Elder brother's garrison

Page 1714

"The number of customers brought in by unlicensed tour guides is very stable, and this is also an unspoken rule, as well as a matter of reputation..." the shop assistant said, bowing.

"Ha, who are you trying to fool? Other places' unlicensed guides can make money off their customers, but I don't know anything about the one you chose. She just brings people in and doesn't care about anything else. Do you think I need that kind of customer?" the woman said aggressively, slamming her hand on the table as she spoke. "Besides, how long has it been since she's had a single customer? This room has been empty the whole time? Do you think I'm doing charity? I told you last time to send her to another place as soon as possible. Either you find a freelance guide who can make money, or you don't use any guides at this place! She's going to leave anyway!"

"She opened for business the day before yesterday, and all the rooms are already rented out." The clerk hurriedly continued to explain to the woman, "I know Yu Gan well. Although she doesn't try to make money off customers like other unlicensed tour guides, her employers have always given her a very good reputation. With an unlicensed tour guide like her, our shop's reputation will only get better and better, and we'll earn more and more money in the long run. Besides, our shop has always focused on long-term operation based on reputation. I've already reduced her two rooms to one, minimizing the impact on revenue. I hope you can give her another chance!"

After the shop assistant finished speaking, he bowed humbly to the woman again.

The woman listened impatiently to the shop assistant's words, raising an eyebrow.

"She's opened for business?"

"Yes, it's the one behind you." The shop assistant quickly reached out his arm towards Xiaobai at the door.

The woman followed the shop assistant's arm and looked behind her, seeing Xiaobai.

"Is this newcomer?" the woman asked Xiaobai from afar.

“Ah, um…” Xiaobai responded.

"Oh..." The woman looked away, picked up her bag, and gave the shop assistant one last look. "Then let's give her a chance, but you have to urge her to find customers more often. I don't want my room to be empty for several days again. Okay, that's all for now. Someone asked me to play mahjong, I have to go right away. You do your job well."

Ding Ding Deng

The woman picked up her bag and left without looking back.

The clerk remained bowing in gratitude until the woman's figure disappeared from the hotel lobby, then straightened up and let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had escaped a disaster.

Chapter 2346 The Secret of Yu Gan

After letting out a long sigh of relief, the shop assistant suddenly realized that Xiaobai had somehow appeared at the counter.

Xiao Bai stood thoughtfully at the front desk, not saying a word, her bright eyes staring intently at the clerk's face.

"Sorry you saw something unpleasant." The shop assistant gave Xiaobai a wry smile, but her voice was very calm.

"Who is she?" Xiaobai asked the shop assistant.

“She’s the owner of this hotel,” the clerk replied. After a pause, seeing that Xiaobai wanted to continue listening, he explained, “She owns many shops and properties in Peicheng. This hotel is just one of her properties in Peicheng. She doesn’t usually manage the shops, but she comes here two or three times a month to ask about the general situation and take away the monthly income.”

"With technology so advanced these days, why does she still accept cash?"

"She has a group of mahjong friends, all wealthy women like her. They gamble big, but their skills are mediocre, and they often lose money, so they need more cash than the average person." The clerk paused, then smiled awkwardly at Xiaobai's somewhat confused expression. "Regarding what just happened, could you please keep it a secret, sir?"

"Sure, you're talking about gambling with mahjong, right? I won't tell anyone else."

"No...that's not what I meant." The shop assistant shook his head. "It's about the amla..."

"Ah..." After hearing the clerk's words, Xiaobai's eyes slowly lowered. "You mean the store manager just asked you to fire Miss Yu Gan?"

"Um.")

"So, reducing Miss Yu Gan's tour guide room from two to one wasn't your own idea, right?" Xiao Bai asked again.

"A last resort."

"It seems we misunderstood you before, I'm sorry." Xiaobai smiled at the shop assistant, but quickly became puzzled again, "But why didn't you let me tell Miss Yu Gan about this? Wouldn't it be better if the misunderstanding was cleared up?"

“What’s the point of telling her?” The shop assistant lowered her eyes and sighed softly. “Besides adding to Yu Gan’s pressure, there’s no benefit in telling her this… Her life is already difficult enough, and I don’t want this to be the last straw that breaks her back.”

"What should we do about this in the future?"

