Chapter 136: Auntie Receives Her Monthly Salary
Inside the old house’s kitchen, Jian Xingxia wanted nothing more than to instantly cheer and celebrate.
One had to realize that the current time was exactly 9:58 AM! She had completed the mission a full two minutes ahead of schedule! This was an achievement truly worthy of encouragement!
Jian Xingxia immediately opened the system to check the status of the Guesthouse Exclusive Employment Quota.
[Congratulations to the Manor Owner for a successful grand opening and business launch. To facilitate orderly and premium manor operations, a Guesthouse Exclusive Employment Quota *1 is hereby rewarded. Instructions for use:]
[1. The exclusive employee’s form of employment is a monthly hire system—meaning a monthly work agreement is established with the employee, allowing for recruitment or dismissal once per month;]
[2. Within the contract period, there is no need to issue extra recruitment notices for the employee to clock in or out, nor does it occupy other temporary hiring quotas;]
[3. The clock-in and clock-out times of the exclusive employee are to be decided through consultation between the Manor Owner and the employee. The employee possesses the right to clock in and out autonomously, but the Manor Owner may rate the employee’s work performance, which will determine the employee’s compensation;]
[4. Base salary for monthly-salaried employees: 600 yuan per month. The system will generate a score based on the inner feedback from the Manor Owner and the relevant service recipients (i.e., manor guests).]
[Score ≤ 60 points: No additional bonus;] [60 < Score ≤ 80 points: Current month bonus of 200 yuan;] [80 < Score ≤ 99 points: Current month bonus of 300 yuan;] [Score = 100 points: Current month bonus of 400 yuan, and the Manor Owner will receive 1 operating point.]
What a lengthy list of instructions!
Jian Xingxia couldn’t help but marvel that, as expected, recruiting an exclusive worker was far more formal than hiring a temporary one! What pleased her most was that the system had finally provided a way to obtain operating points other than upgrading! It turned out that if her employees’ work performance improved, she could gain operating points!
Jian Xingxia immediately began calculating in her mind, weighing her choices repeatedly among the several temporary workers at the manor. Ultimately, she selected the plump auntie to be her first exclusive employee.
Taoya and A-Feng were far too young, making it difficult to reflect professional specialization in their work.
The scholar’s and Old Man Xu’s jobs weren’t everyday routines; the manor didn’t have that many tasks to keep them busy.
As for Da Hei, his primary work involved tilling and planting, which wasn’t closely related to the guesthouse.
That left only Lin Sanniang and the plump auntie.
It was truly a difficult choice for Jian Xingxia. At present, Lin Sanniang’s performance aligned best with her wishes, but Jian Xingxia wanted to groom Lin Sanniang into a manager lady—meaning she would need to oversee a little bit of everything. Under such circumstances, it would be quite difficult to extract a highly specific high-satisfaction rating from the guesthouse guests, since the best service was always subtle and seamless.
By contrast, the auntie’s culinary skills were the easiest asset to garner glowing reviews and high scores.
After pondering over it again and again, Jian Xingxia decided to give this exclusive employee slot to the auntie. After all, she could step in to handle the guesthouse’s upkeep herself, but the guests needed to eat every day. Plus, the auntie required the flexibility to come and go, making the monthly hire system far more suitable for her.
Furthermore, Lin Sanniang possessed a more meticulous and selfless disposition. If a temporary worker completed a full month, their wages actually ended up higher than an exclusive worker’s base pay. This made it far more convenient for Lin Sanniang to help her sisters back in the Great Liang Dynasty escape poverty and achieve prosperity.
Anyway, she still had two temporary worker recruitment slots left. She could manually hire Lin Sanniang and keep the auntie semi-automated, leaving one flexible slot free. Perfect!
Seeing that it was already ten o’clock and time to prepare the guesthouse’s lunch, Jian Xingxia quickly wrote the auntie’s name on the exclusive employment agreement issued by the system.
[Please wait for the applicant’s feedback—]
[The applicant has accepted the employment agreement and become an exclusive guesthouse employee. Clock-in and clock-out times will be decided through consultation between the Manor Owner and the employee.]
