Ch 215: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

When the shopping street staff heard that the theater’s holographic screening room was launching, they couldn’t resist messaging the shop owner with playful requests.

Zhou Su: [Yao Yao, I want to watch a holographic movie too!]

Zhou Su: [Pouty lips.jpg]

Ji Zhixin: [I heard from Fu Chi that the theater’s holographic technology is even more advanced than what current experts predicted. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a movie.]

The post-production team, usually cooped up in the office, only knew that the shops on the street were impressive. Other than visiting the nail salon on contract signing day, they hadn’t had a chance to check out the other stores.

The shop owner had once suggested they tour the shops, but work had kept them too busy over the past month to find the time.

Gao Meng: [A holographic movie? Where’s that?]

Zhou Su: [What? You post-production people don’t know anything?]

Liu Tang: [Editing away…g…]

Gao Si: [Is there really a holographic screening room?]

Zhou Su: [Little bunny wags finger, tsk tsk~.jpg]

Zhou Su: [After all this time, you still know nothing about the shop owner. Why don’t you come to the pet cafe for lunch today? Seafood feast!]

Fu Chi: [Just came out of the holographic screening room, honestly feeling a bit jealous.]

Ji Feiming had been lurking in the chat, struggling to find an opening to chime in, but now he quickly sent a picture: [Little question mark.jpg]

Fu Chi: [Imagine, ancient people from thousands of years ago can see holographic movies, yet we’re stuck getting pummeled by 4D seats. Most guests here can’t even comprehend the power of holographic tech—they’re too busy griping about the high ticket prices.]

Zhou Su: [How high are we talking?]

Fu Chi: [Five hundred wen, which is about five hundred RMB.]

Zhou Su: [Pricey, yes, but it’s a holographic movie! Count me in!]

Gao Meng: [Five hundred wen? What currency is that? Where exactly are the theater’s guests from?]

Ji Zhixin: [Is the shop owner away again?]

Lu Yao: [I’m here. Since you’re curious, why not come during lunch to experience it yourselves? The theater will just be closing then, so there won’t be any other guests.]

Zhou Su: [Yao Yao, you’re the best!]

Gao Meng: [Little bunny timidly raises hand.jpg]

Gao Meng: [But are we still having that seafood feast?]

Lu Yao: [If you want to eat, go ahead. Su Su can cook for you all. I won’t be joining—I need to think about the location and direction of the next store.]

Sitting in the lobby, Fu Chi looked up at Lu Yao, a bit surprised. “Another store?”

Lu Yao nodded. “Yes, the theater’s operation is on track now. Following this model, it should run smoothly.”

Fu Chi pondered.

Lu Yao added, “You have a few months left on your contract. Before you leave, I’d like you to put some effort into selecting two staff members from the theater for focused training.”

Fu Chi had almost forgotten about that. With only a few months left, he felt a bit conflicted but finally nodded. “Alright.”

About half a month ago, Fu Chi had run into Qi Chen in front of the snack shop.

As the snack shop’s assistant manager, Qi Chen was receiving supplies and exchanged a few words with him.

Fu Chi felt once again that the shop owner was capable of anything, though her interests seemed limited to opening stores.

To this day, no one knew why Lu Yao chose to open so many shops along such a desolate street.

Fu Chi was indeed curious, but he wasn’t ready to sever this unique connection. Still, he couldn’t work at the theater forever.

…

During lunch, the three-person post-production team and the other shopping street staff gathered at the pet cafe for a meal.

For the first time, Gao Si, Gao Meng, and Liu Tang arrived at the Little Pet Cafe under the sea, only to collapse onto the sandy floor in shock.

Gao Meng slumped down, exclaiming, “So… this wasn’t a pet shop after all.”

Gao Si had a similar reaction, though Liu Tang remained calmer, having had experience with The Park and coming prepared for a surprise.

Initially, all three were terrified, but as Zhou Su brought out large plates of fresh seafood sashimi, and a fluffy, chubby waterdrop seal rolled over to be pet, they gradually relaxed.

With delicious food, adorable fluffiness, and everyone else treating it as completely normal, they began to feel that maybe, just maybe, the sight before them wasn’t so strange after all.

After lunch, the group headed to the theater together.

The theater was closed, though a few passersby lingered on the street.

The post-production trio pressed their faces against the glass, peering out. “Wait, wait… is this the ancient era?”

Gao Meng: “Honestly, who is our boss, anyway?”

Gao Si: “I’m at a loss too. When Sister Chen introduced this place, she didn’t mention a thing.”

