Chapter 11: Sleeping Works
"Indeed I am, and I would like the all-day breakfast set," Jin ordered his food as he looked at the near empty diner café. There was a granny drinking her tea with her grandson. The diner café itself had a cosy feeling to it.
"Coming right up." Shen Si Fang personally cooked the dish and the years of experience could be seen through the speed and technique in cooking the all-day breakfast set. In less than 15 minutes, the order was ready and he personally served it to Jin.
"Mind if I sit and talk to you? Oh, and this meal is on the house." Si Fang asked politely.
"Sure, I do not really mind at all. Thank you for the food. Name's Xie Jin, calling me Jin will be fine. It is a pleasure to meet you." Jin extended his hand for a handshake as Sifang placed the food on his table.
"Shen Si Fang, owner of Lele Diner Café." Sifang returned the courtesy and sat opposite of him.
"Firstly, thank you for getting rid of that abandoned building that has been there for the longest time ever. The whole shopping street thanks you for having the guts to do so." Si Fang bowed his head a little as a sign of respect.
"Although you are not part of Tiangong Shopping District, I would like to welcome you to our humble shopping district. I just so happened to be the head of the shopping street and I wanted to visit you tomorrow. It was a surprise for you to take the initiative instead."
"I had no idea you were the head of the shopping street. I believe this was really a coincidence." Jin placed the scrambled egg into his mouth. It was soft and a little salty which was the way Jin happened to like it. Si Fang saw Jin's expression and felt happy that his customer liked his food.
"May I know what manner of shop you are opening?"
"Dungeon supplier and ehh a bit of food and drinks as well in the future." Jin felt honesty is the way to go to create a proper business relationship.
"Oh? That's rather interesting. We do not have any dungeon suppliers and your shop might be the entertainment we sorely needed since the dreaded pachinko company. I look forward to your shop success so we can reap some rewards from it too!" Suddenly Si Fang realised what he said and quickly bowed his head a little again. "I apologise if I am too blunt."
"Ah, you do not have to be. I too know this place has been in the dumps. If we can work and earn together, it is for the best." Jin did not really care much but decided to bootlick a little as he sipped the mushroom soup from the bowl. Boss Si was after all the head of the Tiangong Shopping District. Knowing such an acquaintance might help in the future.
"We can help you spread the news of the opening of your shop. Perhaps some might even patronise it. I might do so too, I have neglected my cultivation for some time." Si Fang tried to salvage the conversation, thinking that Jin might have some bad first impression of him.
"I will thank you for that in advance." Jin wiped his mouth with a piece of napkin provided.
"Boss Si, thanks for the food, it was good."
"Ah come again, I will provide you with a discount!" Shen Si Fang was slightly embarrassed that all he could talk to the newcomer about was business.
———
"Sis Yue Wen, are you free tomorrow?" Yue Han was preparing the utensils for dinner when he decided to ask his elder sister Yue Wen about the dungeon instance. Yue Han had contacted Kong Xian earlier and he agreed the moment he heard Bu Dong was paying.
"I have a class in the morning. Why?" Yue Wen was stir frying some vegetables when Yue Han questioned her.
"Rich kid Bu Dong wants your help in a dungeon instance. He is asking Kong Xian to come as well." Yue Han took the bowls out from the drawer and started scooping the rice from the rice cooker.
"Did he run into some difficult instance? It is really rare for Bu Dong to ask me for help." Yue Wen placed the cooked vegetables into a plate.
"Yeah, remember the burnt pachinko building?" Yue Han waited for Yue Wen nodded before he continued.
"Apparently this new shop owner bought the whole plot of land and he built a new shop overnight. When we took a look, it was actually a dungeon supplier."
"Wow, he must be super rich to build a new shop overnight." Yue Wen started to put minced meat into the wok and started cooking again.
"I am not sure about that, but his store is off the charts. The dungeon instance was crazy. The Grade 1 goblins literally wrecked Bu Dong."
"Bu Dong lost?" Yue Wen nearly lost her concentration when cooking the minced meat.
"Yeah, but the funny thing is, Boss Jin's dimension space only rendered him unconscious for about 10 minutes or so. Bu Dong could even drink and walk afterwards with no side effects."
"Wow, I studied a bit on the Dantian and the effects of the dimension space a little as part of my university module. Not many people can reduce the duration of unconsciousness and have no side effects at all. I truly am impressed if this is true." Yue Wen placed the cooked minced meat onto another plate.
"Bu Dong is paying for your part since he asked you at the very last minute."
"Sure, why not? I would like to personally see the store myself too. Now, let's eat, Mom and Dad won't be back home so early today." Yue Wen placed the wok in the kitchen sink and sat down with Yue Han as he continued his story about Boss Jin.
———
Meanwhile, Jin opened his shop for another two hours before he closed it. As expected, some walk-ins took a look at the shop and saw the dungeon instance menu, calling it a ripoff. Some even shamelessly advised Jin to reconsider his prices. Jin's response for every 'advice' was unyielding and did not give in to any sort of pressure at all. He saw the experience of Bu Dong and became firm with the System's decision.
Besides, Yun told him that when Bu Dong killed a monster, he did earn a small amount of spiritual force which was beneficial for his cultivation. Jin decided to keep this a secret and let his customers find out themselves.
"Yun, you said that my goblins can learn or level up as well. How does this work?" Jin walked home while checking the stats of his goblins and indeed saw some changes. The spear goblin had his strength increased while the dagger goblin had his dexterity increased.
"They will slowly grow their stats attribute that is comparable to a Grade 2. The dagger goblin, for example, learned dagger mastery, allowing it to use daggers with more proficiency." Yun replied.
"However, all these minor stats and abilities are not too much of a concern to you right now. You need to affirm your cultivation type as quickly as possible and gain cultivation grades so that you are able to find stronger monsters. As you grow in cultivation, so do your bellators. Take note of that."
Jin acknowledged Yun's advice and returned home to cultivate the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas technique. Unknowingly, he fell asleep deeply while trying to cultivate. Perhaps, he was not used to the new routine and the life he was currently having.
Jin managed to wake up in time when his daily alarm rang and he found himself sitting cross legged. "Ah, I guess I fell asleep." Jin thought to himself.
Suddenly, he felt that there was a change in his Dantian when he got up from his cultivation stance. Jin quickly summoned his strength and portrayed it out in the open. A loud lazy yawn was heard from behind him and as he looked up, he saw two panda silhouettes rolling around.
"My cultivation type changed so quickly?!" Jin was a little flabbergasted by the turn of events.
"Yes Jin, The cultivation manual preached efficiency. What is more efficient than cultivating when you are sleeping."
Jin laughed and rolled on the floor holding on to his stomach. "Is that why this cultivation technique is called Lazy Astral Pandas? Hahahahahaha!"
"Ming figured that you would be so tired with the constant care of your shop that you may neglect your cultivation. A day not at work equates to a day without revenue. Therefore, the cultivation technique he created for you allows you to cultivate while you sleep. Brilliant dad, isn't he?"
"I will put a joss stick and offer him some coffee at his altar later." Jin still could not believe it as he went to shower to kickstart the new day.
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