Summer limited seaside shop
After being cleaned up and furnished with simple furniture, the wooden house finally looks like a holiday cottage.
Although the conditions were much worse than those in hot springs, Shu Mo had not originally planned to live there for a long time - she just wanted to develop her career while on vacation, and she was already very satisfied with the current accommodation environment.
The only drawback is that the lobby, which serves as the business area, is still extremely empty.
At this moment, several people were sitting closely together in front of the only piece of furniture in the hall, forming a circle and sharing the cool breeze coming out of the wide-open refrigerator door.
The scene seemed a bit funny.
Gu Xiao burped happily with an orange-flavored burp, touched his stomach and asked, "Boss, is it okay to leave the door open like this?"
Having said that, she was reluctant to leave.
This little bit of cool air is so comfortable.
"It's okay, just use it." Shu Mo was very open-minded.
Anyway, the system doesn’t say that you have to pay for electricity.
The system being fleeced: [……]
After the sweat on her body disappeared, she finally had the leisure to look around.
I always feel that for a mini store with only four bottles of orange soda left in stock, having one boss and five employees is a bit of a waste.
Not to mention that there was a mascot-like beast sitting at her feet, licking the soda bottle cap with its tongue, making a smacking sound.
There are too many people and the air can't circulate.
Shu Mo made up his mind and started to chase people away: "You guys go to the beach, or rest in the room for a while, do whatever you need to do, we don't need so many people now."
Several people were obviously worried. After hesitating for a while, Shu Mo said, "Once the store is officially opened, there will be a lot of work to do."
Seeing her insistence, they finally agreed and went down to the beach, looking back every few steps.
I haven't seen the sea for ten years. It's fun to just step on the water and pick up shells.
After driving everyone away, Shu Mo moved to the center and happily enjoyed the cool air alone.
There seemed to be a figure swaying in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and was not surprised to see Mo Bai squatting beside her and petting the dog.
He was wearing a white T-shirt bought casually from the system mall. There was no trace of sweat on him. He seemed to have adapted well to such a temperature. He looked clean and fresh to an enviable degree.
Mo Bai confidently left his back to Shu Mo, discarded his usual vigilance, and focused on ravaging the big head of the mimic beast.
He didn't notice at all that a pair of devil's claws quietly covered his head.
Shu Mo ruffled the hair left and right until all the dry hair was messed up, then he stopped with satisfaction.
Mo Bai: “?”
The little black dragon was brutally murdered, with a messy hair, and looked a little dazed.
Squeak——
The old wooden door was pushed open. Shu Mo looked at him, suppressed his smile and looked towards the door. "Welcome."
A figure appeared at the door.
She was a little girl of about eight or nine years old, wearing a crudely cut white dress. Her skin was tanned, with a clear dividing line between the skin color under the fabric, but her big black eyes were very lively.
Like Jian Xing, he has a wild and vibrant temperament.
Shu Mo discovered that she quite liked the residents of Bauhinia Town.
The girl opened her mouth unconsciously, staring at the interior of the wooden house, which was completely different from the past. Her eyes finally fixed on Shu Mo, "Sister, why are you here?"
"I am the new owner of the wooden house." Shu Mo said, "This is now a grocery store."
She didn't act perfunctorily just because the customer was a child, but she felt a little guilty when she said "grocery store".
It's not a grocery store if it only sells one item.
Moreover, more than half of the stock was divided up by the store clerks.
"Grocery store?" The girl tilted her head, not really understanding.
Bauhinia Town used to have weapon shops, armor shops, herbal medicine shops... but that is all in the past.
The deserted market in the town center was once bustling. Vendors sat on the ground, displayed their wares, and shouted, and countless people would stop to look.
They never needed a grocery store either.
Shu Mo sensed the generation gap from her expression and scratched his cheek, "Uh..."
Her words were interrupted.
A little boy jumped out from behind the girl and shouted unconvincedly: "But this is obviously our secret base!"
The boy had a short buzz cut that looked like it had been gnawed by a dog. He was wearing a washed-out sweatshirt and holding a branch he had picked up from somewhere. He looked like a typical naughty kid.
