I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 318

Chapter 318: This Cat Carrier Should Be Comfortable Enough to Sleep In

 

“The new delivery person? No problem at all, absolutely no problem.”

 

In the basement of the café, I found Su Yunjin, who was hard at work here, along with Dolly and Yueyue. He was just like yesterday, directing various “training” activities with the people around him.

 

Quite a few young people who looked like top streamers had already turned on their computer cameras and started live streaming, the sound of keyboards and mouse clicks filling the air.

 

“These two, right? Are you sure they’re adults?”

 

Seeing Dolly and Yueyue, the dark circles under Su Yunjin’s eyes were quite noticeable as he showed a clearly surprised expression. Then, almost instinctively, this rich young master said, “I’ll report back to the head office about this. As for the salary and benefits, Nuo’er, you can handle those yourself. Just let me know once everything is arranged.”

 

“Do you trust me that much?”

 

I put my hands on my hips. “Any arrangement is fine? What if I give them a salary of 100,000 yuan a month each?”

 

“As long as you have that intention, Nuo’er.”

 

Su Yunjin said jokingly, “I can also negotiate with Tongmeng Network for that. 100,000 yuan a month… it’s not impossible.”

 

“We don’t need such high salaries!”

 

Before I could say anything, Yueyue urgently spoke up, “We only need three… ah no, two, just two cans of fish per day!”

 

“Fish cans?”

 

Hearing this, Su Yunjin was momentarily stunned, then gave me a look that seemed to say, ‘Nuo’er, where did you find these people? Don’t do anything illegal.’

 

“What kind of fish cans?”

 

“It’s the canned dace with salted black beans!”

 

Yueyue looked a bit excited, “The really delicious one! It has those black beans and big chunks of fish!”

 

“Me too!”

 

Dolly chimed in from the other side, “I don’t need that much money either, as long as I can have three carrots and three cucumbers a day!”

 

Can such a small amount really satisfy you? If I actually paid them like this, would I be accused of child labor abuse…

 

“Just kidding, they’re my friends.”

 

I quickly pulled the two of them over and introduced them to Su Yunjin.

 

“This is Yin Duoli, and this is Yin Yueyue. Their English names are Dolly for Yin Duoli and Lilith for Yin Yueyue. This is our boss, Su Yunjin. You can call him Brother Su or just boss.”

 

Dolly and Yueyue had received some education from Xiao Mo, so they had a basic understanding of human society and should know what “boss” means.

 

During this month working at the café, Tongmeng Network hasn’t really sent anyone to communicate with us or interfered with the café’s marketing. Almost all the work has been coordinated through Su Yunjin, so calling him boss is appropriate.

 

“Are they from the same place as Gabriel?”

 

Su Yunjin pondered, stepping closer to take a good look at Dolly and Yueyue, and then showed a “just as I thought” expression.

 

“You don’t need to be so formal and call me boss. Just call me Brother Ji or Brother Su like Nuo’er does.”

 

“Why call you Brother Ji?”

 

Dolly seemed a bit puzzled, “Is it… some kind of code?”

 

I blurted out, “Yes, it’s his online name.”

 

“Tsk, I wish I’d chosen something more elegant when I picked my author name. Now it’s like…”

 

Su Yunjin looked hurt, “All these beautiful girls’ first impression of me is ‘Ji’.”

 

“I think ‘Ji Tu Tong Long’ (Gay Rabbit with a Dragon) is pretty good.”

 

I teased, “Die-hard Kamen Rider fan, insiders will get it right away.”

 

Speaking of which, my author name wasn’t great either, “Uncle Loves Loli.” Fortunately, Xiao Mo helped me out, otherwise, it would be embarrassing in public… Hey, do you know that guy over there? His pen name is “Uncle Loves Loli,” so creepy…

 

“Stop teasing me…”

 

Su Yunjin smiled wryly, “I’ll inform the headquarters about these two. Just send me their ID information when you get a chance, and you can handle the rest.”

 

“Fully handled by me?”

 

I asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll bring in all my distant relatives to freeload?”

 

“I trust you, Nuo’er. Besides, I’d be thrilled if you brought in your distant relatives.”

 

Su Yunjin laughed, “Nuo’er, you don’t realize how attractive you are. Your follower growth on Tongmeng Network is almost catching up with some major influencers. I’m sure your distant relatives won’t be bad either.”

 

“What do you mean my distant relatives won’t be bad? I don’t have any relatives. You managers are really good at confusing people…”

 

Su Yunjin’s extremely confident demeanor left me momentarily at a loss for words, so I had to change the subject, “How are things going here? Did you stay up all night?”

