Dan Teng's livestream lasted about an hour.
The room-booking link in his shopping cart sold another forty-odd rooms.
Considering the number of viewers in his livestream, that was a pretty decent conversion rate.
After the livestream ended, Lin Zhe invited Dan Teng into a room on the inn's first floor that served as both his office and lounge.
"You're getting stingier by the day, man. You knew I was coming, and you couldn't even get me a can of Red Bull? What a cheapskate."
Drinking a bottle of mineral water produced by the Mount Sanqing scenic area, Dan Teng pointed at Lin Zhe and gave him a little grief.
"The internet says someone with your build shouldn't drink Red Bull. Cut back on those energy drinks. They're bad for you. I'm looking out for your health here."
Lin Zhe paid no mind to the fat man's complaints. He should count himself lucky there was mineral water to drink.
The fat man gulped down the bottle in two swigs, then waggled his eyebrows at Lin Zhe.
"The internet also says young men don't know the charms of older women and foolishly treasure young girls instead! So, Lin, about you and our Old Li, why don't you..."
Before the fat man could finish, Lin Zhe hurriedly cut him off. "Get lost, get lost, get lost. I treat you like a buddy, and you want to make me your stepdad? That's not how this works."
The fat man rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Why are you so stubborn? What's wrong with our Old Li?
"I'm telling you, people are lining up to court her. If you weren't my buddy, you wouldn't even get a chance."
"Thank you for giving me such a wonderful opportunity! But please don't give me another."
Lin Zhe plopped down on the sofa across from the fat man. When it came to Auntie Li, he really couldn't get past his own mental hurdle.
"Fine, fine. You're too good for it. I won't force you. Take your time thinking it over, and we'll talk when you come around."
Dan Teng also knew that you couldn't force these things, so he wasn't pushing the issue for now.
He just came by every so often to give it another nudge. Who knew? With enough nudges, Lin Zhe might eventually come around.
"By the way, Lin, this place is really clean. Did you just have it professionally cleaned? Getting it this spotless must've cost you a pretty penny, huh?"
Dan Teng smoothly changed the subject. He often dropped by the inn whether he had anything to do or not, so he knew its condition well.
The Fortunate Inn hadn't exactly been filthy and rundown before, but it hadn't been much better than that, either.
Today, every part of the Fortunate Inn was neat and tidy, clean wherever he looked.
The difference was like a normally slovenly girl who paid little attention to her appearance suddenly putting on an evening gown and carefully applied makeup. It was night and day!
"I had to get it cleaned. I couldn't keep letting people complain online and leave bad reviews every day! If that kept up, we'd be shutting our doors before long."
Lin Zhe brushed it off with a smile, saying nothing about the Check-In Panel.
"True..."
Dan Teng nodded. "If you're short on cash, just say the word. I can't offer a fortune, but I can spare three to five hundred thousand yuan."
"Sure," Lin Zhe said. "If I really need money urgently, I won't stand on ceremony with you."
Dan Teng teased him with a grin. "No worries if you can't pay it back. You can give yourself to our Old Li instead."
"Get the hell out!"
"..."
The two buddies chatted on and off for over an hour before Dan Teng took a call and left to deal with something.
After seeing Dan Teng off, Lin Zhe returned to his role as innkeeper and got busy.
Although the Cleansing Talisman had solved the inn's biggest cleanliness and sanitation problems,
running an inn involved plenty of other issues that needed attention.
He watered the plants in the courtyard, trimmed branches and leaves, repaired noisy doors, windows, and beds in the guest rooms, changed light bulbs, and replaced the water jug in the dispenser.
In between, Lin Zhe also went outside the scenic area to pick up two guests who had booked online but couldn't find the inn.
The busy afternoon flew by, and before he knew it, it was six thirty in the evening.
Eighteen of the Fortunate Inn's thirty-two rooms had guests checked in, leaving fourteen unoccupied.
Of those eighteen rooms, fifteen were standard rooms at 299 yuan a night, and only three were premium rooms at 499 yuan.
