Ch 204: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Lu Yao hadn’t paid much attention to the small puzzle pieces until she noticed five of them in her storage space.

The fragments were about the size of a human fingernail, with interlocking corners like ordinary jigsaw puzzles. Both sides were pure white, with no visible patterns, leaving her clueless about how to piece them together.

Dream Fulfillment System: “This puzzle seems to have sixty-six pieces. Only after collecting them all will the image be revealed.”

Lu Yao frowned. “Why sixty-six again? Polaris on Ghost Street also seemed fond of the number six.”

Dream Fulfillment System: “In the world of gods and demons, the number ‘six’ symbolizes death. Its appearance is no coincidence.”

Lu Yao: “What’s this ‘world of gods and demons’?”

Dream Fulfillment System: “Well… that’s not important right now. Let’s not dwell on it. The point is, you likely need to collect all sixty-six puzzle fragments to complete the ultimate mission.”

Lu Yao: “I only have five pieces now. The next mission requires completing 2,000 orders, and the reward is just five more fragments. How long will this take? Honestly, I’m not even that curious about the truth of the world.”

Dream Fulfillment System: “Please be a little curious! Without completing these missions, you can’t proceed to the next world.”

Lu Yao sighed and shook her head. She was only venting; of course, she knew she had to keep working on the missions and collecting the fragments.

The new task had already begun, just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival preparations.

She put away the puzzle fragments and resumed organizing materials for the evening meeting.

…

Yaoguang City, August 10th, Thursday Afternoon

Three days ago, Lu Yao announced in the group chat that there would be a street-wide video meeting on the afternoon of August 10th, with the primary agenda being the Mid-Autumn Festival activities.

At 5:40 PM, the snack shop and Qingshan Noodle House simultaneously hung “Closed for Half a Day” signs.

No matter how surprised or confused the customers outside were, the ghostly employees of both establishments shut the doors on time and neatly gathered in the quietest, most spacious spots inside their respective shops. Sitting in orderly rows, they faced massive floating screens, waiting for the shop owner and employees from other stores to come online.

By 5:30 PM, customers had left the nail salon, and the shop hung its “Closed” sign early.

Employees from different species and human employees alike entered the break room, sitting neatly on sofas facing the suspended screen, awaiting the others.

The blind box shop, typically unmanned, did not display a “Closed” sign. Instead, at the designated time, its staff assembled in the lab’s conference room, activating the large display on the meeting platform.

At the pet cafe, customers were sent off half an hour earlier than usual. Both human staff and their fluffy colleagues gathered in the fishing room that surfaced from the sea.

Because of the many fluffy companions, the waterdrop seals moved the floating screen directly onto the water. Everyone, whether sitting or lounging, lazily crowded along the long docks, waiting for the meeting to start.

In the Great Wu Dynasty, time flowed differently from most worlds. While it wasn’t yet business hours for the Interdimensional Cinema, the Great Wu Dynasty had a curfew.

The cinema staff, having received advance notice, informed Lu Yao that management would stay at the shop overnight for the meeting.

Before the meeting officially began, Xiao Shuzi, Zhu Zhu, and Wen Jian sat in the cinema’s largest screening room on the first floor.

From the sixth store onward, including the newly opened Courier Shop, this would be the first time participating in the Mid-Autumn Festival activities. Compared to staff with prior experience, the newer employees were noticeably more excited.

The sixth shop, a Childhood Tutoring Center, had a mix of regular employees from the street, superpowered staff, and former test subjects from the lab.

At 5 PM, the employees finished their work promptly. While waiting for the meeting, they bought snacks and milk tea from the street, sitting together to discuss the upcoming festival.

In the world of Sanhua City, there was no concept of a Mid-Autumn Festival, but they celebrated a Harvest Festival in late September.

Lu Yao, aware that this festival might be tied to Fula, the Goddess of Abundance overseeing this world, framed the activity as a simple store collaboration during their discussions.

When planning activities for the stores, employees could draw inspiration from the Harvest Festival tied to their own culture. Fortunately, the Childhood Tutoring Center had Bai Yi, who could provide insights and ideas related to the Mid-Autumn Festival for the other employees.

The seventh store, connected to the more primitive Nitean Continent, also had no historical records of a Mooncake Festival in its tiny inhabitants’ culture. However, the little people loved lively celebrations, and the store also employed several human staff. Their enthusiasm and determination for the collaborative event were palpable.

At the inn, dinner was served thirty minutes earlier than usual and only offered as in-room dining service. After dinner, both the little people and human employees gathered in the newly built meeting room adjacent to the kitchen. The tiny employees took their places in miniature seats on the conference table, while the human employees sat behind them. The floating screen for the video conference was set up in front.

The eighth store, the Interdimensional Internet Café connected to the Floating World Continent, did recognize the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it was only significant to mortals and human cultivators. Demons, devils, and immortals cared little for this holiday, with demons and devils being the least enthusiastic.

However, the café’s staff—comprising humans, demons, and devils—were all quite engaged because the event was a major ten-store collaboration. For them, it was an opportunity to glimpse the powers backing their shop owner and meet employees from other stores, making it an exciting and novel experience.

The ninth store, the Creative DIY Workshop, was initially in a semi-closed state but had resumed normal operations due to a fortunate series of events. After securing a collaborative deal with Mingshi City’s officials, the number of players transferred from other virtual worlds to Ghost Street gradually increased. The workshop’s daily crafting activities and revenue had started to stabilize.

Yesterday, two former employees of the DIY Workshop, Ji Linkai and Gan Qing, reached out to Lu Yao and returned to work.

