Chapter 60: The Shop Goes Live
“Anything happen while I was gone these past few days?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya thought for a bit and said, “Shaya secretly took your motorcycle out for a spin. He got too excited and ran out of gas. Thought he broke it and sat by the roadside crying.”
Chu Feng: … That dumb bear cried? Must’ve been quite a scene. Too bad I didn’t see it myself.
“When did he take it?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya rolled her eyes. “In the middle of the night.”
Chu Feng nodded, “Figures.”
Only at night. During the day, the motorcycle was under too many watchful eyes—any disappearance would be noticed immediately.
“The dwarves came by a few times, asking for more wine,” Illya added.
Chu Feng shook his head, “Those drunkards have nothing but alcohol on the brain.”
“Nothing else noteworthy happened,” Illya concluded.
Chu Feng nodded, “Alright, let’s go see the shaman. I brought him some new traditional Chinese medicine seeds this time.”
The Shaman Qiu Luo was very interested in traditional Chinese medicine, and recently Chu Feng had brought her some medical books.
Illya nodded and said, “Alright.”
While Chu Feng was enjoying a carefree time in the other world, he had no idea that Lin Zhihao was facing a new cHawkenge back at the shop.
Lin Zhihao was dealing with a girl in pigtails who was holding a selfie stick and livestreaming.
He had long felt that while few people came to buy things at the shop, plenty came to watch the spectacle. Ever since his cousin put up those banners, even more people had started visiting.
Lately, a number of people had been coming in and pointing at the banners, curious about them.
Lin Zhihao asked around and found out that some people thought their woodcarving shop was quite unique and had shared photos of it on their social media. Somehow, the store had gone a bit viral in a small circle, and now it seemed even internet influencers were showing up.
Although the shop was attracting attention, business was still dead—no sales had been made since opening.
Lin Zhihao nervously looked at the girl livestreamer in front of him without saying anything. He had no idea how many followers she had, but he knew better than to underestimate the power of the internet.
The girl in front of him was Luo Xing’er. She wasn’t very famous online and just did livestreams for a bit of pocket money. She was back visiting her hometown and had heard about this unusual store, so she decided to check it out.
Luo Xing’er’s livestream chat was blowing up:
“The sales guy is kinda handsome!”
“He looks super nervous though.”
“Xing’er, you scared him!”
“Definitely a scam store! Look at those prices!”
“Well, it’s not like they’re forcing anyone to buy. The owner’s just got… personality.”
“Are you planning to buy something?” Lin Zhihao stammered.
Luo Xing’er smiled and asked, “Do you have any recommendations?”
Lin Zhihao was at a loss. Ever since the banners went up, most questions could just be answered by pointing to them. But this one clearly couldn’t.
“Maybe the bracelet in this cabinet…” he said, thinking: These are the cheapest items in the shop, after all.
He figured if any “sucker” was going to buy something, it’d most likely be one of these bracelets.
“8,888 yuan each, all the same price?” Luo Xing’er asked.
Lin Zhihao nodded. The bracelets clearly varied in material and value, but his cousin had probably priced them all the same just to avoid the hassle of detailed pricing.
Luo Xing’er smiled and asked, “Can I get a discount?”
Lin Zhihao shook his head and pointed to the banner that read “No bargaining.”
Luo Xing’er pouted playfully, “Come on, just a little discount?”
But Lin Zhihao firmly shook his head again. The chat exploded:
“Whoa, even Xing’er’s charm didn’t work!”
“No discounts? This store’s got attitude!”
“I like this guy—says no, and means it!”
“He looks so honest, though.”
“Xing’er, don’t cry—sending you a virtual airplane!”
“You guys sell your wood carvings at a pretty steep price, huh?” Luo Xing’er asked.
Lin Zhihao instinctively nodded, then quickly shook his head as he remembered Chu Feng’s words that everything in the store was worth the price.
Luo Xing’er burst out laughing. “So is it expensive or not?”
Lin Zhihao puffed up his cheeks and stayed silent.
“Xing’er, you’re terrible—flirting with the poor guy.”
“The prices are insane!”
“Well, expensive or not, some of those pieces look really well made. Definitely master-level craftsmanship.”
“That Eight Immortals carving is amazing!”
“Isn’t that lion carved from ebony? Looks like it!”
“Get outta here—if that lion were real ebony, it’d sell for eight million, not eighty thousand.”
Luo Xing’er wandered around the store and said, “Your shop owner really has some style.”
