Chapter 373 - 371: I Want to Start My Own Company

Golden Blade and his two men froze, not understanding what Ethan Sterling had just said.

What did he mean by that? Didn’t he say he would help if they had financial difficulties?

"What does that mean?" Golden Blade asked, confused.

Ethan Sterling didn’t elaborate, simply looking at them and saying, "Anyway, you can find me if you need help. You know when my school lets out."

Leaving them with those words, Ethan Sterling got back on his bike and rode off.

Now the three of them were completely baffled. They stared at each other blankly, with no idea what Ethan Sterling actually meant.

"Blade, why is this kid being so cryptic?"

Golden Blade shook his head. The three of them weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer; how could they possibly figure out what Ethan Sterling was up to?

Unable to figure it out, they gave up. "Forget it," Golden Blade said. "He treated us to a meal, anyway. We’ll worry about the future when it comes. Let’s go, time to walk it off."

"Huh? Walk all the way back? We’re on the East Second Ring!"

"If you don’t want to walk, are you paying for a cab?"

"I’m broke too... Hey Blade, how about we buy a pack of smokes up ahead..."

The reason Jasmine Sterling wasn’t home making dinner for her son today was because she had arranged to have dinner out.

She was at Spring Canton, a private Cantonese restaurant in a prime location opposite Aetherium.

Nearing 8:00 PM, Felix Tate cautiously entered the restaurant, continuously double-checking the address in his hand, terrified he’d come to the wrong place.

’A prime downtown location, understated yet luxurious decor... one glance was enough to tell this was a high-end restaurant with a steep price per person.’

’Why would Ms. Sterling ask to meet him in a place like this?’

"Good evening, sir. Do you have a reservation?"

"Oh, yes. A friend made it. It should be under Ms. Sterling."

"Yes, we have it. Please follow me."

A staff member in a Chinese-style cheongsam led Felix Tate to a quieter area inside, where Jasmine Sterling was already waiting.

She was wearing a pale lilac suit, accessorized with South Sea pearls. Her entire aura was one of serene elegance. Aside from the face he remembered, everything about her felt utterly foreign to Felix Tate.

Before he even drew close, he stopped dead in his tracks, stunned. He blinked hard, afraid he’d mistaken her for someone else.

Just then, Jasmine Sterling noticed his arrival. She quickly stood with a warm smile. "Manager Tate, you’re here. Please, have a seat."

"Jas-Jasmine?"

Felix Tate was dumbfounded. The woman before him looked for all the world like a wealthy socialite. ’Is my memory playing tricks on me?’

Seeing his stunned expression, Jasmine Sterling, who had clearly anticipated it, gave a slight nod. "Surprising, isn’t it? Please, sit down first. We can take our time and talk."

Felix Tate was bewildered. But after confirming that this was, in fact, the same Jasmine Sterling who had worked as a cleaner at Cleansweep Serenity just a short while ago, he suppressed his shock, walked to the table, and sat down.

’I originally thought she was contacting me about her wages from the trial period,’ he mused. ’I was even ready to pay her out of my own pocket.’

’But looking at the situation now, that’s clearly impossible.’

"We’re ready for the food," Jasmine Sterling said to the staff member.

Once the staff member had left, she turned to Felix Tate. Though she had only worked at Cleansweep Serenity for a few days, she had formed a very good impression of the manager.

Jasmine Sterling herself, however, had never imagined that their paths would cross again after she had resigned.

"Manager Tate, I ran into Mina a few days ago. She told me Cleansweep Serenity went out of business?"

"Ah..." Felix Tate managed to hide his shock and nodded slightly. "Yes. It was very sudden. Even I, the branch manager, was kept completely in the dark."

"Have you found a new job yet?"

"I’ve interviewed with a few companies recently but I’m still waiting to hear back," Felix Tate answered honestly. But as he looked at the woman before him, he couldn’t suppress his confusion. "Jasmine, what exactly are you...?"

He trailed off, unsure how to phrase the question.

Jasmine Sterling offered a faint smile. "Don’t worry about me for now. You’ll understand everything in time. The thing is, Manager Tate, I invited you here today because I want to understand the current state of the housekeeping industry in Lorcain. I consider you an expert, someone who can offer me very practical advice. So, I’ll be direct: I’m thinking of starting my own housekeeping company."

"Huh?"

Felix Tate was startled, and the jumble of thoughts in his mind suddenly clicked into place. He stared at Jasmine Sterling with wide eyes as realization dawned. "Oh, I get it now, Jasmine! You were going undercover, right? Working from the inside to learn the business, all so you could start your own company?"

Jasmine Sterling chuckled. "Not exactly. You’re giving me too much credit. The idea only occurred to me after I ran into Mina and heard the company had folded. Before that, I was honestly just bored out of my mind."

Felix Tate: "..."

Jasmine Sterling continued, "But I still remember what you said at the branch. You said the housekeeping industry is an essential service in Lorcain with excellent prospects for growth. And I saw it for myself—the employees were definitely making good money. If the company hadn’t collapsed, it really would have been a great job."

At least for those working-class people from out of town, who often lacked formal education, the income from such a job was quite substantial.

Felix Tate didn’t deny his previous words and nodded in agreement. "That’s right. The housekeeping industry really started booming about four or five years ago, though small agencies have been around for a decade. The online booking model only appeared in the last couple of years. That’s when the industry started expanding to meet city-wide demand on a massive scale, becoming deeply integrated into clients’ lives."

"Right now, the housekeeping market is actually somewhat saturated. However," he added, "if you’re serious about this, Jasmine, now is actually the perfect time to get in. If you miss this window, I would advise against investing in the industry at all."

"How so?"

"Because Cleansweep collapsed! It left a huge vacuum in the Lorcain market. Cleansweep had over a dozen branches across Lorcain’s major districts, with enormous service coverage. Now that it’s gone, clients in that vacant market will have to slowly learn to accept new brands. If they aren’t satisfied with one, they’ll have to try another. That entire adjustment period is a long one."

"After all, building customer trust in a brand doesn’t happen overnight. It will take time for the other companies to absorb the market share Cleansweep left behind. If you can enter the market during this window, then even if you can’t take the whole cake, you’re guaranteed to make a profit just by nibbling at the edges."

"The profit margins on housekeeping services are extremely high. Everyone says Cathay has no shortage of cheap labor, especially from the lower classes, but that’s not the whole story. In the housekeeping industry, especially for cleaners who service high-end residential complexes, the hourly wage is no lower than a white-collar office worker’s. Jasmine, you were in Group A—you know this better than anyone!"