Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 17 The Way of Relief
Chen Xuan had to maintain a calm expression, as if everything was under control. "How is it... this room shouldn't be any worse than the guest rooms provided by the government office, right?"

“Not only are they comparable, but they are incomparable!” Liu Shuyue murmured. “I can feel that the spiritual energy here is abundant, which is very beneficial to cultivation. Even the meditation room of the Lotus Cloud Sect cannot compare to this place.”

There's also the saying that it's rich in spiritual energy?
Why can't I feel it?
Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, suppressing his question. "Only VIP customers can enjoy this privilege. Of course, this room isn't cheap either. I'll give you a discount; let's say it's five thousand a day."

The five thousand was naturally set by him on the spot.

"Five thousand what? Five thousand taels of silver?"

"Five thousand universal coins." Chen Xuan originally wanted to take out a banknote to show her, but then he remembered that everyone was paying with e-wallets now, so he changed his mind and said, "This kind of money doesn't have a physical form, and it's not exchanged one-to-one with silver... But you don't need to worry about that. Our prices are definitely within a reasonable range, and you can definitely afford to pay. Even if you can't pay now, it's okay, I'll give you credit."

Liu Shuyue was half-believing and half-doubting.

But she really couldn't bear to part with this paradise.

If the news reaches the sect, those seniors will definitely do everything in their power to occupy this place.

And most importantly, she needs to be able to see the store manager every day, instead of not seeing him for years—at least until the disaster relief issue is resolved.

Let her owe the money... it's not like she's not going to pay it back.

After some internal struggle, Liu Shuyue bit her lip and nodded, "Then I'll trouble you."

Chen Xuan had already guessed one thing... that the environment of each room was probably different for each person. When a guest checked in, the room would automatically match the guest's identity and background to give the guest a sense of home comfort, with the main focus being humanistic care.

If he retires in the future, will he be able to bring all his skills to become the next store manager's valued customers?
"Why is there another door there?" Liu Shuyue suddenly made a new discovery.

Chen Xuan followed her gaze and saw that there was indeed a door embedded in the rock wall opposite the pool.

"Just open it and take a look, and you'll know."

He didn't know either, so he could only give a vague reply.

Liu Shuyue, unsuspecting, leaped into the clear pool and flew across, her feet touching the water's surface. Opening the door, she gasped in surprise, "Outside is... my living quarters!"

Chen Xuan also walked around the edge of the pool at this moment.

He saw that outside the door was an ordinary side room, with incense still burning in the copper kettle, emitting a faint osmanthus fragrance, almost identical to the scent emanating from Liu Shuyue. The window was half-open, revealing a familiar corridor and courtyard outside.

Where else could this be but Zhang Weicheng's government office?
He could even see where the shop should have been—right across from this building.

However, it's just a "location," because right now, diagonally opposite is an ordinary house, with neither plastic curtains nor roller shutters, as ordinary as can be.

It seems that as long as he closes the shop door, the shop will indeed disappear temporarily.

"After all this time, we're back at the government office?" Liu Shuyue couldn't help but chuckle... This was the first time Chen Xuan had seen her with such a relaxed expression since they met again. "That's fine, it saves us the trouble of greeting the prefect."

“Now you understand, right? The back door isn’t fixed in one place.” Chen Xuan had also figured out the rules of the guest rooms. “Its purpose is to make it easy for guests to return to the VIP suite at any time, and the suite’s door is connected to the shop… This way, you can contact me at any time.”

"The Sumeru Mustard Seed Transfer Technique?" Liu Shuyue exclaimed. "I had only heard of such a wondrous technique before, but I never thought I would see it with my own eyes today."

Chen Xuan smiled but said nothing.

It would be best if the other party could find their own explanation.

“Then let’s not delay, I’ll go to the outskirts of the city to gather the refugees.” She was invigorated, as if she had been given a new lease on life. “I’m leaving the food problem to you.”

