Chapter 124 – Business (1/2)
Chapter 124 – Business
Now a two-story building that towered over its surroundings, the Starry Night Potion Shop gained an exterior constructed entirely out of white stone. Radiating a dazzling brilliance, the shop was breathtaking to behold. With intricate, beautiful designs carved into each pillar and crossbeam, they left any who gazed upon them in a state of reverie. Even the interior of the shop received a makeover, as the furnishings and containers appeared ever tidy and pleasant to the eye.
Shortly after being summoned, Bird entered the shop through the doorway.
“Boss, I’m here!” Bird called out as he staggered into the shop and glanced around, seemingly lost in admiration. It really is a Tier 2 shop! I wonder who the owner is, he couldn’t help but inwardly exclaim.
“Mhmm… Good, I have a little task for you,” Nie Yan acknowledged, then continued, “Starting from today, I’ll be leaving you in charge of this potion shop, at least for now… and I’ll assign you with a few tasks. As for benefits, if the shop does well, you’ll receive a bonus at the end of each month. Naturally, I won’t overload you with work. After all, your main goal should still be improving as an Alchemist since according to basic convention, you’ll only start getting a salary when you become a Junior Alchemist.”
“W-wait, you’re the one who opened this shop!?” Bird emotionally exclaimed. He knew Nie Yan was wealthy, but he never expected him to be this wealthy. He heard from others that buying up a plot of land took at least one gold, opening a shop required two gold, and upgrading one cost upwards of five! Such exorbitant prices would leave the vast majority of players overwhelmed, wallowing in despair at their own inability. As for him, the prospect of opening up a shop was similar to staring at the clouds on the horizon, beautiful but perhaps eternally out of reach.
However, even though he was only acting as the shop manager, being entrusted with such a responsibility left him feeling touched and filled him with great satisfaction.
“Of course I’m the one who opened it. Why else would I ask you to be the manager? Anyway, let’s get down to business. In a little while, a batch of potential hires will be arriving through these doors for an interview. For now, I don’t want to reveal myself, so I want you to hire them in my place. As for the relevant arrangements and information, I’ll send them over to you in a bit.”
“I understand.” Bird simply nodded his head.
In that respect, Bird could be considered quick-witted, almost immediately understanding the underlying meaning of these words. For some reason or another, Nie Yan didn’t wish for his identity as the shop owner to be known to the public. As for the exact reason why, he didn’t dare to ask.
“Good, since you seem to understand, let’s move on to explaining your job. The NPC over there is Insei Rais. He’s the salesclerk of this shop on the first floor, while the second floor is a workshop for the Alchemists. For you to be able to do your job, I’ll allow you the privilege of withdrawing a portion of the shop’s money from him. Use it to buy alchemy ingredients so the workshop upstairs is always fully stocked. At the end of each day, bring everything that was produced over to him, because he’ll be in charge of selling them. As for setting the prices, you can ask me. Finally, there’s one more slightly inconvenient task I need to ask of you. Give me a report of the shop’s income and expenses at the end of each week. Since the system automatically calculates that for you, it shouldn’t eat up too much of your time,” Nie Yan instructed. Whenever something came to mind, he would supplement with further detail on the spot.
As Nie Yan spoke, Bird quickly noted his words down lest he forget, though it seemed his daily workload wasn’t going to be all that much. As long as he properly managed the shop, everything would be fine.
Nie Yan thought, If it’s like this, then even if I don’t personally manage the shop, it should still be able to operate smoothly under the procedures I’ve set. Plus, there shouldn’t be any flaws in these policies either.
Suddenly, he spotted a hesitant look in Bird’s eyes, as if he wished to say something yet didn’t dare to.
“What? If you have something to say, just say it,” Nie Yan said as he glanced at Bird.
“Boss, it’s like this… With so many people applying, many of them already being Junior Alchemists, why did you pick me?” Bird hesitated for a moment before finally asking the question that was brewing in his heart. If he hadn’t, it would have kept gnawing away at the back of his mind.
Nie Yan chuckled in response, then said, “It’s simply because I felt you were more deserving of trust than others, that’s all.”
“Trust, huh…” Bird took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he last heard anyone say that to him. When he was at his lowest, even the dogs would avoid him. When he chose the name Bird Leaves No Eggs, he did so as a subtle jab at himself. However, since then, he had staggered along and crawled to his current position. If he were to turn timid or afraid now, then he would be no more than a useless scoundrel! Especially in a time where no one believed him, having even a single individual put faith in him meant that much more. “Thank you,” Bird said from the bottom of his heart.
Nie Yan simply smiled. After explaining the matters regarding managing the shop, he continued, “There are two Alchemists you should be especially mindful of. The first is Quiet Nannan while the other is Still Grieving. Listen carefully to their conditions for employment, then inform me of them.” With those two, as long as they didn’t go overboard with conditions, he would happily employ them.
“Alright, I understand!” Bird nodded his head, though he felt a bit of unease creep into his heart. After all, these two were Junior Alchemists while he was but a mere Apprentice Alchemist with a below average concocting success rate. It was no wonder he was feeling slightly pressured.