Chapter 215: Chapter 166: Recruitment, Doomsday Experience Plan, Film Crew Arrives (Part 2)

The people who had stayed behind in Li Family Village, as well as many who had left to find work, all saw the news. A good number of them called Li Xiang to confirm it. Li Xiang would say a few simple words and then inform them that the National Style Tavern, National Tea House, coffee shop, and milk tea shop were all about to open. After the movie was filmed, the scenic area would also begin operations. He invited everyone to come back and visit when they had time.

People in the surrounding villages were also buzzing about it.

Some of the elders in the village, along with the village committee members, were thrilled. It looked like for next year’s communal feast, Li Xiang would be putting on an eleven-course banquet.

Granny Li Xiang, basking in the villagers’ compliments, was beaming from ear to ear.

At the construction site, the renovation of the Holy Realm Garden was nearing completion. The grass was a lush carpet, flowers bloomed in a riot of color, and various landscape trees were verdant and thriving. There were pavilions and gazebos, small bridges over flowing streams, and with spring just coming to a close, the scene was enough to make one sigh in admiration: *A maiden says spring is not yet late, and here is the true Jiangnan.*

The Celestial Country—though not Jiangnan, it surpassed Jiangnan in beauty.

Several mid-level managers and technicians from the construction company were making their rounds, inspecting the work. If there were no issues, they could ask Li Xiang to come for the final acceptance.

Since the Shelter was going to be used for filming, the plan had changed: the garden section would be accepted ahead of schedule.

The previously negotiated total cost had also been adjusted, with part of the payment being transferred to the second phase of the project—the Shelter inside the mountain.

The fact that this scenic spot had so quickly been chosen by a major director and famous stars for a movie, and that Li Xiang himself would be playing such an important role as Yin Zhiping, left everyone in a state of unparalleled shock.

Xiaolu, the engineer who had previously offered his "unwarranted criticism" and believed Li Xiang would lose money, was now filled with emotion. "I was wrong. I was so wrong. I never expected Brother Xiang to be such a go-getter. The next time I see him, I have to apologize to his face."

...

In Li Xiang’s numerous fan groups, everyone was deep in discussion.

Luo Feifei was secretly lurking, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Although she was aloof and often played the part of an otherworldly master, she was still a young woman at heart. On a whim, she popped up using her "Top Aunt" identity and teased everyone in the fan group about the news, congratulating Li Xiang on landing such a great role.

A fan asked, "Little Aunt, aren’t you angry? The Brother Xiang you’re sponsoring is going to be in a passionate scene with another woman."

’What in the world would I be angry about? Both roles are me. Haha,’ Luo Feifei thought.

Top Aunt: "I’m genuinely happy that Brother Xiang has become so popular. After all, like many of you, I watched him grow from an unknown."

"Yeah, it really wasn’t easy. Last September, Brother Xiang only had a few dozen fans. Now, about eight months later, he has over twelve million!"

"Whoa, you call that ’not easy’? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what ’not easy’ means?"

"Brother Xiang, your Top Aunt popped up! Oh, wait, she should be called Auntie Number Two now. Get out here and greet your guest!"

After being tagged by his fans, Li Xiang saw that "Little Aunt" was online and came out to chat for a bit. She was one of his most important supporters and had been incredibly generous to him. How many gifts had she sent him over time? It was a debt of gratitude for recognizing his potential.

Li Xiang had always held a deep sense of respect and gratitude for his Top Aunt.

Luo Feifei: "Call me Little Aunt."

Li Xiang: "Hello, Little Aunt."

"Good boy~" Luo Feifei clutched her phone and let out a laugh that sounded like a honking goose.

To everyone’s surprise, many of Sichuan Province’s official media accounts began promoting the story.

Needless to say, this was Zhang Youyou putting her family’s connections to use. Li Xiang called her to express his thanks.

At the same time, Li Xiang called the three girls over for a small meeting.

"I called you all here today mainly to talk about hiring."

In the backyard, around the large bluestone tea table, Li Xiang, Zhao Xueqing, Yao Yao, and Lei Xiaohui sat in a circle, discussing business in the style of a casual chat while sipping tea.

Besides tea, the table was also laden with pour-over coffee, small pastries, cookies, fruit, and nuts. It was practically a tea party; no other company had such a relaxed atmosphere.