A button appeared at the bottom:
[Call the employee immediately?]
“Yes!” Jian Xingxia pressed down into the empty air.
After pressing it, she quickly handed the prepared breakfasts to A-Feng.
All morning, A-Feng had been run completely off his feet. One moment he had to help the single-day guests check their luggage, the next he had to deliver breakfasts, and then he had to carry camping gear down to the stream… Having only just finished those tasks, he now had to start clearing the breakfast trays and tidying the used tables and chairs.
Jian Xingxia fried an extra egg and stuffed it directly into A-Feng’s mouth. “Go find Sanniang in a bit and grab a soda to drink.”
A-Feng’s eyes instantly lit up. “Soda? Is it that sweet, bubbling soda the guests drink?”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Yes, you and Sanniang can both have one. Alright, I’m going to take the guests to the greenhouse for picking now. You two guard the old house well; if anything comes up, come find me over at the greenhouse.”
“Understood! Please attend to your business first, Owner—” A-Feng replied with a beaming smile.
The guests who had gathered in the central hall upon Lin Sanniang’s notice couldn’t help but burst into laughter when they heard A-Feng’s loud, rhythmic response.
Among the newly arrived guests was a teenage boy who was currently clutching his phone, gaming with such utter intensity that he seemed entirely oblivious to the outside world.
The boy’s parents let out a deep sigh. “They’re the same age, both middle schoolers, right? How is it that other people’s kids know how to help out around the house, speak so sharply, and work so quickly? Mine is completely addicted to games; his eyes haven’t left that screen once!”
A nearby guest chimed in, “Ah, kids these days are all like that. The owner’s younger brother is the one who’s truly special—his name is A-Feng, right? You can tell at a glance he’s a sensible, good kid.”
“Exactly. Yours can at least be dragged outside. The eldest one in my house can’t even be coaxed out the door!”
“What do you mean dragged outside… We only got him to come out today by promising we wouldn’t confiscate his phone!” The parent felt thoroughly helpless.
They had originally wanted to coax the child outside to look at nature and give his eyes a break from staring at a screen all day. In the end, though they had successfully gotten him out, he was now playing his games with even more flagrant abandon.
If they said a word, the boy would snap right back, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t take my phone away today? I knew you guys went back on your word. If you don’t let me play on my phone today, I promise I won’t listen to a single word you say ever again!”
Jian Xingxia overheard this from the side. Sigh, a textbook rebellious teenager!
Turning her gaze back to A-Feng, Jian Xingxia couldn’t help but flash a deeply comforted smile. The temporary workers from her own family were still the best—sensible, sharp, lively, and diligent.
Amidst the conversation, the group finished gathering. Jian Xingxia took a head count. “Fifteen of you are heading to the greenhouse to pick fruits and vegetables, correct? Then we will distribute the harvest baskets now.”
With that, Lin Sanniang brought out the prepared small bamboo baskets and handed them out one by one.
The bamboo baskets had been brought over by A-Feng this morning. Two days ago—as far as the manor and Jian Xingxia were concerned—Jian Xingxia had placed some orders with A-Feng after his training, asking him to help bring more bamboo ware over. Thus, over the past ten-odd days—as far as A-Feng was concerned—he, Old Man Sui, and Grandma Sui had kept their heads down weaving all kinds of bamboo items. Among them were these small baskets meant for harvesting.
Everyone received a basket. Holding hers, Qiqi’s mother couldn’t bear to put it down. “Oh, this little basket is truly beautiful, so delicate.”
A guest praised, “Indeed, it’s woven from bamboo—natural and environmentally friendly, much better than those little plastic crates.”
“This will look amazing in photos. It feels like it’ll turn out incredibly picturesque once it’s filled with fruit.”
The purely handcrafted small bamboo baskets looked identical at a casual glance, but a closer inspection revealed slight variations in the color and grain of the bamboo, and the weaving details differed as well—each one was uniquely exquisite.
Holding a massive sunflower to serve as a small team flag, Jian Xingxia led the group of tourists carrying their little bamboo baskets along the narrow wild path, setting off toward the fruit and vegetable greenhouse.
