Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 11

When he is in elementary school, Ye Zhou’s biggest dream is to live in the small convenience store at the school gate. He even feels deeply regretful that he isn’t the shop owner’s child—if he were, he really could have lived there.

Back then, he is still young, and actually tells his parents this regret out loud. In return, he receives a thorough beating from both of them—his dad doing the hitting, and his mom adding fuel to the fire on the side.

As he grows a little older, he realizes the store isn’t all that great. If given the chance, he’d rather live in a chain supermarket instead.

By the time he graduates from high school, Ye Zhou has decided on his future—he wants to open a large supermarket.

To make this dream come true, Ye Zhou works part-time throughout college. He does whatever he can to earn more money, even putting on a doll costume and singing and dancing in the scorching heat of over 30 degrees.

After four years of hard work, he finally achieves his dream upon graduation. He pays 100,000 yuan, and his family covers the rest.

To save money, Ye Zhou chooses an abandoned warehouse in the city. It’s in the old district, where most of the residents are elderly people and children who don’t consume much. Developers don’t like this area, but Ye Zhou doesn’t care.

He buys the warehouse for a good price. However, since the funds are limited, he can only convert the first floor into a supermarket.

The building has a large land area, so one floor is enough.

Ye Zhou always feels lucky. Though he isn’t a true “rich second generation,” his family has some money.

His parents run a small family business, making food products and operating a factory on the outskirts, also doing OEM for big brands.

If he hadn’t ended up in this other world, Ye Zhou believes his life would’ve gone smoothly.

Nowadays with the internet, even if his supermarket doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic, he can still make money through delivery services.

That is, if he hadn’t ended up here.

Ye Zhou wants to smash the computer.

He glares at the screen with clenched teeth. If he has a hammer right now, he’d smash the computer into pieces!

A new column has appeared next to the usual three: [Goods], [Sell], and [Buy].

This column is simple and straightforward—[Plane Transfer]

The computer is now displaying this column.

Plane Transfer

Profit: 2456 (Points available: 245)

Select Destination:

—Minzil Continent (0/1)

—Luoyang Base (0/1)

Note: Other destinations pending unlock.

Ye Zhou curses aloud: “Didn’t you say you could transfer with 100 points? Liar!”

Neither of the two available destinations seems normal.

The first one sounds like it came from a fantasy novel. The second has the word “base” in it, which doesn’t seem like a great place either.

Ye Zhou is so angry he almost falls backward.

This means he needs to keep making money. How many points would he need before he can unlock the city he came from?

“This is forced business!” Ye Zhou doesn’t care whether the computer will respond, continuing to curse, “I’m just like Jiang Taigong now! I can’t do business at all—I can only wait for people to take the bait! Do you have any idea how hard it is to earn these two thousand?!”

Ye Zhou pauses and fumes, “And on top of that, you didn’t even give me anything to protect myself! Right now it’s fine because there are only a few people, and I can fake being a divine figure. But once more people show up, and the famine ends, won’t I get hanged?! Burned at the stake?!”

He vents to the computer for over half an hour, finally stopping after drinking a large glass of water.

He can’t curse anymore.

Ye Zhou slumps in his office chair, feeling turmoil in his heart.

How much money will he need to make to return home?

Not knowing his goal makes him uneasy.

But Ye Zhou forces himself to calm down and suppress the unease. He keeps reassuring himself.

Since two destinations have been unlocked, it means the “computer” isn’t blocking his way. As long as he keeps earning money, he’ll eventually go back.

Ye Zhou doesn’t leave the office. He doesn’t feel like going anywhere—he just wants to be alone.

Outside the supermarket, a tent has been set up, where Brother Zheng and his group have been staying for the past few days.

While the tent isn’t as cool as the supermarket, Brother Zheng and the others don’t dare complain. They’re fortunate to have food and drink, and they have access to things used by immortals. If they’re greedy, the immortal will punish them.

The tent itself is quite good. They have seen it set up with their own eyes, and the fabric is smooth and durable—better than the best oilcloth, offering protection from both wind and rain!

Although… it would be better if it were windier at night.

“At least that noble gets to stay in the cave,” Zhao Er says, stroking the tent in excitement but speaking coldly.

Brother Zheng pats him on the back. “Don’t be like that. It’s not good for The Immortal to see you acting like this.”

Zhao Er presses his lips together but still can’t help saying, “The immortal didn’t favor him either! He just said the guy had consumption and couldn’t stay with us!”

The man beside him responds, “We don’t even know if he can get better. If he can’t, when can we leave?”

“You want to leave?” someone else asks. “I want to stay here for a long time.”

Another person chimes in, “It’s a pity The Lord Immortal won’t accept us as disciples.”

Zhao Er grumbles, “I think we’re better than them!” He feels he is stronger than the men who serve in The Lord Immortal’s cave. “Why do they get to practice with The Lord Immortal?” Zhao Er bites a piece of dried meat, almost gritting his teeth.

Brother Zheng tries to console him. “You just think too much. Think about it—if we stay here, even if we call it cultivation, all we’ll really be doing is odd jobs,” Brother Zheng’s eyes light up, “But if we manage to return, just those few crystal balls would be enough to live like kings!”

The South might sound like a good place to people in the North. Fertile land, beautiful scenery, great mountains and rivers—but what does that have to do with poor folks like them?

Only the children of the wealthy have the leisure to pick greens in the spring. They are born to be superior people. Even if they don’t work a day in their life, even if they can’t read or fight, they will still live comfortably from their family’s fortune.

But for them, it’s different. They have to work hard to survive.

