Chapter 11: Opening Shop

Tang Xin, accompanied by Yan Hao, casually found a hotel and requested a room.

The waiter’s gaze was evasive as he confirmed, “Just one room?”

Tang Xin nodded. To save money, she had to make do with one room.

Yan Hao couldn’t help but sigh. His master was truly cunning, always finding a way to get close to him even without an opportunity to create one.

To his surprise, Tang Xin took the key, opened the door, and turned to ask, “One person sleeps on the bed, and the other on the floor. Will you be able to sleep on the floor?”

If he said he couldn’t, was she planning to give him the bed?

Yan Hao kept a straight face. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

A night passed in silence.

In the following days, as Tang Xin had predicted, she set up her stall outside the city every morning, closed it in the evening, and slept in the hotel. All her meals were fast food.

Unfortunately, after waiting for a long time, she still hadn’t encountered a patron who appreciated her ointment. Instead, the steps of pedestrians passing by her stall became faster and faster.

Yan Hao, with a solemn expression, reminded her, “The credit points are running out. If we can get through today and tomorrow, we won’t have money for meals during the day after tomorrow, and we’ll have to sleep on the streets at night.”

Tang Xin felt frustrated and didn’t want to speak.

She was quite annoyed and anxious. Despite making ointments every day, there were now more than fifty jars on her stall, yet she hadn’t found a patron, let alone someone seriously injured. If someone collapsed here, whether they liked it or not, she would immediately rush over and apply the ointment to the wound. Once others saw the effects, wouldn’t word of mouth spread?

Thinking of this, Tang Xin couldn’t help but feel regret. If she hadn’t been soft-hearted two days ago when Wang Jiao came looking for trouble, she wouldn’t have missed such an excellent opportunity for publicity. Now that she missed it, she didn’t know when she would be able to turn things around.

Seeing the blacksmith next door once again close a deal, laughing with his eyes squinted into slits, Tang Xin’s mood became even more melancholy.

Suddenly, Lao Hei came over and struck up a conversation: “Haven’t you opened for business yet?”

Tang Xin replied impatiently, “Don’t mention it. Not a single person is interested in bargaining with me. Unlike you, your stall is doing pretty well.”

Old black grinned, “Small-scale business, just enough to get by. I’m saying, Since nothing is selling, why not lower the price and sell at cost to gain popularity?”

Although Old Black had left early, he had heard from others about the heroic deeds of the two.

In these past few days, the two set up their stalls every day, and Wang Jiao didn’t dare to show up again. Lao Hei was secretly delighted. Although he had been through countless battles and could run fast, once caught, he would bleed heavily. He hoped that the two idols would continue their long-term stall, blessing him.

“Lower the price?” Tang Xin hesitated. To be honest, she had considered this method. Pharmaceutical manufacturing was a highly profitable business. The selling price was three hundred credit points, and the actual cost was less than fifty. But as the Federal’s number one pharmacist, she had a bit of pride. Even though no one knew about it, she felt embarrassed.

Would she really stoop to the level of small profits and quick turnover just to boost sales? Tang Xin frowned, thinking maybe she should have Yan Hao bring someone over to publicly test the medicine.

Intervening in the market always posed challenges. It was necessary to test the medicine on animals first, and after confirming its safety, human trials would follow. Despite knowing her medicine was safe and reliable, others might not believe it.

Old Black continued to advise from the side, “The prices are too high. Besides wealthy people, who can afford them? Even those who can afford it, why would they buy your ointment? They would surely choose the reputable old brands. Unless it’s sold on the interstellar network, where there are many rich and extravagant young masters and misses who spend money for fun.”

Tang Xin’s eyes lit up. Yes, there was the interstellar network; how could she forget?

The interstellar network was under the Ah Li Group’s industry, offering a wide variety of products. When a customer purchased products from the interstellar network, regardless of the seller’s location, Ah Li Logistics could deliver the goods to the customer’s planet.

Previously, when Tang Xin first produced the ointment, people clamored to buy from her, leaving her with no surplus products to sell on the interstellar network. Instead, some people bought from her and then resold at a higher price on the network.

The interstellar network was full of foolish and wealthy patrons who threw money around just for fun.

Furthermore, thinking deeper, those who surrounded her before were all wealthy lords, so they didn’t find the products expensive. But now, considering the price of the hemostatic ointment, it’s not suitable for lower-class citizens. At least the middle-upper class could afford it.

Tang Xin couldn’t help but get excited. However, she had a second thought, realizing something was wrong. “Wait a minute, Huangsha Star only has spaceships arriving every six months from other planets. Does this remote place even have Ah Li Logistics?”

Old Black explained, “The Ah Li Group has expanded across the galaxy. Which planet doesn’t have it? Huangsha Star might be a bit backward, but the Ah Li Group is capable. The half-yearly spaceship is under the name of the Ah Li Group. The frequency of outbound flights is a bit low, but the local transaction volume on the Huangsha Star interstellar network is quite large. Everyone here is used to shopping for local products on the network.”

Tang Xin quickly thought it over and came to a conclusion: it could work!

She stood up, packed up her stall, said goodbye to Old Black, asked for the Ah Li Group’s address, and rushed over without any hesitation.

Old Black stared dumbfounded at the backs of the two as they left, panicking. He explained about the interstellar network, not to drive people to trade online. What if the two big idols left and didn’t come back?

