Chapter 237 - 205: Pre-Opening Staff Meeting

Chapter 237: Chapter 205: Pre-Opening Staff Meeting

By the time a cigarette had made its round, everyone had pretty much gotten acquainted.

Before the meal was served, Chen Yuan and Chen Li brought out the walkie-talkies from inside and handed them out.

There were also uniforms — prepared well in advance — for both new and old staff alike.

After all, the place wasn’t just a bare-bones fishing pond anymore. The operation was growing, the business was expanding, and it was time to run things properly.

Otherwise, when guests showed up needing help, they’d have no idea who to turn to — and that just wouldn’t do.

The food was ready soon after. Chen Dequan and Chen Nan came by to pick up the boxed meals for the fish pond crew, and Chen Yuan pulled Chen Dequan aside to tell him to come back for the meeting once the deliveries were done.

There was no way around it for the Old Pond side — someone had to be there to log the catch returns.

By a little past seven, all the staff had arrived. All four large round tables were packed, and by a rough count, there were close to forty people — the team was growing fast.

"Alright, let’s eat!"

Tang Ying and Lin Cuiju brought the dishes to the tables while Chen Jun and Chen Yuan hauled over two cases of ice-cold beer, setting a few bottles on each table.

"Come on, everyone — first of all, I want to thank you all for your support. Here’s to all of you~"

Chen Yuan filled his glass, stood up, and raised a toast to the room.

The employees around him smiled and lifted their glasses.

That’s just what it’s like having a good boss — technically he’s the one paying their wages, but he still leads with gratitude. It just felt good to hear.

"Hot Spring Paradise opens tomorrow, and it’s going to be a busy day. That’s why I called everyone together tonight — to go over how we’re dividing up the work."

Chen Yuan set down his glass and invited everyone to eat while they talked.

"Just say the word, boss — wherever you point us, we’ll be there."

"Haha, don’t worry — we won’t slack off. We’ll get everything done right."

The new hires were just like Chen Yiheng and the others had been when they first started — full of anticipation, already buzzing with excitement about the days ahead.

Young people in the village were scarce to begin with. People Chen Yuan’s age were even rarer, and there weren’t many in Chen Jun’s generation either — most of them had already been snapped up in the last round of hiring.

So this batch of employees skewed a bit older. A handful were from Chen Jun’s generation, some even older than Chen Kingdom, and the rest were closer to Chen Youliang’s age group.

Some were even older than Chen Youliang — going out to find work in the city simply wasn’t a realistic option for them.

So landing a job right here in the village, with decent pay on top of that — why wouldn’t they be grateful? Their enthusiasm spoke for itself.

"I’ll let my sister handle the work arrangements."

With that, Chen Yuan handed things over to Chen Li and sat back down to eat.

"Let’s start with the kitchen crew and the fish pond crew — there are a few staffing changes."

Chen Li took a bite of food, then laid out the plan in her usual calm, methodical way.

"Starting tomorrow, the kitchen crew will move entirely to the third floor of the hot spring building. Your only responsibility is the food — nothing else. Hours run from six in the morning until after dinner service wraps up, with one day off per week for each person."

This had already been agreed on beforehand, so Liu Fang, Xu Juan, and the others had no objections.

Yes, breakfast had been added to their duties, but without having to worry about the fish ponds, and with the ability to clock out once the evening meal was done, the job was actually easier overall.

The kitchen crew had also named two team leaders — Tang Ying and Lin Cuiju, naturally.

"For the fish pond crew — nothing changes at the Old Pond. For the small pond, Dad, Uncle, and Uncle Chen will be in charge, rotating through morning, afternoon, and night shifts."

Liu Fang used to cover the small pond’s night shift, but now that she was focused entirely on the kitchen, they were short-handed there.

That said, Chen Jun and Chen Kingdom no longer had to worry about cooking, so with three people running the small pond, even when someone took a day off, operations could still run smoothly.

And if help was needed during shift changes, she and Chen Yuan could always pitch in.

As for aquaculture, the rotating shifts meant Chen Jun and Chen Kingdom could stagger their schedules and work alongside Chen Youliang to keep the farming side covered.

That left the new employee assignments.

"Starting with the guesthouse — Aunt Yuzhen and Aunt Hongmei, that’s yours. Every day at noon, the rooms need to be cleaned and the bed linens changed. You’ll also be responsible for the daily rubbish collection around the hot spring area and picking up any litter guests leave at the Flower Sea."

Chen Li looked over at the two women, both in their fifties.

Jiang Yuzhen and Li Hongmei had both married into the village from elsewhere.

"No problem at all."

Both agreed without hesitation.

