20
Employee Allocation
As it turns out, everyone has a few friends who are chronically late.
Zhou Yuan arrived early at the shop at 6:17 PM to wait. The round-faced best friend who helped carry her home that day also came early. However, by 6:30 PM, only five out of the six scheduled participants had shown up. Jiang Qi almost went upstairs to fetch Liu Lan to help the five girls change into period costumes in the dressing room, but was unanimously stopped by the five who knew the sixth person all too well.
It just goes to show how well best friends understand each other.
At 7:36 PM, the sixth person finally arrived—the one who’d been claiming since 6:30 that she was “on the way,” that “traffic was a bit heavy,” that “there were too many sandwiches to carry,” that she was “almost there,” and that she was “just two traffic lights away.”
Among all her earlier excuses, probably only “too many sandwiches to carry” was true.
The latecomer brought three large bags of sandwiches. Quite cheerful by nature, she greeted Jiang Qi at the front desk as soon as she entered.
“Hey, handsome boss, we meet again! Who’s running the game for us today? Is it the same lady from last time, or you? Your shop’s Game Masters are really skilled—the Performance in the game from the day before yesterday was amazing. Do you have any membership card recharge promotions? My company is nearby, so if you’re short on players for any evening games, feel free to call me.”
With that, Jiang Qi immediately knew who had given the positive feedback that day.
“Just call me Xiao Jiang. We don’t have any membership recharge promotions at the moment, but we might launch some next month. I’ll notify you then,” Jiang Qi replied with a smile. He was about to introduce Huang Fugui when he was interrupted.
“Come on, Xu Qingrui. ‘Call you if we’re short on players’? The game was scheduled for 7 PM—look what time it is now! And you told us not to eat because you were bringing sandwiches. I nearly starved waiting for them!”
Noticing the three large bags in Xu Qingrui’s hands, Jiang Qi felt compelled to remind them, “Today’s game includes a food segment. Remember to eat lightly now, or you might not have room later.”
“We know, Yuanyuan already told us. It’s a Happy Mechanism Game, and we get to eat noodles, right?” Xu Qingrui indicated she was fully informed.
Zhou Yuan nodded vigorously. “Yes! The noodles this shop makes are super fragrant!”
The other five: ??
Jiang Qi smiled. “Since everyone’s here, let’s head upstairs. This game requires a costume change. I’ll go call Lanlan, the Game Master from your last session, to help you change. Today’s Game Master is Lao Huang. He used to be a theater actor and is highly skilled—you can rest assured.”
Huang Fugui took the cue and smiled at the six girls.
“Wow, an actor!” Xu Qingrui exclaimed appreciatively, following Jiang Qi upstairs.
On the way up, the round-faced girl leaned close to Xu Qingrui and whispered, “Was the game from the day before yesterday fun? All I remember is that Yuanyuan’s character’s ex-husband was a scumbag, and I think my character’s younger brother died. I didn’t really pay attention to the details.”
“It was fun! You were sitting right next to Yuanyuan the whole time, just watching her, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, I was so scared that night. That dog Zhou Yuan can’t hold her liquor but insisted on drinking—six beers and a bottle of foreign liquor, and she actually dared to chug them. I was terrified she’d throw up on the floor and we wouldn’t know how to explain it to the boss. That carpet looked pretty expensive.”
Jiang Qi, who overheard every word clearly: …
No, based on his understanding of Jiang Bing, the carpet must be a cheap secondhand one that only looked expensive.
“Exactly! I didn’t really understand the game either the day before yesterday. During the Murder Mystery Game, all I could think about was how to carry Zhou Yuan back later,” another girl fervently agreed.
“Stop, stop, it’s all my fault! All my fault! Please be magnanimous, my beautiful, wealthy ladies. I’ll make it up to you with a fun exclusive scenario. Just by smelling this script’s cover, you can tell it’s going to be delicious – the scenario must be great,” that scoundrel Zhou Yuan desperately apologized.
“If none of you understood it, we could always schedule another session to replay the scenario from the day before yesterday. I’d like to try Zhou Yuan’s role,” Xu Qingrui suggested.
Jiang Qi led them into the Ancient Chinese Style Room.
“Play it again?” The long-haired girl seemed tempted but hesitant.
“Play! Play whatever you want! It’s on me! I’ll definitely make sure you beautiful, wealthy cuties understand everything perfectly!” Zhou Yuan declared resolutely, with an exceptionally good attitude in her apology.