Liu Tang: “I bet even Sister Chen didn’t know.”

Zhou Su: “I was just as clueless as you when I applied, but after officially starting, the benefits matched up. Work hours can be tough, but we’re almost always off on time, and there’s the occasional perk like this. I find it way more interesting than a typical job.”

The three thought it over and realized she was right.

The environment and perks on Shopping Street were on par with high-end jobs in the city.

Today’s seafood feast, the upcoming holographic movie experience—it was lunchtime on a regular workday, and they’d never have dreamed of this before.

Ji Feiming and Ji Zhixin stood at the theater entrance, observing the surroundings with quiet curiosity.

Though both Uncle Ming and Zhou Su had been to the theater before, it was the sort of place that never lost its novelty, no matter how many times they visited.

Much like the citizens of Great Wu who experienced the theater, each visit brought something new.

Fu Chi led the way upstairs.

Upon seeing the claw machines and vending machines, the post-production trio, unfamiliar with such wonders, stared in amazement, imagining how ancient people would use these machines. The dissonance was overwhelming but hilariously entertaining, filling their heads with endless scenarios.

Once inside the holographic screening room, wearing special glasses, the staff’s reactions were even more dramatic than the locals’.

Gao Si: “Oh, wow, the smell of blood is intense!”

Gao Meng: “The wind actually stings, and the smell is awful!”

Liu Tang: “Oh, so it’s this movie. When editing, I thought the concept was so dated—turns out it’s for an ancient audience.”

Zhou Su: “This battlefield scene is so realistic, with the smells and all. Ugh.”

Gao Si: “’Immersive’ is an understatement. I’m beginning to understand Fu Chi’s ‘jealousy.’”

Fu Chi: “I’ve seen it once already. It’s not just the scents in the environment—even the flavors characters taste, the sights they see, and their emotions resonate with the audience. This tech could monopolize a huge untapped market, even in our time.”

Ji Zhixin: “Only the shop owner could pull off something like this.”

Ji Feiming: “Too bad her business is limited to alternate worlds.”

…

While the staff were engrossed in the holographic film, Lu Yao stood in the middle of Shopping Street, studying the facades on either side as she considered the new store’s location.

On the riverside, there were the snack shop, nail salon, and blind box store, while the mountain side featured the he Little Pet Cafe, theater, and an office, with the theater occupying a grand five-storefront-wide space.

Turning toward the storefront next to the blind box shop, Lu Yao held up her hand, gauging the space. “How about here? That way, it’s balanced on both sides.”

The shop beside the blind box store was a small space, roughly around ten square meters. The neighboring shop was slightly larger; combined, they’d amount to about thirty square meters.

Lu Yao summoned the system: “These two spaces—merge and upgrade them into an interdimensional space, and name it ‘Lu Yao’s Childhood Tutoring Center.’”

System: “Tutoring? Are we opening a tutoring center?”

Lu Yao: “Just start the upgrades according to the layout. I’ll sort out the details later.”

System: “The main business type must be determined in advance. Ambiguity is not allowed.”

Lu Yao said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already decided.”

The clue this time was straightforward, yet “childhood” covered a broad range of meanings, and even a slight misstep could lead her astray.

The faint skull symbol on the note also caught her attention, prompting her to consider all previous circumstances before deciding to open a tutoring center.

The system sensed the shop owner’s cautiousness but didn’t receive any alert for a rule violation, indicating that she had indeed chosen the main business type. Following her instructions, it activated the star gate and began the upgrade.

The maintenance period was still twelve hours. Lu Yao, for the first time in a while, checked her status.

Shop Owner: Lu Yao
Age: 22
Shops: 5
Staff: 196
Popularity: 41,212,500
Assets: 6.47 million
Wish Progress: 27%
Inventory Slots: 45

(Shopping Street Map)

Once the “Childhood Tutoring Center” maintenance completed, her shop count would increase to six; staff would increase by over twenty, likely surpassing two hundred by the end of the year.

With the addition of Eden Sea, her popularity had risen by several million points since the he Little Pet Cafe task was completed.

However, assets had taken a big hit.

Lu Yao sighed. Running the theater was costly.

But collecting three bones from Great Wu had significantly advanced her task progress, making the expense worthwhile.

Inventory slots had increased by five, a small gain but better than nothing.

With tighter finances for the next shop, she’d need to spend more carefully.

The following day, maintenance concluded.

When the staff arrived for work in the morning, they immediately noticed the new sign next to the blind box shop, pausing to observe with interest.