Honestly, there wasn’t a huge amount of work on the guesthouse side, at least not for now.

It was just a pilot property — two floors, two people to clean and handle the linens. Fairly light work, which was why picking up litter elsewhere was folded in as well.

Even with bins installed throughout — including along the village road at regular intervals — people would still drop trash on the ground.

Once the guesthouse expanded down the line, more staff would need to be brought on, and a supervisor would likely be needed too.

"Next, parking — Mr. Wen, Mr. Rong, that’s your territory."

Chen Li glanced toward the two older men, both a touch senior even to Chen Youliang.

Managing the car park didn’t require any special skills or heavy lifting — even at their age, they were more than capable.

"Got it."

Chen Hanwen and Chen Hairong nodded.

"When guests arrive, find out whether they’re here for fishing or for the other attractions. Anglers go to level B1, everyone else to level B2 — don’t mix them up. And the moment either lot is full, contact me or Chen Yuan straight away."

Chen Li made a point of emphasizing that.

Anglers and regular visitors were a different breed.

Regular visitors rarely left mid-visit, but the fishing pond ran two sessions a day, which meant shift changeovers — keeping those vehicles in a dedicated section made the whole process a lot smoother.

As for daytime session anglers who brought their families and planned to stay on after their session ended, those needed to be noted too, and if numbers got large, both levels of the car park would have to be coordinated accordingly.

"Then there are the safety officers."

Their job was straightforward — keep guests safe in the water, and if anything looked off, get them to the side immediately.

When the Tsunami Pool was open, every guest had to be wearing a life jacket. No exceptions.

Simple as the role sounded, safety was non-negotiable, so Chen Li had hired four people for it — the youngest members of this new intake.

Then there was the front desk.

Front desk work needed younger people, no question. Whether it was scanning online group-buy tickets or handling walk-in purchases, the older generation in the village would struggle to get the hang of it.

So Chen Li had brought in Liang Xueling, with herself available to help as needed.

Xueling had originally been slated to learn the ropes of the children’s play area from Liang Chunping, but with Zhang Guiying at home and nothing particularly pressing on her plate, she could still pick things up from Liang Chunping when the opportunity arose.

As for Zhou Jianming —

Work in the city paid better, and he wasn’t about to trade that for a village job. Still, when things were slow, he could always come lend a hand.

Next up was the second floor.

That level had taken on a fair number of new staff too. There was a lot going on up there, and since the guests were mostly young kids, keeping a close eye on everyone was essential — plus the toys needed constant tidying.

It was no easier than running a household.

Then the third floor.

A number of servers had been hired for that level — their main duties being to serve food and wash dishes. These staff members had technically been recruited on behalf of Zhang Hui and his team, so Zhang Hui’s side would handle personnel management and payroll.

That said, Chen Yuan had one condition: the pay had to match what was being offered elsewhere in the village. They were all from the same place, working under the same roof — if one group got a better deal and another didn’t, that just wasn’t right.

Zhang Hui and the others had no issue with something so minor.

"That covers everything work-wise. If anything unexpected comes up or you run into something you can’t handle, switch your walkie-talkie to channel 3 and reach out to me or Chen Yuan. Any questions?"

Chen Li ran through the whole thing with the crisp efficiency of a seasoned store manager — every role, every detail, laid out without a hitch.

"No questions."

Everything was clear-cut, and both the new and returning staff had followed every word without trouble.

With the work talk wrapped up, everyone settled back into eating and drinking — though nobody overdid it on the beer. The fish pond still needed tending tonight, and work started for real tomorrow.

Once the meal was over, the staff said their goodbyes and headed off — some back to their posts, others home for the night. They walked out fiddling with their new walkie-talkies, a few holding up their uniforms to get a proper look.

A brand-new uniform before they’d even clocked in for their first shift — not bad at all~

"Wonder how many visitors we’ll get tomorrow?"

Back inside, no one was in a rush to clean up. Chen Jun fished out a pack of cigarettes and passed one to Chen Kingdom, Chen Yuan, and Yang Yangyang as the conversation drifted toward tomorrow.

"Ticket sales have been decent enough."

Chen Yuan shrugged, taking the cigarette and lighting it.

The backend showed booking figures, but the discount tickets didn’t have a fixed date — the validity period was long, guests could show up whenever they felt like it, and refunds were possible too.

A ticket only counted as truly sold once it was redeemed.

"Doesn’t matter how many show up — just be ready."

Chen Kingdom said, drawing on his cigarette.

That was the right way to look at it.

One cigarette later, it was back to whatever needed doing — and for those who could call it a night early, they did. Time to rest up for tomorrow~