"Hello, handsome. Is your boss here?"
Two faint dimples appeared in Hu Ting's cheeks as she spoke, her voice clear and pleasant.
"I'm the boss. And you are?"
Lin Zhe rose from his seat as he spoke. At 182 centimeters tall, he stood exactly a head taller than Hu Ting.
"Huh? You're the boss? You're so young!"
Hu Ting sounded slightly surprised.
She had thought the sunny, handsome young man in front of her was a college student working part-time over summer break.
She hadn't expected him to be the owner of the inn where she was applying for a job.
With a smile, Lin Zhe asked patiently, "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, right! I'm Hu Ting. I'm here for a job interview at your inn. I called earlier."
After confirming Lin Zhe's identity, Hu Ting hurried to explain why she had come, holding a hand to her ear to mime a phone call.
Lin Zhe looked Hu Ting up and down, then nodded. "You've passed the interview."
"Huh? I... passed?" Hu Ting stared at Lin Zhe in astonishment. Was hiring here really this casual?
No questions about my education or work experience, and just like that... I passed?
"Let's sit over there and talk. I'll explain the pay and benefits at our inn."
Lin Zhe gestured invitingly to Hu Ting, ushering her toward the sofas in the reception area for a more detailed discussion.
"Oh..."
Still a little dazed, Hu Ting nodded and followed Lin Zhe over to sit on the sofa.
"The pay and benefits are what Xiaomeng told you over the phone earlier. During the probationary period, you'll get 3,000 a month, plus three types of social insurance."
"You'll work ten hours a day, from eight in the morning to eight at night, with four days off each month."
"Once you pass probation and become a permanent employee, your monthly salary will increase by fifty each month, with no upper limit. You'll also get a year-end bonus equal to one month's salary..."
Lin Zhe gave Hu Ting a general rundown of the inn's employment package, all of which he had just worked out.
He had settled on the pay and benefits in something of a hurry, so there were naturally plenty of details that still needed refining, but he could adjust those gradually later.
The most pressing thing now was to complete the "Recruitment Drive" mission and get his hands on the 150,000 reward!
Lin Zhe concluded, "That's about it for the pay, benefits, and work schedule.
"If you're happy with everything, you can sign the employment contract right now.
"If you're available, you can start today, and your pay will count from today too."
Having finished, Lin Zhe looked at Hu Ting and waited for her decision.
"I'm available!"
After hearing Lin Zhe explain the pay, benefits, and working hours, Hu Ting readily nodded and accepted the job.
Then Lin Zhe handed Hu Ting the employment contract he had prepared in advance, and they signed it on the spot, one copy for each of them.
Just like that, Hu Ting became the second employee Lin Zhe had hired at the Fortunate Inn, after Lin Xiaomeng.
Once the contract was signed, Lin Zhe personally showed Hu Ting how to use the inn's office computer and taught her the procedure for checking guests in.
None of it was particularly complicated. As long as she paid attention, she would be able to handle the job within a day or two.
"Hu Ting, from now on, you'll work here at the front desk, handling guest reception, inquiries, check-ins, checkouts, and so on."
"If you're not familiar with the procedures at first, you can take your time. There's no rush, and it doesn't matter if you make a mistake. Just enter the information again."
Hu Ting was well suited to the front desk role in every respect, and Lin Zhe felt she could take over perfectly from Lin Xiaomeng.
"Of course, Mr. Lin."
Hu Ting quickly settled into her role as an employee of the inn.
Hearing someone call him "Mr. Lin" gave Lin Zhe a little secret thrill.
Just a few days earlier, he had still been worrying about the inn's cleanliness and lack of guests.
Only a few days had passed, and the inn's cleanliness problem had been completely resolved.
Business had improved considerably, and he had added another source of revenue as well.
Everything was moving in the right direction.
At that moment, Lin Zhe finally understood firsthand how good fortune could lift a person's spirits.
With one good thing happening after another, it really did feel great!
"Hello, is your boss here?"
Lin Zhe had just finished getting Hu Ting settled when five plainly dressed women in their fifties or sixties entered the inn.
"You're here to apply for jobs, aren't you, ladies? Please come in."
Seeing them arrive, Lin Zhe stood and welcomed them inside.
"Oh? Hu, what are you doing here?"
As soon as the women entered, they recognized Hu Ting, who had just started work behind the front desk.
"Aunt Wang, Aunt Liu, I'm working at the Fortunate Inn now. Welcome! I hope your applications go well. It would be even better if we became coworkers."
Hu Ting smiled and greeted two of the women, her tone warm and friendly.
"Please sit over here, ladies. We can take our time talking."
Lin Zhe made an inviting gesture, asking them to sit on the nearby sofas for a more detailed discussion.
"All right."
They followed Lin Zhe over to the sofas, sat down, and began discussing pay, benefits, and the like.
As they talked, Lin Zhe could tell that these women were all honest, down-to-earth people.
Their words carried a simple sincerity, nothing like the slick old hands who had spent years working in big cities.
After talking with them, Lin Zhe was pleased with all five women. But...
The "Recruitment Drive" mission only required him to hire five employees. Besides Hu Ting, he only needed four more.
If he hired all five women, he would have to pay one extra person's salary every month.
One person's salary wasn't much, but it was still 3,000 yuan, enough to cover his own spending money for a month.
To be honest, Lin Zhe couldn't quite bring himself to turn one of the five away.
From their conversation, he could also tell that all of them were eager to get these jobs.
Jobs around the scenic area that paid 3,000 a month and included insurance were still quite rare.
With an indecisive personality like mine, how am I supposed to become an evil capitalist someday...?
Lin Zhe was a little exasperated by his own occasionally overflowing sympathy.
Should he make an exception and hire one extra employee, or stick to the number needed for the mission?
With the check-in panel, the inn's business would undoubtedly keep improving. That was practically guaranteed.
With such a powerful "cheat" helping him run the place, if he still couldn't make a success of it, that wouldn't be a question of ability-it would be a question of intelligence.
Hiring a few more people now and training them in advance would mean they could get straight to work when he needed them later. It would count as building up a staffing reserve, not a waste.
Thinking of it that way, Lin Zhe felt that hiring one extra person wasn't such a big deal after all.
Suddenly, the check-in panel popped up automatically, displaying a notification.
[Your kindness deserves a reward. The required number of hires for the [Recruitment Drive] mission has been adjusted to 6, and the reward has been increased to 200,000.]
Seeing the message on the check-in panel, Lin Zhe almost laughed aloud with delight. This check-in panel really understood people.
That settles it! No more agonizing over the decision. I'll keep them all!
I get another pair of hands and an extra 50,000 in reward money. What reason could I possibly have to refuse?
Lin Zhe looked at the women and asked, "Ladies, can you start work now? Right this minute!"
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