Song Qi took the bicycle and pushed it along, reaching out to wipe it and ring the bell. He found it quite novel and decided he had to learn to ride it when they got back.
"Come on, this way. Let's check out the department store first. It has two floors and is pretty big. The things are expensive, but they're all genuine. In later years, all sorts of counterfeit and shoddy products appeared, and people who couldn't tell the difference were easily cheated." Shen Moxi sighed.
Song Qi turned to her. "Why would there be so many fake things in the future?"
"Because as time passes, there are more and more products, and technology becomes more advanced. People's desire for money keeps growing, and they'll do anything to make it. Counterfeiting is only one of those things." Shen Moxi let out a long sigh. "Although killing, burning, and looting aren't as bad in this era as they are where you come from, public security is still poor in many areas."
"In my previous life, there were lots of human traffickers who abducted children specifically to make money. Those who sold them to other families to raise as their own were one thing-at least the children were alive. But plenty of heartless people killed children outright and removed their organs to sell. Others made fake baby formula. Formula is something babies drink when there isn't enough breast milk, similar to the milk you drank. Babies who drank fake formula suffered all kinds of lasting health problems, and some even died. There were far, far too many cases..."
"If that's the case, doesn't your emperor-the person in charge here-do anything about it?" Song Qi frowned. This was far too cruel. They were all children.
"Of course they do. You're thinking too simply. Even a crafty rabbit has three burrows, let alone humans, who are much cleverer than rabbits. Besides, you have no idea how vast Hua Country's territory is. There are fifty-six ethnic groups, and each one is comparable to a small country where you come from. Each ethnic group has lots of people, too. There's far, far too much darkness we can't see." Shen Moxi shook her head.
"All right, don't be sad. These aren't things we should be worrying about as ordinary subjects. They're bound to have their own policies. We just need to take care of ourselves, and if we come across something, we can lend a hand. After all, we aren't gods." Song Qi reached out and stroked her head.
Shen Moxi nodded and led him around the corner at the intersection ahead. The department store was right across the road.
"We're here! Look, those characters say 'department store.' Let's lock the bicycle outside and go in for a look." Shen Moxi took the bicycle, pulled out a heavy iron chain, and secured the lock.
She turned and linked her arm through Song Qi's. "Come on, let's go in." Song Qi glanced at where she held his arm, a trace of fond amusement flashing in his eyes.
The two entered the first floor, dazzled by the array of merchandise. Although Shen Moxi had seen it in the original owner's memories, actually coming inside and seeing it for herself felt different.
Song Qi, meanwhile, was drawn to the layout and displays. Everything looked fresh and new. They sold all kinds of things, many of which he didn't recognize and had never even heard of. He marveled inwardly at how wondrous this world was.
With her arm linked through his, Shen Moxi introduced the items whenever they reached a counter: this was a television, this was a radio, this was a watch, and so on.
Seeing the watches, Shen Moxi thought she would buy two from the system when they got back, one for each of them. That would make it easier to check the time when they went out.
When she saw the fabric section, she suddenly remembered that she had been so focused on designing clothes to sell that their family still had no new clothes. Once she designed and made some that evening, she would put them in Song Qi's space. When they returned tomorrow, they could take them out and say they had bought them for the family.
"Brother Song, when we get home tonight, I'll design an outfit for each of you, too. We'll put them in your space for now, then take them out when we go home tomorrow afternoon and say we bought them with the money we earned. What do you think?" Shen Moxi asked with a smile, squeezing his hand.
"That works, but I'm worried they won't accept them and will ask you to return them." Song Qi nodded.
How could a poor family like theirs bear to spend money on new clothes? They would rather exchange it for some food.
"Ah, then let's earn more money and open a shop of our own. Once we gradually start making good money, we can improve their lives. Doing this so suddenly really would be hard for them to accept. We don't have a good explanation to give them." Shen Moxi nodded quietly.
No longer in the mood to browse the department store, the two came out and pushed the bicycle along, asking around for shops to rent. After wandering for over an hour, they were both hungry again. Since they couldn't take food out of thin air, they had to find a noodle shop, where they each ate a bowl of plain broth noodles.
When she paid at the end, Shen Moxi took the opportunity to ask the owner whether he knew of any shops for rent. As it happened, he did. He gave her directions and told her to go see whether it was still available.
The two thanked him, and Shen Moxi got on the bicycle with Song Qi riding along, hurrying over to take a look.
According to the owner, the shop was quite large, occupying two mu of land, and had two floors. It had originally been a small restaurant, but had closed due to poor management. They had wanted to sell it, but the asking price was too high to find a buyer. Another partner wanted to sell as well, and the two sides had argued endlessly before finally deciding to rent it out rather than sell for the time being.
According to the owner, the little restaurant was in an excellent location. There was a square to its east, with a railway bureau nearby, bringing plenty of people and foot traffic. There were residential neighborhoods to the south and west. Head north and turn slightly west, and there was a food market. To the east was a rubber factory, and farther to the northeast was a state-owned cotton mill.
As the saying went, "Daughters from the cotton mill, sons-in-law from the railway bureau." Cotton mills had many female workers, while men at the railway bureau enjoyed good pay and benefits. Young men and women in these two occupations were more willing to spend money on shopping.
The location was good, the premises were large, and the second floor could be used either as living quarters or for business. However, the rent was high, and few could afford it, so it had remained vacant.
Hearing this, Shen Moxi was already more than satisfied. They would go and have a look shortly. If the building met her expectations, they would most likely rent it. However expensive the rent was, the money they had should cover more than half a year, right? Who knew how much they could earn in that time?
She had no intention of staying in this little place forever. She would gradually earn money, then buy a house in the Capital. Every inch of land there was worth its weight in gold. Since she had come here, how could she let that opportunity slip by? Especially when she had two such powerful golden fingers.
When they reached the location the owner had described, Shen Moxi had Song Qi push the bicycle while she went over to look. Sure enough, she spotted premises with a large "For rent" sign hanging outside. It was a sizable two-story building. No wonder the rent was high for a place this large. But much of the wall plaster had fallen off, leaving it shabby and rundown. If they really managed to rent it, it would need a thorough renovation.
Shen Moxi turned to Song Qi. "Brother Song, what do you think of this shop?"
Song Qi parked the bicycle and came over. He walked around, looked it over, and nodded. "It'll do. It's a little rundown, but we can renovate it. It's big enough, and it has two floors."
Shen Moxi came over and took his hand. "Come on, let's find the owner and ask how much the rent is. We'll see how long the money in our bag will cover."