Chapter 19 Opening a Shop
Add an extra 10 gold coins. As for the extra 10 gold coins, Lu Jiu chose to add a floor in the department store as a playground for underage children to entertain and relax.
Xuantian City now has more than 1,500 temporary residents, of which about 400 are underage children, and the toy city she opened is divided into two parts.
One side is suitable for children under 10 years old, and the other side is suitable for children over 10 years old. I believe the children will be very happy to see it.
In fact, more shops can be opened, including formal entertainment venues, but Xuantian City is not of high enough level, and Lu Jiu personally feels that these are not needed now.
She hadn't originally planned to open a restaurant because there were already many food stalls in the city, but she decided to open one to make it easier for NPCs to buy food.
These NPCs are not simple robots. They have thoughts, but are loyal to the city lord and have blood and physical strength, so Lu Jiu has to pay them.
NPCs have their own purchasing channels for equipment, while items such as blood and stamina must be provided by the city lord.
So it’s really expensive to raise NPCs.
After being promoted to a second-level city-state, the number of patrolling combat NPCs doubled, from the original sixteen to the current thirty-two. She has the authority of a city lord and has special channels to purchase city defense equipment.
*
After spending resources and gold coins to upgrade to a second-level city-state, Lu Jiu invited Shen Jufeng to visit the changes in the city-state.
As soon as they checked into the hotel, they could clearly feel that the road had become wider and the floor had also changed, from its original blue-gray color to black.
The wooden platforms of the fixed stalls in the commercial street next to it are covered with spacious roofs to provide shade and shelter from the rain.
The most eye-catching are the several shops that have sprung up from the ground. Each shop has a sign hanging on it, such as Xuantian Tailor Shop, Xuantian Restaurant, Xuantian Pharmacy, etc.
There are still many that are closed, which means they have not yet been opened.
The tailor shop and restaurant are okay, but the drug store and the blacksmith shop have the most visitors.
Lu Jiu and Shen Jufeng first came to the drugstore to take a look. After entering, they found that the entire interior of the drugstore was decorated in a modern style. For a moment, they mistakenly thought that they had returned to a peaceful society.
The manager of the drugstore is a young mixed-race girl who looks like a Western elf. Many visitors to the store are attracted by her beauty.
"Why is there no merchandise in the store?" a visitor asked the pharmacy NPC.
When they heard it was a pharmacy, many of them wanted to see what kind of medicine was sold in the game world, but there was nothing on the display stand.
The store manager's delicate face showed no other expression. He simply replied dutifully, "We are not selling any medicines today. Please come tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. This is the store's business hours."
The store manager pointed with her slender hand at the electronic screen next to her, which showed that the pharmacy's business hours were from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The young man who asked the question just now felt a pang in his heart. Even NPCs have to work from nine to six, while they have to work hard all day to kill monsters to make money.
"That's weird, why are they open today if they're not open for business?"
"Who knows, but this NPC is so good-looking."
"I went to other stores and they were all open but not selling anything. They told me to come back tomorrow."
…
No matter what others discussed, the NPC stood at the counter without changing his expression.
Compared to the bustle of the drugstore, Zhuang Yun brought his daughter to the department store. Although it was called a store, it was actually a three-story building.
The interior was decorated in a modern style, just like the old shopping malls, except that there was not a single commodity here. He had heard before he came that nothing was for sale today.
Seeing that there was only a woman in her 30s on the first floor and no merchandise, An An shook Zhuang Yun's hand and said, "Dad, let's go upstairs and take a look."
The shop does not have an elevator, but it does have an escalator. There are no goods on the second floor either, and the situation only changes on the third floor.
The entrance to the third floor is decorated differently from the two floors below. It is warmer overall. This floor is divided into two sides, left and right, and is completely separated. The left side indicates that it is suitable for children under 10 years old.
Zhuang Yun took his daughter to the left first. When they entered the door, they saw various entertainment facilities, such as carousels, bumper cars, and a small roller coaster.
This only occupies one corner, and there are electronic entertainment equipment in the rest. An An also saw an exploration city, which is a small escape room game.
This is a place specially for children to play. I didn’t expect that the city lord would actually open this. Zhuang Yun heard from people from outside the city that the shops there don’t have this.
An An looked at the fun entertainment equipment with surprise in her eyes, but she didn't say she wanted to play. She knew it was not easy for her father to earn money.
Although it is closed today, the NPC is still here.
"I'd like to ask about the charges here."
This NPC was the same one they had encountered on the first floor. "This place uses a card system. With the card, you can play all the games here. 1 copper coin for 10 days, 3 copper coins for a month. If you top up the annual fee in one go, there's a discount of only 30 copper coins."
It’s so cheap!
Only these four words came to Zhuang Yun's mind. Even if it was a shopping mall before the end of the world, the monthly fee for a card at the children's playground was not low.
"Does the card application start tomorrow?"
"Yes, it will officially open at 9 am tomorrow."
When An An heard the price, she calculated carefully and realized that she could collect supplies and exchange them for copper coins in the mission hall, so she could apply for the card on her own.
Zhuang Yun thanked the NPC and took his daughter to the other side of the third floor.
The entertainment equipment here is obviously completely different from those for children under 10 years old. It is like an arcade, with some exciting projects.
Zhuang Yun discovered that the internal structure here was larger than the area seen from the outside, which reminded him of space folding. The game world was indeed high-tech.
Afterwards, he took his daughter back home with great satisfaction, and was even more satisfied with his previous determination not to leave Xuantian City.
"When I go out, you can stay in the amusement park. Dad will be relieved if you are here."
This is a shop owned by the city lord, and is guarded by an NPC store manager.
"Dad, I earned the money to get the card myself. You've worked very hard."
Zhuang Yun rubbed his daughter's tender little face and said, "Okay, my An An has grown up."
At least here, he feels that life is getting better and better.
*
Lu Jiu had told the NPC not to reveal her identity as the city lord early on, and that they would usually meet at the city lord's mansion or send emails.
So she and Shen Jufeng came to inspect the shops. When the NPCs saw her, they stood there like wooden figures. After looking at a few shops, the two of them went home.
Shen Jufeng said: "After opening a shop, there should be many residents who will not choose to leave here."
Through the dialogue channel, we can learn that not all shops opened in the city-states that have been upgraded to the second level are the same. Most of them have three shops, and it is rare to see five shops here.
"Just kidding, I spent dozens of gold coins to open two more shops and a professional mining team. I hired the best NPCs. This alone cost me hundreds of gold coins."
NPCs are also divided into levels. The system defaults to the most basic ones, and those with good talents need to be hired by yourself, not to mention paying them wages in the future.
Even a rich woman like Lu Jiu feels that it’s a bit of a waste of money.
From the very beginning, she hired the most talented NPCs, both combat and non-combat types. Although their combat capabilities are currently at a primary level, as the city-state upgrades, the NPCs will also upgrade accordingly.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