 

“Don’t worry, I can handle it. Those who can come here are either professional players or top streamers. Staying up late is nothing unusual for them.”

 

Su Yunjin gestured towards the several team players who were currently competing with Gabriel.

 

“We’re using these streamers to build up our reputation, waiting for the game to launch at the end of the month.”

 

“At the end of the month?!” I was surprised. “Is it earlier than planned?”

 

“It’s about two months earlier. In a couple of days, I’ll have the workers come back here at night to clear the roads and build a staircase outside directly leading to here. We’ll make the entrance grander so we won’t need to use the small door behind the catwalk in the future.”

 

Su Yunjin yawned, “We can raise the fee here appropriately since the facilities are already top-notch.”

 

“Why do we always have to do construction at night?”

 

“Well, we have to open in the morning. Taking a break these first few days of operation would damage our reputation.”

 

“If we work at night, won’t the construction costs be higher?”

 

“Double wages, but Tongmeng Network is footing the bill anyway, so we might as well milk it.”

 

“……”

 

During the conversation with Su Yunjin, I noticed that several streamers around had their live streams running. Some were using their phones, while more were using the cameras and live streaming software provided in the room.

 

Most of these streamers were in dedicated private rooms with their doors slightly ajar, allowing various sounds to drift out:

 

“I absolutely won’t lose this round, guys. If I lose again, I swear I’ll… I’ll eat this computer screen!”

 

“Seriously, I’m not just hyping this up as a streamer or because I’ve been sponsored. You guys can come here and experience it for yourselves. The lighting, the atmosphere… Have you seen the thunderstorm behind the streamer? It’s my first time seeing such a design.”

 

“Tongmeng Network really went all out. I can’t understand how they trained these monsters. This girl seems to be from the Americas, but her Mandarin is flawless, and she plays games like she’s using cheats…”

 

“Today’s the last day, and it’s really free. Everyone can get two hours of free computer time with just their ID card… Why don’t you believe it? The Tianqi 3000 graphics card isn’t some knockoff. Other companies specialize in electronic products…”

 

Perhaps in the past few days, all the computers and related equipment supplied by Xiongxiong’s company had been fully installed. At this moment, there were a lot of people on the first floor of the café, and almost all the rooms were occupied, making it feel like the scale of a large internet café.

 

Fei Luo, who usually made bubble tea on the second floor, had also been transferred here. He was now in a small booth in the middle, mixing drinks and selling some convenience foods like sandwiches and hot dogs.

 

At the entrance, there were several rows of elaborately decorated “lobby machines.” The prices for these machines were relatively affordable, at just four yuan per hour. To the left was a small e-sports area, which cost six yuan per hour. Then there were various luxurious private rooms, such as the five-seater and couple rooms, which were more expensive, ranging from ten yuan to twenty yuan.

 

In addition to all this, there’s also a dedicated VR zone here. Currently, there aren’t many games supported, but it’s said that after the public beta of “Age of Aquarius,” the VR zone might get lively. Games like “Age of Aquarius” focus on first-person perspective and immersive atmosphere, so wearing a headset, holding a controller, and wearing motion-sensing suits can provide a fully immersive experience.

 

Besides the equipment expected in an internet café, the basement here also offers some “entertainment” options. For example, there’s a central open area not far away, divided into smoking and non-smoking zones, where people can chat, make friends, or play tabletop games like “Three Kingdoms Kill” or “Monopoly,” all provided for free, though drinks and cigarettes cost money.

 

Right now, I see quite a few people not playing games. Instead, they’re drawn here by the atmosphere after seeing the related advertisements. They come to the lobby to have a drink or play on their phones, giving it a vibe like a “cyberpunk leisure bar.”

 

What I admire most is the ventilation duct design here. It’s a world apart from the internet cafes I remember, which were always filled with smoke. When I used to go to internet cafes as a kid, no matter which area I was in, I’d come out smelling like smoke. But here, thanks to the air conditioning and excellent ventilation, unless you go to the smoking area, even my sensitive nose can hardly detect any smoke.

 

“Well, since everything seems fine here, I’ll take them upstairs to prepare for a trial run.”

 

After briefly discussing the recent situation of the café with Su Yunjin, I took Dolly and Yueyue back to the first floor.

 

It looks like Su Yunjin’s side will need several more days to promote the electronic sports area on the basement floor. I don’t know much about internet cafes, so I’ll let them handle it for now.