Standing in the Ah Li Group’s lobby, Tang Xin looked at the messages flashing on the screen, showing a dazed expression. Why did it seem so complicated?

Yan Hao sighed faintly and took the initiative to ask, “Have you never used the interstellar network before?”

Tang Xin shook her head and said, “Never.” She didn’t need the interstellar network to sell medicine, and when buying things, she had plenty of money to casually swipe at any mall. There was no need for an interstellar network. As for how much she knew about it, she only knew the name.

In this day and age, there are actually people who don’t know how to use the interstellar network. Are they from the mountains?

Yan Hao didn’t know what to say. He took her to a screen and taught her step by step.

“The screen can be used by directly touching it.”

“Click on the categories, where you can find the names and origins of the items you’re searching for. As Old Black mentioned, if we need to purchase items, we can directly choose Huangsha Star.”

“If you know the product or store name, you can search directly in the search bar.”

“If you want to sell ointment, you need to find a staff member from the group. First, pay the fee to open a store on the interstellar network, then list the product information and provide a brief description of the store. When others search for the product category or search for Huangsha Star stores, they will see your store on the screen.”

Tang Xin looked at Yan Hao in astonishment. “You know a lot.”

Yan Hao sighed and thought that those who didn’t know were probably the minority. The Ah Li Group had been established for over thirty years, and he and the people around him had grown up using the interstellar network. It was strange not to be familiar with it.

He didn’t bother to say much. “Go find the staff.”

They were greeted by a young girl named Qingzhu, who smiled, revealing dimples on her cheeks. “Hello, I’m Qingzhu. How can I help you?”

Tang Xin looked at Yan Hao.

Somehow, Yan Hao understood and took the initiative to step forward and talk to the girl. “We want to open a store.”

“Sure.” Qingzhu lightly tapped on the screen from time to time. “May I ask what category it is?”

“A pharmacy, specifically selling medicine.”

Qingzhu raised her head, looking surprised. “If you’re shipping medicines, there will be an additional procedure before each shipment, involving taking photos.”

“Okay,” Yan Hao nodded. He knew this was to prevent disputes where the seller claimed Ah Li Group had swapped the medicines.

“Please pay the opening fee first.”

Tang Xin watched as Yan Hao took out forty credit points and handed them to Qingzhu. She couldn’t help but mutter, “Robbery.” The remaining money wasn’t even enough for tonight’s accommodations.

Yan Hao, with a frosty face, thought, “Do you have the qualification to say that?”

Qingzhu took the money and continued to inquire, “Next, shall I set up the product information for you, or would you like to do it on the screen yourself?”

“You handle it.”

“Okay. What’s the store name?”

Tang Xin immediately said, “Tangmen.”

Yan Hao nodded. “Write it as she said.”

“Product category?”

“Healing medicine that accelerates wound healing”

“Name of the medicine?”

“Hemostatic ointment.”

Tang Xin pulled Yan Hao’s sleeve and corrected him, “Tangmen Hemostatic Ointment.”

Helplessly, Yan Hao said, “Fine, change it. Name it Tangmen Hemostatic Ointment.”

“And the price?”

Tang Xin pondered, “Set the ointment price at four hundred credits per box.”

Yan Hao sighed internally; this was genuine highway robbery. His master completely didn’t understand the interstellar network. Where on the network were prices higher than retail? The advantage of the network was its affordability and convenience.

Yan Hao reminded her, “The price is too high.”

Tang Xin argued confidently, “There are store opening fees and logistics costs to consider. It’s almost the same as retailing at three hundred credits.”

You made the decision yourself; don’t regret it. Yan Hao didn’t oppose further and confirmed with Qingzhu.

Qingzhu’s expression was strange. As a fan of the interstellar network, she often browsed through Huangsha Star stores and knew that similar medicines from century-old establishments were priced at two hundred credits. Doubling the price of the Qi family’s medicine, what kind of effects did it have?

“It’s all set up now. Please give me a federal card under your name. After the transaction is complete, the funds will be automatically deposited into the card.”

Tang Xin took out the federal card and handed it over.

These past few days, she took the time to reapply for the federal card. Yan Hao had reported his previous card as lost and expected it to be ready in ten working days. After the old card was reported lost and a new one issued, the previous balance would be transferred to the new card. Unfortunately, the process took quite a while, and she wasn’t in a hurry to earn credits.

After entering all the information, Qingzhu hesitated for a moment and tactfully said, “The price of the product is relatively low, which benefits increasing sales.”

Yan Hao shrugged; he knew this reasoning wouldn’t work on his master.

“All the information has been entered, and the store is officially operational. You can download the official Ah Li software from the contact list. If there are customer orders, you can receive them anytime through the contact list. If customers leave messages, you can check them on the screen.” Qingzhu showed a standardized smile. “Thank you for your visit, and I wish you a pleasant life.”

Following the instructions, Tang Xin downloaded the software from the contact list and operated on the nearby screen at the same time.

Yan Hao didn’t pay attention; he calculated it in his mind, waiting for his master to give up on selling medicine and survive by hunting.

However, not long after, he heard the familiar sound from Tang Xin’s contact list and was shocked. “Someone placed an order?”

Tang Xin’s face was full of undisguised joy. “There are quite a few discerning people on the interstellar network. We just opened the store, and there’s already a customer buying something.”

So, the rumors about many idiots on the network were true. Yan Hao silently thought.