"The sign outside? I didn't see it." Guangyou shook his head and asked疑惑地问道, "What does it say?"
“It says ‘Opening hours are irregular’,” Ai recalled the sign and continued, “and it also says ‘Reservations only by phone’.”
After hearing these two sentences, Guangyou sighed, "This boss is really something, he's not even making money."
“Perhaps they’re targeting the high-end market.” Xiao Ai savored the quiet atmosphere of the courtyard. “It’s like those high-society clubs where people who aren’t qualified can’t even get in.”
Upon hearing this, Guangyou nodded and smiled, "I'm suddenly quite interested in this place."
The courtyard is actually not very big; in other words, the hot spring resort is not very large.
So at the time, Guangyou was quite worried that there would be a lot of people in the hot spring, and that it would be like dumplings being dropped into a pot, with more than a dozen people soaking in a hot spring that was only a few square meters in size.
Fortunately, they don't accept just anyone here, otherwise Guangyou would have found a place to stay. He wouldn't want to be crammed into a small hot spring with a bunch of grown men.
After changing his shoes and entering the house, Guangyou became even more certain of his thoughts.
There was no reception desk in the room, and none of the decorations you'd find in a commercial facility. It felt like being in someone's home.
After briefly looking around at the interior decorations, Kōyū and Ayā came out of the house and sat side by side on the wooden edge, quietly looking at the lush green courtyard.
...
At this moment, Uncle Mori and Tamagawa Joji were sitting in the reception room drinking tea.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Tamagawa," Uncle Mori said. "Excuse me, how much does it cost to stay here for one night? The place looks very nice; it must be quite expensive, right?"
Sitting across from him, Tamagawa Joji took a sip of tea, looked up at Uncle Mori with meaningful eyes, and then smiled and said, "It's not cheap at all. It would cost about 100,000 yen for one night."
"Ten...hundred thousand?"
Before Uncle Mori could recover, Tamagawa Joji added insult to injury: "100,000 yen is the cost per person. If we calculate based on the number of people Mr. Mori has, it would cost more than 400,000 yen per night."
"More than 400,000..."
At this moment, Uncle Mori regretted not listening to Kouyu and Ran. This was clearly a rip-off!
A night at a regular hot spring hotel can easily cost several thousand yen, including meals.
This hot spring costs 100,000 a night. Does that mean they serve gold for dinner?
Seeing that Uncle Mori's expression was not right, Tamagawa Joji said, "Mr. Mori, don't worry. You don't need to spend any money to stay here. For outsiders, it would indeed cost 100,000 yen to stay here for one night, but Mr. Mori is different from them."
Uncle Mori felt a little embarrassed that his thoughts had been seen through, but he was also relieved. He could afford 400,000 yen, but a single soak in a hot spring cost 400,000 yen.
Even if he's rich, he can't afford to waste money like this!
Moreover, he wasn't a wealthy man.
"Mr. Mori thinks my business isn't doing well and is afraid I'll lose money, right?" Tamagawa Joji could see through Uncle Mori's thoughts. From the brief exchange just now, he knew that Uncle Mori had come because it was free.
The reason for asking the price was that the courtyard was deserted and there wasn't a single guest in sight, so Uncle Mori wanted to pay him some money to cut his losses.
And that's exactly what Uncle Mori thought.
Free hot springs are nice, but we should consider the circumstances, right?
If their business is doing well, then it's fine; they're a large and wealthy family who can afford to hire them.
But this place is different; although the environment is nice, there are no tourists.
This gave Uncle Mori the feeling that his boss had lost money and invited him to a hot spring.
It's true that he's greedy for small gains, but he, Kogoro Mouri, would never do something that's like sucking someone else's blood.
“Mr. Mori, you don’t need to worry about me at all.” Tamagawa Joji took a sip of tea and smiled slightly. “I don’t have any guests here because I don’t want them to come.”
"Why is that?" Uncle Mori asked, puzzled.
Setting down his teacup, Tamagawa Joji explained, "I really enjoy soaking in hot springs and making friends, so I wondered if I could combine the two and make new friends while soaking in hot springs."
"That's why I don't like to make this place too commercial. I'll take reservations when I'm happy, and I'll rest when I'm not, maybe go for a hot spring with friends."
"Soaking in hot springs can relax people, and I think that in this state, you can better know whether you and the other person are compatible when chatting." Tamagawa Joji suddenly laughed. "There's no scientific basis for this, so please excuse my ignorance, Mr. Mori."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Mori smiled and said, "How could that be? I think it's fine."
Although he didn't understand the connection between the two, who cares, it's always good to show support.
"Mr. Mori, I really admire your reasoning. The aura you exude when you sit in your chair and reason is just like that of an ancient general."
Looking at Uncle Mori, who was still sitting somewhat awkwardly across from him, Tamagawa Joji said, "I used to only see you in newspapers and on TV. Now that I've met you in person, I realize that Mr. Mori, not only are you a very good strategist, but your character is also top-notch!"
From the moment Uncle Mori subtly inquired about the price, offering to give him money to cover his losses, Tamagawa Joji knew that the man before him was of impeccable character.
The reason for not directly saying "I see your business isn't doing too well, so I still want to give you money" is to save face for him, because such a statement may sound like a form of charity to some people.
It's like some people value face and agreements a lot; if they're the ones paying, giving them money is considered disrespectful.
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