These are just the tip of the iceberg. The villagers who sit in the shop all day listening to stories are really savvy. Although most of them don't buy candy or drink tea from the shop every day, they bring their own. They bring not only water but also dry food. Eating dry food is still eating, so Ye Xu's place has unknowingly become a "public canteen," and he has earned a lot of points in the process.
The system is quite adept at exploiting loopholes when it comes to energy absorption. Anyone who has eaten or drunk something in the store will still have their energy absorbed even if they don't eat anything afterwards and just sit there.
Most of the villagers arrive early in the morning, and the first thing they do is eat their flatbreads for breakfast. So they eat and drink as soon as they arrive, with absolutely no energy wasted; everything is absorbed by the system. Then they sit there until evening, not moving an inch all day – truly the perfect "leeks" to be harvested.
Ye Xu himself couldn't stand reading stories from morning till night, so he simply found some suitable vernacular novels and had the robot read them aloud.
Even if robots don't know how to tell stories, it's still quite easy for them to read novels aloud with expression and emotion. Sometimes they even speak better than Ye Xu because they can change their voices when reading dialogue, and they can imitate the voices of old people, children, men, and women quite well.
Ye Xu later decided to set a fixed time to tell stories, one hour each day, while the rest of the time he had several robots take turns reading novels. He also needed a dedicated robot to help him retell the prehistoric stories he had told before, because many people hadn't heard the beginning.
The Ye family's candy store quickly established a shift system, with each story being told at specific times, and then the next one would take over. Several stories were serialized every day, all of different themes, so there was no overlap.
At first, the villagers didn't have any particular preference for stories; they loved listening to everything. But over time, they discovered that they preferred mythology or family feuds. When other stories they didn't like were told, someone in the family who enjoyed them would come, and the villagers would go back to work, returning to listen when their preferred story came.
Ye Xu had the illusion that he was in a television station, where various animated series and TV dramas were broadcast every day. Each household was clearly scheduled, with each person watching TV for one hour each day, and then the next person would watch when their time was up.
"Shouldn't the TV station schedule some news broadcasts?" Ye Xu joked in the group chat.
Mo Bei is currently in Kyoto, where there are many noblewomen, making it a suitable place to start a business selling beauty and medicinal cuisine. Jiang Yuexuan, on the other hand, is in the most prosperous city in Jiangnan, because most of the great gourmets of this dynasty are in the Jiangnan area, where there are many restaurants hailed as the best in the world. She wants to rise to the challenge and make a name for herself there.
Both places are well-informed; once a government order is issued, they are the first to know. If you need information about important national affairs, asking them is the right thing to do.
After hearing Ye Xu's teasing, Jiang Yuexuan actually agreed and said, "From now on, I will give you a summary of national news every day. If there is no news, I will tell you some interesting stories about the big families here."
It is very meaningful to explain the latest government decrees to the people while telling stories. Many people are illiterate and cannot understand the notices posted by the imperial court. They can only rely on hearsay and often misunderstand what the new decrees are about.
Local officials would arrange for people to give explanations, but manpower was limited, and they couldn't have people standing there giving lectures indefinitely. Ye Xu's availability during multiple news segments was good; there wasn't much he could do, he could only offer his best help.
Seeing this, Mo Bei also offered to share the information, as he truly had firsthand news. After all, Jiangnan was far from the capital, and it would take three to five days for news to travel there.
"No." Ye Xu was speechless. "It takes three to five days in Jiangnan, and it will probably take three to five months in this remote and impoverished place. Even if I get the first-hand information, I can't tell anyone. The government order hasn't been delivered yet, and I tell the people first. Then the people go to the government office to ask, and the magistrate says that I don't know about this. Do you two think I'm living too comfortably?"
Mo Bei scratched his head: "It seems so?"
"Then tell me some old gossip about the powerful families." Jiang Yuexuan forgot that there was no internet here. "As for government decrees, you can talk about the old ones. I've checked your county magistrate; he's a good official. Don't worry about offending him by telling the truth."
Some good policies, such as tax reductions, are deliberately misinterpreted by corrupt officials after they are passed down. They tell illiterate people that the court will not reduce taxes this year and that they still have to pay the original amount. After receiving the full amount of taxes, they hide the extra portion for themselves and hand over the rest to the court.
In this situation, Ye Xu told the people that the county government was lying. Although they were doing a good deed, they were bound to get into trouble. This kind of thing could only be done when they were about to leave. Now that things were running smoothly, it was best to find a good official who wouldn't cause trouble.
Ye Xu didn't mind helping this good official and the court maintain their good reputation. In the news segment, he would break down the government order, analyze it in detail, and explain its merits, how meticulously the magistrate implemented it, how it stabilized the surrounding populace, and how highly beneficial it was for his business.
