Huayu, my cheat code is a bit strange.

Chapter 9 A Balanced Approach
The network administrator stopped using the mouse, his expression strange. "Are you serious?"

Gu Xiao understood the other party's suspicions.

In this era, society generally holds a stereotypical view of people who spend their time in internet cafes as "unemployed" and "uneducated," and would never entrust them with any serious work.

Gu Xiao was too lazy to explain. She took a folder out of her bag, gently placed it on the bar, and said:

“I pay for three hours of internet access. Each person needs to type four pages of content for me, and after it’s finished, I need to check it. The error rate must be less than 10%. The reward is ten yuan per person.”

Ten yuan was equivalent to almost a day's wages for a worker at that time, and for regular internet cafe customers, it was definitely a considerable amount of extra income.

He looked at the network administrator and added:
"If everything goes smoothly and the people you find can complete the task on time and with high quality, I will also give you 10 yuan as a referral fee."

The network administrator took the folder, sat up straight as soon as he saw the dense English words on it, tapped the keyboard unconsciously a couple of times, and scrutinized Gu Xiao for several seconds.

"Wait here."

After saying that, the internet cafe manager got up and left the counter, and returned a short while later with three other people.

The first was a tall, thin man wearing thick glasses; the second was a young girl with a ponytail, her eyes full of suspicion; the third was a slightly chubby boy with a few freckles on his face.

The network administrator pointed to the three people and introduced them one by one:

"Luo Rui, Qiu Yuanyuan, and Zhu Chen are people I met while playing CS. Zhu Chen is pretty good at StarCraft."

What a bizarre way to introduce people. Gu Xiao greeted everyone, finally fixing her gaze on the internet cafe manager. "So, you're the fourth person?"

The network administrator nodded slightly and introduced himself:

"I am Yuanyuan's older brother, Qiu Xu."

Is this how you earn extra money for your younger sister? Gu Xiao was a little resistant and subtly reminded her, "The internet cafe manager must be very busy, right?"

Qiu Xu waved his hand dismissively: "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you."

He pointed to his younger sister and said, "If I don't finish, the rest will be left to Yuanyuan."

Qiu Yuanyuan raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

Gu Xiao thought to herself: It's not like your sister is guaranteed to be able to do it.

He didn't say anything more, and took out three ten-yuan bills from his pocket and placed them on the bar.

"This is the internet fee."

Gu Xiao said solemnly, "This information is very important to me. I'm counting on you all."

This sudden remark stunned everyone.

Qiu Xu was the first to react. He put away the money, nodded to Gu Xiao, and looked at Qiu Yuanyuan: "Go to room number four. It's quiet there."

……

……

It was called a private room, but it was actually just a storage room with a small spring bed in the corner.

The floor was covered in dust and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

Qiu Yuanyuan explained, "Initially, we wanted to design it as a luxury private room for the team, but we found that it couldn't fit five computers at all, so my brother plans to turn it into a screening room."

Gu Xiao looked around and shook her head, saying:

“The screening room needs a quiet environment, but the internet cafe is noisy, so it has to be renovated. Without the ability to charge high fees, we can’t recoup the costs at all.”

Qiu Yuanyuan nodded. "You said exactly the same thing as my dad."

She skillfully turned on the computer and checked the keyboard and mouse one by one.

Gu Xiao distributed the manuscript paper to the other two and carefully explained the typing requirements.

Luo Rui and Zhu Chen seemed to be somewhat introverted and didn't talk much, but fortunately, they had excellent computer skills and were familiar with Word.

Gu Xiao didn't expect these people to do a good job of typesetting, but at least the font, format and line spacing had to be consistent.

"let's start."

Qiu Yuanyuan glanced at the time on the computer, "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can call it a day."

No one objected. For a moment, the only sound in the private room was the clatter of keyboards.

Gu Xiao sat in the middle, typing as she observed the others' reactions.

Luo Rui was the fastest, but would stop from time to time to correct typos; Zhu Chen had a steady pace and rarely made mistakes; Qiu Yuanyuan, on the other hand, could read ten lines at a glance and was incredibly efficient.

If the three of them maintain this level of efficiency, three hours will be more than enough.

The only problem is
Are you a teacher at an advanced tutoring center?

Luo Rui broke the silence in the room by speaking.

The keyboard continued to clatter, but Gu Xiao seemed oblivious to the question, concentrating intently on typing.

Just when Luo Rui thought he wouldn't get an answer, Gu Xiao slowly spoke:
"No, I'm just a senior in high school."

Luo Rui seemed to sense his dissatisfaction and did not continue speaking.

The room was filled only with the more intense clicking of keyboards, as if trying to cover up some kind of silent awkwardness.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhu Chen's chair made a screeching dragging sound.

"I need to use the restroom," he explained awkwardly, meeting the gazes of the group.

"Me too! Me too!" Luo Rui hurriedly got up.

The two left quickly, one after the other, and the door closed gently.

Qiu Yuanyuan stared at the door that had closed again, and said helplessly, "Don't worry, they'll finish the fight."

No, they won't.

Gu Xiao's voice was very soft, but her tone was exceptionally firm.

One should strive with full force, but the momentum will wane with each attempt, and eventually be exhausted. Once the thought of slacking off arises, giving up only requires a trigger.

Qiu Yuanyuan raised her eyebrows, about to defend her friend, when she noticed that Gu Xiao's hoodie pocket suddenly moved.

A red squirrel the size of a fist poked its head out of the pocket, its dark eyes curiously surveying the dusty private room.

"Is that a squirrel?" Qiu Yuanyuan was so surprised that she forgot what she was about to say.

Gu Xiao nodded gently, "My pet, Xiao Jiu, is a Eurasian red squirrel."

Xiao Jiu gave a perfunctory call and climbed up his shoulder along his clothes.

It sat there, tilting its little head, its black button-like eyes staring straight at Qiu Yuanyuan.

"Who is she? Is she a new partner?" Xiao Jiu asked curiously.

"This is Qiu Yuanyuan, she's mine."

Gu Xiao paused, then looked at the girl with a slightly probing gaze, "An employee?"

Qiu Yuanyuan rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You must not have many friends, right?"

Meanwhile, he thought to himself: And what are you saying to the squirrel in such a serious tone, as if it can understand you?

Xiao Jiu really didn't understand.

It has a spirit, but that doesn't mean it's omniscient.

My current vocabulary is insufficient to understand the relatively complex word "employee".

However, being clever, it quickly made its own judgment by observing the expressions and tone of the two people—this was a "strange person".

It chirped softly and scratched Gu Xiao's ear with its little paws, seemingly expressing its affirmation of the conclusion.

Qiu Yuanyuan resisted the urge to touch it, turned her gaze back to the computer, and said in a cold voice:
"Don't let it run around; if it chews up things, you'll have to pay for it."

Gu Xiao responded and couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the girl's focused expression.

"What?" Qiu Yuanyuan asked impatiently.

Gu Xiao said, "Stop writing, let's do something else."

(End of this chapter)