Novels2Search
Time Hotel
Chapter 5: The Hotel is Open

Chapter 5: The Hotel is Open

He laid a red carpet in front of the door, yesterday ordered a few flower baskets also delivered, placed on both sides of the door, figure a colourful.

  Did not invite friends and relatives, also did not pretend to spread some confetti intention, the opening is probably like this, too much pursuit of rehearsal and the form of the future business is not much help.

  It wasn't long before the old mage came down and sat on the sofa, watching the scene indifferently.

  Ethan sat at the counter and yawned.

  "Looks like you didn't sleep very well last night." The old mage smiled, "Was it too much excitement?"

  "Insomnia for quite a while, do you mages have a cure for insomnia?" Ethan asked without looking up.

  "A lot of spirit spells can do that, it's just that they're all at least second level spells, or spells that the state strictly requires a special licence to use on special occasions." The old mage said calmly, "There are those that can make you pass out instantly, those that can make you lose consciousness, those that can make a day pass as soon as your eyes are closed and opened, and those that can make you have sweet and nice dreams, do you want to try?"

  "Could be." Ethan responded coldly.

  "Whichever one you want to try, I'll satisfy you tonight." The old mage's voice was pale and his tone calm.

  "...... "Ethan was silent, "I want the kind that doesn't dream, and preferably I can sleep through the night, I won't lie, I haven't had a good night's sleep in over ten days."

  "Understandable." The old mage nodded, then turned his head to survey the surroundings, "An inn is supposed to let people have a good rest, in our world, every inn will have devices to soothe and calm the mind and increase the quality of sleep. I can instead set up one for your inn as well, no one else will be able to feel it anyway, consider it as my room fee for staying here on loan and an opening gift for you!"

  "Hmm?" Ethan froze, "There's such a thing?"

  "It belongs to something very simple in our world." The old mage twisted his head and surveyed the wall as he spoke, "Let me set up a spell for you."

  "Then thanks a lot."

  After about nine o'clock, out of Ethan's expectation, there were people coming over one after another with baskets of flowers to show their support.

  He hurriedly went out to receive them.

  At first, the bosses of the supermarkets and restaurants on the left and right sides saw him arranging the flowers, and in the spirit of good relations, they brought a small, cheap basket of flowers over to congratulate him. Then there were his parents' colleagues, the professors and lecturers of the university, whom Ethan had some impression of. Then there were about ten students, Ethan reckoned that they were students in his parents' class, graduate students or something like that.

  At one time, the flower baskets were placed in front of the hotel, giving people a feeling that "this boss has a wide range of relationships".

  We didn't stay long, congratulated each other, drank a glass of water, some people would remember Ethan's parents, sat down and said a few words, and some people left without saying anything.

  It wasn't until eleven o'clock that Elaine rode her bicycle slowly down the street.

  In the front basket of the bike was a small miniature flower basket.

  Ethan stood in the doorway, looking at her with an expressionless face.

  Elaine parked her bike at the curb and locked it before walking over with the small flower basket, frowning at the piece of the doorway that looked like it wasn't cheap, then looking up at Ethan again, she said, "You didn't have to buy so much even if you were pretending to look good! Don't know how to be thrifty at all!"

  "These are from the teachers and students at the school." Ethan said expressionlessly, glancing at the small flower basket in her hand again, "I can see you're quite thrifty."

  "It's okay." Elaine said lightly, placing the small basket of flowers in her hand casually on the ground -

  It was the cheapest of the baskets, the smallest of the baskets, a real bamboo basket with miscellaneous flowers in it, not a decorative basket for the opening of a business, Ethan guessed that he could have taken it for twenty or thirty dollars at the most, and perhaps Elaine had even shopped around and cut down on the price.

  Elaine pushed her way into the hotel facade and caught a glimpse of the old mage sitting on the couch. Frowning, she looked to Ethan and asked in a whisper, "This is ......"

  "Guest." Ethan replied without a trace of emotion.

  "A guest so soon!" Elaine looked at the old mage again, "Rather auspicious."

  The old mage nodded at her, "Hello, young lady."

  "Hello." Elaine smiled faintly in return, then her eyes surveyed him with some suspicion, frowning.

  "What's wrong?" The old mage asked with a kind smile.

