"Director, I can see they’re just trying to extort money. They’d never give us the chance to extort them!"

Cheng Jinghao was furious.

While her colleagues were admiring the decor, Cheng Jinghao was fuming. ’This isn’t right!’

Xie Changning smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. Even if that’s their game, it’s fine. They can’t beat me." She had at least that much confidence in herself.

For instance, who would have known that today, she had managed to get a gun just by talking?

"I really appreciate your help today," Xie Changning told the lawyer. "If you hadn’t been so quick on the uptake, I would have been stuck dealing with Viney for a while longer."

The lawyer shook his head. "I run into situations like this all the time when I’m abroad, so I was already prepared."

Over here, it wasn’t surprising at all when someone pulled a gun on you.

While everyone else was shocked and too frightened to speak, Xie Changning had remained calm enough to engage the man and divert his attention. The lawyer truly admired her for that.

No wonder she was the one in the director’s seat.

She deserved the position.

Xie Changning nodded. After a few words with the others, she addressed the group. "Everyone, head back to your rooms and get some rest. Sleep well."

After Xie Changning finished speaking, everyone cheered and dispersed.

The hotel receptionist, who had been standing nearby, unable to understand a word Xie Changning’s group was saying, rolled his eyes in her direction. "A bunch of ignorant country bumpkins from China."

He thought Xie Changning wouldn’t understand what he said.

He never expected that the moment the words left his mouth, Xie Changning would whip her head around to face him. Her eyes glanced at his name tag, then shifted to a member of the cleaning staff nearby. Using a very polite tone, she spoke.

"Excuse me, could you tell me the name of the man at the front desk? I’d like to praise him to your manager, but I don’t know his name."

"His name is Serev."

"Thank you."

After saying her thanks, Xie Changning turned to look at the receptionist. In a level voice, she said, "I’m going to speak with your superiors about this. I hope you’re still standing here tomorrow, Serev."

She delivered the line slowly, her tone a perfect mimicry of the one Serev had used to mock them.

Serev’s expression faltered at Xie Changning’s words.

"What are you going to do!"

Xie Changning didn’t bother to answer. Her actions would show him not only that she understood him perfectly, but also that she was filing a complaint.

It was true that Xie Changning was Chinese.

But hotels are in the business of making money. Xie Changning had already spent a significant amount in US Dollars just to check in, and a client of her stature was a rare sight—they might only see a few a month.

Now that the receptionist had offended her, if she took her business to a rival hotel, it would be a major loss for the hotel.

And so, the manager fired Serev.

He was replaced by another receptionist.

When the new receptionist started her shift, the manager made a point of telling her, "Take good care of that Chinese lady. She might even give you a tip."

At this, the new receptionist’s eyes instantly lit up. She nodded eagerly, promising she would provide the best possible service.

Of course, that all came later.

Once Xie Changning and her team settled into their rooms, her subordinates were ecstatic. When had they ever stayed in a hotel so well-furnished and modern?

’Sticking with our director is the best!’

’We’ll follow our director for life!’

With that thought, they all, without exception, threw themselves onto the soft beds in their rooms for a celebratory roll.

’This is amazing!’

Back in her room, Xie Changning first surveyed the layout. After confirming it was indeed the room she had paid for, she stepped inside to take a hot shower.

When Xie Changning came out of the shower, her doorway was already blocked by several people.

Toweling her hair dry, Xie Changning got dressed and then let them in.

"Instead of showering in your rooms and getting ready for bed, what are you doing running over here?" Xie Changning looked at her excited subordinates and frowned slightly.

They exchanged glances and then grinned sheepishly.

"Well, we don’t really know how to use any of the stuff in the bathroom, so we came to ask you."

"..."

’Right, I forgot about that.’

She stood up and led them to the bathroom, pointing out each feature.

"This is the showerhead; you use it to bathe. You can adjust the temperature here..." After explaining the shower, toilet, and sink to her workers, Xie Changning continued.

"This is shampoo, and this is body wash."

"What!? They use things like this for bathing?"

The young women from the factory were shocked.

Back home, they just used a bar of soap for everything, from head to toe. But here, people actually used different products for their hair and body!

They were utterly astonished.

Xie Changning nodded. "Yes. If you like them, I’ll take you to the supermarket later and we can buy some to take home."

"They must be expensive, right?"

"Consider it a perk for this business trip. I’ll pay for your toiletries." What Xie Changning didn’t mention was her plan to add this expense to Viney’s tab and recoup the costs later.

The workers couldn’t help but cheer, shouting in unison, "Thank you, Director!"

Filled with anticipation, they all hurried back to their rooms to try the shampoo and body wash, eager to see how different it was from a simple bar of soap.

After everyone had finished showering and came out, they were all refreshed and renewed.

It was a far cry from their drab, dusty appearance from before.

"It seems our factory’s benefits need an upgrade. Young women should be able to look their best, even when they’re on the clock."

Having handsome young men and beautiful young women on staff will attract more new recruits like them.

Her words made the young women a little self-conscious.

"I think developing a water heater is also a pressing matter," Xie Changning mused.

"A water heater? Is that something for boiling water?"

Everyone was curious.

Xie Changning nodded.

’Compared to drones, a water heater should be an easier technology to crack...’

Xie Changning decided to temporarily put the drone project on the back burner. She would develop the water heater first; it would be a nice convenience for herself, too.

After Xie Changning explained what a water heater did, this was the look on everyone’s faces: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!!

’A machine like that actually exists!’

’Is the one in this hotel a water heater?’

A few of them went to investigate and concluded that the system here wasn’t a water heater, but something called a solar-powered system.

Xie Changning, now fully dressed, called out to a few people, "Stop investigating the bathroom fixtures! Let’s go to the supermarket, now! I’m leaving with or without you!"

"Coming!"

The moment they heard the Director was taking them to the supermarket, they forgot all about the bathroom fixtures. They rushed out, grabbed their cloth bags, and headed for the door.

Xie Changning took them to the largest nearby superstore.

She had specifically scouted this superstore beforehand. It was a mid-range establishment; while it carried some high-end goods, the selection was mostly geared toward low and middle-end products.