Ch 37: My Multiverse Supermarket

Zhou Li wasn’t surprised that City Hall had its eyes on her supermarket.

Still, since the man had come here as an ordinary customer, it meant the authorities weren’t ready to expose her possible origin from Blue Star—at least, not yet.

She told Lin Jianshan, “No matter who he is or what position he holds, the moment he steps through that door, he’s just a customer. Treat him like any other customer.”

Lin Jianshan nodded firmly.

Zhou Li asked, “Do you want today’s pay added directly to your membership card, or exchanged for Orka?”

“Please put it on my card!” Lin Jianshan said quickly.

If it were exchanged for Orka, it would lose half its value.

Zhou Li laughed. “Just teasing you. Go check your balance at the self-service register.”

Lin Jianshan did so, and seeing the 200 new points reflected there, she suddenly felt all her exhaustion from the day was worth it.

Just then, several small figures appeared outside the door.

Zhou Li glanced at the monitor. “Looks like your siblings came to pick you up.”

Lin Jianshan went outside, startled. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s so late, and the streets aren’t safe. We came to walk you home,” said Ting Linzhi.

Last time, when she and Lin Jianshan had gone to City Hall to collect relief rations, they were mugged on the way back after dark.

Now that Lin Jianshan was working at the supermarket, it was only natural they’d be worried about her safety.

The younger children nodded in agreement.

Lin Jianshan couldn’t help but laugh. “The store’s just next door—I only need to hop the wall to get back. And at this hour, you all should be asleep.”

“Sister Linzhi said we don’t have to go to bed so early anymore, since we can finally eat our fill!” said little Zihua.

In the past, they’d go to bed around nine—because sleeping was the only way to forget their hunger.

“I found a job too,” said Ting Linzhi proudly. “Dr. Sophia hired me at her clinic to help around. I’ll be earning 3,000 Orka a month!”

“That’s wonderful!” Lin Jianshan said, eyes lighting up.

Three thousand Orka wasn’t much, but converted to supermarket points, it was at least six thousand—and if the boss was in a good mood, that could go up to thirty thousand.

Still, since not everything they needed was sold in the supermarket, she couldn’t exchange all her pay.

Her plan was to convert about 500 Orka per month into points and save the remaining 2,000 for emergencies.

Zihua, Xingji, and Shuling all chimed in excitedly, “Sister Jianshan, we picked up garbage today and earned money!”

It was only one Orka, but it was something.

“That’s great!” Lin Jianshan smiled. “Then tomorrow morning, we’ll have noodles!”

“Yay!”

“Shh—keep your voices down. When we get home, I’ll let you try cola. Do you know what cola is? It’s a Blue Star drink…”

As their voices faded into the snow, the supermarket lights slowly went out.

*

Later that night, Zhou Li examined her new toy. After taking a shower, she pulled out the photolux generator to study it.

If not for the auction system’s description, she would never have believed such a small sphere could substitute for sunlight and enable crops to photosynthesize.

“Maybe I should just sell it,” she muttered. “It’s broken anyway.”

She listed it on the auction platform—and noticed the suggested starting bid had increased from 1,879,900 to 2,170,000.

Zhou Li: ?

It was the first time she’d seen the auction house raise a price—especially for a broken device.

Still, it confirmed that even damaged, the photolux generator was extremely valuable.

She changed her mind. She’d take it back to Earth instead.

After closing the listing, Zhou Li reviewed her study notes for a while, then turned off the lights right before midnight.

*

The Mia Star residents’ purchasing power was far greater than that of any ancient world she’d traded with.

Even with strict purchase limits, within just five days (including the two days she’d closed), several items had nearly sold out.

Even the less popular goods were down to a third of their stock.

Zhou Li reviewed the numbers and realized why—it was because the system counted unopened boxes as a single item.

If one instant noodle packet was one item, then a sealed case of twelve counted as one too.

Families were hauling away boxes and sacks at a time.

They even brought relatives. A family of three could buy nine items per day; a family of five could buy fifteen.

At that rate, the entire stock could barely last three days.

Since Zhou Li planned to return to Earth to restock, she posted a notice in advance:

[Starting tomorrow, the shopkeeper will be away for restocking. Expected return: 3–5 days. Translated on Hololo novels. If you’re worried about the shopkeeper running away with your money, you may request a refund of your points. (Note: Refunds will permanently cancel your membership, and you will not be able to register again.)]

