Chapter 98: Trying to Intimidate Me?

“You’re too late to regret now, idiot.”

Lin Qing’er gently pushed Shui Miao’s nose with her delicate fingers. The feminine charm that had long been absent from her face bloomed fully for Shui Miao.

Seeing Lin Qing’er so enchanting, Shui Miao couldn’t help but lower his head, wanting to kiss her again…

However, Wang Xiaomi suddenly stopped the car, coughed twice, and said, “We’ve arrived at the airport. If you change your mind now and decide to go back and get married, it’s still not too late, you know.”

Lin Qing’er’s lips barely brushed against Shui Miao’s before she quickly freed herself from his lap, opened the car door, and stepped out. Shui Miao and Wang Xiaomi also got out of the car to help with the luggage…

Originally, Shui Miao had only come to see her off…

But now, he ended up feeling heavy-hearted. If it weren’t for the lack of a passport, Shui Miao would definitely have boarded the plane with Lin Qing’er.

Time was pressing, so Lin Qing’er didn’t say much. She simply hugged Shui Miao, whispered “Wait for me” by his ear, and hurried off with her luggage.

Shui Miao gazed at Lin Qing’er’s retreating figure, his heart filled with words he couldn’t express.

The plane took off, and Lin Qing’er’s phone was turned off.

Back in the car, Shui Miao sat silently beside Wang Xiaomi, who drove in silence for a long time.

As they neared the hotel, Wang Xiaomi finally broke the silence softly, “General Manager, don’t worry. I can tell Lin Jie really likes you. She said she’ll come back, and she will. If she doesn’t return, we can just fly straight to Taiwan to find her—I, Wang Xiaomi, will accompany you.”

“Mm, Xiaomi, from now on, I’ll rely more on you and your colleagues to manage the hotel. I often don’t have time to be around. So from now on, you’ll also serve as my assistant and help coordinate all hotel affairs.” Shui Miao didn’t have time to stay at the hotel constantly, so he needed someone reliable to help. Wang Xiaomi was honest, kind-hearted, and capable—making her the ideal choice.

“Okay! I’ll definitely do my best, but there will be things I don’t understand. General Manager, you’ll have to teach me more.”

Wang Xiaomi had always felt it was a bit of a waste for her to be just a driver. Now that Shui Miao had entrusted her with such an important role, she naturally agreed immediately, secretly resolving to do this job well, to deserve both the salary and the trust.

“No problem. We’ll stay in touch at all times.”

A sense of relief washed over Shui Miao.

The car pulled into the hotel parking lot, and Wang Xiaomi said, “General Manager, since you’ve appointed me as your assistant, I must fulfill my assistant’s duties. Now that you’ve just taken office, you need to hold a management meeting to stabilize the team. If you have no objection, I’ll go ahead and schedule the meeting time?”

“No problem. Go ahead and arrange it.”

Shui Miao nodded. As general manager, he couldn’t just occupy the position without producing results. He had to ensure the hotel operated smoothly.

After getting out of the car, Wang Xiaomi immediately went to schedule the general manager’s meeting.

Meanwhile, Shui Miao headed to the security room. The security team had recently added five or six new members—veterans without family connections who couldn’t find other jobs. The hotel offered them good treatment, with salaries nearly double those of security guards at other hotels. Therefore, these guards were grateful and worked with high enthusiasm, surpassing the overall quality of Liu Xiao and others.

At that moment, Xiao Liu, Xiao Hu, and Xiao Tudou were chatting together.

To Shui Miao’s surprise, after getting to know Xiao Liu and others, Xiao Tudou had actually developed an interest in becoming a security guard. This surprised Shui Miao greatly. His little apprentice, who had always been detached from worldly matters, was now considering getting involved in mundane affairs. He couldn’t tell whether this decision was good or bad. If it affected Xiao Tudou’s cultivation, wouldn’t that be his fault?

After much consideration, Shui Miao rejected Xiao Tudou’s request.

Xiao Tudou was shocked and quickly asked why.

