Ch 13: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

About half an hour later, Zhou Su saw the message as soon as she got home.

[Zhou Su: Are you kidding me?! I just got home!!!]

Twenty minutes later, Bai Yi and Ji Zhixin also reported their safe arrival.

[Bai Yi: !!!]
[Ji Zhixin: ……]

After sending the message, Lu Yao didn’t pay it any further attention. Resting her head on the table, she closed her eyes slightly, thinking the little one and the unidentified furball might wake up soon.

The table was warm, with a fleece blanket spread over it, making it particularly cozy. Lu Yao, having not rested well for days, soon drifted off into a light sleep.

…

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Lu Yao felt a slight tickling sensation at her fingertips and vaguely heard familiar whimpering sounds.

“Prprpr—”
“Prprprprpr—”

Something wet touched her fingertips. Lu Yao opened her eyes and froze.

A gray-black furball was nestled by her hand, diligently licking her fingers.

Its small head poked out, ears perked up, and its fluffy fur fluffed out. Its features were rather delicate—it seemed to be a puppy or wolf cub.

Lu Yao gently poked it, but it didn’t show any fear, continuing to lie still on the ground.

Guessing it might be hungry, she took out a bag of chicken breast, cooked it, shredded it into fine strips, and placed them on a small plate with some warm water in a bottle cap.

The little creature was indeed starving. Its furry head buried in the dish, it ate noisily, much like a little piglet.

After eating, it moved to the bottle cap and lapped up the water. Its tiny pink tongue looked particularly dainty as it drank.

…

“Gurgle—”

Lu Yao looked up. The little one bundled in the fleece blanket seemed to have woken up and was now trembling under the covers.

Lu Yao said, “Don’t be scared. I’m Lu Yao. I found you and your pup in the snow.”

“It’s a snow wolf!” The little one suddenly poked its head out from under the blanket and emphasized loudly.

“Gurgle—”

The little one clutched its stomach with both hands, its face slightly red.

It was smaller than any Little Person Lu Yao had seen before, probably only three or four centimeters tall. On its left brow bone was a black beast-horn mark, and a pair of gray-white wolf ears peeked out from its black hair.

This Little Person bore two types of markings, suggesting it might be a mixed-blood.

Just as the Xia Guang Tribe had slightly reddish hair tips and the Luo Xiong Tribe had beast ears, Little People from different tribes often carried unique traits.

Lu Yao speculated, as this was her first time encountering someone with dual markings.

This Little Person was likely still a child. To journey alone to Thorn Valley, unaware even of how to cocoon, hinted at some unusual circumstances.

The sky outside remained pitch black. Lu Yao glanced at the time—6:21 a.m.

She stood up. “Stay here with the snow wolf. Don’t move. I’ll get you something to eat.”

She reheated the leftover steak and pasta from last night in the air fryer, which only took a few minutes.

Bringing the plate back, the aroma filled the room.

The Little One lay with its head resting on the snow wolf’s belly, clearly too weak from hunger to move.

Lu Yao used scissors to cut the pasta into small pieces and piled them on the plate, along with a few slices of steak with a bit of fat along the edges. She pushed the plate in front of the Little One. “Eat.”

The Little One leaned forward, sniffed the food, and picked up a piece of pasta. After tasting it, he immediately bent over, grabbed the plate, and started devouring it.

Lu Yao poured some warm water and handed it over when he finished eating. While the Little One drank, she refilled the plate with more pasta.

It wasn’t until he finished three full plates of pasta that the Little One lay contentedly on the table, his belly round and full, with a ring of oil around his mouth.

Lu Yao wiped his mouth with a tissue. The Little One turned his head shyly.

His eyes, dark and shining, looked up at her. “Are you a god?”

Lu Yao blinked, surprised. “What?”

The naive Little One reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a few crumpled fliers from the inn. “They all came here, and when they left, they were smiling.”

He couldn’t read, so he could only interpret the images on the fliers in his own way. To him, this place must be the legendary Shenmu Tribe where the gods granted wishes.

Lu Yao picked up the pink hooded cloak. “Did you find this too?”

