Ch 5: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Fighting over a window seat? It seemed the curtains had been pulled open.

Lu Yao could understand. Just like how she preferred sitting by the window on a bus to watch the passing scenery, it naturally improved her mood. In the real world, many restaurants choose their locations based on environmental factors, promoting views of rivers, nightscapes, or parks to add value to their business.

This world, despite lacking food, had lifestyles and architectural styles quite similar to her own. She had let her guard down, assuming that even if people saw the scenery outside, they wouldn’t find it too unusual. At most, they might think, like Bai Ming did, that the view was an illusion she had created.

After confirming with the system, she knew that only she, being bound to the system, could freely travel between the two worlds. Even if others saw the landscape of the other world, they wouldn’t be able to enter it. This was one reason she felt comfortable letting customers dine inside the shop.

While fighting over seats was understandable, getting into a physical brawl was taking things too far.

Lu Yao paused her work, grabbed a damp towel from the kitchen counter, and wiped her hands as she headed toward the shop. “I’ll go take a look.”

There was still one customer in front of the grill—Xingzi, who worked at the movie theater. She had ordered spicy grilled chicken wings, roasted pig trotters, a chive and egg pancake, and strawberry soda.

Bai Ming was flipping the chicken wings and pig trotters. He glanced at Xingzi and said flatly, “Hold on a second, I’ll go and check.”

Xingzi smiled brightly and followed him around the grill. “I’ll go check it out too.”

When Lu Yao entered the shop, she realized the situation was more chaotic than she had anticipated.

She had thought it was just two customers fighting, but it turned out to be a full-blown brawl. In one corner, a pile of people lay on the floor in a heap, like a stack of collapsed human dominoes. Meanwhile, three or four others were still wrestling near the window.

Lu Yao tried to speak up, asking them to stop, but after glancing at her, they resumed their scuffle.

“I was here first!”

“That’s nonsense, I clearly got here before you!”

“You little trash, back off! I carved my name on the table—this seat is mine from now on!”

Lu Yao: “…”

They were like squabbling chickens, spouting insults back and forth.

Bai Ming entered, stepping in front of Lu Yao to shield her. His tone was cold and commanding: “You’re scaring the shop owner. Keep fighting, and you’ll all end up in the ‘little black room.'”

The shop immediately fell silent. The brawling customers quietly disentangled themselves, and the pile of people in the corner scrambled to their feet, looking at Bai Ming with wide eyes.

“We won’t fight anymore. Please don’t send us to the ‘little black room.'”

“Yeah, no more fighting! Sorry, shop owner, we got carried away.”

“Apologies, shop owner. I’m full now, so I’ll leave and come back tomorrow.”

Lu Yao figured that the term “little black room” was probably akin to the “police station” in her world, but with even stronger deterrent power.

The troublemakers quickly left, save for one middle-aged man who had been part of the fight. Wearing a mustard-colored T-shirt, he stood up, ready to leave, but as he reached the door, he hesitated. Glancing back at the window, he couldn’t resist turning around and walking back to Lu Yao, his eyes full of intense emotion.

“Shop owner, the view outside… that’s another world, isn’t it? I saw—ugh!”

Before he could finish, Bai Ming punched him in the stomach, then effortlessly lifted him like a small chicken and carried him out of the shop. He turned to Lu Yao and said, “Shop owner, this guy seems mentally unstable. I’ll take him to the ‘little black room’ and be back soon.”

Lu Yao: “…Oh, okay…”

Was the “little black room” actually a mental hospital?

That didn’t seem to be the point.

At some point, Xingzi had walked over to the window and was gazing outside, lost in thought.

Lu Yao started to feel uneasy, wondering if she should find time to cover the window completely.

Sensing Lu Yao approaching, Xingzi snapped out of her reverie, a glimmer in her eyes. “The shop owner’s illusion magic is truly extraordinary. Even the scenery you’ve crafted feels so lifelike.”

Lu Yao’s heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated. “Do you really think it looks that real? I was just considering whether I should cover the window to prevent more fights.”

