The clauses read like gibberish; thanks to the sensus beacon she recognized every word, yet strung together they made no sense.
Packed with jargon and needlessly convoluted—probably in the name of legal rigor.
Hu Tao clearly felt the same; her expression said she hadn't understood a line.
They gave up and decided to sign blind.
Stelle trusted neither Hu Tao nor Yanfei would cheat her here.
"Two originals—each of you signs here and here."
Hu Tao's brush danced; she finished in seconds.
Stelle's single-character name was even quicker.
"Done. Whoever breaks the pact faces the rock-eater's punishment."
"Great! From this moment, Stelle's officially Wangsheng staff." Hu Tao beamed.
Stelle's stomach fluttered; the thing felt suspiciously like a sale of herself.
"Temporary staff," she corrected. "I don't know the first thing about funeral work."
"No worries, I'll teach you," Hu Tao chirped, then turned to Yanfei.
"Thanks for your help, Yanfei. I'll have someone send the fee later."
As Liyue's top legal expert, Yanfei's consultation rates were eye-watering.
Luckily Hu Tao wasn't short of mora; Wangsheng might look idle, but one big job kept them fed half a year.
"Happy to help," Yanfei smiled—this beat court appearances or mediating trade disputes.
"All right, I'll head out; I've got another appointment this afternoon."
"See you~" Hu Tao didn't press her to stay.
She knew Yanfei's schedule was packed; without a simple request she couldn't have come so quickly.
"Till we meet again." Stelle nodded farewell.
They watched her leave, then walked back inside together.
In the short time it had taken to sign, Lumine had already scrubbed the house spotless.
"Whoa, thick wind element!" Hu Tao exclaimed the moment she stepped in.
No wonder the place looked transformed—Lumine must have swept it wholesale with elemental power.
"So that's how it got spotless so fast..." Stelle scratched her head, envying the convenience.
Too bad she possessed no element.
"But wind only blows off surface dust; we'll still need a proper scrub," Lumine said, dusting her hands.
"contract signed?"
"Yep, two originals—keep this one." Stelle handed the copy to Lumine.
Lumine glanced at it, nodded, and tucked it away.
"Then starting today you're Hu Tao's employee—work hard." Lumine patted her shoulder, tone oddly weighted.
She stressed the last words, as if hinting at something.
"Uh, yeah... I'll do my best..." Stelle pretended not to catch it.
"We should throw a welcome banquet for the newbie." Hu Tao tapped her chin.
Wangsheng had no such tradition.
But Hu Tao did as she pleased; a girl this entertaining deserved a party.
"Banquet!" From across the room Paimon zoomed over.
"Can we join too?" Paimon looked at Hu Tao with eager eyes.
"Of course! Eating with just the two of us would be pretty boring," Hu Tao replied with a smile.
[No, no—if it's just you two, it would be very 'interesting'.]
Lumine thought to herself.
A lone woman and a lone girl in a private booth—what might happen next was self-evident... but seeing how excited Paimon was, Lumine didn't voice any refusal.
Anyway, Stelle had already joined the funeral parlor; things should progress naturally, no need to rush.
Starting from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and taking it step by step, getting close to those big shots shouldn't be a problem.
"Alright, I'll go book the restaurant—see you later!" Hu Tao nodded in satisfaction and dashed off in high spirits.
---
Hu Tao chose Liuli Pavilion for the banquet.
It wasn't cheap, but it was a fine place to entertain guests.
Of course, the main reason was that the restaurant was right in Feiyun Slope—very close by.
"I thought you'd take us to Wanmin Restaurant," Paimon said, sitting beside Lumine and curiously looking around at the décor.
"I'd love to help Xiangling's business, but let's skip it for now, hehe..." Hu Tao gave an awkward little smile.
The psychological scar left by that new dish Xiangling had invented was just too deep.
"Qingxin Stir-fried Slime Condensate"—she couldn't fathom why Xiangling would create such a recipe; maybe payback for an earlier prank?
"Besides, Wanmin is a small diner, not a grand restaurant like this. Booking a private room for a banquet there isn't easy," Hu Tao added.
At this time many ships had returned to port, so Wanmin was packed; snagging a good table was tough.
"I see," Lumine nodded.
Since Hu Tao was footing the bill at a luxury place they rarely visited, she certainly had no complaints.
"Don't worry—though there aren't many dishes I love here, the taste definitely won't disappoint."
Hu Tao knew some Liyue restaurants were pricey, tasteless, and skimpy on portions.
But Liuli Pavilion was the pinnacle of "Liyue cuisine" and constantly rivaled by the "Yue cuisine" of Xinyue Hall, so the flavor could never be bad.
"Speaking of which, Hu Tao," Stelle didn't mind the food; she cared more about the job at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"What exactly will I be doing?"
"Hmm..." Hu Tao rubbed her chin and began to ponder seriously.
Stelle waited quietly as the small private room fell into silence.
Even after the door knocked and their dishes arrived, Hu Tao still hadn't answered.
"Um... Hu Tao?" Stelle called out, puzzled.
"Aiya, this question is hard to answer..." Hu Tao sighed deeply.
"...You're the parlor director—don't you even know what your employee should do?" Paimon said, exasperated.
"Of course I know the workflow! But some professional stuff can't be learned overnight," Hu Tao pouted.
"Two months is too short. Setting aside odd jobs... ahem, let me think."
Offering Stelle a job to cover rent had been a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Sometimes Hu Tao acted faster than she thought, so about Stelle's duties... "Anyway, just stick with me and assist, all right?"
Promotional work for the parlor, or the occasional field job that might involve combat—those should be fine for Stelle.
At worst, warming the director's bed worked too.
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