Chapter 224: Open for Business

A middle-aged man in simple cloth clothes stood at the entrance, hesitating for a moment. He peered inside, then broke into a smile. "I’d like a room. Is this inn newly opened?"

Gu Fei had already hurried behind the counter and sat down. She watched as Little Lu eagerly led the guest inside, saying, "You’ve guessed right, sir! Today is our grand opening. For the first three days, we have a special promotion—all rooms are twenty percent off."

The middle-aged man was followed by a servant. The two of them came to the counter, and Little Lu pointed to the sign hanging on the wall. "The Heavenly Room is five hundred wen a night, the Earth Room is three hundred wen a night, and the Human Room is two hundred wen a night."

"To be honest with you, sir, our Human Rooms are even better than the Heavenly Rooms at other inns."

Gu Fei, sitting behind the counter, added with a wide smile, "We also have VIP cards. If you come to Ping’an City often, sir, you might consider getting one. All future stays would be twenty percent off."

The middle-aged man sat down on a high stool in front of the counter and looked at Gu Fei, his face full of surprise. "Little girl, you’re the shopkeeper?"

Gu Fei nodded with a bright smile.

The middle-aged man laughed. "Well, that’s a rare sight. I travel all year round, and I’ve never seen a young lady as a shopkeeper anywhere."

Gu Fei maintained her smile. "If you can’t decide which room you’d like, Uncle, why not have one of the attendants show you upstairs first?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand. "No need to look. I’m not that picky when I’m on the road. As long as it’s a place to stay, it’s fine. I’ll take a Human Room. I’m not sure yet how many days I’ll be staying."

"Alrighty. In that case, could I trouble you for your travel permit, sir? I need to register you." Gu Fei agreed as she opened the register book.

The government inspected this register every month.

The middle-aged man took out his travel permit and a piece of silver. Gu Fei recorded his information, weighed the silver for the accounts, and then gave him a room token. Xiao Lu then led the guest toward the back.

Once Xiao Lu and the guest had disappeared at the top of the stairs, Lian’er, Xing’er, Tie Niu, and another servant named Pingzi were all dumbfounded.

Even though they had trained for over half a month, when a real customer actually showed up, their hearts were pounding. None of them dared to step forward. Some were shy, some were nervous, and some were afraid of saying the wrong thing—everyone had their own reason.

Gu Fei glanced at them, then looked up at the ceiling and said slowly, "I guess Xiao Lu is a shoo-in for this month’s five-hundred-wen bonus."

Looks of indignation appeared on everyone’s faces.

Xing’er, in particular, clenched her fists. ’It’s just greeting a customer, what’s there to be afraid of? For that bonus, I’ll go all out!’

Seeing Gu Fei complete her first transaction, Mrs. Chen and Gu Zhang were both overjoyed.

The more Gu Zhang looked at his daughter, the more pleased he was. ’My daughter is so smart. Takes after me.’

Mrs. Chen went happily to the kitchen to eat. After she finished and came out, Gu Fei said to her parents, "You should both head back now. Come visit me again when you have time. Don’t you two worry, I’ll work hard to make money."

Mrs. Chen nodded. "We should get going. I have to go check on the chili peppers in the field." The peppers were beginning to bear fruit, and she wished she could check on them three times a day, worried something might go wrong with their care.

Gu Zhang thought for a moment. "Alright then, we’ll head back. Your second and third brothers will stay here tonight, just in case that Er Laizi character comes to cause trouble."

"If there’s any sign of trouble, have your second brother send word home immediately. We’ll all come. There’s safety in numbers, and we can look after things better."

Gu Fei nodded.

Gu Zhang left with the rest of the family. Gu Fei also sent Lan Zhi home, since the inn wasn’t busy. She could handle the accounts and everything else on her own, so Lan Zhi might as well be at home doing her embroidery.

Just then, Xiao Lu reappeared, leading out the middle-aged man and his servant from before.