Ch 128: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Harold suddenly stopped, squinting as he surveyed the Little Pet Cafe, mentally comparing it to the nail salon next door. He quickly realized this shop was far more extravagant than the neighboring blind box store, and the nail salon didn’t come close either. He secretly pursed his lips.

No wonder Lu Yao was so busy every day, returning late each night.

Casually, he tossed a few open-mouthed anglerfish into the shop, reaching out to take a few more from the orca’s mouth.

Orca A flicked its head, dodging Harold, and deftly dropped the fish into the shop, landing them right on top of Harold’s pile.

Harold tilted his head to look. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Orca A gave an innocent look, “Mrr?”

Lu Yao urged Harold, “Alright, alright, don’t block the doorway. Go on inside.”

Ji Feiming, Qingmei, and Wen Jingyi were standing at the entrance, the two girls eyeing Harold with curiosity.

Xiao Ji looked indifferent—this dragon was here again.

Time-traveling was truly remarkable.

As Lu Yao entered behind them, Qingmei quickly pulled her aside, eyes shining as she whispered, “Shopkeeper, where did this handsome guy come from? A foreigner? He’s too good-looking, and his eyes are blue—are those colored contacts?”

Wen Jingyi was also looking at Harold and added, “Even among foreigners, few are this classically handsome. The high ponytail is stylish, and yet he doesn’t look feminine at all.”

If the actress herself approved of his looks, he must truly be striking.

Harold suddenly felt a cold stare from the side. He looked over and saw it was another man, so he glared back even more fiercely.

Lu Yao quickly pulled Harold over, introducing him, “This is Harold, my younger brother. The shop is severely understaffed, so he came to help out.”

Outside the transparent wall, the orca seemed to let out a soft hum, different from its usual “mrr” sound.

Lu Yao turned to look, but only saw its rounded back as Orca A swam away.

Qingmei’s eyes sparkled even more at Harold. “A new coworker? Isn’t he a bit young?”

Harold raised his hand and lightly knocked Lu Yao’s head in annoyance. “I’m nearly a hundred years old; I should be the older brother.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The room fell silent. Lu Yao remained calm, giving Harold a firm pat on the back and turning to the others, “This kid’s a manga fanatic. In his world, he sees himself as a beautiful and powerful black dragon. Since it’s summer break, he came here to help out, meet more people, and maybe, just maybe, start growing up.”

Harold sensed something wasn’t right, but he was a powerful, attractive dragon who loved manga and had specifically come to help out. He wasn’t yet an adult, with decades left before maturity. So, he didn’t argue.

Ah, so he’s just a classic case of ‘chuunibyou.’

Understanding dawned on everyone. Qingmei and Wen Jingyi looked at Harold with a sisterly gaze, even Shi Bin grew more tolerant toward him.

Ji Feiming: “…”

She meant it; she wasn’t joking!

After discussing Harold, Wen Jingyi turned to Lu Yao, “Do you want to take a shower and change?”

Lu Yao nodded, “Yes, I’ll go right away. Harold, take the anglerfish to the kitchen, and prepare them using the method I showed you earlier. I’ll make a delicious fish stew with them.”

The anglerfish were deep-sea creatures. When Lu Yao caught them, they were still alive, but they’d since died, so they needed immediate cleaning to ensure freshness.

These fish lived in the highly polluted zone, making them typically unsuitable for consumption.

However, magic could filter out impurities from the flesh, leaving it clean, tender, and pleasantly chewy.

Harold had an advantage; he knew all the magic Lu Yao did, and even those she didn’t know.

Handling a few fish was a matter of minutes.

The little black dragon had never seen this kind of fish before, and if Lu Yao hadn’t insisted on bringing them back, their toothy appearance would have already deterred him.

Lu Yao came out of the shower in clean clothes.

The kitchen was crowded, and she struggled to squeeze her way in. “Why is everyone here?”

Wen Jingyi, Shi Bin, and Qingmei were all gathered around Harold.

They’d eaten anglerfish before but had never seen them in their unprocessed, skin-on state, curious about how Harold would handle them.

Because of the onlookers, Harold’s progress was slow; only two anglerfish had been processed in the nearby freshwater basin, and their skin hadn’t even been removed.

Wen Jingyi was poking at the small protrusions on the belly of one of the anglerfish. “Are these its legs? Why does the one next to it only have two under its belly?”

Qingmei chimed in, “Some only have one, and others have several. It’s kind of strange. Too bad we don’t have a phone to look it up.”

Lu Yao was silent for a moment, then glanced at Shi Bin.

Shi Bin, confused, wondered why she was looking at him; he hadn’t caught the fish himself.

It was a tasty fish, but its appearance left much to be desired.

He wasn’t interested in it at all and was only here to wait for Wen Jingyi.

Anglerfish were indeed unsightly, dull gray, with wide mouths, big bellies, and a set of particularly jagged teeth.

They rarely moved, spending most of their time lurking on the seafloor, using the glowing lure on their heads to attract prey.

However, there was something very intriguing about their survival strategy.

Lu Yao looked away and calmly explained, “These aren’t legs—they’re its husbands.”

Wen Jingyi didn’t understand but let go of the fish. “What do you mean?”

Lu Yao put on gloves, picked up a magically treated anglerfish, and began to skin it as she explained, “Male anglerfish are tiny compared to the females; their size difference can be up to sixty times. To survive, they attach to the female and feed off her body fluids. Their organs degenerate completely, eventually leaving only a small nub of flesh, retaining just their reproductive glands.”

