The Difficulty of Opening a Store

Ma Feifei was completely unaware of what had happened at the Mysterious Bookstore. At that moment, he had already arrived at the Mysterious Bookstore Branch Two with Yun Qingyang and Chang Kong. It was exactly 9:30.

It had been almost a month since the Bookstore had been visited, and the tables and chairs were covered in dust. Chang Kong volunteered to fetch water from the backyard to wipe them clean, Yun Qingyang went to get a broom to sweep the floor, and Ma Feifei opened the Bookstore door to prepare for business.

Chang'an Street is completely different during the day and at night. The street is bustling with pedestrians, and the rows of shops are all open. Customers come and go, some satisfied, some shaking their heads and waving their hands, and some blushing.

The whole street was so lively, a stark contrast to the scene when Ma Feifei opened his shop in Dubian Town.

The capital is the capital. Even the chaotic lower three cities are far superior to a small border town like Dubian Town.

As soon as Ma Feifei opened his door, at least a dozen pedestrians turned to look, but they didn't know what was sold inside, so they weren't interested in asking and left after a glance.

Ma Feifei immediately took out the notice board from the branch store, wrote a few words on it with Ballpoint Pen, and put it at the entrance.

"Bookstore: Reading books here will bring you various amazing benefits. The cost is one Spirit Crystal per hour. Books in the Bookstore are for viewing only, not for sale."

Daily business hours: Depends on the owner's mood.

Well, that's a bit capricious, but Ma Feifei isn't just showing off. The branch has only been open one night a month so far—what else could it be but depending on his mood?

As soon as the sign was put up, passersby stopped to look at it, and after reading what was written on it, they immediately started shouting.

"Reading books can bring all sorts of magical benefits? What benefits can you possibly gain? It's just about gaining some knowledge!"

"Not only are the books in the Bookstore only for reading and not for sale, but charging one Spirit Crystal per hour for reading? Has the owner of this store gone mad?"

"Perhaps he really is insane; look at the last sentence."

More and more people gathered to watch, from three or five to more than a dozen. This was the capital city. Although Chang'an Street was remote, its population base far exceeded that of Dubian Town in the past.

However, people weren't particularly interested in this Bookstore; the cost of using Spirit Crystal to read books immediately deterred anyone from going in to try it out.

This is the capital city, but it's also Chang'an Street, one of the three lower cities. Ordinary people and cultivators coexist here, but even if there are cultivators, they wouldn't just take out Spirit Crystal and go in to read books in this strange Bookstore.

So Ma Feifei encountered the exact same situation as when he first came to this world and opened Bookstore in Dubian Town: no one came to his shop.

But this time Ma Feifei isn't injured. He has no missions to do and doesn't need to earn money to support himself. I'll just open the branch here; take it or leave it.

So much so that after Ma Feifei put the notice board down the steps at the entrance, he ran into Bookstore to help clean it, leaving passersby to stop and discuss, then leave, discuss, then leave.

But in reality, Ma Feifei oversimplified the situation. The moment the branch opened, someone had already noticed it.

"Quickly go back and report to the Prime Minister that the little shop is open for business!"

"Quickly go back and report to the Pavilion Master, the Bookstore is open for business!"

"Quickly go back and report to the young master, that Power Trip little shop is open for business!"

Ma Feifei was completely unaware of all this. He was cleaning the Bookstore when he heard a clattering sound outside. Just then, Ma Feifei and his team finished cleaning the Bookstore and went outside to find that the crowd on Chang'an Street had thinned out considerably. Several squads of soldiers in black armor had pushed aside most of the onlookers and cordoned off an open space in front of the branch store.

"Shopkeeper!" Upon seeing Ma Feifei, Jing Xing Jing Xing walked over and bowed respectfully to Ma Feifei.