 

Currently, Fei Luo seems to really enjoy this city. After work every day, she runs around and plays everywhere. Although I’m not sure where this black dragon goes at night, considering she’s been a giant dragon for thousands of years, knows how to interact with humans, and Xiao Mo is keeping an eye on her, she shouldn’t cause any trouble.

 

As for Gabriel, she’s even more reassuring. She seems to be completely immersed in the world of online gaming now. She’s so lazy that she even skips going home for meals.

 

From last night until now, she’s been sitting here. Su Yunjin mentioned that if they didn’t help bring her meals, this Miss Angel would probably forget to eat three meals a day.

 

Only someone with Gabriel’s constitution could endure this. If it were an ordinary person, their health would definitely suffer from this lifestyle. Kids shouldn’t follow her example.

 

Dolly and Yueyue are very determined to work here. According to Xiao Mo, both of them are long-lived species, and they’re still in the stage of growth, curious about everything and willing to do anything. Even without a salary, making them work at the café for decades won’t wear out their patience.

 

“Long-lived species are never short of patience, because those with too strong a sense of time have gone extinct.”

 

That’s what Xiao Mo told me.

 

Their situation is akin to a certain “belief.” Both of them belong to the type who see coming to Earth to help and experiencing this as a kind of blessing. If you don’t let them work, these two little ones would probably feel disheartened and wonder if they’re not worthy enough to gain the honor of working.

 

It can be said that they have the temperament that capitalists would be delighted with. However, even though Dolly and Yueyue are very purposeful in coming to work: to train themselves, to cultivate their character, and to release their energy, not caring about the salary, as the “manager” here, I should also demonstrate sincerity towards them.

 

“If we’re doing delivery here, for now, let’s stick to the terms set by Sister Ouyang before.”

 

Returning to the first floor with Dolly and Yueyue, I found several documents left by Ouyang Xue in the staff lounge. I said to the two of them, “Because delivery work is somewhat different from serving in the café, we’re using a combination of a base salary and commissions. The base salary here is set at 3000 yuan for now, and for commissions, you can earn around 3 yuan per order, with no upper limit.”

 

Considering that the two of them might not be too interested in contracts and such, I briefly explained the treatment of delivery personnel at the café in front of them.

 

Locally, regular delivery personnel don’t have a base salary. The price per order is generally around 3 to 6 yuan, with most being 3 or 4 yuan. Some areas have a little subsidy, like for rainy days. Here at the café, setting the price per order at 3 yuan is to keep the cost of delivery as low as possible, ensuring that ordering delivery is priced similarly to dining in at the café.

 

It might seem like we’re squeezing the dedicated delivery personnel, but because there’s a base salary, the income from delivering here won’t be low. It’s like transferring the cost to the café instead.

 

Otherwise, if we offer delivery personnel high commissions, like 6 or 7 yuan per order, that money would have to come from either the ingredients or asking the customers placing orders.

 

Previously, Ouyang Xue conducted market research. In places like the Nanqi District in Shenzhen City, if a novice delivery person can’t find specific locations, they might only be able to deliver about ten orders a day.

 

After one or two months of becoming familiar with the area and understanding the road conditions, this number can increase to thirty or fifty. In other words, if an ordinary delivery person works diligently, they can deliver around forty to fifty orders a day. Calculating at four yuan per order, they can earn about six to seven thousand yuan a month.

 

Of course, for those delivery kings who can deliver one or two hundred orders a day, they can easily make a monthly income of over ten thousand yuan.

 

With “superpowers” like Dolly and Yueyue, I believe they can handle around forty to fifty orders from morning to night without any problems. With a commission of 150 yuan a day, that’s 4500 yuan a month. Adding the base salary, they can earn seven to eight thousand yuan.

 

This calculation is based on ordinary people delivering packages. If these two are really fast and can deliver a hundred or even two hundred orders a day, their income wouldn’t just be seven to eight thousand yuan, it would exceed ten thousand.

 

“Regarding commissions, you can roughly calculate it like this.”

 

Seeing that Dolly and Yueyue seem to have little understanding of money, I added, “Here, three yuan is equivalent to two carrots or two cucumbers, or half a can of fish. So, for Dolly, delivering one order a day is like earning two carrots, and for Yueyue, delivering two orders is like earning a can of fish. Do you understand?”

 

Just now, Dolly probably ate the “cucumbers” and “carrots” sold in the fruit shop. It is said that these two “fruits” are specially cultivated varieties, very small in size, quite mini, and ready to eat once opened. I’ve eaten fruit cucumbers before, and the taste is not much different from ordinary cucumbers, just a bit less prickly, with smoother skin.

