pertwk Chapter 2000: Booking a Hotel and Buying Furniture
Chapter 2000: Booking a Hotel and Buying Furniture
Chapter 2000: Booking a Hotel and Buying Furniture
"What?" The guesthouse staff looked at the woman in front of them with surprise. She was wearing a polyester dress and carrying a briefcase.
Wang Meilan glanced at the waiter, pushed her hand forward, and said, "I'm booking all the rooms in your guesthouse for the 15th and the 16th the day after tomorrow. How much will that cost?"
"You...you..." The waitress was a little confused. She had worked at the guesthouse for more than two years and had seen all kinds of guests, but she had never seen anyone book the entire guesthouse.
The waitress blinked, unable to calculate how much it would cost to book the entire guesthouse, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer Wang Meilan.
But when Wang Meilan's gaze swept over her again, the waitress felt a sudden jolt and blurted out instinctively, "How many of you are there?"
“You don’t need to worry about how many people will stay.” Wang Meilan raised her hand and said, “I’ll book the guesthouse for you for the 15th and 16th. Whether you stay there or how many people stay is my business.”
After saying this, Wang Meilan paused slightly, then added, "Even if I don't live alone, I'll still give you whatever amount you owe."
"I..." The waiter had never seen anyone like Wang Meilan before, and immediately said softly, "Please wait a moment while I call our manager."
In these guesthouses open to the public, the highest-ranking leader is not called the director, but the head of the department.
Wang Meilan nodded upon hearing this, and then she saw the waiter walk quickly to the door of the first room at the end of the corridor and knock softly, saying, "Director, Director."
Soon, the door opened, and a man's voice came from inside: "What's wrong?"
"Manager," the waiter said urgently, "Hurry up, a big order has arrived."
"What?" Xu Guoqiang, the director of the guesthouse, was taken aback. He thought to himself, where would he get big business if he was just running a guesthouse?
But since his subordinates had said so, Xu Guoqiang followed her outside.
After taking only a few steps, Xu Guoqiang saw Wang Meilan and the others standing in the lobby.
Having worked at the guesthouse for so many years, Xu Guoqiang was quite knowledgeable. He quickly deduced from the few people in front of him that the woman and the fat man were both wealthy.
As for the man with small, piercing eyes, Xu Guoqiang deduced from those bright, gleaming eyes that he was a ruthless character, probably a bodyguard or thug.
"Hello." Xu Guoqiang, lost in thought, greeted Wang Meilan and asked, "Are we here to stay?"
"Ah." Wang Meilan had already told the waiter twice, but she still patiently said to Xu Guoqiang, "Director, I'll be staying at your guesthouse on the 15th and 16th..."
"Use our guesthouse?" Xu Guoqiang was taken aback, wondering what he meant.
Then Wang Meilan explained, "I've booked all the rooms upstairs and downstairs for the next two days. How much would that cost?"
"This..." Xu Guoqiang was a little confused at first, but after working for many years, he quickly came to his senses and asked, "How many people live here?"
"Look, why are you all asking this?" Wang Meilan laughed. "You don't need to worry about how many people will be staying with me. I won't be short of your money, that's all."
After saying this, Wang Meilan gestured around and said, "You just need to promise that by the morning of the 15th, all the rooms upstairs and downstairs will be vacated for me. Then I'll book all these rooms for the 15th and 16th, and that'll be it."
"Well...that works then." Xu Guoqiang said, raising his hand to guide Wang Meilan and the others inside.
“On the first floor, there are four large dormitory rooms.” Xu Guoqiang went over and pushed open the door of one of the rooms, saying, “This room can sleep six to eight people. If you want it, it’s one yuan and fifty cents a room.”
The second floor has regular single rooms, some with two beds and some with three beds. Two-bed rooms cost 2.5 yuan each, and three-bed rooms cost 3 yuan each.
Wang Meilan and the others followed them upstairs. The ordinary single room that Xu Guoqiang had mentioned was indeed ordinary; there was nothing in the room except for a bed.
But unlike the dormitory-style rooms downstairs, at the east end of the second-floor corridor, there is not only a toilet but also a public bathroom.
"The third floor has some better single rooms." Xu Guoqiang led Wang Meilan up to the third floor. It was better because there was an extra table in the room, and there was a toilet and a public restroom at the end of the corridor.
Wang Meilan glanced around the room and noticed that the white bed sheet had turned yellow from years of use.
It was definitely inappropriate to use this to entertain the big boss, but Wang Meilan didn't say anything to Xu Guoqiang.
This is all the conditions in this small county town. There are no high-end hotels. The guesthouses for work units and military units are nice, but even if Wang Meilan is rich, she can't afford to book them all.
"How much is a room on the third floor?" Wang Meilan asked. Xu Guoqiang replied, "Five yuan a room."
The accommodations here aren't cheap, but that's how it is these days, and people who stay at guesthouses are usually on business trips. Whatever the accommodation costs, they'll be reimbursed when they get back.
