Ye Xu didn't take the matter to heart at all; he considered it over after chatting with Sister Xuan. He was more curious about something else: how Sister Xuan had unlocked all the dimensions.
"To gain free access by completing system tasks, do I really need to clear so many dimensions?"
Ye Xu felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about the number of shops Jiang Yuexuan had opened. Even if each shop only spent ten days or so earning 100 million points and then leaving, it would still take about ten years across hundreds of planes.
"You mean that?" Jiang Yuexuan chuckled. "Actually, you don't need that many dimensions. Unbinding the system only requires submitting 500 million points, while not unbinding requires 1 billion. After submitting 1 billion, you can freely choose the type of system. If you don't want to open a restaurant, you can choose other systems to open other shops."
The 1 billion is a one-time package unlock fee for the entire system. Once spent, you can freely choose and switch between systems. Moreover, this time it's bound to a system without its own consciousness, essentially a pre-written program panel that you can play as a standalone game.
Ye Xu was very interested in this free system, but alas...
"How come it's another billion?" Ye Xu had just finished paying off his debts, and now the only points he had left were used to pay the system's annual utility and logistics fees, and the commissions for other employees.
At this rate, Ye Xu would need to visit at least two more planes to accumulate enough points. Furthermore, it's best not to hire too many UR employees during this period, lest the points he receives be significantly reduced.
Ye Xu was a little undecided, so he simply asked Sister Xuan and the system for advice: "Should I hire more UR employees, or should I accumulate enough points to gain freedom as soon as possible?"
"Either is fine." Jiang Yuexuan felt there was no difference. "UR smart employees are relatively few in number, and there is a hidden hiring limit of up to twenty. Even if you hire all of them, according to the current revenue sharing, you will only get 40% less points per plane."
After deducting operating expenses and pet allowances, the remaining 60% still leaves over 500 million. As long as no more money is wasted on other things, it's the same as not increasing the number of employees; it would take two dimensions to accumulate 1 billion, so in that sense, there's no difference.
The system's response was: "Hire more people and travel to more planes."
Ye Xu asked curiously, "Why?"
The system didn't answer. Shuangshuang peeked out from somewhere and chuckled, "Because after the store manager got free, he's no longer working for it, so the emotional energy he earns doesn't go into its pocket!"
Ye Xu: "..."
The reason is too real.
Based on Jiang Yuexuan and Shuangshuang's complementary explanations, Ye Xu finally understood what emotional energy was all about.
As a shopkeeper working under the system, all the emotional energy he collects belongs to the system. After the system takes the energy, it converts it into tokens and points, which the shopkeeper can then use for spending.
This raises the issue of loss rate.
For example, Ye Xu earns 100 units of energy and gains 100 points. If he directly uses the energy, he can truly obtain the benefit worth 100 energy. However, if he buys something from the points shop, the value is at least halved.
The items in the shop are all formed by the system using energy, and the final price is determined by the system itself. An item priced at 100 points may have only consumed the equivalent of 10 points of energy when it was formed, allowing the system to make a net profit of 90 points with tears in its eyes.
Therefore, it's better to work for someone else than to go it alone. Freelance store managers with their own private systems don't need to go through this process, and no matter who it is, whether it's the "system master" or anyone else, they can't profit from the price difference.
Jiang Yuexuan showed Ye Xu her current system panel. There was no "System Shop" in the panel; instead, there was a "Synthesis Interface." As the name suggests, in this interface, the shopkeeper can use energy to synthesize the things they need, including the goods they intend to sell.
A note from the author:
The four dimensions were decided from the beginning, because before I even started writing, I was very aware that I wasn't good at writing food articles.
However, I'm a terrible writer but I love to write, and I've been itching to write a collection of this niche genre of [dimensional worlds], [food], and [management], so I stubbornly started writing anyway.
To avoid torturing myself with suspense later, I made a compromise and decided to only write four worlds. This way, I can enjoy the story while reducing the pain, which is perfect (...).
Chapter 36 Plan
After absorbing energy, the free shopkeeper's system stores it in the background energy bank, which the shopkeeper can access at any time. Whatever the shopkeeper wants, they can simply consume energy in the synthesis interface to synthesize it.