He said angrily, and after glancing around the clean room, he took another breath and said, "The wooden board we hid here is gone too."
Shu Mo: “…”
So that pile of junk on the ground was picked up by you guys?
As soon as the boy said this, two more round heads popped out from behind him, “Really?”
"All gone?"
Shu Mo took the opportunity to count.
One, two, three, four, there are four children in total.
Two men and two women, all about the same age. I don’t know how their parents can be so bold as to let children of this age leave the city.
Before coming to the cabin, they probably went to the nearby woods. There was a little bit of mud on their clothes, their faces were dirty, and the girl's long hair stuck to her cheeks.
The adults all stayed indoors due to the scorching heat, and only the children were able to run around freely under the scorching sun like this. No wonder they were the first guests to come to the door.
——Although these little guests were trying hard to hold back their tears because Shu Mo had taken away their secret base.
Seeing the little boy with a dog-bitten hairstyle holding back a snot bubble, Shu Mo suddenly felt overwhelmed, "By the way, do you know what a grocery store does?"
All four heads shook in unison.
“It’s a place that sells snacks, ice cream, and sweet soda.”
Her voice was gentle, as if she was weaving a beautiful fairy-tale dream.
The children stopped crying, their attention was diverted, they blinked their eyes and tried hard to follow their imagination.
Snacks, ice cream, soda.
All of this was very strange to them.
But it is inexplicably desirable.
Shu Mo opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of soda, shook it lightly, and asked with a smile: "So, do you want some orange soda?"
*
After welcoming the little customers in and watching them chattering in front of the refrigerator, Shu Mo finally felt the reality of the start of the new store.
It's like running a convenience store at the school gate.
【Tip: Please price the item before selling it. 】
[Current product types in stock: 1]
【Product name: Orange soda (ice)】
[Price: N/A]
I almost forgot, there's no price yet.
Shu Mo casually changed the price to 5 points per bottle, and then made his own decision, "The new store is on sale, you are the first batch of customers, and I 'robbed' your secret base, so as compensation, I will treat you this time."
"Here." She handed over the remaining soda.
The heavy glass bottle feels very textured in your hand, and if you accidentally put it against your cheek, you'll feel a chill.
The four children cheered, completely forgetting what happened before.
Anyway, you use mood points to purchase goods, so it doesn’t matter whether you earn points or not. Now the other store was earning tens of thousands of points every day. The wealthy Shu Mo let himself go and gave away the first batch of goods for free.
The system is silent.
There was no place to sit in the store, so the four friends took the opened sodas, thanked Shu Mo obediently, and found a seat on the edge of the platform outside facing the sea.
They lined up in a row, dangling their short legs and biting the straws in the bottles.
Then, carefully inhale——
The straw draws the liquid through, making a gurgling sound. Bubbles jump on the tip of the tongue, which is icy and cool, neutralizing the greasy sweet taste and turning it into a refreshing fruity aroma.
It was a taste they had never experienced in their short few years of life.
The little kids opened their eyes wide in surprise and couldn't stop drinking from the bottles.
Until a strange gas rushed out of my throat.
One of them couldn't help but: "...Hiccup."
He covered his mouth in shock.
What just happened? Is that the sound he made? Did something come out of his stomach?
...so interesting!
[You have successfully entertained the first batch of guests! 】
[Mood value +40]
After discovering that they would burp after drinking soda, a few kids started sucking it frantically.
After a while, amid the gurgling sounds, the system prompted again.
The guests were delighted! 】
[Mood value +10]
Is there such a pleasant surprise?
Shu Mo happily took out 30 points from it and exchanged it for a cash register.
After a while.
[Heat value +10]
The bright little sun icon rises.
Shu Mo stretched out his finger and poked it, and couldn't help but imagine.
Is the process of collecting heat points a bit like picking up fallen pieces of sunlight from sunflowers in Plants vs. Zombies?
And, maybe it was her illusion, but the shop seemed to be cooler.