"Don't worry, despite how fierce she sounded at me, I've actually worked for her for several years now. This hotel hasn't been a huge success under my management, but it's been doing steadily for a long time, and the reputation among the locals has always been quite good. The boss won't fire me just because of a single empty room," the clerk said calmly to Xiaobai. "As long as I'm still working here, this empty room will definitely be reserved for Yu Gan to use as capital for her to continue running her unlicensed tour guide business."

"What gives unlicensed tour guides their capital?"

"Hmm..." The shop assistant looked at Xiaobai, slightly hesitant.

"Tell me about it," Xiaobai smiled.

"This is an unspoken rule in the industry, and it's not convenient to talk about it with outsiders..."

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to tell Miss Yu Gan about this, right?" Xiao Bai laughed happily.

"Guest, what you're doing is really a bit..."

"That's just part of the sales pitch."

The shop assistant looked at the smiling Xiaobai, then looked away and sighed.

“Many out-of-town tourists are essentially coming for the limited number of rooms they have. In other words, unlicensed tour guides without rooms are not competitive in Peicheng,” the clerk explained to Xiaobai after thinking for a moment. “Moreover, Yu Gan really does take guests sightseeing and will also advise them to stay away from those more profitable attractions—you should have noticed this after spending two days with her. Yu Gan doesn’t try to make as much money as possible from her customers, and most hotels feel that her behavior is not profitable, so they won’t cooperate with her.”

"So this hotel is the only one in Peicheng willing to cooperate with her?" Xiaobai asked.

"It's not fair to say that, but it should be... a very small minority," the shop assistant replied.

"I see." Xiaobai touched her lips, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What is your relationship with Miss Yu Gan?"

"Why do you say that, sir?" The shop assistant was taken aback again.

"Since there's nothing to gain from Miss Yu Gan, why do you still want to cooperate with her?" Xiao Bai asked. "And to protect her interests, you're even willing to argue with your boss, even though you don't dare to say a word when your boss asks you other questions... Could it be that you like Miss Yu Gan?"

"How could that be?" Upon hearing the last sentence, the shop assistant shook his head awkwardly. He explained to Xiaobai with a wry smile, "I'm ten years and six months older than her. I really only see her as my little sister."

"It seems you two do indeed have a personal relationship."

"...I wouldn't call it a personal relationship." The shop assistant said helplessly, then explained to Xiaobai, "Yu Gan's father and my elders had a good relationship in the past, and we were close neighbors. Now that this favor has fallen on our generation, although the relationship can't be as good as the elders', we will still help if we can."

"I see, I completely understand now." Xiaobai nodded.

"Can you keep this a secret, guest?"

"Has something happened to Miss Yu Gan's family recently?" Xiao Bai asked with her hands clenched tightly and a look of curiosity on her face.

"..." The shop assistant looked at Xiaobai helplessly. He closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead, and finally said, "Something did happen. Her father was originally a fisherman in Peicheng. The family owned a fishing boat, and although they weren't rich, they were quite well-off. But fate had other plans. About half a year ago, her father contracted a strange illness. They spent all their money on his treatment, and even sold their house and boat. Now they are heavily in debt. Although her father has survived, he has lost his ability to work. There are only the two of them in the family, and now the burden of life has fallen entirely on her shoulders."

“Oh…six months ago…” Xiaobai murmured, looking down in thought.

Looking at Xiaobai, who was deep in thought, the shop assistant scratched his forehead and said helplessly, "Actually, this is a family matter of Yu Gan's family. I shouldn't tell outsiders about it, but I don't know why, maybe it's because I've been holding this in for too long, plus you seem like a kind customer, so I just blurted it out without realizing it."

After finishing speaking, the shop assistant touched his forehead with a puzzled look, as if he was wondering why he had been so talkative today.

"After all, everyone says I'm a very good listener." Xiaobai smiled at the shop assistant, then put his hands behind his back and silently withdrew the mental tentacles that were wrapped around the shop assistant.

Chapter 2347 My Miss is So Cute

Xiaobai's admiral network has a powerful and astonishing wattage, which gives it a strong suppressive effect on ship girls and deep-sea deities. It can even infiltrate the bodies of ship girls or deep-sea deities by manipulating mental energy, and perform all sorts of unimaginable and unfettered operations.

However, Xiaobai's network of admirals is of little effect on ordinary people who have no mental strength.