Ye Xu saw the energy balance in Sister Xuan's backend, a dozen or so zeros, making her eyes dizzy at first glance. She said that the previous interest-free loan was made by her, but she only had energy on hand and no points, so she exchanged her energy for an equivalent amount of points with the system's leader, and then transferred the money to Ye Xu's account.
"Can the synthesis interface synthesize anything?" Ye Xu thought this cheat code was too overpowered.
Jiang Yuexuan said, "It wasn't like that at first, which is why I cleared so many dimensions."
Otherwise, she could have run away once she had accumulated enough points. Why would she stay under the control of the ruler and be exploited for so long? Although she does have a bit of a collecting habit, she is not the kind of person who would obediently work under the ruler for so many years just to satisfy that collecting habit.
In fact, to gain the permission to synthesize something, you need to have purchased similar products yourself. For example, with bloodlines, you only have the permission to synthesize bloodlines after you have purchased them.
Other items were similar; Jiang Yuexuan stayed behind to complete more tasks and earn more points in order to collect all the items. The system shop only accepted point transactions, and it would disappear after becoming a freelance shopkeeper. She had to resolve this issue before going independent.
Ye Xu was somewhat worried after hearing this. Didn't that mean he would have to stay and spend more years with his father? But then he had a new idea.
He has Sister Xuan by his side who has already unlocked all the items. If he needs anything, he can simply borrow her crafting interface. Of course, he can't let Sister Xuan work for free; he should be paid for her hard work. He just doesn't know if it's possible to trade between shop owners who are separated by dimensions.
Once they are free, Ye Xu will definitely not be able to spend all his time with Sister Xuan and the others; everyone will have their own lives to live.
"Borrowing my panel is no problem, and I don't need to charge you a fee, but the shipping cost might be a bit higher." Jiang Yuexuan pondered for a moment, "Or you can continue to buy an annual shipping service in the future, which mainly depends on whether you will continue to run shops that need to restock."
Ye Xu sensed something and pressed further, "Are there any shops that don't need to stock up?"
"Of course there are. If your panel can directly synthesize goods, you won't need to use procurement channels to purchase goods."
The food system's shop doesn't sell ingredients because there are cheaper options available in the purchasing panel, so they simply weren't listed here. Ingredients can actually be synthesized using energy, and the cost isn't high; it's just that buying ingredients with points seems a bit extravagant.
However, for other things, such as elixirs from the cultivation world, even if purchased from across different dimensions, the prices are not cheap and the process is troublesome. Most cultivation dimensions only accept spirit stones, and you have to exchange currency for spirit stones before making a purchase. Unfortunately, the exchange rate between ordinary currencies like gold, silver, and copper and spirit stones is extremely high, making it uneconomical to buy them with real money.
At this point, using energy synthesis is much more convenient, faster, and cheaper. The spiritual energy in spirit stones is a type of energy, and emotions are also a type of energy; converting between the two is effortless, and their values are roughly equivalent.
After listening, Ye Xu seemed to understand something: "So I'd better unlock more products to save myself some trouble, right?"
Jiang Yuexuan nodded: "That's what I was thinking, but it's a pity you don't have enough points. The system only allows me to transfer 500 million points to you per plane, otherwise I could lend you more money, and you can pay me back with energy later."
"Why bother? There's absolutely no need to artificially set this loan limit." Ye Xu quickly grasped the point that could be discussed, and he summoned the system to reason with it.
“Look, whether Sister Xuan lends me money or I earn it myself, in the end I use points to spend it with you, and the difference you earn is the same. If I let her lend me money now, I can spend it quickly and you can get the difference directly. But if you don’t let her lend me the money, I have to earn it little by little, which wastes time and prolongs the consumption process.”
"According to Sister Xuan's experience, it would take hundreds of planes to collect all the goods, at least ten years. In such a long time, if you sign a contract with a new store manager, you will have another target to fleece. You can make enough profit for ten years in one go, and then free up your time to recruit new fat sheep. It will be beneficial to you in every way."