Hearing this, Xingzi became a little anxious. She took a deep breath to steady her emotions and said, trying to sound casual, “Those people are too weak to tell the difference between reality and illusion. There’s no need for the shop owner to destroy such a rare and beautiful view. After all, an illusion is just an illusion. Once they get used to it, they won’t fight over it anymore.”

“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”

Xingzi had a point. Lu Yao also liked the view of the river outside, and if there was a way to disguise it so the customers couldn’t tell, that would be ideal.

System: [For 200 popularity points, you can upgrade the shop and expand the internal dimensional space. For an additional 50 points, the system can modify the shop’s layout according to the owner’s requirements. Would you like to upgrade?]

Lu Yao was only a third of the way through her task of serving 1,000 customers, which would take at least two or three more days to complete. She didn’t have enough popularity points at the moment, let alone enough to modify the shop’s layout, so she declined the system’s offer.

Xingzi’s round eyes twinkled as she suddenly suggested to Lu Yao, “Shop owner, your business is doing well, and you’ll have more and more customers in the future. You and the new guy can only handle the outside, but it might be good to have a server inside to attend to the guests’ needs.”

She left unsaid the part about preventing future fights over the window seat, but she assumed Lu Yao would understand.

Lu Yao had indeed thought about that. Hiring an additional employee would only cost 50 popularity points, and they could help manage the customers and protect the “illusion” outside the window.

“Hmm, you make a good point,” Lu Yao nodded in agreement.

Xingzi blinked and stood up straight in front of Lu Yao, speaking earnestly. “Since you’re hiring, what do you think about me?”

“Huh, you want to switch jobs?” Lu Yao was a bit surprised.

She hadn’t visited the nearby movie theater, but judging by its luxurious decor, it was clearly a large place. Even if both were service jobs, working at the theater surely offered more opportunities than her small snack shop.

Xingzi nodded. “Yes, I’d like to apply for the position of server at your shop. I used to work as a ticket seller and concession stand worker at the theater, selling tickets and popcorn. I’m used to dealing with customers and have plenty of experience. As for payment, I can accept the same as the new guy, even lower if needed. As long as I can eat at the shop, I’m happy. What do you think?”

Another person from this world wanting to work in exchange for food.

Lu Yao had a few doubts initially, but when Xingzi mentioned the part about food, her worries disappeared.

When she had tested new dishes the previous night, Bai Ming had eaten with such enthusiasm that it had startled her. Various snacks and drinks, totaling over 20 pounds of food, had all been consumed by Bai Ming. He had even tried to sneak some of the ingredients meant for sale.

Lu Yao fully understood just how tempting food was for the residents of this world.

She also appreciated Xingzi’s work experience, which would be valuable in her shop. However, Lu Yao didn’t agree right away. “Let’s do this: just like with Bai Ming, you’ll have a one-week trial period. If you can handle the work here, you’ll officially start in a week.”

Xingzi smiled and nodded. “Great, I’ll just go back and resign from my current job.”

“Alright, we’re done for the day. Come by tomorrow morning,” Lu Yao said, concluding their conversation before turning to start packing up the stall.

Bai Ming, having just escorted the troublesome customer away, quickly returned to help clean up.

During a break, Lu Yao mentioned to him that a new staff member would be starting tomorrow. Bai Ming nodded to show he understood.

Xingzi’s first day at the shop ended up being quite the lesson for Lu Yao.

That afternoon, after they had closed for the day, Lu Yao called the people at the farmers’ market to arrange for the next day’s supplies to be delivered. She had already coordinated with several vendors, so everything from drinks, vegetables, fresh meat, and seasonings would be delivered by dedicated suppliers.

While waiting for the delivery, Xingzi approached Lu Yao with the shop’s menu in hand, her expression serious. “Shop owner, I need to talk to you about something.”

Lu Yao immediately sensed that something might have gone wrong, possibly a work-related issue. She had been observing all day and found that Xingzi was highly capable. There hadn’t been any more fights over seats, and with Xingzi’s help, Lu Yao could focus on cooking, making her job much easier.

Satisfied with Xingzi’s performance, Lu Yao sat up straight. “Hmm, go ahead.”

Xingzi slid the menu toward Lu Yao. “Shop owner, don’t you think there’s a problem with our pricing?”

