Chapter 104: Family Task! This Counts Too?
When Zheng Yu was still surprised, Chen Han also wrote down a number and handed it to him.
The phone number was naturally for Wu Ying, the reporter from New City News.
If Zheng Yu really could, based on a bit of information he analyzed from the game system prompts, keep an eye on this matter, then Wu Ying as a reporter could definitely be a great help.
The key was that it was only a municipal hospital. New City News normally would not care, especially when her husband was a tycoon.
If a second incident really happened, it would mean that hospital was truly endlessly greedy and did not take patients seriously, and exposing that would count as doing a good deed.
It would be worthy of his status as clan leader of a righteous family.
So would this count as dealing with the demonic forces infiltrating the Pill Sect? If the Shu Shan Alliance led by the Emei Sect did not give him a reward, that would be too much.
He hoped the system could take that into account.
After chatting for a while longer, Chen Han had to go back to add water to the medicinal cuisine, so he left the reception room.
Chen Xiaoyan also took her husband and father back, but saw her husband holding the family head’s phone number, looking absent-minded. “Honey, what are you thinking?”
Zheng Yu came back to his senses and said in shock, “Just now I think Chen Family Head saw through my thoughts!”
…
Not long after Chen Han left the tourist service center, he saw that the flower beds built in various places of the Chen Clan had already begun to be planted with the Five Offerings Flower.
Orchid, chrysanthemum, lily, peony and the other offering flowers were all planted as mature plants, most of them the kind that could bloom quickly. Even if they did not bloom so fast, with spirit plant dew watering, they would bloom very soon.
Moreover, once they gained attributes like enchanting fragrance +2 and ornamental value +2, then even if these offerings were the most ordinary varieties, they would be flowers blessed by the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation, so they would be more fragrant than outside flowers and more beautiful and pleasing to the eye.
At noon while eating medicinal cuisine, as soon as his junior sister came in she reported the good news with a beaming face. “Senior brother, more than 200 rooms have been reserved for tomorrow, and the rooms for the day after tomorrow are already fully booked.”
“Mm!” Chen Han nodded. It was indeed good news. This was the benefit brought by the New City News interview. Their reputation had spread. Whether it was the ancient architecture, or the armor-wearing dogs, or the cattle receiving guests, all had great attraction.
Xiao Yu added, “Senior brother, once tourist numbers increase significantly, our current staffing is far from enough. We need to recruit more people, especially security staff when there are many tourists. There are official regulations: once the number of tourists reaches a certain level, we must be equipped with enough security personnel to handle emergencies.”
Chen Han nodded. These were all problems that had to be solved as they developed.
Just as he was about to speak, a special task prompt from the game appeared in his mind:
【Because of your efforts, the family has achieved great development. Family task activated!】
【With several victories over demonic cult rogues and the subjugation of the Dog Demon Tribe as guardian spirit beasts of the mountain, the Chen Clan has begun its initial development and has already become well known, especially as word has spread that the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea researched by the family’s Work Hall elders helps with cultivation. Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea appearing within the demonic forces has also attracted the attention of the demonic fiend Yang Chengzhi!
News has come from the Shu Shan Alliance that demonic cult rogues under Yang Chengzhi will infiltrate the Chen Clan Territory to investigate the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea and attempt to steal it. Please establish the Demon Subduing Hall and eliminate the infiltrating demonic cult rogues!】
This task was different from the earlier ones. It had a decorative Chen-family mark, which should indicate it was a family task.
What surprised him was that when the game system gave such a prompt, it meant that to a large degree there would be corresponding people causing trouble in reality.
For example, demonic cult rogues like Ming Di and the Left Path “Barking Immortal Guest” Fang Fang had been like that.
So this time might be the same.
The key point was that after so many stages of game plot, a demonic villain with a proper name had finally appeared.
In Shu Shan Swordsman, Yang Chengzhi was at first a young man rescued from demonic fiends by Qin Hana and others. But some people are born bad, and Yang Chengzhi was one of them. He was extremely selfish. Not long after entering Green Jade Cliff he attempted to murder Zhi Xian and steal immortal herbs. Later he even joined the demonic path, becoming the adopted grandson of Atan Hanpo, and tried to rely on demonic power to do whatever he pleased.