They can’t appreciate the mountains and rivers, nor do they care about them.

They just want to earn more money, to be superior people! To wear warm clothes, eat their fill, marry a good wife, and have children.

In this way, when they grow old, the younger generation will have to take care of them. But if the children have no conscience, then when they’re old, they’ll be at the mercy of their kids.

Studying for the imperial examination seems too distant for them. They’ve seen elderly scholars in their seventies or eighties sitting at street corners, helping others write letters to earn a little calligraphy fee, barely scraping by.

Only money matters. The one thing they can grasp desperately is money!

The money they hold in their hands is their foundation.

Brother Zheng smiles dreamily, his eyes somewhat blurry as he speaks: “When we go back, we’ll sell the crystal ball. Then we can buy land in the village and build a big house. My mother and wife won’t need to weave cloth anymore, and I’ll hire a few more maids to serve them!”

They sit together, dreaming of a bright future. Even as it grows dark, they still can’t fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Lin You, who is staying in one of the rooms, also can’t sleep. After taking medicine all day, he feels much better—maybe because he is full and well-rested, his energy has returned. Normally, he gets drowsy as soon as night comes, but today he doesn’t feel sleepy at all.

Lin You holds a cup of hot tea, its fragrance filling the room. He lowers his head and takes a sip, letting out a long sigh of relief.

This place truly is a fairyland—everything he could need is here, and nothing is lacking.

Even this ordinary cup of tea, when it passes his throat, leaves a lingering fragrance in his mouth, and it isn’t bitter.

The Lord Immortal never restricts the ordinary people he saves.

As a son of a prominent family, Lin You has always been favored since childhood. He has never been treated the same as commoners.

Yet now, here, he actually feels it is only natural that he receives no special treatment.

In The Lord Immortal’s eyes, they are all mere mortals. Would an immortal care if one ant is more noble than another?

Lin You pops a piece of candy into his mouth. It is sweet but tastes a bit strange. Still, it isn’t unpleasant.

The Li woman says it is throat lozenge candy. If he eats it, he will stop coughing—a good thing.

She also instructs him to take more throat lozenges when he goes to the “supermarket” tomorrow.

If it weren’t for missing his parents and brothers, Lin You wouldn’t want to leave this place.

Everything here opens his eyes. Whether it is the lamp overhead that emits no smoke but lights the night as if it were day, the oddly shaped clothes, or the various precious items like endless salt and sugar—things unavailable in the world—he is constantly amazed and humbled by the vastness of the world and the smallness of humanity.

This immortal isn’t one of those fame-seeking charlatans. He can casually bring out an item and instantly gain fame across the realm, achieving riches and glory without effort—but he chooses instead to remain hidden in these remote mountains, saving people from hardship.

Lin You feels he should set up a statue of The Lord Immortal when he returns and kneel to worship it every morning and evening.

When it comes down to it… he really doesn’t want to leave.

Having seen a paradise, how can one still yearn for the mundane world?

Ye Zhou, who has been sleepless for most of the night, ends up sleeping in until the sun is high.

Mainly because no one in the supermarket dares to wake him, and he has forgotten to set an alarm—so he just wakes up naturally.

He goes to grab a pack of instant noodles. He isn’t very hungry right after waking up, so one pack is enough.

The employees eat in the warehouse. They have spent a lot of time turning the warehouse into a “home.”

They use ropes and cloth to separate their living spaces from one another, but since they live so close, and the curtains aren’t soundproof, they have been very careful these days and don’t make any strange noises at night.

There is also a public area in the warehouse. Ye Zhou has asked Cao’er’s mother to bring some old sofas, tables, and chairs to furnish it. Now, the warehouse is in good shape. It certainly isn’t shabby to live in.

Cao’er’s Mother has learned to cook on the stove there, though she doesn’t know many spices. She only dares to add salt and MSG to any dish. It might be a habit, but she doesn’t like to add too much oil or salt.

So the dishes are always bland.

But the employees don’t mind, and they dare not complain.

After finishing his instant noodles, Ye Zhou calls for Cao’er’s Mother.

“Lord Immortal, your order,” Ye Zhou says.

Cao’er’s mother enters the office with traces of oil still on her lips. She wears a smile, looking like any ordinary, kind-hearted older woman.

But compared to how she used to be, she has been reborn.

She is proud of herself. There are people in the supermarket who are stronger, more talkative, and younger than her. But The Lord Immortal has taken a liking to her!

She has never felt so powerful before. She is willing to give everything to The Lord Immortal!

Even if she has to die, she wouldn’t want to leave. Once she leaves, she would return to being the weak, incompetent peasant woman she once was.

But here, she is The Lord Immortal’s most favored mortal. As long as The Lord Immortal is around, no one can bully her.

In the past, she could only rely on her husband and son.

Now, she can rely on herself.

Ye Zhou asks, “Did the person in the security office come in this morning?”

Cao’er’s Mother immediately replies, “The Lord Immortal isn’t awake yet. I didn’t dare act on my own.”

Ye Zhou nods. “Let him in after you’ve had your meal. And remember—he must wear a mask.”

Cao’er’s mother looks like she is about to swear an oath. “I wouldn’t dare forget!”

That guy looks like he wears the best clothes of them all. Even if he doesn’t have any money, just stripping him of his clothes might earn her a decent bit.

Ye Zhou hopes he has something valuable on him, otherwise, he fears he might become so desperate from his lack of wealth and strip him of everything.

Author’s Note:

Ye Zhou: “Scammer! Total scammer!”

Computer: “Don’t understand. Don’t know. Not responding.”