“I run a proper, legitimate supermarket here, running a business means running it with integrity. No reason for me to trick you, especially since I’m hoping you two will keep coming back.”
Shan Nai spread her small hands, a sweet smile on her lips, and gave him a wink.
What kind of mischief could a little orange cat possibly have in mind?
She just wanted to sell a flashlight, that’s all, needed to complete the task.
Hearing this, Xu Yan walked over, took the flashlight, tested it a few times, and instantly fell in love with it.
“Bro, get it, this light’s crazy bright! It’s been forever since we’ve had proper light, even peeing at night, we can’t find our way back. And this flashlight’s not even expensive! Super practical.” He leaned in and murmured into Xu Nuo’s ear.
But his voice wasn’t quiet at all, and Shan Nai, overhearing, let out a soft “pfft” of laughter. “The silly little brother’s actually got a good eye.”
With that, she waved Xu Yan over, gesturing for him to lower his head.
“Huh?… little miss boss, I’m not silly! My brother’s just talking nonsense…” Even as he protested, he leaned his head forward anyway.
Maybe it was because Shan Nai was just too cute to refuse.
Shan Nai had meant to pat his head, but noticed how greasy his hair was and couldn’t bring herself to do it, settling instead for a sincere, “Such a good boy, your hair’s just a little oily. Next time the shop has shampoo in stock, be sure to come buy some!”
Hearing this, Xu Yan suddenly straightened up, his face scrunching in embarrassment, blushing furiously at being teased by the girl in front of him, did she really think he was a total idiot?
“Little miss, I already said I…”
“We’ll take it, we’ll take it!” Xu Nuo cut off his flushed, sputtering brother and quickly tossed two flashlights into the cart. “Hurry up and go grab the water, quit talking so much, see the countdown on the back of your hand? Don’t waste time, you dummy~”
“Xu Nuo, you’re really pushing it, huh?” Xu Yan licked his parched lips and glared at the man beside him.
Before Xu Yan’s expression could turn any darker, Xu Nuo had already slipped off to the next shelf, grabbing other items.
Xu Yan had no intention of letting him off, though, and marched right after him, delivering a swift kick to his backside.
His own image had been thoroughly ruined by him, how infuriating.
Watching the two brothers shoving each other and horsing around nonstop, Shan Nai felt her own mood lift, such good sibling bonds.
The two of them had plenty of points and ended up buying nearly one of everything in the store.
At checkout, they finally bought two supermarket shopping bags, each brother taking charge of one bag of supplies.
“Customers, today’s dine-in offering is braised pork belly and mushroom baby bok choy, served with rice as the staple. Would you like a serving?”
Shan Nai glanced at the checkout panel showing Xu Yan still had 22 points left on his card and helpfully suggested it.
Spend it all, only by spending it would there be a reason to come top up again.
Only then did Xu Nuo notice the food counter and dining tables to the left.
“Cough, cough, brai… braised pork belly?” Xu Yan nearly choked.
He’d just finished checking out the moment before, and the very next second had torn open a five-spice marinated egg and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, savoring the delicious egg, only to be told there was braised pork belly too?!
Was it the kind of braised pork belly he was imagining?
“I’ll eat it! Give it to me, I want it all!”
Without another word, Xu Yan pulled out his cat-shaped membership card and slapped it down onto the card reader.
“Certainly, customer. Rice with braised pork belly is 15 points, mushroom baby bok choy is 6 points, 21 points total, charging your card now.”
Xu Nuo waited until his younger brother had fetched his tray from the food counter before deciding to order one for himself too.
Because that glistening, reddish-brown braised pork belly, coated in rich sauce, was simply too tempting!
“Mmm, so good! Rich but not greasy, faintly sweet and savory, melting in the mouth, and the baby bok choy’s so crisp and refreshing…” Xu Yan picked up another perfectly square cube of braised pork, eyes narrowing with contentment.
This was… meat, at long last!
Right after that came a whirlwind of a meal for both brothers.
The portions of braised pork and mushroom bok choy were generous, and paired with a large bowl of rice, there was no question of getting full.
But maybe because they hadn’t eaten meat in years, neither brother felt satisfied after finishing his own serving.
