Chapter 383 Sorry, I can't do it

In the warehouse behind the "Daily Grocery" store, a round-faced little boy wearing loose overalls and cloth shoes was busy.

The little boy held up a large wooden box that could hold him in both hands, walked steadily to the basement, and gently placed the box on the shelf.

After stacking the large boxes neatly, he marked the day's date and quantity on them with charcoal.

Then the little boy swept the floor with a broom, used a feather duster to clean the dust and cobwebs on the shelves, and wiped the stair railings, cabinets and countertops with a rag.

After finishing all this, he washed the cleaning utensils with water and put them back in place, then washed his hands and face. He walked all the way to the front hall and knocked gently on the door.

"Uncle Yanbu, I have tidied up the warehouse and cleaned it up. Come and have a look."

The middle-aged man who dozed off at the counter rubbed his eyes and yawned: "No need to look, Xiaoye, I'm at ease with you just working."

He stood up and stretched, then fished out two $50 city bonds from his pocket and handed them over: "Take them, don't drop them."

"But, Uncle Yanbu... the weekly salary is 50 seashells? You're paying too much."

Ono looked hesitant, but he raised his hand but did not take the two bills.

"You deserve it."

Yanbu stuffed two banknotes into Xiaoye's pocket, rubbed his nose and said, "A month ago, I was out buying goods and there was a fire behind the store... The boss next door said that you fought hard to put out the fire and rescued this guy."

He looked at a small brown beagle at his feet. "I'm not married. Dagu is my child. You saved it, so I want to express my gratitude. I should have given you more, but this store is not doing well. After the last reconstruction, I'm penniless. I don't know how long I can last."

Ono hesitated for a moment and placed the two city bonds in his pocket on the table.

"Please keep this shop open, and pay me when you have money in the future."

This time, Yan Bu was stunned for a moment, then he laughed: "You have to think carefully. If you don't take the money today, you may not get it in the future. This small shop may close down at any time."

"Please hold on! You are a good person who will not skimp! Business will pick up!"

Ono bowed and ran out quickly.

The middle-aged man looked at the child's running back, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he gently picked up the two banknotes on the table and put them in his pocket.

"What a simple and foolish child. It's because I don't know how to cut corners that I can't do business well."

Yanbu touched his dog's head and said, "Dagu, am I right?"

The puppy barked twice.

"When I saw that child, I thought it might be nice to actually have a child."

There was a hint of melancholy on Yanbu's face.

He looked at the puppy Dagu: "What do you think about Xiaoye and I becoming father and son? Do you think it's a good idea? What? You insist that I adopt him, and you also said that you won't compete with him for the inheritance... Do you like him so much? Well, since you have asked me so, I have to think of a solution."

…

Ono left the store and regretted it more and more.

Without those 50 seashells, I would have starved.

The boss's business has always been bad.

Xiao Ye has worked in the store for five years. He is very familiar with the store's shipping and purchase situation, especially the losses in the past two years. The fire not long ago caused heavy losses to Yanbu. The middle-aged boss has been in a daze for a long time. Many times he can't hear when he is called. He has suffered a very heavy blow.

Ono stared at the street in a daze.

The boss is miserable, but how can I fill my stomach?

As a member of the Fire Tribe, Ono needs to make money to buy the Almighty Stone to fill his stomach.

The Fire Tribe feeds on the Omni-Stone, which is not affected by pollution or purity. However, it must be purchased at designated stores through city bonds. Without the Omni-Stone, even if you swallow a lot of coal, kerosene, or wood, you will still feel extremely hungry, have no strength to move, and your brain will not work.

Ono could feel that the burning in the steam furnace of his chest was weakening.

Without the supply of the Omnipotent Stone, the body of the Fire Steam Clan would become extremely heavy, and in serious cases would even fall into shutdown and hibernation - equivalent to the death of a Fire Steam Clan member.

Even if the omni-stone and fuel are refilled, it may not be possible to awaken the Fire Clan again. At that time, it will be nothing more than a fire furnace in human form.

God Yao, please help me and give me some inspiration... I'm so hungry that I can hear birds singing in my head.

As a devout believer, Ono never forgets to pray.

A voice suddenly came from my ear.

"Little boy, do you want to come work for me? You are from the Fire and Steam Tribe, right?"

The person who spoke was a smiling woman.

Ono was alert.

It is difficult to identify the Fire Steam Tribe just by looking at their appearance. But if you have frequent contact with the Fire Steam Tribe, you will find that they are different from ordinary people.

No matter how much their bodies resemble flesh and blood, the Fire Steam Clan does not feel pain when their bodies are damaged, so they were not originally considered to be humans, but a species produced by transmutation.

The perception of the Fire Clan is actually very sharp. Unlike ordinary people, they do not use their five senses to touch the world. Instead, they use the extraordinary power generated by the burning of the Omnipotent Stone to touch other objects to obtain feedback, making their perception ability more three-dimensional.

It’s just that because the transformation is affected by the Yao clan’s environment, they still habitually look, listen, and touch.

The strange woman recognized Ono's identity at a glance, which made Ono very careful.

In the early days, many members of the Fire Steam Tribe were abducted and deceived. Later, Yaocheng and Yancheng recognized the legal status of the Fire Steam Tribe and jointly promulgated relevant protection laws to curb this trend.

