Chapter 146: The Ancients Are Getting Ready to Clock Out
Brother Zhang felt thoroughly ashamed.
The moment he and Sister Yu hit the pillow, they had fallen fast asleep. When he got up earlier to fetch breakfast, he couldn’t resist sending a few messages to the Insomnia Support Group.
“Brothers and sisters! You won’t believe it! I just had a massive ten-minute power nap today!”
The group chat was completely unimpressed: “How does ten minutes count as a massive power nap!”
“It really was! Look at the sleep data from my smart band! Sleep duration: 11 minutes; deep sleep: 10 minutes!” Brother Zhang attached an image.
[Smart_Band_Data.jpg]
“I’m not kidding you! I’m an old-timer insomniac in this group, and seriously, I never thought the day would come when I could fall asleep the instant my head touched the pillow!”
“Sigh, believe it or not, I’m dropping the address right here: …Lu’an Village, Xingxia Manor.”
“Can’t talk much more, I’m going back to sleep. This bed is simply too easy to sleep on! My wife hasn’t even woken up yet!”
Brother Zhang had no idea what kind of messages the group members sent after that.
Those four pioneers were all severe insomniacs. Adhering to the mindset that it was the weekend and they didn’t have to work anyway, so a trip wouldn’t be a loss, they had rushed over first.
The end result was that there were no vacancies, and Brother Zhang’s phone wouldn’t pick up. After dialing dozens of times, Brother Zhang finally answered one. Hearing that groggy voice that sounded like it was still caught in a dream, the pioneers instantly lost it.
“Since there were no vacancies, why didn’t you tell us in the group chat earlier?”
“You only said you slept well after coming here, but why didn’t you say the rooms were completely booked out!”
During this interval, other guests had also been coming downstairs one after another. These guests didn’t have sleep disorders, so they hadn’t given themselves over to a reckless, heavy slumber. However, they still piled endless praise onto Jian Xingxia’s mattresses and pillows.
“Manor Owner, the beds at your place are so easy to sleep on! I’ve traveled so many times and stayed in plenty of five-star hotels, but your mattresses are truly the best to sleep on. I didn’t even want to get up!”
“Hehe, if I weren’t rushing to the Berry and Blossom Pathway to take some stunning photos, I would really want to lie back down and sleep all morning.”
The pioneers originally hadn’t believed it. People like them had changed plenty of mattresses, pillows, beds, and even houses. They had taken fistfuls of medication, and used everything from aromatherapy, earplugs, and eye masks to heavy exercise… nothing worked. This familiar “hype” was something they didn’t think much of.
However, more guests came downstairs next.
Someone spoke up before them: “Boss, is this mattress of yours for sale? How much? I want to buy one.”
“Is there a link for the pillow? I want to buy two to send to my parents. They’re getting old and don’t sleep well.”
The pioneers: “…”
This advertising is way too obvious!
But… they were sold! A so-called advertisement didn’t need to make everyone believe it; its purpose was to broadcast the word and then precisely hook the target audience!
The four insomniacs, fully aware that these people might be shills and this might be an ad, still couldn’t help but feel their hearts stir.
“How about we buy one to try out too?”
“Even if we don’t buy the mattress first, let’s buy a pillow. Test it out at a low cost.”
“Sigh, if I hadn’t known Lao Zhang for several years and known he’s an honest man, I would seriously suspect this guy changed his nature and went undercover in our group just to harvest us!”
While everyone harbored suspicions in their hearts, their desperate longing for a healthy night’s sleep overrode everything else.
They stepped up one after another to request, “Boss, if this mattress is for sale, keep a few for us. We want them too.”
“Bring a few more; there are bound to be others in the group who want them.”
What could Jian Xingxia say?
The system had supplied exactly six mattresses in total, and she had only tested one out before the opening. Looking at how wildly popular the opening was today, she estimated she wouldn’t even get a turn to sleep on them herself. It was even more impossible to sell them. She actually wanted the system to give her a few more!
Thus, she could only decline them one by one with regret: “I’m so sorry, we only have these few mattresses, so they really aren’t for sale.”