He had not expected that in the game plot, not long after the Chen Clan’s Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea flowed into demonic forces, it was targeted by this greedy fellow.
It seemed that Chu Hao, this demonic cult rogue, had not been doing things very carefully.
Thinking this, Chen Han said to Chen Dagou, “Uncle Dagou, let Uncle Shuisheng handle the specialty department from now on. You focus specifically on security. Recruit some strong and sturdy people from within the clan and personally train them. Our Chen Clan once had a tradition of drilling troops to protect the countryside. We cannot shame our ancestors.”
This was essentially the Demon Subduing Hall. With Uncle Dagou’s burly build, leaving the Demon Subduing Hall to him was reassuring.
“Mm, leave it to me. I’ll drill them to death.” Chen Shuisheng agreed at once.
After previously beating up the dog thieves, he had become obsessed with martial arts training. Although it was just security training, he could train it like soldiers. The thought alone made him eager to try.
Xiao Yu then spoke about Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea. “Senior brother, about the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea, Mr. Chu and Reporter Wu clearly have greater demand. We can recruit more people to increase yield.”
Chen Shuisheng echoed, “The new crucibles over there have all been built. We can hire more people to increase yield.”
Chen Han thought for a moment and said, “Uncle Shuisheng, this time also recruit those aunts and uncles who cannot go up the bamboo. Let them be dedicated to stir-frying the tea leaves. Also assign a few to Fifth Uncle’s side to do carving. Those who can climb bamboo go pick bamboo leaves.”
“Mm!” Chen Shuisheng nodded.
Xiao Yu continued, “Senior brother, with more tourists, the demand for cleaning staff will also increase. We can assign a few of the older grandmothers. They have all been asking already, wanting to earn some money to help the household, and they promise these easy tasks are no problem.”
Chen Han nodded.
Parents who truly love their children, even when old, cannot stay idle. They always want to do something for their children, instead of always making trouble for them.
Some parents have no ability, no foresight, no breadth of mind, yet love to act like supreme rulers or empress dowagers, pointing fingers at their children’s lives, interfering and stirring everything into chaos.
On this matter, Chen Han agreed. These older grandmothers had done farm work their whole lives, and actually doing a bit of work was better for their health than idling.
After that, while eating medicinal cuisine, Chen Han continued discussing matters with his junior sister.
Xiao Yu said, “Senior brother, besides those things, once tourist numbers increase greatly, we will also need more waitresses, kitchen helpers, and guides. The clan members who stayed behind have basically all been recruited.
“So this time let’s bring back a few young people who are working outside. After all, we’re running tourism. For waitresses it doesn’t matter, but for guides it is better to use young faces. Once they put on hanfu, at least it will give tourists a better impression.”
Chen Han nodded. “Mm, then have them come back. Also, now that the Chen Clan is developing, raise the salaries. For waitresses and guides, start at five thousand a month.”
Age was also an issue for guides. Think of those scenic spots: which guide was not young and good-looking? Even at scenic spots like Wudang, the guides were young Taoists.
So their Chen Clan could not keep having a group of middle-aged women guiding tourists.
Among the younger generation of the Chen Clan, there were very few like Chen Xiaoyan who got into top universities. Many only got into ordinary universities or had not gone to university and were working outside.
But working outside, even if they could earn more than seven thousand a month, while working as guides in the clan they would only earn five thousand, he believed everyone would still choose to come home.
Outside, after deducting rent, utilities, and social expenses with colleagues, there was not much left.
Working back in the village, housing and utilities and food were basically not a problem. The key thing was that they were surrounded by familiar friends. That felt good.
So their choice would not be hesitant.
Of course, for young people five thousand a month was not a lot, so they also needed to set up a reward mechanism later. When opportunities arose, they could give young people more chances.
Since family development could trigger family tasks, leading the Chen Clan to develop better might trigger more tasks.
Xiao Yu said, “Senior brother, there is one more matter: accommodation. Three hundred rooms are far from enough. Later, when national style events draw more people, many fans still hope we can think of some method.”