Gao Meng looked up. “Childhood Tutoring Center… is this some kind of study program?”

Zhou Su crossed her arms thoughtfully. “It’s definitely not a regular tutoring center.”

Ji Feiming and Ji Zhixin also walked over, examining the sign.

Lu Yao emerged from the theater and saw everyone gathered in front of the Childhood Tutoring Center. She strolled over slowly. “Morning.”

The staff greeted her and reluctantly moved along, sneaking glances back as they left.

Lu Yao didn’t explain.

She herself was about to inspect the new store.

Pushing open the door to the tutoring center, she saw that it had already been decorated according to her specifications.

The thirty-square-meter space wasn’t too big but wasn’t cramped either.

Directly facing the entrance were two four-tier shelves, with a small ten-square-meter area partitioned behind the shelves, furnished with two sets of tables and chairs, separated by soundproof glass.

On the other side of the glass was a restroom.

There was also an additional ten-square-meter section reserved as a private space.

The store layout was divided into sections for now, with bare shelves and unassembled tables and chairs, lacking stock and any detailed decoration.

Lu Yao took a quick look around the store, then stood at the doorway and, with a thought, opened the door again.

The scene outside had changed.

Standing in the entrance, she looked up and around.

The sky was clear and high, skyscrapers towered overhead, and the streets were bustling with traffic.

The new store location seemed to be in a prosperous area, like the commercial center of a modern metropolis.

Lu Yao stepped outside, walked a few paces, and saw a street sign at the corner. On a caramel-colored sign, written in an otherworldly script, was the address “66 Sanhua Road.”

So, this was the store’s new address in this world.

The Childhood Tutoring Center was positioned right at the intersection of Sanhua Road, with streets stretching out on both sides. Across from it was another lively street.

Lu Yao noticed something peculiar—the shops on either side of the tutoring center displayed “For Sale” signs.

To her, these locations seemed quite desirable.

Walking straight for about five meters, she saw an overhead pedestrian bridge and looked up, amazed.

The bridge spiraled upward like a maze, complex and seemingly endless.

After looking around, she decided to take a tour, choosing the path on the left.

Having a store on a bustling street was a rare occurrence for Shopping Street, and as she walked, Lu Yao noticed many familiar stores that differed slightly from what she knew: appliance stores, clothing boutiques, jewelry shops, computer centers, print shops, banks, hotels… and surrounding them, countless towering office buildings with various business signs.

After exploring three streets near the new store, Lu Yao gained a general understanding of the area.

The development level here seemed slightly higher than in her world, though it was difficult to estimate precisely how advanced it was.

Without any currency from this world, her observations were limited to what she could see.

The system popped up: “Nearby… there’s no school.”

Not a single kindergarten, elementary school, or even a middle or high school in sight.

All she could see was a commercial district.

Lu Yao nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

To confirm, she asked a few pedestrians, learning that the nearest educational institutions were Black Cat University and its affiliated high school, located three streets away in the Black Cat District.

Apart from that, there were no formal educational institutions nearby.

The system cautiously asked, “Are you sure the store’s business category isn’t a mistake?”

Lu Yao shook her head. “No, everything is going according to plan.”

The system was skeptical. “Come on, everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”

Without pausing, Lu Yao replied, “Let’s head back—I already know how to decorate the store.”

Back at the tutoring center, Lu Yao quickly sketched a new layout and handed it to the system for secondary maintenance.

Unbeknownst to her, after the Childhood Tutoring Center temporarily closed, nearby shop owners gathered curiously.

The fruit shop owner remarked, “I can’t believe someone actually took over that unlucky storefront.”

The coffee shop manager added, “I saw the owner when I returned from a delivery—a young girl, probably an out-of-towner, duped into taking it.”

The fruit shop owner replied, “A Childhood Tutoring Center? There aren’t any kids around here.”

The beauty shop manager said, “Mark my words, it’ll be closed in a week.”

…

Lu Yao first stopped by the snack shop to ask Qi Chen for some candies, then went to the nail salon and headed straight to the lab to start crafting the first item for the new store.

The next morning, Lu Yao arrived early at the Childhood Tutoring Center, placing the bubble machines she and the Shopping Street staff had made the night before on the shelf by the entrance.

These bubble machines, varied and colorful, some with candies inside, were arranged neatly on the shelf, inevitably drawing the attention of passersby.

After the secondary maintenance, a bamboo curtain now shielded the glass area, and two plump succulents decorated the tables.