Lu Yao asked, “What kind of problem?”

Was it too expensive? She had devised a conversion method, turning the time-based currency into an hourly wage. Based on a low wage of eight yuan per hour, one chicken wing that costs six hours would be worth 48 yuan, which wasn’t cheap.

After calculating her recent earnings this way, she came up with an enormous figure and couldn’t help but sigh again—if only it were real money!

But Xingzi shook her head. “It’s too cheap! The kind of popcorn I gave you last time sells for 24 hours per portion at the movie theater. Our spicy grilled wings take so much effort to make, and they taste incredible, yet they’re only six hours per wing. And the grilled pig’s trotters—those are even more complicated to make, but you’re only charging 10 hours. The most outrageous is the chive and egg pancake—three hours per piece! Don’t you feel heartbroken?”

Lu Yao blinked, feeling slightly ashamed, still mentally calculating how much that 24-hour portion of popcorn would cost in real money.

Xingzi slapped the table. “We need to raise the prices! Let’s start by multiplying everything by ten, and we can adjust later based on the situation.”

Multiply by ten…

If one wing costs 48 yuan, multiplying that by ten makes it 480… Lu Yao was a bit startled.

Xingzi, full of enthusiasm, watched as Lu Yao adjusted the prices.

Lu Yao reluctantly picked up a pen and wrote the new prices on the menu, promising Xingzi she would remake the menu and put it up tomorrow.

Spicy Grilled Chicken Wings: 60 hours per wing, 120 hours per pair
Spicy Grilled Pig’s Trotter: 100 hours per portion
Chive and Egg Pancake: 30 hours each
Fermented Rice Balls: 40 hours per bowl
Strawberry Soda: 80 hours per glass
Iced Milk: 30 hours per carton

That night, after Xingzi left, Lu Yao slowly modified the menu, feeling like she was turning her shop into a rip-off.

Initially, she worried that the sudden price hike would drive customers away, but Xingzi swiftly put up a sign outside, explaining that the promotional period had ended and prices were now back to normal.

To her surprise, the customers didn’t react negatively. They still lined up every day, and the crowds seemed to be growing even larger.

Lu Yao thought to herself, Xingzi definitely knows what she’s doing.

After observing for several more days, Lu Yao noticed that the table by the window remained the most popular spot. But Xingzi had been right—the customers had gotten used to it over time. No one questioned the view outside anymore, accepting the explanation that it was just an illusion created by Lu Yao.

The enthusiasm didn’t wane, though. Customers even started taking turns to sit at that table.

System:
[Successfully served 1,000 customers. Task completed. Reward: 1,000 popularity points.]
[Lu Yao’s snack shop is thriving. Upgraded to a three-star shop. One new dish unlocked. Livestream feature unlocked. Would you like to livestream in the current world?]

Lu Yao pondered the new “livestream function” and decided not to activate it for the time being. What interested her more was upgrading the shop, expanding the space, and remodeling the layout.

After closing the shop that evening, she spent several hours drawing up a new layout plan and used 250 popularity points to have the system upgrade the shop.

The upgrade required twelve hours of maintenance due to the extensive changes involved. To avoid disrupting the shop’s daytime operations, Lu Yao decided not to upgrade that day but planned to close the shop early the next afternoon to begin the maintenance.

…

The snack shop opened as usual. Regulars like Chen Meiyue and Li Shasha came by, and even the distant-living youth, Chi, would drop in every few days. Recently, more people from the nearby amusement park had been visiting, along with new faces appearing daily.

In the back of the crowd, Bai Lu craned her neck, eyes filled with disbelief. “Is this a snack shop? There are so many people. When will it be our turn?”

Behind her, a young man named Bai He motioned for her to keep it down. “Keep it low-key, don’t give yourself away.”

The two were high-ranking NPCs from the amusement park, much higher in rank than the likes of Paopao and his friends. They were occasionally even cast as bosses in the park’s games.

After his previous failure, Bai Jian had spent several days reflecting and realized that he had made a mistake by sending Paopao and the others to handle things. Instead of sabotaging the snack shop, they had been won over by it. Recently, Bai Jian had noticed the three NPCs sneaking off to the snack shop after work, which nearly drove him mad.

