Chapter 154: Xiaxia is Hiring Again?
On the second day of running the guesthouse, although it was just as hectic, it was still a bit better than the first day.
Auntie Chunhui walked out carrying a breakfast tray and caught sight of Lin Sanniang receiving guests at the front counter. After dropping the dirty bowls inside, she noticed a short, plump auntie had been added to the kitchen.
Hearing the commotion, the plump auntie glanced toward the doorway. “Oh, a newcomer? Where is Auntie Lu from yesterday?”
Auntie Chunhui harbored no suspicions whatsoever. Right, she was indeed a newcomer. As for Auntie Lu, she must be the Auntie Lu who had come up the mountain to wash dishes yesterday.
Auntie Chunhui wanted to explain that Auntie Lu had only come to help out yesterday and that she was the new utility worker for today, but she didn’t know whether Auntie Lu would return today either. After all, it was only her very first day… There were many things she didn’t understand herself, let alone knew how to explain through gestures.
Moreover, the plump auntie couldn’t comprehend sign language to begin with, and Auntie Chunhui’s gestures were highly hesitant, repetitive, and completely muddled, making the auntie more bewildered the longer she looked…
Seeing the plump auntie’s increasingly mystified expression, Auntie Chunhui slumped her shoulders and gave up. Forget it, she would just honestly focus on washing dishes, clearing up debris, and tidying the rooms.
Auntie Chunhui silently went back to washing dishes.
Staring at Auntie Chunhui’s dejected profile, the plump auntie scratched her chin in total bewilderment, murmuring to herself, “Did I say something wrong? Did I offend her?” The auntie felt a wave of immense guilt inside.
She had already realized that Auntie Chunhui couldn’t speak, yet her very first question was to ask why Auntie Chunhui had come instead of Auntie Lu. At a casual listen, it practically sounded like she was turning her nose up at Auntie Chunhui. Wasn’t that like driving a knife straight into someone’s heart!
The auntie silently turned around to sort out the soup that needed to be simmered first. Today she was stewing old hen soup with sour bamboo shoots. The shoots were sour, and the auntie’s heart felt rather sour as well. Forget it, forget it. She should speak less in the future, lest her brash nature cause her to make more mistakes the more she spoke.
Auntie Chunhui, however, remained entirely oblivious. Because her mind was currently occupied by another matter.
As eleven o’clock drew near, Auntie Chunhui’s demeanor began to show a trace of anxiety.
Jian Xingxia returned from a delivery run down by the stream on her small tricycle. Seeing Auntie Chunhui carrying down the bedsheets and pillowcases left behind by checked-out guests while looking slightly dazed, she pulled Auntie Chunhui into a quiet side room. She slowly used standard mouth shapes to ask her what was wrong.
Auntie Chunhui was highly conflicted, not knowing whether she should speak up. If she didn’t, she would worry. If she did, she was afraid Jian Xingxia might look down on her.
But Jian Xingxia was exceptionally patient, asking slowly while squeezing Auntie Chunhui’s hand to soothe her. “Don’t be anxious. If it’s awkward for you to explain, I’ll have Little Hu Liu come up so you can tell him, alright?”
Auntie Chunhui hurriedly shook her head, making a gesture of “shaking milk tea”—Little Hu Liu had to go to town to shake milk teas today!
Once the ice was broken, Auntie Chunhui stopped feeling awkward, bracing herself to make a long series of gestures.
It took Jian Xingxia a good while to catch on. “Auntie Chunhui, are you saying that Little Hu Liu’s father cannot be left alone for too long? At most every three hours, someone needs to change his dressing and help him turn over, correct?”
Auntie Chunhui nodded vigorously.
She felt immensely pressed by hardship inside. Her first day coming to work had been too rushed, and she hadn’t made proper arrangements. With Little Hu Liu away in town, if she didn’t head back to check… she had no idea how Little Hu Liu’s father was faring right now.
Only now did Jian Xingxia comprehend why Auntie Chunhui had been dazed. She also understood Auntie Chunhui’s conflict. Sigh, that was exactly how things were when a person was caught in a tight spot. Someone who had a way out could do anything with effortless grace. But someone who had no way out always moved with absolute caution, yet was prone to making more mistakes.
Jian Xingxia immediately took over the soiled linens, telling Auntie Chunhui to head home. “Auntie Chunhui, set your mind at ease and go home. I have another helper coming up to assist at noon anyway. If it’s convenient for you, could you make another trip from four to seven in the afternoon?”
