I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

It was very late at night, and I was still waiting for Peach to reply to my message. I knew that because of her work, she didn't have any time to herself until very late, and sometimes she was busy all night long.

While waiting, I registered an account on Douban and then posted a job ad under the name of the inn. Perhaps because it was late, I refreshed the page many times but didn't receive a reply. So I took a moment to look at other people's posts…

Sure enough, some people were selling things, some were looking to rent, and others were looking for carpooling to other cities; in addition, I also saw the kind of argumentative posts that Bailu had mentioned, and the time was passed just like that. I finally received Taozi's reply.

She first accepted my red envelope, then replied, "You heartless bastard, do you still remember I exist?"

"What are you saying? I haven't been away from Shanghai for very long!"

Peach said sadly, "It hasn't been long, but it feels like Leilei has been gone for a long time..."

"Yes, we all miss her so much."

This time, Peach replied to the message after a moment, but changed the subject, asking, "How about you? Are you settling in well in Dali?"

"It's great. I just took over a seaside inn with a friend."

"Really? Do you have any photos? Send them to me quickly..."

I sent her a picture of a room with an infinity pool and a sea view. She replied with a bunch of sparkling emojis, and then went silent...

I then asked her, "And you, how have you been lately?"

"Ugh, I don't know what to choose... I saw with my own eyes how that beast smashed the bottle over Leilei's head, so I've been having nightmares lately!"

Feeling sad, I lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and asked, "Don't you want to do this anymore?"

"Well, but I'm also worried that I won't know what to do to make money in the future."

"Find a man and settle down. You've earned quite a bit these past few years."

"Bullshit! Do you think everyone in our line of work is as frugal as Leilei? ... We have to invest in ourselves, otherwise we won't get any customers, so we haven't been able to save much money. But it's enough to start a small business back in our hometown... But there aren't that many good men in this world! I have no right to be picky about men."

I felt sorry for her profession and for her as a person, so I didn't reply to her message immediately.

She sent another message: "Michael, I suddenly want to go to Dali too, would you welcome me?"

"Of course you're welcome. You can come anytime."

"Hmm, I'll see if I can get some time off soon."

"Okay, let me know in advance and I'll arrange a car to pick you up from the airport."

"Forget it, forget it, no need to go to so much trouble. Just send me the address of the inn, and I'll take a taxi there myself."

……

After ending my conversation with Peach, I was in a daze for a long time. When I came back to my senses, it was already one o'clock in the morning. I finally lay down on the bed, ready to smoke my last cigarette and then go to sleep.

While smoking, I opened Douban again and found that several people were leaving comments under the post, asking about the specific working hours and salary.

I sent them private messages one by one to answer their questions, and invited them to visit the inn when they had some free time, and then we could talk in detail.

After that, I put my phone on silent. Perhaps because the bed was so comfortable, I fell asleep shortly after closing my eyes.

……

I slept quite well that night, hardly dreaming at all, and slept until the next morning. I was the first one up at the inn. I cooked a pot of porridge and then went to the steamed bun shop next door to buy enough steamed buns and dumplings for three people.

During lunch, we also arranged the day's work. Instructor Ma and I continued to move the remaining items from Ma Jiuyi's place, while Tie Nan went to find a craftsman to fix all the repairs needed in the inn.

Time is quite tight for us, because in a few weeks, the expert team will begin evaluating each licensed guesthouse by the sea. We certainly hope to get our guesthouse in its best condition before then, and hopefully be among the first to reopen.

……

Around noon, I ran into Ye Zhi, who had returned to Ma Jiuyi from elsewhere, and then I suddenly remembered that she had asked me to send her the specific address of the inn yesterday.

She seemed to remember this too; she parked her car next to the one we were using to move our things, and then rolled down the window…

Feeling a little embarrassed for breaking our appointment, I tentatively asked her, "Is something wrong?"

"You don't seem to be a very trustworthy person."

I felt even more embarrassed, so I paused for a moment before replying, "I was busy moving things this morning and completely forgot about it."

