"Alright! You should change your clothes first. These past two days, I'll find Xingqiu to alter your clothes and make you a Liyue-style priest's robe!"
Hu Tao patted Orion's back, settling the matter just like that.
Then, Ferrylady reminded Hu Tao about Orion's treasure-chest-finding ability and suggested whether Orion could do more outdoor assignments. Hu Tao's mind was instantly opened.
"You have such precise exploration abilities to enter Liyue. Remember the principle I gave you: Adventurers, this concept of exploration, is managed by the boundary of life and death—"
"Director! Director, calm down! Your words are no longer forming sentences!"
"Sorry, I got too excited... Zhongli! Look at him! All you know is sending bills to the parlor. Now look at his money-making ability; you really should bow to him!"
"If I bow, can I freeload his tea every day?"
"...You're hopeless."
Of course, Zhongli's words were just a joke, and Hu Tao's words were also a joke.
But Orion heard it: the phrase "freeload tea" was probably not a joke.
He'll have to avoid him in the future.
Subsequently, Hu Tao set a new policy for Orion: "From now on, you are our special consultant. You are allowed to do whatever you want during working hours, as long as it's not illegal. Your salary will be paid as usual!
However, just as she just said, how about you share a portion of the items you get from opening treasure chests during working hours with the parlor?"
"Are you trying to balance the books with me?"
To persuade Orion, she even acted cute.
To be fair, unless Orion happened to see one, he wouldn't actively look for treasure chests, so Hu Tao's plan actually fell through.
However, Orion stated that seeing one meant they were fated, so if he went on outdoor assignments with Hu Tao in the future, he would be willing to share half of the treasure chests he opened along the way with Hu Tao, directly depositing them into the internal treasury. He wasn't just saying it casually; he had a plan.
When Hu Tao heard Orion was so generous, she would definitely be eager to take Orion on outdoor assignments every day. If a leader asks employees to work overtime, shouldn't travel expenses be reimbursed? Then Orion wouldn't have to spend money on food and drink along the way. And Orion only needed to share half of the items from the opened treasure chests with Hu Tao to date her at no cost, simply by accompanying Hu Tao on scenic tours.
Plus, there's a monthly salary at the end of the month.
Currently, Hu Tao was extremely satisfied with Orion, this consultant. He could conduct international business, had connections in Mondstadt, and could even find treasure chests for her.
She was now like Liu Bei getting Zhuge Liang, so thrilled she felt like she was about to take off.
Perhaps they should start preparing for outdoor assignments in a couple of days?
But jokes aside, the day's business still needed to be handled. As the Director of WangSheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao naturally had many official duties to attend to every day.
And according to Hu Tao, there have been especially many strange occurrences recently.
"Let me tell you, be very careful when going out recently, and don't go into the morgue unless necessary. What if a few of them suddenly stand up and scare you to death!" Hu Tao said to Orion and the others, gesticulating wildly, before leaving.
Orion tilted his head: "I thought you were the least superstitious person in all of Liyue. Why do you believe in this now?"
"It's not that I believe in it; it's that some really strange things have been happening recently!" Hu Tao peeked out the door, confirmed no one was there, then closed the door and whispered to the three, "Just listen to what I say, but don't spread it outside!
Recently, there have been an incredible number of strange occurrences. You all know Little Jiang from the neighboring mountain, right?"
Orion: "Yes, he's one meter eighty tall, quite fat, but he's an idiot."
Hu Tao: "He suddenly got better recently! He said he found his parents' souls, and his mind suddenly became sound. Now he's busy at the docks every day. But how is that possible? His parents' souls returned to the Ley Line long ago. Where did he find them? And who cured him?".
Orion:...
Hu Tao: "Also, those two children who always look out from the corridor bridge, do you know them?"
Ferrylady: "Yes, One String One Pillar, right? Didn't their mother die a long time ago? The two children relied on each other, and we even collected their mother's body, but it was lost later."
Hu Tao: "They're alive again! I even went to see for myself. They look exactly like Aunt Hua Nian, but she claims to be Hua Nian's younger sister. However, we saw the deceased's family tree back then; she was an only child, so where did a sister come from?
I even shook her hand. Her little hand felt exactly real, hey. It couldn't possibly be a bionic doll, could it?"
Orion:...
Hu Tao: "And besides, the elders in Qingce Village… move as if they were 50 years younger. I even saw an old man doing what looked like some kind of Natlan dance (breakdancing)."
Zhongli: "Indeed, youth fades with age, and conversely, the younger you are, the more cheerful you are."
Hu Tao: "Anyway, you remember Old Man Chang Jiu—he's always writing books, right? But the reason he writes is to impress the family of his childhood sweetheart, who moved away without saying goodbye when he was young, because his childhood sweetheart loved listening to his stories."
But I saw the spirit of his little sweetheart on Wuwang Hill. Her name was Little Jiujiu. She drowned when she was little, and even in death, she was still holding the story Master Chang Jiu wrote for her."
Ferrylady: "How pitiful... Eh, wait, Director, you're not saying this is..."
Hu Tao: "She's alive! Not only alive, but grown up! When I went to see it that day, the little girl's spirit on Wuwang Hill was gone, but a woman appeared beside Master Chang Jiu. It was clear at a glance that she was the grown-up Little Jiujiu! I secretly used a spell to test it; there were no traces of resurrection through possession, nor did it seem like any sinister aura, nor did it show any Immortal aura. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Orion:...
Finally, Hu Tao opened the door and reminded the three again: "In short, be careful recently. Be careful until this Director figures out the reason!"
After saying the last few sentences, Hu Tao rushed away in a hurry. Then, Ferrylady also bowed deeply: "Then, gentlemen, I shall take my leave as well."
Orion nodded: "Be safe, Miss Ferrylady."
"Thank you for your concern, but my name is not Ferrylady."
Thus, only Zhongli and Orion were left in the room.
Zhongli looked at Orion: "What Director Hu just said, was it all your doing?"
Orion:... It seemed too late to say no.