“…”

“…”

Lu Yao continued, “Almost all anglerfish caught at sea are female. Later, researchers found that the tiny flesh nubs attached to the females were actually degenerated males. Some anglerfish have more than one nub—those are all degenerated males.”

In other words, a female anglerfish sometimes carries multiple males, all entirely dependent on her.

“…”

“…”

For some reason, the conversation suddenly grew awkward.

“…The shopkeeper sure knows a lot about fish,” Qingmei said sincerely.

Lu Yao replied, “Since the shop is in the ocean, I can’t help wanting to learn more. The deep sea encompasses nearly every form of life, whether strong or humble. Every creature here has only one goal—to survive.”

After hearing the anglerfish story, Wen Jingyi and Shi Bin quietly left the kitchen.

Qingmei followed them out for a few minutes, returning with a lighter expression and a hint of joy.

Lu Yao casually asked, and Qingmei didn’t hide it. “I gave Sister Jingyi my address and my family’s contact information. I asked her to check in on them.”

“They’re leaving?”

“I’m not sure, but it feels like it’ll be soon.”

After talking with Qingmei, the actress and the young master held hands and walked toward the Octopus Room.

There, they could enjoy the octopus slides and small rooms, likely for a more private conversation.

Qingmei had been working for free at the shop long enough to recognize signs that guests were preparing to leave.

But for her, no matter what she did, there was no sign.

People who had arrived before her, as well as those who came after, had all left.

Only she seemed eternally trapped in this sea.

She still had many unfinished matters.

She wanted to go back.

Meeting Wen Jingyi gave her the courage to ask for help on impulse.

It was a bit of a gamble, but at least Wen, as a public figure, seemed more trustworthy than a random stranger.

Thankfully, Wen didn’t refuse, carefully noting down the information and promising to check in when she returned.

Lu Yao wasn’t sure what state fish returned in after leaving here, so if the actress didn’t end up helping Qingmei, once Lu Yao gained permission to enter and exit the garbage sea, she would help Qingmei go back.

The shop was understaffed, and Qingmei was doing a great job.

But since she wanted to return, Lu Yao would certainly assist.

The anglerfish stew was finished, with a tender and delicious texture, and even had a slight chew.

Being freshly caught, it tasted even better than usual anglerfish.

Guests wandering through different areas via the underwater tunnel occasionally passed by the kitchen, smelling the aroma and drooling.

The Little Pet Cafe menu now included a limited-time dish: Stewed Anglerfish.

The few anglerfish brought back that morning weren’t enough—Harold, as a dragon, secretly ate three, while Lu Yao, Qingmei, and Xiao Ji shared one.

Some guests who came by late only caught a whiff of the fragrance.

Lu Yao promised to catch more anglerfish in a few days for the dish, and only then did the guests disperse.

In the kitchen, Harold helped with the dishes.

Lu Yao couldn’t help but praise him, “You cleaned that fish really well; there wasn’t a hint of an off-flavor. And you were great at handling guests too. You’ve been such a help to me.”

The little black dragon resisted the urge to wag his tail, trying hard to appear indifferent. “What’s a little thing like that?”

After a pause, he added, “Actually, that fish was very clean, no impurities at all.”

When those humans crowded into the kitchen, his magic movements were minimal.

Even though the fish had grown in polluted waters, surprisingly, there were no impurities to filter out.

A thought flickered in Lu Yao’s mind, but she didn’t have time to think it through as Qingmei came in, handing her an item.

“Where did this come from?”

“It was left in Room 8 of the octopus slide. The actress’s ring. When she first arrived, she wore this ruby ring on her left hand.”

When humans transformed into fish and left, the items they carried with them would return with them.

Clearly, the actress had intentionally left this ring as payment for her stay at the Little Pet Cafe.

Lu Yao put it away, attaching a note and placing it with various gold and silver jewelry previously received.

…

The upgraded Little Pet Cafe became more popular with inverted fish, and business was nearly at full capacity, with an average of dozens of fish leaving the garbage sea each day.

Harold had now accurately pinpointed this world, arriving at the shop punctually each afternoon to help.

With his good looks and fiery temper, he was well-liked by the customers, who treated him like a beloved younger family member.

Moreover, when Harold was around, the cats and chubby birds behaved particularly well—they wouldn’t mess around or fight for food and were more clingy than usual.

Perhaps it was a matter of bloodline dominance…

Among all the Little Pet Cafe’s fluffy staff, only Erxin could barely withstand the little black dragon’s aura, still rolling around, being cute, and begging for food as usual.

Harold actually had a fondness for Erxin.

Lu Yao had caught Harold several times in the kitchen sneaking snacks to Erxin.

Thinking the tunnel between the shop and the Whale Room was too long and dark, Lu Yao crafted a batch of fist-sized perpetual lights from magic gems, encasing them in jellyfish-shaped covers. She placed one every four to five meters, securing them to the transparent walls with magic arrays.

The warm yellow light spread softly, like a thin veil, gentle enough not to disturb the fish but brightening the entire tunnel with a cozy glow.

After finishing the installation, Lu Yao rested briefly in the Whale Room, taking a moment to ask the system, “What’s the mission progress?”

System: [Four hundred and ninety-eight people have left the garbage sea.]

Just two more, and the mission would be complete.

Energized, Lu Yao got up, ready to return to the shop, when she suddenly noticed a starfish pressed against the transparent wall outside. Its creamy white body had dark brown protrusions that looked particularly familiar.

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