Ch 29: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Lu Yao couldn’t see the expressions on the smallfolk guests, but their heavy footsteps gave away their exhaustion, likely from the journey. She peeked inside the inn and called for Zhu Zhou and Heici to come and assist with reception.

Hearing her voice, Yuanwei ran to the railing to take a look. Seeing the sizeable group, she turned toward the small kitchen, but after a few steps, stopped. “Lu Yao, Xiao Zheng’s already gone for the day.”

Lu Yao nodded. “Alright, I’ll come help. I’ll handle the noodles; you take care of the side dishes and soup.”

With over twenty guests, Yuanwei couldn’t handle it all alone. It made more sense for Lu Yao to prepare the main course.

The presence of Zhu Zhou and Heici helped calm the nervous and frightened guests, at least a little.

The group was unsure how to line up and remained wary of Lu Yao, resulting in a chaotic scene.

Neither Zhu Zhou nor Heici were skilled with numbers, so assigning rooms and completing the check-in process required Lu Yao’s supervision.

Lu Yao went around to the other side of the cooking counter, started boiling water in the kitchen, and returned to manage the guests.

Zhu Zhou explained the inn’s check-in rules: items could be exchanged for Nitean coins to pay for lodging. Lu Yao then collected the payment and handed out keys, while Heici led the guests’ red pigs to the stables. Zhu Zhou guided the guests via the manual elevator to the guestroom area.

Thanks to their previous experience hosting the red pig tribe’s hunting team, Zhu Zhou and Heici handled their tasks relatively smoothly.

Once all the guests reached their rooms, Heici came upstairs from the stable and helped Zhu Zhou escort the guests to their assigned rooms.

Seeing everything running smoothly, Lu Yao turned back toward the kitchen.

She was about to start cooking the noodles when she noticed Ji Feichen still standing near the freezer. Surprised, she asked, “You’re still here?”

Ji Feichen looked slightly embarrassed. “The child hasn’t woken up yet.”

The freezer door nudged open, and Budu poked his head out. “I’m awake. Nothing’s wrong. You can go now.”

Ji Feichen stood up, glanced at Budu, then looked at Lu Yao. Awkwardly, he nodded at Budu. “Alright, I’ll leave now.”

From the day he was born, Ji Feichen had always been overshadowed.

He and Ji Feiming weren’t far apart in age. If Ji Feiming hadn’t been born with Yin-Yang eyes, Ji Feichen might have had the qualifications to compete for the position of divine emissary.

But fate had other plans. Among his peers, a prodigious talent emerged, rendering everyone else insignificant, like mere stones.

Later, the old gods fell, and Ji Feiming lost the divine emissary title.

Ji Feichen thought all his past humiliations and regrets would be erased when he found the sleeping child in the mountains of Qianmen. But the new child showed no intention of protecting the Ji clan, choosing instead to come to the shopping street. In the end, everything was for naught.

Budu, oblivious to Ji Feichen’s disappointment, simply lay back down in the freezer.

Lu Yao gave Ji Feichen another look, opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by a notification tone from her phone.

From the kitchen, Yuanwei called out again, “Lu Yao, I’m almost done here!”

Pushing her thoughts aside, Lu Yao responded and began preparing the noodles.

…

Five minutes later, the noodles were ready.

The guests came down from their rooms to dine.

Each of the three guesthouses had a dining area and laundry room on the first floor.

The small kitchen was located in Block 1. This group of guests was split between Block 1 and Block 2, so the meals were sent to the dining areas on the first floor of both buildings.

Coming downstairs, the guests appeared visibly more relaxed, their curiosity evident as they took in their surroundings.

Lu Yao carried the pot of cooked noodles to the serving counter, ladling portions into bowls and placing them on trays. She used a small cart to transport the trays to the small kitchen.

At the door, Yuanwei distributed side dishes and hot soup into each tray. Zhu Zhou and Heici then used carts to deliver the meals to the dining areas of the two guesthouses.

Despite being freshly prepared for twenty guests, the dinner service was completed quickly and efficiently.

A large bowl of noodles tossed with egg and shredded pork sauce, paired with a side of lemongrass-seasoned pickled radish strips and a bowl of wild vegetable tofu soup, greeted the guests. Their mouths watered at the sight, and they quickly set aside their worries, slurping down the noodles enthusiastically.

Most Nitean smallfolk ate with their hands, using rough spoons only for soup and occasionally wooden sticks for specific dishes. First-time guests at the inn were unfamiliar with chopsticks.

Zhu Zhou and Yuanwei demonstrated how to use them and assured the guests they could have seconds if needed. However, some guests, frustrated with their fumbling chopstick skills, resorted to grabbing the noodles with their hands.

The noodles Lu Yao cooked were fine dragon beard noodles, which were perfectly sized for the Nitean smallfolk to handle and eat directly. The only issue was the thick layer of sauce left at the bottom of the bowl, which required scooping with a spoon—or simply asking the innkeeper for more noodles.

With a small pot of noodles, a teacup of soup, and a small plate of radish strips, the twenty or so guests ate to their hearts’ content.

Feeling that the menu was a bit monotonous, Lu Yao also prepared fried milk. She had pre-made the base and stored it in the fridge. She cut the mixture into finger-sized strips, fried them, then sliced them into three smaller pieces, drizzling condensed milk on top.

Each guest received a small piece, which was enough to keep them content for quite a while.

Nitean smallfolk, when full, enjoyed sprawling wherever they found comfortable, chatting with others. If there were snacks within arm’s reach, their happiness only increased.