  "I won't hide it from you, it's quite a coincidence, my father used to have a dress that looks very similar to this one you're wearing ......," Elaine was amazed, "and a pair of trousers that are exactly the same, ergo, the shoes actually have a pair of exactly the same ones as well! "

  "...... "The old mage's face stared for a moment, then smiled slightly, "What a coincidence."

  "Don't believe it yet, it's true!" Elaine said, "Because my father's pair of trousers got a cut on the back of his buttocks, that day my mother went out to work on her business, I was the one who sewed it for him, and the sewing ...... wasn't very nice, so I remember it vividly."

  The old mage sitting on the sofa leaned slightly towards the backrest of the sofa, his movements somewhat unnatural.

  Ethan was the one who was so embarrassed that he almost blushed, "Don't dwell on these coincidences, you should explain to me first, I gave you two hundred dollars, and you brought such a thing over?"

  Elaine sniffed and turned her head, looking at him with a serious face, "The gift is light."

  "How much is that flower basket?"

  "Two hundred."

  "How much exactly?"

  "Twenty-five."

  "...... "Ethan was speechless and changed the topic, "You should be filling out your aspirations, right? Have you figured out which school you want to go to? What major?"

  "Please just mind your own business!" Elaine frowned in displeasure, "How many times do I have to say, don't talk to me in a parental manner."

  "......" Ethan was helpless and a little embarrassed in front of the old mage, "So what's for lunch today?"

  "Risotto, spicy hot pot!" Elaine didn't think twice, "You don't have time to go back and cook, order takeaway."

  Ethan dryly ordered takeaway and secretly helped Old Mage order one as well. He felt that calling on Old Mage and Elaine to eat together didn't seem too good to say, one day or two days was fine, you can't eat together every day. However, the old mage also expressed great understanding.

  In the afternoon, he printed out a job notice and posted it outside, as well as posting it online, and sat at the counter in a drowsy state, waiting for customers to arrive.

  Elaine went home after lunch, expecting to lie at home for the whole day.

  At four in the afternoon, a "hello" woke him from his doze, and Ethan looked up to see a young couple standing in front of him, the guy quite handsome and the girl a small, cute type.

  "Hello." He said with a quick cheer, "Sorry, I dozed off and fell asleep this afternoon."

  "May I ask if you have a room now?" The girl asked, her voice sweet and polite.

  "Yes."

  "What price, please?"

  "The prices are all right here." Ethan pointed to the price list on the back, "Regular single standard rooms are a hundred and two, but there are also business, deluxe, and themed ones. We've just opened, everything is brand new and all discounted, it's a good deal, how many days are you two planning to stay?"

  The two people looked at the pictures and decisively chose a couple's themed single room, and stayed for three days in a row without any consideration.

  The single dog was abused.

  But no matter what, this was the first business of the opening, Ethan checked them in with a very good attitude, and when he handed them the room card, he also said, "If you have any problems, you can come to me, and if you need any help, just say so. The washing machine is provided free of charge, and you can let me know if you don't have enough hangers."

  The girl took the boy's hand, birdlike, and smiled sweetly, "Thank you."

  Ethan was in tears, "Please refer your friends if you have a comfortable stay."

   Warm Heart Pavilion's price list is not falsely labelled like many other hotels, but is realistic. The new shop has no reputation, only more discounts.

 The couple were not from Chicago, they seemed to have nothing to do and came to visit, as to why they lived next to the university, Ethan did not know.

  In the afternoon, when it was almost time for dinner, the girl came down from upstairs with a peachy face, holding the boy's arm intimately.

  Ethan looked at them expressionlessly.

  "Hubby ah, where are we going to eat~"

  "How should I know, I'm not familiar with this side either!"

  "But didn't you say there must be a lot of good food by the university?" The girl pouted, "I want to eat Chinese food, pack it when I come back, and order takeout in the middle of the night."

  "Fine, fine." The boy sighed, his tone full of pampering, "Let's ask the boss!"

  "Yes!" The girl instantly came into the spirit and looked at Ethan, "Boss, may I ask what's good to eat around here? Don't go too far, well ...... it better be cheap and tasty."

  Ethan forced out a smile, "Go out and turn left, walk all the way to the head, about fifteen minutes away, star hotel level and generally less than ten yuan, the university's various canteens perfectly meet your requirements. If you're too embarrassed to go, that's fine too, the shopping street next to the university is perfectly capable of letting you eat for half a month without getting tired of it."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Boss you're so funny." Little stars twinkled in the girl's eyes as she stared at Ethan's still handsome face.

