Inside the small grocery store.  

Su Ling had exchanged a food collection machine from the system mall and placed it next to the vegetable section.  

It resembled a standing freezer, with a conveyor belt at the entrance where food could be placed in containers and sent through. The machine would then announce and record the items.  

Lin Mei was first in line. She placed her porcelain basin on the conveyor belt and watched as the stacked food slowly moved into the inspection chamber. The announcement light lit up immediately.  

[Merchant Lin Mei has submitted thirty chive boxes, all of which passed the inspection. Total payment: six yuan.]

Lin Mei did some quick calculations. Two pounds of flour cost one yuan, the leeks were fifty cents, eggs were six cents each—she had used ten, totaling sixty cents. Even if she didn’t account for the oil and seasonings, the cost was only two yuan and ten cents. Even with those included, it wouldn’t exceed two yuan and thirty or forty cents.  

This business was worth it!  

Soon, the porcelain basin reappeared at the side exit. After being reminded, Lin Mei quickly retrieved it.  

“Boss, settle the payment first. I’ll take ten pounds of flour and two portions of leeks,” Lin Mei said.  

Su Ling processed the payment and handed Lin Mei her items. “Here you go.”  

Lin Mei smiled. “I still have eggs at home, so I won’t buy any today. I’ll get some tomorrow.” With that, she greeted the others and left.  

The next person had brought steamed buns—some made with mixed grains and others with white flour. The white flour ones were accepted, but the mixed grain ones were rejected.  

“The mixed grains ratio is too high. They’re too rough,” Su Ling said, shaking her head as she returned them.  

The person carefully took them back. “They even had some white flour mixed in. These are good stuff…”  

Su Ling didn’t engage further. She was running a business, not playing charity—she couldn’t accept everything.  

“Next!”  

The person had no choice but to settle the payment, take the money, and leave, deciding not to bring anything else in the future.  

The next person had made dried vegetable pancakes, which had a rich, savory aroma. They were priced at ten cents each, and the person had made thirty, totaling three yuan.  

“Boss, I’d like some more flour and a pound of half-fat, half-lean meat.”  

After settling the payment, Su Ling handed over the goods.  

The following customers brought all sorts of items, mostly staple foods. By the time most of them had left, Song Lianhua and her daughter arrived with their braised dishes.  

The cart was neatly stacked, and even though the food was covered with a cloth, the tantalizing aroma still wafted out.  

Once inside, Wang Shengnan began placing the braised dishes on the conveyor belt, and the announcement light immediately lit up.  

[Merchant Song Lianhua: ten boxes of braised pork intestines, ten boxes of braised chicken feet, ten boxes of spicy wings, three boxes of braised pork belly, ten boxes of braised tofu sheets, ten boxes of braised dried tofu, ten boxes of specialty spicy dried tofu, twenty boxes of husband-and-wife lung slices…]

Hua Hua was stunned. This mother-daughter duo was incredibly hardworking.  

Soon, the final settlement was displayed: one hundred yuan.  

It seemed like a lot, but the cost of meat, containers, and seasonings had all been bought on credit. After repaying those debts, the remaining profit dropped to single digits.  

Still, Song Lianhua was satisfied.  

She repaid half of the debt first and used the remaining money to buy more ingredients. With what she still had at home, she estimated it wouldn’t take many more trips to fully repay the debt and even have extra funds to purchase more supplies.  

“Boss, give me some more ingredients. Oh, do you have vegetarian chicken?”  

“Yes.” Su Ling added a few more items to her order.  

After Song Lianhua and Wang Shengnan left, Su Ling opened the unlimited storage space and found all the items neatly sorted inside the machine. From now on, selling them wouldn’t require much effort on her part.  

……

Wang Zhaodi was shivering from the cold when she finally arrived at Dawang Village in the evening. The people who had come back with her weren’t faring much better.  

Liu Tong was thoroughly impressed. Even as a grown man, he found the journey incredibly tough, yet this frail child made the trip every single day.  

As soon as they stepped into the store, a wave of warmth washed over them.  

Wang Zhaodi entered first. After taking a moment to warm up, she settled her account, requested supplies for the next day, and then introduced Liu Tong and his group.  

Su Ling glanced at Wang Zhaodi. “Wait a little longer. There might be some clothing and accessories coming in later.”  

Wang Zhaodi agreed and confidently picked out a can of eight-treasure porridge for herself. Borrowing some hot water from Su Ling, she set it aside to warm up—today, she could eat her fill before heading home.  

Liu Tong stepped forward. He had imagined many scenarios before arriving, but he never expected the shop owner to be such a young woman.  

“Boss, your place is really warm. How do you manage that?” Liu Tong asked with a smile.  

Su Ling responded with a polite smile but didn’t answer.  

Liu Tong coughed awkwardly and moved on to inquire about grain prices.  

Su Ling gave a brief rundown: “Premium rice and white flour are fifty cents per pound, cheaper rice is twenty cents, corn grits are twelve cents. The instant noodles up there are fifty cents per pack, and eight-treasure porridge is eighty cents per can.”  

Liu Tong pressed further, “How about the meat?”  

“Whole chicken is three yuan. Cheaper options include chicken breast and drumettes. Pork belly is one yuan per pound, lamb rolls are one yuan per serving, and meatballs are two yuan per pound—mix and match allowed.”  

After finishing, Su Ling sent a mental message to Hua Hua: [I really need to put up a price sign. With fewer people and mostly regular customers, it’s manageable, but when more come, quoting prices gets exhausting.]

Liu Tong attempted to haggle. “Boss, since we’re buying in bulk, can you give us a discount?”  

Su Ling shook her head. “I’ve already made it clear—no bargaining.”  

“You’re not much of a businessperson,” Liu Tong said, trying again. “We’re not just buying a couple hundred pounds. We need a lot.”  

Su Ling looked at him and stated plainly, “If I wanted to sell more, I’d have set up shop in town, not this village. The fact that I chose this place means I have ties here. In other words, I never intended to run a large-scale business to begin with.”  

“You asking for huge quantities of grain doesn’t benefit me in the slightest, so haggling is pointless. If you don’t want to buy, that’s fine too.”  

Liu Tong was taken aback, his mind struggling to process her response.  

Su Ling knew that buying grain was just their first step—there would likely be further probing later. It was better to establish herself as an enigmatic figure from the start.  

She was here to accumulate energy, not get entangled in unnecessary complications.  

Wang Zhaodi called out, “Uncle Policeman, look outside. All those poor folks are hauling snow. Even one person can exchange a day’s work for some corn grits to eat. The boss is a kind person—she’s not in this for profit.”  

A few members of Liu Tong’s group stepped outside, seemingly to verify her words.  

After a while, they returned. “It’s true.”  

Wang Zhaodi was a little annoyed. “Of course it’s true. The boss has always helped our village and the neighboring ones. If I hadn’t gone to town to sell goods, she wouldn’t even have hired anyone to go.”  

Liu Tong finally understood. “Boss, we’ll take the grain. Do you lend out carts?”  

Su Ling shook her head. “Carts aren’t for lending. They’re twenty-five yuan each to buy, or ten cents per day to rent—price depends on distance.”