Lin Zhihao nodded to himself. Yeah, Brother Feng really is different from your average boss.
Luo Xing’er’s stream had a decent following, and thanks to her visit, online discussion around the shop started heating up again.
After closing time, Lin Zhihao locked up the shop and went home.
*
“Xiao Hao.”
As soon as Lin Zhihao got home, his mom stopped him.
“What’s up, Mom?” he asked, confused.
“Xiao Juan said she saw you.”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “She sees me all the time.”
His mom rolled her eyes. “No, I mean she saw you on her phone. She said you’re working at a scam shop.”
Lin Zhihao shook his head. “It’s not a scam shop.”
His mom quickly nodded. “I know, I know. Not a scam—just a wood carving shop. People online kept calling it a scam and I got confused. That store really is… odd.”
Lin Zhihao puffed his cheeks and muttered, “It’s not that… odd.”
“How much does your boss pay you?” his mom asked curiously.
“Five thousand.”
She nodded. “That’s not bad.”
Five thousand wasn’t much, but she didn’t have high expectations—just wanted him to have a stable, easy job.
“Do you get commission? I heard Linlin only gets a base salary of fifteen hundred at her clothing shop, but with commission, she can make seven or eight thousand in a good month. Then again, people shop online for clothes now. Some are even worse—they try stuff on in-store and buy it online, so most months she only makes around two thousand.”
Lin Zhihao shook his head. “No commission.”
My cousin never mentioned anything about commissions, but he was generous—he even let me go buy a car.
Lin’s mother nodded and said, “No commission is fine. Anyway, the stuff in that woodcarving shop is so expensive, I doubt it’ll sell.”
Lin Zhihao: “…”
Is Mom really this pessimistic about our shop?
“Who’s the owner of your shop?”
Lin Zhihao shook his head and said, “No idea.”
His mother frowned. “You don’t know?”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “Yep.”
The boss is Brother Feng, but I can’t say that.
“Has your boss never shown up?” she asked.
He shook his head again. “We mostly communicate by phone.”
She sighed and said, “Then your boss must be some spoiled rich second-generation just messing around!”
Lin Zhihao: “…”
Brother Feng’s the boss, but he’s definitely not some rich heir.
His mother took a deep breath. “You’re the only employee there?”
He shook his head. “Brother Feng is… the manager. But he’s got other things to do, so for now, it’s just me. We’re planning to hire one more.”
Lin’s mother nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Her best friend had shown her the livestream clip, and she’d seen how overwhelmed her son had looked. The shop was too big for one person to handle alone.
“When are you hiring?” she asked.
“Anytime… as long as we find someone suitable.”
But finding the right person wasn’t easy.
“Who’s in charge of hiring? Your cousin?”
Lin Zhihao pointed to himself. “Me.”
Brother Feng was the kind of boss who delegated everything. If something needed doing, he tossed it to him. He really had no choice.
“You?” she said, surprised. “You can handle hiring?”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “I can.”
“Looks like your boss has a lot of faith in you.”
Lin’s mother knew her son had a stutter and never really thought he was cut out for sales, but maybe the boss was just being kind.
Zhihao nodded. Good thing my cousin’s the boss—if it were anyone else, I’d have been fired already.
“If you hire someone, how much would they get paid? Also five thousand?”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “That’s right.”
His mom thought for a moment. “Your Uncle Zhou’s son, Zhou Jin, is back and looking for work.”
“Him?”
Zhou Jin had joined the army a few years back, but he got injured during a mission and was now retired.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I heard he got… 600,000 yuan as retirement compensation. He probably doesn’t need money right now.”
“He doesn’t, but he can’t just sit around forever. And with his leg injury, it’s not easy to find work. His education isn’t great either, and with the injury, even security jobs might turn him down.”
“True.”
There were lots of job opportunities out there, but good jobs were still hard to come by. “You should reach out to him.”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “Would he be willing?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
Zhihao thought for a bit and said, “Alright then.”
He knew Zhou Jin—two years older than him, a bit rigid and old-fashioned. Back in school, he’d stand up for classmates being bullied, always full of righteous energy. Later, he became a patrol officer, which suited his personality. Having someone like that in the shop might actually be a good thing.
“But it’s in town—his leg isn’t in great shape. Will he manage?”
His mom smiled. “Don’t worry. His leg’s not too bad. He just can’t walk fast, but he can still ride an electric scooter. As long as he’s careful, he’ll be fine.”
Zhihao nodded. “Alright then.”