The announcement caused another stir in the community.

Some nervous residents, fearing Zhou Li might disappear with their money, came to demand refunds.

They figured that even if they couldn’t reapply, their relatives could—and if necessary, they could buy forged IDs from the black market to register again.

When the news reached City Hall, the officials were thrilled.

“Send someone to tail her! We must find the crash site of that Blue Star transport ship!”

They were convinced Zhou Li was going there to “restock.”

Unbeknownst to her, City Hall had practically been advertising her store to speed up sales.

It was no coincidence her inventory had sold out so quickly—they’d quietly promoted the Good Life Supermarket so more people would buy, emptying the shelves and forcing Zhou Li to resupply.

Once she left, they planned to follow her trail, locate the supposed transport ship, seize its cargo, and let the Academy of Sciences investigate the disaster and the station’s silence.

…

Zhou Li knew none of this.

At nine o’clock, she told Lin Jianshan to start clearing out customers.

“It’s really sold out—honestly sold out, not price manipulation,” Lin Jianshan explained until her throat went dry.

Some shoppers accused Zhou Li of faking scarcity to raise prices, as many of the wealthy merchants on Mia Star often did.

“We came all the way here, and now you’re closing? It’s not even ten yet!”

“Yeah! It’s snowing out here!”

“We waited outside all night in the cold!”

Zhou Li said, “Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll take down your names. Come back in five days, and you can skip the line—and your purchase limit for that day will double to six items. Deal?”

“…Fine.”

Once she’d registered everyone, the crowd finally dispersed.

“Close the door!” Zhou Li said quickly.

Lin Jianshan was about to shut it when she spotted a familiar face. “Dr. Sophia!?”

Sophia Richter stood there in a beret, scarf, long black coat, gloves, and tall boots—a far cry from the white coat and sterile gloves she wore at the clinic.

“The snow’s getting heavier,” Sophia said. “Mind if I come in to get out of the wind?”

Lin Jianshan instinctively stepped aside.

Sophia entered, glanced around the store, and then turned her sharp blue eyes to Zhou Li, who was sitting behind the counter gulping down water.

“Someone you know?” Zhou Li asked Lin Jianshan.

“Yes,” Lin Jianshan said quickly. “Boss, this is Dr. Sophia Richter. Her clinic’s in the Qi’an community here in Long City. She saved Linzhi a while ago…”

Through the membership records, Zhou Li already knew who Ting Linzhi was. Hearing Lin’s introduction now, she had a rough impression of the doctor’s character.

“Nice to meet you,” said Sophia.

“I’m Zhou Li—the little boss of this supermarket.”

“Little boss? So there’s a big one?”

“That’s right,” Zhou Li said with a smile. The big boss, of course, was her mother.

But Sophia didn’t pry. Instead, she said, “I’ve been meaning to come earlier, but work kept me busy. When I heard you’d be closed for five days, I rushed right over… Did I miss my chance?”

If not for Linzhi mentioning it, she wouldn’t even have known.

“Yes,” Zhou Li nodded. “You’re late.”

Lin Jianshan hesitated, unsure what to say.

“But there are still so many interesting items here,” Sophia said, eyes roaming over the shelves. “You’re really not going to sell them?”

Zhou Li realized she was referring not to food or drinks, but to the household goods most people ignored.

Someone not coming for rations—now that was rare.

“They’re for sale, of course,” Zhou Li said. “But business hours are over.”

“Then why close early when there’s still stock left?” Sophia asked.

Zhou Li tilted her head toward Lin Jianshan. “I have to leave some items for my employee’s internal purchase. If everything’s gone, what will my staff eat?”

Lin Jianshan blinked—she hadn’t expected that.

Sophia looked momentarily surprised too.

“So what you’re saying…”

Zhou Li smiled. “I’ll be gone for three to five days. Take what you want. Whatever’s left, I’ll sell next time.”

Lin Jianshan, thrilled, grabbed a basket and rushed off to shop.

Sophia suddenly asked, “By the way—are you hiring?”

Zhou Li: ?

Author’s Note:

Doctor: I’m just here for employee discounts!
Zhou Li: …

Mini Scene – Why the Auction Price Increased

Buyers watching the auction feed: “An artificial sun for only 1.87 million!? That’s way too cheap—wait, why’d it get delisted!? Fine, I’ll pay more! Just sell it already!”

☢️☢️☢️