The single-sided shelf had been upgraded to double-sided, with the front filled with bubble machines, while the back held a few comic books, leaving some space empty for future use.

Lu Yao also used popularity points to have the system create a batch of flyers.

With the shelves arranged, she slung a giant bubble gun over her shoulder, grabbed a stack of flyers, and hit the street.

“Hello, would you be interested in ‘tutoring’ your childhood?” Lu Yao asked, handing a flyer to a woman passing by.

The woman paused, glanced at the yellow flyer in front of her. A bright rainbow adorned the paper, with rounded text describing various details, though she didn’t bother reading it, quickly shaking her head and declining.

This was the twenty-third person to refuse Lu Yao.

Since morning, most people she approached had refused the flyers; even those who accepted usually tossed them into the trash without a second glance.

System: “This is bad. The new store is hitting a wall. Who would believe in tutoring ‘childhood’?”

The system had finally grasped the store’s main business—Childhood Tutoring.

Simply put, everything related to “childhood” was within the scope of its operations.

The shop owner had indeed found a loophole in the clue, cleverly minimizing the risk of choosing the wrong business category.

Unfortunately, the challenge of this world was different from the others—there were simply no potential customers around the store. Her little trick didn’t pay off.

After handing out flyers all morning, she barely managed to give away a few.

That afternoon, Lu Yao stayed indoors, minding the store alone in boredom, and decided to bring Erxin over from the pet cafe.

Without her supervision over the past few months, Erxin had become a hit among the customers at the pet cafe, growing from a medium-sized “gas tank” to a large one.

Lu Yao pulled up a woven chair to sit in front of the shelves, reading a comic, while Erxin, sprawled at her feet like a fluffy cat-pancake, basked in the sun.

Passersby in the afternoon couldn’t help but glance at the Childhood Tutoring Center as they passed by.

That cat was really plump.

But why would anyone take over that store?

…

Xiao Ze worked as a sales rep for a real estate company, spending his days making calls and attending to clients, his time and energy consumed by the constant demands.

After a day of calls at the office, he was summoned by his boss for a lecture about his recent lack of sales.

After the reprimand, Xiao Ze didn’t dare leave and stayed late, working overtime until he was the last one in the office.

As the sky grew dark, he gathered his things, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he left the building.

Walking under the streetlights, his face expressionless, Xiao Ze felt a deep sense of emptiness inside.

Perhaps he’d never been cut out for sales in the first place, stuck in the same spot year after year.

Xiao Ze stopped and looked up at the sky. It was pitch black.

For a long time, he stood motionless.

His phone rang, and after about thirty seconds, he finally responded, slowly fishing it out of his pocket. It was Xu Xiaoxiao.

He hesitated, then picked up. Before he could speak, she launched into her spiel: “Why did it take so long to answer? Did you see the link I sent you this afternoon? The sale ends at midnight, and the dress is at its cheapest now. It’s only—”

Xiao Ze threw his phone into a nearby trash can and turned toward Sanhua Road.

Xu Xiaoxiao’s voice was still faintly audible from the phone: “Xiao Ze, are you listening?”

When Xiao Ze reached the Sanhua Road intersection, he noticed the flamboyant sign for the Childhood Tutoring Center and was taken aback.

This corner was infamous in Sanhua City, and yet someone had actually taken over the storefront.

He chuckled to himself. By tomorrow, the shop would probably close down again.

He turned and walked toward the pedestrian bridge, heading up the circular path where there was an elevator that went straight to the top.

With no customers all day, Lu Yao had moved the chair back behind the shelves and was getting ready to close up.

As she came out to lock the door, she saw someone walking onto the pedestrian bridge. Remembering some gossip she had overheard, she opened the door, ran out, and shouted, “Hey, sir!”

Xiao Ze ignored her and kept walking.

Lu Yao ran up to the bridge and grabbed his bag, momentarily stunned when she saw his face. “Sir, do you remember taking a flyer from me this morning?”

Xiao Ze was thoroughly annoyed, wondering why someone would even bother stopping him over something like this. He turned to her, irritated.

But instead of her face, his gaze landed on her earrings, and he paused.

He remembered—this morning, as he walked to work as usual, a girl with exaggerated earrings had handed him a strange flyer.

He hadn’t looked at it closely, just wanting to avoid a long sales pitch, so he had taken it and hurried off.

Lu Yao tugged him back down. “Were you planning to go up there for some fresh air? There’s nothing up there worth the trouble. You were the first person to take my flyer this morning. Come on, I’ll treat you to a cup of tea.”

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