Ch 41: My Multiverse Supermarket

At 7:30 in the morning, Mia Star time, Lin Jianshan arrived at the supermarket right on schedule.

Seeing that the shelves, which had been emptied three days ago, were once again filled to the brim, she finally felt at ease.

She had made the right choice—follow the right boss, and there would never be a shortage of supplies.

Maybe Mia Star still had hope.

“Put the eggs into boxes, and pack the fruits and vegetables in mesh bags…” Zhou Li began giving instructions without hesitation.

Lin Jianshan noticed that the egg boxes, which used to hold eight eggs, now only contained six. The price had been adjusted accordingly.

She quickly understood Zhou Li’s reasoning—each box of eggs counted as one item, so by reducing the number of eggs per box, more people could have a chance to buy them.

Zhou Li didn’t even bother to unpack some of the bulk goods.

Milk was sold by the case, Wahaha drinks by the entire row.

Rice, originally packed in 5-kilogram bags, was now divided into 2.5-kilogram ones.

Bottled water came in new sizes: 1-liter bottles and 5-liter jugs.

Lin Jianshan glanced at Zhou Li.

Sensing her gaze, Zhou Li asked, “Got something to say?”

Lin Jianshan nodded. “Boss, three days ago, I woke up and found everything here gone. The supermarket disappeared too. Is this… a spaceship? Can it use spatial folding technology to jump straight into outer space?”

Zhou Li couldn’t help laughing. “You could say that.”

Since the supermarket was bound to her system, it was basically a mobile spaceship—just one that performed dimensional travel instead of simple spatial jumps.

Lin Jianshan took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected the boss to reveal such a secret so easily!

Feeling guilty for not mentioning that City Hall had already started watching the supermarket, she confessed, “Boss, while you were gone, the City Hall security team came. They seemed very interested in you and in where the supermarket came from.”

Zhou Li pointed toward the Tzu Chi House. “So, the people over there—they’re from City Hall?”

“They’re the new director and vice director. Ever since they arrived, the Tzu Chi House has power, heating, and running water again.”

“That’s good for the kids. You’re still staying there?”

“Yes. I go there after work to help as a social worker.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your shifts, that’s fine.”

Lin Jianshan thought Zhou Li might show some sign of concern, but she looked completely unconcerned—utterly indifferent to all the politics behind it.

Zhou Li said, “Spacing out for fifteen minutes will cost you one point.”

Lin Jianshan snapped back to work, and suddenly let out an odd “hehe” laugh.

Zhou Li: ?

She had seemed like such a steady person—why was she acting like a fool all of a sudden?

*

Community Group Chat

A single message posted before dawn blew up the chat that had been silent all night.

Before five a.m., lights flickered on one after another in the residential buildings.

Countless spouses and elders were shaken awake, and one glance at the time almost caused family quarrels.

“It’s this early! You’d better have a reason for waking us up!”

“The supermarket’s back!” someone shouted, reading the group message while frantically throwing on clothes.

The temperature had dropped another three degrees overnight; frost had bloomed across the windows. Translated on Hololo novels. Dawn was always the coldest time of day—going outside without heavy layers would mean freezing to death.

“What supermarket?” asked a still-groggy family member forced out of bed.

“What else—the Good Life Supermarket! Hurry up, get dressed, grab your Orka, we’re going to line up before everything’s sold out!”

That woke the rest instantly. They scrambled into coats and shoes.

When they tiptoed out with their shopping carts, they ran right into their neighbors.

“Heading out this early?”

“Oh, just… going for a morning walk. You?”

“Same.”

“…You take a cart for morning exercise?”

“Heh, you brought one too.”

They looked at each other, realizing they’d both seen the same group message—an awkward silence followed.

“Can you two stop staring at each other and move already?” came their family members’ impatient voices behind them.

Without further delay, they all hurried toward the supermarket.

When they arrived, some early birds had already pitched tents at the entrance.

Everyone else groaned. So that’s allowed? We should’ve thought of it sooner.

The community committee’s social workers were already maintaining order. “According to the community agreement, anyone who cuts in line will be banned from entering the supermarket for the rest of the day. Please line up in the order you arrived!”

More and more people braved the freezing wind to join. Seeing the long, orderly line, no one dared cause trouble—they all obediently queued at the end.

By eight o’clock, before the shelves were even fully arranged, the line stretched for hundreds of meters.

Zhou Li opened the doors, and the residents who had been freezing for hours surged forward eagerly.

“There really is new stock!”

“Thank goodness!”

Zhou Li’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Those who registered last time when the store closed early will have priority entry. To keep things orderly, only twenty customers may enter at a time. Please be patient while waiting.”

If too many people rushed in at once, someone could easily knock over a shelf, causing chaos.

Since none of these customers had acted with hostile intent, the system’s defensive protocols wouldn’t trigger.

Zhou Li decided to maintain order through limited entry.

She placed a water dispenser by the door and told the social worker on duty, “Here’s hot water and disposable cups. You can hand them out to keep everyone warm.”

“Thank you, boss!”

The social workers quickly organized volunteers to distribute the cups.

Though the water cooled fast in the –17°C weather, the brief warmth spread through them as they drank.

Two women from the Tzu Chi House approached, intending to go straight inside, but were immediately stopped by customers in line.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Cutting in line?”

