The dishes had all been served when Nian Suian suddenly remembered she wanted to tell Liu Jian about the sand piles. After some thought, she decided to wait until after the meal to bring it up, not wanting to spoil their appetite.
"Suian, if you want to eat later, just come to the restaurant anytime. If you're too lazy to come over, we can also send food to your room," Liu Jian said.
"I understand. Thank you for your trouble," Nian Suian replied.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all! With Old Gu not here, I have to take good care of you. Otherwise, he'll definitely come after me later," Liu Jian chuckled.
Hearing this, Nian Suian laughed and said, "Come after you? Are you actually afraid of him?"
"Sister-in-law, you don't know, but back in our university dorm, Old Gu was our big brother."
As he spoke, Liu Jian's form of address for Nian Suian changed back again. Although she still wasn't used to it, she couldn't be bothered to correct him anymore.
"Big brother? Because he was the oldest?" Nian Suian asked casually.
The question actually stumped Liu Jian, because if they were talking about age, Qin Wei was actually a few months older than Gu Junxing.
"Well... we just felt he was more reliable," Liu Jian said. He couldn't quite explain why or when they started treating Gu Junxing as their leader. In his memory, it seemed that at some point, they all just got used to following Gu Junxing's opinions.
Nian Suian asked curiously, "Was he like he is now back in university?"
She was quite interested to know if there was ever a time when he was young and impetuous, or if he was ever "silly and cute" like Gu Zhijing is now...
Liu Jian rubbed his chin, "Well... he wasn't exactly like he is now. Didn't I mention before that he even led us in skipping classes? How should I put it, he was much more lively than he is now."
A lively Gu Junxing...
Just imagining it in her mind made Nian Suian shudder involuntarily. It was simply too terrifying.
Liu Jian casually mentioned a few more interesting stories from their university days. For instance, Gu Junxing insisted on using a coffee machine in their dorm, but it was confiscated by the dorm manager on the grounds that high-power electrical appliances weren't allowed. He argued but failed, and in the end, he was even required to write a self-criticism.
Another time, Chen Shu was being pursued so intensely by a girl that he desperately claimed he liked Gu Junxing. After this incident, indeed no more girls chased him, but they had more male pursuers instead.
Nian Suian laughed heartily at these stories, using them as conversation to accompany her meal. She even ate an extra bowl of rice.
After finishing the meal, Nian Suian finally told Liu Jian about the sand piles.
"I accidentally walked quite far today, and I heard from that girl that there's a small path nearby leading to Ji Family Village. There were several piles of sand there. Is that part of the hotel's property?"
"Oh, that place!" Liu Jian slapped his forehead as he remembered. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten we had that piece of land! We originally planned to clear that area. Later, we thought that when guests come, those who bring dogs could temporarily board them there. This place is big, and I couldn't think of any other use for that plot of land. The idea of pet boarding was actually Old Gu's."
"I think that area should be cleaned up soon. The dogs haven't arrived yet, but the cats have already started using it," Nian Suian suggested.
"It's so far away, I completely forgot about it. Thank you, sister-in-law. If you hadn't mentioned it, I really wouldn't have remembered," Liu Jian said gratefully.
"Don't mention it. The hotel is already very nice," Nian Suian replied modestly.
After the meal, Nian Suian planned to return to her room. Liu Jian said he would arrange for someone to deal with the situation there and also talk to the kitchen manager about that girl's matter.
"Old Wang, is there a girl named Xin Yuchun in the kitchen?" Liu Jian asked.
The manager's name was Wang Xiangui. He used to be a chef, but a few years ago he suddenly had a cerebral hemorrhage and almost died. Fortunately, he recovered without any sequelae, but he didn't dare to continue his old profession. So he switched to managing logistics, overseeing the hotel's kitchen affairs.
Wang Xiangui was introduced to Liu Jian by a high school classmate, who said he had some conflicts with the head chef at his previous restaurant and quit.
At that time, Liu Jian was in urgent need of someone, and since it was an old classmate's recommendation, he didn't think too much about it and directly hired him.
"Xin Yuchun... Xin Yuchun... Oh! I remember now. Mr. Liu, you mean Er Ya, right?" Wang Xiangui asked.
"Er Ya?" Liu Jian frowned. What a terrible nickname. "I don't know if she's called Er Ya, but there shouldn't be anyone else with the same name in the kitchen, so it must be her."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Liu. Everyone in the kitchen calls her Er Ya. I couldn't remember her real name for a moment. Is there something you need from her, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Jian was looking down at a message on his phone and didn't notice Wang Xiangui's expression.
"It's nothing much. She helped me out today, so I'm planning to give her a 5,000 yuan bonus. You can handle that later." Currently, in addition to their basic salary, hotel employees also received extra bonuses based on their work performance. These were all compiled and submitted to the finance department by the heads of each department.
Hearing this, Wang Xiangui's eyes darted around, and he came up with an idea.
"Mr. Liu, this young girl has been performing quite well. But we have enough hands in the kitchen. What do you think about me transferring her somewhere else? Do you need her for anything?"
"She's doing well in the kitchen, so where are you planning to transfer her? What would I need her for?" Liu Jian was puzzled.
"Well... I saw you giving her such a generous bonus, so I thought you must have taken a particular liking to her..."
"Wang Xiangui." Liu Jian interrupted him before he could finish.
"You don't need to handle this matter anymore. You can go now."
"Ah? Alright, Mr. Liu." Wang Xiangui thought Liu Jian had changed his mind because he really wanted to transfer Er Ya away. He didn't think too much about it and went straight to the kitchen after leaving.
"Er Ya, Mr. Liu said he's going to give you a bonus," Wang Xiangui said with a smile, trying to pat the girl's shoulder, but she dodged to the side.
Wang Xiangui's smile faded, and he said with an ambiguous expression:
"You're quite capable, little girl. Don't forget about your Uncle Wang when you make it big."
What Wang Xiangui didn't know was that after he left Liu Jian's office, Liu Jian immediately called for his secretary.
"Go notify the HR manager to recruit a new kitchen manager. Then go to the kitchen and find a girl named Xin Yuchun. Ask her if Wang Xiangui has ever bullied her. If not, have HR fire him directly. If he has... call the police first, then fire him," Liu Jian instructed his secretary with a serious face.
He was inwardly cursing the classmate who had recommended such a person to him. What kind of person was this old man with a belly full of evil schemes, and what did he take Liu Jian for? Just thinking about Wang Xiangui's expression earlier made Liu Jian want to vomit.
Liu Jian thought that this kind of person might have done even more disgusting things. As a man, it wasn't convenient for him to ask, so he sent his secretary. Of course, he hoped there was nothing...
Upon hearing the latter part of Liu Jian's instructions, the secretary's expression changed. After leaving the office, she immediately went to the kitchen to find the young girl.
Because of Wang Xiangui's earlier words, Xin Yuchun was already scared. When she heard that Mr. Liu's secretary had come, she became even more frightened.
Zhao Yue called her to her private office and said gently, "Little sister, don't be afraid. The boss said he's going to fire your Manager Wang. If he's done anything to you, you can tell me. We'll handle it."