Currently, Ghost Street had four staff members: Liu Jing, Chen You, Ji Linkai, and Gan Qing. Additionally, the store had two employees working on the main street of the shopping street: Song Qingshan and He Bi. These six employees joined the meeting from two locations via floating screens, awaiting the session’s start.

Mingshi City had no Mooncake Festival either. Upon receiving the meeting notification, Liu Jing and the others had specifically looked up relevant information, only to find a brief mention in a rare book. The book documented pre-consolidation cultural customs from various regions of Mingshi City. Most traditions and festivals from those regions had been abolished, and any remaining events were limited to very small-scale celebrations.

Having never celebrated the Mooncake Festival, Liu Jing and her colleagues were quite intrigued by the upcoming large-scale event on the shopping street.

Lastly, there was the newly opened Courier Shop. Besides Ding Qing, who was a local employee, the shop’s programmers were from the shopping street, while the couriers were staff transferred from the nail salon and internet café.

Both the store itself and the relationships among its employees were still in the early stages of development. The upcoming large-scale collaboration posed a significant challenge for them. However, being young and full of energy, they were at a time in their lives when they were most capable of brainstorming and taking action. With some careful thought, they might come up with excellent ideas.

The new shop had the shop owner present, and its employees were all affectionate and willing to seek help if needed. Before the meeting officially started, the employees exuded confidence, showing no sign of unease.

In comparison, the staff scattered across the other shops in the shopping district felt more pressure. The event’s scale and procedures reminded them of collective activities from school or work, and now they were facing employees from various otherworldly stores. This added a layer of stress mixed with a hint of competitiveness.

At 6 PM, the first video conference of Lu Yao’s shopping street officially began.

The Courier Shop’s meeting room was located in the system office. Instead of using a floating screen, they utilized the system’s display screen for the meeting. Lu Yao sat front and center before the screen, with the other employees arranged by height in two rows behind her.

On the screen, 13 video frames were displayed in a 3-column, 5-row layout, with the last row missing a frame. Each store’s screen was placed at the bottom for its employees, while the 12 other store participants filled the upper rows.

As cameras turned on, voices from 11 worlds poured in, making the meeting livelier than the morning assemblies of the little sparrow demons from the Floating World Continent.

[Nail Salon Ambrose:] “Finally, I see the snack shop employees—so they really are human. They’ve always been so mysterious; I once wondered if the chefs might actually be ghosts.”

The snack shop and Qingshan Noodle House employees maintained their ordinary living forms, even concealing their unnatural hair colors and sharp teeth. On camera, they appeared indistinguishable from regular humans.

For the residents of Dreamland, this meeting with so many living beings in a non-paradise setting was a significant adjustment. Bai Ming and Xingzi had consulted Head Guard Bai Jian beforehand and received permission from the Demon God for participation. Dreamland residents were allowed to take part in activities within the shopping street, but they were forbidden from revealing their undead nature to anyone besides Lu Yao and those already aware.

In response to Ambrose’s playful remark, the snack shop and noodle house employees simply smiled.

[Snack shop Xiao Qie:] “Boss, when will you come by the shop again? We’ve collected a lot of those coins you like.”

Lu Yao had been very busy recently, juggling tasks from both Ghost Street and the Golden Kingdom. With the system now assisting in managing the shops, she hadn’t visited them for a few days.

Xiao Qie’s message was a subtle way of inviting Lu Yao back, expressing their longing to see her again. Despite having phones for communication, the undead employees rarely reached out unless necessary.

The other shop employees, unaware of the true meaning, assumed Xiao Qie was referring to some rare currency from their world, oblivious to the fact that the coins they collected were standard currency from Lu Yao’s original world.

[Lu Yao:] “Alright, I’ll come by after the meeting.”

[Blind Box Shop Lilly:] “So many chubby leopards, all fluffy and adorable! Even though I’ve seen pictures and short videos in the group, seeing them all together doubles their cuteness! They look so tasty!”

[Little Pet Cafe Lei Lei:] “Whimper, whimper!”

[Interdimensional Cinema Kuba:] “Xiao Jiu!!! Is that Xiao Jiu sitting next to the shop owner?”

The suspended screens in the shops had ultra-high resolution, almost like a holographic projection. With his striking silver hair and red eyes, Lu Mingxiao stood out behind Lu Yao, making it no surprise Kuba recognized him immediately.

[Interdimensional Cinema Zhu Zhu:] “Oh my gosh!!! Are those two little dumplings next to the shop owner her kids? Twins?”

Zhu Zhu had met Budu before at the cinema, but this was her first time seeing Mo Bao. One dumpling had silver hair and red eyes, the other black hair and red eyes. Both had neatly cropped hairstyles and matching little outfits, making it easy to misunderstand.

[Interdimensional Internet Cafe Xiong An’an:] “Hahahahahaha, I’m dying! She thinks Mo Bao is the shop owner’s son! Hahahahaha!”

[Interdimensional Cinema Zhu Zhu:] “Wait, are you An’an? I adore you!”

Xiong An’an actually blushed.

[Childhood Tutoring Center Bai Lu:] “Another silver-haired, red-eyed man? Just how much does the shop owner love white-haired guys?”

[Lu Yao:] “…”

[Courier Shop Harold:] “How is that Lu Yao’s fault? Clearly, it’s just this guy clinging to her for dear life!”

Lu Yao & Lu Mingxiao: “…”

Privately venting was one thing, but this crowd had no filter—even saying it to their faces.

This group had officially gone off the rails.

What was there even to say?

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️