Zhou Yuan was making amends, while Jiang Qi was profiting. Jiang Qi led the six of them into the Ancient Chinese Style Room. Huang Fugui went to change clothes, and Jiang Qi helped him arrange all 30 Character Books on the table for everyone to choose from.
With 30 books, each featuring unique character illustrations, it was indeed quite a challenge for those with decision paralysis. By the time Huang Fugui returned after changing clothes, no one had made their selection yet.
After handing the room back to Huang Fugui, Jiang Qi returned to the first floor to continue researching the flyer distribution matter.
Jiang Bing had already given him her guarantee, promising to design the flyers and send them to him by tomorrow evening. She even thoughtfully asked if Jiang Qi knew how to use the printer in the storage room, offering remote guidance if needed.
Moreover, Jiang Bing reminded Jiang Qi that the peak summer season was approaching. Rumor had it that even the most remote, shabby, and tiny Murder Mystery Game Stores could experience a flood of customers during the peak season. Jiang Bing urged Jiang Qi to quickly find a few cheap summer workers, suggesting that if necessary, Liu Lan could recruit more high school classmates – after all, they were all art students anyway.
As for why it was just “rumor,” it was because Jiang Bing had never actually experienced the peak season herself.
She had opened this store in March of this year, right after the winter break ended. From opening to abandoning the business, it had always been the off-season. Only during the May Day holiday did she briefly experience having customers every day for three days.
Jiang Qi indicated that the current staff was sufficient. He had already recruited cheap yet excellent Game Masters through his superb hiring methods, enough to handle the upcoming peak season – though it wasn’t certain whether it would actually come.
Jiang Qi carefully calculated: including Qin Can, who would start next Monday, and himself, there were now 5 employees in total. Coincidentally, there were exactly 5 game rooms on the second floor. Theoretically, that should be enough staff.
Undoubtedly, Liu Lan was the main force for running games at the store. Though she hadn’t earned much money during her three months working here, she had managed to read over a hundred scripts – the epitome of an excellent employee who produces milk while eating grass. Jiang Qi wasn’t familiar with Qin Can’s situation, but since she was introduced by Liu Lan and was Liu Lan’s classmate, he assumed their work philosophies wouldn’t differ too much.
Huang Fugui was undoubtedly a potential asset. He naturally loved trying new things, had an active mind and quick wit. Leading games would be no trouble for him. Given some time to study the scripts, Jiang Qi believed he could handle most of the store’s Comedy Scripts, Mechanism Books, and faction-based scenarios.
As for Jiang Qi himself, he didn’t really count. He could step in when performances or narration were needed, but leading games was out of the question.
Jiang Qi expressed that as the boss, he could provide spiritual encouragement and handle logistical support for the employees, but such valuable frontline opportunities should be left to the staff.
That left only Old John.
Jiang Qi turned his gaze to Old John.
Old John’s current role was as a cleaner, occasionally acting true to life as himself, but it was clear that cleaning duties wouldn’t help him level up.
It was hardly likely that a customer would walk in, notice how exceptionally clean the store was, learn it was all thanks to Old John’s efforts, and then develop such sincere admiration and affection for him that it would generate prestige points, right?
The bar for that seemed far too high.
Moreover, Old John disliked socializing. At first, Jiang Qi had assumed this was typical of Card characters—after all, memory loss, reticence, and a bit of social withdrawal seemed normal. But Huang Fugui’s arrival had thoroughly disproven that notion, showing that such behavior was simply a reflection of Old John’s personality. Jiang Qi felt that, as Old John’s employer and Card owner, he had a duty and responsibility to help Old John engage more with others, gain more prestige points, and level up.
“Old John,” Jiang Qi said earnestly.
“Hmm?” Old John looked up.
“Would you be interested in being a Game Master?”
“No,” Old John flatly refused.
Jiang Qi: “…Not even a little?”
Old John thought for a moment. “Will being a Game Master let me live in a wealthy neighborhood?”
Jiang Qi: …
Jiang Qi also thought for a moment before replying, “If you work hard, and I work hard, and the store’s business works hard, maybe there’s hope.”
Although Jiang Qi’s promise was grandiose and unrealistic, Old John—having never held a job and thus unfamiliar with a boss’s empty promises—was actually swayed.
After hesitating briefly, Old John said, “Alright.”
Jiang Qi was deeply moved. “What kind of script do you prefer?”
Old John glanced at the script shelf. “Detective/Mystery Scripts.”
“I remember Liu Lan saying that running Detective/Mystery Scripts is the easiest—you don’t have to talk much. It’s just like being in prison sometimes, sitting for six or seven hours straight.”