Plane Supermarket

When he was in elementary school, Ye Zhou’s biggest dream was to live in the small store located at the entrance of his school. He even felt regretful for not being the child of the store owner, as that would have allowed him to live there for real.

At that young age, he openly expressed his regret to his parents.

In response, he received a beating from his mother and father, with his father taking the lead and his mother adding oil and vinegar to the side.

As he grew a little older, he realized that the small store wasn’t all that great after all. Given the opportunity, he thought it would be even better to live in a chain supermarket.

By the time he graduated from high school, Ye Zhou had already determined his future career – to open a large supermarket.

In order to achieve this dream, Ye Zhou either worked part-time or was on his way to another part-time job throughout his time in university. He took on any job that paid well, even performing in mascot costumes under temperatures exceeding thirty degrees Celsius.

With four years of dedication and hard work, he finally achieved his dream after graduation.

He invested 100,000 yuan of his own, and the rest came from his family.

In order to save money, Ye Zhou set his sights on an abandoned warehouse in the downtown area. Although it was in the old city district, inhabited mostly by elderly and children, developers overlooked the area. But Ye Zhou didn’t mind.

He negotiated a decent price for the warehouse. But due to budget constraints, he could only renovate it into a single-floor supermarket.

Still, the space was spacious enough with its large area.

Ye Zhou always felt that he was quite lucky. Although he wasn’t a genuine second-generation wealthy individual, his family did have some savings.

His parents ran a small food business as a couple, with a factory located in the suburbs where they provided contract manufacturing for some well-known brands.

If he hadn’t arrived in this world, Ye Zhou believed that he would have led a smooth and comfortable life.

Nowadays, with the development of the internet, even if his supermarket had low customer traffic, he could still make money through online sales.

The premise is if there is none.

Ye Zhou wanted to smash the computer.

He stared at the computer screen with almost gritted teeth. At this moment, if he could find a hammer, he would definitely smash this computer into pieces!

Next to the columns for buy/sell and goods, there was an additional column.

This new column was also straightforward and easy to understand – “Plane Transfer.”

The computer was currently displaying the contents of this column.

【”Plane Transfer”

Profit: 2456 (Exchangeable Points: 245)

Choose a destination:

Minzal Continent (0/1)

Luo Yang Base (0/1) 1

Note: Other destinations locked. 】

Ye Zhou cursed out loud, “Didn’t you say that plane transfer only required one hundred points?! You liar!”

Neither of the unlocked locations is normal.

The former seems like a place from a fantasy novel, while the latter has the word “base” in it, and no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like a good place to go.

Yezhou was so angry that he almost fell backwards.

Does this mean he needs to continue earning points? He had no idea how many points he needed to unlock the city he originally came from.

“You’re engaging in unfair trade practices!” Ye Zhou continued to vent his frustration, disregarding whether the computer would respond or not. “I’m just like Jiang Taigong now! I can’t conduct business at all, I can only wait for people to take the bait! Do you know how difficult it was for me to earn these two thousand points?!”

Ye Zhou exclaimed, “And what’s more! They haven’t given me anything for self-defense! Right now, there are fewer people, so I can still pretend to be powerful, but what if more people come? After the disaster and famine pass, won’t they tie me on a stick and set me on fire?!”

He vented his anger at the computer for almost half an hour, continuously pouring himself a glass of water until he finally stopped cursing.

He couldn’t curse anymore.

Ye Zhou slumped in his office chair, his mind in turmoil.

How much more money does he need to earn in order to go back?

The lack of a clear goal made him feel uneasy.

But Ye Zhou forcefully suppressed his anxiety. He kept encouraging himself and rationalizing the situation.

Since he had unlocked two destinations, it proved that the “computer” did not block off his path. As long as he kept earning money, earning more, he would eventually be able to go back.

Ye Zhou didn’t leave his office.

He didn’t want to go anywhere. He just wanted to be alone in silence.

