Chapter 1 Chapter 1 404 Convenience Store 1
At 8:30 in the evening, Luo Qing was holding his cell phone and walking hurriedly.
After dinner, she took a short nap to recharge her energy, but she almost overslept and arrived at the door of the convenience store where she would work part-time tonight before 20:30.
She took a part-time job in the group and was assigned to a convenience store near her home, but she didn't know how many people were on the night shift. Seeing three people standing at the door, she quickly quickened her pace and ran over.
"The fourth one has arrived."
Luo Qing had just stopped and had not yet had time to speak when she heard a bald man speaking. He looked to be in his thirties, tall and strong, and looked very powerful.
"I guess we're still short of people." Next to him was a man wearing a plaid shirt, who was younger, about thirty years old.
Another older woman with a bun of hair and some white hair nodded at Luo Qing and whispered, "Someone may not have arrived yet. Let's wait a while."
The three of them looked at the door of the convenience store, which was still closed. It was pitch black inside, with only the sign light at the door on. All the staff had not arrived yet, and the entrance to the dungeon had not been opened.
Luo Qing breathed a sigh of relief. From what the other two men said, it seemed that some part-time staff had not arrived yet. At least she was not the last one.
The man in the shirt glanced at the time on his phone again and said anxiously, "Why haven't you come yet? You're wasting everyone's time."
The night shift required for this copy is operating at nine o'clock, and the period before nine o'clock is their only chance to prepare safely and collect some clues without danger.
Surrounded by the night fog, they waited for a few more minutes and finally saw a young girl stumbling out with a look of fear on her face. When she saw someone here, she immediately rushed over.
"Huh, huh——" The young girl in short-sleeved shirt and shorts rushed to the four people panting, as if she saw a savior.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Luo Qing saw the girl rushing over and supported her with a look of worry on his face.
It’s so late, did you meet some bad guys while walking at night? It’s not easy to work part-time at night, and the security in Ghost City is not very good.
She patted the girl on the back and said, "Take a deep breath. We're safe here."
"I was getting out of the subway, and then something chased me." The long-haired girl had a bitter face, still a little frightened.
"Newcomer." The man in the shirt looked at her with a bad tone.
"It's okay, you've survived. Now let's go to the convenience store." The comforting words of the older sister with her hair in a bun sounded strange to Luo Qing, but it seemed that there was nothing wrong.
"Okay, let's stop wasting time and talk while we walk. Let's go to the convenience store and make preparations first." The bald strong man waved his hand at this moment, looking like a leader.
With the arrival of the last girl, the door of the 404 convenience store opened, the lights were bright, and there was no one inside.
While walking, the few of them introduced the new girls. The bald guy didn't introduce himself, just said to call him Bald Guy. The man in the plaid shirt was named Liang Ping, the middle-aged woman was named Ren Shumei, and the last college girl was named Nie Ke.
Luo Qing memorized several names. These were her partners for tonight's night shift.
"Hello, hello, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome--"
When the five people walked into the convenience store, a welcoming robotic female voice was heard. Although the pronunciation was a bit stiff, it sounded strangely cheerful.
"Damn, he just likes to do this." Liang Ping, the man in the shirt, couldn't help but curse.
"Okay, don't we all like to do this? Let's find something quickly." said the bald man.
Luo Qing had a panoramic view of the layout of this 404 convenience store.
Well, compared to a few years ago, not much has changed.
On the left side of the door is the cashier and self-service checkout, on the right side are shelves for takeout and shopping baskets, as well as rows of freezers and refrigerators. When people enter through the door, they are facing rows of shelves.
Luo Qing was no stranger to the job at the 404 convenience store. She remembered that when she was in college, she and her boyfriend had done a lot of part-time jobs that were paid daily. The group chat where they took the part-time jobs was still kept.
After they graduated, Luo Qing worked so hard on her career that she didn't take care of her health. She fell seriously ill two years ago, so she resigned from her job to rest and recuperate, and retired early. Her husband moved with her into the old city with simple folk customs. Luo Qing opened a small real estate agency near the subway entrance opposite the community to pass the time.
However, the old city was experiencing a serious population loss, and there were not many young people coming to work. It was impossible to sell one or two properties in ten days or half a month. His wife was away on business every month, and Luo Qing was almost exhausted and really bored, so he decided to do his old job part-time to earn some pocket money and attract tenants for his shop.
Looking at the 404 convenience store in front of him, which was newly renovated but still had a familiar layout, Luo Qing had a hint of nostalgia on his face.
"What are you standing there for? Come and help me find it." The man in the shirt was already standing near the shelves in the takeaway area. He looked at Nie Ke, who was huddled beside Luo Qing and looked very helpless, with displeasure.
"Looking for, what are you looking for?" As a novice player who had no idea what to do and only knew that he had entered a strange dungeon, Nie Ke's mind was completely empty. The "Citizen Safety Manual" and "Strange Dungeon Emergency Survival Knowledge" that he had tried hard to memorize in the past were now completely thrown out of the window.