  "......" Ethan watched them leave lovingly.

  Once he also had a very beautiful girlfriend, school flower level, everything is good, really, and then hard drive bad ...... ah not for some reason broke up.

  Behind came a light footsteps, Ethan turned his head to look over, the old mage walked down from the stairway.

  "It seems that you are not available." The old mage said regretfully.

  "Yeah, I'm the only one right now who can't get away for a while." Ethan pursed his lips, "Why don't you go in and work on it yourself, and when my sister gets here I'll ask her to cover it for a while, then I'll come back for you."

  "I can't open that door." The old mage shook his head and said, "No need, I haven't seen a lot of one time node alone, it's hard to study it left and right, it's just a waste of time, I can only get the results I want quickly if you cooperate."

  "Can't anyone else open it from the outside besides me?" Ethan mumbled to himself and looked up at the old mage again, saying, "Go back to rest then, I'll meet you in your room when I'm free."

  "Well, thank you very much, this knowledge is a great asset to me."

  "You are too kind."

  Ethan looked down and continued to operate his mobile phone to advertise the hotel while the old mage turned and headed upstairs.

  It wasn't long before a delivery boy wandered around outside the guesthouse, looked up at the sign, and pushed his way in with a bag of stuff, "Hello, takeout."

  "Hmm?" Ethan was slightly confused, "I didn't order takeout."

  "No way? This is the Warm Heart Pavilion!" The delivery boy froze for a moment and took out the list on the takeaway package and looked at it, "You're Mr Elaine ...... aren't you? The mobile phone number is 。。。。。。 Right?"

  "......" Ethan was a little embarrassed, "My name is Ethan, and the takeaway was probably ordered by my sister."

  "I'll put it here then!"

  "Thanks."

  "Give a good review sometime!"

  "Okay."

  The delivery boy turned around and walked out of the shop, while Ethan lifted the takeaway and looked at it, it was heavy and he could smell the distinctive aroma of double peppers.

  Soon, Elaine came wandering over on her bike, locking the bike at the door and walking in, she asked Ethan, "You got the takeaway, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "I ordered the diving rabbit."

  "Smelled it."

  "And a brussel sprout."

  "Mmm."

  "Two bowls of rice."

  "That's a lot of work."

  "It's okay, it's ninety-eight in total."

  "I'll let you break the bank."

  "Pay up!" Elaine frowned at him, "Don't give me the slip, you're the guardian and you want to hack my money! How can there be someone as lewd as you?"

  "......"

  Gotta! This is the time to make him a guardian!

  Ethan looked tired and already hungry, and the two of them quickly sat down on the couch, unpacked, and placed their meals on the glass coffee table to eat.

  "After dinner later you say nice things about our hotel online." Ethan fished out a universal room card and put it on the table, "And go upstairs and take some pictures, don't break your bragging rights and don't use heavy photos. By the way, 202 and 208 are already occupied."

  "That's nasty." Elaine took the room card.

  "Everyone does it." Ethan bristled, "What are you going to do with a summer holiday this long?"

  "For you to care?" Elaine frowned reflexively, "It's only been half a day since I've talked about you, your parental addiction is back, isn't it!"

  "I meant to say that if you're planning on getting a part-time job for the summer holidays you can come over to my place, it's pretty easy over here, just sit at the counter and keep watch." Ethan couldn't help but sigh.

  "Not going to." Elaine flatly refused.

  "Why?"

  "Why do you want a part-time job?" Elaine asked rhetorically.

  "Don't all students want to find a part-time job to do during the holidays to earn some money to live on and still get some exercise?"

  "I don't have to."

  "Why not."

  Elaine turned her head to look at him coldly, swallowed the rice in her mouth, and said only after a long time, "Because I have two houses and an inheritance of more than a million dollars."

  Ethan was stunned and actually felt speechless.

  He heard Elaine because her parents had just died not long ago and she didn't have the heart to go out and work part-time.

  "Then how are you going to spend these two months or so of summer holidays? There's no way you're going to stay home and read every day." Ethan's tone softened, his eyes glancing upstairs, "A friend said to me this morning that having death around us should make us more aware of what a wonderful and incredible thing life is, and thus make us appreciate every day we're alive, which kinda makes sense to me."