Only now did Chen Han realize there really were many issues. Hearing this, he thought for a moment and said, “Many houses of clan members stand empty. Discuss with everyone and have each free up one room. As for those vacant houses, all renovate them into feng shui rooms. We should be able to put together another one hundred and fifty or so rooms.”
The Chen Clan ancient architectural complex was very large. In modern times, in grandfather’s generation there were six brothers, twenty-eight cousins, and each had several sons. Most had their own courtyards.
Besides that, there were quite a few unused courtyards that had not been passed down and were reclaimed by the main family.
Those vacant courtyards could be promoted as detached courtyards, which would be one level higher than standard feng shui rooms.
Rooms freed inside clan members’ homes could be used as second-tier feng shui rooms. Standard feng shui rooms would be five hundred. Second-tier ones would be cheaper, since living in someone else’s home was somewhat less comfortable. But when there was no other choice, tourists would still look for them.
Naturally, all these rooms would be centrally arranged, and the money would go to the clan members.
Back when his dad started tourism, renting public areas and exteriors of clan buildings, he had not actually given clan members much rent. Now this could be considered providing additional residential income for the clan.
At this time Xiao Mi said, “After the national style events start, it may still not be enough. Many fans have already signed up to participate in the national style events with me.”
“Mm, first count the exact numbers,” Chen Han said. He also thought of the many villagers in Shangyuan Village who had empty rooms. If they could get villagers to tidy some up, that should solve part of the problem. It was just that there would be no air-conditioned rooms.
He could also look for an opportunity to discuss with Director Chen about opening a special bus line to the Chen Clan during the event, so tourists staying in the county seat would find it more convenient.
Once they had more or less discussed the matters, Chen Han asked his junior sister to notify everyone in the family group.
Recently the Chen Clan had been on the news more than once, and with so many tourists every day, many clan members who already had jobs arranged would film interesting stories about tourists and post the videos in the family group.
So everyone was very concerned about family affairs and knew that Chen Han as family head was truly developing the Chen Clan.
Now after Xiao Yu edited the discussed matters and sent them to the group, the whole group became lively.
This time they needed to hire many people, not only for the specialty department, but also for service, cleaning, guides, and security, with a large number of job positions.
“Family head is awesome.”
“Sister Xiao Yu, I want to come back and work!”
“Sister Xiao Yu, I want to apply as a guide.”
“…”
In an instant the whole family group was tagging Xiao Yu, especially the young people. Their questions were full of eagerness.
Young people of the Chen Clan working outside did not have it easy. As the saying went, stool is hard to eat and money is hard to earn, especially when encountering disgusting leaders.
Chen Jun was a typical example. He had only missed his leader’s birthday event, and the leader had been making things difficult ever since, constantly assigning overtime, using a salary of seven thousand five hundred to treat him like a beast of burden.
So, seeing the message Sister Xiao Yu posted in the group, he immediately planned to go back.
Back then, he had been one of the little followers trailing behind Sister Xiao Yu and Brother Han. When they played house, Sister Xiao Yu was the mother, Brother Han was the father, and he always played the son.
Rounding it up, Brother Han was his adoptive father, coming to save his adoptive son from the bitter sea.
The key was that Brother Han was really formidable now. He had also watched the video of him leaping over walls and running along eaves. He had never known before. The act had been hidden deep.
So this was what the clan elders called the main family.
However, he wanted to bring his girlfriend back with him, so he immediately sent Sister Xiao Yu a private message asking if a position could be arranged for his girlfriend as well. Seeing Sister Xiao Yu reply “ok,” his face lit up with joy.
Just as he was feeling pleased, a fat, big-eared man came over and slammed a stack of documents on his desk. “Chen Jun, playing with your phone at work, huh? Since you’re so free, finish these too. If you can’t, work overtime tonight!”
This drew looks from colleagues around them. They all gave him sympathetic glances, but since it was not their business, they lowered their heads as if they had seen nothing. After all, that supervisor was the boss’s brother-in-law.
Looking at the documents, Chen Jun lightly pushed them all onto the floor. Once he decided not to serve him anymore, that guy was nothing.
The supervisor instantly grew furious. “You don’t want this job?”
