Chapter 195: New Employee
The moment he entered the room, he couldn’t wait to share the good news.
"Honey! We’re going to have fresh fruit and boxed meals to eat!" Logan Holland exclaimed.
’If I wasn’t getting a little old and didn’t have this old back injury, I’d pick up my wife and daughter and spin them around,’ he thought.
Cherie Lowell’s eyes lit up. "Really? Is the convenience store going to start stocking fruit?"
She hadn’t eaten fruit to her heart’s content for a long time. The last time had been from the fruit basket Logan Holland won.
But after sharing it, there wasn’t much left; she and Tanya had only gotten a taste.
Tanya, who already knew how delicious fruit was, squeezed over. "Fruit? Yummy fruit?"
Logan Holland’s eyes darted, and he nodded. "Yes, sweet fruit. But it’ll be in limited quantities, and there will be a purchase limit."
’Actually, just having them available is satisfying enough. The limits don’t matter; we’ll be able to buy some eventually, right?’
The family of three began to daydream happily, unaware that in front of the factory, Lily Hart was discussing this very matter with Seth.
"An online supermarket?" Seth asked, confused.
"You don’t know?" Lily Hart was also puzzled. ’The way I imagined it, shouldn’t everyone be using something this great?’
Besides, it would be more convenient for Frost Shaw and the others. They wouldn’t have to move goods onto the shelves one by one and arrange them neatly.
They would only need to restock on the Light Brain when an item ran out, and the points earned would be automatically deposited into Frost Shaw’s account every day.
As for Lily Hart’s eighty-percent share, it would be settled weekly. It was incredibly convenient for everyone involved.
Seth shook his head honestly. "Never heard of it."
Lily Hart immediately gave him a quick rundown, added him on her Light Brain, and shared the mini-program with him.
There were nearly five hundred products inside, all of which Frost Shaw had photographed, priced, and uploaded one by one.
It took a full minute to scroll to the bottom. Seth grew more and more astonished as he looked. He had just been a bit of a homebody.
’Has the outside world already evolved to this extent?’ His mouth fell slightly open, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Lily Hart also set Seth’s account as an administrator so that he, too, could upload products to the mini-program.
She walked Seth through the process once.
First, take a picture, type in a name, set a price, click upload, and done!
It was much simpler than uploading products for the convenience store, since the price of every meal was two hundred and eighty-eight points.
He just needed to act like a robot: take pictures, name them, and upload them in a series of simple, tedious actions.
After uploading all twenty dishes that were currently available, Seth also created a separate category for the boxed meals.
Otherwise, you would have to scroll past all five hundred products to see his boxed meals.
Seth scrolled back and forth, quite satisfied. He showed it to Lily Hart, who also thought it looked great.
It was just... the photos... they were of the boxed meals’ packaging. Although the name and a picture of the dish were on it, it somehow didn’t look authentic.
’The principle was simple: buy it if you want it, don’t if you don’t. We’re not selling based on looks.’
She didn’t say anything. ’It’s not important. As long as people know what dish it is, that’s enough.’
Lily Hart asked casually, "Where did you win your prize?"
’Right now, all I know is that his name is Seth, he’s decent-looking, and he looks gentle but is actually lean and muscular.’
Seth answered honestly, "Nutwood—no, Riveria Base."
Lily Hart: "That far?" ’That’s a whole city over.’
Seth wanted to pull out the small card that had guided him here to show Lily Hart, but then he remembered it had already been redeemed.
He could only give a calm "mm-hmm."
"Do a lot of people at Nutwood Base use the online supermarket?" Lily Hart asked.
Seth shook his head. How would he know? He was the type who barely ever stepped out the door.
The only times he went out were to hunt zombies and trade for supplies, after which he’d just veg out at home. That was what he had considered the happiest, most blissful thing in life.
’I never thought I’d win the grand prize, end up by Boss Hart’s side, and get to eat food this delicious!’
’I hereby declare that eating this food is the new happiest and most blissful thing in my life!’
Lily Hart didn’t say anything more. ’No wonder he looks so travel-worn. He really came a long way.’
She stood on the first floor of the factory building and looked around. It was too empty; there was nothing. "Where are you planning to stay?"
Seth then took a straw mat out of his space, casually spread it on the floor, and even shook off some stray blades of grass.
He squatted on the ground, looking up at Lily Hart with a rather pitiable expression. Lily Hart almost laughed when she saw the straw mat.
’This is a real "the sky for a blanket and the ground for a bed" situation. With a straw mat in hand, the world is his oyster. Any flat piece of ground will do, I guess.’
She bent down slightly, grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him up. "Alright, that’s enough. Go get a room at the hotel. You’ll get the employee discount."
Seth’s eyes lit up. "For real?"
Lily Hart said with a smile, "Would I lie about that? Come on, I’ll take you." With that, she took the lead and started walking.
The man behind her straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and hurried to keep up with her.
After a few steps, he felt uneasy and went back to close the rolling shutter door before scampering to catch up with Lily Hart.
’Better to close it. Just for peace of mind.’
It wasn’t far, just a minute or two’s walk, and they arrived at the hotel’s front desk.
Lily Hart introduced him to Leo Colby, "A new employee, Seth. Get him a single room, at the employee rate."
Leo Colby blinked, looking at Lily Hart with a completely clueless expression. ’What’s the employee rate?’
It wasn’t his fault he was confused; there simply wasn’t a precedent for this yet.
Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, and a few of the brats were all living on the second floor of the convenience store.
Leo Colby naturally had a room in the hotel, and Owen Warren lived in the bathhouse.
The factory, no matter how you looked at it, had no rooms and was unsuitable for living in—the dust was a serious problem.
Placing him in the convenience store didn’t feel right either; everyone was still a stranger to him, and he was an introvert.
Plus, he was a homebody. So after some consideration, Lily Hart decided to just put him in the hotel.
He’d have his own room, which was great. If he got friendly with everyone later and wanted to move into the convenience store, that would be fine too.
Lily Hart felt she was being incredibly considerate.
Lily Hart coughed lightly and said, "Seventy percent off."
Leo Colby said nothing and silently processed the check-in. ’This is more than a discount, it’s a bone-fracturing sale!’
After getting the room key, Lily Hart was thoughtful enough to lead him upstairs. And as fate would have it...
On the same staircase, with her going up and him coming down, she ran into Stan Sterling.
Lily Hart smiled at him but didn’t say much, only turning to Seth to say, "Your room is on the fourth floor."
Seth, who was following closely behind her, nodded, then replied aloud when he realized she couldn’t see him.
The three of them then brushed past each other. For some reason, Lily Hart sensed a hint of... resentment from Stan Sterling?
’I don’t think I’m imagining it. That look, that subtle vibe... it was the kind of resentment a new husband has when he catches his wife fooling around behind his back.’
Lily Hart shuddered and shook her head, kicking those messy thoughts out of her mind.
They soon reached Seth’s room on the fourth floor. Lily Hart opened the door with the key card and handed it back to him.
"I won’t come in. You get some rest. You can come to the RV for dinner around seven or eight tonight," Lily Hart said.
’I’ve always been a very conscientious boss,’ she thought. ’Since he’s working for me, I have to make sure he’s well taken care of.’