Chapter 35

That evening, Rao Ke gathered all her employees for a brief meeting.

Rao Ke scanned the small conference room, taking in the six other employees squeezed around the table, and nodded with satisfaction.

Few in number, but formidable in strength!

"Alright, I've called everyone here for a quick meeting about two matters." Rao Ke had also dragged in a portable blackboard.

On it were two points: escorting the goblins back to the Goblin Kingdom, and the impending scorching heat disaster.

"First, we need two employees to escort the goblins back to the Goblin Kingdom and, while there, sign a teleportation array contract with their king," Rao Ke introduced the first task.

Kalisa, her heart and mind consumed by thoughts of her sister, naturally wouldn't volunteer to leave.

Xue Jiali still needed to work on the Heart of the Forest; Phylosain had just been out and about and found it boring, preferring to stay in the shop; Cecil couldn't care less either way.

So the task ultimately fell to the sister duo of Chrisley and Aodisite.

Having swiftly arranged the first matter, Rao Ke moved on to the second.

"In a week, the scorching heat disaster will hit. The shop plans to run some events and introduce heat-relief products. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to contact me on the Astrolabe," Rao Ke gave a rough outline.

Seeing that no one had any questions, Rao Ke promptly called the meeting to a close.

Back in her room, Rao Ke immediately spotted Sesame Paste leaning against Xue Qiu, playing a game.

"Really now, didn't I tell you not to bully Xue Qiu?" Rao Ke changed into her pajamas before settling against the headboard.

Sesame Paste retorted, "I'm not bullying him! I paid him two strips of dried meat!"

Xue Qiu's icy blue canine eyes fixed on Rao Ke, letting out a cheerful bark.

"I remember I put Xue Qiu's allowance in your care too, didn't I?" Rao Ke listed out plans on her tablet, then took a moment to fire back at Sesame Paste.

Whenever Sesame Paste lost an argument, it would just play dead on the spot.

Rao Ke couldn't be bothered with it. Previously, due to space constraints in the shop, even though new items had been unlocked, she hadn't chosen to sell them.

"Come on out! Ice cream, fans, air conditioners!" Rao Ke eyed the summer goodies in the shop's catalog.

Staples like chilled beverages, already star products, would surely be a huge hit.

Moreover, the last upgrade had rewarded a large central air conditioning unit. Once the scorching heat disaster arrived, the shop would definitely become a summer refuge.

"The shop layout is a bit of a mess right now..." Rao Ke frowned at the jumbled sandbox model crammed together.

Because she hadn't planned it out from the start, the arrangement was too haphazard and cramped.

"Sesame Paste, how should we plan the shop layout later?" Rao Ke looked at Sesame Paste.

Sesame Paste thought for a moment. "Once the race collection mission is completed, you'll get the shop renovation blueprints, and that'll help plan things out for you."

At the mention of that, Rao Ke started planning. Of the seven races, only the goblins, dwarves, and dragons remained.

The goblins and dwarves were still reachable, but the dragons were more troublesome.

"Teacher, do you know any dragons?" Rao Ke went to ask her teacher first.

After a moment, Chrisley replied, "Let me look into it. Give me a moment."

Rao Ke said it was fine. "You can send it tomorrow too, Teacher. Get some rest first."

After briefly outlining her plans on the tablet, Rao Ke intended to go wash up.

"Oh, Sesame Paste, can I take a look at the future renovation templates first?" Rao Ke curiously looked at Sesame Paste.

Sesame Paste thought it would be good to give Rao Ke some motivation. "Sure, let me find it and send it to the sandbox section. Take a look—these are the final models for the shop."

Rao Ke accepted and opened them, examining each one closely.

"This one, then," Rao Ke settled on it immediately. "Will the shop have a movie theater later?"

The model she chose was seven stories tall, with the cinema at the top and an open-air garden above that, housing the teleportation array.

After reviewing it, Rao Ke got ready to soak in a bath and rest.

Meanwhile, at a small inn in Daylight Town, since there were quite a few of them, Rao Ke had rented out an entire floor.

The goblins were four to a room, and everyone was now gathered in the room of the most respected elder goblin and Billy.

Dressed in soft, comfortable clothes, their bodies cleaned of grime and mess, their bellies filled with soft, delicious food—their physical needs satisfied, the goblins' frayed nerves began to settle.

"Alright, everyone get some rest now. Tomorrow, Billy and I will go pay our respects to that shopkeeper," the elder goblin spoke in a low voice.

The other goblins in the room exchanged glances, then nodded and filed out.

In the room, the elder goblin, Jack, looked at Billy. "Rest well. Tomorrow, we'll properly pay our respects to that witch."

Old Jack lay on the bed, replaying this harrowing ordeal in his mind.

Their once happy, peaceful village had been reduced to ruins. Human mages had stormed in, seized control of the entire village, and any goblin who resisted was beheaded on the spot.

Blood flowed in rivers; peace was no more.

