Chapter 17

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Auntie Xiafu, are you looking for me?” Cao Yan said as he got off the boat and walked towards the plump lady.

“You said you wanted to sell your shop the day before. Are you still selling it?” Xiafu sneaked a peek at Cao Yan when she spoke. She did not see any badge.

Actually, when she heard that Cao Yan wanted to sell the shop, the plump lady looked deep in thought. He could immediately tell that she was interested in it.

He nodded with a smile, confident that he wanted to sell the shop.

Xiafu said in high spirits, “After hearing your idea, I went back to think it through. Why don’t you sell it to me? We have long wanted to expand our business. Since you want to sell your shop, it would be just right for me as well. Don’t worry; I’ll not take advantage of you. It’s just that… I can’t fork out so much money all of a sudden.”

Xiafu eyed Cao Yan while finishing her last sentence.

“How much can you take out?”

“Half at most.” The plump lady added, “I can give you the other half within a year. Will that do?”

Cao Yan calculated inside. The shop was worth more than two million. He would still be able to do whatever he wanted with half that amount. “When can you give me the money?”

“So, you agree?”

The plump lady said happily, “If you’re in urgent need of the money, we can get the paperwork done right now. I’ll pass half the amount to you first.”

For the rest of the morning, Cao Yan went to Magic Metropolis with the plump lady to get the procedures done.

During that time, a man came rushing over after knowing that Cao Yan had agreed to sell the shop. He was Xiong Yu, the plump lady’s husband. The original host knew him too, as he was also his parents’ old acquaintance.

In a world that defied science, its efficiency would obviously be illogical, illogically fast.

In the relevant managing department of Magic Metropolis, once the paperwork for both sides was checked, with all the documents, and after confirming that both parties were willing in this exchange, the deal would be sealed with a stamp of approval. It was a one-step process.

Cao Yan’s identity as a trainer also helped him here. In any society, no matter what kind of system it ran on, the governing body would have to profit somehow. Therefore, a tax was unavoidable. The tax would be used to sustain the city’s architecture and also for the benefit of the people.

The amount of tax a person in a supernatural occupation, such as a trainer, needed to pay was the lowest. It was less than 3%.

Hence, the plump lady also benefited from it, as she also had to pay less. When they were done with the procedures, she kept praising Cao Yan for being capable.

Her husband was an honest and introverted man, standing silently at the side. When he heard that Cao Yan was a trainer, he cowered and became even quieter.

There were monetary organizations in this world that acted as a bank, so the transfer of money was also relatively simple.

After Cao Yan received the plump lady’s money and split up with the couple, he rushed off to move on with what he had to do.

“I knew it. There wasn’t even a single notification even after I got more than a million. Looks like having money alone would not help me complete the mission. I have to meet certain special criteria…” On the way, Cao Yan was thinking about the correct way to complete the mission.

The fake system required him to be far-sighted and build his foundation.

According to his analysis, this mission would likely need him to have his own property and a steady, hefty sum as his income before it would be deemed a success.

As for having his own property, there was actually not much leeway for him with only five days. Therefore, he had to think up something that would give him money fast so that he could meet the mission requirement.

As for the jobs that met the conditions, after observing for the past few days, Cao Yan concluded that they were all related to supernatural occupations. With his strength as a trainer, he believed the best bet would be to operate something related to those fields.

The reason Cao Yan decided to sell his shop and not to run it himself was the nature of his upcoming business. It was unsuitable for this area.

No matter how good you were, you would not get the needed exposure if you were in a too inconspicuous place.

Cao Yan intended to use the simplest capitalistic method—move the shop from the alley to a place anyone could see.

No matter what business he was running, the location would always be the first consideration. After selling his inherited shop, he would have the capital to run another one.

Walking around Magic Metropolis for the past two days, Cao Yan came at this particular time. He had already set his eyes on this spot in the busiest core of the city with a prime location.

Cao Yan was never afraid to take the step forward. He would not dream of being able to run his small shop well. If he could create better conditions for himself, why should he stay in an unknown corner?

His target was a little peculiar. It was a shop that was closing down because of poor business and had already been trying to clear its inventory for two months now.

Cao Yan chose this shop mainly because he had insufficient capital.

The shops around this area were all expensive. With just a little more than a hundred square meters in size, the rent started at around 150 thousand dollars per month. On top of that, paying monthly rent was prohibited. It was compulsory to pay the rent for half a year at once.

With the number of resources Cao Yan had, he would not have enough money no matter how he ran his business.

Therefore, he chose to take over a shop that was not doing well and make it rise from the dead.

Cao Yan entered the shop and showed his trainer badge, saying that he had something important to discuss with the shop owner. Upon meeting the shop owner, he told her his intentions straight-forwardly, and that was to buy over this shop for the remaining two months that it had left on its rent.

The shop owner was a woman in her fifties. At the start, she had her considerations.

After all, even if she was willing, she did not have the authority to do so based on the contract she had signed with the landlord.

“Of course, you cannot let the landlord know about our deal. I am willing to pay 20% more than the market rate, a total of 400 thousand, to pay for the two months’ rent. That would be an extra 40 thousand. Leave some of the usable things in the shop for me and also the leftover stock in your store. Take it as me helping you sell the remaining stock for commission. We will calculate the commission once a month.”

Hearing that Cao Yan was willing to pay more than the market price and was even helping her sell her inventory, the shop owner started to waver.

This was equivalent to striking a 400 thousand lottery. Who would reject that, especially when one’s business was about to close down?

Cao Yan had two shops in mind.

This shop was his first pick, as it dealt in demon beasts. It was his intended future direction, so if he could succeed in it, it would spare him a lot of trouble.

With a shop that sold a variety of demon pets, Cao Yan could complete his mission, earn a stable income, and it would also aid his occupation as a demon pet trainer. It was really a suitable choice.

Of course, Cao Yan did not wish for his business to remain so simple. His next step was deciding what he would do specifically to change that.

The shop owner thought for a very long time and finally agreed, succumbing to Cao Yan’s enticing conditions.

Cao Yan smiled. Now that things had gone according to plan, everything else would become much simpler.

The shop had two months of rent left. This was not much time, so Cao Yan had to hustle. He quickly transferred the money to the shop owner and settled the additional details of their agreement.

From that moment on, this shop’s operating rights would belong to him.