This group of guests consisted of a mix of tribes: one group of eight had animal ears and likely came from the Luo Xiong Tribe. Another group of six, with slightly reddish hair tips, appeared to belong to the Xiaguang Tribe. The remaining six were in pairs, each distinctly different—probably inter-tribal couples like Yuanwei and Zhu Zhou.

In the dining area, the smallfolk chatted with both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some even approached Yuanwei and Heici to strike up conversations.

Lu Yao rested her arms on a table nearby, listening to their chatter.

Among the animal-eared smallfolk, a young one with bright red fox ears crept forward cautiously and tugged at Lu Yao’s sleeve. “Are you Lu Yao?”

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. “You know me?”

The red-eared fox’s face lit up as he turned toward the dining hall and shouted, “Uncle Shanxian, it really is Lu Yao!”

The atmosphere in the dining hall froze for a moment.

Up until then, the smallfolk had been trying hard to ignore her presence.

And just like that, the pretense crumbled.

Shanxian, the tallest among the animal-eared group, even taller than Zhu Zhou, had round black bear ears on his head. He stood up and approached Lu Yao. “I am Shanxian from the Luo Xiong Tribe.”

Lu Yao extended a finger for a handshake. “Hello. How are Xiong Ming and the others?”

Shanxian nodded. “They returned to the tribe before the Ice Period. Both the adults and the unborn are safe.”

The young red-eared fox piped up again, now standing directly in front of Lu Yao. “My name is Huohu. Xiaoji told us so much about the inn.”

After a season of the Twilight Moon, Luo Xiong Tribe had exhausted their stock of rock salt and sugar cubes. Shanxian’s team was on a mission to trade with the Black Rock Tribe by the sea and the Xiaguang Tribe in the mountains.

Before their journey, they had learned from Xiong Ming’s team that Thorn Valley had changed. The thorny undergrowth had been cleared, the roads were wide and smooth, and—most importantly—there were reports of a big human presence.

To save time, they had mustered the courage to cross Thorn Valley.

Though they had heard tales of how kind and gentle the human was, their instincts still drove a deep fear when they first met Lu Yao.

Even now, speaking face-to-face with her, Shanxian’s hands trembled behind his back, though the thick fur concealed it from view.

Huohu, on the other hand, stared at Lu Yao with wide, curious eyes, full of fascination.

While Shanxian introduced himself, a member of the Xiaguang group stepped forward. A young man with faintly red-tipped hair approached Lu Yao slowly. “Hello, my name is Gan Bing. Xiao Lizi mentioned the inn at Thorn Valley when she returned home.”

The “Xiao Lizi” he referred to was likely Gan Li.

Lu Yao: “What’s your relationship with Gan Li?”

Gan Bing: “I’m her elder brother.”

Lu Yao noticed the smallfolk in the dining hall appearing to chat casually with their companions while sneaking glances at her out of the corners of their eyes.

She lowered her head, suppressing a smile.

She could already guess their internal journey: hearing about the inn from a fellow smallfolk, sparking curiosity; venturing through Thorn Valley and finding the scale of the inn and the presence of a big human far beyond their expectations; succumbing to fear and pretending to be dead; and finally, thanks to an “unruly” young smallfolk exposing the truth, giving up on the pretense and resigning themselves to honesty.

“Playing dead” truly seemed to be an innate skill of the smallfolk—both physically and mentally.

Unfortunately, their nature was too simple. While they could pretend, they struggled to carry the act to the end.

They had a bit of cunning but not much depth.

A sudden and unsettling thought crossed Lu Yao’s mind: perhaps humans had gone extinct to make way for the pure and endearing smallfolk.

A world with humans wasn’t suitable for the survival of Nitean smallfolk.

And yet, here she was in their world, unsure whether her presence was good or bad.

After their exhausting journey, the guests, now full and reassured that Lu Yao meant them no harm, began to relax. Feeling the weariness of their travels, they grouped off in twos and threes to return to their rooms to rest.

Before heading to bed, they indulged in baths, changed clothes, and released pent-up energy in their rooms—but that’s a tale for another time.

…

Lu Yao helped the staff clean up the dining hall and kitchen, then fished Budu out of the freezer.

She prepared a bowl of fruit, mixed it with ice cream, and handed it to him.

Budu loved sweet and cold treats, and despite the icy chill, he ate happily, his expression full of joy.

Watching him savor the frozen dessert that would chill her teeth just to look at, Lu Yao couldn’t help but smile.

Earlier, her phone had received some new messages, but she hadn’t had the chance to check them yet.

She pulled out her phone.

On the green app, several messages from different accounts awaited her.

Lu Yao habitually read them in chronological order, starting from the oldest.

The first was from Fu Chi, expressing his gratitude and informing her that he planned to officially resign tomorrow.

The second was from Feng Xiang—a polite, formal message expressing hopes for future collaboration.

The third was from Du Mingyan, inquiring about VIP client details.

Once the premiere ended, the temporary app installed on the guests’ phones for the shopping street automatically disappeared. However, they remained bound by confidentiality agreements. If they wanted to contact Lu Yao again, they could only do so through the green messaging app.

Du Mingyan’s inquiry marked her as a potential client. She might not commit to VIP status immediately, but the interest was there.

Lu Yao swiftly typed out a reply to her questions in a language both sides could understand.

The last message was from someone unexpected.

She hesitated for a few seconds before opening the chat.

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