The woman hesitated before pulling out a small bundle of herbs. "These are Spirit-Soothing Leaves. They're not worth much, but they're fresh. I've used this to give him temporary relief but… its potency is dwindling the more I use this to him."
Liu Xiaoyu leaned in, inspecting the herbs with a critical eye. Once again, she's proving a bit of her usefulness.
"Hmm... Boss, these are actually pretty rare. They're used in a lot of mid-grade elixirs – of course not of the sa quality as the ones we have in store. You can sell it to Yu Qingyan or maybe the store can deal with that. What do you think?"
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Un. Definitely worth at least two spirit stones."
Lin Mo turned back to the woman. "Alright, I'll take the herbs as partial paynt. Three spirit stones and these leaves, and the Harmony Pills are yours."
Hearing his acceptance, the woman's eyes filled with gratitude as she handed over the herbs and spirit stones.
Lin Mo retrieved a small jar of Harmony Pills from the shelf and placed it in her hands. The content looked like round strawberry bubblegums but he knew that its appearance and taste didn't matter as long as it helped the custor's husband.
"Thank you," The woman bowed, her voice trembling with both relief and happiness. "Thank you so much. I'll tell everyone I know about your kindness."
As she left, the system chid again.
[Custor Satisfaction Enhanced: 1 Spirit Stone Credited to Personal Balance.]
[Celestial Providence Activated: Custor's husband will recover fully within a week. Word of your store will spread to nearby villages.]
Lin Mo sighed, leaning back against the counter. "I'm starting to feel like a charitable organization. Is this what Taihao expects the store to be?"
Liu Xiaoyu grinned. "Hey, boss. It's still a profitable one! Look, your balance is going up!"
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the store began to quiet down. The steady stream of custors had slowed to a trickle. Finally, Lin Mo had a chance to sit down and flip through the cultivation manual Liu Xiaoyu had found for him.
"'For the Totally Clueless,' huh?" He wryly smiled as he inspected the thick manual, thinking it might be an illustration book for children. "Real subtle."
Liu Xiaoyu snickered from her perch on a stool. "It's perfect for you, Boss. Baby steps!"
Lin Mo ignored her, focusing on the first chapter.
The manual was surprisingly straightforward, explaining the basics of spiritual energy, ridians, and the importance of ditation.
Lin Mo flipped through the pages, his brows furrowed in concentration. He never expected to be able to beco the fabled cultivator that beca popularized in his world through fiction but here he was now. He had fully accepted this as his new reality.
The cultivation manual's instructions were clear but clearly not for the illiterate. Most likely, it would've been better for newbies in cultivation to get a ntor than rely on the book.
Words like dantian and spiritual resonance danced on the page, sounding more like mystical jargon than practical steps.
"Focus your mind, visualize the flow of spiritual energy, and guide it into your dantian," He muttered as he read aloud. "Sounds easy enough."
He closed the book, took a deep breath, and crossed his legs on the stool.
He closed his eyes as he attempted to follow the instructions.
Liu Xiaoyu, showing that she's a supportive assistant, leaned over the counter as she watched him with barely concealed amusent.
"Boss, are you sure you should be trying this in the middle of the store? What if you explode or sothing?"
Alerted by her wording, Lin Mo cracked an eye open. "Explode? Is that a thing?"
"Probably not," She said with a shrug, though her grin suggested she wasn't entirely certain.
"Great. Thanks for the vote of confidence, my very helpful and lovely assistant" He scoffed before shutting his eye again, trying to connect with the flow of spiritual energy in his surroundings.
As Lin Mo tried and failed to feel the flow of spiritual energy, the subtle effects of his Celestial Providence continued to ripple through the store's custors and Liu Xiaoyu.
A clumsy traveler, who had been browsing the shelves for over an hour, finally made a purchase. A jar of Essence Replenishing Pills.
As he reached the counter, the system chid:
[Custor Satisfaction Enhanced: 1 Spirit Stone Credited to Personal Balance.]
[Celestial Providence Activated: Custor's purchase will lead to a successful breakthrough in cultivation tonight.]
The traveler left with a grateful smile, oblivious to the invisible hand of fate guiding his fortune.
anwhile, outside the store, a street perforr who had been struggling to attract an audience suddenly found himself surrounded by a crowd. A few spectators even tossed low-grade spirit stones into his hat. He was also a custor. He bought a gum before he did his setup there.
Liu Xiaoyu noticed the commotion and nudged Lin Mo, who was still pretending to ditate. "Boss, looks like your luck is spreading to all our custors. Should we start charging for it and call it value-added luck?"
Lin Mo opened his eyes and exasperatedly looked at her. "Do you ever stop talking?"
"Nope!" She chirped, tossing him a packet of chips. "Here. Snack on this while you cultivate your nonexistent spiritual energy."
"Did you pay for this?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow as he caught the packet.
"I did! I got my wage for yesterday and a few bonuses here and there. Look!
After saying that, Liu Xiaoyu grinned as she opened up a system panel in front of her. One more simplistic than his.
There's only Personal Balance there and currently, she's at 8 Spirit Stones, originally 10 considering she bought those packets of chips that cost 1 Spirit Stone each.
"Ridiculous. But thanks, Xiaoyu. I probably need to take a break. The first steps in cultivating are too difficult. Why is my Celestial Providence not helping ?"
"Boss, you shouldn't grow impatient, guiding the first drop of spiritual energy to your dantian is one of the hardest parts when it cos to cultivation." Liu Xiaoyu said.
Lin Mo nodded and stood up, "You're right… I should be patient with it. Anyway, get us Heavenly Dew Sodas, my treat."
"Wow, are you serious, boss? I love you!" Liu Xiaoyu gleefully giggled as she instantly dashed to get the drinks from the walk-in coolers.
Even without prompting the system, it automatically deducted 4 Spirit Stones from his Personal Balance and added those 4 to the Current Day Sales.
For the next few minutes without a custor, he consulted his assistant about cultivation. Learning more terms that he barely understood from the manual and her experiences.
User Comments
0 comments from readers