But even so, the Fire Clan, because they belong to a special minority group, are still easily targeted by some lawless elements.

"Don't be nervous, I'm the owner of that store, my name is Shang Zi."

The woman raised her hand and pointed across the street.

Ono took a look.

It was a pet training shop that specialized in the breeding and taming of pet pups, including various dogs, foxes, rabbits, lizards, pheasants, etc.

The pet business is changing rapidly in Yancheng, and it is not easy to do this business. Ono found the impression of the woman in his memory, and she was indeed the owner of that store.

"We'll have some pets that aren't so bad-tempered."

The female boss blinked and said, "Ordinary beast trainers are a bit overwhelmed and often get hurt, but if it's the Fire Tribe, it should be no problem, right?"

"Why are you looking for me?"

Ono still kept his distance from the other party.

"You worked in Yanbu's shop, right? I opened my shop two years ago, and you worked in his shop for two years. Your weekly salary was 50 shells, and it didn't change in two years. Am I right? I care more about the reliability and dedication of my employees. According to my experience, Yanbu's shop would have a hard time staying open after the fire."

"Come and work for me, I'll give you 140 seashells a week." Shang Zi said with a smile.

“What kind of pets do you have in your store?”

"Let me think about it..."

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Shang Zi counted on her fingers: "There are lions, wolves, crocodiles, pythons...Nowadays, customers have become more sophisticated. Without these ferocious creatures, no one wants to keep them."

"Oh, there is another aberrant beast, but its prototype is a steam carriage, so it's not that dangerous. It's just not easy to appease this guy."

Ono's heart skipped a beat.

really.

The key point is the deformed beast.

Shang Zi said: "If you are willing to come, I can pay you a daily wage. You look very hungry, right? You will feel better if you eat some omni-stone, even if it's only for one day?"

In the end, Ono accepted the job.

He followed Shang Zi into the large pet store. There was a special warehouse at the back of the store, with two tall Jade Rabbit bodyguards guarding both sides of the door.

After opening the door, Ono saw an old-fashioned steam carriage inside.

It has classic wide iron wheels, and the carriage and seats retain the old-fashioned style of decades ago.

The surface of the steam carriage was wrapped with iron chains, and copper chains were wrapped between the iron chains. The heavy iron chains were connected to the foundation stones at the four corners of the warehouse.

"It doesn't have much fuel left, so it can't break free."

Shang Zi said, "But it's a deformed beast after all, so it can go crazy easily. Xiaoye, just try to get along well with it. The coal is in the box next to it, so if it's hungry, just feed it some."

"The main reason is that my client is a big shot who likes mutants and this old car. I have no choice but to keep it. This mutant has a weird temper and is suspicious. If you throw coal to it, it will just crush it. You have to run around in front of it with coal and let it snatch it away... before it will eat."

The female boss also looked helpless: "So you know what the trouble is with this job?"

"Understood."

Ono nodded.

"Well, I'll have to trouble you tonight. You must feed it. It has been on a hunger strike for nearly a week, and I don't want it to be in poor condition, which would result in a discount."

…

The door slowly closed.

A hanging lamp was fixed on the top of the warehouse. The dim light enveloped the not-so-large space, casting a faint golden hue on the chained carriage.

Ono first took down a full set of thick leather armor from the hanger in the corner, put on a visor, long boots and thick gloves, then opened a box beside him and took out a bag of coal.

Then he ran around the steam carriage.

There was no response from the other party.

Ono tried to throw a piece of coal, which hit the iron horse of the old car, making a clanging sound.

He muttered to himself.

Could it be that this deformed beast... is dead? At this time, a cold voice came from the car: "Are you sick? Did I provoke you by sleeping? Can you have some manners?"

Not dead?

Ono was surprised, but what surprised him even more was that this deformed beast could actually speak!

"You can actually speak?"

"Nonsense, I can speak seven languages: Yao, Dragon, Bo, Elf, Zhulu, and Ghost."

Ono was shocked.

His eyes suddenly widened: "You are not a Deformed Beast... Are you a Fire and Steam Tribe?"

"Not all Fire Breams have good brains, and not all Deformed Beasts are primitive. There are Fire Breams with congenital disabilities, and there are Deformed Beasts that are proficient in various languages. Thank you."

The steam carriage made a series of clacking sounds, and the front of the carriage slowly stood up. The body of the carriage was greatly twisted and deformed, folding and twisting into a sturdy horse-headed man sitting cross-legged on the ground. Under the illumination of the hanging lamp, his angular body reflected the metallic halo.

"While I am still normal, let's make a deal. You let me go, and I will give you a box of Omni-Stones. It's very simple, you just need to take the chain over there..."

"Sorry, I can't do that." Ono kept his distance from it and shook his head.

"I'll give you double what they give you."

"Are you hungry?" Ono raised the charcoal bag in his hand.

"I'm talking to you about cooperation, and you ask me if I'm hungry?"

After a moment of silence, the cross-legged centaur raised his metal finger and said, "Give me half a box of washed coal, a barrel of heated magic oil that has been used to absorb impurities with charcoal, and a bundle of raw pine firewood. Finally, remember to sprinkle rose petals, dried roses will do. That's all."

“…”

(End of this chapter)