Bai Bai glanced at the direction the other person had left, then checked the shop to make sure everything was normal and that the walkie-talkie remained quiet with no one calling in orders.
Without wasting the time spent waiting idly, under the cover of the rain, she began practicing her water-control ability.
Rainwater was also water; she needed to test whether she could make the rainwater avoid falling on her body, or perform a condensed-rain attack.
She tried both and consumed half of her spiritual power, discovering that the success rate of the condensed-rain attack was higher, so she focused her practice on that.
Using raindrops like bullets, she flicked them out one by one.
Just as she was practicing with intense focus, the sound of static suddenly burst from the walkie-talkie.
Someone was calling Xiao Ma.
Bai Bai immediately stopped, stood up, and poked her head out toward the doorway of the shop.
Xiao Ma was writing out menus behind the counter.
Just as the menu was sent to the kitchen, the walkie-talkie on the counter rang again.
Menus were sent to the kitchen one by one, and packaged meals were brought out bag by bag.
The noon business peak had begun.
Since it was raining, there were no dine-in customers; every single order came through the walkie-talkie.
When the table used for placing meals filled up, Xiao Ma called Bai Bai inside to pick up the food.
Xiao Ma held a stack of delivery slips and deliberately picked out the ones for a single residential complex to give to Bai Bai.
Bai Bai marked them with a marker pen to ensure the meals corresponded to the delivery addresses, packed away the meals, and set off immediately.
Passing by the counter, she took the opportunity to glance at the walkie-talkie, which also had a screen, and memorized the frequency number displayed on it.
Running and walking all the way to the complex, the moment she stepped into the first building’s entryway, while her memory was still fresh, she quickly pulled out pen and paper to copy down those digits.
Next came the endless cycle of running up and down stairs.
Thanks to the original owner’s strong cardiopulmonary function, her physical stamina had been built up from climbing ten flights of stairs every day and delivering goods on foot.
Running back and forth like this, Bai Bai was tired, but she didn’t collapse gasping for breath.
Customers who received their meals and felt the piping-hot bags were also very pleased, giving Bai Bai tips of one or two yuan here and there.
Customers who had walkie-talkies and could call in orders lived in standard suites within the complex, which reflected their income level; tips of one or two yuan were merely small change to them.
And to Bai Bai, this extra income was naturally a source of great joy.
Upon returning to the shop after finishing her deliveries, Bai Bai saw that the delivery person had also returned and was picking up new meals.
Seeing someone arrive, before Xiao Ma could finish speaking, he immediately scooped all the meals on the table into his spatial storage, snatched the delivery slip from Xiao Ma’s hand, and walked away.
When passing by Bai Bai, even though Bai Bai had stepped back to make way, he still deliberately bumped into her heavily.
Bai Bai almost pulled out her knife to slash him.
Fortunately, she realized in time that this was someone else’s shop, and she shouldn’t ruin the owner’s business, which allowed her to swallow her anger for the time being.
Turning back to face Xiao Ma, Bai Bai immediately complained.
“Boss, what is your employee’s deal? How did I provoke him?”
“What deal could he have? He’s got ulterior motives, that’s what.”
Xiao Ma had witnessed the scene just now and her expression wasn’t very pleasant, as it confirmed a suspicion she had been harboring.
She clapped her hands, walked back to the counter, and pointed at a small wooden stool in the corner.
“Have a seat for a moment; the kitchen is still cooking, there will be more orders for you.”
“Got it, boss.”
“If you’re willing these next few days, you can come every day. That kid has probably climbed up to a higher branch and wants to squeeze an acquaintance in to replace him. If I grant his wish, wouldn’t that be letting him plant a spy right in my shop?”
“You’re wise, boss. I’ll definitely come every day.”
Bai Bai was also thrilled; Tianrun Street was truly her lucky land.
After sitting for half an hour, the kitchen successively finished six meals, to be delivered to three different apartment complexes.
As each one was finished, Bai Bai promptly stored it into her spatial storage to keep it warm.
Once all six meals were out, she set off immediately.
After delivering two orders to one of the complexes, as she hurried toward the next one, she passed by a scrap-gathering and assembly shop.
It was a place where artisans collected various miscellaneous parts, piecing them together to build new things.
Completely driven by a subconscious intuition, Bai Bai turned her toes and walked straight into the shop.
“Is the boss in?”
“In, in! What do you need? If I don’t have it ready-made, as long as you can describe it, I can piece it together on the spot.”
“Do you have roller skates? The kind with two rows of four wheels?”
Since there were still intact paved roads within the street district, why bother running everywhere on foot? Wouldn’t it be great to get a pair of roller skates?
Back when she was studying, she was the Queen of the Roller Skating Rink.
Roller skating on rainy days is prone to slipping?
With her skill level, that didn’t exist.
“Do you want the kind that look like regular shoes, or just a board?”
“Just a board, with straps to strap onto outside shoes—easy to put on and take off.”
“I have the materials. I can build it for you right now. Can you wait?”
“How long will it take?”
“Half an hour at most.”
“Alright, I’ll wait. How much?”
“Materials plus labor, 25 will do.”
“What about the wheels? Is there any trick to the wheels? Are they suited for rainy days or sunny days?”
“I have both types of wheels. Are we swapping wheels or—?”
“Give me a pair for sunny days and a pair for rainy days.”
“Alright! Customer, wait a moment, there’s a stool over there to sit on, I’ll be very quick!”
Instantly filled with boundless energy, the boss hurried into the back workshop to work.
Bai Bai found a stool and sat down. She took out her walkie-talkie and notebook, punched the copied frequency numbers into the walkie-talkie, turned the volume down low, held it close to her ear to clearly monitor Xiao Ma’s voice, and then satisfyingly put it back into her spatial storage.
Then, she continued practicing rain and water control.
In about half an hour, the boss emerged from the back room carrying two pairs of roller skates.
Bai Bai took them to inspect the goods.
She discovered that the binding straps used a laceless design similar to modern athletic shoes, and they were made of leather cord material; tightening and twisting them locked them into place, with the tension entirely adjustable by the user.
The wheels also met her request: one pair suited for dry surfaces, and one pair suited for slick, wet surfaces.
Bai Bai was extremely satisfied with this.
“The boss is very thorough. This is exactly what I wanted.”
As she spoke, Bai Bai took out her wallet.
“Just charge labor for one pair of shoes, 45 in total.”
Bai Bai counted out the money and handed it over, casually putting the roller skates into her spatial storage.
As soon as they entered the space, she immediately duplicated them: one turned into two, two turned into four.
She would use one pair and keep three as spares.
While the boss was getting her change, Bai Bai casually glanced at the sundries displayed on the counter and spotted another familiar item.
“Boss, what is this? A universal battery charger?”
“Yes, yes, it’s a universal charger.”
“Can people even use this thing nowadays?”
“Of course they can, these sell really well. People come to me to stock up on them every month.”
“What does it charge?”
“Lithium batteries for walkie-talkies, of course. My universal charger can plug in five batteries at once.”
“Holy cow! Where does the electricity come from?”
“People with money have generators or solar panels; people without money rig up a hand-crank radio, which can be used for reverse charging. Walkie-talkie batteries are all charged like that.”
“Ah!” Bai Bai tapped her chin against the universal charger. “Is it stable? Won’t it overcharge and blow up the batteries?”
“It’s stable, don’t you worry. If it weren’t stable, would I be able to sell dozens of them every month?”
Happily, the boss pulled a clean one out from under the counter.
“The one on top is a sample, it’s all covered in dust from sitting out. This one is clean and brand new, I only finished building it a few days ago.”