I Have a Five-star Seaside Hotel

While feeling frustrated, Chen Jianhai suddenly pointed at the painting and asked:

"What is that mermaid holding?"

In the center of the painting, a mermaid with an unclear face was holding onto the carousel with one hand and lifting a round object to her mouth with the other, as if it were something edible.

"That... that's a plum!" Lin Suyang answered. "The artist said the mermaids like eating plums."

"Plums?" Chen Jianhai raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtful.

...

That night.

A shadowy figure sneaked out of the hotel's main entrance, carrying a bag of plums, and hid in the nearby bushes.

"It's almost 1 AM... the mermaids should be out by now."

Chen Jianhai glanced at his glow-in-the-dark digital watch, feeling both excited and nervous as he stared at the center of Emerald Lake.

Ever since he saw Pang Xuehen's painting during the day, he had been itching to see what the mermaids looked like.

After waiting for a while, the lights of the carousel finally lit up, and six beautiful mermaids leaped out of the lake, each holding onto a small carousel, playing joyfully.

Seeing this, Chen Jianhai quickly pulled out a few plums from the plastic bag and tossed them into the lake, hoping to win over his new employees and build some rapport.

"Plop~~ plop plop!"

The sound of the plums hitting the water startled the mermaids.

The mermaids glanced over, but upon seeing Chen Jianhai, they turned their heads away as if they hadn't seen him and continued playing with the carousel.

Only one smaller mermaid seemed intrigued. It dove into the lake and soon resurfaced with a plum, curiously taking a bite.

"Do you like it or not?"

Chen Jianhai crouched by the lake, craning his neck to get a better look.

Back when Dawave had cats, all Chen Jianhai had to do was wave a cat treat in the air, and three large cats would come running, meowing and waiting to be fed.

He wasn't sure if fish were the same, but he figured it couldn't be too different.

Today, he had brought a whole bag of plums, thinking it would be enough to feed the mermaids.

Just as Chen Jianhai was eagerly imagining the six mermaids surfacing, staring at him with longing eyes, waiting for plums,

the little mermaid flicked its tail and dove back into the lake.

A large ripple spread toward Chen Jianhai, as if some unseen giant creature was moving toward him from beneath the water.

"It's coming, it's coming!!"

Chen Jianhai excitedly pulled out another plum, ready to toss it.

But the next moment,

an icy blue tail suddenly shot out of the water, slapping the surface hard and sending a wave of water crashing down.

"Splash!"

Cold lake water, mixed with a half-eaten plum, drenched Chen Jianhai from head to toe.

"Achoo!!"

The night breeze made Chen Jianhai shiver.

What the hell!

I bring you plums, and you splash me?!

Screw you!!

Chen Jianhai angrily threw the half-eaten plum into a nearby trash bin and stormed off with the bag of plums, not looking back.

I'd rather throw these plums away than feed them to you!

...

With Chen Jianhai's approval,

Pang Xuehen, with Lin Suyang's help, quickly registered a new account on major websites and began posting concept art of mermaids from the Vikam Magic World.

The two parties had reached a cooperation agreement: Pang Xuehen was responsible only for the artwork, while the hotel handled the operations, promotion, and building popularity.

Soon after, Pang Xuehen moved out of the haunted room 1703 and into the Star-Moon Wizard Room, planning to spend a few days in the amusement park and draw concept art for other characters.

Perhaps because the market was already saturated with dreamy and fantastical fan art,

or perhaps because the beautiful mermaids contrasted so sharply with the eerie and dark art style,

Pang Xuehen's mermaid artwork quickly caught the attention of many online, thanks to the deliberate efforts of Lin Suyang and the marketing team.

"We're too late again!!!"

In the office of the Marketing Director at Magic Century Theme Park,

the director slammed his desk in frustration as he looked at the highly-liked late-night mermaid carousel artwork on the internet.

"Bang~"

The trembling sound echoed through the office, accompanied by the rattling of the desk drawer's screws.

On his desk was a thick stack of bound stories about the wizards of the Magic World.

Ever since Jamie's outburst, the entire Magic Century Theme Park had been in a frenzy of internal competition.

