Chapter 17: Private Screening

After everything was arranged, Captain Wu glanced at his watch and said, "Alright, you can go collect your uniforms now. They should be ready."

Upon hearing this, everyone responded and headed to collect their clothes from Sister He.

When Sister He saw them arrive, she wasted no time and handed over the freshly ironed and perfumed uniforms to Jiang Zheng and his group.

She had prioritized getting their clothes ready, knowing they would be needed immediately. This wasn't her first time ironing these uniforms.

Once they had their uniforms, Captain Wu led them to the changing room.

Jiang Zheng didn’t take off his own clothes, instead pulling the uniform on over them.

Seeing this, Du Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Jiang, aren’t you going to be hot wearing it like that?”

Jiang Zheng replied, “Of course it’ll be hot, but it’s still better than wearing it directly. Who knows how many people have worn these uniforms before? It’s better to have a layer in between.”

Du Yu thought it over and said, “That makes sense. I’ll do the same.”

Some of the others, unafraid of the heat, followed Jiang Zheng’s example and wore the uniforms over their own clothes. Those who were more sensitive to heat chose to take off their own clothes first.

It was summer, and their clothes were fairly thin. Since the uniforms were long-sleeved, it wasn’t obvious whether they still wore their own clothes underneath.

Once they had changed, Jiang Zheng and the others went out one after another.

Captain Wu’s expression was stern as he asked, “You all remember the tasks I told you about?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, “We remember!”

“Good. Now head to your assigned posts!” Captain Wu ordered.

The group dispersed, each heading to their respective positions.

Jiang Zheng and two others went to the entrance. When they arrived, there were already security staff stationed there.

These were the hotel’s regular employees. Not every post could be handed over to temporary security guards like them.

There were always official staff on duty; they were just there as temporary support.

During the earlier briefing, Captain Wu had instructed them to obey the regular security staff.

The regular staff weren’t overly friendly, merely greeting them briefly before returning to their posts, guarding the entrance diligently.

Maintaining order at the entrance was crucial. Once guests began arriving in large numbers, any lapse could quickly lead to problems.

Soon, more and more guests began to arrive.

Jiang Zheng and his companions quickly became busy, but the job was not particularly difficult.

The hotel wouldn’t assign them any tasks that were too complicated.

After a flurry of activity, things quieted down.

With no guests coming or going, things became rather dull for the group at the door.

As entrance security, they weren’t allowed to leave their posts.

Of course, short breaks for the restroom and the like were permitted, just not all at the same time—someone always needed to stay at the entrance.

After spending some time together, the regular security staff warmed up and began chatting with Jiang Zheng and his group.

They passed the time with idle conversation.

After a while, Jiang Zheng suddenly asked, “Brother, what kind of event is being held here today?”

Though they were just temp workers, none of them actually knew what event the hotel was hosting.

The security guard he addressed smiled and said, “It’s not really an event—just a very wealthy businessman who’s booked out the hotel. I hear it’s for his daughter’s teacher appreciation banquet.”

“That’s why he’s considered a big shot—just look at the number of guests. The hotel was short-staffed, so they brought you all in as extra help.”

Jiang Zheng was taken aback. He’d imagined some grand affair and had been curious, especially since the guests passing through seemed quite distinguished in their dress and demeanor.

He hadn’t expected it to be nothing more than a teacher appreciation banquet!

Such an elaborate affair for a simple banquet—Jiang Zheng could only marvel at how people’s lives truly differed.

“Why isn’t there a sign or poster about the banquet outside?” Jiang Zheng asked, puzzled.

Usually, for events like this, the hotel would display a poster so guests could immediately see what was being held.

But he hadn’t seen anything of the sort.

“That was the big boss’s request—to keep it low-key. Normally, there would be a poster outside, but he didn’t want one,” the security guard explained.

Jiang Zheng nodded in sudden understanding. That explained why he hadn’t seen any sign of it outside.

Still, he couldn’t help but mentally complain—booking out an entire hotel for a teacher appreciation banquet, and calling that low-key?

It was not his idea of being discreet.

He kept these thoughts to himself. As someone who often worked odd jobs, Jiang Zheng understood the wisdom of listening more and speaking less.

While Jiang Zheng and the others loitered out of boredom at the entrance, the hotel manager was nearly at his wit’s end.

The person who’d booked the venue today was a major figure in the business world. The hotel owner had personally instructed the manager to ensure this guest was looked after impeccably. Any slip-up could very well cost the manager his job.

He had therefore gone to great lengths to make sure everything was perfect. Even the temporary staff were carefully screened; for example, all the temp security guards had to be at least 1.75 meters tall and reasonably presentable.

In the banquet hall, he’d arranged for a grand piano and hired a professional pianist to enhance the atmosphere.

But a problem had arisen: the pianist he had booked was suddenly unavailable due to a last-minute emergency!

If he’d learned this earlier, he could have found a replacement without much trouble. But at the eleventh hour, it was difficult.

The pianist was quite renowned in professional circles. Even if he could find a substitute, it would be hard to match that level of skill.

But with the piano already set up, it couldn’t just sit there as a decorative piece.

The increasingly anxious manager found a staff member and instructed, “Go and ask around—see if anyone here can play the piano.”

The staffer acknowledged the order and left.

After some thought, the manager decided that music was essential; the atmosphere with live music was entirely different from playing a recording.

Of course, he didn’t pin all his hopes on the staff—this was just a backup plan.

Meanwhile, he took out his phone to call around for a professional pianist. He was confident it wouldn’t be too hard; as a hotel manager, he had a broad network of contacts.

He made the calls as quickly as possible—time was running out.

In truth, the piano performance was only needed during lunch. There was less than an hour left before the meal would be served.