“If you refuse to approve my resignation, you’re my son!” Chen Jun said, and even raised his middle finger at him provocatively. Seeing this pig-like leader fume only made him feel happy.
The feeling of having backing and confidence really was something.
“If I refuse, you take my surname,” the supervisor snapped. Once he realized Chen Jun was quitting, without that “leader” identity, he really could not do anything to him. He could only spit out that line harshly and leave.
Not long after, Chen Jun left the company and went straight to a restaurant to see his girlfriend, who was working as a waitress.
“Chen Jun, at this hour, you’re not at work?” his girlfriend asked in confusion.
“I quit. I’m going back home,” Chen Jun said directly. Seeing her look tense at those words, he smiled, took her hand, and added, “I’m taking you back with me. Our family will arrange jobs for both of us!”
“Huh?” His girlfriend was clearly stunned. She knew her boyfriend’s family conditions were not great. How had a big “family” suddenly appeared?
Chen Jun smiled and showed her a video of Brother Han leaping over walls and running along eaves. “Know who he is?”
“That’s the Chen Family Head!” his girlfriend said.
“My surname is Chen. He is the leader of our family clan,” Chen Jun said with unspeakable pride. “The two of us will go back and work. Our salaries will both be five thousand, with room and board included. And my mom in the clan also has a salary of five thousand, my grandpa has three thousand five hundred, my dad earns seven thousand picking bamboo leaves. Later when the clan does accommodation, our family can provide one room at four hundred a night. If we’re lucky, we might make more than ten thousand a month from that alone. After a while, I’ll have enough to marry you.”
“???” His girlfriend was clearly stunned by the news.
She had always thought her boyfriend’s family conditions were average and that they were well matched. How had it suddenly turned into jobs being assigned for the whole family?
Counting carefully, just his family could earn more than thirty thousand a month.
It was not only Chen Jun. Many young people of the Chen Clan decisively resigned. Under the oppressive conditions where they were treated like beasts of burden, they suddenly stood tall for once. This newfound confidence made their trust in Chen Han as family head shoot to the maximum.
They could not wait to return and serve the family head.
…
On the other side, Chen Han took You Cai, a group of doggies, and Uncle Dagou to the crucible room where the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea was produced.
From the earlier family task prompt, it was clear someone had set their sights on Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea. According to the task, two things had to be done to complete it: first, establish the Demon Subduing Hall.
He had already assigned this to Uncle Dagou.
The rest was to deal with the demonic cult rogues who infiltrated the family’s territory.
In Shu Shan, Yang Chengzhi had liked petty thievery from the beginning. After joining the demonic path, many under him were similar people. So, according to the system’s abstract logic, the demonic cult rogues might be thieves.
Their target would definitely be the crucibles.
So he said to Chen Dagou, “Uncle Dagou, in the next two days someone will come here to steal Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea. Remember to pay extra attention. I will also have You Cai and the others guard this place.”
Thinking of it, with so many dogs, anyone who came would be surrounded by a pack. They might be scared silly.
Chen Dagou, however, looked at him in shock. “Xiao Han, how do you know there will be thieves? Can you foresee the future?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden pattering sound came from outside. Obviously, someone was there.
Woof woof! ~
You Cai barked loudly, then he and the group of doggies rushed out. Two panicked voices rang out:
“Don’t come over!”
“Get lost, go away!”
“Woof woof!”
“Woof woof!”
Almost at the same time, Chen Han stared in astonishment as a game prompt appeared in his mind:
【You received news from the Shu Shan Alliance and learned that demonic cult rogues infiltrating the family territory would come to steal Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea. Therefore, you stationed the Dog Demon Tribe there in advance to lie in ambush. As expected, demonic cult rogues under Yang Chengzhi of the demonic cult blundered into the ambush. They were forced to use all their skills to struggle with the Dog Demon King and his followers and tried to escape. After a day and night of pursuit, they were finally exhausted and captured by the Dog Demon Tribe!】
Chen Han was dumbfounded.
This worked?
Even those who walked into a trap would not be this fast, right?
And a day and a night, seriously?
Excuse me, had You Cai and the others even been out there for ten seconds?