Merchants prefer a stable social environment. Most merchants struggle in chaotic times, and Ye Xu doesn't want any uprisings or disturbances to occur around him.
“Actually, there’s another benefit to promoting benevolent governance,” Jiang Yuexuan added slowly. “The gratitude of the audience is a positive emotion, much more positive than that generated from listening to a book.”
Listening to audiobooks often involves dramatic or frustrating plot twists. At these times, everyone feels tense, worried, and angry, but the system doesn't absorb negative emotions. Only after this phase passes, and the protagonist turns the tables, and everyone feels satisfied, do you earn points.
Positive news is different; it's filled with positive emotions from beginning to end. The more grateful the people are, the stronger their emotions become, especially when their own interests are involved, providing an enormous amount of positive energy.
Han Yingchen, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "You all have information to provide, but I don't seem to have any."
He ran a shop outside the academy, and the scholars there never spoke a word while eating or sleeping, never gossiping. They would only discuss things briefly while waiting for their food, but they didn't talk much about others; they mostly studied the classics and historical texts, showing how studious they were.
Han Yingchen was completely bewildered. As a Western fantasy person, he didn't understand classical Chinese at all, and he even struggled to read modern vernacular Chinese. This was a huge blow to someone who loved gossip; not only could he not hear any gossip, but he was also forced to undergo the baptism of the Four Books and Five Classics. It was too difficult.
Upon hearing this, Mo Bei felt a surge of superiority: "I have plenty of gossip here. The wealthy and powerful women who come to dine here love to get together and talk about other families. But most of it is private stuff, so I don't listen too much."
There were stories of young ladies from different families secretly vying to become the Crown Princess, and of a certain official's wives and concubines engaging in farcical infighting. Even noble ladies had little contact with court politics, so their conversations were mostly limited to matters of the household. If they didn't talk about that, all they could discuss was which shop had the prettiest hairpins and which shop had inferior rouge.
A cold shadow sighed.
Sigh, he really wanted to go over and hear some gossip. Private matters of the inner quarters are fine, they're better than listening to classical Chinese.
Ye Xu's gossip, suitable for the common people, was certainly not one to mix in the private affairs of the inner quarters; such things wouldn't generate any positive emotions. However, the gossip about aristocratic families provided by Jiang Yuexuan was perfectly appropriate.
She was also mischievous, always picking on people's unfortunate or embarrassing moments to tell. These kinds of jokes were suitable for all ages and were guaranteed to make people happy; not only the common people, but even Ye Xu found them hilarious.
At first, the villagers were curious about where Ye Xu knew so much about these important people, but later they explained it themselves. The idea that "Manager Ye came from Jiangnan" spread inexplicably and became so convincing that everyone believed it.
If he hadn't run a shop in the Jiangnan area before, how would he know so many jokes about the Jiangnan aristocratic families? Moreover, he can even tell the latest stories, so he must still have connections in Jiangnan.
I wonder why Manager Ye ended up opening a shop here. Is it hard to make a living in Jiangnan? I've heard that shops in the county often can't compete with others and end up closing down due to poor business. Thinking about it, Manager Ye, who was squeezed out to this poor, remote place, is quite pitiful.
Ye Xu, who wasn't being ostracized, thought, "..." There's no need to give me this much drama.
Chapter 41 Taoist Priest
Once the business was on track, Ye Xu set his sights on the Encounter Tickets. With six tickets in hand and three employees waiting to be hired in the current dimension, he naturally had to recruit them as soon as possible.
The reason Ye Xu hadn't rushed to use the Encounter Tickets was mainly because he was worried that without making a name for himself, he wouldn't be able to attract UR cards to join him. So Ye Xu figured he should play it safe and develop his strength first, and once he made a name for himself, things would be easier later on.
After a month or so of operation, all four stores have gained some fame. But if we're talking about the most popular one, it has to be Jiang Yuexuan's store.
The other three only have brand recognition within a fixed group of people, but Jiang Yuexuan's is different. This has little to do with her personal abilities; it's because her business strategy is too clever.
This man immediately proclaimed his restaurant the best in the world, boasting that it had wines and delicacies that could rival any other in the land. Such arrogance naturally attracted a lot of attention, and now, a month later, even people around Ye Xu were talking about this newly opened restaurant, demonstrating just how famous it was.
Ye Xu paid a little attention to everyone's business situation and found that Han Yingchen's side could be summarized as having the style of a research institute cafeteria, Mo Bei's side had the style of a high-end beauty salon, and his side had the style of farming and leisure.
