Ch 184: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

In the days leading up to Mid-Autumn Festival, aside from preparing mooncake gift sets, organizing promotional bonuses, and preparing for upcoming film releases, Lu Yao also spent a considerable amount of popularity points to upgrade the snack counter.

Previously, the snack bar had a marble countertop similar to the ticketing area. Now, it was transformed into a transparent display cooler resembling the bar at the snack shop cafe.

The cooler had four shelves with sliding glass doors for storing and showcasing the mooncakes.

The popcorn machine, hot dog warmer, and drink dispenser were moved to the left side, and two additional refrigerators were placed against the wall in the hallway for storing fruits and bottled soda to keep stock fresh for mooncake gift box sales.

Four new staff members were hired: a male and a female cleaner, both recommended by Granny Zhu.

Upon hearing that Lu Yao was hiring again, Granny Zhu immediately suggested Auntie Wu, who lived on the same street.

Auntie Wu, a widow, had a son and a daughter. She had raised them by doing laundry for neighbors. Now her son was working out of town, and her daughter was married. Auntie Wu still lived with her daughter-in-law in the old house.

With her daughter-in-law busy taking care of her grandchild, Auntie Wu found herself with time to spare and wanted to find a job to contribute to the household.

She had searched for a long time without finding anything suitable and was considering joining Granny Zhu in selling food on the street when she learned about the job at the cinema—cleaning work with high pay.

At first, Auntie Wu found it hard to believe such an opportunity existed, but after Granny Zhu took her to the cinema, she was convinced.

Lu Yao personally interviewed her. Auntie Wu was quiet but efficient and a diligent worker.

They agreed on a seven-day trial period, with the possibility of permanent employment if all went well.

The male cleaner, responsible for the men’s restroom, was an elder named Liu, who had a mute son working as a laborer at the docks. Despite being in his twenties, his son was still unmarried, and Liu’s wife had chronic health issues. The three of them lived in a dilapidated house at the end of an alley, struggling to make ends meet.

Granny Zhu had known him for over a decade, assuring Lu Yao that he was honest and wouldn’t shirk his duties, unlike previous workers who had been lazy and deceitful.

Lu Yao offered him the same conditions, starting with a seven-day trial.

Additionally, two ticket checkers were hired, one of whom was Ye Xiao and Ku Ba’s friend, Die Qi.

When Die Qi heard that the cinema was hiring, she came to Lu Yao the next day, expressing her interest in working there.

Lu Yao found herself musing over the names “Xiao Jiu,” “Ku Ba,” and “Die Qi,” wondering if there were more names counting down the sequence.

Despite the quirky names, each was highly competent. Ye Xiao and Ku Ba needed no introduction, and Die Qi demonstrated her strong work abilities within the first two days of her trial.

She was literate, proficient in arithmetic, and could keep accounts. She quickly adapted to the job, and whenever she saw Gouzi struggling, she would assist with sales.

With her graceful demeanor and quick calculation skills, she was popular with customers.

The other new hire was a quiet, androgynous-looking youth named Chang Ming, who was also efficient in his work.

The four new hires adjusted well, with no significant issues, allowing the cinema’s operations to run smoothly and easing half of Lu Yao’s concerns.

…

On the fourteenth of August, the festive atmosphere on Song’an Street was already vibrant.

The cinema was scheduled to release the fifth episode of The Little Chef that day. However, with Mid-Autumn Festival approaching the next day, it would feature two new films and launch the mooncake gift box, so The little chef was postponed for one release.

Lu Yao reviewed the completed Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake gift box ad and confirmed everything was in order. She then added it to the screening playlist alongside the trailers for the new films Sea Train Serial Murder and Seeking the Immortal.

To maximize the promotional reach, all other current ads and trailers were temporarily taken down. Both advertising screens played the mooncake ad and the new movie trailers on a loop.

The two screens played different sequences, showing varied content simultaneously, achieving maximum exposure.

As Lu Yao exited the back room, Gouzi had already arrived.

Although he had a formal name, Lu Yao and the staff were used to calling him by his nickname, and Gouzi preferred it as well. Shortly after he arrived, Die Qi also showed up.

For this Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake gift sets were a major attraction at the cinema, and the snack bar would likely be bustling. Lu Yao had called Die Qi in to help.

Promotion was already slightly behind schedule, and today they needed to arrange the five mooncake gift sets in the display cabinet.

