Edited by Wiji and Noks
Once it was night, Le Yao summoned Ji Fengyu and Rong Gui. Le Yao not only planned to build a hotel and supermarket for Ji Fengyu, he also would build an inn for Rong Gui. When the time came, whether they were a modern or ancient ghost, as long as they wanted to stay, they could choose where according to their preferences. As for how to collect money for these services, that was very easily handled. Silver, gold, precious stones, antiques and precious medicinal materials could all be used as long as they were valuable to the living.
Ghosts didn’t have physical entities, so they couldn’t carry them even if they had something? No worries! Le Yao had a special confirmation team that could confirm whether or not the things were real. Once they were confirmed to be real and the undead had agreed on the deal, someone would dig them out from underground!
Previously, Le Yao only had Ji Fengyu. But now, in addition to him, he was also being helped by Song He and Wang Feixia. Later, several other ghosts were also recruited, which included Bei Hongli, Bai Yan and Zhang Yuan.
It was also a coincidence that Song He had opened a supermarket chain before he had died, while Bei Hongli had previously managed a hotel. The two were particularly experienced in this management field. Le Yao found that although Song He seemed to be crude and frugal while Bei Hongli was meticulous in mind, both had very high I.Q., which was important for a great helper.
As for Ji Fengyu, Bai Yan and Zhang Yuan, these guys had already lost count on how many undead they had come to know over the past few hundred years. They were very skilled in recruiting soldiers and buying horses. Wang Feixia had also inherited his family business, which was a food chain, when he was still alive. The Underworld restaurant seemed feasible.
“What’s the point of the Underworld restaurant?” Ji Fengyu was a little confused. You could open a hotel and rent a room, but a restaurant? Can you really sell rice?
“Every night, our soldiers will have a meal at the cafeteria. If the undeadwant to have any meals, they can order it according to the recipes provided and then add their own preferences, and then we can burn it for them!” said Le Yao. “It’s very simple. In addition, I won’t have to do this behind my husband's back anymore, so it’s very convenient.”
At this moment, Xu Yao was in the study, and he knew that his wife was having an important meeting with his ghost brothers in the living room.
When his name was mentioned, Xu Yao looked up from the document he was reading and glanced over at his wife.
Wang Feixia said, “This can be done. Then, I’ll make a list of all the available flavours of incense, and then they can choose which one they want burned!”
Le Yao smiled, “Yes, that's good. Later, when we have more staff, we can open a shopping mall to sell clothes and supplies.”
Bei Hongli said, “Un. Right now, there are many ghosts in the Underworld and the demand for offerings is very high. But there is only demand, and almost no supply. As far as I know, a small section of the ghosts during the early days have accumulated a lot of materials, which is pretty good. The rest, however, are basically wandering around, living with no fixed place.”
It was conceivable that if Le Yao successfully implemented his plans, how lucrative would his business be in the future?
“Well, let’s find the right place first. The location should not be too close to the Flying Wolf Division's camp, so as to not affect their normal work and the rest of the soldiers. You can look around and find a place suitable for the hotel. Preferably a flat and open space.”
“Well, let’s do it.”
“What about you, Old Rong? Are you going to look for a place for the inn by yourself or should we arrange it?”
“You can arrange it. The design of the inn is also up to you.” Rong Gui continued, “If possible, I'll try to find some old ghosts for you.”
“Alright. Let’s start with the most basic tasks first.” Le Yao instructed, “You should go around to different places and choose the best locations, and also recruit some more ghosts as staff tonight. As soon as tomorrow night comes, we’ll meet here again. I’ll get started on designing the hotel, restaurant and inn layouts and print them out by tonight.”
“What about the salary?”
“Tentatively, one pillar of incense per day will be the 'basic salary', and bonuses will be dependent on their performance. We don’t have any specific standards to use as a reference right now, so Brother Song and Brother Bei, please help me decide how to arrange these things properly.”
“No problem.” Song He said, “Actually, don’t say anything about giving one pillar of incense a day. Even if it's only one pillar of incense a month, a lot of ghosts will still come.”
