Ch 88: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Xia Min picked up the card, still a bit stunned. “A hidden prize voucher?”

Everyone around her looked equally baffled. Zheng Yang and Li Shuang had incredible luck, drawing almost all the most practical items from the set, and based on the item list, it seemed Xia Min’s box should have been predictable—no one expected the hidden item to show up so easily.

She shook the box vigorously. “It’s empty. How am I supposed to use this voucher?”

Li Jia couldn’t resist saying, “So, it’s all just a gimmick with these blind boxes—big promises, but the grand prize turns out to be an empty box. This is a scam, a classic bait-and-switch. Twenty years ago, a place like this would’ve been shut down and fined the moment people found out. Only now, in times like these, do places like this get away with it.”

Her voice wasn’t exactly low, and people nearby, either unboxing their own blind boxes or waiting in line, began to glance over, murmuring quietly among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard there was an empty box in someone’s set.”

“They said it was a hidden prize, but the box was empty.”

“An empty box? I was thinking about saving up to buy a full set, but now I’m not so sure.”

“There’s no staff here to complain to if something goes wrong.”

“True, single draws seem safer.”

Initially, Xia Min had been excited, thinking the hidden prize voucher was some new kind of reward, but with Li Jia’s commentary and the murmurs around her, she started to feel she might be holding a dud, a bit disheartened yet unwilling to give up entirely.

Seeing her doubt, Li Jia continued, “You’re young, so you wouldn’t know. Before the Evernight Days, many stores operated like this. They could easily price their goods plainly, but they’d insist on blind boxes with all this mystery nonsense. You’d go to claim a prize only to get a bunch of useless junk. Every store aims to make money; no one’s going to let you come out ahead.”

Zheng Yang quickly interrupted, “Keep it down, or we’ll end up on the blacklist.”

Li Jia, feeling a bit smug, wasn’t ready to stop and didn’t take Zheng Yang’s warning seriously.

Just then, Lu Yao walked in, carrying breakfast. She overheard Li Jia’s comment about “blind boxes as a shady scheme,” glanced at Li Jia, and called up her system, “What happened here?”

System: 【The girl at Table Two drew a hidden prize from the Winter Series, and the lady beside her is accusing the shop of scams, claiming it’d be shut down as a fraudulent shop in the past.】

Lu Yao scanned the room—there were quite a few customers, noticeably more than the previous day, but their expressions seemed to carry a hint of doubt.

Trust was a rare commodity in this harsh world where people had struggled under the Evernight Days for so long.

With a task deadline pressing, she couldn’t afford to lose customer confidence now. She approached Li Jia calmly, saying, “Ma’am, I’m the shop owner, Lu Yao. We resolve any issues promptly, and this shop has always conducted honest business without deceiving customers. I’d appreciate it if you avoided spreading unsubstantiated rumors.”

Li Jia’s expression tightened slightly. This was the owner? Such a young woman, looking laid-back and nothing like a researcher. Could she really be the one who developed these crystal core technologies?

Her suspicion grew, along with a tinge of irritation. Crossing her arms, she replied, “Am I wrong? If you’re selling something, do it plainly. All these blind box tricks and hidden items, an empty box—how is that not deceptive?”

Lu Yao replied, “Running my shop as I see fit is my prerogative. If you dislike this method, you’re free not to purchase. The Winter Series’ hidden item is too large to fit in a box, so we use a voucher instead.”

Then, looking around, she asked, “Who drew the hidden prize?”

Xia Min immediately held up her “small hidden prize” card. “It was me.”

Remembering her last pleasant encounter with Lu Yao over the chocolate, Xia Min still couldn’t bring herself to dislike the shop owner.

Lu Yao took the card, nodding, “Yes, this is indeed the small hidden prize from the Winter Series. You’re lucky! Please wait a moment while I retrieve the actual item. As for the card, I’ll keep it as proof of exchange.”

Hearing that the voucher would be redeemed for a real item, the surrounding customers couldn’t help but grow curious.

“What kind of item can’t fit in a box and needs to be redeemed with a voucher?”

Lu Yao had already prepared a separate entry door to the back area labeled “Staff Only” to avoid startling customers. Only she could enter through this door.

She returned from the back room with a black package and handed it to Xia Min, who accepted it excitedly. She unwrapped it and pulled out a hard black backpack. “The hidden prize is… a bag?”

Li Jia smirked, ready to say something, but Lu Yao anticipated this and spoke first. “You could say that, but it’s more than just a bag.”

Taking the backpack from Xia Min, Lu Yao unzipped it around the bottom. Suddenly, the rigid backpack expanded into a soft sleeping bag. “This is a multifunctional backpack. When unfolded like this, it becomes a sleeping bag filled with the same crystal-core liquid as the heated blanket, making it automatically warm.”

Xia Min slipped her hand inside the sleeping bag, feeling its soft, plush warmth. Her hand quickly heated up inside, and she was already delighted.

