Chapter 1
Qinghe Road
At the end of the alley, a single open shop stood out among the surrounding transfer and rental stickers.
[You have successfully connected to the Shop Management System, at your service! Our motto: Where there’s a shop, there’s a way!]
Clang
Junk tumbled to the floor in the storeroom.
Shen You raised her head from the dust: ?? What kind of shady software downloads itself?
Just as she picked up her phone, a transparent light screen suddenly appeared in midair.
It displayed her shop information:
[Shop: Everything Store]
[Owner: Shen You]
[Business Level: lv1 (0/50)]
[Development: 10]
[Business Scope: Fake antiques (junk)???]
Shen You looked at her quiet phone, then took a couple of snapshots of the floating light screen.
The photos only showed the counter, yet she could touch the light screen. Was this some kind of ghost?!
[Ding—
Beginner task: Complete one transaction, +10 points]
“Points can be used for shop development and purchasing goods. When points are insufficient, you may exchange this world’s currency at a ratio of 100:1.”
Shen You finished reading the instructions quietly and took a deep breath. Had technology in northern Myanmar advanced this quickly?
Not long ago, she had graduated and become a corporate workhorse, slaving away with endless overtime. Then suddenly, she inherited an antique shop from a relative she’d met briefly as a child, supposedly in a prime location overlooking the famous Huangshan scenic area.
Shen You thought she was finally going to strike it rich and become an antique district mogul.
She had marched boldly into her boss’s office and proudly announced, “I quit!”
As confident as she’d been when resigning, that’s how dejected she felt when she actually saw the shop.
People really shouldn’t celebrate too early.
The shop had leaks in both the roof and walls.
Bronze figurines of Peppa Pig and Ultraman would confuse anyone who saw them.
Just making the place habitable had already been a major expense for her.
She was now dirt poor, with monthly revenue of just 25 yuan from selling scrap. At night, she couldn’t even afford to turn on the air conditioner.
Whatever this management system was, she had just one response: “No money!”
After spending the afternoon organizing the storeroom, which still wasn’t fully cleaned, the wind chime at the door rang. Someone had entered the shop.
The wooden gate to the courtyard should have been closed.
Shen You frowned. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed the visitor was wearing ancient clothing.
“Such treasures simply left scattered on the ground.”
The man’s gaze swept around, with excitement and shock mingling on his face.
“???”
Shen You looked at what he called a treasure—wasn’t it just a glass bottle?
“Shopkeeper, may I take a look at this glazed bottle?”
The man in ancient clothing suppressed his rapid breathing and gave a formal bow.
This young lady had an unusual appearance and wore strange clothing. Her shop was equally strange, so Liu Zheng didn’t dare show disrespect.
“Go ahead.”
Shen You quietly unlocked her phone screen, ready to call the police at any moment. One couldn’t mess with mentally unstable people.
“The color is uniform, crystal clear without impurities. Even the imperial tributes I’ve seen don’t have such exquisite craftsmanship.” Liu Zheng couldn’t help but marvel.
Shen You’s mouth twitched.
It might be rare in the ancient glazed glass world.
But in the modern glass world, these were everywhere, costing less than 5 yuan with free shipping on Pinduoduo!
“Shopkeeper, how much for this glazed bottle?”
“Twenty yuan. Take it if you like it.”
“What does ‘yuan’ mean?”
“Twenty taels of silver?”
Liu Zheng’s face lit up, and afraid Shen You might change her mind, he quickly took out two silver ingots and placed them on the table.
Shen You was stunned for a couple of seconds at this exchange.
These two silver ingots looked incredibly authentic. They were slightly irregular in shape, blackened on the surface, and had honeycomb patterns at the bottom.
Ancient silver ingots typically came in 5, 10, and 50 tael standards. The 10-tael was a medium ingot, exactly like these hammer-shaped ones.
Even if they were copper crafts produced last week, the market price for two would be more than 20 yuan.
Liu Zheng cradled the glass bottle like a treasure, examining it while exclaiming in wonder.
Getting such a treasure for just twenty taels made him feel incredibly lucky.
Just as he was about to leave, he caught sight of a small green bottle on the table. His eyes immediately widened.
Could this be the immortal medicine his ancestors spoke of?
The bottle was exquisitely made, the medicine inside was green, and when applied to both temples, it could immediately relieve dizziness. It could also reduce heat, stop pain, and relieve itching.
Years ago, his ancestor had saved the Emperor’s life on the battlefield with a bottle of immortal medicine, bringing a hundred years of peace to the Great Qi dynasty.
“Shopkeeper, this…”
“If you like it, it’s yours.”
Shen You picked up the essential oil, screwed on the cap, and placed it in front of him.
Something was clearly amiss, so she just wanted to get rid of him quickly.
“Really?” Liu Zheng couldn’t believe it.
Shen You nodded calmly and sincerely, “Really, take it.”
“Thank you, immortal shopkeeper, for this medicine.”
Liu Zheng was so excited that his hands trembled. He performed another bow, this time showing respect as one would to an elder.
Casually giving away immortal medicine, what else could she be but an immortal?
He needed to hurry back and have someone examine this medicine.
As he hastily left the shop, Shen You quickly followed, opening the door to the courtyard.
Outside, the alley was calm and quiet, with only two nearby residents riding shared bicycles passing by.
Shen You returned to the shop and checked the front surveillance camera. There was no man in ancient clothing!
Clicking on the computer screen to switch to the courtyard surveillance, this time she saw the man in ancient clothing walking in, with the courtyard gate shown as open.
[Shop Management System has been connected to surveillance.]
[Beginner task completed, +10 points, income: 20 taels of Great Qi silver, business value +2, more content has been unlocked for you.]
Shen You examined everything carefully.
The shop management fee, including utilities and internet, was 20 points per month, otherwise trading in [Great Qi] would be impossible.
Modern technology could seamlessly replace her surveillance content,
But why would someone with such technology go through all this trouble just for a glass bottle and some essential oil?
At that moment, her phone screen lit up.
[Jiangcheng Bank] Your account 8566 paid 1,000 yuan on August 15 at 19:05.
The shocking information and painful balance—just over 10,000 yuan left!
If these two silver ingots were fake, then she would really go mad!
Shen You put on gloves and took out a magnifying glass, first weighing them in her hand, then examining the details.
Having inherited an antique shop, Shen You naturally had some knowledge.
The problem now was that the items weren’t fake, but the reign title on them was unfamiliar.
Well-preserved ancient official silver ingots were worth a lot of money.
For example, a hundred-tael official silver ingot from the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli period had sold at auction for three million yuan. Ordinary fifty-tael official silver from the Qing Dynasty was generally worth around 100,000-200,000 yuan, while ten-tael pieces were worth about 20,000-30,000.
The silver itself wasn’t worth much. The value came from its rarity.
[Shop Management System provides currency exchange services between realms, with only a 20% service fee.]
Looking at the system’s introduction, Shen You smiled politely. That’s quite a steep fee.
Thinking about the 1,000 yuan charge, she couldn’t wait a second longer. She grabbed her keys, locked the door, and headed to the nearby antique district.
Many shops had already closed at this hour. She knocked on the first one she knew.
Xingmao Garden.
“Manager Huo, I received something today. Could you take a look?” Shen You smiled.
Huo Zhiming’s gaze fell on the box in Shen You’s hand.
He recognized this young lady who had recently inherited a relative’s shop.
Everyone thought she was inexperienced and tried to take advantage of her, only to discover after a few attempts that she had studied cultural relic restoration.
From her demeanor, he guessed it must be something good.