This is a topic that's been discussed countless times.

While Xiaobai's Admiral Network has an almost godlike effect on ship girls and Abyssal Deans, it can only barely guide the target's emotions and observe their emotional state when applied to ordinary people. Moreover, when the target is on guard, the already meager effect of the Admiral Network will be further reduced.

Just now.

A series of footsteps sounded from the entrance of the building.

Baltimore pushed York down the stairs in a hurry. When they saw Xiaobai standing at the front desk, they breathed a sigh of relief and then rushed over to Xiaobai.

"Oh, so you were here, Miss! We were so startled when we woke up and found you weren't in the room!"

"It's all our fault for playing games too late yesterday, we're only getting up now... Miss Yu Gan has been waiting for so long for nothing... Huh? Miss, why are you with this person?"

York was speaking when she noticed that Xiaobai and the front desk clerk were standing a little too close. She immediately frowned, took three steps in two to Xiaobai's side, and shielded Xiaobai, watching the front desk clerk warily.

"You wicked man, you wouldn't happen to have designs on my young lady's beauty, would you!"

"How could that be..." The shop assistant quickly raised her hand with a wry smile, "She clearly didn't even take off her mask... Besides, I prefer someone more mature..."

"What! You dare say my young lady isn't pretty!"

"I...I didn't..."

"Even with a mask on, can't you feel this overwhelming cuteness! Look at that silky white hair, that exquisitely sculpted face, that delicate chin, that snow-white skin, those sparkling eyes!" York glared, grabbed Xiaobai's chin, and rushed towards the shop assistant. Then he hugged Xiaobai's waist, squeezing her figure with both hands. "And that slender waist, those adorable breasts and shoulders, and those long, beautiful legs! Even I, a girl, am completely captivated, and you dare say my young lady isn't pretty! Don't you have any aesthetic sense at all?!"

The shop assistants were forced to retreat under York's offensive.

“York…” Xiaobai smiled bitterly in York’s arms. She interrupted York and looked up to say, “I was just talking to this shop assistant about Miss Yu Gan.”

"Eh? Miss Yu Gan? If you want to talk to Miss Yu Gan, wouldn't it be better to just find her directly..." York loosened her grip on Xiao Bai's hand and looked around. She looked around the empty hotel lobby but couldn't find Yu Gan herself. Then she couldn't help but be stunned, "Huh? Where is Miss Yu Gan?"

"Yes, I'm curious too. Miss Yu Gan hasn't arrived yet," Xiao Bai sighed.

"Does Miss Yugan usually arrive late?" York asked.

"No, she's always very punctual," the clerk interjected.

"Could something have happened?" Baltimore said. "Miss Yu Gan seems to be very serious about her work. She wouldn't be late unless something really happened that she couldn't help it."

After listening to Baltimore's words, Xiaobai nodded.

“I just overheard a lot about Miss Yu Gan from the shop assistant… Hmm, since Miss Yu Gan hasn’t arrived yet at this hour, why don’t we go directly to her place to find her?”

"Her family sold their old house to pay for her father's medical treatment. They should be living in a cheap rental house now, but I don't know where she lives now," the clerk reminded Xiaobai.

"It's okay, I know." Xiaobai smiled at the shop assistant.

"?" Shop assistant.

"Anyway, thank you for today. We'll thank you properly when we get back from finding Miss Yu Gan." Xiao Bai waved to the shop assistant. "Now we'll be going."

After Xiaobai finished speaking.

Before the stunned shop assistant could react, Xiaobai grabbed the two ship girls and quickly left the inn.

"Admiral, Admiral... why were you smiling at that man?" After leaving the inn and walking down the street, York asked Xiaobai with a puzzled look, "Didn't we see him break his promise with our own eyes on the first day we arrived here?"

“Some things aren’t always as they seem.” Little White turned back and smiled at York.

"Huh? What, what do you mean?"

“Actually, there are quite a few hidden stories about this hotel…” Xiaobai recounted to York and Baltimore the conversation he had with the hotel staff that morning, word for word.

After Xiaobai finished speaking.

York and Baltimore stared blankly at Little White.

"Huh...huh??" York covered his mouth, looking surprised. "So...he's not a bad guy?"

