Central City.
“The rent is six hundred thousand a year, with a minimum three-year lease.”
“Given the location and the square footage, I’d say this price is quite reasonable.”
The real estate agent pushed open the door and introduced the space to Yin Yang.
“This place used to be a cold drink shop. The owner had some family emergency and had to break the lease.”
“Take a look at the interior. If you can use the current renovation, great. If you plan to remodel, the landlord will even give you a slight rent reduction.”
The agent smiled as he reached this point.
“The landlord is a very nice person. They own several properties in Central City and aren’t exactly hurting for money.”
Yin Yang nodded, feeling fairly satisfied with the storefront, which was just over a hundred square meters.
“Can we go any lower?”
“The absolute minimum is five hundred and eighty thousand a year.”
“Fine. Let’s sign the contract.”
The agent was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Yin Yang to be so decisive, agreeing to sign the moment it was mentioned.
“Hahaha, you’re certainly a straightforward man, sir.”
“I brought the contracts with me. I’ll contact the landlord, and we can go straight to the registration office.”
“Alright,” Yin Yang agreed.
...
After renting the property, Yin Yang hired workers to renovate it.
As the saying goes, under a heavy reward, there will surely be brave men.
In just three days, the interior and exterior were completely transformed. The crew was highly organized; they worked diligently during the day and remained silent at night, so not a single neighbor complained.
Yin Yang paid them promptly upon inspection, without being nitpicky or looking for excuses to withhold their wages.
The foreman immediately pounded his chest and guaranteed their work for three years.
If anything broke during that time, they would repair or replace it for free!
And just like that, Yin Yang had his own residence and business in Central City.
Ginkgo Cafe!
The sign featured a logo that strongly resembled a ginkgo leaf, yet also looked like a seashell. Below it, the words “Coffee Shop” were written in the script of Great Wei.
Yin Yang casually snapped his fingers, and nearly a hundred books appeared before him.
He categorized the books and placed them on the shelves. After making himself a cup of coffee, he picked up a copy of 《Introduction to the Great Qi Language》 and began to read.
Ding-ling.
The bell hanging on the door chimed. Yin Yang looked up to see two office workers who looked as though their very life essence had been drained by Yin souls.
“Boss, two extra-strong black coffees.”
“Coming right up.”
Yin Yang set his book down and began preparing the coffee.
The two office workers sat down and immediately started complaining.
“Ugh, our boss really isn’t human. No one should exploit their employees this much.”
“Tell me about it. They say we’re workhorses, but even workhorses shouldn’t have to buy their own stimulants just to keep working.”
The two looked like they were on the verge of tears, their sorrow deepening as they spoke.
“I’m planning to see a psychiatrist at the hospital on my day off. If this keeps up, I’m going to end up depressed.”
“I’m going too. I don’t want the measly pittance I earn to end up not even being enough to cover the doctor’s bills.”
As they spoke, Yin Yang brought their coffee over.
“Here you go, gentlemen. Two extra-strong black coffees.”
“Thank you,” they replied politely before taking a sip. Their faces immediately contorted.
“Ah... that’s the taste. Even more bitter than my life.”
“Every time I drink black coffee, I feel like it must be a cure for some disease. Otherwise, there’s no way it would taste exactly like medicine.”
Hearing their conversation, Yin Yang reached into his pocket and pulled out two little turtle fridge magnets.
“These are for you.”
“Huh?”
The two looked at Yin Yang in confusion. Yin Yang wore a mysterious expression.
“These fridge magnets have been blessed by a master. If you stick them on your workstations, they’ll counter your boss’s energy. At the very least, they’ll bring him three days of bad luck!”
“What?”
Surprise and delight filled their voices.
Then, one of them asked worriedly, “Will... will it be too powerful? If it kills the boss, there won’t be anyone to pay our salaries.”
“Don’t worry, they aren’t that potent,” Yin Yang chuckled before picking up his tray and returning to the counter to continue reading.
A few minutes later, the two office workers came to the counter to pay, their faces full of anticipation as if they couldn’t wait to go back and try them out.
In reality, these were just ordinary fridge magnets; they were only meant to make them feel a bit better psychologically.
After they left, Yin Yang returned to his book. After a while, he thought to himself that he should find some movies or online courses from Great Qi. Otherwise, his accent might still be a bit off.
As a major nation, Great Qi surely had distinct regional accents. He needed to find the most widespread one that everyone could understand.
As he pondered, the shop bell rang again. This time, two young couples walked in, their faces full of youthful energy.
“I’ll have a latte. What are you guys having?”
“Let’s all just have lattes.”
“Sure. Boss, four lattes.”
“Coming right up.”
Yin Yang began making the coffee. The four of them found a seat by the window and started chatting.
“The war on the front lines has already started. The people of Great Qi are truly awful, actually using virus weapons. Don’t they fear divine retribution?”
“Heh, if they feared retribution, they wouldn’t be invaders in the first place.”
“I heard three cities have already fallen. Do you think Great Qi will eventually make it to Central City?”
“How is that possible? This is Central City! Since the founding of Great Wei, has anyone ever managed to fight their way here?”
“And I must correct you—only two of our cities have fallen. Wangnian City did not fall; the City Lord and the entire population martyred themselves for the country!”
“Even at the very last moment, Wangnian City still belonged to our Great Wei!”
The young man’s voice grew quite loud as he spoke, but he quickly realized he was in a coffee shop and hurriedly covered his mouth.
“Your lattes are ready.”
Yin Yang brought the coffee over, placed it before the four of them, and walked away with a smile.
...
Central City.
“Hahaha, President Li, don’t you worry! Leave this matter to me, and it will be absolutely flawless!”
“I won’t brag about anything else, but when it comes to logistics, my Xiao family is top-tier!”
“Everything will be delivered on time and in full. If even a single item is missing, you can have my head!”
Xiao Zhe’s face was flushed red from drinking as he pounded his chest and gave his guarantee.
Opposite him, a middle-aged man with a balding head chuckled.
“I naturally trust your word, President Xiao. However, regarding the contract...”
He looked around, but before he could continue, Xiao Zhe pushed a gift box toward him.
“President Li, take this back and give it a try. It’s a specialty from my hometown—lentil-filled mooncakes.”
The man addressed as President Li had clearly heard of such things before. When he opened the box and looked inside, his expression became even more cordial.
“Well now, I really haven’t tried lentil-filled mooncakes before.”
“Come, come, let’s sign. Let’s sign.”
Xiao Zhe pulled out the contract and signed with him. The two talked and laughed, their attitude toward each other as warm as if they were brothers.
Once the gathering ended, President Li left, carrying the lentil-filled mooncakes.
Xiao Zhe immediately ran to the restroom and vomited his guts out.
“I can’t do this anymore... I really need to hire a good PR person.”
Rate on N.U.
