She opened the water bottle and poured an appropriate amount into the top compartment and the heating compartment below. "Use your judgment with the water in the top compartment. At most, just cover the food. For the heating compartment underneath, just cover the heating pack."
After adding water to both boxes, she put the lids on. "All done. Just give it fifteen minutes. Next, I'll get this self-heating rice ready for you too. You have a big appetite, so this one won't fill you up."
Once everything was ready, Shen Moxi thought for a moment, then bought a large chiffon cake from the system. She broke it in half and handed one half to Song Qi. "Have this to tide you over. We'll eat the rest once it's ready. You must be hungry by now."
Song Qi took it. "Is this different from what we ate this morning?"
"Yes, this is called cake. It's made differently from bread. This kind is softer and tastier. Try it." Shen Moxi took a big bite. "Mm, the cake from the system tastes even better than what you get from a cake shop. It's so good."
Song Qi took a bite too and nodded approvingly. "Mm, it tastes even better than that other kind, though it's a little hard to swallow."
"Drink more water. After a while, when we have more money, we'll rent a place to live and bring Aunt Shan and the others out to do business too. Then I'll open a dessert shop selling all kinds of desserts, milk tea, and other drinks. It'll definitely be popular." Shen Moxi grinned as she pictured the future.
"Mm. Whatever you want to do, go ahead. I'll keep learning so I can help you," Song Qi said with a nod.
"Hey, someone like you would definitely be considered a warm guy in our later era. You'd be in high demand, both good-looking and considerate." Shen Moxi looked at him and burst out laughing, while inwardly she was laughing herself silly. Good thing I was lucky enough to meet him first.
Song Qi smiled at that. "So you're saying you got yourself a bargain."
"Absolutely. Heaven's been pretty good to me."
Song Qi nodded. Heaven in this world has been pretty good to me too. Though I don't know what the Heavenly Dao of this world is like, the Heavenly Dao of our world was certainly cruel and heartless.
By the time they finished the cake, the little hot pots were ready too. Shen Moxi eagerly opened them and pushed one in front of him. "Hurry, try it. It's ready to eat."
Song Qi picked up his chopsticks and tried a slice of potato, then some wide glass noodles. The heat made him grab the water bottle and take a big gulp. "It's a little spicy, but it really does taste very good."
"Hot pot only really hits the spot when it's spicy. Go on, eat. You can have the hot pot with rice." Shen Moxi opened the rice container.
"Mm, you should hurry and eat too. The people over there should be coming out soon." Song Qi set the rice beside his little hot pot, thoroughly enjoying himself as he alternated mouthfuls of rice and meat.
The two quickly finished eating. Shen Moxi bought a box of tissues from the system, pulled out two, and handed them to him. "Wipe your mouth with these."
"What's this? It's so soft, not like a towel." Song Qi took them, rubbing and kneading them.
"They're called tissues, made from sanitary paper. They're disposable, so just throw them away after wiping. They're more convenient than towels." After wiping her mouth, Shen Moxi wiped her hands and tossed the tissues into the little hot pot container.
Song Qi followed her example, wiping his mouth and hands before tossing them in. With a wave of Shen Moxi's hand, all the rubbish from their meal went into the rubbish recycler.
Song Qi felt as though he was living off a woman now, with no chance to put his abilities to use. Apart from the money and valuables in his space being of some use, he could hardly help with anything at all. He felt deeply uncomfortable about it. It looked like he would have to learn faster.
Clang, clang, clang... The sound signaling the end of the shift rang out from inside the factory. Shen Moxi immediately stood and straightened the clothes, waiting for the next few moneybags to arrive.
Before long, people came out through the gates in small groups, and several women ran toward her together.
"Comrade, we're here! We brought some other girls along too!" A young woman with two braids ran over, laughing.
"Thank you so much. I'll give you a little discount," Shen Moxi said with a smile as she shook her hand.
The young woman laughed. "Thank you so much!" She turned and beckoned to the women behind her. "Come over here! Her clothes are so pretty. I haven't even seen anything like them in the department store."
The women gathered around, chattering as they discussed the clothes and held them up against themselves.
Before long, her stall became the center of attention. Seeing that she also had men's clothing, quite a few unmarried young men stopped and came over to take a look.
As the crowd grew, Song Qi came to her side to help collect the money. Half an hour later, nearly all the men's and women's clothes had sold. Only two or three pieces remained, along with two pairs of leather shoes. The leggings were sold out.
Once everyone had left, Shen Moxi tidied up the few scattered pieces of clothing that remained and pulled Song Qi down onto a bench to count the money. "Come on, let's count how much we made today. This is all pure profit. We didn't have to invest a single cent, all thanks to that luminous pearl of yours."
Song Qi found her money-loving look utterly adorable. He sat beside her, watching as she counted the notes one by one, then stacked them neatly together.
"There's eight hundred and thirty-eight yuan here. Add the fifty-eight yuan in the bag, and our net income today is eight hundred and ninety-six yuan." Shen Moxi handed him the money to put in the bag, then hugged him excitedly. "Oh my goodness, Song Qi, I never thought we'd sell so much today. I'm so happy!"
Song Qi patted her back, happy for her too. "This is all the result of your hard work. If the clothes you designed weren't pretty, they wouldn't have bought them. So you deserve the most credit."
"Thank you, Song Qi. Without you, I couldn't have made something out of nothing. Who knows how long it would have taken me to earn this money, or when I could have unlocked the workshop? So you deserve the most credit." Shen Moxi hugged him excitedly.
Feeling her warmth and her joy, Song Qi's heart swelled with warmth too.
"So, are we going back now, or staying a little longer?" Song Qi ruffled her hair with his large hand.
"Let's pack up and take a walk. I'll show you around town, and we can see if there are any places for rent while we're at it. We can start looking now. This money should be enough." Shen Moxi grinned and pinched his cheek.
Song Qi helplessly squeezed her hand. "Then let's hurry and pack up while no one's around."
The two swiftly gathered the clothes and racks together. Song Qi checked that no one was nearby, then swept everything into his space with a wave of his large hand.
"Come on, our biggest contributor. Let's take a walk. I'll show you around the shops, and we can buy some food to take back so Aunt Shan and the others can eat a little better." Shen Moxi unlocked the bicycle and wheeled it over to him.
"Now we can openly bring good things home instead of sneaking around. When we get back, we'll say we did temporary work for a newspaper, doing English translations for them, and they paid us well." After thinking it over, Shen Moxi felt this excuse fit best.
Of the two of them, Song Qi had graduated from high school before joining the army. He had kept up his studies during his service, continuing with university-level coursework and passing the exams to graduate from university, so there would be no problem with the two of them doing English translations for others. That sort of work paid very well.