·

Outside the supermarket, tents were set up. This was where Zheng Ge and the others had been staying for the past few days.

The tents set up outside the supermarket became Zheng Ge and the others’ shelter for the past few days. Although it wasn’t as comfortable as inside the supermarket, they didn’t dare to complain. They had food and drink, and they could even buy things that were used by immortals. That was already a great fortune, and being too greedy would probably displease the immortals.

Besides, the tents were quite good too. They had witnessed the tents being set up, and these tents were no worse than ordinary houses. The fabric was smooth and clearly made of high-quality material, resistant to wind and rain, even better than the finest oil cloth!

Although… it would be even better if there was wind at night.

“The nobleman can live in a house,” Zhao Er said as he touched the tent, his voice filled with coldness.

Zheng Ge patted his back. “Don’t act like this. It’s not good if the immortal sees it.”

Zhao Er pursed his lips but couldn’t help saying, “The immortal didn’t treat him any better! He only said he had tuberculosis and couldn’t stay with us!”

One of the other brothers chimed in, “We don’t even know if his illness will get better. If it doesn’t improve soon, when can we leave?”

“You want to leave? I, on the other hand, would love to stay here for a long time,” someone said. “It’s a pity that the immortal won’t accept people like us as disciples.”

Zhao Er added, “I don’t think those people are better than me!”

He felt that he was stronger than the men serving the immortal in his cave.

“Why do they get to cultivate with the immortal?” Zhao Er took a bite of the dried meat, almost gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Zheng Ge tried to comfort him, “You’re thinking too much.”

“Just think about it, if we stay here, even though it’s called cultivation, we’ll only be doing odd jobs,” Zheng Ge’s eyes gleamed. “But if we can find a way back, just with these few crystal balls, we can live like kings!”

The southern region may be considered a good place in the eyes of northerners.

Fertile fields, beautiful scenery, and abundant natural resources. But what did that have to do with the poor people like them?

Only the privileged offspring of noble families have the luxury to enjoy the scenery and leisurely activities. They are born to be above others, even if they never earn a penny with their own hands, even if they lack talent in scholarly or martial pursuits, they can still live comfortably on the accumulated wealth of their ancestors.

But they can’t. They were born to work hard just to live.

They couldn’t appreciate the beauty of mountains and rivers, nor did they find any interest in the lofty peaks and rivers.

All they wanted was to earn more money and live a comfortable life. They desired to wear warm clothes, have enough food to eat, find a wife, and have many children.

This way, when they grew old, their children would take care of them. But if their children lacked filial piety, they would be at their mercy.

Matters like studying and passing exams were distant and irrelevant to them. They had seen elderly scholars in their seventies and eighties who set up stalls on the street to write letters for people and earn a small income. They didn’t live a decent life either.

Only money, the thing they could desperately hold onto, mattered to them.

Money in their hands was their foundation.

Zheng Ge had a smile on his face as he dreamily said, “When we go back, we’ll sell the crystal balls. Then we’ll buy land in our hometown, build a big house, and my mother and mother-in-law won’t have to weave cloth anymore. I’ll buy a few maids to serve them!”

They sat together, dreaming of a better future.

Even when the night fell, they couldn’t fall asleep.

Lin You, who was staying in the room, didn’t sleep either. After taking the medicine all day, he felt much better. It could also be because he had eaten and drunk enough, so he felt more energetic than before. Previously, he would feel drowsy as soon as night fell, but today he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

Lin You held a cup of hot tea in his hands, the aroma filling the room. He took a sip, sighed deeply, and felt at ease.

This place was truly a paradise. It had everything and lacked nothing.

As Lin You sipped the ordinary cup of tea, the lingering aroma in his mouth was not bitter at all.

The Immortal didn’t restrict ordinary people who had been saved by him.

As a member of a prominent family, Lin You had always received preferential treatment since childhood. He had never experienced the same treatment as commoners.

