Chapter 23
When she reached the entrance of the base, Murong Jiao walked towards the express line. She stood in front of the counter and tapped on the table lightly.
Tap, tap.
The soldier working behind the desk looked up, and a big smile on his bored face appeared when he saw her. Putting down his work, he smiled and said, “Good evening, miss. You are here again. What can I do for you this time?”
“Good evening. I want to ask about the procedures for renting a store. Did the base rent out the small shops in the plaza?” She asked with a smile.
“Yes. You can rent it with supplies or contribution points.”
“Then can you show me the price list and the location of the store?”
“Okay, please wait a minute.”
He got up and opened the cabinet on the back and took out several files. Bringing the files back to his desk, he opened them and turned them over to show her. He pointed to the file on the far left and said, “This is the cheapest area, located in the slum. The rent for one day is only five contribution points.”
He pointed to the two files next from the first file, and said, “The small shops in these lists are all in the outer districts. The rent for a day is 15 contribution points.”
“These lists are all in the middle district, the closest to the night market. The rent for a day is 25 contribution points.” He pointed to the other four files on the right.
“The last list is located in the central district, the closest to the day market and the security is the best. The rent for one day is 40 contribution points. Which one do you want?”
Murong Jiao looked at the list and the map, and chose the one not far from the mission hall in the east area. The soldier looked at the one she chose and said, “Fifteen contribution points a day. If you rent it for a month, it’s only 420 contribution points. How long do you want to rent?”
She glanced at her name tag, and there were only 69 points on it. After thinking about it, she said, “I’ll rent it for three days first.”
“Alright.”
Typing on his laptop, the soldier said, “Can you give me your name tag for a moment?”
“Here you go.”
She gave him her name tag and waited patiently. A minute later, he returned the name tag to her and said, “The procedure is completed. Here is the key to the small shop. The fee is as usual.”
She opened her backpack and took out a one-kilo bag of potatoes, which she placed on the counter. “This is for the payment.”
With a smile on his face, the soldier pushed her key and took the potatoes. While he wasn’t paying attention, she sneaked out a popsicle from her warehouse and put it on the table.
“Thank you for your help. I am going to sell this in my store. If you are free, please visit my store. See you around.”
“See you around.”
After she disappeared from sight, the soldier opened the small paper plate on the table. He couldn’t believe his eyes when his eyes fell on the fruit popsicles on the paper plate. He rubbed his eyes a few more times, but the popsicles were still there.
Seeing that the popsicles melted quickly in the hot weather, he quickly took them and bit them. The moment his teeth touched the cool surface of the popsicle, his eyes widened at the deliciousness. While eating the popsicle, he looked in the direction Murong Jiao went just now. He sighed contentedly, as he was really curious about her.
Walking towards her newly rented shop, Murong Jiao’s face was full of joy. When she arrived at her shop, It’s just a little bit past ten o’clock in the evening. Pushing open the door, she walked into the small store, quite satisfied with the size of the shop.
She stood in the middle of the store, measuring the small room with outstretched arms. The room was only 2.5 square meters, but it was big enough for her. Closing the door, she turns on the only small light bulb in there. As the light from the bulb is weak, she still can see clearly.
She took out a broom from the living room in her spirit courtyard, and cleaned the thick dust in the store. After working for 30 minutes, the store is clean and can be used to sell food. She put a larger ice box under the counter as a disguise, and prepared several trays with a block of ice on it.
Today, she will use large ice cubes instead of small ice cubes, because large ice cubes melt slower than small ice cubes. With trays and ice ready, she arranges the food for sale. Just like yesterday, she was still selling the four kinds of cold dishes, and added new popsicles and ice cubes on the menu.
After arranging the dishes, she took out the menu board she made by herself and hung it on the side of the counter. It’s easier this way, so she doesn’t have to keep repeating the price when someone asks. She looked around to make sure everything was in place before opening the storefront.
As soon as her shop opened, the smell of food filled the air. Because it is only a little bit past ten o’clock in the evening, there are not many people walking around in the base. Today’s temperature is not much different from last night, but it is still hot for normal people to walk around.
Seeing that the street was still very quiet and there were not many people, she took out an indoor thermometer and hung it on the wall. After the sun completely disappeared from the sky, the temperature finally dropped from 55 degree Celsius to 35 degree Celsius. Although it is still hot, it has reached the limit that the human body can bear.
People start coming out as the moon slowly climbs into the night sky. At 11 p.m, her first customer of the night arrives. Murong Jiao stood behind the counter, looking at the skinny girl standing in front of the glass display cabinet. Looking at her dirty shoes and clothes, she guessed that this little girl just came to the base today.
With a smile on her face, she asked the little girl gently. “Little sister, do you want to buy them?”
The little girl looked up at her and nodded, but shook her head quickly the next second. Seeing her nodding her head and shaking her head, Murong Jiao asked, “You want to buy it, but you don’t have the money?”
Hearing her question, the little girl nodded shyly. Looking at the little girl’s thin body, she asked again. “Which one do you want? Sister will give you one.”
The little girl stared at her and said timidly, “Mom said that I shouldn’t accept things from strangers.”
She saw that the little girl was hungry but she was still holding back, Murong Jiao just smiled. She didn’t want to force the little girl, so she took out the small stool she used yesterday and walked outside. She put the little stool by the store and said, “You can sit here and wait for your family.”
Seeing that the little girl didn’t move, she went back to her shop and stood behind the counter again. After a while, she heard movement outside and craned her neck to have a look. Looking down at the side, the little girl already sat obediently on her small stool.
Not long after, a nervous voice came. “My baby, I finally found you! Where are you going? Do you know that you scare your mother?”
Seeing her mother running towards her with tears streaming down her face, the little girl jumped up from the stool and rushed towards her mother. “Mother!”