Rebirth of the thief who roamed around the world (BOOK 1)

Chapter 124 - Business

Now a two-story building that towered over its surroundings, the Starry Night Potion Shop gained an exterior constructed entirely out of white stone. Radiating a dazzling brilliance, the shop was breathtaking to behold. With intricate, beautiful designs carved into each pillar and crossbeam, they left any who gazed upon them in a state of reverie. Even the interior of the shop received a makeover, as the furnishings and containers appeared ever tidy and pleasant to the eye.

Shortly after being summoned, Bird entered the shop through the doorway.

"Boss, I'm here!" Bird called out as he staggered into the shop and glanced around, seemingly lost in admiration. It really is a Tier 2 shop! I wonder who the owner is, he couldn't help but inwardly exclaim.

"Mhmm... Good, I have a little task for you," Nie Yan acknowledged, then continued, "Starting from today, I'll be leaving you in charge of this potion shop, at least for now... and I'll assign you with a few tasks. As for benefits, if the shop does well, you'll receive a bonus at the end of each month. Naturally, I won't overload you with work. After all, your main goal should still be improving as an Alchemist since according to basic convention, you'll only start getting a salary when you become a Junior Alchemist."

"W-wait, you're the one who opened this shop!?" Bird emotionally exclaimed. He knew Nie Yan was wealthy, but he never expected him to be this wealthy. He heard from others that buying up a plot of land took at least one gold, opening a shop required two gold, and upgrading one cost upwards of five! Such exorbitant prices would leave the vast majority of players overwhelmed, wallowing in despair at their own inability. As for him, the prospect of opening up a shop was similar to staring at the clouds on the horizon, beautiful but perhaps eternally out of reach.

However, even though he was only acting as the shop manager, being entrusted with such a responsibility left him feeling touched and filled him with great satisfaction.

"Of course I'm the one who opened it. Why else would I ask you to be the manager? Anyway, let's get down to business. In a little while, a batch of potential hires will be arriving through these doors for an interview. For now, I don't want to reveal myself, so I want you to hire them in my place. As for the relevant arrangements and information, I'll send them over to you in a bit."

"I understand." Bird simply nodded his head.

In that respect, Bird could be considered quick-witted, almost immediately understanding the underlying meaning of these words. For some reason or another, Nie Yan didn't wish for his identity as the shop owner to be known to the public. As for the exact reason why, he didn't dare to ask.

"Good, since you seem to understand, let's move on to explaining your job. The NPC over there is Insei Rais. He's the salesclerk of this shop on the first floor, while the second floor is a workshop for the Alchemists. For you to be able to do your job, I'll allow you the privilege of withdrawing a portion of the shop's money from him. Use it to buy alchemy ingredients so the workshop upstairs is always fully stocked. At the end of each day, bring everything that was produced over to him, because he'll be in charge of selling them. As for setting the prices, you can ask me. Finally, there's one more slightly inconvenient task I need to ask of you. Give me a report of the shop's income and expenses at the end of each week. Since the system automatically calculates that for you, it shouldn't eat up too much of your time," Nie Yan instructed. Whenever something came to mind, he would supplement with further detail on the spot.

As Nie Yan spoke, Bird quickly noted down his words lest he forget, though it seemed his daily workload wasn't going to be all that much. As long as he properly managed the shop, everything would be fine.

Nie Yan thought, If it's like this, then even if I don't personally manage the shop, it should still be able to operate smoothly under the procedures I've set. Plus, there shouldn't be any flaws in these policies either.