When I was in high school, my classmates and friends fantasized about being dragged into a strange realm after we grow up, where we could become super powerful players and kill everyone.
But the reality is——
At this moment, Nie Ke even forgot about emergency survival.
"This is a convenience store. We are night shift employees. We need to look for employee rules and regulations and various requirements." Sister Ren interrupted.
"Oh oh oh." Nie Ke reacted at this moment, and his reason and thinking gradually returned.
Yes, the copy requires completing a 9-hour night shift in a convenience store. According to the classification, this should be a survival + rules copy!
The first step to survival is to find the rule book!
Listening to their conversation, Luo Qing couldn't help scratching his head. Ah, is this a new requirement for part-time jobs? Or has the employee code of conduct at 404 Convenience Store changed?
Isn't it enough to just read the employee code of conduct? It's just a night shift, is it necessary to treat it so strictly?
At this moment, Nie Ke went to the fresh food area to open the drawer to look for something, Sister Ren was looking around at the cash register, and Baldy was walking between the shelves. Luo Qing looked at how seriously they were looking for something, she thought about it, and based on her understanding of the 404 convenience store, she walked through the shelves to the hidden employee lounge.
A moment later, she came out holding a yellowed, plastic-wrapped paper and greeted her colleagues.
"Is this the employee code you're talking about?"
"Did you find it?"
"Where did you find it?"
The shirt man Liang Ping and the bald man asked repeatedly.
Luo Qing pointed to the small door behind him with an innocent look on his face: "In the staff lounge."
Employee rules and regulations should be placed here, right? They just didn't look in the right place!
And judging from their appearance, they have never worked in the 404 convenience store. Luo Qing couldn't help but complain in his heart.
The other four people have already run over, as if urging them to die.
Luo Qing:......
Is this just a broken employee code of conduct? Have times changed?
She just thought about this in her mind and didn't say it out loud. After all, everyone was on the same front.
Four people took out their phones at the same time to scan and take pictures. Luo Qing blinked and found that they all had the same model of phone.
Luo Qing suddenly realized, she understood.
They must be outsiders who come to Guicheng to work!
She came out to do part-time work just to see if she could meet some new outsiders and bring some customers to Ping An Real Estate. She didn't expect to meet such a new person on the first day of returning to her old part-time job!
Guicheng has an insufficient population. In the past two years, Guicheng has introduced many outsiders, some of whom are cautious in nature. Some of them come out to work together and are united and take care of each other, while some have internal conflicts. Most of them are odd jobs. After all, long-term and stable jobs are limited, and most of them are jobs for local residents. Foreign workers mainly fill the remaining vacancies.
Thinking about it this way, Luo Qing understood that it was right to be so cautious when working in a foreign place. After all, many employers and companies treat locals and outsiders differently. I heard that if you encounter a bad-intentioned employer, your salary will be maliciously deducted or something, and some local employees will discriminate against you, and conflicts will often break out.
It seems that tonight's part-time colleagues are all outsiders. Luo Qing quietly hid her mobile phone. While waiting for Nie Ke, she heard several people chatting. Baldy, Sister Ren, and Liang Ping are all "veterans", but they are vague about how many jobs they have had and did not say specifically.
Luo Qing was a little confused at the time. What was wrong with sharing part-time jobs, but she was too embarrassed to say it because she was not familiar with them. Now she understands that these migrant workers probably also have a job comparison and contempt chain.
Alas, discrimination based on academic qualifications and employment is everywhere.
Thinking of this, Luo Qing decided to hide her identity as a "local" tonight, and she quietly put her cell phone in her pocket.
"Luo Qing, aren't you going to take pictures?" Ren Shumei asked.
There is usually only one copy of the rule book, so when players with not-so-good memory find the rules, they will use the "weird cell phone" they carry with them to take a picture and record it, so that they can refer to it at any time.
"I've finished filming." Luo Qing said.
She didn't take any photos of it at all, but she had memorized this thing a few years ago. Anyway, she found it first, so it's reasonable to say that she had taken photos of it.
After the four people finished filming, they immediately took the time to look at the rules. Seeing how serious they were, Luo Qing also pretended to follow suit.
404 Convenience Store Employee Code of Conduct
Dear colleagues, welcome to join 404 Convenience Store. Whether you are on the morning, afternoon or evening shift, please be sure to abide by the following employee rules during work.
1.404 convenience stores have a strict shelf organization and there are no "invisible shelves".
2. Convenience store employees on duty must promptly restock shelves and ensure there are no fewer than two items of any category on the shelves. When a delivery truck arrives, employees must complete the move of goods into the warehouse within the specified time limit.
3. Items nearing their expiration date are safe, and employees must promptly clean and replace them. This also applies to expired or damaged items.
