The structural construction of Yu Qi's brand-new greenhouse was finally complete. Now came the exciting part. Filling the vast, transparent interior with vibrant plant life. As for the labour, she had successfully managed to hire five skilled workers with the invaluable help of Uncle Song Nan. Every single one of them possessed a solid background and plenty of knowledge regarding how to properly grow and cultivate delicate plants.
The crew consisted of Song Tao and Song Tai, a pair of identical twins who happened to be Uncle Song Nan's nephews, alongside Jung Lian, Lang Bing, and Yin Wen Ding. The twins, Jung Lian, and Yin Wen Ding were young men, leaving Lang Bing as the only girl among the new hires.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Yu Qi." Yu Qi spoke up, addressing the five of them formally for the very first time. "This is my greenhouse. For this facility, I want to focus on growing many different types of plants, but our primary focus will be high-quality Chinese herbs. If any of you don't know much about herbal medicine just yet, please don't worry about it at all. I will gladly guide you and teach you everything you need to know."
"Miss Yu Qi, please don't worry about us." Song Tao, one of the twins, replied with a polite and reassuring smile. "We actually know quite a bit about herbs already. Our Uncle Nan has been teaching us about them since we were young."
"Really? That is absolutely wonderful news." Yu Qi beamed, feeling a wave of relief. "Oh, and one more thing, please, just call me Yu Qi. There is no need for formalities." Yu Qi honestly felt that being called 'Miss' by people older than her felt a bit strange, and she genuinely wanted to interact with her employees as peers.
"We absolutely couldn't do that, Miss Yu Qi. You are our employer, after all. We have a duty to treat you with the utmost politeness and respect." Lang Bing rejected the idea immediately, shaking her head.
"That's exactly right." Song Tai chimed in, agreeing with his colleague. "Even our Uncle Nan strictly refers to you as Miss Yu Qi when he speaks about you."
Yu Qi looked at them, thoroughly surprised by their stubbornness. She let out a soft, helpless sigh, realising that she was not going to win this argument or change their traditional mindsets on the subject. She gracefully gave up. They could call her whatever title they felt most comfortable using.
"Alright, I would not press the matter if it makes you uncomfortable. However, I will be calling all of you big brothers and big sisters." Yu Qi decided with a warm smile. "Brother Tao, Brother Tai, Brother Lian, Brother Wen Ding, and Sister Bing, welcome to the team. I truly hope we will all get along wonderfully."
Yu Qi then offered them a polite, respectful bow. The five employees were deeply moved, silently noting that this young girl possessed a mind that was remarkably mature for her age. In their society, offering a bow like that was a profound sign of respect. As far as they knew from experience, wealthy employers never bowed to their everyday workers. This small, humble gesture instantly made them realise that their young lady boss was truly worthy of their deepest respect and loyalty.
"Yes, Miss Yu Qi!" The five of them answered in unison, their voices full of enthusiasm.
With the pleasantries out of the way, everyone immediately rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The massive greenhouse was strategically divided into four distinct quadrants: herbs, fruits, vegetables, and lastly, flowers. The largest zone by far was dedicated to the herbs, followed closely by the vegetables, then the fruits, and finally the smaller section for colourful flowers. Yu Qi efficiently organised the five of them according to their specific strengths. She assigned the twins, Song Tai and Song Tao, to manage the extensive herb section, Jung Lian was placed in charge of the fruits section, Yin Wen Ding took over the vegetable section, and Lang Bing was given full rein over the flowers.
Yu Qi then brought out the initial batches of seeds, handing them over so the team could begin carefully transferring them into the rich soil. Some of these seeds were secret varieties she had personally brought out from her mystical space, while a good portion of the others had been gifted to her by Grandpa Tang from his own private collection.
As she moved around the greenhouse supervising their progress, she made sure to offer them gentle reminders.
"Please don't push yourselves too hard, everyone. If you start to feel tired, make sure to take a proper break. I don't want anyone forcing themselves to work until they faint." Yu Qi reminded them.
Hearing such kind, compassionate words from a boss instantly elevated Yu Qi's image to legendary status in the eyes of her grateful employees.
"Yu Qi!" A loud, incredibly energetic voice suddenly echoed across the glass structure.
Yu Qi did not even need to turn around to recognise the owner of that boisterous voice. Feng Yue had arrived to pay her a surprise visit.
"Wow, Yu Qi! Look at you, you are an absolute hot mess right now." Feng Yue commented playfully, looking her best friend up and down the moment she spotted her.
"My dear, I am actively working on planting these seeds and playing around in the dirt all day. Of course I am going to get a little dirty." Yu Qi replied with a chuckle, holding out her hands to display a palm full of dark soil and seeds.
