’Boss, you really think highly of me,’ Yao Yao thought. ’I just wanted to come here to dance and sing, but you’re giving me such a difficult job. I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it.’

She was on the verge of tears, but a glance at Zhao Xueqing’s serious and confident expression sparked a competitive fire within her. ’What an act,’ she thought to herself. ’You’re the one who’s really good at pretending. I don’t believe for a second you’re not feeling the pressure. Hmph. If you can do it, then so can I!’

So she pulled herself together and put on a capable expression!

The tasks Li Xiang had assigned them were indeed difficult, but it wasn’t non-negotiable. If they had refused or shown any hesitation, a reasonable boss like Li Xiang would have certainly lightened their load.

However, both girls had looks on their faces that screamed, "I can do it!" and "Li Xiang, I’ll get it done, you can count on me!" so Li Xiang continued.

In truth, it was nothing too extreme. He just wanted one of them to be in charge of the National Style Tavern, and the other to handle the National Tea House, the Western-style coffee shop, and the milk tea shop. They would need to write proposals and create lists of necessary items, such as what kinds of alcohol and tea to stock, which brands of coffee machines were better, and so on.

After that, they would also have to handle procurement, negotiate prices with suppliers, and even travel to inspect the goods and conduct on-site evaluations.

As for the performances, they needed to plan the program and figure out how to interact with the customers.

Building something from scratch was, of course, a tedious process. Since Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing had relevant work experience, he entrusted it to them.

In reality, Zhao Xueqing was also nervous, but she didn’t let it show. As for Yao Yao, she figured that if Zhao Xueqing could handle three establishments by herself, what was the big deal with her only being in charge of one tavern?

’Why does she get three and I only get one?’ The thought even crossed Yao Yao’s mind, but thankfully, she bit her tongue and didn’t say it out loud. She truly didn’t dare take on any more work; if she failed, she would disappoint Li Xiang.

’This is all manager-level work.’

’How long had it been since they graduated high school? All their previous training had been focused on their specialized performance skills, so how could they possibly handle this kind of work?’

Fortunately, Li Xiang was generous. He promised a handsome bonus for a job well done and even approved a 20,000-yuan budget for each of them for performance outfits. They had complete freedom to decide how to choose them, how many sets to buy, or even if they wanted to design and custom-order them.

The only requirement could be summed up in one word: "Beauty!" They absolutely had to make themselves look as beautiful as possible.

However, anything with too little fabric or that was too revealing was off-limits. This was the National Style Tavern and the National Tea House, not some shady establishment.

And Li Xiang was incredibly generous, transferring the funds on the spot. He sent 20,000 yuan to each of them, leaving them both completely stunned.

The moment Yao Yao saw the bank notification for the deposit, her stress instantly vanished. She became excited, looking like she was raring to go. "Li Xiang, don’t you worry! Yao’Er hereby declares that she will absolutely complete this mission!"

Zhao Xueqing felt goosebumps rise on her skin. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly and said, "I will also do my best."

"Alright, that’s all for today. The buildings aren’t finished yet, and we don’t have a formal office space. For the next few days, everyone can work from home. Just stay in touch."

’Work from home? This is great!’

The two girls couldn’t help but smile.

Actually, Li Xiang was also planning to build an employee dormitory so that staff could stay overnight if events ran late.

Although the plan included a resort hotel, and he could set aside a few rooms there for staff, the hotel was part of the project’s second phase and wouldn’t be ready so soon.

Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing did have some prior experience, after all. One had worked at a bar as part of the "atmosphere team," and the other had demonstrated the art of tea at a teahouse. Although neither had been a manager, they knew a thing or two. After returning home, they both started trying to write their proposals and draft their lists.

When they were unsure about something, they called their former colleagues to ask for advice.

Since both of them were cute girls, their former colleagues were more than happy to help. They even sent photos of things like liquor bottle labels and equipment nameplates.

The bottle labels had detailed information about the liquor, and the nameplates listed the manufacturer and model number.

Some colleagues were particularly helpful, recommending suppliers they knew and offering a lot of valuable suggestions.

It has to be said that girls, especially pretty ones, have a significant advantage in the workplace.

The two also updated their respective social media account bios.

Yao Yao’s now read: "Artist signed with Eternal Night Media, Manager of the National Style Tavern, Soul Dancer."

Zhao Xueqing’s read: "Artist under Eternal Night Media, Manager of the National Tea House, Long-beaked Copper Pot Kung Fu Tea Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor, Senior Tea Artist and Tea Taster."

’I only wrote three titles, and she gets to write four? How is that fair?!’ Unwilling to be outdone, Yao Yao thought for a moment and added the title "Chief Courtesan" to her own bio.

When Zhao Xueqing saw this, she couldn’t help but purse her lips. ’Chief Courtesan? Are you so sure you’re prettier than me? How shameless. Don’t you know "courtesan" isn’t exactly a good word?’

Lei Xiaohui was following both of them. You know, they were all neighbors from the village and had participated in the last Li Family Village gala, so everyone followed each other. Lei Xiaohui was instantly bummed. After asking the two of them, she found out they had both been signed by Li Xiang.

’What the hell? How could she stand for that?’ With her fiery temper, she immediately called Li Xiang. "Why can they get signed, but I can’t?"

"..." Li Xiang was silent for a moment. "Then give me a reason."

Lei Xiaohui said, "I can cosplay as Hua Mulan, the Female General. I can perform Martial Arts at your tourist attraction, and I can also patrol and maintain public order. Is that a good enough reason?"

An image of a tall, valiant female general immediately appeared in Li Xiang’s mind. ’How could I have forgotten about her?’ he thought. Lei Xiaohui was so tall and had rather delicate features; if she cosplayed as Hua Mulan patrolling the grounds, it would be a huge draw. Plus, her Martial Arts skills were impressive—teaching a few troublemaking punks a lesson would be no problem for her. Who in the entire area would dare mess with the Lei siblings?

So he quickly said, "More than enough, more than enough! Come on over, and we’ll sign the contract right away."

Lei Xiaohui let out an excited whoop, told Lei Jiaming, and then zipped over to Li Xiang’s house on her electric scooter in a great flurry.

Li Xiang gave her 10,000 yuan for costumes, telling her to custom-order at least five performance outfits. The salary he offered was 150,000 a year, which was quite high, and Lei Xiaohui was ecstatic.

After a moment’s thought, Li Xiang called Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing separately and instructed them to keep their salaries confidential and not to tell anyone.

Both girls were sharp as tacks. They knew Li Xiang must have hired someone new for less pay, so they both agreed to keep their lips sealed.

After all, talking about this kind of thing wouldn’t do them any good. Most importantly, it would be bad if Li Xiang got angry.

Next, Li Xiang needed an accountant. While the village committee had one, they were only suitable for handling small accounts. With his investment of tens of millions, which would only grow, the committee’s accountant wouldn’t suffice. Fortunately, when Zhao Xueqing heard about this, she recommended her cousin’s wife. The woman worked in the county seat, was a senior accountant with an intermediate professional title, and could work part-time, coming over one day a week to do the books.

Meanwhile, the appointment documents for the Village Party Secretary and the approvals for the residential land plots also came through.

The appointment of a Village Party Secretary usually happens in one of four ways: recommendation and election, public recommendation and direct election, open selection, or direct appointment. Li Xiang’s path had actually been through public recommendation and direct election.