Lu Yao handed both of them design schematics, instructing them to set up the mooncakes according to the layout in the pictures.

She then brought out a full ultra-luxurious birdcage pastry stand, placing it in the most prominent spot to the right of the display cabinet, making it the first thing guests would see upon entering.

The golden birdcage was decorated with vibrant flowers and filled with sparkling gems and pearls on each layer. The five mooncake gift sets were displayed on different tiers, with their box lids open beside them, creating a dazzling, diverse display.

Seeing the luxurious birdcage, Die Qi couldn’t take her eyes off it. “Boss, are the gems and pearls in this cage real?”

Lu Yao glanced over, “Can you tell?”

Die Qi grinned, “I can spot the real thing. Is this cage for sale?”

Lu Yao nodded, “If anyone asks, they can pre-order it.”

Die Qi’s interest grew. “How much if we sell the cage along with the mooncakes?”

Lu Yao rubbed her chin, uncertain. “How about twenty taels of silver?”

Die Qi’s expression turned subtle. “That’s practically giving it away! Are we actually making any profit?”

Not only were the pastries exquisite, but the craftsmanship of the birdcage, adorned with high-quality gemstones on each layer, was invaluable.

Perplexed, Die Qi asked Gouzi to pass her an abacus and turned to Lu Yao. “Do you know the production cost of this birdcage? Are all the gems identical in each one?”

Lu Yao pulled out a blueprint, answering vaguely, “More or less.”

Looking at the blueprint, Die Qi’s eyes widened. The design included specifications for the birdcage and detailed material quantities: one pound of high-grade ore for the birdcage frame, three pounds of gemstone scraps for the base, one pound of pearls, and two pounds of preserved flowers…

Die Qi raised her head, hesitant to speak.

Having handled countless valuable materials in her previous job at Lingxiao Pavilion, she had never encountered such lavish usage.

“Boss… how many of these birdcages do we actually have?”

Lu Yao replied, “We have enough materials for several more. There are still a few left from the last batch.”

Die Qi gulped, handing back the blueprint, and calculated on the abacus. “In my opinion, we should price each birdcage at one hundred gold coins and limit the sale to three units. What do you think?”

Lu Yao mentally converted one hundred gold coins to RMB, “…Isn’t that a bit too much?”

After thinking it over, Die Qi suggested that if Lu Yao wanted to sell them for only twenty taels of silver, they should omit the gems and pearls from the display.

Such underpriced sales would only encourage unreasonable expectations.

Taking her advice, Lu Yao decided to offer two versions of the birdcage gift set: a standard version and a deluxe version. The standard version would be without gems or pearls, consisting of just the stand, five boxes of mooncakes, and some floral decorations, priced at twenty taels of silver. The deluxe version, complete with gems and pearls, would be priced according to Die Qi’s suggestion at one hundred gold coins, with only three units available.

Die Qi put away the abacus and quickly latched onto Lu Yao’s arm. “Boss, I’ll reserve one of the deluxe birdcage gift sets! I didn’t bring enough money with me, but I’ll give you the deposit at noon. Sound good?”

Lu Yao gave Die Qi a meaningful look and nodded her approval.

It seemed that this “little beauty” was not only capable but also well-off.

Could her shop really be hiring a whole nest of spies?

There were five boxes of mooncakes, totaling forty-six pieces.

The top three layers of the display case were arranged with various mooncakes, each so beautiful that it was hard to look away. The bottom layer showcased entire boxes of mooncakes.

Following Lu Yao’s instructions, Die Qi and Gouzi set out samples, cutting them into small pieces, skewering them with toothpicks, and placing them on small trays above each corresponding mooncake style for customers to try before purchasing.

This sales method was entirely new to Die Qi, who looked at Lu Yao as if she were the eccentric heir of a wealthy family.

In about fifteen minutes, the cinema would open, and other employees had begun arriving.

The new display counter at the snack bar attracted significant attention. Ku Ba, Zhu Zhu, and other curious employees were naturally drawn to it, and even Auntie Wu and Chang Ming stopped in front of the counter for quite some time.

…

At Yuguizhai, they knew that on the fourteenth, the cinema would feature the co-branded mooncake gift box advertisement on its screens.

Neither Yu Jixiang nor his son Yu Zhinen slept well the night before, so they got up early, walked leisurely around the street corner, and headed to Song’an Street.