A wave of pure excitement flooded Auntie Chunhui’s eyes. She stared fixedly and intently into Jian Xingxia’s eyes, gesturing: Me, coming back again?
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Yes, you’ll come back. Let’s arrange it like this: in the future, you come at six-thirty in the morning and work until nine-thirty. Past nine-thirty, I’ll find someone else to take over. Then you come back again from four to seven in the afternoon, alright?”
Auntie Chunhui hesitated. Wouldn’t this… cause trouble?
Jian Xingxia shook her head with a smile. “No trouble at all. It was my lack of proper planning, but it’s no big deal. The manor is currently during its trial run, which is exactly the time to discover issues and correct them promptly. Don’t worry, head home first to settle things at your house.”
Tears welled in Auntie Chunhui’s eyes, and she nodded vigorously.
At eleven o’clock, Auntie Chunhui headed down the mountain.
Jian Xingxia first issued a recruitment notice to call A-Feng over, and then she dialed Auntie Lu’s number. “Auntie Lu, it’s Xiaxia. I need your help with something—”
A short while later, Auntie Lu and Fangfang ran to Lu’an Village’s headquarters, laying out the situation to Hu Da and the others. A few minutes after that, the village’s loudspeakers blared to life—
“Notice! Notice! Are there any women in the village who can take on the job of washing bedsheets? The requirements are that you must love cleanliness, practice good hygiene, understand sanitation, and know how to iron clothes!”
“Notice! Notice! Xingxia Manor is outsourcing its bedsheet washing chores. Whichever household can take it on, please proceed to the Party-Mass Service Center to inquire!”
The villagers across Lu’an Village all caught the loudspeaker announcement. The kitchens of several households instantly bustled with activity.
“Hu Si! Hu Si! Come watch the pot quickly! I’m heading over to the village committee!”
“Lao Lu! Where on earth did you vanish to! Quick, quick, quick, hop on the motorcycle and drop me off at the village committee!”
“Mom! Did you hear that? Xiaxia’s manor is outsourcing work! Let’s go check it out!”
Spatulas were tossed into pots one after another as people emerged from the kitchens of various households. Faces were written with pure excitement.
“She’s hiring new people again already?”
“That’s a certainty! Didn’t you see how many people came these past two days? With just the two people Xiaxia hired, how could they possibly handle the rush!”
“I always said that once Xiaxia’s agritainment spot opened, it would definitely be a good thing for our village!”
“It’s not an agritainment spot, it’s a manor!”
“Oh, that’s just a title. Do you think we don’t know what’s actually going on? Come on, let’s head to the production brigade headquarters to look.”
“It’s not the production brigade headquarters, nor is it the village committee. It’s called the Party-Mass Service Center nowadays!”
“Oh, you brat, why do you have so many words to say? I just love calling him the brigade leader, what of it! I’m a man decades into my years, can’t I be set in my habits? Let’s go!”
Amidst boisterous bickering and discussions, everyone abandoned their cooking entirely and sprinted straight toward the Party-Mass Service Center.
Inside Lu’an Village’s Party-Mass Service Center, Qi Shan was currently organizing the sign-ups and conducting simple interviews. As it happened to be the hour when every household was preparing lunch, a single glance at the applicants revealed whether they loved cleanliness or not.
“Oh, Fourth Aunt, look at your fingernails, there’s still dirt inside. These bedsheets are meant to be used by the guests at Xiaxia’s manor; how could this possibly pass!”
“Old Grandma Chai, you’re at this age, and Uncle Chai’s mill is already so busy. Let’s skip this matter for you.”
“Sister Chunhua, it’s not that I’m not backing you up, but your son Ruan Le mentioned that you watch Douyin all day long, and he can’t even get a meal when he returns from school… Look after the child properly first!”
“Third Brother Hu? Uh, Secretary Hu, could you step over for a moment… Third Brother Hu, let’s see if the Secretary agrees first, okay? I’ll interview the next person now.”
After a round of interviews like this, the crowd of people who had just come to join the fun was effectively filtered. Those who lacked hygiene, had incompatible schedules, or lacked family support were sorted out one by one.
The remaining three individuals consisted of two young sisters-in-law and one auntie—all famously clean and efficient workers within the village.
Hu Da made the final call. “It just so happens Xiaxia mentioned calculating it by the day and by the volume. One household per day. Whichever household does a poor job will be docked a day’s credit.”
Everyone chimed in to ask, “How to calculate it? How much money does Xiaxia give?”
