodded honestly.

"The hotel provides meals and accommodation. As for food, you'll eat with me. I definitely won't skimp on myself. For accommodation, since the staff dormitory isn't ready yet, in principle, you can stay in whichever room is vacant. This way, you'll have a better place to stay, but the downside is that you'll sometimes have to trouble yourself to move. Of course, if you're on the day shift and don't want to stay here, that's up to you. Because I heard you say before that you live nearby," Cheng Yun said. "But if you don't eat here, it's best to let me know in advance to avoid food waste."

"Mm-hmm."

"I don't think there's anything else to say. The hotel isn't big. All the rooms are on the second and third floors of this building. The room by the stairs from the first to the second floor is a storage room. It doesn't seem like there's much to see," Cheng Yun said, looking at her. "If you think it's okay, we'll sign the contract, and I'll take down the recruitment notice."

"Mm-hmm." Yu Dian continued to look at the ground and nod. "Then when can I start working?"

"You decide. Preferably as soon as possible," Cheng Yun glanced at Cheng Yan, then said, "Because we are indeed short of a front desk cashier."

"Can I start tomorrow? I don't have anything else to do."

"Sure." Cheng Yun smiled. "Are you free this afternoon? I can teach you how to operate the equipment and systems, the backend website, and also tell you about the hotel's situation and precautions."

"I'm always free," Yu Dian said softly.

"Alright then!" Cheng Yun said. "Oh, right, did you have lunch? Why don't you eat here? You can also get a taste of my cooking."

"……" Yu Dian hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Cheng Yan stood by the side, watching them with a helpless expression as they smoothly ironed out all the details and signed the contract.

Then Cheng Yun went upstairs to stir-fry and cook, leaving the two of them at the front desk. One sat at the counter playing with her mobile phone, while the other simply looked around, remaining silent and not striking up a conversation.

Cheng Yun had lived in rented accommodation everywhere except for his first year of university. Originally, his understanding of cooking was limited to scrambled eggs with tomatoes and shredded potatoes. But after living alone for so long, he couldn't always order takeout, so he was forced to gradually learn how to cook.

Until he got a girlfriend later… which further honed his cooking skills.

Soon, a simple meal of three dishes and one soup was served.

There was braised pork ribs with potatoes, minced meat with eggplant, a dish of green vegetables, and a tomato and meatball soup.

The three of them used the coffee table at the front desk as a dining table. Yu Dian and Cheng Yan sat on two sofas, while Cheng Yun brought a short stool. Because the coffee table was low, the short stool was actually more comfortable to sit on than the sofa.

This simple spread of dishes made Yu Dian incredibly self-conscious as she sat by the table, secretly swallowing her saliva. But out of politeness, she could only eat in small bites, even only taking food from the plate in front of her, her eyes constantly scanning the table.

During the meal, Cheng Yun told her about the work procedures and some detailed rules and regulations, to which Yu Dian kept nodding. Cheng Yan sat to the side, unable to interject, like a transparent person.

After the meal, Cheng Yan was sent to wash the dishes.

When she finished washing the dishes and came down, she saw Cheng Yun busy teaching Yu Dian how to operate the system behind the counter, still acting as if he hadn't seen her.

Cheng Yan finally couldn't help it and let out a cold snort, saying, "Since you've found a receptionist, then I'm no longer needed! Pay me my salary and the money for takeout these past few days, and I'll pack my things and leave!"

Cheng Yun waved his hand, "Okay, okay, okay…"

Cheng Yan was stunned for a moment, then turned around angrily and went upstairs.