“That’s natural.” Chen Xuan reminded him, “Food is important, but don’t underestimate the importance of organization. This food has nothing to do with the government, so the disaster victims have to handle, store, distribute, and record it themselves. You must use all your abilities to become a leader that everyone trusts, only then will this relief effort have any chance of success.”

After watching Liu Shuyue leave, he returned to the first floor from the guest room and opened the shop's roller shutter door.

As expected, the familiar Tianlu residential area was outside. "Now we just need to see how much grain we can get."

Chen Xuan was full of confidence in this.

After all, food, which is extremely precious in famine-stricken areas, is plentiful here.

There are only 7,000 refugees now. Even if the number increases to 100,000 or 200,000 as Liu Shuyue said, it is not an exaggeration.

Moreover, the Great Qi's disaster relief system is already operational, and surrounding prefectures are transferring grain and money to Zhang Wei. The supplies will arrive in as little as a week or as long as half a month. He only needs to help the disaster victims get through this period.

The reason Chen Xuan had the confidence to do this was precisely because of the first pot of gold he earned from Baicaotang.

How much rice can two million buy?
He casually pressed a button on his calculator and, based on the local wholesale rice price, he could buy a full 364 tons of raw rice! And assuming an adult consumes 250 grams of raw rice per day, that's enough to feed 100,000 people for a month!

Of course... this is the amount for three full meals. For people suffering from famine, they would be grateful to have a bowl of porridge to eat. Even if it were doubled for 100,000 people, it would be fine.

Even if the budget is exceeded later, it can be made up by refining more pills. At worst, Liu Shuyue can be recruited to refine them together. Producing hundreds of pills a day is also a considerable income.

Chen Xuan immediately pulled out the phone numbers of the sellers in the wholesale market and began asking about prices from one by one.

"...You're ordering so much rice? Have you reported it to the authorities?"

“Price is negotiable… but we can’t handle such large quantities for private clients.”

"Yes, you'd better partner with a nearby supermarket that's qualified to buy grain."

After making several phone calls, Chen Xuan realized that things weren't so easy after all.

As an individual business owner, there are regulations governing how much grain he can buy!
He didn't know until he asked that there was something called a "grain purchase certificate." Without it, he would be limited to purchasing 50 tons a year!
For a local department store, purchasing 50 tons of rice a year is more than enough, and selling even a small portion of it would be considered quite good.

However, a 50-ton limit is insufficient for the target of 364 tons.

What to do now?
Chen Xuan scratched his head. He had already made a boast, and he couldn't just back out halfway through.

Getting the certificate in time is obviously too late, so what about using connections?
The owner of Baicaotang has been in business for many years and might have connections in this area. But what is his relationship with Xu Wangxian, and why would the other party help him do something that violates the rules?
After walking around the store twice, Chen Xuan's gaze suddenly landed on the shelves.

There were two packets of instant noodles there.

It's stock I just received recently.

That's right! He had a sudden inspiration: staple foods like rice are rationed, but instant noodles are not!

What if we switched to supplying instant noodles?

The price of 2.5 yuan per pack sold in department stores is the retail price. The price can be reduced significantly when purchasing in bulk. If you switch to a cheaper brand, you can even negotiate down to 1.5 yuan per pack.

Chen Xuan immediately picked up a calculator and quickly pressed a few keys. He discovered that while instant noodles would increase the cost compared to buying rice directly, the overall increase wouldn't be significant. For example, at 1.5 yuan per pack, that would be 133 million packs. One pack a day would be enough to keep him alive. The high salt and oil content was all advantages, and it was even more nutritious!
He called the wholesaler again.

"Boss, are you sure you want so many boxes of instant noodles?" The person on the other end seemed flattered.

"Yes, don't use things that are close to expiring to make up the numbers. Do you have any in stock?"

"Of course we have the goods! I'll source them from all over the city for you! However... the quantity is indeed quite large, so you might need to make an advance payment," the other party said cautiously.

“No problem, add me on WeChat, and I’ll transfer the money directly to you,” Chen Xuan said readily. “I only have one request: the faster the delivery, the better.”

(End of this chapter)