"Also, you've seen how well Sister Xuan and I know how to exploit loopholes. Do you really enjoy working with store managers like us for a long time? Why don't we just let each other go? Anyway, we don't need your money. If someone were willing to give me my salary for the next ten years all at once, I would be overjoyed."
"You'd better think this through. If you don't agree now, I might change my mind later. I also don't know if I'll find it too troublesome to collect all the items and give up halfway through. After all, there are just too many types of items. If I can't see any hope, I'll definitely give up. It's not like I can't make a living by only unlocking the commonly used items. Didn't Sister Xuan say she's willing to provide me with technical assistance? So I don't need to get the production rights myself."
The system, bombarded with a barrage of words, was speechless.
How come you two always have so many twisted arguments?
But this twisted logic was damn tempting. Things did seem to be just as Ye Xu said: it was better to make money all at once than to keep people trapped and make money slowly.
In business, you have to avoid things getting complicated. Finding someone like Ye Xu and Jiang Yuexuan willing to unlock all the products next time won't be easy. Now that we've finally found a big customer, we should definitely get the deal done quickly.
The system recalled the store managers it had previously contracted with, and many of them, let alone unlocking a large number of products, had no intention of remaining store managers indefinitely.
Many people chose to hand over 500 million points to leave the system and return to a normal life. Most of these people had painstakingly accumulated the points needed to redeem themselves, so they didn't have any spare money to spend in the in-game store.
"I'll think about it," the system said reservedly. Even if it was tempted, it couldn't agree immediately. It had to stall for time, otherwise these two guys would take it even less seriously in the future.
Ye Xu wasn't in a hurry. He felt the system would definitely compromise. If it weren't willing, it wouldn't have said it was considering it; it would have rejected it outright. So, the matter was already settled.
Ye Xu then turned her attention to another matter: "If I become a free person, what will happen to the shop's employees and pets? Will they come with me to open another shop, or will they be laid off?"
He felt that he probably wouldn't leave directly, otherwise Sister Xuan wouldn't have advised him to hire more shop assistants.
"It depends on you. You can choose to bring them along, or you can respect their own opinion," Jiang Yuexuan said quite casually.
This business tycoon, who owns hundreds of restaurants, has witnessed the arrival and departure of countless employees from various intelligent races. In her past, some were willing to follow her all the way, some chose to accumulate enough points to buy what they wanted and then resign and go home, and others transitioned into store managers.
Followers will form a subservient contract with the shopkeeper, becoming pet-like beings. Currently, the pet park follows Ye Xu wherever he goes; all the pets there have contracts with the shopkeeper himself, not through the system.
Ye Xu could understand this. Luna was essentially an intelligent race, and had become one of the pets. However, they were more like summoned creatures than pets, and according to Shuangshuang, if you treated your pets too badly, they might run away.
What is the process for transitioning to a store manager position?
Ye Xu felt that none of the current UR staff in the store seemed like the type to be willing to become his summons, especially Mo Bei, who would never be willing to be subordinate to someone else. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should become the new store managers.
Since the store manager was transferred midway through the process, rather than being promoted to a permanent position after the previous store manager redeemed themselves, it indicates that there is quite a lot of room for manipulation here.
Jiang Yuexuan confirmed Ye Xu's guess: "There are many ways to change jobs, and you have several options. The more points you submit, the better the benefits you will receive."
If you can accumulate 1 billion points, you can directly become a free store manager. If you can't come up with 1 billion, 10 million points will make you a regular store manager, like Ye Xu is now.
Based on 10 million points, the more points you receive, the better the initial store conditions will be.
In fact, each store manager will randomly receive different infrastructure when inheriting a store in another dimension.
Ye Xu received 9 sets of tables and chairs, the highest-level procurement panel, three free unused floors, and a manager's apartment—all signs of his good fortune. Normally, a dimensional shop would provide between 3 and 12 sets of initial tables and chairs; 9 sets is already considered a lot.
While purchasing panels is standard practice, there are completely different concepts between basic and advanced panels.
