Chapter 23: Manor Employees! 15,000 Bougainvillea Plants Needed!

Qin Lin was well aware of the allure of the seven-color symbiotic ornamental bougainvillea grown on Level 3 land.

Vividness +2, Aesthetic Appeal +2, Attractiveness +2—he had been captivated the moment he first saw it.

"Photogenic +2" likely meant it would have a bonus effect on photography and video recording.

Needless to say, the transplant survival rate was the most useful attribute for him. If he wanted to create a sea of bougainvillea at Qinglin Villa, he would have to bring these plants out of the game and ensure they survived in reality. Since these seven-color symbiotic ornamental bougainvillea were already easy to transplant, combined with the "Transplant Survival Rate +2" attribute, that was no longer an issue.

Qin Lin stepped out of the game, intending to find a spot to bring out one of the seven-color symbiotic bougainvilleas. However, as soon as he exited the restroom, he was met by a pure-looking girl, about 1.65 meters tall, wearing a white shirt and jeans, who eyed him warily. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The girl looked like a high school student; she might even be a minor.

Qin Lin was stunned and retorted, "I'm the owner of this place. Why shouldn't I be here? And who are you?"

"You're the new owner?" A look of pleasant surprise appeared on the girl's face. "Then, will you be firing the previous employees?"

"You're an employee here?" Qin Lin asked subconsciously. The girl looked a bit young; he wondered if she was even of legal age.

Realizing Qin Lin was the owner, the girl's wariness seemed to vanish. She trotted over and introduced herself: "Boss, I'm Gao Yaoyao. I was in charge of tickets for the jungle adventure and the rainbow grass slide. Are you keeping the original staff?"

So, she really was an employee of the villa.

Qin Lin looked at Gao Yaoyao and asked instinctively, "Tell me, are you of legal age?"

Gao Yaoyao hurriedly replied, "Boss, I've graduated from vocational school. I'm 19. I can show you my ID card."

Since she wasn't a minor, Qin Lin felt relieved. He thought for a moment and asked, "How many other employees are there at the villa?"

He did need staff. If the original employees were decent, he could keep them. A pure-looking girl like this was well-suited for the tourism industry; if she had some talent, she might even excel in a well-known scenic area. Being a mere ticket seller in this small villa was a bit of a waste. However, that was likely because she was young and inexperienced, untainted by the competitive environment of university life; otherwise, her mind might have wandered, and she wouldn't have been satisfied with this job.

Gao Yaoyao explained, "Besides me, there's a security guard, a registrar, a cashier, four chefs, and..."

"Wait, four chefs?" Qin Lin was utterly bewildered. Did this villa really need four chefs? Most people who came here preferred to cook for themselves.

Gao Yaoyao nodded. "It seems only Master Lin actually cooks. The other three are one head chef and two sous-chefs!"

"Damn!" Qin Lin was stunned. He roughly understood the situation now. The villa had originally been a place for corrupt officials to indulge in lavish meals. The person in charge was likely a front, and these chefs were probably brought in just to collect a paycheck.

Qin Lin asked again, "Gao Yaoyao, does any of the original staff know carpentry?"

"Master Lin does!" Gao Yaoyao replied. "Besides cooking, he knows how to fix tables. Many of the broken racks were repaired by him."

Qin Lin continued, "Does anyone know gardening? Someone with experience in transplanting and caring for plants? I see the villa has quite a few potted plants; surely someone is responsible for them?"

Gao Yaoyao answered again, "Master Lin. He's also in charge of the vegetable garden and moving the potted plants. Well, we sometimes help with watering. Oh, and Master Lin has been trying to save those two ginkgo trees, though he hasn't succeeded yet."

Qin Lin was astonished. He felt like this Master Lin was a workhorse, doing everything. Hiring this one employee felt like getting several for the price of one.

Qin Lin pondered and asked, "Gao Yaoyao, do you have the contact information for the previous employees?"

"We have a WeChat group," she replied.

Qin Lin decided firmly, "Except for the head chef and the sous-chefs, ask the others if they are willing to stay, especially Master Lin." Since he needed to hire staff anyway, it was better to use those familiar with the place. He could see how things went, and if they weren't a good fit, he could hire replacements later.