Xu Yan licked the sauce off his plate, somewhat regretting having spent all his points already.
“Customers, our dining area serves something delicious every day, do remember to come back often.” Shan Nai said, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head with a smile.
Both brothers nodded with resolute expressions, perfectly in sync. “You got it, boss!”
Truly twins, impressively in tune with each other.
After finishing their meal, the two of them shouldered their bags and walked out of the supermarket, one after the other.
“Bro, let’s just settle down in this city…”
“Sure thing. Rest up for a few days, then start hunting for crystal cores, gotta come back for that meat!”
…
「Sell 10 small flashlights (2/10)」
“Made some progress today, nice.” Shan Nai looked at her task list, cheering herself on.
【Host, you still haven’t drawn your level-up prize.】
“Right, right, let’s draw.” Shan Nai blew on her own small red hands and tapped to spin the wheel.
The wheel was divided into nine sections, one each for first, second, and third prize, plus three each for consolation prizes and participation prizes.
The pointer spun around several times before finally landing on first prize.
【Ooh?! Host… you’re really something!】
The system’s voice sounded soft and adorable.
“Right, right, so what’s the first prize?” Shan Nai could hardly wait.
【The prize is a seed for a temperature-absorbing flower, and it also activates the greenhouse growing area on the supermarket roof!】
“A greenhouse… a temperature-absorbing flower?”
【The temperature-absorbing flower, also known as the “know-your-own-comfort flower,” absorbs the current ambient temperature and releases the opposite temperature. Within a 20-square-meter area, it can absorb and release up to 20 degrees of temperature difference, should be very popular in the apocalypse.】
Twenty degrees…
Given the harsh weather these days, soaring past 50 degrees in the heat, plunging to negative 40 in the cold, being able to offset that by 20 degrees in either direction would honestly be a dream come true.
The reward had already been delivered into Shan Nai’s hands, a pea-sized, purple seed.
“Description available: must be planted in the supermarket’s greenhouse, growth period three months, retail price 1000 points per plant, limit one plant per person, additional purchases don’t stack the effect.”
Shan Nai carefully read out the seed’s description on the screen.
Holding the flower seed, Shan Nai followed the system’s prompts through the bedroom hallway, and sure enough, there was now an extra staircase by the back door.
When she reached the rooftop, she found that the once flat, empty top floor now had a greenhouse made entirely of glass.
Sunlight hit the glass, refracting into sparkling, multicolored light.
Inside the greenhouse was a neatly arranged patch of mysterious black soil.
It had clearly already been tilled, laid out in an orderly, attractive fashion, with a tool rack, fertilizer, and a small pond off to the side.
“Marvelous…”
Following the planting instructions, Shan Nai dug a small hole, added some soil, carefully planted the purple seed, covered it with a thin layer of fertilizer, then fetched a watering can, filled it halfway, and watered the spot.
“System, will this pond refill itself once it’s used up?”
【Yes, it will.】
“But with just one seed, isn’t that a bit too little?”
The whole appeal of this flower was staying warm in winter and cool in summer, if it sold well, what would happen when supply ran short?
Surely they couldn’t sell just the one plant.
【No need to worry, Host, this is a mother seed, it’ll sprout new shoots on its own. All you need to do is water and fertilize it daily.】
“Alright, got it.” Even though it was pricey, she was confident there’d be customers willing to buy it.
This was a major moneymaker, with electricity generation so difficult these days, this had to be far more energy-efficient than air conditioning.
Besides, the extreme heat had already caused some air conditioners to break down entirely.
Shan Nai was already looking forward to the big sales three months down the line.
“System, you really are the savior of the apocalypse.”
【The system is merely a supermarket management system, it can’t interfere with how this era develops. Survival and extinction are both governed by nature’s own rules. It’s only because a host happened to be present that the system could activate at all.】
“Oh, so us selling supplies…” Shan Nai felt the supermarket still gave the survivors of the apocalypse a certain measure of hope.
【The supermarket needs to level up, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. We just happened to end up here, that’s all.】
Shan Nai pressed her lips together and nodded, half-understanding.
The system had a point, just focus on her own affairs, and diligently leveling up the supermarket was the real priority.