The Little One snatched the cloak back, hugging it tightly, and nodded vigorously. “That day, I was really sad. I hadn’t found any prey after searching all day. But on my way home, I found a big bag full of food. Then, as I neared home, I found this soft piece of fur.”

That bag of food had helped him and his snow wolf survive the long, food-scarce days of the cold Twilight Moon season.

Because of that, he often revisited the area, hoping for another stroke of luck, and that’s when he found the inn’s flyer.

What an unexpectedly winding tale for a single bundle of items. Lu Yao chuckled wryly. “So, why did you come looking for me?”

The Little One answered earnestly, “I’m Heici. I came all the way from Stone Valley to ask you to heal my snow wolf’s legs.”

The snow wolf, full from its meal, crawled feebly to Heici’s side, resting its head on his legs before closing its eyes contentedly.

Lu Yao asked, “What happened to its legs?”

Heici shook his head. “It wasn’t injured—it was born weak and abandoned by its parents. I was alone too, so I took it in.”

Lu Yao was momentarily stunned. “How old are you?”

Heici replied, “I don’t remember.”

“And your parents?”

Heici sighed deeply. “They got so tired they fell asleep. I buried them in the earth.”

Lu Yao chose not to press further. Instead, she gently picked up the wolf pup and examined its legs.

The snow wolf’s hind legs were limp, unable to support its body.

Its tiny size made Lu Yao cautious about exerting too much force.

After a sigh, she decided to try the safest option—light magic.

A soft, warm white light slowly emanated from her fingertips, transferring into the snow wolf’s legs.

The pup began to whine, its cries growing softer, and then—almost imperceptibly—a shift.

It suddenly stood up.

Confused by the sudden change, the snow wolf tilted its head before spinning in circles, trying to bite its own tail.

Heici lunged forward to hug it, burying his small face in the wolf’s fluffy fur. His muffled voice was thick with emotion. “It’s okay now. It’s okay!”

…

At 7:20 a.m., before the sky had fully brightened, several familiar luxury cars pulled onto the small road leading to the shopping district.

Minutes later, the inn’s front door was flung open with “forceful enthusiasm.”

Bai Yi and Zhou Su stood at the entrance, panting.

“Boss, where’s the guest?!”

Lu Yao gave them a sympathetic look. “Just left.”

Bai Yi & Zhou Su: “…”

From behind came Ji Zhixin’s leisurely voice. “You two rushed past me. Why not just go in?”

Bai Yi clenched her fists. “I should have drifted here last night to take a look!”

Zhou Su slumped to the ground, nearly in tears. She had been thinking about this all night and woke up before six in the morning.

Since her electric scooter was still in the shopping district, Bai Yi had called to offer a ride.

They arrived early enough—but apparently, fate had other plans.

The three adults, looking like kids who didn’t get their favorite toy, radiated palpable disappointment.

Lu Yao cleared her throat. “All right, all right. He went out hunting and will be back later.”

Heici’s bundle had been lost along the way, leaving him without anything to pay for the treatment.

Although Lu Yao had said it wasn’t necessary, Heici insisted on going hunting, promising to return with suitable game.

Lu Yao had reminded him, “Before nightfall, whether or not you catch anything, you must come back to the inn.”

The latest he would return was by nightfall.

The three staff members: “!!!”

…

Evening.

Heici stood at the door. “Lu Yao, I’m back.”

The crisp sound of the doorbell rang out. The three staff members, who had been building with blocks by the windowsill, shot to their feet but were immediately stopped by Lu Yao’s gesture.

They carefully stood up, tilting their bodies to peek cautiously.

Lu Yao walked to the door and said to Heici, “You’re right on time. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Heici stepped inside, holding two tiny pink piglets. “I found a nest of red pigs.”

It was Lu Yao’s first time seeing red piglets. Difficult to describe, but they were absolutely miniature, wriggling and squealing as Heici cradled them in his arms.

“They’re so cute!” Zhou Su stomped her feet in delight. The Little One was even more adorable than the boss had described, with the added bonus of animal ears.

Heici glanced at the commotion but showed no special reaction, quickly lowering his head to speak to Lu Yao again.

Lu Yao took the piglets, watching them squirm in her palms, feeling a bit stumped. “They’re so small. I have no idea how to raise them.”

