The initial site selection for this hotel was based on its serene environment and beautiful scenery, with foot traffic not being a consideration. This was because the hotel's target clientele was quite specific – to put it bluntly, wealthy people.
As Liu Jian would say, after eating delicacies for too long, one might occasionally crave some simple porridge and side dishes. Similarly, after staying in bustling cities for extended periods, a place where you can't hear human voices becomes more appealing.
Another reason, of course, was simply that he liked it. As for whether it would lose money, that wasn't even a consideration for him. After all, how much could a hotel possibly lose?
On a windless day, the winter sun shone warmly on people. Nian Suian walked aimlessly along the small path, reflecting on the events of the past few months since she had arrived in this world.
She felt truly grateful to her predecessor. Her current life was beyond her wildest dreams – no need to work, no worries about making a living.
The original Nian Suian had found this life too boring, so when given the opportunity to change her lifestyle, she didn't hesitate to leave.
Nian Suian, however, was different. She craved stability, and this current life was everything she had ever dreamed of. Thinking about it, perhaps only the Gu father and son were unexpected. When she first arrived in this world, all she wanted was to leave this family quickly and live her own life.
Even with the agreement in place that temporarily prevented divorce, she could have moved out to live on her own, and Gu Junxing couldn't have said anything.
But as time passed day by day, she found it increasingly difficult to say those words. Whether in the past or present, she was always someone who would "never move as long as the status quo could be maintained."
She had recently guessed a bit about the reason for that inexplicable agreement.
After she arrived here, the phone in her possession only had contact information for the Gu family members. At first, she thought it was specially prepared for her by her predecessor, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
It wasn't until recently, when reorganizing the closet for winter, that she found a box hidden deep inside containing another phone.
After charging and turning it on, she discovered many people trying to contact the original Nian Suian. At first, Nian Suian thought she might be able to report the original's well-being to her friends, but she found no such messages.
Most of the messages were from people claiming to be relatives, and the content wasn't greetings but rather roundabout inquiries about the inheritance left by the original Nian Suian's parents. Many messages had quite poor attitudes, including statements like: "You're just a young girl, you'll get married sooner or later. Instead of letting this money benefit outsiders, why not help your own family?"
Up until July, the attitudes of some of these people suddenly changed. Threats turned into flattery. Nian Suian guessed that this was probably because the original Nian Suian had married Gu Junxing at this time, and these people's attitudes changed due to Gu Junxing's influence.
There were still some people, probably unaware of the news, who continued to contact "Nian Suian" tirelessly. Regarding these people, Nian Suian didn't bother responding. She simply turned off the phone and put it back where she found it. The original Nian Suian probably didn't want any more entanglements with these people, which is why she changed her contact information and hid the phone.
Thinking about this, Nian Suian silently wished that the original Nian Suian could live the life she wanted in another space-time.
When Nian Suian came back to her senses, she realized she had wandered to an unfamiliar place.
In front of her was a large open area. Being winter, the ground was bare with several piles of sand, making it look like an unfinished construction site.
"It smells a bit..." Nian Suian sniffed, catching a familiar odor. Her gaze turned to the sand piles, and she understood.
This was essentially a giant natural cat litter box.
Friends who often keep cats know that while raising cats is easy, scooping litter is hard. Cat poop can be comparable to a biochemical weapon.
Nian Suian thought about telling Liu Jian to clean up the sand piles when she got back. Otherwise, if guests came by, it would greatly affect their experience.
"Sister Nian!"
Just as Nian Suian turned to leave, she heard someone calling her.
It was the girl she had met last time, still wearing the same uniform.
Nian Suian smiled at her, "Could you take me back to where we were last time? I don't know how I got here, I'm not familiar with the area."
"Of... of course." The girl hurried over to her side to lead the way.
"Where is this place?" Nian Suian asked.
"You've walked quite far," the girl said, turning to point in a direction. "There's a small path over there that leads to nearby Ji Family Village."
Nian Suian nodded, remembering that they had indeed seen several villages nearby when they first arrived. She then asked the girl:
"How long have you been working here?"
"I've only been here for half a month. Aunt Wang from the village told me that a new hotel had opened here and was hiring. It's close to home, and the pay is good, so I came."
Perhaps because of Nian Suian's smile and gentle tone, the girl seemed to relax and became less tense while talking.
Hearing this, Nian Suian asked, "Are you from Ji Family Village?"
"I'm not, I'm from Xinji Village, right next to Ji Family Village. It's very close."
Nian Suian, seeing that the surroundings were becoming familiar, was about to tell her that she could stop here.
Just as she was about to speak, she saw the girl suddenly stop and lower her head.
"Sister-in-law... look at me, I called you wrong again."
"Suian, you're here. I was just about to look for you for lunch," Liu Jian said as he walked towards them.
Nian Suian looked at him, then at the girl beside her who was keeping her head down, wondering if they knew each other.
"Oh, I came out for a walk and didn't realize I had gone too far. I almost got lost, but this young lady brought me back."
Liu Jian also noticed that the girl was wearing the hotel staff uniform and immediately said generously:
"Which department are you from, and what's your name? I'll tell your supervisor to give you a bonus later."
"Hey? Why aren't you speaking?" Liu Jian found it strange that the girl kept her head down. "I'm not that scary, am I?"
"There's no need..."
"Don't say there's no need, it's deserved," Nian Suian interrupted the girl. Looking at her age, similar to Zhijing's, and working instead of being in school, it was clear that her family's circumstances weren't very good.
"My name is Xin Yuchun, I work in the back kitchen."
"Alright, I got it. You can go back now. I'll speak to your supervisor later."
"Thank you, boss! Thank you, Sister Nian." The girl bowed deeply to both of them twice, then hurried away with quick steps, as if she couldn't wait to leave. Throughout the entire interaction, she never raised her head.
"This girl, do I look that fierce and evil? Why didn't she dare to raise her head?" Liu Jian wondered.
Nian Suian looked at Liu Jian's expression, which didn't seem to indicate that he knew the girl. Perhaps she had overthought it, and the young girl was simply shy.
She said to Liu Jian, "Maybe she's just timid. Wouldn't anyone be scared seeing the boss?"
"That's true... Let's go, time for lunch." Liu Jian didn't dwell on this small matter and invited Nian Suian to eat.