Shui Miao smiled slightly, put his arm around Xiao Tudou’s shoulder, and said in front of Xiao Liu and Xiao Hu, “I have a new idea. I want you three to help me with something big. Of course, the salary will be more than double what you currently earn. However, this task won’t be easy.”

Shui Miao realized that Xiao Liu and others’ overall abilities were no longer suitable for the current security team. He needed to assign them new, appropriate tasks without making them feel looked down upon by the hotel.

Hearing about a significant salary increase, Xiao Liu immediately asked, “General Manager, what kind of big task is it that would raise our salaries so much?”

Xiao Hu also looked eagerly at Shui Miao. He was already quite satisfied with his current salary, and a raise of more than double made him almost too excited to contain himself.

Shui Miao smiled slightly. “I’ll talk about it during the general manager’s meeting. You three will attend the meeting with me. I’ll reassign your work and give you a brand-new sky to start a business and develop!”

Shui Miao’s words were highly motivating.

Attending a general manager’s meeting was something Xiao Liu and others had never even dared to dream of.

Shui Miao asked Xiao Liu and Xiao Hu to take Xiao Tudou to the logistics department to find some suits to change into, then left the security department first and entered Dining Hall A. Since the hotel hadn’t opened to guests yet, dozens of attractive waitresses greeted Shui Miao’s arrival with a chorus of “Hello, General Manager!” making Shui Miao feel a bit embarrassed.

Hearing the greetings from the dining staff, Han Qing, the newly arrived beautiful head chef, quickly came out of the kitchen with a smile, extending her hand to Shui Miao. “Hello, General Manager. I’m Han Qing, the new head chef.”

Han Qing looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. If she hadn’t been wearing the white chef’s uniform, no one would have believed she was the head chef.

“Hello, hello!”

Shui Miao was momentarily taken aback, realizing that this beautiful head chef was indeed elegant and stunningly attractive.

Han Qing smiled, showing her cute little fangs. “General Manager, I’ve heard a lot about you. Auntie Huang asked me to make sure the kitchen operations run smoothly. For the hotel, for Auntie Huang, and for Lin Jie’s trust in me, I must work hard. However, there’s a small issue in the kitchen… General Manager, could we speak privately for a moment?”

“No problem…”

Shui Miao raised his hand and invited Han Qing to sit in the manager’s office inside the restaurant.

This manager’s office had originally been intended for Chen Bing, who now ran his own small restaurant, so the office had remained empty.

“Beautiful head chef, please speak freely.”

Shui Miao used this casual title naturally—after all, she was indeed a stunning beauty.

Hearing this nickname, Han Qing was momentarily startled. Seeing Shui Miao’s serious demeanor, she dismissed any inappropriate thoughts and assumed he was genuinely complimenting her. After all, every woman loves to be praised. Han Qing was no exception. She blushed slightly after hearing the compliment.

“It’s like this—the group of chefs left here previously don’t understand our European cuisine methods and can’t coordinate with us. Considering the hotel’s interests, since many guests still enjoy the original cuisine, I was wondering whether we could transfer them to Area B, set up another kitchen there, and specialize in the original cuisine. The hotel could have two head chefs, and let Restaurant A and Restaurant B compete in business. This way, everyone would be motivated, and the hotel’s unique characteristics could be enhanced. What do you think of this suggestion, Manager?”

“This is a great suggestion. I’ll make arrangements during the hotel’s general manager meeting.”

Shui Miao stood up, ready to go see the original group of male chefs and hear their thoughts.

“Manager, I have one more thing…”

The beautiful head chef stood up, frowning slightly and hesitating. “I have another not-so-mature suggestion. I want to… I want to create some new Sino-Western fusion dishes. However, developing these dishes would require some wasted ingredients, and the hotel’s budget for the kitchen is quite tight…”

Shui Miao understood immediately—this beautiful head chef was asking for funding!

“This requires careful planning. I’ll arrange the establishment of an audit team to consider any suggestions from employees. If feasible, I will fully support them.” Shui Miao didn’t want to promise hastily but also didn’t want to reject Han Qing outright, so as not to dampen her enthusiasm.