On the way, they ran into Feng Yong. The three exchanged glances, then couldn’t help but chuckle as they made their way to the cinema together.

They thought they had arrived early, but a crowd was already gathered around the entrance, buzzing with excitement.

After a struggle, the three managed to get to the front, where the large glass screen next to the window was displaying the mooncake gift box ad.

This ad was vastly different from the previous popcorn advertisement—chaotic yet captivating, with rapid scene changes that held the viewer’s attention.

As dawn broke, a basket of fresh flowers was gathered, trimmed, and arranged.

Time passed, and the flowers dried, adorning crystal-clear mooncakes, which were then carefully boxed.

A touch of nature and time was sealed within.

This was the snack shop’s Feng Yue Mooncake.

…

A little black dragon searched for friends, finding a small golden dragon and a small fire dragon.

The three little dragons loved to fight, and one day they accidentally damaged a human’s house, forcing them to help with repairs.

As they worked, a sticky little monster latched onto the kind human and refused to leave.

Eventually, a skeleton, small bats, twin fairies, and a large monster also attached themselves to the human.

The house grew bigger as more beings moved in.

On the day the new house was completed, the human brought out a large tray of beautifully glazed pastries.

Each of the ten different creatures took a piece, and no one wanted to fight anymore.

This was the nail salon’s Illustrated Mooncake.

…

Mountains shattered, rivers dried up, and all life withered.

This was a world devastated by apocalypse and chaos.

One day, a magical shop appeared in the center of this broken world.

Not long after, glaciers melted, rivers converged, plants regrew, and the fractured land was pieced back together, reformed into the shape of a compass.

This was the blind box shop’s Compass Mooncake.

…

Deep in the ocean, a woman in a diving suit searched for ingredients, accompanied by two small white seals.

They gathered sea urchins from the urchin fields, jellyfish from the jellyfish fields, sea hares from the coral fields, and used seaweed nets to catch shrimp.

Suddenly, a massive shadow passed overhead, and both the woman and the seals looked up.

A huge sperm whale hovered above, seemingly watching them.

The woman and the two seals quickly fled, barely making it to shore.

The little seal took off its food backpack and dumped its contents with a loud clatter—out came beautifully shaped pastries instead of the fresh ingredients they had collected.

The little seal clapped its flippers, picked up a piece, and took a bite, its dark, glossy eyes becoming even rounder and shinier with satisfaction.

This was the “Seafood Mooncake” from the Little Pet Cafe.

…

In the final frame, the woman in the diving suit took off her mask, revealing a fair, delicate face.

The shot flashed by, but someone still recognized her—wasn’t this the cinema’s young boss?

…

The screen turned to black with red lettering, and Yu Jixiang clutched his sleeves, barely able to contain his excitement. Their moment had arrived!

The sign displayed the words “Yuguizhai” prominently, followed by shots of a busy kitchen at Yuguizhai.

Literate onlookers were astonished, unable to believe their familiar shop was on the big screen, while those who couldn’t read quickly recognized the familiar street scenes—they were unmistakably in Yuguizhai, just a block away!

In the footage, Yuguizhai’s pastry chefs selected ingredients, washed, cooked, and went through meticulous steps, crafting smooth, round, white mooncakes. But that wasn’t the final step.

Each mooncake was placed on a cutting board, where an elderly hand holding a fine brush began delicately painting.

Before long, a depiction of Ye Qingzhou from Number One Under Heaven appeared on a mooncake.

The crowd outside the cinema stared in awe. Could mooncakes really be made like this?

The image flickered, revealing Ye Qingzhou and Ning Shuang from The World’s Greatest, The little chef’s Yu Zhengzheng and Jing Hao, Shen Xiangjun and Hua Shi from When Blossoms Fall, and even the little white boat from In Search for the Deep-Sea Beasts. A variety of illustrated mooncakes lined up on the long table.

A voice-over announced: “Lu Yao’s Interdimensional Cinema × Century-Old Yuguizhai Co-branded Mooncake Gift Box, now on sale!”

“Interested? Visit the cinema or Yuguizhai’s main store to make a purchase.”

The crowd was stunned. What did this mean?

The cinema and Yuguizhai were selling mooncakes together? Mooncakes with movie character designs like never before?

How much would each one cost?

And those other exotic mooncakes from the earlier part of the ad—were they available somewhere too?

Yu Jixiang’s eyes filled with tears, too moved to speak.

