Chapter 90: New Shop

"Boss, it seems you will have to expand your shop yet again." Liang Shi arrived somewhat late today, and as a result, he had failed to find a seat. Left to wait in miserable anticipation, he had naturally drifted over to Fang Qi to voice his grievances.

It had to be said, business was truly far too spectacular!

"There will be room tomorrow," Fang Qi replied expressionlessly.

"Tomorrow!?" Liang Shi laughed. "Expanding a storefront is no small undertaking, is it?"

Fang Qi shrugged, remaining noncommittal.

"I almost forgot!" Liang Shi slapped his own forehead. "To us, it is no small undertaking, but to that individual, it is likely nothing more than a casual wave of the hand."

The individual he spoke of was, naturally, the fictitious cultivation master supposedly backing the little shop.

Fang Qi did not elaborate on this, offering only a slight nod.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoyuan remained sequestered in the kitchen, teaching herself how to cook.

To be perfectly fair, Fang Qi felt the girl was actually quite clever—if only her soot-stained face had not betrayed her the moment the dish was brought out.

Looking at her smudged countenance, Fang Qi could not help but find it amusing. "Did you manage to roast yourself along with the food?"

The look Jiang Xiaoyuan shot Fang Qi suggested she wished nothing more than to lung forward and bite him.

After many days of study, Jiang Xiaoyuan had mastered a fair number of culinary techniques. As Fang Qi looked at the dish on the table, he noted that while its appearance left much to be desired, it smelled quite pleasant.

It was a dish of stir-fried pork with hot peppers. Fang Qi extended his chopsticks and picked up a piece.

Jiang Xiaoyuan immediately wore an anxious expression.

"Whether you get a promotion and a raise depends entirely on this single venture," Fang Qi said, taking a bite.

"What promotion and raise?" The little girl was completely mystified. "How is it?"

"The heat was a bit too high for too long, and the flavors are not evenly infused." Fang Qi shook his head; it was still a far cry from the standard required of a chef earning spirit crystals.

"I clearly followed the book precisely when stir-frying, so how could the heat be too high?" The little girl placed her hands on her hips, speaking with dissatisfaction. "And how are the flavors not evenly infused?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan slammed an introductory cookbook onto the table. "You do not even understand cooking, you are clearly doing this on purpose! If you will not eat it, I will eat it myself!"

With that, she pulled the food directly to her side.

"Uh... I do not understand cooking?" Fang Qi froze for a moment.

He then casually flipped through the cookbook Jiang Xiaoyuan had tossed onto the table, saying composedly, "For instance, if you want the meat to be flavorful, you can marinate it beforehand. Controlling the heat also involves a great deal of nuance, and the issue of heat is multifaceted. After all, though stir-frying is one of the most fundamental culinary techniques, it can be divided into raw frying, cooked frying, slippery frying, clear frying, dry frying, grasping frying, and soft frying. How these peppers are to be fried, how the pork is to be fried, whether they are fried separately or together—there is an art to all of it... the books will not tell you that much."

Fang Qi's grand lecture left Jiang Xiaoyuan utterly dumbfounded. Only then did he pat her head and say, "Keep working hard. This boss is going over to the opposite side to tidy up first."

Jiang Xiaoyuan was instantly so overwhelmed with shame that tears welled in her eyes. "...How do you know so much?!"

Although she did not comprehend what Fang Qi was talking about, it sounded incredibly sophisticated!

The new storefront was finally ready for use, situated in a rather ideal location—directly across from Fang Qi's original shop.

Fang Qi calmly walked over to the opposite storefront, leaving behind a completely bewildered Jiang Xiaoyuan.

He personally tidied the place up. As for his own shop, with Jiang Xiaoyuan watching over it, nothing amiss was likely to happen.

Meanwhile, Fang Qi was calculating matters regarding his tasks.

He currently had two tasks: one concerning the Legend of the Sword and Chivalry, and the other regarding skill practice.

Both tasks were equally important, but if the livestream was to begin, Fang Qi felt he ought to prioritize the former before the plot of the Legend of the Sword and Chivalry concluded for the first time.

The latter could be focused on heavily after the Legend of the Sword and Chivalry was fully cleared.

...

The following day, when Fang Qi opened the shop doors, he discovered the establishment had once again undergone a transformation.

First, regarding the original storefront he occupied, the other rooms on the second floor apart from the bedroom and kitchen had also been completely remodeled.

The system's architecture could be described as весьма fastidious. On the second floor, a corridor constructed of materials similar to the street's buildings led directly to the opposite side, effectively connecting the two storefronts into a single establishment.

At a glance, it appeared as though a small bridge had been erected over the two streets. The Jiangnan-style architecture with its white walls and black tiles now featured a bridge in its center, which held no sense of discordance whatsoever; instead, it added a touch of charm to the buildings on these two streets.

As for the two storefronts, because they utilized glass walls facing the exterior, this particular section appeared slightly different from the other shops. It resembled a clear glaze gemstone embedded within a stone base, making the entire architecture appear even more vibrant.

The interior of the shop, moreover, appeared increasingly modernized. For instance, large livestream screens hung upon the walls, with one placed in each of the two shops.

The layout for the computers had also changed. In contrast to the monotonous, direct rows of the past, the additional space allowed for adjustments that made the entire shop interior feel much more spacious and natural.

At the same time, Fang Qi discovered that the lounge areas within both storefronts had increased slightly compared to before. Compared to the previously somewhat cramped internet cafe, it now appeared far more commodious.

However, the lighting conditions remained unchanged. If the curtains on both sides were drawn completely open, the entire internet cafe would become exceedingly bright, but doing so would easily cause glare on the screens. Thus, the curtains remained drawn, relying primarily on indoor lighting.

Evidently, though Fang Qi had prepared two storefronts, one of the smaller ones was temporarily unused, serving as a reserve he had established in advance.

With over one hundred and fifty computers, it would be difficult to fill every seat unless all the players arrived at the exact same time.

Opening the shop doors, Fang Qi continued to buy steamed buns to eat.

By this time, Jiang Xiaoyuan had switched to eating the dishes she cooked herself, her large eyes staring at Fang Qi with resentment all the while. "One day, this young lady will make this foul boss eat until he swallows his own tongue!"

Normally, if nothing special was occurring, veteran players like Song Qingfeng would certainly arrive extremely early at this hour.

Particularly after experiencing several instances of waiting in queues.

Arriving even an hour late meant waiting miserably for several hours.

Yet when Song Qingfeng arrived today, he discovered many differences.

"Boss, why are there fewer computers in the shop today!?"

Fang Qi pointed toward the opposite side. "Today, both storefronts are operating simultaneously."

Song Qingfeng looked at the opposite side, which appeared to be an identically styled shop replicated across the way, and then looked back at his own side. Though it could not yet be called massive, it could no longer be referred to as a small shop.

Driven by curiosity, Song Qingfeng went over to the opposite side to take a look. Both shops appeared quite spacious, though one possessed a counter and a refrigerator while the other did not.

Song Qingfeng pointed at the opposite storefront with some bewilderment. "No one is watching over that side? What if someone causes trouble over there?"

Fang Qi shrugged. "This shop's punishment for troublemakers does not require me to personally go over."

Song Qingfeng's breath caught as he recalled that elusive and unpredictable lightning magic. "True enough, who would dare cause trouble."

.