Chapter 6

[Congratulations, novice task 1 completed, please go to the information section to claim your reward!]

Mo Duoya was quick—before the roast Gugu beast was even done, Rao Ke was startled by a message popping up on her tablet.

Because Rao Ke had a poor memory, Sesame Paste had added a task section to the personal information tab.

Watching the task bar rise rapidly, Rao Ke initially found it amusing and refreshed it several times. But it soon became annoying, so she turned off the progress pop-ups.

The task bar climbed steadily, and by the morning after the negotiation, novice task 1 was finally complete.

"!" Rao Ke, who had been lounging on the sofa watching a variety show, instinctively sat up.

"Great! Novice task 1 lets you pick ten items to stock the shop and start business!" Sesame Paste cheered, holding a bottle of iced cola.

Rao Ke stared at Sesame Paste for a moment, then said flatly, "Sesame Paste, don't you think you've gained a bit of weight lately? Also, don't drink too much cola—it's bad for your health."

Sesame Paste froze. "No way, it's probably just my fur being fluffier lately. Besides, I'm a system—cola doesn't affect me!"

"Alright." Rao Ke turned her attention back to the prize draw.

[Congratulations! You've acquired the supply rights for "Cola," "Orange Juice," "Strawberries," "Pork Belly," "Chicken Breast," "White Radish," "Ham Sausage," "Luncheon Meat," "Spicy Hot Pot Base," and "Tomato Hot Pot Base."]

"Not bad." Rao Ke was quite satisfied. The selected items weren't concentrated in one category—there were drinks, meat, vegetables, fruit, and versatile hot pot bases!

"But this cola..." Rao Ke eyed the cola purchase right suspiciously, glancing at a certain little coal ball.

Sesame Paste's eyes darted around nervously, feeling a pang of guilt.

"By the way, Sesame Paste, can we renovate the first-floor sales area? I'd like to buy a few freezers for drinks, and I'll need a meat cabinet and a vegetable cabinet too." Right now, the first floor only had four wooden shelves and a wooden counter—everything else was empty.

Seeing the subject change, Sesame Paste perked up again.

"I'll report it to the main system!"

A moment later, Sesame Paste returned. "The mall system has put up one freezer, one vegetable cabinet, and one meat cabinet each. This is the best I could do. Once novice task 2 is done, the cabin can be upgraded."

Rao Ke didn't need many freezers now, and she was satisfied to get one of each. Plus, since these were specially listed for her, each cabinet was priced at just 1 point—practically a token.

With Mo Duoya's generous purchase, Rao Ke now had a healthy supply of points, and money gave her confidence. She happily dove into the renovation.

She pulled up the sandbox layout, viewed from the entrance. She placed the freezer against the wall opposite the door, with the checkout counter to its left, and the stairway to the second floor just past the counter. To the right of the freezer, she arranged the four wooden shelves with some space between them.

It still looked spacious, but it was a huge improvement from before.

Rao Ke: Clap!

Next, she needed to stock up. Rao Ke took out her tablet, looked at the thirteen purchasable items, and her 2,472 points—she felt like she'd struck it rich overnight.

She bought twenty bottles each of cola, orange juice, and mineral water, filling the three-tier freezer.

Then she worked hard to fill the wooden shelves, vegetable cabinet, and meat cabinet. Looking at her fully stocked sales area, she gave a satisfied look around.

Indeed, for someone with a hoarding habit, filling every cabinet was especially satisfying.

The meat cabinet was self-explanatory; the vegetable cabinet had white radishes on one half and strawberries on the other. The four wooden shelves held instant noodles, hot pot bases, unrefrigerated water and drinks, and luncheon meat, respectively.

"Actually, thirteen items isn't that many," Sesame Paste commented, looking around.

"We've just opened," Rao Ke said. "Once we unlock the fresh food and beverage sections later, it'll be better." She thought it was normal; at least the shelves were full.

"Real life is definitely more tiring than a management game," Rao Ke wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"We're opening tomorrow—let's invite Mo Duoya and the others over for hot pot tonight!" Rao Ke clapped her hands, setting the plan.

Over the past couple of days, Mo Duoya and her group had often come by the cabin to hang out, and Rao Ke enjoyed their company. They were her first friends in this new world.

No sooner said than done—Rao Ke sent them invitations right away.

Everyone could make it except Selen, who had affairs to attend to. Mo Duoya, Laiensi, and Ailier all said they were free and looked forward to the gathering.

After sending the invites, Rao Ke hummed a tune as she went to the kitchen to pull out the leftover hot pot ingredients from the fridge.

For tonight's hot pot, she planned a half tomato, half spicy broth.

She took out the leftovers from her previous meal with Xu Ruozhen—she found there was quite a bit: half a box of lamb rolls, two bags of shrimp paste, a bag of fish balls, and some mushrooms.

Luckily, she'd gotten extra meat today, so she added a box of chicken breast and two cans of luncheon meat, sliced them, arranged them on plates, and set them on the table. The divided pot was bubbling away, blending the sweet aroma of tomato with the pungent, spicy scent.