The change is so slight that it is almost imperceptible.
She put the capsule toy into the machine, and after a few sounds, the round capsule toy rolled out.
[I drew "fruit candy"!] 】
[The product has been unlocked and can be purchased in the mall. 】
The remaining 20 points of mood value suddenly came in handy.
10 o'clock was used to restock orange soda, and the remaining 10 o'clock was used to buy ten boxes of fruit candies.
Since there were no shelves at the moment, she simply placed the candies on the cash register so that customers could just take a can away when they checked out.
...Shu Mo looked at the packaging of the fruit candy and felt quite emotional.
The Childhood Gachapon Machine lives up to its name, the items that come out are very retro from the properties to the packaging, and even the pricing is nostalgic.
The average purchase price of 1 mood point is really affordable.
When was the last time she came across something this cheap?
Look at the packaging of the fruit candy, a palm-sized tin can with a red paint bottom and various colorful fruits printed on it. Shake it in your hand, the hard candy inside will roll around and hit the tin, making a clanging sound.
Shu Mo couldn't help it, and took out another box, then put it in his pocket as if nothing had happened.
system:【……】
Still eating! You have eaten all the goods!
After Shu Mo did all this, he felt that there were some unknown creatures in his sight.
Looking down, I saw a few little kids standing on tiptoe on the counter, staring at the row of beautiful candy jars.
The fruit printing on it is so realistic that you can almost smell the fragrance through the packaging.
Fruit candy is an irresistible and fatal temptation for children of this age who have never eaten candy.
Their saliva began to flow again.
"Sister, this..."
"Want some candy?" The owner's sister's voice was very gentle.
Four heads went up and down.
Nod your head.
"10 a box." She gently put out the price tag, "Ask your parents to bring you here to buy it."
Children: “…”
They stared at the price above and their faces fell.
The smile on Shu Mo's face remained unchanged.
She did not forget that this was essentially a shop.
You still have to find a way to make money.
But then she frowned in confusion.
Because those children did not leave. Instead, they turned their backs to her, huddled together in a circle, and seemed to be discussing something in a low voice.
They murmured for a while, and finally, the girl who had appeared at the beginning came forward shyly, "Boss, can you give us a box of candy?"
She raised a finger, as if because she was short of money, and said embarrassedly: "One box is enough."
Shu Mo: “?”
Only then did she realize that these children actually had money.
She slapped her forehead: She took it for granted, thinking that if they were not combat players, they would not have points, and completely forgot that their parents could give them pocket money!
In case you encounter danger, carry some points with you so that you can buy food and water in the mall and survive for a few days.
However, they were too young and obviously did not have many points. After discussing for a long time, the four of them finally managed to scrape together 10 points.
After figuring it out, Shu Mo was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
She paid the bill immediately. After paying, the little girl happily took the candy jar as if she was holding a treasure.
They peeled off the lid and poured out the colorful candies inside.
Purple flavors are grapes, orange flavors are tangerines, pink flavors are peaches, yellow flavors are lemons, and red flavors are strawberry... The surface is covered with a layer of snow-white icing, and the fresh fruity fragrance wafts in the air.
They sniffed with surprise and felt the air was sweet.
There aren’t many candies in a box. Since it’s positioned as a convenience store, the prices are destined to be low and the size of each item won’t be too large. If there are four of us, each of us will probably get three or four.
These children, who should be in the second grade of elementary school, showed unusual rigor at this time. They made a fair distribution based on the points each person contributed.
Some people contributed more points and were given the right to choose flavors first.
Shu Mo watched in amazement, visualizing the scene of the players distributing the spoils.
Sure enough, the best education is to learn by observation and exposure.
It's just that all the flavors are new to them. It's said that there is priority selection, but in fact people just choose randomly based on the names. Even if the person in front picks the flavor they are interested in, the rest of the people don't have many complaints.
After talking for a while, the four people finally got their candies, and their reactions were different.
Some people stuffed it all into their mouths on the spot, covering their mouths and not wanting to say a word, for fear that the sweet taste would turn into substance and come out as soon as they opened their mouths, expressing their ecstasy with humming and moaning.
