NOVEL WEB Chapter 059 – Cloud Haven (Yunze)
The renovation of the small inn was nearing completion. Zhao Zhao began handling the procedures for a new business license and hiring employees.
When registering, she looked at the name [Zhao Zhao’s Small Inn] and felt a strange sense of embarrassment. She had been happy when her grandfather opened it, but now, running it herself and using her childhood nickname, it felt a bit... odd.
After some hesitation, she decided to rename it [Cloud Haven] with a wave of her hand.
The two large suites on the third floor were called "Yunze" and "Dreamscape," so as someone who’s bad at naming things, she thought summarizing the inn’s name as [Yunmeng] was fitting, but then realized it sounded a bit tacky. A hotel or inn with such a name had a sweet and glamorous feel, so she settled on [Cloud Haven]. The Cloud Haven suite was originally on the east side, and in Chinese tradition, the east is considered noble.
Thus, the grand name [Cloud Haven] was chosen. She hung her grandfather’s sign [Zhao Zhao’s Small Inn] on the first floor entrance of the main building. The grand name was placed outside the door, while the small inn’s sign, [Cloud Haven] in traditional characters, was set against a few clouds on the east wall of the entrance. During the day, it blended with the door’s reddish-brown color, and at night, it emitted a soft LED purple glow—subtle and low-key.
With the registration complete, the next step was hiring employees. She didn’t expect Cloud Haven to have many guests at the moment, as the majority of Jinshi Island’s visitors were parents from nearby cities bringing their children for the weekend, drawn by the cost-effectiveness. Given Cloud Haven’s pricing, she decided to hire fewer employees for now, as it would soon get cold, and the staff might end up with nothing to do.
For the kitchen, she only needed one chef since Cloud Haven only provided breakfast.
The first person she thought of was Qin Yunmei, whose cooking skills were excellent and more than sufficient for breakfast.
She approached her and offered a starting salary of 3000 yuan per month, with the possibility of a raise if business increased. Qin Yunmei was happy to accept, knowing the inn only had 16 rooms and would serve breakfast to a maximum of about 30 people, which wasn’t too strenuous, especially with an assistant.
In the newly established "Jinshi Island Official V Group," where she was the admin, Zhao Zhao posted a pinned job listing.
Cloud Haven Inn Recruitment Information:
- Kitchen Assistant: 1 person, female, clean, relevant experience preferred, monthly salary 2000 yuan (with potential raises if business increases, part-time).
- Housekeeping: 3 people, female, clean, quick, relevant experience preferred, monthly salary 3000 yuan (with potential raises if business increases, full-time).
- Manager: 1 person, part-time front desk cashier and buyer, university degree or relevant work experience, monthly salary 5000 yuan with performance bonuses. Interviews for the manager position are ongoing; other positions will be interviewed by the manager.
She also posted the manager position on recruitment websites, as she wasn’t sure if there was a suitable candidate on the island. Shortly after posting, someone in the group responded.
A user named "Peaceful Years" asked: “What does housekeeping entail?”
“Contented and Happy” replied: “It’s cleaning and taking out the trash.”
"Peaceful Years" followed up: “My daughter-in-law and wife can both do that. How do they apply?”
What kind of names are these?
Zhao Zhao posted another message: “@everyone, please change your group nickname to your real name. Here’s a tutorial [with pictures].”
To her surprise, she found a manager the next day. It was the niece of the wife of a fisherman on her boat, Xiong Hailong. The couple had come early in the morning to apply. The wife said her niece, named Xia Yang, had graduated from college, though not in this field, and had seven years of hotel experience, including as a manager at a major hotel in Xiling City. She had resigned and returned home due to her brother’s health issues and was looking for a job that allowed her to return home daily.
Zhao Zhao thought it sounded promising and invited her to try out. The 31-year-old woman, calm and composed, arrived that afternoon and modestly explained that she had only been a lobby manager. Her resume seemed well-suited for the three-story inn. They agreed on a start date for the day after tomorrow, with a three-month probation period, during which she would begin by interviewing new employees and preparing for the grand opening.
Having secured the staff, Zhao Zhao, as the carefree little manager, happily lay back in her sunny tea room, even contemplating a small drink.
Cloud Haven (Yunze)
The next day, Boss Wang from the construction company arrived personally for the inspection.
On the east coast, it was just her house and the small inn in the front. The road leading from the main road had been paved with bluestone slabs. The inn and her house had similarly sized courtyards, neatly arranged, with a three-meter path in between. Zhao Zhao decided to plant bamboo there in the spring.
The inn was also surrounded by a rectangular courtyard wall. To the west was a stone-paved road, with the west wall of the courtyard featuring an entire marine world. This wall was made of the same material as an aquarium tunnel, one meter wide and three meters high, with an underground temperature control and filtration system.
Unlike her home, the inn's entrance had a pair of stone hitching posts. They were replicas of Tang Dynasty stone hitching posts, with high-relief designs of fierce animal faces on the front, exuding a majestic aura.
The inn’s gatehouse was also grander than her home’s low-key one, with a two-story gatehouse and deep eaves, giving it a magnificent appearance. Inside the gate were two gatehouses for security and staff to rest.
The courtyard had a flower-paved street, with a rock garden in the center, similar to the one from Yaoguang’s realm but larger, standing over four meters tall. To the east was a large tree that required two people to embrace, the oldest tree from Yaoguang’s realm, whose fruit caused small animals to grow hair. Its canopy spread like an umbrella, with winding branches perfect for ornamental greenery. Zhao Zhao also had smaller bonsai versions of this tree in her greenhouse.