Hearing that it was a self-heating sleeping bag, the onlookers immediately saw the value of the hidden prize.

Lu Yao rolled up the sleeping bag, zipped it back into backpack form, and then demonstrated further by placing the compact crystal-core heater into it. “This hidden prize is specially designed for the Winter Series, so it has compartments for each of the eight regular items. When packed in order, there’s still space left for food, water, or crystal cores. At night, you can transfer items to an inner pocket in the sleeping bag so nothing gets lost.”

Lu Yao handed the backpack back to Xia Min. “It also has a fingerprint lock. Once you set your fingerprint, only you will be able to open it.”

The backpack’s unique material made it waterproof and fire-resistant, withstanding any common tool.

Xia Min’s excitement was evident as she took in all its functions. “Thank you, big sis—I love this bag!”

The onlookers’ expressions shifted as they took in the hidden prize’s features. If this was just the small hidden prize, what could the large hidden one be?

Their curiosity overcame any doubts from moments before as they eagerly rejoined the line to draw their own boxes.

Xia Min, thrilled, said, “I’m going to save up more crystal cores and get another Winter Series set. With this bag, I won’t have to worry about being prepared for any mission.”

Li Shuang eyed the bag enviously. “I’d love to have one of those—so convenient.”

With the trust crisis resolved, Lu Yao turned her gaze back to Li Jia. But before she could say anything, Li Jia left the shop, looking displeased and clutching two unopened boxes.

Unbeknownst to Li Jia, this was her first and last time in the blind box shop.

Watching from the sidelines, Yi Chuan finally stood up and approached Lu Yao. “Hello, store owner. My name is Yi Chuan, and I’m a researcher. I’d like to ask a few questions about the crystal-core energy products you sell.”

Lu Yao glanced at him. “The person who just left—what is she to you?”

Yi Chuan lowered his head slightly, his gaze downcast. “She’s a member of my team. She has a strong, independent personality. I apologize on her behalf.”

Before Lu Yao could reply, Xi Tingran rose quickly. “My apologies, store owner. They just arrived here and aren’t familiar with the shop’s rules. I’ll take him back right away.”

Zheng Yang, Li Shuang, and Xia Min all wore expressions of utter despair.

Once someone entered the blacklist, they couldn’t return to the blind box store. If they wanted to use the store’s products again, they’d have to buy from others at a steep markup. Those resold items often lacked the same quality as new boxes from the store, and sometimes, even after waiting a long time, it was impossible to find the specific product they needed—or worse, they might get scammed.

The members of Xi Tingran’s team were sure that Li Jia had landed herself on the blind box store’s blacklist, and they definitely didn’t want to be implicated.

…

At Changming Base, Jiang Han was unboxing while Jiang Shanrun and Chi Jin watched.

Thanks to the protection charm on each box, only Jiang Han could touch them. He started with the main food box that most interested his grandfather, drawing items like millet, corn, flour, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, pumpkin, and a bundle of vermicelli. All were regular items, no hidden surprises. Each box held a standard 500 grams.

Jiang Shanrun happily picked up a potato, then rubbed a corn cob in his hand, saying, “Wonderful, all of this is unmutated. The corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes can be sprouted and planted.”

Jiang Han asked, “How did those fruit seeds from last time turn out, Grandpa?”

Jiang Shanrun shook his head. “I tried planting a few, but the soil isn’t suitable. With the cold wave, they all froze.”

Jiang Han moved on to the Crystal Core Winter Series box, reassuring him, “After this cold wave, I’ll go with you to find better soil further out.”

The second box also contained only regular items, but the filtered heating water bottle, mini pressure cooker, and insulated lunchbox were exactly what Jiang Han wanted. He immediately filled the water bottle with snow, filtered it, and boiled it. The resulting hot water was crystal clear with no strange taste.

It was the first time he’d tasted normal water since living in the base, and he was nearly moved to tears. He poured a cup for both Jiang Shanrun and Chi Jin.

The three of them held their cups and sipped slowly, savoring the hot water as if it were a vintage wine.

Jiang Han then unboxed the medical supplies box, which didn’t contain any hidden items, but all the regular items were highly useful, and he was very satisfied.

That morning, Jiang Han had left early, while Chi Jin had been sleeping in the greenhouse and hadn’t gone to the blind box store. Now that he’d finished watching Jiang Han’s unboxing, he was ready to go back and nap some more.

Jiang Han stopped him. “Brother Chi, aren’t you going to the store today?”

Chi Jin replied, “No.”

…

Within half a day, news spread through the nearby bases that someone at Hope Base had drawn a hidden item from the Crystal Core Winter Series, spurring even more people to buy entire sets, hoping to get a hidden item.

Lu Yao watched the store’s backend sales figures soar with amazement. Only four days had passed, and the store’s earnings were already over 140,000. These people sure seemed ripe for picking.

By the sixth day of the mission, the grand hidden item in the Crystal Core Winter Series had been drawn.

Chi Jin came to find Lu Yao to redeem it.

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