There were at least hundreds of millions of ghosts in the Underworld. Song He wasn't worried about not being able to recruit any employees. He was just worried about having too many applicants and too few positions.
It turned out that what Song He had thought would happen did happen. They didn’t have to go to any ghosts they didn’t know, as almost all the ghost friends that they knew wanted to do the jobs. Just think about it, they had been wandering around the Underworld for decades, hundreds, or even thousands of years. They were 'immortal' and would not die. No one prayed for their salvation or worshiped them. Even if they wanted to do anything, they didn’t meet the physiological conditions to carry out those tasks. So, they would merely exist, day after day.
Those who couldn’t stand 'living' but not living, finally choose to burn under the sun. But such pain and suffering was not what ordinary spirits could withstand. If notbereft of all else, who would want to make such a choice?
Ji Fengyu only needed half an hour to recruit twenty employees. He used the paper and pen that Le Yao had burned for him and took Bai Yan and Zhang Yuan along to register all the employees' information, while Bei Hongli and Song He went out to search for the best location for their businesses. They found a suitable place in a short time. Since they had been roaming this area for very long, they already knew this place like the back of their hand.
The selected location was about 200 kilometers away from the Flying Wolf Division Camp, between the sea and the back of the mountain. It was definitely a good place to build a resort for the living. Of course, it was also not a bad location for the resort in the Underworld. If it wasn’t for the fact that Le Yao was pregnant and should have a good night’s rest, Ji Fengyu would have gone directly to Le Yao for further discussion.
“Old Bei, what do you think about this place?” Song He asked Bei Hongli, who had been a bit absent-minded after coming to this place. Some of the ghosts had been old when they died, some had been young when they passed away, but they had all spent a long time in the Underworld by now. So, to distinguish seniority, the ones who died in their later years had the word 'old' added in front of their names.
“It should be alright to designate this as a villa and residential area with houses for sale with Brother Xiao Le. The hotel business will be good, but I think that there will be more ghosts who would want to buy a house. Besides, shouldn't we consider cooperating with the undead soldiers of the Flying Wolf Division?”
“Why?” Ji Fengyu smiled, “To let the Flying Wolf soldiers come over to watch?”
“To ensure public security.” Bei Hongli continued, “The undead soldiers of the Flying Wolf Division could act as law enforcement agencies. Right now, there are no original laws in the Underworld, and neither Lord Yannor his underlings exist. But if we want to develop this business well in the long run, we will need someone to enforce some rules.”
“Yes, that’s very reasonable.” Song He said, “Let Brother Xiao Le ask Mr Xu about this. I don’t think it’ll be a big problem.”
“Un. Then write that down for now and mention it tomorrow night.”
Le Yao now had a regular rest schedule. He basically went to bed before 11 o’clock every night, and then got up at 6 o’clock the next day. He also liked to take a nap at noon. In any case, he had done everything that was good for keeping the children healthy.
The next day, as soon as Le Yao woke up, he saw that Xu Yao had already risen. Xu Yao hadn't left the bedroom, and was just sitting on the bed while reading a document that had been projected onto the wall.
“Husband, what are you looking at?” Le Yao rubbed his eyes.
“Looking at a proposal about the visiting applications from the relatives of the Undead Army,” said Xu Yao.
“Did you think about whether we should tell the families of the Undead Army?” Le Yao read it, and Xu Yao showed him the document which had discussions on whether to let the families of the undead soldiers know that they still existed in this world in another form.
“Yes. This matter will be troublesome.” Xu Yao continued, “Some family members are parents, and they will definitely want to see their children. No matter what form they have, I think it will be a comfort to know that they are still alive. But there are also family members who are spouses. According to our recent survey, some of the spouses of the soldiers are still single, but there are still some who have remarried. Once the existence of the undead army becomes public, it will inevitably have an impact on the living and the dead, so it’s really not easy to decide right now.”