The basic panel only allows you to source goods from certain planes; you need to upgrade to unlock more planes. Even that's not all; features like product ratings and filtering by criteria are only available in the advanced panel and require a significant investment to unlock.
Ye Xu had access to a top-tier procurement panel from the start, which significantly reduced the difficulty of the mission. Without it, he would never have been able to complete the mission in his first dimension so quickly.
Many store managers struggle because of unfavorable starting conditions. This is why Ye Xu finds it hard to understand why he thinks completing the 1 billion points task is easy, while others can't even raise 100 million. Furthermore, Jiang Yuexuan tells him that most stores initially only have a lobby and staff dormitories; the three floors in between are empty. Some unlucky players don't even have staff dormitories and have to sleep on the floor in the lobby until they save enough money to buy a floor.
Ye Xu was truly taken aback; he stared in disbelief, speechless: "I always thought I wasn't very lucky..."
He felt his situation was too difficult when the system didn't provide initial funds. But now, he thinks it's nothing to lack initial funds; the procurement panel alone made up for it. He wonders how many points it would take to upgrade the procurement panel to the highest level.
Hidden assets are the most impressive.
Ye Xu couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that you helped me get such good initial conditions, Sister Xuan?"
After all, it was the other party who facilitated his contract with the system, so it's normal for him to do something extra.
“No, not at all,” Jiang Yuexuan denied. “I originally planned to send you an application right away, and then lend you money so you could build your own infrastructure after I got to your side.”
They hadn't really met at that time, and Jiang Yuexuan wasn't a saint; she wouldn't do anything extra. Lending money was fine, but giving it away for free was out of the question—after all, a little kindness is appreciated, but too much will breed resentment.
Ye Xu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
He already owed Sister Xuan enough favors. Although it's true that the more debts you have, the less you have to worry about them, he didn't feel he should accept them with a clear conscience. The less the better, so it would be easier to repay later.
“Then let’s do it this way. According to the profit sharing I’ve given, everyone should be able to get nearly 20 million points by the end of each dimension, which is more than enough to become the lowest-level store manager. They’ll still have a few million points left for store operations, so completing the task won’t be too difficult.”
As for spending more points to get better infrastructure at the beginning, Ye Xu felt it was unnecessary. Even without the top-tier procurement panel, the task could still be completed. Ye Xu didn't think it was worth spending so much money on a top-tier panel, since the system wouldn't refund that money. It would be better for them to upgrade the panel themselves.
“Upgrading the basic panel won’t cost that much,” Jiang Yuexuan agreed with Ye Xu’s idea. “Besides, the store manager only needs the filtering and rating functions; there’s no need for anything else. Unlocking just those two won’t cost too much.”
The discussion about the follow-up arrangements was pretty much over, and Ye Xu went back and informed the others.
Han Yingchen was a little worried about going out on his own, but Ye Xu said he could borrow the robot butler, which put his mind at ease. His own personality wasn't really suited to being a store manager; he wasn't good at those mundane store management tasks.
Compared to Han Yingchen, Ye Xu didn't actually have that much need for a robot butler; its existence was just for him to be lazy. Sister Xuan said that after he redeemed himself, he could take everything in the entire shop with him, and lending a few robots to friends was no problem at all.
“I want a housekeeper too.” Mo Bei leaned closer. “Tell Tian Tian to work harder and pull out another one.”
Ye Xu: "I haven't agreed to lend it to you yet."
The chubby, childish chicken was a little unhappy: "Are you still angry about me eating your bag of spicy strips yesterday?"
After spending time together, Mo Bei believed that he and Ye Xu had reconciled and become good brothers. Even if they fought every now and then, they were still good brothers; bickering and arguing made their relationship seem better.
He didn't even hold Ye Xu's comment about his ugly handwriting, and was even willing to reduce his prejudice against the Dragon Clan for Ye Xu's sake. How could Ye Xu not treat him as a good brother as well?
Staring at him with accusatory eyes from Mo Bei, who possessed an incredibly handsome face, Ye Xu was indeed finding it a bit unbearable. He couldn't very well say that he considered Mo Bei at most a frenemy, not quite a good brother.