But now, in this place, he actually felt that not being treated preferentially was only natural.

In the eyes of the Immortal, they were all mortals. Would a person care about which ant was more noble?

Lin You ate a piece of candy. It was sweet but had a peculiar taste, yet it didn’t make him uncomfortable.

Li Shi 2 said it was throat lozenge, and if he ate it, he wouldn’t cough incessantly. It was a good thing.

Li Shi also reminded him to bring more throat lozenges when he went to the “supermarket” tomorrow.

If he didn’t miss his parents and siblings, he wouldn’t want to leave this place.

Everything here opened his eyes. Whether it was the lamp that emitted light without smoke or fire, the peculiar clothing styles, or the various precious utensils and the inexhaustible salt and sugar, they were not things that could be found in the mortal realm.

He marveled at it all, realizing the vastness of the world and the insignificance of humanity.

The Immortal was not one of those fake immortals who sought fame and reputation. He could casually present something and instantly gain worldwide renown, fame, and fortune. But he chose to stay in these remote mountains and rescue people from suffering.

Lin You felt that when he returned, he should erect a statue of the Immortal and kneel in worship every morning and evening.

In the end… he wanted to stay.

Having witnessed this immortal realm, he no longer thinks and yearns for the world.

·

Ye Zhou, who had suffered from insomnia for most of the night, slept until the sun was high in the sky.

Mainly because no one in the supermarket dared to disturb him, and he had forgotten to set an alarm, so he could only wake up naturally.

He grabbed a packet of instant noodles. He wasn’t very hungry after just waking up, so one packet was enough.

The employees were having their meals in the warehouse.

They had spent quite some time transforming the warehouse into their “home.”

Using ropes and hanging curtains, they separated their living spaces from each other. But because they lived so close together and the curtains didn’t provide much soundproofing, they had been quite well-behaved these days, without any unusual noises during the night.

There was also a communal area in the warehouse. Ye Zhou had asked Cao’er Niang to bring in some old sofas and tables and chairs.

Now the warehouse was looking quite decent, and it was definitely not uncomfortable to live in.

Cao’er Niang had already learned to cook on the stove here, although she didn’t know many spices. She only dared to use salt and MSG in her dishes, perhaps out of habit. She was unwilling to use too much oil or salt.

So the taste of the cooked dishes was always quite bland.

But the employees didn’t mind, and they didn’t dare to complain either.

After finishing the instant noodles, Ye Zhou called Cao’er Niang.

“Immortal, you called me.” When Cao’er Niang entered the office, there were still traces of oil around her mouth. She had a smile on her face and looked no different from an ordinary kind-hearted old woman.

But compared to how she was at the beginning, she had undergone a complete transformation.

She was quite proud of herself as well. There were people in the supermarket who were stronger, more articulate, and younger than her.

But the Immortal had chosen her!

She had never felt so empowered before. She was willing to give everything for the Immortal!

Even if she dies, she doesn’t want to leave this place. Once she left, she would return to being a weak and incapable peasant woman.

But here, she was the mortal most favored by the Immortal. As long as the Immortal was here, no one could bully her anymore.

In the past, she could only rely on her husband and her son.

But now she could rely on herself.

Ye Zhou, “Did the person in the security room come in this morning?”

Cao’er Niang immediately replied, “The Immortal hasn’t woken up yet, so I didn’t dare to take the initiative.”

Ye Zhou nodded. “Once you’ve had your meal, let him in. And remember, make sure he wears a mask.”

Cao’er Niang was eager to make a solemn promise. “I won’t forget!”

That person seemed to be the best-dressed among them. Even if he had no money, if he took off his clothes, she guessed he could earn quite a bit. 

Cao’er Niang hoped he had valuable things with him. Otherwise, she was worried that she would become envious of his lack of money and simply strip him naked.

Author’s Note:

Ye Zhou: “Liar! Big Liar!”

Computer: “I don’t understand, I don’t know, no response.”