Chapter 118 Contact Book (Part 1)
As she gestured, Uncle Eric drew a design with charcoal. Half an hour later, the design was ready, along with a materials estimate and a time sheet.
Red bricks, tiles, wood, paint, metal accessories... there are a lot of things in total. Although the price of each item is very low, the total price after calculating the quantity is nearly three gold coins.
Jiang You's non-existent heart and lungs began to ache again, and she couldn't help but mutter: "Why is this money so hard to spend..."
I've almost spent 7 gold coins today alone. Opening a store is indeed an expensive thing.
But thinking about the millions of dollars in future profits these investments would bring, Jiang You felt relieved. She carefully reviewed the list, making sure she hadn't been scammed. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Okay, how many days will it take to finish the installation?"
"About three days." Uncle Eric thought for a moment. "First, pay two-thirds as a deposit and for the initial material costs, and then pay the balance upon inspection."
They confirmed the details of the decoration, colors and patterns, and then asked the witch in charge to witness the signing of the contract. In this way, the basic preparations for opening the store were basically completed.
Jiangyou stuffed the newly signed renovation contract into her head—the little rice cake moved obediently from Jiangyou's head to her shoulder—and paid two gold coins before letting Uncle Eric do whatever he wanted. She and Lolita hurried back to the warehouse.
"Hey, wait a minute!" The chubby cook Jasmine chased out with a rolling pin, startling Jiang You. "What, what's wrong? We will do the renovation properly and won't disturb the cafeteria!"
"I didn't tell you that." Jasmine rolled her eyes and handed over a well-filled food basket. "You guys are busy, but don't forget to remind Mary to have lunch!"
Jiangyou felt reassured, and he and Lolisa thanked Cook Jasmine for feeding them. The air was filled with the soul-fire aroma of milky, sweet corn soup, perhaps the motherly love of Cook Jasmine.
The basket was filled with delicious food. A quick glance revealed a shepherd's pie big enough for three or four people, a plate of celery and river shrimp, a pot of cream of mushroom soup, and a large loaf of warm brown bread. Both the appearance and aroma of the food were far superior to those in the cafeteria; it looked like they had been prepared with great care.
The lich took a deep breath and began to change her opinion of the seemingly grumpy cook. Cook Jasmine might not be a very good cook, but she was a very good mother.
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Takumi, Lolisa, and Meili finished their hearty lunch at a stall in front of the warehouse that hadn't been removed yet. The food tasted quite good. It was clear that cooking lunch for her own daughter and for the cafeteria was a world of difference for Jasmine, the cook. But then again, a free cafeteria like this probably couldn't make the food too delicious.
When they were almost done eating, Andre showed up again, just in time. Today was the last day of the carnival, and there were no more activities in the evening. The guests and stall owners were already busy returning home, and Andre also planned to leave at dusk.
He came to ask Jiang You about his next plans.
"Oh, I'll be staying here for a few more days," said Jiang You. "There's still a lot of things to deal with at the branch... but," she thought for a moment, "there are some things I need you to transport back to the workshop."
She took the opportunity to push her soul-burning lunch in front of Andrei and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
"No." Andrei accepted everything and picked up an unused spoon. He asked Jiangyou for a bottle of soy sauce, mixed it with the tasteless meal, and started eating. "I don't have much luggage, so it's no problem for me to bring some things for you."
Andre knew that Jiangyou had bought a filling machine and would definitely need someone to move it. But when Jiangyou opened the warehouse door, he was stunned: "...Why are there so many things again? Why did you also buy a printing press and a binding machine? Do these things have anything to do with making soy sauce?"
"Oh, this is for printing labels and contact books." Jiangyou smiled and called to his two friends, Luo Lisa and Mei Li: "Come, come, let's try this idea out first."
So, while Andre was cleaning up Jiangyou's leftovers in a flash, he watched the Bone Lich carve two strange patterns that looked like both words and paintings on the cork, and then printed them on twenty sheets of paper with a click.
The two little witches dipped the printed papers into ink, dried them with magic, divided them into two stacks, and bound them into two identical small notebooks.
Andre was full of questions: "What are you doing?"
Jiang You smiled brightly, revealing his thirty-two neatly arranged white teeth: "Look~"
She picked up one of the notebooks and cast the [Editing Spell]. The ink on the notebook began to move under the influence of magic, gradually forming a line of words: [Jiang You: How is the business of the branch today?]
Lorisa picked up another notebook and flipped to the first page. Sure enough, she saw the same sentence slowly emerging. She chuckled and replied with an [Editor's Spell]: [Lorisa: We've just started decorating and haven't opened yet~]
Andre: “……!!”
He stood up suddenly: "This, this is!"
"A little invention of ours~" Jiangyou said happily, "Lolisa used this spell to correct typos on my flyer this morning, and I suddenly had the idea to use it for remote communication! If there are only two notebooks, the magic power consumed by modifying the characters is not that high!"
Countless uses for this thing flashed through Andrei's mind. He excitedly grasped Jiangyou's bone claw and said, "This thing is very important! Can you get me a set... no, three sets? If I'm not mistaken, these notebooks are paired with each other, so no information will be leaked to third parties."
"Yes!" Jiang You nodded. "Books printed using the same engraving block will be in the same chat channel. As many copies as you print will participate in the group chat. If you're worried about leaks, all you have to do is tear down the engraving block and destroy it. Then the next engraving block won't be exactly the same."
Andrei's green eyes grew brighter. His Majesty's biggest concern had been that the Kingdom's knights and Shadow Army spies sent into the enemy camp would lose contact amidst the siege. But with a contact book like this, wouldn't it be easy to report news to His Majesty without anyone noticing?
"Little Bone," he pulled Jiang You into the warehouse, "Your idea may change the future of the Principality of Huntington! Do you mind if I report your invention to His Majesty the King? Of course, His Majesty the King won't use your idea for free. He will definitely give you a very generous reward!"
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