“Okay!” Wang Meilan said directly, “Five yuan it is, I won’t bargain with you, but there’s one thing…”
At this point, Wang Meilan paused slightly, then changed the subject and asked, "Do you have accommodation here right now?"
“There are two,” Xu Guoqiang said, “but they’re both leaving tomorrow.”
“Then don’t accept any more guests,” Wang Meilan said. “Or you can tell them that we’ll come on the morning of the 15th, and there must be no one else here.”
"No problem." Xu Guoqiang agreed readily, just like the waiter had told him at the beginning—this was a big deal!
In a small place like Shanhe County, there are hardly any guests staying at the hotel all day long, and those who do come don't stay in single rooms; they all stay in the dormitory-style rooms.
It costs 50 cents for a single person to stay in a dormitory. How many dormitories would you have to accommodate to earn enough to cover Wang Meilan's private booking fee?
Downstairs, Wang Meilan took out five ten-yuan bills from her briefcase and slapped them on the table, leaving them for Xu Guoqiang as a deposit.
After receiving the receipt from Xu Guoqiang, Wang Meilan left the guesthouse with Zhao Youcai and Zhao Weipeng.
"Take care!" Xu Guoqiang waved to Wang Meilan, who was sitting in the passenger seat with Zhao Youcai, as he saw her off at the door.
"Alright," Wang Meilan replied, then said to Zhao Weipeng, "Let's go, brother, three hundred."
Shanhe County has three department stores. The one that Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan often go to is the No. 1 Department Store, which is what the locals call the No. 1 Department Store.
The Third Department Store mainly sells furniture, and today Wang Meilan and her friends need to buy sofas, tables and chairs, so they have to go there.
Zhao Weipeng started the car and drove off. Xu Guoqiang, who was standing at the entrance of the guesthouse, watched the car leave and muttered to himself, "Ah... so they're a couple after all, and that fat guy is the driver."
The Jiefang truck left the guesthouse and headed straight for the Third Department Store. Along the way, it passed the First Department Store and Yong'an Supermarket. Wang Meilan sat in the truck, gazing longingly at her family's businesses.
Only after the car turned the corner did Wang Meilan say to Zhao Youcai, "Remember to come back and buy some duvet covers and pillowcases before you come back."
"Buy a duvet cover?" Zhao Youcai frowned and asked, "What do you need that for?"
“Why buy that stuff?” Wang Meilan said, “Look at that stuff in the guesthouse, it’s all yellowed and burnt. How are we going to build that for them? Oh, and slippers too, let’s buy a few more pairs.”
"What are you going to do with all this stuff you bought?" Zhao Youcai said this because his family made all their own quilts and quilt covers.
"Don't worry about what to do with it afterwards," Wang Meilan said. "Just throw it in the storage room to collect dust. We need it for the next couple of days."
At this point, Wang Meilan raised her voice and said, "Our son has really gone all out this time, so we have to support him. We've already spent so much, what's a little more?"
Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai nodded slightly in agreement. He also knew that his son was doing something important, otherwise he wouldn't have given his full support.
Soon, the Jiefang truck stopped in front of the Third Department Store.
Wang Meilan led a group of people into the house in a flurry, and what greeted their eyes was a dazzling array of furniture and appliances.
"There are sofas for sale over there." Jin Xiaomei pointed eastward, and as Wang Meilan led her people there, a saleswoman came up to greet them.
"What are you looking at?" the saleswoman asked. Wang Meilan pointed to the sofa over there and said, "The sofa."
"Sofa, are you looking for leather or fabric?" the salesperson asked again. Wang Meilan replied, "Leather?"
"How many people are in your family?" the saleswoman asked again. Wang Meilan replied, "I'm not employed by my family, I'm employed by my workplace."
"For work? Office, I guess?" The saleswoman was about to introduce a sofa that could seat five people when Wang Meilan said, "I want the one that can seat forty or fifty people."
"How many?" The sales clerk was taken aback, then turned to look at Wang Meilan and asked, "Forty, fifty, or ten people?"
"Just arrange seating for fifty people," Wang Meilan said. The saleswoman's face changed drastically: "Where are we going to find seats for all those people? Are you holding a company-wide meeting?"
The saleswoman felt that Wang Meilan was making fun of her, but Wang Meilan looked at her and said, "Ah, we just use it for a big meeting, how did you know?"
Salesperson: "..."
"Sister-in-law," Zhao Weipeng said to Wang Meilan, "How can the sofa seat so many people?"
After saying that, Zhao Weipeng pointed to the "one-two-three" combination sofa set up over there and said, "Six people is usually the most."
"Huh?" Wang Meilan looked at the sofa set over there, which consisted of a single sofa, a double sofa, and a triple sofa. A coffee table was placed around them.