As night fell, the lights came on inside the Fortunate Inn, along with two of the four antique-style lampposts in the courtyard.
Under the pale yellow lights, some guests tired from a day of sightseeing sat on the courtyard benches, laughing and chatting about their experiences in the scenic area.
After escaping the city's bustle and the hassles of work to spend a day enjoying green mountains and clear waters, they were happy even if they were dead tired.
Around eight that evening, Lin Zhe went outside the scenic area to pick up another two guests. No more arrived after that.
"Three premium rooms brought in 1,497, and eighteen standard rooms brought in 5,382. That's 6,879 yuan altogether. Quite a bit better than yesterday."
As he ate stir-fried rice noodles in the kitchen, Lin Zhe tallied the figures on his phone.
Today's occupancy rate was considerably higher than yesterday's. It was a good start.
"Once we hit a hundred percent occupancy every day, I'll be able to add a chicken drumstick to every meal!"
After eating his fill, Lin Zhe went to the lounge out front to relieve Lin Xiaomeng so she could eat in the kitchen.
At night, once there were no more guests checking in, there wasn't much left to do around the inn.
The front desk mainly sold snacks, beer, drinks, and small items such as bedding.
Lin Zhe usually stayed until around nine thirty before leaving.
Everything on the shelves at the front desk had a clearly marked price. Guests could take what they wanted and scan the payment code on the counter to pay for it themselves.
There was a security camera at the front desk, so he wasn't worried about anyone taking things without paying and treating it as a free shopping spree.
By nine thirty that night, no new guests had arrived, and eleven rooms remained vacant.
His parents were both at the hospital, and he would be all alone if he went home, so Lin Zhe simply stayed in one of the guest rooms.
The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Lin Zhe woke up in the guest-room bed and checked the room's cleanliness.
Even after he had slept there for a night, the room still looked very clean, with few signs of use.
Once guests began checking out later that morning, Lin Zhe inspected the rooms one by one.
Apart from three rooms with rather dirty floors that needed extra attention, the dozen or so other rooms that had been vacated remained in good condition.
Most of the rooms needed only a quick clean.
The guests in a few rooms who hadn't checked out had asked that no one come in to clean, so Lin Zhe didn't inspect those.
"Looks like I don't need to use a Cleansing Talisman today. This should last a few more days."
After weighing it carefully, Lin Zhe ultimately couldn't bring himself to use another Cleansing Talisman.
He had a limited supply of them and needed to use them sparingly.
Giving the inn a deep clean with the Cleansing Talisman had also lightened Lin Xiaomeng's workload considerably.
The guest rooms that used to take her most of the day to clean now took only a little over an hour after she started work, leaving her plenty of time to slack off.
It was Saturday, and there were noticeably more tourists visiting the Mount Sanqing scenic area than on weekdays.
Business at the Fortunate Inn was also much better than the day before, with twenty-five of its thirty-two rooms booked.
Compared with yesterday's twenty-one rooms, four more rooms were occupied today, and revenue had risen by over a thousand yuan.
What was more, the Fortunate Inn had received three new positive reviews on the travel website.
"The inn's facilities are pretty basic, with no private bathrooms or showers, but the place is genuinely spotless. Clean and sanitary. I'll come back!"
"The owner is very welcoming, and the girl at the front desk is pretty. The room rates are also really reasonable compared with the nearby inns. Highly recommended!"
"Five stars! I'll be back!"
The following day was Sunday. Visitor numbers were about the same as on Saturday, but the Fortunate Inn didn't get as much business as the day before.
Only twenty of its thirty-two rooms were booked, leaving eleven vacant.
Business had its good days and bad days. Minor ups and downs were normal, so Lin Zhe wasn't too anxious about it.
After having dinner with Lin Xiaomeng, Lin Zhe chose an empty guest room to stay in.
He lay on his stomach on the bed, catching up on the latest variety shows on his phone while waiting for midnight.
It was Sunday, and once midnight passed, a new week would begin.
The new check-in location would also be refreshed. He could hardly wait.
Before you continue