Shu Mo always felt that if he had a tail behind his butt, it would probably happily shake like a propeller.
Some people are reluctant to eat it, so they just pick one and hold it in their hand, lick the palm of their hand with their tongue, and stop when they taste a little bit of the flavor, their eyes shining as if they are filled with stars.
She chose a pink candy, a beautiful and clear color, sweet with a slight sour taste, which made the taste more refreshing and filled the air with a unique fragrance.
The little girl smacked her lips, savoring the taste slowly and cherishingly.
——So this is the taste of "peach".
It was not until the candy was gradually melted by the heat in her palm and turned into small pieces that she reluctantly rolled it into her tongue and crushed the hard candy with her sharp teeth. The aroma suddenly became rich.
Sweet and sour peach jam flows out.
The girl covered her mouth in disbelief.
There's actually something filling in it!
The other boy was impatient and quickly finished the candy he was given. He seemed to be struggling for a long time, then ran to the counter and slapped his hands on the counter, "Sister, I want to buy another box."
Shu Mo said, "Hmm?"
Quite rich.
But looking at the little boy's appearance, I always felt like he took out all the pocket money he had saved for half a year.
She did not interfere with the young customer's choice, but just smiled and said, "Be restrained. Eating too much sugar will cause tooth decay. If there are worms drilling in your teeth in the middle of the night, you will be so distressed that you can't sleep."
At the end, his tone lowered, and the little boy shuddered suddenly.
He put the candy jar away as if it were his treasure, hesitated for a moment, opened the lid, and finally took out only one candy.
[Mood value +30]
The three of them looked very satisfied, except for the girl in the white dress at the beginning who was not in a hurry to eat.
She wiped her dusty hands vigorously on the side of her skirt, leaving a few gray streaks on the snow-white hem of her skirt. Then she took the candy and carefully put it into her pocket.
Then he looked around and saw his friends stuffing the candies into their mouths impatiently, and swallowed them dry.
"I, I'm going home first!"
After saying that, he ignored the short calls of his friends and disappeared outside the door of the wooden house.
*
Yangyang protected the candy in his pocket and hurried home, shouting at the top of his voice: "Sister!"
As she stepped from the bright outdoors into the dim home, she subconsciously squinted her eyes and her gaze fell on a wooden bed in the corner of the room.
The door of Yangyang's house was wide open, but not a breath of the wind they longed for blew into the house.
Crash——
Yangyang's mother was holding a basin of water and was constantly pouring water out of it with her hands.
The ground is wet, and the wind brings a little coolness. However, the wet spot quickly shrank and the ground became scorching hot again.
Seeing her daughter coming back, she stopped and said in a reproachful tone, "You disappeared again without me noticing. Didn't I tell you? Don't go out to play recently. It's too hot outside. What if you faint from heat stroke?"
For some reason, it has been getting hotter day by day lately. I don’t know if it’s because the game is about to end, but the water supply in the town is becoming increasingly insufficient. Residents are all wondering whether drought will come after the extreme cold ends.
Suddenly I was worried about the supply of domestic and drinking water.
With all kinds of worries hanging in her heart, she became anxious and angry after just a few words.
My mind is full of the recent chaos.
After Bauhinia Town cut off contact with the outside world, life has been relatively peaceful. The residents know each other well and can even leave their doors open at night. But the weather has been dry recently, and people's hearts have been unstable, so there have been several frictions in succession.
Yesterday, I heard that a fight almost broke out, but luckily Grandpa Jian came to persuade them and no trouble was caused.
Although the dispute was settled, everyone felt that the sunlight above their heads had become even more severe.
"I didn't run around, I just went to the beach." Yangyang whispered.
"The light is stronger at the seaside—"
Seeing that her mother was about to get angry again, Yangyang shrank her neck and quickly went around her to the bedside, "Sister, I brought you something delicious!"
A young, thin girl was lying on the bed. Her lips were pale but her cheeks were flushed. It was obvious that she had suffered from heatstroke.