"Hmph, you are just speaking nonsense as an excuse." Feng Yue laughed it off, teasing her relentlessly. "But honestly, if my Brother Hui were to look at you right this second, I bet he would still praise you and find you absolutely breathtaking, even if you were completely covered in mud from head to toe."
"How dare you tease me like that! Take this!" Yu Qi gasped dramatically, and with a mischievous grin, she immediately lunged forward and rubbed her dirt-covered hand right onto Feng Yue's pristine arm.
"Aah! Yu Qi, you're dead!" Feng Yue shrieked, instantly raising her hands to retaliate and catch her friend.
Yu Qi laughed out loud and quickly bolted away from Feng Yue. Within seconds, a chaotic game of tag erupted between the two girls. Fortunately, because the crops were still just buried seeds, the spacious greenhouse provided plenty of open room for them to sprint around safely. High-pitched giggles and dramatic screams echoed throughout the glass building during the intense chase.
The five nearby employees could not help but smile warmly as they watched the scene unfold. It was incredibly endearing to see their usually solemn lady boss letting loose and behaving like a perfectly normal, carefree teenager for once. When they had first met and conversed with her, they had all secretly felt that she carried herself with an aura that was far too mature and heavy for her young age.
For the next forty-five minutes, Feng Yue relentlessly chased Yu Qi around the tables. Eventually, Feng Yue's lack of stamina began to show, and she started slowing down from sheer fatigue, while Yu Qi remained completely full of boundless energy. Finally, Feng Yue stopped running entirely, placing her hands on her knees as she bent over to catch her breath.
"Yu Qi... how on earth... are you not completely exhausted after all that running?" Feng Yue panted heavily, looking up as Yu Qi smoothly came to a stop a few feet away, barely even breathing hard.
"My dear, if you actually trained your body rigorously every single day, you would easily be able to keep up with me too." Yu Qi teased, offering her a smug grin.
In reality, Yu Qi had been training tirelessly both outside and deep inside her spatial dimension. Every single morning without fail, she went out for a strict two-kilometre run. Then at night, inside her space, she spent hours practising advanced martial arts. This brutal daily routine made her physical stamina and muscle strength vastly superior to an ordinary girl like Feng Yue.
"Daily training? No, thank you, absolutely not! The only time I will ever willingly endure training is when my Brother Hui forces me to do it. Otherwise, I have no desire to tire myself out." Feng Yue shuddered at the thought, before her eyes lit up as she seamlessly shifted the topic. "Oh, speaking of Brother Hui, I actually heard some news from my maternal grandfather. He mentioned that Brother Hui was deployed on a highly dangerous mission this week. I am honestly so worried about him."
"Yes, I know all about it." Yu Qi replied softly, a trace of genuine worry clouding her eyes.
As soldiers, going out on active missions was just a part of their duty, but she knew that if they were not careful enough for even a split second, they could easily lose their lives. She could only secretly pray that Long Hui would stay sharp and return to her safely.
"Huh? Wait a minute... how on earth do you already know about that?" Feng Yue asked, her brow furrowing in deep confusion.
She had not known a single thing about the deployment until her grandfather casually brought it up to her earlier that day. How did Yu Qi manage to obtain such classified, first-hand military information before her?
"I heard it directly from his own mouth." Yu Qi admitted casually.
"What?! When did you two even see each other?" Feng Yue was surprised.
"We happened to run into each other in FINN City last week. During our conversation, he mentioned to me that he would be heading out on a major mission this week." Yu Qi said.
Feng Yue's eyes practically popped out of her head, her jaw dropping at the shocking revelation. This was massive news to her! Her notoriously tight-lipped Brother Hui had actually taken the proactive initiative to disclose his classified deployment schedule to Yu Qi beforehand. In the past, Long Hui was famous for never telling a soul whenever he was leaving for a mission.
"Hohoho... My dear Young Miss, is there perhaps something juicy going on between the two of you that I am completely unaware of?" Feng Yue let out a highly suspicious, playful laugh, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer to interrogate her.
Yu Qi instantly bit her tongue, realising she had made a critical tactical mistake by casually letting it slip that she knew about Long Hui's schedule. Knowing Feng Yue's gossipy nature, she would absolutely never stop pestering her for every single detail until she got what she wanted. Recognising that she could not run away from her best friend forever, Yu Qi decided to compromise. Instead of running, she casually explained to Feng Yue that she had simply crossed paths with Long Hui while out on a shopping trip with her two aunties. She spun a clever little half-truth, intentionally keeping the romantic details of her magical beach sunset date with Long Hui a total secret.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***