Looking at the spread, Rao Ke felt something was missing.

"Right!" She turned back to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out several bottles of cola and orange juice, placing them in an empty spot on the table.

Then she turned to find Sesame Paste hugging a bottle of cola, with several empty soda cans stacked in front of him.

Rao Ke shook her head, too lazy to scold.

"We're about to eat hot pot—be careful you don't get too full to eat!" she warned.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

"They're here! Sesame Paste, go let them in!" Rao Ke was washing strawberries in the kitchen, so she sent Sesame Paste to greet them.

"Okay~"

Sesame Paste did a nimble turn, went downstairs, opened the door, and welcomed Mo Duoya and the other two inside.

Mo Duoya and her companions were startled for a moment at the transformed first-floor sales area.

"Come on, come on! KeKe's waiting upstairs." Sesame Paste, thinking about the hot pot, quickly led them up.

"Welcome, have a seat!" Rao Ke had just finished washing the strawberries and brought them over.

Once everyone was seated, Rao Ke began introducing the dishes.

"This is what we'll eat today. This side is the tomato broth—sweet and sour. This side is the spicy broth—it gives you a kick."

Mo Duoya and the others looked at the food and the broth, finding the whole concept novel. They could roughly understand the sweet-and-sour tomato broth, but the Kaqisha Continent had no spicy dishes, so the three were more curious about the spicy broth.

"And these are the ingredients. Use chopsticks to pick them up and dip them in the broth until they're cooked." As she spoke, Rao Ke picked up a slice of chicken breast, dipped it in the spicy broth, cooked it, and served it to the others to taste.

It was the first time the others had tried anything spicy, and their eyes lit up, finding it exciting. The initial sensation was a burning feeling that traveled from the tongue to the stomach, but it was addictive.

Rao Ke quickly told them to grab a drink to cool down, and all three chose cola. The orange juice was refreshing but too mild for them, since the Kaqisha Continent had all sorts of berries, including oranges.

"Alright, dig in!" With Rao Ke's command, everyone eagerly dove into the novel feast.

Surprisingly, all three could handle the spicy broth quite well, though Laiensi and Mo Duoya preferred the tomato, while Ailier favored the spicy.

"I think Babaka would love your store," Mo Duoya said with a smile. "It's full of business opportunities for her."

"Babaka?"

"She's the young lady of the Rose Merchant Guild, one of the three major guilds of the Kashiu Empire. Now she's something of a wandering merchant. She enjoys the freedom, traveling across the Kaqisha Continent." Mo Duoya smiled, her thick lashes hiding deeper emotions.

"KeKe! What's this?" Laiensi asked curiously, looking at the strawberries on the table, his hands twitching. "Do we put these in the broth too?"

"No, that's a type of berry called a strawberry. It's delicious—you should try one." Rao Ke quickly stopped him.

"Oh, okay." Laiensi popped a strawberry into his mouth and took a gentle bite. The rich juice burst between his lips and teeth—sweet, refreshing, with just a hint of tartness that whetted the appetite.

Laiensi instantly fell in love with this berry called strawberry. He felt like ever since he'd come to KeKe Shop, he'd been like someone who'd never seen the world, marveling at everything and loving one thing after another.

But Laiensi enjoyed this sense of wonder—much more fun than his usual mundane routine.

"The shop opens tomorrow, right?" Ailier asked while eating luncheon meat. "Why haven't you made a sign? Without one, passing adventurers won't dare come in."

Ailier's words struck like a lightning bolt, cutting through the haze in Rao Ke's mind. So that's what she'd been forgetting.

Sesame Paste, who was devouring strawberries, stopped and exchanged a guilty look with Rao Ke, then sent a telepathic message: "Don't worry, I'll grab some wood from the forest to make a sign. It'll double as a walk to get familiar with the area and help digest the food."

"I knew I was forgetting something—thanks for the reminder. I'll get a piece ready later," Rao Ke said with a smile.

Ailier had just mentioned it in passing and didn't dwell on it.

"KeKe, do you sell strawberries? I'd like to take a box home for my father," Laiensi said, thinking of Selen, who loved berries and sweets.

"Just take a box with you later," Rao Ke waved a hand.

Laiensi smiled. "Then thanks. My father and I will definitely come by tomorrow to show our support!"

"Please do," Rao Ke replied with a grin.

"Well then, here's to a prosperous opening for KeKe Shop tomorrow! Cheers!"

The four raised their cola cans and clinked them in the air, producing a crisp sound.

After eating and drinking their fill, they chatted for a while to let the food settle, and then the other three took their leave.

Sesame Paste lay on the sofa with a round belly, then sat up after a moment.

"KeKe, I'm off to find some wood. I'll be right back~" With that, he jumped out the window, and the sunflower by the window caught him.

"Okay, be careful!" Rao Ke called after the figure disappearing into the Adventure Forest.

What Rao Ke didn't know yet was that Sesame Paste was about to bring back a delightful surprise.