Recruiting a Crew!

"Burp~"

"This egg fried rice is so damn good."

"Lin, I've made up my mind. From now on, this egg fried rice is my go-to lunch. Send me two servings every day. If you don't, you'll hear about it!"

Dan Teng had polished off both servings of egg fried rice without wasting a single grain. He, too, had been won over.

Lin Zhe teased him with a smile. "Fatty, want to sign up for a monthly meal plan here? I'll give you twenty percent off."

Dan Teng said, "Come on, we're practically close enough to share a pair of pants, and you're talking money with me? That hurts!"

"Your pants can barely hold you alone. Who's sharing a pair with you?"

Lin Zhe glanced down at Dan Teng's bulging trouser legs with a look of disdain.

"Besides, for the sake of your health, I wouldn't really recommend eating our egg fried rice regularly. You'll get fat."

"Get lost. You're just obsessed with money. You're worried I'll freeload off your fried rice. Fine, I'll pay, all right?"

"All right. You said it. Let's put it in writing and seal it with your thumbprint."

"I'm the goddamn sole heir to Feiteng Group. You think I can't afford a few meals? Screw your written agreement!"

The two friends bantered in the kitchen for ages, chatting until after midnight before each retired to an empty guest room.

The night passed uneventfully.

At eight the next morning, several guests surrounded Lin Xiaomeng the moment she stepped into the inn's lobby.

"Oh, Xiaomeng! You're finally here! We've been waiting forever!"

"Exactly! I'm practically starving!"

"Why doesn't your inn hire more people?"

"Sorry, everyone. I'm late. You're checking out, right? Just a moment. I'll get you sorted right away."

Still apologizing, Lin Xiaomeng took off her little backpack, stepped behind the reception desk, and prepared to turn on the computer and start work.

"We're not checking out. We're here to buy egg fried rice!"

"Yes, exactly! Me too. My wife's still waiting upstairs. Two servings for me."

"I'll have three."

"Two for me, too."

After placing their orders, they immediately took out their phones to scan the payment code.

"Huh? No, please wait, everyone! Just a moment! Don't pay yet."

Lin Xiaomeng froze for a moment, then hurriedly interrupted once she realized what was happening.

"What's wrong, beautiful? I've already paid. Ninety yuan."

The chubby hip-hop guy who had ordered three servings for himself yesterday showed Lin Xiaomeng the payment screen on his phone. Sure enough, he had already paid ninety yuan.

"What is it, young lady? What were you going to say?"

Everyone turned to Lin Xiaomeng, waiting for her to continue.

Faced with their eager gazes, Lin Xiaomeng said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, everyone. We're short-staffed, so the inn doesn't offer breakfast yet. For now, we only serve lunch and dinner."

"Huh? No breakfast? My wife's waiting upstairs..."

"Why doesn't your boss hire more people?"

"We have to wait until noon for your egg fried rice? That's still hours away."

Their faces fell when they heard that the inn didn't serve breakfast, though none of them went so far as to blame anyone.

Anyone staying at the Fortunate Inn could see that it was understaffed.

Since checking in, they had only seen Lin Zhe and Lin Xiaomeng, never a third member of staff.

Lin Xiaomeng apologized again. "I'm sorry, everyone. You've waited all this time for nothing. Let me refund your payments."

"No need to refund mine. Just put it toward lunch. If you don't serve breakfast, I'll have to grab something outside for now."

The chubby hip-hop guy spoke with a regretful expression, then turned toward the door to find breakfast elsewhere.

Another man said, "No refund for me either. Two servings, okay?"

"Ah, I wanted to have your egg fried rice one more time before leaving. Looks like that's not happening. Could you check me out, miss?"

"Of course. May I have your room key card..."

Few people checked in at this hour of the morning. Most were there to check out.

Lin Xiaomeng worked until nine thirty, checking out everyone who needed to leave, then went to clean the vacated rooms.

Only three days had passed since Lin Zhe used the Cleansing Talisman. Very little dust had accumulated on the inn's roof or in the corners inside, so the floors only needed a quick sweep.

The Fortunate Inn had no private toilets or showers, but both the first and second floors had a shared restroom and bath facilities, which also took some time to clean.

Lin Xiaomeng kept bustling about until eleven before she finally finished cleaning the lobby.

Lin Zhe had stayed up gaming with Dan Teng for half the night and had only just gotten out of bed.

"Morning, Xiaomeng. Thanks for all your hard work. You're getting an extra duck leg for lunch today. I've already ordered delivery."

Stretching, Lin Zhe emerged from the second south-facing guest room on the first floor and greeted Lin Xiaomeng with a smile.

"Thanks, Zhe! Meat for lunch today~"

At the promise of a duck leg, Lin Xiaomeng thanked Lin Zhe with a sweet smile.

Her smile revealed her distinctive little upper canine tooth, adding to her innocent, adorable look.

"Oh, right, Zhe. This morning..."

Lin Xiaomeng told Lin Zhe how the guests had surrounded her to order breakfast as soon as she arrived for work.

"I see..."

After hearing her account, Lin Zhe looked thoughtful.

Should I add breakfast, too?

Back when his mother was around, the Fortunate Little Canteen had served breakfast, though it had only offered simple fare.

They had rotated between millet porridge, eight-treasure porridge, and spicy pepper soup.

For something more filling, there had been stuffed flatbreads, steamed buns, and the like.

Breakfast could bring in another two or three thousand yuan a month, but it meant more hard work.

Now, though, it was just him and Lin Xiaomeng, and lunch and dinner already kept them busy enough.

If they added breakfast, they would definitely have to hire more people, which meant paying wages...

[Special quest triggered: Recruiting a Crew!]

Just as Lin Zhe was weighing whether adding breakfast would be worthwhile, the Check-In Panel suddenly appeared on its own with a notification.

Only Lin Zhe could see the panel. From Lin Xiaomeng's perspective, nothing had happened.

Special quest, Recruiting a Crew?

The message on the Check-In Panel filled Lin Zhe with delight.

Anyone who had played games knew that completing a triggered quest always came with a reward!

He eagerly tapped "Quest Details" to take a look.

[Recruiting a Crew: Recruit 5 employees within one day and sign formal employment contracts.]

[Reward: 150,000 yuan.]

[Note: Recruited employees must be paid at least 3,000 yuan/month and receive basic social insurance contributions.]

A reward of 150,000!

At the sight of the reward amount, Lin Zhe couldn't help swallowing hard.