First, Lin Tao, the manager of Colorful Holiday Resort Hotel, worked 24-hour shifts in the office despite running a high fever and needing an IV drip.

Then, the HR department conducted a thorough internal investigation, focusing on confidentiality education and staff screening.

As for the marketing department, they had been working day and night, pooling their efforts to finalize the hundreds of thousands of words for the Magic World wizard stories.

They had planned to launch a promotional campaign using comics,

but as soon as they opened the fan art website, they were stunned by the mermaid concept art from Lion Castle Hotel.

"This art style... these lines... it's a perfect fit for our wizard castle!"

The marketing director clutched his chest in anguish.

Are outsiders really better than locals?

We're all on Cream Road, so why does the other side have bloggers promoting them and professional artists creating artwork,

while we have to scramble to find people and struggle so much?

Just as the marketing director opened an anime forum to look for other suitable artists,

Jamie, the owner of Magic Century Theme Park, was also browsing the latest updates from Lion Castle Hotel.

Recently, Jamie's account had become the top fan of the Lion Castle Hotel forum, with activity levels far surpassing others.

Whenever there was news about Lion Castle Hotel, he was always the first to know.

These days, he knew more about Chen Jianhai of Lion Castle Hotel than he did about his own wife.

"Competing with someone like this is unwise!"

Jamie frowned, stroking his chin.

In business, competition isn't the only way;

cooperation is also an option.

As the saying goes, success and failure both come from the same source.

Magic Century Theme Park's greatest advantage is its massive flow of visitors, with a constant stream of tourists coming in every day.

But it's precisely because of this overwhelming number of visitors that the quality of service in some areas has declined, and public spaces have become overcrowded, significantly reducing the enjoyment of the park.

"Maybe we should collaborate with Lion Castle Hotel and work together on something?"

With this thought, Jamie called his secretary.

...

Meanwhile, Chen Jianhai was busy finalizing other details of the overseas training program with Xie Zhulongxiong.

"For this overseas training, contact Ning Youyou, Yang Ruying, Teacher Gao, Teacher Sun, and others to see if they have time."

"Also, contact Cui Meng from Nanjiang Yuemei Hotel."

"If they have time, arrange their schedules as well."

Chen Jianhai sat in his office, speaking to Xie Zhulongxiong.

Xie Zhulongxiong: ???

"Boss, isn't this our own hotel's employee training?"

Why are we inviting them?

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Chen Jianhai replied naturally.

Running a hotel is like being a person.

It's about both hardware and relationships.

You need both legs to walk steadily.

"These are all good friends who have helped our hotel. We should always think of them when something good comes up," Chen Jianhai said.

"Alright, boss. I'll call them one by one."

Xie Zhulongxiong noted down the names.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jianhai added:

"For Teacher Gao and Teacher Sun, contact the school and invite them under the pretext of wanting them to give lectures for our employee training."

"If they agree, pay them the standard lecture fees after the training ends."

"If they don't agree, bring them some small gifts from abroad."

Although Langai Hotel had already established a cooperation agreement with Nanjiang Tourism Vocational College and signed a supply-demand contract,

maintaining relationships was still important.

Whether they accepted or not, it was important to show enthusiasm.

"Boss... if the teachers agree, are we really going to have them give lectures?"

Xie Zhulongxiong was a bit confused, not quite understanding Chen Jianhai's intentions.

Gao Qiao was from the internship office, and Teacher Sun was in charge of administrative writing.

Neither of them had much experience teaching students.

Even if they hadn't taught before,

this training was mainly about travel experiences, so there wasn't really a place for lectures.

If we really asked them to conduct training, wouldn't that be putting them in a difficult position?

Hearing Xie Zhulongxiong's words, Chen Jianhai nearly choked.

"Figure it out yourself. Don't ask me!"

Chen Jianhai rolled his eyes in exasperation.

This guy is usually quite sharp, but sometimes he just doesn't get it.

Seeing Chen Jianhai's frustration, Xie Zhulongxiong awkwardly realized the boss's true intentions.

"I understand, boss."

"I'll get in touch with them right away."

...

Xie Zhulongxiong worked quickly.

That very evening, Chen Jianhai received responses.

Yang Ruying declined politely.

Xiao Sun, the director, was busy with a school evaluation report and couldn't make time.