She was holding a can in her hand, and apparently she was eating before Yangyang came back.
But the can didn't move at all.
"Eat a little." Yangyang's mother came over and looked at her eldest daughter with concern, "I also made some vegetable soup. Would you like to drink some? It can replenish your nutrition."
Recently, wild vegetables have gradually grown in the nearby woods. When residents discover them, they dig them up and eat them. The quantity is small, and it may be very difficult to eat a bite of fresh leaves, so every household cherishes it very much.
When it was brought over, the girl stood up and took two bites with gritted teeth, only to feel nauseous.
She quickly put down the spoon and said, "I don't want to eat it anymore. It has no taste at all. Mom, you and Yangyang can eat it."
As if in a fit of anger, the spoon was thrown into the tray with a clanging sound. Because I was weak, I felt a little out of breath after doing these movements.
She leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes in a deliberate huff.
But even with her eyes closed, she could still see the status bar above her head.
[Player status: **%*# (negative effect)]
That string of garbled code concealed the true status, but it can be guessed.
Most likely it's something like "heatstroke".
There is no corresponding setting for heatstroke in the game "Apocalypse of Extreme Cold", so the system is stuck, but the player's poor condition is actually detected.
The negative state was triggered, and the girl's health and stamina began to slowly decline in the past few days.
She tried to sleep and recover her strength, but she felt weaker every day.
Yesterday, she secretly wanted to use the points she had saved to buy some potions in the mall, but she found that there was no antidote for the corresponding symptoms in the Doomsday Mall.
The dim status bar was always on the edge of her vision. She couldn't even eat for the past two days.
There was a bitter taste in my mouth and I had no appetite. I had lost a lot of weight and looked unrecognizable.
Yangyang's mother was extremely worried. "How can we not eat?"
The girl opened her eyes and consoled him, "It's okay. We still have potions. Besides, isn't Uncle Lin a pastor? If it doesn't work, we can just ask him to come over and help restore our health."
This is probably the only advantage of the doomsday game. As long as people are not dead, no matter how seriously injured they are, they can still prolong their lives by adding blood.
"That's only a temporary solution, not a cure for the disease." Yangyang's mother was extremely anxious.
If you don't eat well and wait until your life span declines before forcing your blood to rise, isn't that the same as using nutrient solution to prolong life in the past?
What's more, this game changes every day. Who knows when the priest will lose his professional skills and won't even have recovery potions to sell?
The girl stopped talking.
Yangyang looked around and became anxious. "Why is no one paying attention to me? I just brought some food back."
She took out the candy from her skirt pocket as if she were offering a treasure.
Fortunately, she ran fast and the fruit candy had not been melted by the temperature, so it maintained its original shape.
In the steamy air of the room, the rich fruity aroma becomes particularly hard to ignore.
Yangyang picked one at random and handed it to her sister, her eyes sincere, "It's super delicious."
The girl subconsciously opened her mouth and took it in. Then, she immediately frowned and said, "It's so sour!"
"Is it lemon candy...?"
She is five or six years older than Yangyang. She had eaten candy when she was a child. When she tasted it again after several years, it immediately brought back her memories.
After the initial sour taste, the fresh scent of lemon emerges, which blends perfectly with the sweetness of candy. The taste is refreshing but not overly sweet, and the lava jam makes the taste even richer.
The girl savored it slowly, and a long-lost sense of happiness arose spontaneously.
Even after you swallow the candy, the sour taste still remains in your mouth, stimulating your taste buds.
Saliva continued to be secreted instinctively, and the dull senses seemed to be slowly recovering.
The negative status bar above her head, which was getting darker and darker, had a slight color change. The girl didn't notice it. She touched her stomach, turned to the canned food beside her, and said hesitantly, "How about I take another bite..."
The mother was stunned, and then said ecstatically, "Okay, okay! What about the vegetable soup? Do you want some more?"
After coming to her senses, she hugged her little daughter again and gave her a big kiss on the forehead.
Yangyang touched his forehead and chuckled.
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