Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 38 Slowly Exploring

Upon hearing Gu Qingyue's answer, Rong Qingqing, who was on the other side, felt a strong sense of curiosity. This kid actually knew how to do accounting?

Rong Qingqing, feigning composure, took out an account book from under the counter and handed it to Gu Qingyue, saying calmly, "Take a look, how was the inn doing before?"

Gu Qingyue took it without hesitation and began to read it. Traditional Chinese characters posed no obstacle for her, someone who had always been studying ancient medical books. A quarter of an hour later, Gu Qingyue looked up.

"Looking at the accounts, our inn's average occupancy rate last month was about 30%, and they were all short-term rentals. The longest-staying guest only stayed for two nights. The order rate for food was not high, probably because the taste of the food, you know, it was just so-so (I hope Master Huang doesn't hear this). In addition, the border is unstable, and the prices are not high. So, we lost 28 taels and 4 mace of silver last month."

After speaking, Gu Qingyue looked around at the three of them and concluded, "In short, judging from the general ledger, this inn has been losing money for almost a year. It may be that the old master Rong is in a bad mood and has no interest in managing it. The operation of this inn... is very sluggish." As she spoke, she shrugged. That was all she could see for the time being.

The ancient people's bookkeeping methods were really too hard on their eyes and brains. The numbers were written out in long letters, and they were recorded one by one without detailed classification. Purchases and sales were all in one book, which was quite tiring to read. Gu Qingyue had to automatically convert the long numbers into Arabic numerals in her mind to make it a little easier.

Gu Qingyue blinked her innocent big eyes at the three of them, waiting for their reaction.

"You're the one!" Rong Qingqing excitedly stepped forward, grabbed Gu Qingyue's hand, and stroked it repeatedly, as if she had finally found a piece of gold.

Wen Qinghong, standing not far away, also had his eyes shining with excitement. His admiration for Gu Qingyue had increased even more. Qingyue was amazing! He admired her so much! She even knew how to do business!

Meanwhile, Wen Qinglan, standing beside him, had a calm face, but a hint of excitement could be seen in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" A childish voice suddenly asked from behind them.

Everyone turned around and saw Xiao Nian standing behind them, wearing shorts, her messy soft hair standing on top of her head, reflecting a golden light in the sunlight.

Seeing everyone staring at him, he immediately put his chubby hands behind his back, and with the air of Manager Liu taking a stroll across the street, he raised his 'highly respected' (not really) little face and walked in with an air of not recognizing anyone.

Everyone:······

"Alright, that's settled then. I'll let you know once I've assigned the tasks. We'll discuss the specifics later," Rong Qingqing said cheerfully. She quickly walked over to the little guy and started giving him a good rub, which Gu Qingyue found very satisfying. Before Gu Qingyue could even touch him, Rong Qingqing picked up Xiao Nian and left.

From afar came the little one's protesting voice: "Why didn't you take me with you when you were whispering?"

"I want to participate!"

"Go back and get dressed first," Rong Qingqing said forcefully, as if the affectionate pounding she had just given her was nothing but an illusion.

Even though it's hot, it's still unacceptable for the little guy to run out without his clothes properly on. Rong Qingqing absolutely forbids this behavior!

Watching Rong Qingqing and her companion walk away, the three boys exchanged glances and laughed heartily...

three days later.

"Xiao Qinghong, did you sweep this floor? The blanket is still half on the floor, and this is how the bed is made?" Rong Qingqing's voice exploded in the ears of the three boys.

Gu Qingyue then realized that even the usually aloof and elegant classical beauty Rong Qingqing could get so angry that she would explode.

Upon hearing the sound, Wen Qinghong quickly got up, stuffed the remaining half of the bun into her mouth, and whispered as she walked out, "Tell Sister Rong that I've already gone to the market to look at the mountain produce, remember?" After saying that, she ran out the door and disappeared in a flash.

Looking at that disheveled figure, Gu Qingyue couldn't help but chuckle. This kid wasn't raised to do housework; he was clumsy and awkward. He still had a long way to go before he could learn these things.

Gu Qingyue was about to continue eating when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

Rong Qingqing ran downstairs, "Where's that brat?"

Gu Qingyue suppressed a laugh and gestured for Wen Qinglan to speak.

With a stern, unapproachable expression, Wen Qinglan said, "He said he just went to the market to look at mountain products."

After saying that, his face remained calm and expressionless.

Rong Qingqing: ······

Gu Qingyue: ......

Rong Qingqing held back her anger, then laughed and scolded, "That brat! I just heard his voice, and he ran away so fast! And you too!"

Wen Qinglan, who was innocently caught in the crossfire, looked bewildered: What does this have to do with him?

Rong Qingqing thought about how this simple-minded boy fed all the horses of his guests the finest feed, and she felt like vomiting blood.

He plopped down next to Gu Qingyue, panting heavily.

Gu Qingyue quickly went over and patted her back to calm her down: "Sister Rong, don't worry, we need to train her slowly and explore gradually. After all, we don't have any experience yet. We're still in the trial operation stage."

Rong Qingqing had only heard about the trial operation from Gu Qingyue. She understood what it meant, but it still wouldn't work!

Rong Qingqing gave her an annoyed look: "Then tell me, what should we do?"

"Now that things have come to this, we need to find more manpower," Gu Qingyue said at the opportune moment.

Seeing Rong Qingqing's gradually improving complexion, Gu Qingyue continued, "It's certainly impressive to have multiple roles, but none of us have experience. The more one person tries to handle, the more mistakes will occur. Let me think of a solution. Let's find some more people to train as apprentices. This will save us manpower and money. We can then provide unified training and standardize the service process to reduce loopholes. I've already started writing the training manual; let's review it together later."

This is the dumbest method Gu Qingyue can think of right now. Of course, there is a shortcut: find an experienced person to train them for a few days. After all, neither of them has experience running an inn, so they are feeling their way across the river.

Gu Qingyue's main job in her previous life was a special agent, but on the surface, she majored in economics and finance. During her studies, many of her deductions about business models were not made up out of thin air, but rather based on in-depth benchmarking of companies and careful research. She was very familiar with the characteristics and business models of companies, but she just lacked practical experience.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, but if it can lead to innovation and progress, why refuse?

Now, although it's not our own industry, we can still try our hand at it. Of course, we must try to hide our shortcomings and localize as much as possible, so as not to be rejected by this era and not to be seen as a monster.

After hearing Gu Qingyue's words, Rong Qingqing looked at this twelve-year-old boy with even greater respect.

"Where did you learn all this?" Rong Qingqing asked tentatively.

Gu Qingyue suppressed her inner unease, forced herself to remain calm, and asked somewhat blankly, "Do I really need to learn this from somewhere? Just think about it after staying at a hotel, and you'll understand."