Seeing Wang Meilan looking at the sectional sofa, the salesperson stepped forward and said, "You can also change the two-seater to a single-seater. Then, put the coffee table in front of the three-seater and the two single-seaters on either side of the coffee table."
"Oh, that works!" Wang Meilan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she said, "Then you give it to me..."
Wang Meilan turned to Zhao Youcai halfway through her sentence and asked, "How many sets can we fit in that room?"
“Eight or nine sets are no problem,” Zhao Youcai said. Wang Meilan looked at the sales clerk and asked, “Do you also have those tables with chairs around them?”
"Yes, do you want a round table? Or a square table?" the saleswoman said, leading Wang Meilan and the others inside.
Inside were tables and chairs, and Wang Meilan took a liking to a black round table with a chicken wing pattern. This round table could be used for meals and could be fitted with eight chairs around it.
"Give me four sets, including the table and chairs," Wang Meilan said, pointing to the table. Then she pointed to the sofa and said, "Four more sofas, please."
“Sha…” The saleswoman was taken aback, then heard Wang Meilan say, “I want the kind you just mentioned, not the kind for two people, but with a single seat on each side.”
Hearing Wang Meilan's words, the saleswoman gave her a deep look and then said, "If you're that good-looking, the coffee table alone is 380 yuan a set."
"Okay." Wang Meilan tapped the table and asked, "How much is this?"
"This table, plus eight chairs, is eighty-five yuan." The saleswoman had barely finished speaking when Wang Meilan slapped her hand and said, "Four sets of the same, bill please."
So happy!
The sales clerk stared at Wang Meilan in shock. From the moment she brought her people in to the moment she slapped her, less than ten minutes had passed.
"Can you deliver?" Wang Meilan asked. The salesperson replied, "Yes, we can, but you'll have to pay for delivery."
"That's alright," Wang Meilan said. The sales clerk quickly asked, "Where should I deliver it to?"
"Do you know that supply and marketing cooperative at the west end of the city?" Wang Meilan asked. The saleswoman nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes."
“That was the old purchasing station,” Wang Meilan said. “Now that we’ve bought it, you’ll deliver it there for me.”
"Deliver it there... four sets of the same..." The saleswoman calculated in her mind, then looked at Wang Meilan and said, "Give me five yuan, and I'll deliver it all to your house."
"Okay!" Wang Meilan readily opened her briefcase, took out the money, and asked, "When can you deliver it?"
"Not today..." the sales clerk said. Wang Meilan asked, "How about 10 a.m. tomorrow?"
"Okay, okay," the sales clerk replied twice, then went to issue the invoice to Wang Meilan.
While the sales clerk was issuing the invoice, Zhao Youcai whispered to Wang Meilan, "Lan, are we going to make another trip tomorrow?"
"Then let's not bother with that." Wang Meilan smiled and looked at Zhao Youcai, saying, "I'll leave it here for you. Find a guesthouse to stay in for the night, and then you can go over there tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai's expression changed instantly. He was afraid that he would get lost in the city, but he said to Wang Meilan, "No, Lan, I have to go home. I need to prepare deer tendons and such for tomorrow."
"Hehe..." Wang Meilan laughed. At this moment, Zhao Weipeng said to Zhao Youcai, "You don't need to stay, brother. Isn't your sister-in-law's nephew the manager of our supermarket?"
We'll go buy some duvet covers in a bit, then give him the key over there, and he can come tomorrow. That way we won't have to go through all that trouble.
As soon as Zhao Weipeng finished speaking, the saleswoman came over with the receipt. As she handed the receipt to Wang Meilan, Wang Meilan asked, "Take me over to see your electric fan."
"Electric fans?" Upon hearing this, the saleswoman gestured for Wang Meilan to follow her. But after taking two steps, she heard Wang Meilan behind her say, "Pick out ten of these, give me the best ones."
Upon hearing Wang Meilan's words, the saleswoman paused, as if tripped by something, stumbled forward, and stopped in her tracks.
"What are you doing?" Wang Meilan reacted quickly, grabbing the waiter's arm. But then Zhao Youcai asked her, "Why did you buy those electric fans?"
"We'll throw two of them into the recycling station," Wang Meilan said. "We'll take the remaining eight to the guesthouse for the next couple of days, and then take them to our homes before we go home."
Yesterday marked the start of the dog days of summer, and today the temperature is a stifling 31 degrees Celsius. Wang Meilan was worried that important clients would suffer in the small guesthouse when they arrived, so she decided to buy several electric fans.
Everyone understood her idea; after all, none of them were short of money, and buying an electric fan would save them from suffering in the summer heat.
But then, Old Master Zhao said to Wang Meilan, "Zhao Jun's mother, who stays in a guesthouse and even brings an electric fan?"
Wang Meilan knew that Grandpa Zhao was joking with her, but then Zhao Youcai called out to Grandpa Zhao, "Uncle, please stop talking. If you keep talking, she'll bring over a few more TVs later."
"Hahaha……"