Over the course of the morning, another seven or eight members from the Insomnia Support Group had arrived one after another. Once these people arrived, they went nowhere else, simply camping out by the front counter. They were counting on someone checking out, or the Zhang couple coming down after getting their fill of sleep—after all, the guesthouse had a rule that non-staying guests could not go up to the second floor to avoid disrupting the residents.
Brother Zhang and Sister Yu also hadn’t expected that a guesthouse converted from an old rural house would possess such incredible soundproofing. They hadn’t heard a peep of the liveliness outside, yet they could catch the chirping of birds and the drone of insects drifting from the high treetops, which felt immensely peaceful. Thus, the couple had simply slept the morning away.
The moment Brother Zhang turned around, he was met by a row of insomniac faces radiating pure resentment.
Brother Zhang let out a sheepish chuckle and hurriedly stepped over to explain. “It’s not that I didn’t want to answer the phone, but I was honestly sleeping too deeply.”
When he had first fallen asleep, he was still thinking about someone delivering breakfast later, so he had remained slightly alert. After the second time, it was pure, unadulterated enjoyment of slumber. Especially listening to his wife softly snoring beside his ear, Brother Zhang’s heart had practically melted, and he slept even deeper.
At this moment, the dozen or so resentful heads couldn’t be bothered to scold him, only gazing expectantly at Brother Zhang and Sister Yu.
“Lao Zhang, your wife has slept well by now, right? Can you let us try that bed?”
“Sister Yu, it’s not that we lack manners, but sleep is an issue grander than the heavens themselves. You understand…”
Brother Zhang shook his head. “Brothers, I’m sorry. My wife is so far along in her pregnancy; her sleeping well is more important than anything else.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m already planning to block book a room here and stay straight until she enters the postpartum care center.”
The Insomnia Support Group: “…” What a absolute scoundrel!
Lin Sanniang: “!” That’s a massive amount of money!
Jian Xingxia: “!” This is bound to be worth a glowing review!
In the end, the members of the Insomnia Support Group finished their lunch, pre-booked rooms for tomorrow night, and had no choice but to head home.
Meanwhile, Brother Zhang and Sister Yu remained at the manor. At 220 yuan a day, with a discount for the three-day trial run and standard pricing afterward, they insisted on pre-booking.
Brother Zhang was highly straightforward: “Sister Xiaxia, you don’t need to give me a discount, but your brother begs a favor of you—”
Brother Zhang and Sister Yu could no longer live without the guesthouse’s king bed. Since Jian Xingxia had her difficulties and couldn’t sell it, they wouldn’t make things hard for her. Anyway, from the town into the mountains was only a half-hour drive, which Brother Zhang felt was perfectly acceptable.
Although Sister Yu was barely a bit over a month away from her due date and it wasn’t ideal to live deep in the mountains, considering the distance wasn’t far, the air was pristine, and the sleep quality was incomparable—making it far better suited for recuperation than staying in the city—the couple discussed it and decided to lease the guesthouse room for a month first. If she couldn’t sleep in the city, she would come down to the mountains to sleep.
Sister Yu was very reasonable, telling Jian Xingxia, “Xiaxia, I know my own body well. Rest assured, if I feel the slightest bit of discomfort, I won’t drive into the mountains. If anything happens, we will bear the responsibility ourselves.”
“Just help us keep this room secured, and that will be enough.”
With words spoken to this extent, Jian Xingxia had no reason to refuse. Her guesthouse had opened its doors for business, and there was no logic in driving guests away. Furthermore, Brother Zhang and Sister Yu had been her very first major customers when she sold roasted chestnuts, and she had to return the favor since they had brought a heavy belly to support her opening.
Jian Xingxia pondered for a moment, nodded, and agreed: “Alright, pay the deposit to pre-book, and I’ll keep a room secured for you.”
Lunchtime featured this minor interlude, but everything else went smoothly. The guesthouse guests ultimately finished eating lunch in three batches, and Jian Xingxia, Lin Sanniang, A-Feng, the plump auntie, along with Auntie Lu who had come to help, finally navigated the rush successfully.
Jian Xingxia wiped away her sweat and looked up. It was already one o’clock in the afternoon.
In another hour, Lin Sanniang and A-Feng would be getting ready to clock out.