"Boss, Master Lin will definitely be willing, but he'll probably have a request related to those two ginkgo trees. I'll ask the others," Gao Yaoyao said, visibly delighted, as she pulled out her phone to open WeChat.

Qin Lin’s reason for asking was his "Sea of Bougainvillea" plan. To create such a landscape, he would need people to oversee the transplanting and the construction of fences, stone paths, swings, pavilions, and the like.

A moment later, Gao Yaoyao said, "Boss, I've asked. Everyone is willing to stay except for the cashier, who has already found a new job. They'll all be here tomorrow morning."

"Alright, you can head back for now and come in tomorrow," Qin Lin said, planning to get rid of Gao Yaoyao so he could bring out the bougainvillea from the game.

"Boss, I actually live in the villa dormitory; I didn't rent a place in town," Gao Yaoyao replied immediately. "If you still want to look around the villa, I can show you."

There was no way around it; with Gao Yaoyao there, he couldn't take out the bougainvillea. Qin Lin had no choice but to give up and leave the villa. He didn't want his secret to be discovered.

Back in the county, he first went to a custom signage workshop to order a retro sign to replace the "Fuhai Villa" sign. Next, he planned out the "Sea of Bougainvillea" project.

There were scattered and dense types of bougainvillea landscapes. The dense type naturally cost more, but the effect was more stunning and aesthetically pleasing. For a large-scale, dense sea of bougainvillea to be truly impactful, it needed to cover at least 20 mu (about 3.3 acres). Excluding space for stone paths, swings, stone chairs, pavilions, and dedicated photo platforms, it would require at least 10,000 bougainvillea plants.

Naturally, it was impossible to use 10,000 seven-color symbiotic ornamental bougainvillea grown on Level 3 land. After all, 25 plants every three days meant 5,000 plants would take 600 days—that was a joke. These seven-color symbiotic bougainvillea were only suitable as the main attraction, meaning other bougainvilleas would be needed as accents. If he could get 250 of the 2.5-meter-tall, 2-meter-canopy, 12-centimeter-trunk seven-color symbiotic bougainvillea per month, that would be enough for the centerpiece.

Qin Lin remembered that the game also had lower-level ornamental bougainvillea seedlings. He immediately checked the interface, controlled his game character to visit the seed shop in Mineral Town, and sure enough, found ordinary ornamental bougainvillea seedlings on Level 2 land in various colors.

He checked online and found that these ornamental plants weren't cheap, costing about 400 yuan each, and could grow to several dozen centimeters tall. This was perfect. Anything produced by the game would certainly have attribute bonuses, making its value far exceed 400.

However, there was one issue: game currency. Whether it was the seven-color symbiotic or the ordinary ornamental seedlings, they all required game currency to purchase. Qin Lin thought for a moment and decided to stop growing strawberries on the Level 2 land and use it entirely to grow ordinary ornamental bougainvillea. He would just tell Manager Chen that the strawberries were out of stock. The newly opened land would continue to produce okra to be sold in the game to fund the seedling purchases.

Even so, the Level 2 land could only produce 25 ordinary bougainvillea a day, with a one-day maturity period, totaling over 4,500 plants a month. That was still far short of 10,000, leaving a gap of over 5,000. However, with these game-produced bougainvillea as a foundation, supplementing the perimeter with ordinary bougainvillea from reality should be perfectly fine. This would also help disguise the origin of the game-produced plants, avoiding suspicion.

Qin Lin looked online and found that while ordinary bougainvillea were far inferior to the game's, there were still many beautiful varieties. He found a nursery in the city where each plant cost 30 yuan. 5,000 plants would only cost 150,000 yuan, and he only needed to pay a 20% deposit initially. He placed an order for 10,000 plants right away.

Since he was going to do it, he might as well expand by another 10 mu, make the "sea" bigger, and use those 10,000 plants to accent the nearly 5,000 game-produced ones. For others, a sea of bougainvillea of this scale would cost millions, but for him, it would only cost 300,000. Moreover, others couldn't get their hands on so many seven-color symbiotic bougainvillea, let alone have game-attribute bonuses.

Once this "sea" was revealed, with the right promotion, it was guaranteed to become a viral attraction in Youcheng and Shacheng. As long as enough people were attracted, the produce grown in the game could be sold right there at the villa.