4. The fresh food area is clean and sanitary. The liquid from the soymilk machine is the color of soymilk, and the liquid from the coffee machine is the color of coffee. We offer a variety of steamed buns with various doughs, so any color is acceptable. When employees pass sausages to customers, they must use tongs.
5. Delivery drivers and customers have limited patience. Please be sure to complete the pick-up within the time limit of the takeaway order, otherwise our staff will be responsible for delivery.
6. The cashier area is absolutely safe and inviolable. The cashier staff remember that "money and goods must be counted in person and we are not responsible after you leave the store." Customers have the right to use anything as a wallet.
7. If you encounter any unsolvable difficulties, please report them to the group control center in a timely manner and professional staff will rush to deal with them.
Luo Qing is not unfamiliar with the above rules. The fresh food area needs to be prepared and replenished, food needs to be cooked, pots and pans need to be cleaned, and there is no need to explain the cashier. When placing goods, one needs to pay attention to the vacancies on the shelves at all times, check for expiring goods, accept night deliveries, and be dedicated to picking and packing takeouts at night.
In a smaller 404 convenience store, it might take one or two people to do all the work, but this one is quite large now, with five people employed, so there is plenty of room for manpower.
Maybe outsiders are really worthless, Luo Qing guessed, maybe they hired four outsiders at the price of hiring one or two locals.
She has done all four types of jobs, so the division of labor doesn't really matter.
"Looking at the entire convenience store, there are four sections: fresh food, cashier, display area, and takeout. There are five of us, so we can keep two people at the cashier area. One person can handle the cashier, and the other can help with the self-service checkout and be in charge of the operation. What do you think of the specific division of labor?"
"Let me tell you what I think first. I'm strong and in good physical condition among us, so I'll be responsible for moving and placing the goods." The bald man first threw a brick and made his choice.
"I'll do the takeout. It's easier to handle the checkout for ladies," said the man in the shirt.
"Well, then I'll cook something. I cook more at home." Sister Ren glanced at Luo Qing and Nie Ke, thought for a while and said.
As a result, the remaining Nie Ke and Luo Qing were assigned to the cashier job, and one person was also responsible for mobility and helping others.
Nie Ke bit her lip. Checkout seemed to be the simplest and easiest job. All she had to do was scan the goods and collect the money and give the change. But in fact, these old players left the most troublesome and terrifying work to her and Sister Luo Qing.
Because this cashier area is bound to be exposed to the most weird things.
Not every ghost will go to the fresh food area. There must not be many people who pass by and pick up takeout. Anyone who comes to buy something must pay at the checkout area!
But at this moment, she obviously had no choice.
Seeing Nie Ke's nervous look, Luo Qing patted her soothingly, "It's okay, checkout is easy, I'm right next to you."
This is indeed a more reasonable division of labor. Cashiering is the easiest job, and you can sit down. After spending a long time in the cashier area, you can come out and do other things. Luo Qing is very satisfied.
Especially since she was assigned to the same room with the young lady Nie Ke, Luo Qing had already decided to ask her for some information. Although she was just a temporary colleague who worked the night shift, if they had a good relationship, maybe she could attract some tenants to her.
After all, outsiders come here to work, don’t have their own houses, and are short of money. What place could be cheaper and more livable than the old house in the old city where Luo Qing lives!
By then, one will bring two, two will bring four, four will bring more... Luo Qing couldn't help but imagine her wonderful life where she would make a lot of money from renting and selling houses as a commission.
At 8:45, they were looking for more detailed "Employee Codes" for each division, but the answer was no. Luo Qing once again lamented the caution of his new colleagues.
After confirming that there was indeed no "detailed rule book" for other divisions, several players began to familiarize themselves with their work environment and put on the five aprons in the staff lounge.
Luo Qing picked up a bag of milk candy from the shelf at the entrance, asked Nie Ke to scan it with the machine, and took out a few coins to pay.
"Get familiar with the machine first to make sure there are no problems using it later." Luo Qing said, and put the candy and the receipt into his trouser pocket.
Nie Ke nodded with an instructive look on her face. Although the convenience store scanning machine in this strange copy was similar to the one in reality, she had never used it before and she had never worked in a convenience store. It would be better to try it before the copy started and real customers came than not being able to use it when the time comes.
She was a novice player, and only after completing dungeons could she receive rewards. She didn't even have a single Ghost Coin on her at the moment. Sure enough, following the veterans was a great way to learn. She didn't know how many dungeons Sister Luo Qing had completed. Nie Ke felt uneasy, her mind racing with thoughts.
20:57.
"It will start in three minutes." The bald man reminded. Luo Qing looked at the few people. Except for herself, they all looked as if they were facing a great enemy, with tense faces.
Seeing his colleagues being so serious, Luo Qing couldn't act too relaxed as if he was slacking off, so he had to be serious as well.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the night shift of 404 convenience store begins business!
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