But Sister Xuan's story is different; it's a female protagonist's face-slapping drama. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the conflicts are endless, making it Xiao Han's recent hot topic of gossip, providing him with a constant stream of new juicy stories.
It was certainly lively, but Ye Xu chose to refuse. Such excitement wasn't for him; he'd rather stay in his small village and be a storyteller.
“However, I think UR Card should be near Sister Xuan,” Ye Xu analyzed. “Her area is obviously a place that attracts a lot of big shots.”
Han Yingchen nodded in agreement. Based on his own experience when he first joined the company, he felt that the shops selected by the system must have UR cards distributed around them. Although these four shops were all located by themselves, they were actually selected from the options provided by the system.
“Kyoto and the most prosperous cities in Jiangnan have a special status and are prone to producing outstanding figures.” Mo Bei unusually refrained from arguing with Ye Xu.
Ye Xu then said, "Then I'll try using an Encounter Ticket. If the location is over there, I'll have the system guide the arrow to your side."
After saying that, Ye Xu took out the Encounter Ticket and clicked to use it. The next second, a familiar arrow appeared in front of him.
Even though he knew the target the arrow was pointing to was definitely not nearby, Ye Xu still subconsciously looked in that direction. As a result, he saw a woman in white robes sitting quietly on a bench in the corner, listening to a story.
The reason he noticed her first, rather than anyone else around her, was not only because she was exceptionally beautiful and had an otherworldly air, but also because of the golden downward arrow above her head. Clearly, the system was telling Ye Xu in this way that this was the woman he was looking for.
Ye Xu: Oh, we're so close! What a coincidence!
Not hearing Ye Xu speak, the other three curiously asked, "Manager/Xiao Xu/Chunlong, why aren't you saying anything?"
Ye Xu ignored them and casually replied, "The person is nearby, I'll go strike up a conversation first," before closing the chat window.
At this moment, the robot in the shop is telling the story of the Primordial Era series. Ye Xu's Primordial Era series has been finished, so the robot is starting from the beginning again. It just so happens that it has reached the part about Hongjun becoming a saint. Because the existence of Dao Ancestor Hongjun is too important to be deleted, the scenes about Hongjun have been retained, but the subsequent plot related to the three religions has not been brought up.
Ye Xu felt a headache coming on when he heard the robot talking about becoming an ancestor and saints, and when he glanced at the white Taoist robe on the young lady.
Why would telling a fantasy story attract orthodox Taoist priests? Isn't this just making fun of their patriarch in front of their disciples and followers?
Ye Xu vaguely remembered that Hongjun was a fictional character in the novel *Investiture of the Gods*, but many people mistakenly believed that such a deity truly existed in Taoism. Taoism disliked Hongjun, especially when someone asked them directly why there was no publicly recognized statue of him for worship.
In short, the fictional character Hongjun doesn't have a good reputation among Taoists. This made Ye Xu even more uneasy. Even though Hongjun was only making his first appearance in the current world, the fact that he was called the "Taoist Ancestor" was enough to provoke hatred from Taoists.
Ah, I'm so stressed right now, my head is pounding. I should have known better than to talk about the prehistoric era.
Ye Xu steeled himself and walked over, praying that this young lady would be easy to talk to and wouldn't get angry. But judging from her aloof demeanor, she didn't seem to have a good temper, and just standing next to her made him feel immense pressure.
The UR that Ye Xu got last time with the Encounter Ticket was his own precious daughter, but in reality, he communicated with the system through Zhenzhen, and Ye Xu didn't even participate. So Ye Xu had absolutely no experience dealing with wild URs, and he was very nervous at the moment. He wanted to ask Sister Xuan what to do, but he also felt that he couldn't always rely on Sister Xuan, and he had to use his own brain.
Seeing the shopkeeper standing around him with a conflicted expression, neither speaking nor leaving, the white-robed female Taoist looked over in confusion: "What is it?"
Upon hearing her voice, which was even colder than her temperament, Ye Xu became even more nervous and stammered, "Dao... Daoist Master, you've come to listen to the story too?" He felt like he had asked a pointless question.
Fortunately, Miss Kundao was much better-tempered than she seemed. She nodded slightly and praised, "The story is very interesting."
After observing for a moment and confirming that there was no sarcasm in the statement, Ye Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Realizing that he had not offended the other party, Ye Xu's emotional intelligence returned, and he personally served tea as a gesture of hospitality.
People at that time held Taoist priests and Buddhist monks in high esteem, and would generally take the initiative to entertain them when they came to visit. In addition, Ye Xu offered free tea, so the white-robed female Taoist priest did not refuse, but generously accepted it and thanked him.