“Okay, okay.”

Han Qing was delighted, and she radiated charm.

Shui Miao and Han Qing left the dining area and entered the kitchen, where they saw the group of male chefs previously under Old Bi gathered together, chatting noisily. Meanwhile, the female chefs under the beautiful head chef were busily working in the kitchen. Seeing this scene, Shui Miao felt that these men were behaving inappropriately, displaying strong factional tendencies. Why could Han Qing’s team work so harmoniously while this group of men acted so petty?

Shui Miao wanted to get angry but held himself back. Considering that Old Bi and these chefs had previously maintained the hotel’s business well, and since he had just assumed the role of general manager, he couldn’t simply turn his back on them.

Seeing Shui Miao arrive, the male chefs hurriedly surrounded him.

“Xiao Shui, you’re finally here!”

“General Manager, we have a request…”

“We want to go to Area B!”

“Yeah, our cooking methods are different from theirs. They’ve taken over our space, so we can’t just collect the hotel’s salary without working. How about, General Manager, out of our past friendship, you let us take over Area B? We’ll continue with the original cuisine, which can retain our loyal customers.”

“Yeah, yeah, let us go to Area B!”

The chefs spoke all at once, creating a chaotic scene.

Clearly, they had already discussed this with the beautiful head chef Han Qing.

Shui Miao nodded. “Everyone, calm down. Elect a head chef, then come talk to me. I’ll give Area B to you, but you must prove your abilities. Also, going forward, your arrangement won’t be a contract system anymore. Instead, you’ll be directly employed by the hotel. This change isn’t for any other reason but to highlight each person’s value, ensuring that those who work harder, contribute more, and consider the hotel’s interests receive the corresponding rewards. I believe you all have no objections to this, right?”

This was Shui Miao’s reform—depriving the head chef of special privileges while improving the treatment of ordinary chefs.

Old Bi had left, and these men, without a head chef, were all ordinary chefs. Hearing this, naturally, everyone was delighted.

After realizing what was said, they all applauded in support.

Shui Miao then led everyone to Area B to make arrangements and plans, keeping himself extremely busy.

Running a hotel was indeed very busy, and it was rare for someone like Shui Miao to be so hands-on.

Below, not only was the general manager’s meeting waiting for him, but many people were also waiting for him—such as Sister Tang, Da Shuang, Xiao Shuang, Huang Yatou, and so on. Everyone had issues and ideas they needed Shui Miao to discuss and resolve. The most troublesome department was the entertainment department, which Shui Miao had yet to get involved with. The main reason he didn’t want to stay at the hotel was precisely this—being too busy to handle his own affairs.

But thinking of Lin Qing’er, Shui Miao had no other choice.

While he was busy, Wang Xiaomi hurried downstairs.

Seeing Shui Miao, Wang Xiaomi directly said, “General Manager, the meeting will start in ten minutes. There’s something unexpected—the entertainment department’s major shareholder, He Zhen, also wants to attend the meeting. From what I’ve learned from the veteran employees, He Zhen has always been low-key and never participated in hotel affairs, only collecting dividends at year-end. However, after hearing that Chairman Lin Qing’er left and her phone is turned off and unreachable, he suddenly emerged, claiming he wants to take over the hotel. General Manager, do you want to call Huang Yatou for help?”

“How old is He Zhen?”

Shui Miao didn’t expect someone to challenge him so soon.

“He’s over fifty. He used to be in construction and has substantial assets. Now he’s mainly involved in textile trade. It’s said that he had a good relationship with Lin Qing’er’s father. I don’t know why he suddenly showed up here causing trouble. I suspect this is a premeditated move.” Wang Xiaomi, a former reconnaissance soldier, was truly skilled at gathering intelligence.

Shui Miao rubbed his chin, narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly turned around and walked away. “I don’t care if he’s He Zhen or Tu Zhen. If he wants to intimidate me, I won’t even need to call on Huang Yatou—I can make sure he doesn’t get away with it.”