Chapter 47

In the afternoon, three people arrived. Lin Nanzhi quickly tidied up two employee rooms. Just as she finished, the phone rang. She thought it was another job applicant, but to her surprise, it was Wen Jiunian.

As soon as she answered, Wen Jiunian’s voice came through:
“Lin Zhizhi, I suspect you were actually born to my mom instead of me.”

His voice carried a hint of grievance, but there was no real anger—it was clearly a joke. Lin Nanzhi was used to it and chuckled as she asked:

“What do you mean?”

“Sigh, ever since my mom met you, she’s been dissatisfied with me no matter what I do. She keeps saying daughters are better and wonders why she only had a son!” Wen Jiunian sounded genuinely aggrieved. He glanced at his parents, who were eagerly watching him make the call, their expressions practically saying, Let me talk to my daughter too!

Wen Jiunian rolled his eyes internally but remembered the real reason for his call. He said, “It’s winter break, and my parents are urging me to invite you over to our house for a few days.”

Lin Nanzhi could vaguely hear complaints in the background, saying he was exaggerating. She couldn’t help but laugh.

Uncle Wen and Aunt Wen were too adorable!

No wonder Wen Jiunian had developed such a personality—it was clearly influenced by his family.

“Hey, your schadenfreude is a bit too loud. Can’t you spare a thought for the person suffering here?”

“I’m not laughing at you! Don’t accuse me unfairly. But my family is quite busy lately, so I won’t be able to visit. Please send my regards to Uncle and Auntie.”

Her parents had their own things to handle, and her brother Lin Nanye had recovered from his illness and started taking online orders. The shop’s opening was entirely on her shoulders.

On top of that, she had guzheng and dance lessons every day. Her winter break was already planned out, and she couldn’t squeeze in any extra time.

Hearing this, Wen Jiunian was a little disappointed but didn’t push further. He quickly wrapped up the call and hung up.

“You hung up so fast? I didn’t even get to talk to Zhizhi!” Wen’s mother was visibly frustrated.

“Mom, she has her own things to do. She’s busy! It’s not like she has time to fly over here. I’m going back to work now.” Wen Jiunian left before his mother could complain further.

His studio had just lost an employee, and they had taken on several large projects recently. The two remaining people were overwhelmed, working tirelessly every day. The studio couldn’t afford to be short-staffed.

If it weren’t for his mom pestering him to make this call, he wouldn’t have left his work computer at all.

Lin Nanzhi, on the other hand, was still amused after hanging up, though she felt a bit helpless.

Wen Jiunian hadn’t mentioned anything about the fruit, which made her even happier.

It seemed she had judged him correctly—he was someone she could trust.

The fruits from her orchard were watered with spiritual spring water, making them not only larger and sweeter than those on the market but also giving people a sense of well-being after eating them. Because of this, when her fruits were in season, they sold out instantly without any need for marketing.

Not to mention the fruits from the Linglong Eight-Treasure Tree in her space.

She had originally given out four, as a gesture of appreciation for those who had treated her well and because she trusted them.

Yu Ze never brought it up and still chatted with her often. The Wen family also didn’t mention it. That was a good sign.

Just as she thought of Yu Ze, his name appeared on her phone screen. Lin Nanzhi couldn’t help but wonder—was this guy psychic?

As soon as she answered, Yu Ze’s excited voice came through:
“Zhizhi! Do you have any plans for winter break? Let me tell you, the capital is really fun in winter!”

“Yu Ze-ge, I’m too busy. I can’t go.”

“Oh, I see…” Yu Ze sounded a little disappointed but quickly perked up again. “Then what are you busy with these days?”

“Um… my family has a small shop that’s about to open, so I’m helping out.”

“That sounds tough. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s good! I was actually going to say, if you were coming, I’d take you to Sichuan to see the giant pandas after we finished up here. But I guess I’ll have to go alone now.”

Giant pandas!

Lin Nanzhi pursed her lips.

What a pity—she had never seen a giant panda in either of her lives, and she really wanted to!

“I’d love to see them too, but I guess it’ll have to wait until next year.”

“That’s okay! When you’re free, we’ll go together!”

“Mm.”

They chatted a bit more before ending the call. Lin Nanzhi sighed as she stared at her phone.

Giant pandas… I won’t get to see them this time.

She’d have to wait until she wasn’t so busy. Plus, her grandparents hadn’t seen pandas either. When the time came, she could take them along—it wasn’t far, just a neighboring province. The trip wouldn’t cost much either.

Besides, her family wasn’t short on money anymore.

Ding-dong—

Yu Ze: [I’ll take some great photos for you when I go see them.]

Lin Nanzhi chuckled and replied with a simple okay before diving back into work.

With the shop opening soon, she really couldn’t afford to take a break.

—–

At around 1 PM, the three girls arrived simultaneously. Lin Nanzhi took them to their employee rooms.

The first floor of the guesthouse had a central hall, with a reception desk and some tables set up as a dining area. The staircase was next to the reception desk.

To one side was a hallway—on the left was the kitchen, and on the right were the employee rooms.

There were six rooms in total, each containing two beds, a wardrobe, and a bedside table—enough for two people to live comfortably. Each room had its own private bathroom, with separate areas for the toilet and shower, a water dispenser, and complete bedding.

Every room had a window. Since the guesthouse had a vintage style, the windows weren’t sliding but push-open ones. At that moment, the windows were open for ventilation, allowing sunlight to brighten the room and offering a view of the scenery outside.

The three girls were very satisfied with the rooms.

A job that provided both meals and accommodation, with such well-equipped dorms, was a rare find. Other places definitely wouldn’t offer this.

The only downside was that it wasn’t in the city, but that wasn’t a big issue.

“All the rooms are the same. These two have been cleaned. You can decide how to split them. If you all prefer separate rooms, I can prepare another one. But keep in mind that you won’t always have a room to yourself—more staff will be joining later. You can figure out the arrangements among yourselves.

For today, there’s no work. You can explore the area and familiarize yourselves. Training starts at 9 AM tomorrow, and in the afternoon, we’ll head into the city to hand out flyers.”

“Got it!”

Lin Nanzhi left them to decide on their arrangements and went back to work.

Since there were some village children nearby, she had to set up fences around the water areas to prevent accidents. Surveillance cameras also needed to be installed, and there were still more interviews to conduct.

Fortunately, her mother arrived the next day, making things much easier with her help.

—-

That afternoon, her father drove the three new employees, along with Lin Nanxuan and Lin Xiaoshen, to the city to distribute flyers, while Lin Nanzhi focused on making a video advertisement to post online.

But since the internet era was just beginning, the video didn’t gain much traction.

It would have to be a gradual process—there was no need to rush.