Heici turned his head and called toward the door. “Beef Cube!”

That morning, Heici had mentioned that his snow wolf loved jerky. The bag of food he’d brought home had contained a large chunk of tasty jerky, which he had entirely fed to the wolf, licking the leftover flavor off his fingers for himself.

Once the jerky was gone, the snow wolf had thrown quite the tantrum.

Hearing the story, Lu Yao had named the wolf cub Beef Cube.

From outside came a responding bark, but instead of the cub, two plump, full-sized red pigs waddled in first.

Heici: “I brought the piglets’ parents too. They’ll raise them.”

A family should always stick together.

Lu Yao: “…Fine.”

Ji Zhixin turned his head, struggling to hold back laughter.

Bai Yi couldn’t help it; she crouched down, covering her mouth as she softly squealed, “Oh my God! This is killing me with cuteness!”

The red pigs, already terrified of the wolf cub, now completely lost their wits. They let out shrill screams like pigs being slaughtered, tried to run, but their hooves slipped, and they ended up huddled in a corner, trembling under Beef Cube’s relentless herding.

Heici handed all four red pigs to Lu Yao. The currency exchange machine clattered and spat out 24 Nitean coins.

Lu Yao finally realized the machine could also convert live animals, meaning the red pig family was worth 24 Nitean coins.

Lu Yao took two coins as payment for treating Beef Cube and returned the remaining 22 coins to Heici.

Heici shook his head and refused. “The ice season is coming. I want to stay here to hunt but have nowhere to sleep.”

He had figured out what the inn was about and understood that Lu Yao wasn’t the deity he had been seeking.

But since Beef Cube’s legs were healed, Heici decided not to head to Shenmu Village.

With the thorny bushes gone, hunting in Thorn Valley was easier than in his original home in Stone Valley. Heici planned to stay at the inn at night and hunt in the surrounding area during the day until the ice season ended.

Lu Yao handed him the key to room 201 and asked, “How long does the ice season last?”

Heici replied, “Sometimes very short, sometimes very long—it’s different every year. But after the ice season, the Sunshine Season comes.”

The Sunshine Season likely corresponded to spring.

As the weather warmed, more Little Ones would venture out to forage, and the inn’s business would improve.

Lu Yao started looking forward to the ice season.

She settled the red pig family in the barn, then took Heici and Beef Cube upstairs via the elevator.

After seeing them off to rest, Lu Yao returned to prepare dinner.

Meanwhile, Zhou Su, Bai Yi, and Ji Zhixin sat outside the brick inn, unmoving.

Zhou Su: “He went inside! I’m so overwhelmed by the cuteness!!”

Bai Yi: “I wonder what he’s doing in the room. I just want to push the door open and take a look.”

Ji Zhixin rubbed the plain ring on his finger. “Don’t you think Beef Cube is adorable?”

Zhou Su and Bai Yi turned their heads and nodded fiercely.

After days of anticipation, the three finally saw the rumored guests and couldn’t help going wild in the work group chat, leaving their still-on-vacation coworkers utterly confused.

…

The next day, the ice season arrived as expected.

Temperatures plummeted across Nitean, the skies grew dark, and there was no wind or snow. The world felt like a frozen, lifeless city.

Heici, after breakfast, threw on his pink hooded cloak and prepared to take Beef Cube hunting.

Lu Yao stopped him, handing him a piece of clothing. “How can you go out wearing so little? Put this on.”

Heici hesitated for a moment but accepted it.

Not knowing how to form a cocoon, he did need warmer clothes.

Dressed in the tiny down jacket Lu Yao had made, Heici felt warmth spread through his entire body. He could move freely, stretch his arms, and even run without resistance. The jacket was so light it made his mood soar. “Today, I’ll bring back some horned rabbits.”

[You’ve successfully hosted 10 guests and achieved an 80% positive feedback rate. Mission completed! Rewards: Popularity +1000, Oilstones x10!]

[New task: Hire three staff members within seven days, including at least two Nitean Little People. Rewards: Popularity +300, Sweetflags x3. Keep up the hard work!]

Lu Yao had already planned to interview the candidates recommended by Ji Zhixin, Bai Yi, and Fu Chi today, making this task perfectly timed.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️