Just then, the segment on ancient Chinese fantasy novels ended, and someone else went up to tell the story of a general suppressing bandits. Kun Dao was clearly not very interested in this, so Ye Xu took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with her.
Ye Xu was a little curious about the mechanism of this Encounter Ticket. Did the system simply filter out people who met the UR card criteria and forcibly add them to the list of those available for employment without even asking? Or had the system actually contacted the people beforehand, and they knew about the existence of the Dimensional Shop?
The Zhenzhen from before was a special case and doesn't count. The female Daoist in front of him was the first encounter card Ye Xu had seriously encountered. He wanted to ask for clarification, but he didn't know how to say it. What if she didn't know and wouldn't agree to join him? If he just mentioned the dimensional shop, revealing the existence of the system would be secondary; the main concern was that he was worried about being mistaken for having a hysterical episode.
After much thought, Ye Xu decided to try a more indirect approach.
Taoist priests are different from ordinary people. They possess Taoist magic, and even if it's just for show, it's still better than what ordinary people can do. After revealing this information, the worst that can happen is that he'll be seen as a charlatan. It shouldn't be a big problem. Who knows, maybe they really do know magic and will believe him.
It's a shame the system won't let me send out contract invitations directly. Otherwise, like Han Yingchen did, the system panel would appear directly, and there wouldn't be so much trouble.
While the story of the prehistoric era was being told on stage, Zhenzhen was playing with her friends in the backyard.
She and her friends had already heard the complete story twice, so they weren't particularly interested in the prehistoric era. However, the story about suppressing bandits later on really appealed to the children, and they all rushed out, eager to hear about the great general and hero.
Zhenzhen followed behind, walking at a leisurely pace, displaying the demeanor of a little lady. As she crossed the threshold, she glanced at the counter subconsciously and was a little surprised to find that her father wasn't reading a novel there.
She stood on tiptoe and peered around for a while before finally finding her father. He was talking to an aunt she had never seen before. Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment, then went over and sat quietly next to her father, not daring to interrupt.
Ye Xu was already struggling to keep up the awkward conversation, and he hadn't even managed to bring up the topic he wanted to subtly introduce. If it weren't for his slight understanding of Taoism, the two of them wouldn't have been able to get the conversation going at all. Now that he saw his daughter arrive, he breathed a sigh of relief and instantly figured out how to break the deadlock.
"Master, this is my daughter, her name is Ye Zhen. Zhenzhen, call me Master."
Zhenzhen smiled and said softly, "Greetings, Daoist Master."
The white-robed female Taoist's expression softened noticeably. She performed a Taoist salute and uttered, "May the Heavenly Venerable bestow boundless blessings." This is a Taoist blessing, wishing the recipient more good fortune, and it is also a sacred title frequently recited by Taoist priests.
Ye Xu spoke up at the opportune moment to introduce himself. Since both father and daughter had introduced themselves, it was only polite for Kun Dao to do the same.
As expected, the other party spoke up, saying, "My Taoist name is Ji Ling."
"Ji" means law or rule. "Ling" means immortal spirit or divine being. Most Taoist names are self-chosen, using laws to govern the spirits of heaven and earth; this Taoist priest's aspirations are truly grand.
Ye Xu was filled with awe.
“I observe that you and your daughter are not related by blood.” Daoist Ji Ling rarely took the initiative to start a conversation. She looked at Zhenzhen, her eyes seemingly able to see through a person’s past and present lives.
Zhenzhen was a little scared and hid behind her father.
Ye Xu did not deny it and nodded generously: "Zhenzhen is my adopted daughter. Her parents died early and she was mistreated by her uncle and aunt, so I adopted her."
The aunties around listened intently for a while, and when they suddenly heard this exciting news, they were overjoyed.
They had assumed that since Manager Ye had been married before, any subsequent marriage would be to her as a second wife, requiring her to pay respects and kowtow to the memorial tablet of the first wife. This was something that families who cherished their daughters were somewhat reluctant to do. However, upon learning that there was no first wife and that the daughter was adopted, the women began to consider helping to arrange a marriage again.
Over the past month, Ye Xu had openly and subtly rejected numerous matchmakers' offers. Now, sensing the awkward atmosphere, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He had forgotten that there were still quite a few people around; he should have invited the Taoist priest to the backyard to discuss these matters further.
Ji Ling also noticed the unusual situation nearby, and after a moment's thought, she understood. She took the initiative to get up and suggested that they go to a less crowded place to talk in detail.
The two shouldn't have had much to talk about, but Ji Ling wanted to bring up Zhenzhen's matter. She observed that Zhenzhen had good potential and could cultivate under her guidance, so she was eager to try and take her as a disciple.
Ye Xu was stunned; he hadn't expected things to develop this way.