The surviving goblins, too afraid to resist, were captured and marched toward the Human Empire. Along the way, nearly half of them died from oppression and resistance.

In the end, only these twenty-odd goblins escaped.

Old Jack closed his eyes. Amid the chaos and displacement, his mind would occasionally drift back to his deceased daughter.

That morning, she had put on a new cloth dress she'd just bought. By evening, she had died with terror in her eyes, her beloved dress stained with blood.

A single tear slid down Old Jack's deeply wrinkled face.

Billy lay with his eyes shut, savoring this rare night of safety.

In the other rooms, the goblins found themselves unexpectedly unable to sleep.

Everything that had happened today left them feeling as if they were floating on clouds, an air of unreality hanging over them.

They clutched their blankets tightly until they finally drifted into a deep slumber.

...

"Billy and an elder goblin want to see me?" Rao Ke received the message from Baitang and thought for a moment.

"Then have them come to the conference room to see me at 9 o'clock sharp."

At 9 o'clock sharp, Rao Ke looked at the two goblins before her, who seemed a bit tense, and smiled. "Don't be nervous. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Old Jack tried to steady his nerves. "Hello, I'm the village chief of this group of goblins, Jack. You can call me Old Jack."

"Hello, I'm the owner of this shop, Rao Ke. You can call me the shopkeeper," Rao Ke offered a gentle smile.

"Shopkeeper, I learned of your requirements from Billy. I'm just an ordinary village chief and can't reach the king," Old Jack confessed honestly. "But I do know the nearby city lord, Mengdeli."

Rao Ke nodded, looking at Old Jack to signal him to continue.

"You could try cooperating with her using special goods, and given your particular status, she'd likely be very willing to work with you," Old Jack spoke slowly.

Rao Ke nodded, taking it as settled. "Alright."

"May I ask, when will we be leaving?" Old Jack looked at the gentle witch, though his tone remained deeply respectful.

"Would the day after tomorrow work? I'll send two employees to escort you," Rao Ke checked.

Old Jack nodded eagerly upon hearing this. "Thank you for the trouble. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Get some rest," Rao Ke smiled. With the conversation wrapped up and everything he needed to know answered, Old Jack took his leave tactfully.

No sooner had Old Jack left than Chrisley walked in.

"Keke, about that matter you asked me yesterday, I did some searching," Chrisley settled into a soft chair nearby. "That one is someone I knew a long time ago—not very well. Since the Dragon Island went into hiding, we haven't been in contact for centuries."

A slightly troubled expression crossed Rao Ke's face.

Chrisley let out a soft laugh. "But I do have a way to reach her. It'll take about a week, round trip."

"Honestly..." Rao Ke was exasperated. Ever since they'd grown close, Rao Ke had discovered that Chrisley was a complete old prankster who loved joking around.

Chrisley smiled and said, "Alright, I'll contact her for you soon. What did you want to ask her?"

Rao Ke hesitated for a moment.

Chrisley smiled warmly. "It's fine. Everyone has their own secrets and pasts."

Rao Ke stated her task. "I need to set up teleportation arrays with the dwarves, goblins, humans, witches, dragons, elves, and beastmen. Right now, I'm only missing the dwarves, goblins, and dragons."

"The dwarves and goblins I can contact now, but as for the dragons' whereabouts, I'm at a loss," Rao Ke explained briefly.

Chrisley didn't pry. "Alright, I'll help you."

Chrisley looked at Rao Ke. "I won't dig into your past, Keke. But right now, you're the youngest of our Witch Clan—by age, practically a cub. You can come to me about anything, and I'll help you."

Rao Ke felt her nose tingle, then quietly acknowledged the offer.

"Alright, I'll be going now," Chrisley rose and left the conference room.

Rao Ke stroked Xue Qiu's head. The young wolf didn't quite understand what had happened, just licking Rao Ke's hand in return.

"Actually, coming to this world isn't so bad after all. I found my family," Rao Ke said suddenly.

Sesame Paste glanced at Rao Ke. "What's wrong? Not planning to go back?"

"Not at all. I still need to see Ruoxuan," Rao Ke closed her eyes.

Two days later, Chrisley and Aodisite set out for the Goblin Kingdom with the twenty-odd goblins.

Before they left, Rao Ke had gathered everyone for a farewell gathering.

Chrisley and Aodisite's space rings were also stuffed to the brim with goods from the shop—aside from the portion needed for display during the cooperation talks.

Accustomed to the shop's products, Rao Ke didn't want the two to suffer, so she packed a huge load—a veritable mountain of stuff.

"Bye-bye!"

After bidding farewell to that large group, Rao Ke led the remaining employees back into the shop.

She then opened the disaster section of the system shop and began browsing the heat-disaster-related artifacts that had just been unlocked.

Offensive and defensive artifacts weren't exactly novel in this magic world, so Rao Ke shifted her approach.

She decided to start selling lifestyle artifacts!