"Can you tell me now?"

"Of course..." I said, but I still couldn't recall any easy-to-recognize landmarks near the inn, so I looked to Instructor Ma for help.

Coach Ma threw away his cigarette butt and replied, "It's about a kilometer from Longkan Wharf."

Could you be more specific?

This time, both Coach Ma and I were taken aback, not understanding why she needed such precise coordinates. Even if she wanted to go and take a look, she could have simply sent me a message after arriving at Longkan Wharf, and I could have easily picked her up.

Coach Ma added, "We're quite close to Xiadui Village."

Ye Zhi's expression turned serious, and then she asked us, "Have you signed a transfer agreement with the original owner?"

I replied, "It's signed, and the transfer fee has already been paid to her... Is there a problem?"

"I don't recommend you open there, but since you've already paid the transfer fee, there's no point in saying anything more."

Her words made me a little uncomfortable, so I asked again, "Are you very familiar with the Dragon Shrine area?"

"I've been there... The biggest risk in running a guesthouse now isn't the quality of marketing, but the uncertainty of policies."

Hearing Ye Zhi say this, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was precisely because Bai Lu, our source, joined us that we dared to take over this inn, and we have tasted the benefits as a result. So no one knows better than us which way the policy winds will blow.

I almost told Ye Zhi about the upcoming reopening of a batch of seaside inns, but considering that it might affect Bai Lu's work if it got leaked, I held back. In the end, I just said to Ye Zhi, "It's okay. We thought this inn through very carefully when we took it over... We all believe this inn has great potential."

Ye Zhi glanced at me, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. Then, as usual, she drove away with her characteristic indifference. I, however, wanted to talk to her again about Yang Sisi. I felt she needed to give Yang Sisi some time to adjust, so it would be best to keep her in for a few more days instead of rushing her to move out.

……

In the afternoon, the job posting I made on Douban started to have an effect. In addition to a constant stream of inquiries, several people came to the inn to apply in person. I was quite satisfied with one of them, thinking she was down-to-earth and hardworking, but Tie Nan and Instructor Ma disagreed.

They believed that the receptionist didn't necessarily need to be very diligent, but she absolutely had to be pretty, and Dali was overflowing with beautiful women, so they suggested I wait. Besides feeling helpless, I could only respect their decision. Although product development is my forte, a guesthouse isn't really a product in the true sense, so they, having been in Dali longer, had more authority to speak on the matter! They certainly knew better than I did what kind of receptionist was most popular with customers.

……

After a busy day, around three o'clock, I received a call from Yang Sisi. Her tone was as aggrieved as ever. She said to me, "Michael, I've been kicked out by Sister Ye Zhi. I don't even know where I'll stay tonight, so please come to the ancient city and help me sell some clothes. I just need to earn enough to stay in a hostel."

"Don't you have friends here? Just go stay at his place for the night."

Yang Sisi felt even more aggrieved. She replied, "Do you think I want to lower myself and beg you like this... I only have two friends here. One went to Thailand, and the other is a guy. Are you expecting me to go and share a room with that guy?"

"Oh...that sounds pretty tragic!"

"Are you coming or not?... I've thought about it. It's definitely because I can't run fast on my own, and I'm constantly watching to see if the city management officers are coming, that's why I can't concentrate on selling clothes to tourists! See, last time with your help, I sold really well!"

I thought about it for a moment, and since I didn't have anything I needed to do today, I replied, "I'll help you one more time, but you have to give me half of whatever money you make. After all, I'm a businessman now."

"As long as you come, anything is negotiable."

I smiled as I looked at the message, and then it suddenly occurred to me: the inn is short of a receptionist, and according to Coach Ma and Tie Nan's requirements, Yang Sisi is the most suitable candidate. Should we hire her?

In an instant, I rejected it again, because I remembered what Lao Huang said to me before he left that day. Now even Ye Zhi is asking Yang Sisi to abide by the rules of the game, let alone me? I am the one who really designed this game.