“Yes, on the contrary, he is still trying his best to take care of Yu Gan in his own way.” Xiao Bai nodded. “When he talked about these things, I used the Admiral Network to observe his emotions, and he was definitely not lying.”

"So, York and I misunderstood him," Baltimore said apologetically. "What should we do... We'll have to apologize properly when we get back..."

"I, I..." York stammered, his face turning bright red, his expression a complex mix of emotions.

York was the one who had been most hostile to the shop assistant before. Now that the shop assistant had been exonerated by the admiral, York felt extremely ashamed when he thought about his previous rude attitude towards the shop assistant. He felt his face burning hot and wished he could find a hole in the street to hide in.

York was certainly not the kind of person who would stubbornly deny the truth even when it was right in front of her. After realizing she was wrong, all she could think about now was what to do.

“There’s nothing we can do about what happened.” Xiaobai turned to look at York, whose face was flushed, and smiled at her. “Actually, we don’t necessarily have to apologize. After all, you didn’t do anything special, right? As long as we are kinder to him next time we meet, he should understand.”

"Is this okay?"

“But next time you encounter something like this, you must make sure to verify the whole story before making a judgment. Don’t let this kind of misunderstanding about good people happen again.” Xiaobai clutched her chest and said to York, “Not only you, York, but I also need to learn from this lesson.”

Chapter 2348 The Execution of Justice

"Admiral, I will learn from this lesson..." York placed his hands in front of his thighs and bowed deeply to Xiaobai.

"Alright, don't be so down." Xiaobai couldn't help but laugh when she saw York's pitiful look. "Let's put this matter aside for now. Cheer up, we still have to go to Miss Yu Gan's place."

"Oh right!" York quickly looked up, then looked at Xiaobai with admiration and said, "Admiral, you were really prescient yesterday. If you hadn't used your carrier-based aircraft to track Miss Yu Gan, we would be stuck in the hotel now, worried sick. If Miss Yu Gan had really run into trouble, we wouldn't have been able to help her at all!"

"Where does Miss Yu Gan live?" Baltimore asked curiously from the side.

"Hmm... According to the information my carrier-based aircraft transmitted back last night," Xiaobai looked around, then raised his hand and pointed in the opposite direction from where he had gone to the wealthy area yesterday, "It should be over there."

Since Peicheng has a so-called "rich area", it must also have a so-called "poor area".

Of course.

The slums of Peicheng are not called by that name. Just as the wealthy areas are referred to as "high-end residential communities" by the locals, the slums of Peicheng are a cluster of old, dilapidated red and gray buildings. This cluster of buildings is located in the very corner of Peicheng, where transportation is extremely inconvenient.

When Xiaobai and her two companions arrived, they felt that compared to the ornate buildings and lush greenery of the wealthy neighborhood, this cluster of civilian buildings was at the other extreme. Forget about such luxurious scenery; it was simply a scene of utter desolation, with red dust everywhere. Rows of dilapidated buildings, some of which were practically crumbling, stood crammed together, and the ground was littered with bricks and tiles from the collapsed structures. Tourists were nowhere to be seen; only in slightly more open areas could one spot a few people, mostly groups of ragged children kicking a ball barefoot, their laughter carefree.

Aside from the children, other people noticed the arrival of Xiaobai and her two companions and would often turn their gazes toward them, staring at their glamorous attire for a long time.

"It's hard to imagine that this place is in the same city as that beautiful neighborhood with green hills and clear waters..." Baltimore felt a little awkward under the subtle gazes from all around him, and unconsciously scratched his shoulder.

"Does Miss Yu Gan usually live here?" York looked around at the houses with a worried expression.

York was worried that the fact that Yugan hadn't shown up today might be because the house had been blown down by strong winds while he was sleeping at home last night.

"Which building does Miss Yu Gan live in?" Baltimore asked, approaching Xiaobai.

"No, Miss Yu Gan doesn't live in an apartment building. The place she lives in now is even more dilapidated." Xiao Bai sighed and pointed ahead. "After passing through these buildings, there will be a cluster of hastily built wooden houses in the open space ahead. Miss Yu Gan lives in one of these wooden houses."

The three of them bypassed the old buildings in front of them and found a clearing about the size of a football field in the residential area. There were many crooked wooden houses—or rather, outhouses—standing on the clearing. These houses had basically lost the concept of "houses" and were now just shells built of wooden planks and thatched roofs.