“Then, let's consult the undead soldiers to see who wants to meet their relatives and who doesn’t, and don’t make their existence public for the time being, after all… how to say it, even if it’s made public now, the living people won't be able to see them.”
“Well, I’ll think about it.” Xu Yao ordered Leslie to put away the projection and smiled at Le Yao, “Let’s go wash up and then have breakfast.”
The two took a bath together, all the while looking at each other, but at best they could only touch it. Then they sat on the dining table and ate the porridge and buns that Le Yao had asked the smart chef to make before going for a bath. Previously, by the time Le Yao ate a bun, Xu Yao would have finished at least three to four. Now, Xu Yao and Le Yao would eat almost the same amount concurrently .
Le Yao looked at the smirking Xu Yao in front of him. He was embarrassed and said, “What’s with that smile! It’s your children who are eating, not just me!”
Xu Yao said, “Yes, my babies eat a lot, who dares to say that they only eat a little?”
Le Yao pointed a spoon at Xu Yao and made an expression of 'weigh your sensibility', and then looked down and pinched his stomach.
Fortunately, I haven’t gained much weight, and my stomach hasn’t grown significantly.
It was almost the end of May. He had lived in the Flying Wolf Division for quite some time, and his children were almost two months old.
'Fall in May' was the lilac flowerthat bloomed on the side of the road which went from the living quarters to the Command Center. Le Yao still remembered that Yan Jie had told him about this flower. Although it was heat-resistant, it would wither in May, thus it was called so. It had been a long time since he had seen this flower. Visible on the ground, in the air, it was like a flower covered with a delicate layer of snow. Sometimes, there would be a gust of wind, bringing with it the flower's fragrance. It was very beautiful.
Seeing that the temperature outside was not very high today, Le Yao asked Xu Yao to take him on a walk to the place covered with purple petals. He also asked Leslie to record some videos and take pictures of them.
Xu Yao didn’t know what he wanted to do, but still enjoyed walking on the carpet of flowers with Le Yao.
Leslie took a lot of pictures for them, and most of them were when they were wearing the sunscreen suit and were covered tightly. There were also several photos taken with their faces exposed.
One was handsome and tall, the other was sunny and beautiful. One of Xu Yao’s habits was to tickle Le Yao’s chin like a kitten, and such a moment was also photographed by Leslie. One liked to pamper and the other one was too shy.
Due to pedestrians on the road, Le Yao felt embarrassed at the PDA they displayed.
Later, after walking out of the garden of flowers, Xu Yao asked Le Yao, “Alright, let’s rest for a while. Why did you want to take so many pictures all of a sudden?”
“Can I make an account on the Tarot blog website?” asked Le Yao. “I just want to show everyone the current situation in Huaxia and the living conditions of the people of the Flying Wolf Division here. I want more people to know about it.”
Xu Yao said, “Let's forget about Tarot's website.”
Le Yao was a little disappointed, “Oh…”
Xu Yao continued, “But you can enrich Huaxia's website.”
Le Yao: “Ah?”
“The higher ups were recently notified of the circumstances here. Let's build our own website and publicize the achievements of the Flying Wolf Division who have been guarding Huaxia during the past few years, so as to attract more people to Huaxia. You know, I stayed here after the war mainly because of two things: one is to continue guarding Planet Huaxia, and the other is to find the heart of the sparrow. Right now, we can't even see the shadow of the heart of the sparrow, but it is true that Huaxia has been getting better and better. One day, this place will become fully habitable for humans again.”
“I hadn’t thought too much about this matter before, I just figured that if more people could be attracted to come here, there would be more opportunities available for the undead who wanted to be reincarnated,” said Le Yao.
Xu Yao concurred, “That's right. So you can create some material for the website when you are not busy or tired. I have already informed Yan Jie to build the website. You can talk to him.”
Le Yao nodded, “Alright! Then, can I show Mr General's splendid and handsome face on the website?”
Xu Yao slowly pointed to his face.
Le Yao hurriedly looked around, saw no one, and kissed him on the mouth!
Xu Yao laughed and said, “No.”
Le Yao: “!!!” You liar!
…