Cui Meng, as proud as ever, also declined, but shortly after, he called Chen Jianhai to express his sincere gratitude, fulfilling all the proper etiquette.

Fortunately, Ning Youyou and Gao Qiao both agreed to participate.

"Boss, I invited Ning Youyou as a tour guide. Should we pay her a guide fee afterward?"

Seeing Xie Zhulongxiong's excited expression, as if saying, "Look, boss, I can think on my feet. Praise me!"

Chen Jianhai felt a headache coming on.

He always thought he was straightforward in handling matters.

But he didn't expect his employees to be even more straightforward.

Gao Qiao's training fee could be paid,

but Ning Youyou's guide fee... damn!!

You know what's going on here. Why are you bringing this up?

What guide fee?!

This is something that can be skipped.

But he didn't want to dampen Xie Zhulongxiong's enthusiasm, so he reluctantly said:

"Alright, pay it as usual."

After a pause, Chen Jianhai subtly added, "In the future, discuss things with me before making decisions."

"Got it, boss. I'll go finalize the arrangements now."

Xie Zhulongxiong stood up, full of energy, and walked back to his office.

Just as he opened his computer, ready to dive into finalizing the first batch of training plans,

he suddenly frowned.

Wait a minute...

What did the boss mean by that earlier??!

A few days later,

the first batch of overseas training for employees from Langai, Jasmine, and Lion Castle Hotels officially began.

In the large conference room of Lion Castle Hotel,

Chen Jianhai stood at the podium, looking at the excited employees seated below, and asked loudly into the microphone:

"You're leaving tomorrow. Have you all received your tickets?"

"Yes!"

"Not just plane tickets, but also boat tickets!"

"I even have a high-speed rail ticket."

...

The employees' voices rang out one after another.

In the front row, the electrician, plumber, Bai Cheng, a few female employees, and the doorman shouted the loudest.

As the earliest employees to follow Chen Jianhai, they had witnessed their salaries rise from 2,500 to nearly 10,000.

From the original five days of annual leave to a three-week overseas training trip paid for by the company!

Sometimes they wondered if they were dreaming.

"Good!" Chen Jianhai pressed his hands down, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

"This training is quite long, and the journey is far."

"I have only one requirement for everyone: safety! You must go out safely and return safely!"

"Mine and Minister Xie's phones will be on 24/7. If you encounter any problems, call us anytime."

Chen Jianhai spoke seriously and earnestly.

"There will be no attendance checks or exams for this training. You should experience the atmosphere and service of the three hotels from the perspective of customers. Don't go stealing work from their employees."

"Especially you, doorman!!"

At this, Chen Jianhai's gaze fell on the two doormen in the front row.

These two guys were the epitome of workaholics, used to opening doors and welcoming guests at the hotel.

Last time, when Chen Jianhai took them to Golden Fountain Bathhouse,

before they could even change their shoes,

the doorman saw two guests arriving outside and, without even putting on his socks,

ran out in his shoes to open the door for them, leaving the bathhouse security guard utterly baffled.

The doorman's face turned bright red, and he shot a resentful look at Chen Jianhai amidst the laughter.

Chen Jianhai laughed and said:

"In short, you can all treat this training as a fun trip."

"I hope that when we meet again in three weeks, I'll see an even better version of you!"

"Have a safe journey!"

"Thank you, boss!" The employees cheered excitedly.

"Boss, I'll bring you back some candy!"

"Boss, I'll buy you a phone!!"

"Boss, I'll bring you back a couple of foreign girls!"

Chen Jianhai's face darkened: "...Get out!"

...

Finally, after ushering the employees out of the conference room, Chen Jianhai's phone rang.

Chen Jianhai: "Hello?"

Lin Suyang: "Boss, Magic Century Theme Park next door has reached out. They want to discuss a collaboration with our hotel."

"What?" Chen Jianhai was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

Lin Suyang: "Just now, the external relations team from Magic Century Theme Park contacted me. They want to join forces with us and break down barriers to collaborate."

"...Boss, when will you be available? I'm outside your office now. Once you're done, I'll come in and give you a detailed report."

Chen Jianhai: "Wait for me. I'll be there in 10 minutes."