To the west, a pavilion with a zither was built, with greenery partitioning off several irregular tea seating areas, designed cleverly and harmoniously, with stone tables and stools that wouldn’t be used this year due to the cold.
The buildings included two structures, both with white walls and black tiles like her house, featuring large eaves and deep overhangs. The two buildings’ ground floors were connected. The two-story side building on the west side, intricately beautiful, was designated as a tea room and dining area, with a signboard reading "Shi Li" hung above.
The main building had three stories, dignified and elegant, orderly without being rigid. The first floor had ten rooms, including eight guest rooms. The second floor had six guest rooms, with north-south exposure. The third floor housed the "Yunze" and "Dreamscape" suites.
With the furniture and decorations already in place, they were just waiting for the opening day.
Zhao Zhao and Boss Wang agreed to collaborate again if the opportunity arose, both parties very satisfied. Zhao Zhao happily paid the final payment. After calculating, the cost for three buildings, a covered corridor, the extra east wing in the mansion, custom furniture, and the marine world wall, reached over thirty million yuan. Good materials were indeed expensive.
However, Zhao Zhao felt it was worth every penny.
That evening, she secretly went to the small inn to do some last-minute work, making sure to finish everything before the employees started the next day.
First, she arranged the various bonsai she had been cultivating over the past few days in each room, placing the largest one in the lobby.
The largest bonsai, over a meter tall and two meters long, was an oval pot made of gray stone with a metallic sheen. The pot had a large belly and a small mouth, tilted to one side, with a young Loriza tree planted inside. Beneath the tree were two oddly shaped stones of the same color as the tree trunk, with fine grass covering the pot’s surface. Zhao Zhao claimed it was her most satisfying work, "Great craftsmanship that seems simple." Yaoguang scoffed at her, "You just don't appreciate art."
Next, she created a scene in the marine world. She laid sand and stones at the bottom, adorned it with variously shaped reefs, and added a few lush green kelp plants. Where did she get them from? Of course, from Yaoguang’s realm.
Finally, she poured in water from the inner sea and placed some white dragon eels of varying sizes into the tank. Done!
Back home, she was too excited to sleep, more thrilled than when she bought her boat. She got up, registered on two of the largest travel apps, applied for entry, and chose the nearest auspicious date for the opening, enabling online reservations.
She planned to price the "Cloud Haven" and "Dreamscape" suites at 5800 yuan per day, initially not listing them on the websites but listing the first and second-floor rooms.
- Heavenly Room (2nd floor): 3800 yuan per day
- Earthly Room: 2200 yuan per day
After completing everything, she flopped onto her bed, “Everything is ready, just waiting to collect the money.”
Yaoguang thought she was dreaming, “The island’s homestays cost a little over a hundred yuan per night. I’ve heard tourists mention it. Your price is ten times that.”
Zhao Zhao was prepared, “The renovation here is better than those in the city at the same price! Especially the third floor, with its external features! Not to mention, the inn is also covered by the earth vein core, with spiritual plants and aura. Our Cloud Haven targets wealthy individuals like Jiang Jianzhou. Without good hotels, they wouldn't choose to come to our island. Different classes have different needs, understand? Oh, and I’ll post on social media tomorrow. The first wave of 'leeks' will definitely include him.”
Yaoguang felt pity for Jiang Jianzhou, “Will they be the only ones who can see it?”
Zhao Zhao replied, “Am I that kind of person?”
You are.
She slept late and woke up late. By the time she got up, the marine world wall on the west side of the small inn was already surrounded by people. Manager Xia Yang and Da Linzi were maintaining order on their first day of work. It was no exaggeration—Chinese people love novelties. Yesterday, it was just a glass wall, but this morning it had become a marine world, attracting onlookers!
Even though the islanders lived by the sea, they had never been to an aquarium. Tourists might have, but they had never seen such a magnificent pure white fish swimming with such ethereal grace.
Thus, the islanders and tourists surrounded the wall, watching the white dragon eels devour the seaweed. “Everyone step back, you’re pressing against the tank!” Da Linzi shouted. Xia Yang also advised the tourists who were about to press against the glass, “Please be safe, pressing against the glass is dangerous. Sir with the selfie stick, please move back.”
Zhao Zhao called them over, “It’s fine, we have surveillance here.”
Order was quickly restored.
???
Professor Fan was also in the crowd. Seeing her, he squeezed over. He had been busy on the island recently, quickly becoming familiar with everyone. He directly asked, “Little Bear, what kind of fish is this? I’ve never seen it before.”
“This? It’s a white dragon eel. Haven’t you seen it? That’s strange.” Zhao Zhao acted as if everyone on Earth knew about it. She pointed to Da Linzi, “Ask him, we’ve all eaten this fish. It’s particularly delicious, just rare and hard to catch.” Da Linzi knew she had caught many of these fish from a secret trench. Zhao Zhao had instructed him that it was the signature fish of their fishery and not to reveal its source.
“It’s very delicious and beautiful. The pond at the neighboring house also has these fish. They look better than koi.”
Professor Fan began to doubt his own knowledge, “How come I’ve never seen it? That’s impossible. Such a beautiful fish should be memorable.” His student, Zhong Qin, excitedly chimed in, “Professor, could it be a mutated species? My goodness, have we discovered a new species?” The teacher and student were thrilled, eagerly discussing it.
She quickly pulled Da Linzi away, handed the keys to Xia Yang, and let her start interviewing employees.