Since acquiring the art of Summoning Rain in this Bookstore, Jing Xing successfully solved the severe drought in Qin State. Not only did he regain the favor of Qin Shi Huang and resume his official position, but he also won the love of the people of Qin State. Now, Jing Xing's prestige in Qin State is extremely high. Even Prime Minister Di Heyu has to give him some respect, let alone oppose him.

All of this was given to Jing Xing by this Bookstore, so Jing Xing was naturally grateful to the Bookstore owner.

"What's going on?" Ma Feifei was still a little confused... How did Jing Xing find out about her Bookstore so soon after it opened? Had he been keeping an eye on the Mysterious Bookstore Branch Two all along?

"Shopkeeper, I've come specifically to thank you for your kindness in Summoning Rain last time, upon hearing that your Bookstore was Jing Xing." Jing Xing finished speaking with a cupped hand and waved to the soldiers below, "Bring the things up."

"Da da da~"

"Knock knock knock~"

Squads of soldiers carried treasure chests, each about the size of a person, and placed them in the middle of the open space; there were twenty chests in total.

"Crunch~"

The treasure chest was opened, reflecting a dazzling light under the sun. Ma Feifei frowned slightly, discovering that it was filled entirely with Spirit Crystal.

"Whoosh~"

Yun Qingyang appeared beside Ma Feifei, her eyes Covet on the treasure chest below the steps.

Ma Feifei grabbed Yun Qingxu's arm and pointed to the treasure chest below, asking, "Sect Master, what's this?"

"This is to express my gratitude to the shop owner for saving my Jing Xing. I hope the shop owner will accept this 50 million Spirit Crystal." Jing Xing bowed again with his hands clasped.

If Summoning Rain is a fair trade, then Ma Feifei saving Jing Xing from being chased that night was a great favor. That's why Jing Xing came here today. As for why he used a treasure chest instead of a spatial bag... it's naturally for the sake of making a grand display.

"Hmm..." Ma Feifei's eyelids twitched at the mention of fifty million Spirit Crystal. He gripped the nearly unruly Yun Qingyang tightly and said, feigning concern, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Feifei felt a sharp pain in his arm. Glancing down, he saw Yun Qingyang pinching him. It hurt terribly...

"A life-saving grace should be repaid with a spring of gratitude, let alone this small token of Jing Xing appreciation. I hope the shopkeeper will not refuse." Jing Xing bowed again. In his eyes, Ma Feifei was now a god. Not to mention fifty million Spirit Crystal, even five hundred million would be obtained if Ma Feifei asked for them.

"Ahem, then I'll accept it without further ado, Qingyang." Ma Feifei calmly took off the ring on her hand, gesturing for Yun Qingyang to collect the treasure chest. Upon hearing Ma Feifei call her, Yun Qingyang immediately dropped the ring, ran downstairs, grabbed the treasure chest, and dashed into the Bookstore...

"Ha, naive." Ma Feifei sneered, slowly putting on the ring, completely unconcerned that Yun Qingyang had taken all the treasure chests away.

"Will you be reading today, Master?" Since a regular customer had come, Ma Feifei naturally wanted to get him to come in and boost his Bookstore's sales.

"Of course I'll take a look," Jing Xing replied with a smile, casually handing over a spatial bag.

Ma Feifei took it and glanced at it; it was a full million.

Ma Feifei glanced at Jing Xing in surprise. Ma Feifei was certain that Jing Xing had seen the notice board and knew that the reading fee was one Spirit Crystal per hour, but the price he offered was the same as the reading fee that night. This person's actions clearly showed that he wanted to befriend Ma Feifei.

Ma Feifei didn't back down. Since the other party was willing to spend millions of times the price to read the book, Ma Feifei had no reason to refuse, right? He put away his spatial bag and prepared to take Jing Xing the Bookstore.

Suddenly, another commotion broke out outside Chang'an Street.

Ma Feifei turned his head and his eyes suddenly narrowed. The people who came were none other than Qin Prime Minister Di Heyu and King Qin Ziying!