The grand opening was just around the corner, and they couldn’t possibly keep running everything with just the three of them. So, recruitment had been put on the agenda.

"Leave that to us. A lot of people have already called dibs on jobs," Yao Yao said, patting her chest after taking a sip of clear tea.

Zhao Xueqing nodded repeatedly. "I have some high school classmates who are willing to come and help me. Staffing won’t be a problem."

Lei Xiaohui, munching on a crisp cashew, made a pleasant crunching sound. "My brother wants to be the captain of the security team, and a few of the young guys from the village want to be security guards. He asked me to mention it to you."

"No problem." Li Xiang snapped his fingers. The young men from Lei Family Gully were all skilled in Martial Arts, perfect material for security. He thought for a moment, then added, "Besides security guards and a captain, the attraction will have some other projects later on that will require hiring many actors."

"Actors?" the three women asked, curious.

Li Xiang explained, "After the movie is done filming and our attraction officially opens, I have a few plans that will need people to play zombies, wild men, and so on. We’ll probably need twenty to thirty actors per batch. Since we’re a Shelter, we’ll organize some super-realistic doomsday-is-coming experience events. If they’re successful, we can scale up to large-scale events with over a hundred people."

Seeing that the three of them were still confused, Li Xiang took out a pen and paper and began to sketch while he explained.

For example, when doomsday strikes, how to escape, what to pay attention to—it would be like a safety drill, practiced in advance in the form of an experience camp. That way, if a real doomsday ever came, people wouldn’t panic.

This was a plan he’d had for a long time. Besides, this kind of gimmick was very popular. There were already successful examples at other attractions, like wilderness survival, adventure expeditions, and even war reenactments, like fighting off invaders and staging charges.

His purpose in telling them was to let them put out some feelers in advance, so they wouldn’t be scrambling to find actors at the last minute.

"Don’t worry, Brother Xiang. For the zombies, I feel like we could find some of the elders in the village. Their movements are already a bit stiff, so they could just play themselves," Yao Yao joked.

Lei Xiaohui added, "Yeah, yeah! There’s not much to do in the countryside right now. If they can come have some fun and earn eighty or a hundred yuan a day, a lot of people would definitely be willing."

Li Xiang said, "Let’s not get anyone too old. If something happens, we can’t afford the liability. We’ll arrange for a pre-employment physical, which can also count as a benefit."

If the check-up revealed any serious underlying or potential health conditions, they certainly couldn’t be hired.

The company was just starting out, with only a skeleton crew, so the three girls had to wear many hats. To boost morale, Li Xiang made them a promise: "If you do well, this year’s year-end bonuses will be huge—starting at fifty thousand!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Whoa!~~" Yao Yao led the cheers, her face lit up with a brilliant smile. "Brother Xiang, you’re so generous!"

Lei Xiaohui was also thrilled. "My old boss acted like you were killing him if he gave out five thousand."

Zhao Xueqing waved her hand, a look of ’let’s not revisit the past’ on her face. "You’ll laugh when you hear this, but my year-end bonus last year was only 800 yuan. It was right around then that Brother Xiang was hiring, so I quit."

Talking about their past "bitterness," everyone shared a knowing smile, feeling that their current jobs were truly "sweet."

The pleasant tea party had turned into a session of reminiscing about past hardships to appreciate the sweet present.

"Alright, alright, get back to work. Let me know if anything comes up."

With the tasks assigned and the tea mostly finished, Li Xiang declared the meeting over.

「Five days later.」

The film crew was highly efficient. The director, Luo Feifei, and a number of other stars and crew members arrived in a large convoy at Li Family Village.

Many news outlets came to report on the event, countless villagers from the surrounding area came to watch the excitement, and many fans from the city, the provincial capital, and even further away came to show their support.

By this time, the garden portion of the project had been formally accepted. Li Xiang was very satisfied and settled the corresponding payment with the construction company. Then, the National Style Tavern, National Tea House, coffee shop, and milk tea shop all opened for business at the same time.

Li Family Village was once again a sea of people, bustling with extraordinary energy.

Many villagers returned to their old trade, setting up small stalls to do business.

What shocked everyone, however, was the appearance of two completely wild giant pandas in the bamboo forest on the mountain behind Li Family Village.