  Elaine was silent before saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll go to the gym, go hiking, travelling, just mind your own business. I can help you if you can't manage, but you don't manage me."

  "Okay." Ethan finally couldn't hold it in, "Actually, it's because I can't recruit a counter cashier at the moment and I'm too busy to do it alone, so I want you to come over and help out so I can take a break."

  "......" Elaine was speechless, "Do you have to beat around the bush?"

  "Think about it?"

  Elaine didn't nod right away, but looked up at him.

  The guy had deep dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looked dull and dry, and his face, which was still quite good-looking, had thus become tired, causing the whole person to look dishevelled.

  From the time of the accident until now, he didn't seem to have had a good rest. After the funeral, he had to work on the compensation, and then he had to go around doing the formalities for the transfer of the inheritance. The preparation for the opening of the hotel is also not a simple matter, have to look around for the right price and good service laundry, in the morning to make breakfast for themselves to put on the table before going out, and in the evening and come back to cook for themselves .......

  Ethan hadn't said any of this, but Elaine knew all of it too.

  And she wasn't sure yet if the guy had the same sleepless nights and frequent dreams about Mum and Dad as she did.

  "Well, it's kind of pathetic to see you with an overindulged face, so if you're a little nicer, I might consider helping." Elaine adjusted her emotions and said in a cold voice, "Forget the pay, I'll quit when you find a cashier."

  Ethan froze for a moment, then squeezed out a face he found disgusting himself and shouted, "Then please, sister~~"

  Elaine's face darkened, "Disgusting!"

  "......"

  "Alright, I'll consider working for you as a receptionist, but the daily meals must be prescribed, you can't be vague about what I want to eat!" Elaine made a strong offer.

  "Eh? Front desk??"

  "......" Elaine's face sank, "On top of that, I want sixty dollars a day!"

  Ethan froze, "I thought you said you didn't want a salary?"

  "Eighty."

  "And ...... it's gone up still!" Ethan was speechless, "I'm outside to find a body petite body soft pretty cute girl to do summer holiday part-time job a month at most 3500 it, this is not what physical work, most of the time you sit here to read and play mobile phone on the line."

  "Girl?"

  "Female high school students." Ethan said sizing her up, "You used to be one, unfortunately it just expired."

  "Go find your high school girl then!" Elaine's delicate face seemed to be covered in a thin layer of frost, and she flung down her chopsticks when she finished, "I'm done eating, I'm going back."

  "Fine, fine, eighty!" Ethan sighed, "Consider it as pocket money for you."

  Elaine's face darkened again, hearing that tone of voice from him made her want to rush up and bite him hard, but seeing the exhaustion on his face, she held back.

  Ethan spent the next ten minutes or so teaching Elaine to operate the counter equipment and the backend of the website, and would have let her pretend to demonstrate it all over again, but she waved it off with a very impatient hand.

  "Well, do you think I'm as stupid as you are, go to bed, room 203!" Elaine frowned, "Get out of my face with bloodshot eyes, it's like watching a horror film!"

  "......"

  Ethan took out the rubbish and threw it away before heading upstairs.

  He had wanted to go to bed, he was too sleepy, but he was afraid he was going to lose sleep again, so he walked towards 202 across the street and knocked on the old mage's door.

  The old mage's pale voice soon came from inside, "Come in."

  "......" Ethan fumbled for his universal card, swiped the door open, pushed it open and said, "Old Venerable, the hotel's smart lock can't be opened from the outside without a room card... ..."

  He was stunned before he finished his sentence, "Venerable Master, what are you doing?"

  The old mage was sitting by the window, facing the light through the window at dusk outside, his worn robe on his knees, a needle and thread in his hand, concentrating on threading the needle in from one end of the robe and pulling it out from the other end ......

  "Hmm?" The old mage looked up at him at the sound of his voice, some doubt in his eyes - could it be that Earthlings don't know how to mend clothes?

  "Shall I get you a pair of presbyopes or something?" Ethan tugged at the corner of his mouth, concerned.

  "No, I've got pretty good eyes, and on a good day I can see the storm cyclones on Jupiter. Besides it's all coming to an end." The old mage looked down and tied the thread in two knots, without seeing any movement on his part the thread snapped automatically, then he put away the needle and thread, "Let's go, I think you'll want to learn to control the time nodes as soon as possible, but we'll just work on it for an hour today, you'll need to rest for the rest of the day."

  "Good."