Determined to fix his blunder, Bai Jian called in Bai Lu and Bai He, two more competent NPCs, to handle things this time. His request was simple: he didn’t expect them to destroy the shop—he just wanted Lu Yao to give up on Bai Ming.

He had overheard Lu Yao mention a seven-day trial period for Bai Ming, and today was the last day. If Lu Yao didn’t keep him, Bai Ming would have no choice but to return to his duties as a guard.

After a long wait in line, Bai Lu and Bai He finally reached the front. They were in luck—just as they were about to place their orders, the shop owner announced that the shop would close early, and they would be the last customers served.

Remembering their mission to cause trouble for Bai Ming, they only ordered the spicy grilled wings and grilled pig’s trotters that he had cooked.

Their plan was simple: they would criticize Bai Ming’s cooking, first nitpicking the appearance and authenticity of the food. If that didn’t work, they would accuse him of injecting malicious intent into the food to sabotage the customers.

To avoid being spotted by Bai Ming, they took their food inside the shop to eat. After Lu Yao announced the early closure, the customers gradually left, and soon the shop was nearly empty. With only one server present—and a familiar face at that—Bai Lu and Bai He thought they had the perfect opportunity.

They casually pulled out two chairs and sat down, preparing to make a fuss. However, when they looked up, they noticed something unusual.

There was a window beside their table, through which they could see a river gently flowing by. In the distance, birds soared across the sky, and farther away, a massive red Ferris wheel slowly ascended. Below it, other amusement park rides were visible, and they could even hear faint screams of excitement coming from outside.

Bai He turned to Xingzi with a confused expression. “What is this…?”

Xingzi approached them with a sweet smile and explained, “This is an illusion our shop owner personally created. It’s so realistic that our customers love it.”

Bai He rolled his eyes and muttered, “Xingzi, stop joking around. Ordinary people might not know better, but we can tell. This is clearly—”

Before he could finish, Xingzi grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the plate in front of him with a dull thud, shattering the plate. Still smiling, she continued, “Clearly, our shop owner’s illusions are so advanced they’re indistinguishable from reality.”

Bai He stiffened in his seat, signaling his surrender with a slight nod, and only then did Xingzi release him.

Across from him, Bai Lu had already taken a bite of the spicy grilled wings, her eyes lighting up. “Bai He, these are so good. You have to try them.”

Bai He, his face now smeared with oil from the plate, didn’t seem to mind. He picked up a wing and began eating as well, glancing at Bai Lu. “You’re surprisingly calm.”

Bai Lu swung her legs and beamed, her eyes gleaming. “I understand now why Bai Ming and Xingzi want to stay here. But can the two of you really protect her?”

A challenger who accidentally stumbled into this world would undoubtedly be torn apart in an instant if others found out, especially the seemingly frail shop owner.

Xingzi smiled sweetly and retorted, “You don’t need to worry about that. If she dies, the spicy grilled wings, the chive and egg pancakes, and the strawberry soda… all of it will vanish. Can you handle that kind of choice?”

Besides, with the view of the otherworld outside the window, who could say no to that?

Bai Lu and Bai He finished their meal and left. When they returned to the amusement park, they didn’t mention the uniqueness of the snack shop to Bai Jian. Instead, they simply reported that no matter how hard they tried to persuade, the shop owner believed in Bai Ming’s abilities and didn’t want to fire him.

Seeing Bai Jian’s unpleasant expression, Bai Lu even praised him, saying that his talent in selecting people was impeccable and that the individuals he nurtured were one in a million, shining wherever they went.

Bai Jian: “…”

He was so irritated that he felt like coughing up blood. He grew even more disdainful of Lu Yao and her snack shop.

After Lu Yao closed the shop early, she initiated the maintenance. The next day, the shop had undergone a dramatic transformation.

【You have a new mission! Achieve fame through livestreaming to unlock the final mission in this world! Would you like to start livestreaming?】

!!!

Completing the final mission would allow her to move to the next world, and the next world might actually offer the chance to make some real money.

With her wallet feeling thin, Lu Yao eagerly rubbed her hands together, “Yes!”

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️