Chapter 76: Recruiting Help: The Careless Guan Qianshan!

Crescent Island is in a rather special location.

The Lingxi River is a relatively wide river that runs through the entire Jianghai Province before rushing into the sea.

However, this river doesn’t just directly enter the Eastern Sea. Instead, at the edge of the Eastern Sea, in the coastal region of Jianghai Province, it forms a semicircular lake. This immense lake, like an inland sea for Jianghai Province, then flows into the Eastern Sea.

This lake is West Dragon Lake.

West Dragon Lake is vast, especially since it borders the Eastern Sea. This is one of the reasons why the aquatic Pet Beasts of Linzhou and Jianghai Province are so abundant.

Moreover, countless small islands dot this huge lake, and with the rich aquatic Pet Beast resources, many places are ripe for development.

Without a doubt, Crescent Island is one of them.

The island, shaped like a crescent moon, floats on the vast lake. At its very center, a figure stood.

He sighed, looking at the workers busy with construction in the distance.

It was none other than Guan Qianshan, who had already been on this island for half a month.

Compared to Yun Tian, the difference here was more than just heaven and earth. On Crescent Island, food, drink, and general living conditions were all inconvenient. Although he was only separated from his family by West Dragon Lake and a small stretch of the Lingxi River, the disparity felt as vast as that between heaven and earth.

Guan Qianshan had even noticed people giving him strange looks, and he’d overheard the foremen gossiping about him behind his back:

"I heard he screwed up at headquarters and got directly exiled to this forsaken place."

"Really? No wonder he looks so bitter."

"Exactly! And I heard it was a top order from the group itself!"

"A top order? That would be from the Chairman, right?"

"Geez, looks like this Mr. Guan is going to be stuck here until retirement."

"Hehe, not necessarily. Maybe he’ll find a better place to go..."

"How could it be that easy? Even though he’s been exiled, he still gets his salary. Doesn’t he want to get a better Pet Beast for his kid to secure a future?"

"Ah... life is tough for everyone."

Guan Qianshan sighed deeply.

It would be utter nonsense to say I have no regrets,

he thought.

But regarding Su Ping and the Su Family, I truly did the best I could. As for resorting to underhanded tricks, like restricting the Su Family’s income to force them to relinquish the land deed to survive, or other such despicable methods, I honestly couldn’t bring myself to do it. After all, when that fellow Su Anyong just up and left, he didn’t forget to ask me to look after the boy who was left home alone.

Thinking of this, Guan Qianshan actually began to worry about Su Ping. He didn’t know why the Chairman and Tianyun Group were so desperate to acquire the Su Family’s land deed, but there had to be a significant reason.

I wonder if our group managed to get it,

he thought.

However, just then, his phone rang, startling him slightly and breaking his train of thought.

Speak of the devil?

he thought, glancing at the caller ID.

"Hello, Su Ping?" Guan Qianshan asked, somewhat surprised. He genuinely feared some accident had occurred.

However, the boy’s voice on the other end of the line made the usually unflappable middle-aged company man freeze on the spot:

"Uncle Guan, I know you’re not having a good time over there at Tianyun Group. How about coming to Heart of Woods and working with me?!"

The youthful voice, full of vitality, resonated through the phone with such confidence and vigor. So much so that he momentarily forgot to ask about salary or benefits, instinctively replying:

"Okay!"

「...」

Manager Guan returned to Heart of Woods. He felt somewhat dazed.

Half a month ago, he was the manager of the resort next door, representing Tianyun Group. Now, he had returned as the so-called ’manager’ of Heart of Woods.

Although Tianyun Group had exiled him, they hadn’t skimped on his salary or benefits. And now, with just a word from Su Ping, he had resigned and come here. Lao Guan himself felt he must have been a bit crazy.

"Uncle Guan, how much was your monthly salary over at Tianyun Group?"

"Not counting bonuses, about thirty thousand or so."

"Then your monthly salary at Heart of Woods will be sixty thousand, plus there are some other benefits. I’ll go into detail when we have time," Su Ping said generously, waving his hand.

Manager Guan sighed with relief. Although he trusted Su Ping, a man still needed to eat. At his age, it wasn’t just about feeding himself; he also had a family to support.

However, while relieved, Manager Guan was also curious and asked, "Su Ping, what do I need to do?"

This Pet Beast Breeding Base was different from the resort’s training ground next door. There were many people at the resort; accommodation and dining were all-inclusive. Not to mention, there were also the complex affairs related to Pet Beast battles.

Here, I really can’t see what I’m supposed to do,

he thought.

Su Ping looked seriously at Guan Qianshan and said, "Uncle Guan, in the future, Heart of Woods will become Linzhou’s largest Pet Beast Breeding Base and ecological plaza. Dad and I don’t know many people here, and you are the only one we can trust! That’s why we want you to be the manager!"

True friends are revealed in times of hardship,

Guan Qianshan nodded.

After all, Su Ping rescued me from that godforsaken place and is willing to pay me such a high salary. He’s truly shown utmost benevolence.

This trust now made Lao Guan incredibly moved.

But my question hasn’t been answered yet,

he thought.

What exactly does a manager at Heart of Woods do?

Facing Lao Guan’s puzzled look, Su Ping continued, "As a manager, naturally, you have to oversee everything. You have to handle our business operations down to the smallest detail and have some understanding of every position."

Listening to Su Ping, Lao Guan suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Of course, for now, Heart of Woods hasn’t expanded its operations much. It’s mainly that we have more customers coming to seek cultivation for their pets, and you’ll need to receive them!"

A receptionist, huh?

Lao Guan sighed in relief.

"No problem!" he said, thumping his chest in assurance.

"Also, I’m planning to expand the area around Heart of Woods, beyond the land already owned by my family. Uncle Guan, do you think you could figure something out for this?"

"Ah? Some of those are existing shops with owners, and some is undeveloped land. It seems we’ll need to liaise with the authorities. But I’m good at this sort of thing; it’s no problem. I’ll go talk to each of them when the time comes."

"And then there’s the architectural planning. Uncle Guan, in the future at our Heart of Woods..." Su Ping continued, outlining various aspects.

「Two hours later.」

After listening to Su Ping’s entire blueprint, Lao Guan—who, in addition to manager, had seemingly also become the security guard, doorman, receptionist, PR specialist, construction supervisor, accountant, purchaser, landscape designer, and chef, all rolled into one—had only one thought:

Damn it, I was too careless!