[Chapter 441: Maids Came to America]
Scream truly deserved its reputation as a classic horror film. During the Halloween season, it unleashed incredible energy.
November 1st was a Wednesday. Although it wasn't an official public holiday, most places and businesses still gave their employees the day off. Halloween had always been a prime time for horror movie audiences in North America.
Besides Scream, a slew of other horror movies also premiered during the Halloween season, such as Vampire in Brooklyn, The Fear, and Night of the Scarecrow. However, none could compare to Scream in terms of quality, star power, or marketing.
Scream dominated the box office, scoring a staggering $11.27 million on its opening day. Including the midnight screenings, its North American total for the first day hit $13.05 million, crushing the competition and accounting for nearly 40% of the day's total box office revenue.
Major theater chains quickly increased Scream's showings, reaching a 35% screening rate across 3,300 screens.
Although the box office dropped on Thursday due to it being a regular weekday, Scream still pulled in $6.35 million. It picked up again on Friday with $8.51 million, continued strong on Saturday with $9.23 million, and earned $8.17 million on Sunday.
In its five-day opening week, Scream amassed a total of $45.31 million. With this momentum, a North American box office exceeding $100 million seemed inevitable. The distribution team predicted around $120 million in tickets sold.
Merchandise related to the movie also performed well. Dolls representing Jennifer Connelly's character had already sold $5 million, and the killer mask replicas were nearing $800,000 in sales. Akina Nakamori-inspired dolls lagged a bit but still crossed $400,000 in sales.
---
On November 8th, Lin Hao personally led a team escorting 117 young women and four chefs, including Suarez Shijie, on an international flight to Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, Xu Qing was filming a movie and couldn't join.
Linton, accompanied by Goodman, his assistants, and bodyguards, went to pick them up at Los Angeles International Airport. Seeing more than a hundred young, beautiful women greet them like a flock of swallows was truly a stunning sight.
Among all these young women, Li Xiaoran stood out as the most dazzling. She naturally drew attention, even within the crowd.
Confident and bold, after Lin Hao and Linton exchanged greetings, she approached Linton with a bright smile, saying, "Boss, I've completed the challenge you set for me."
Linton understood her unspoken question -- the promise he made. But he didn't indulge her and warmly shook her hand. "Good progress. But it's not up to you to say you've done it. I'll have to confirm with Director Lin first."
Their conversation attracted Lin Hao's attention and stirred envy and jealousy among the other girls. Most thought to themselves, 'What's going on? How did this sly fox get cozy with the big boss so fast? Am I any less deserving?'
Linton ignored their thoughts and called everyone to move with their luggage to the private plane.
They boarded a Boeing 737 charter flight straight to the Montana farm.
...
Linton and Lin Hao naturally took first-class seats upfront. During the flight, Linton asked Lin Hao about Li Xiaoran's performance during training.
As it turned out, Li Xiaoran had been elected class leader of the training group and did an excellent job managing relationships and class affairs. The orientation ran smoothly under her watch.
After three months of English speaking classes, each trainee was tested by New Oriental teachers, and Li Xiaoran ranked among the top performers, well into the excellent category.
...
Linton then called her over to an empty seat beside him and spoke with her in English for over ten minutes. He concluded that while she could manage everyday conversations, she struggled with technical vocabulary, such as terms related to film or official matters. Still, she passed by a narrow margin.
"Since you barely passed, I won't go back on my word. You don't have to stay on the farm; you can work as my assistant," Linton offered.
"Really? That's great! Don't worry; I'll work hard to complete all your assignments quickly and well," Li Xiaoran said joyfully. If they weren't on the plane, she probably would have jumped for joy.
"A qualified assistant doesn't just wait for the boss's orders. For now, you'll learn from Meena," Linton said.
He handed her over to Meena, letting them talk privately while he and Lin Hao resumed their conversation.
---
Two hours later, the plane landed at Linton's private airport on his farm.
Everyone was amazed to get down from the plane and learn it was a private airfield on the owner's own property.
Even Director Lin Hao was stunned by Linton's grand scale. It was obvious how wealthy American capitalists could be.
Newly appointed estate manager Erica had already arranged for four large buses waiting outside the airport.
Everyone boarded the buses, heading toward the small farm, taking in the passing scenery and imagining their upcoming work and life.
Upon hearing that Li Xiaoran had been directly hired as Linton's assistant, many of the women felt both envious and hopeful, wondering if they might also climb to better positions.
Erica was highly efficient. In just four days, she had recruited all the necessary staff, including nine gardeners (reserving one slot for her husband arriving later), six outdoor cleaners, two waste disposal workers, two electrical and plumbing repairmen, and a six-person kitchen team.
The estate's living facilities had already been mostly procured. They'd also acquired two pickup trucks for everyday maintenance work.
Accommodation plans were also made for all 121 newcomers, along with basic supplies.
According to her arrangement, everyone -- including herself -- would live in the outer compound. Only she, Carter, and the newly arrived head chef Suarez Shijie had large suites. The rest stayed in small one-bedroom apartments.
Erica understood that the estate's inner grounds were reserved for Linton's family, the true owners, and only carefully selected, trusted staff could live there.
Naturally, those chosen by the family enjoyed far higher status and salaries than the outer compound workers.
Whether the more than one hundred young, beautiful newcomers would catch the owners' favor was up to fate.
Until then, everyone was treated equally.
As for Li Xiaoran, already chosen as assistant, she was not given an apartment but shared a flat in the inner compound with Meena, ready to respond to Linton's orders at any time.
Although Suarez Shijie's chef team was responsible for feeding the inner family, they weren't personal attendants and stayed in the outer compound's apartments.
Though these were small one-bedroom units with living rooms and bathrooms, each measuring over 400 square feet, this was a pleasant surprise for the girls from China. Their initial anxieties slowly turned into excitement.
Even more thrilling, each building had a shared phone line available, with no restrictions on making international calls. It was easy to imagine how busy those phones would be soon.
---
After settling in briefly, Linton gathered everyone in the dining hall for a meal. The newly hired kitchen staff had prepared a simple yet ample lunch featuring bread, steak, and salad.
After the meal, Linton introduced estate manager Erica, informing everyone that all work on the estate would be coordinated through her. She would delegate tasks based on their performance.
Then he asked, "We need an accountant and a cashier to manage the estate's finances. Has anyone studied accounting who's interested?"
Surprisingly, five people stepped forward.
Two were university students majoring in accounting -- one finishing junior year and another sophomore. The other three were recent graduates from vocational schools, also in accounting.
Linton didn't prioritize credentials. Since the farm's accounts were fairly straightforward, he had each person create a financial report in English on the spot.
Selecting two women with the neatest, cleanest reports, he assigned Li Yan as accountant and Peng Ling as cashier.
They received a salary bump to $15,000 a year, sparking envy and new hope among the others.
After settling the new Chinese staff, Linton conducted individual interviews with the twenty-five local workers Erica had hired.
Using his Soul Induction ability to test their loyalty, he made sure none harbored ill intentions before confidently handing their employment formalities over to Erica and Goodman.
*****
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