Chapter Sixteen: The Bustling Inn

Taking the phone number for the classified ads department that Lan had found in the evening paper, Chu Dong dialed.
“Hello, could you send someone over? I’d like to place an ad.”
The following day, a prominent classified ad appeared in the evening paper: “Beds for rent—male and female—200 yuan per month per person.”
The hotel run by Chu Dong had seven floors, twelve rooms per floor. Aside from the top floor, which held four suites, the rest were all standard rooms equipped with en suite bathrooms. The original decor was quite decent, making it barely passable as a small three-star hotel. However, in Dalian, hotels tended to be either the very best or the most basic; those in the middle rarely had high occupancy rates. Except during peak travel seasons, most rooms sat empty.
Chu Dong set up six bunk beds in each of the 72 rooms on the sixth floor, totaling 422 beds—creating a cheap, temporary home for migrant workers.
“Hello, yes, we have beds for rent. Two hundred a month, with a one-time deposit of a hundred yuan. Rent for each month must be paid five days in advance. If there’s no problem, bring your ID for registration. Check-in is available twenty-four hours a day. Good, see you soon.” Chu Dong had barely hung up when another call came in.
“Yes, two hundred per person, you want two rooms? That’s fine. The price? Sorry, no discounts—even if I don’t rent to outsiders, these beds would still be filled. It’s not expensive at all: twenty-four-hour hot water, three-star amenities. If you want to book, do it early; after tomorrow, I can’t guarantee there’ll be space. Alright, consider it and call me if you decide. Yes, this number. Goodbye.”
The ad’s effect was immediate—Chu Dong was answering calls nonstop from eight in the morning until noon. Calls came one after another, not only from individuals but also restaurants and bars looking to rent dormitories for their staff.
By afternoon, people started arriving in person—many, after calling, showed up with their luggage in tow. Chu Dong handled the calls, while Lan organized the check-ins. Over three hundred people moved in on the first day, some paying several months’ rent in advance—bringing in over a hundred thousand yuan in a single day.
“Lan, go have lunch first. I’ll cover for you; you can take over when you’re done,” Chu Dong said as noon approached, snatching a brief moment to speak to her.
“Alright, I’ll head out. Want me to bring you anything?” It was the first time Lan had been this busy since starting, but having so much to do made her feel fulfilled. She’d been working nonstop since morning and was starting to get hungry.
“Lucky Dumplings—keep it simple… Hello, yes, two hundred…” Chu Dong picked up the phone again mid-sentence.

As the number of lodgers grew, so did the problems. Chu Dong found himself in the role of a dormitory supervisor, going room to room to keep order.
“Keep your things tidy—this is your living space, not a pigsty. There, much better; it’s more comfortable this way.” After helping a young boy arrange his luggage, Chu Dong moved on to address other shortcomings.
“No smoking indoors. It’s for everyone’s safety. The lobby downstairs is the designated smoking area. Also, no loud noises or disturbances after eleven at night—everyone works and needs to rise early, and disturbing others can cause trouble. I’m laying this out clearly: if you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to ask you to leave.
“Central heating keeps it warm all winter, and hot water is available twenty-four hours a day. Apart from the TV, no private electrical appliances allowed—this isn’t about saving on electricity. Too many accidents have happened because of unauthorized appliances; we must learn from those bloody lessons. Rest early so you have energy for work tomorrow.”
He repeated this room by room, working up a sweat.
Most of the rented rooms were male dorms; the fifth and sixth floors were reserved for women, and Lan was in charge of those. Lan handled any issues that arose there.
The situation was chaotic, but fortunately, Lan was there to help. Without her, Chu Dong would have been overwhelmed.

“Xue, your idiot has turned the hotel into a roadside inn—he really knows how to stir things up,” Li Youlan said, applying a face mask while calling Tan Xue.
“Who’s ‘my idiot’? I have nothing to do with him.” Tan Xue had just come out of the bathroom, wrapped in a snowy towel that hugged her delicate figure. Her long, damp hair hung down her back, dripping water. She towel-dried her hair in front of the mirror, admiring herself as she spoke.
“Hehe, I think he really wants to marry you. Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths? I went by earlier—there were loads of people. The place looked like a marketplace.”
Unlike Tan Xue, who still had to go to work, Li Youlan had nothing better to do these days than keep an eye on Chu Dong’s hotel.
“What’s it got to do with me? Seems like you’re the one invested in him. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that pretty face. If you want, I’ll ask him to marry you. Ha!” Not having seen Chu Dong for the past couple of days had improved Tan Xue’s mood, and she teased Li Youlan in return.
“You little rascal, I’m only keeping an eye on him for your sake. You take my kindness for granted—do you think I want to get involved?”

“Come on, good sister, keep watching for me. Stay alert and keep me posted.” Tan Xue quickly gave Li Youlan a way out.
“Alright, just wait and see. I want to know just how much your future son-in-law can mess things up.” Li Youlan wasn’t offended, and whether she was genuinely bored or just found amusement in this, she seemed happy to keep watching. Perhaps Chu Dong’s “Little Loaf” nickname had truly gotten on her nerves.
“Lan, here’s five hundred yuan for your overtime. Give the other guys two hundred each as a bonus. Everyone’s worked hard these past few days. And there’s something else: from now on, you’ll be in charge of the place. I’ll add five hundred to your monthly pay as a management stipend. I’m entrusting everything to you.” After tallying up the recent income, Chu Dong called Lan over.
“Really?” The girl was thrilled. With her new salary, Lan would be earning nearly three thousand a month—not much less than a typical office worker.
In just a few days, Chu Dong’s budget hotel had become a bustling dormitory, its success far exceeding his expectations. Spending just a few hundred yuan on advertising brought in over a hundred thousand yuan in income, just as Chu Dong had hoped. Once the hotel was full, the total revenue reached two hundred thousand yuan.
Adding in the thirty thousand Chu Dong already had, he now possessed a fund of half a million yuan.