He had imagined Yuguizhai appearing on the cinema’s screen, but this surpassed his expectations.

This brief, one-minute clip captured the legacy of four generations spanning a century.

Feng Yong lowered his head, using his rough, calloused hands to wipe his eyes.

How odd—this wasn’t even a big event, yet he couldn’t stop his nose from tingling, and tears kept falling.

At his age, how embarrassing.

Yu Zhinen stomped his foot in excitement, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

In all of Liangjing, theirs was the first family shop to appear on the cinema’s screen. No future collaborations could overshadow their status as the first.

The ad wasn’t over yet. The “Feng Yue Mooncake,” “Illustrated Mooncake,” “Compass Mooncake,” “Seafood Mooncake,” and the “Interdimentional Mooncake” were carefully packed into beautifully themed gift boxes, all placed on a grand and luxurious birdcage pastry stand.

The final full-screen shot: Five Stores on Shopping Street × Great Wu Dynasty’s Yuguizhai Co-branded Mooncake Gift Box Super Deluxe Version, Now Available for Pre-order!

The props used in the ad were even more exquisite than the regular versions, with Fu Chi personally overseeing every detail. Many of the shots were filmed by him, giving the ad an elegance and appeal hard to resist.

Some clips Lu Yao and Harold shot also made it in, edited by Fu Chi with a cinematic polish.

The passersby were mesmerized. “Mooncakes this beautiful—who could bear to eat them?”

A nearby scholar shook his head, “Is it really a question of wanting to eat them? I’m more worried about whether I can afford them.”

“They’re beautiful, but I’m not sure they’ll taste good. Apart from the first and Yuguizhai’s, the other three look so strange—I doubt they’d taste good.”

“Especially the fourth one. The scene was funny, but thinking of mooncakes made with fish from the sea… ugh, I’m starting to feel sick. It must be fishy and awful.”

At that moment, someone ran from the cinema lobby to the entrance, cheeks puffed, shouting through a mouthful, “The cinema has mooncakes—tastings are free, and they’re delicious!”

！！！

A huge crowd gathered at the entrance—regular patrons of the cinema and many newcomers drawn in by the advertisement. At first, they didn’t respond to the shout, but soon everyone swarmed toward the cinema in a rush, almost causing a stampede.

Ye Xiao stood by the door, stretched out his long leg, and blocked the entrance. Despite the crowd, no one could push through, and they had no choice but to line up single file.

That morning, the most remarkable event was the line of people waiting to sample mooncakes, outnumbering those buying tickets to watch the movies.

With so many mooncake flavors and a long line of eager tasters, they couldn’t allow unlimited sampling. A small speaker was set up on the snack counter, announcing for guests to queue in an orderly manner and that each person could sample up to three flavors.

Each guest who finished tasting received a red stamp on their hand to distinguish them.

This stamp was a minor magic seal that wouldn’t wash off with water and would fade away automatically in three days.

Some guests, dazzled by the birdcage pastry stand filled with gemstones, tried to slip some gems into their pockets amidst the chaos.

As a seasoned “salesperson” managing five shops across different worlds, Lu Yao had anticipated every possible scenario. A special magic array was inscribed on the base of the birdcage to prevent theft.

Since Great Wu was a low-magic world, Lu Yao had embedded dozens of magic stones to activate this array.

Once triggered, anyone without magic who touched the birdcage would experience hallucinations. A would-be thief, thinking they had stolen a gemstone, would see their hands filled with venomous snakes as soon as they left the cinema, causing them to flee in panic.

The mooncake gift box advertisement and sampling event unexpectedly ignited this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival spirit in Great Wu. By early afternoon, all the mooncakes prepared by the cinema and Yuguizhai had sold out, with a thick stack of pre-orders ready for pickup the next day.

Many who couldn’t purchase the co-branded mooncakes or any of the cinema’s other mooncake varieties rushed to other pastry shops to place orders.

The mooncake craze swept through the Liangjing market districts like a storm.

Wan Baozhu, after receiving a secret message from Hong Yu, rushed out from the palace, still dressed in her palace attire, and went directly to the cinema.

Before she could inquire about the mooncake gift boxes, her attention was immediately captured by the novel display on the screen in the lounge.

In the dim, hazy night, a strange, long object roared past her with a thundering sound.

In the lower-right corner, as the red paint peeled away, a title was revealed—Sea Train Serial Murder.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️