Chen Yuhui sighed. “We’re not here to shop—we’re here to see the owner.”

“How do we know you’re not lying?” The customers now saw everyone as potential rivals out to snatch their supplies.

Chen Yuhui said, “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m the new director of the Tzu Chi House—my name is Chen Yuhui.”

Nearby residents whispered among themselves.

“The Tzu Chi House got a new director?”

“Seems so. I saw lights on there the past two nights.”

“Why suddenly appoint a new director?”

“Heh, probably because of the supermarket.”

“Wait—she’s appointed by City Hall, right? Does that mean she’s here to report the supermarket?”

“I don’t think so… right?”

“Ask Lawyer Qu.”

Someone turned to Chen Yuhui. “What exactly do you want with the owner? You’d better not be here to stir up trouble. I’m warning you, if you make the owner mad and the store closes again, you’ll be responsible for our losses!”

“Yeah! And we’re new here—we haven’t even gotten our membership cards yet. We’re waiting for her to exchange points for us! If you delay that, you’re wasting everyone’s time!”

Chen Yuhui hadn’t expected the residents to be so defensive.

But she couldn’t really blame them. Supplies were running out everywhere; a store that still sold food felt like their last lifeline. Naturally, no one would tolerate anyone jeopardizing it.

She said, “Then we’ll come back later.”

Katrine looked displeased, but Chen Yuhui tugged her away.

Just as they left, Dr. Sophia Richter drove up in her car and stopped right at the entrance.

The crowd instantly bristled—what blatant line-cutting!

But the car itself was clearly high-end, and no one dared confront her.

“Wait, isn’t that a Moonshadow X?”

The Moonshadow X was a dual-mode vehicle produced by Bates Industries, capable of both ground travel and low-altitude flight.

It was so expensive that most people would never see one up close in their lifetime.

And now one had shown up—just to cut in line.

Everyone was instantly irritated just looking at that car.

Dr. Sophia Richter stepped out and said, “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the supermarket’s in-house doctor.”

The residents: ???

In-house doctor? What on earth was that supposed to mean?

They found the statement completely absurd.

Before anyone could go verify it with Zhou Li, commotion broke out in the line.

“Help—!”

“What happened?”

“She’s burning up, must have a high fever!”

“In this freezing weather, they let the poor old woman come out dressed like that?”

“There’s a doctor at the supermarket, right? Go get her!”

The family member supporting the feverish, half-conscious old woman heard that and hurriedly led her to find Dr. Sophia.

Zhou Li, hearing the disturbance, came to the door.

“Dr. Sophia?” she called.

Dr. Sophia said calmly, “One of your customers has fallen ill.”

Zhou Li thought, The supermarket doesn’t have any legal duty to treat patients.

But since the woman had collapsed while waiting in line outside her store, she supposed the supermarket bore some moral responsibility to help.

“What’s wrong with her?” Zhou Li asked. “Is there a way to treat her?”

Dr. Sophia pointed at her car. “There’s an emergency medical unit in the cabin. Should we save her?”

“Is that for me to decide?” Zhou Li asked dryly.

“Well, since I’m your in-house doctor, I should follow your work orders,” Sophia said seriously.

Zhou Li: …

Forget it. Anyone rich enough to pay to work clearly doesn’t think like a normal person.

“The supermarket has a duty to help, but this isn’t exactly a proper clinic,” Zhou Li said.

“Understood,” Dr. Sophia replied.

She had the family help the old woman into the vehicle cabin.

It was small—just big enough for a narrow cot and a single medical device beside it.

“This is an emergency treatment unit,” Dr. Sophia explained. “It can only provide immediate stabilization. For a full recovery, she’ll still need to go to a clinic or hospital with a medical pod.”

The family member, deeply grateful, said, “Thank you, doctor!”

“No need to thank me,” Sophia replied matter-of-factly. “This is part of the job the boss assigned me.”

With the emergency unit’s help, the woman’s body temperature quickly dropped to a safe level, and her consciousness returned.

“Aren’t you going to the hospital?” Dr. Sophia asked.

The old woman stubbornly shook her head. “No… no hospital. It’s almost our turn.”

Sophia noticed their clothes were thin. “If you go back out there, your fever will return.”

“Doctor,” the granddaughter said anxiously, “can my grandma rest here for a bit? I’ll go stand in line outside. It won’t be long.”

Dr. Sophia nodded. “Fine—but don’t touch anything inside.”

With that, she stepped back into the supermarket.

Zhou Li asked, “How is she?”

Sophia briefed her on the situation, then added, “The store’s too small, and there are too many people in line.”

Zhou Li sighed. There wasn’t much she could do—space was limited.

Sophia said, “If you had a few automated vending and sorting machines, efficiency would improve significantly.”

Zhou Li frowned. “The capacity on vending machines is too small.”

“Not the antique ones from Blue Star’s 21st century…” Dr. Sophia pulled up her holoscreen and showed Zhou Li the type of fully automated retail machines used across Mia Star.

Customers selected items through a terminal, and the machine automatically retrieved them from the warehouse, delivering the goods directly to the collection point.

The principle was similar to the vending machines Zhou Li knew, but the storage was essentially the entire warehouse—and the variety far greater.

After watching the demo, Zhou Li made up her mind. “I’m buying it!”

☢️☢️☢️