 

If Dolly isn’t too picky about the taste of vegetables, she could exchange the fruit cucumbers and fruit carrots for vegetable cucumbers and carrots, and with three yuan, she could buy several of them.

 

“So many!”

 

After hearing this, Yueyue exclaimed in surprise, “I’ve done similar work in the human empire before, and it seems like I could deliver seventy to eighty… over a hundred orders a day! So, if that’s the case, doesn’t it mean we can get fifty cans every day? That’s too much! Dolly, that’s over three hundred fruits!”

 

There are delivery personnel in the other world too?

 

“No, no, this is too much. We’ll feel very embarrassed,” Dolly waved her hands repeatedly.

 

“We’re already causing trouble for the Hero and Miss Momo by coming over here. Giving us so much food will make us feel uneasy, really, we can’t accept it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

On the magic circle carpet of the café, Yueyue’s cat ears kept twitching on her head, and her tail swayed from side to side behind her.

 

“Although I really like canned fish, but… so much every day is definitely not right, Hero… oh no, sorry, Nuo’er, what about reducing the commission? How about one yuan? One yuan would be fine, or even less? What’s the unit below one yuan?”

 

A cat wagging its tail generally represents two moods: impatience and unease. Obviously, Yueyue is feeling very uneasy about us offering such “high” wages.

 

Speaking of which, they’re not just capitalists anymore; this is the kind of situation that would make capitalists shed tears.

 

Who actively requests a pay cut…

 

“This is just a preliminary wage plan,” Yin Xiamo explained, noticing Dolly and Yueyue looking uneasy.

 

“Mainly considering that you two have just arrived here and might need to buy some daily necessities and such. You’re curious about many things and will have many expenses. But you don’t need to worry too much. Since I promised her to take good care of you, I will provide certain care.”

 

“But…”

 

Dolly still had a hesitant expression on her little face. “Miss Momo and the Hero… um, Nuo’er have already given us jobs. Asking for such high wages, isn’t it a bit…”

 

I couldn’t bear to listen anymore and leaned in to Xiao Mo’s ear. “Is there no pay for working in the other world?”

 

“There is, but if you don’t have connections, the pay is very low. The concept of work is different between the two worlds,” Xiao Mo answered.

 

“Nuo’er, you need to understand, for thousands of years, our world has been in a turbulent, war-torn environment. When working in the empire or places like adventurer guilds, most people are seeking refuge. They value the comfortable environment in their work. For example, bartenders in the empire, those who apply for this position are more concerned about the protection the empire offers, allowing them to live peacefully, with meals and accommodation provided. As for the wages, they are usually extra, just enough for pocket money.”

 

“Over there, because of the existence of the Tree of Life and magic, flora and fauna grow extremely rapidly. As long as you’re not among the elderly, infirm, or disabled, it’s not a problem to hunt for food independently. People there don’t look for jobs just to eat.”

 

Is that so?!

 

No wonder I always feel like there’s a tiny “generation gap” between me, Fei Luo, and Gabriel. It turns out that many people in the other world really have different concepts from Earth.

 

“How about this: the basic wage remains at 3000 yuan, as we agreed earlier. The commission also remains the same, at 3 yuan per order. However, we will help you save these commissions for future activities. If there’s anything you want or need to eat, you can take this money out anytime. Is that okay?”

 

After exchanging glances with me for a moment, Xiao Mo said to Dolly and Yueyue, “Consider it both of you helping to develop this place.”

 

“Okay…”

 

Seeing that we’ve reached this agreement, Dolly and Yueyue could only nod. “Thank you, Nuo’er, and… Master Momo.”

 

Hmm… Although it said they’re helping to develop this place, isn’t it all for me in the end?

I carefully sent a grateful look to the girls beside me.

 

In truth, Xiao Mo doesn’t care about anything, including work, wages, the café, or even the development and life and death of this world. She only chose to accompany me like this because I wanted to live an ordinary life.

 

“The first time you deliver meals, you can have Nuo’er accompany you and guide you on what to do specifically,” Xiao Mo said as she walked towards the second floor of the café. “Just wait a moment, I’ll go get the box.”

 

A box?

What could that be?

Curious, I saw Xiao Mo swiftly run upstairs and soon come back down carrying a very large box.

 

Calling it a box didn’t seem quite right; this thing looked more like a “giant backpack” or perhaps the box used to store food behind a delivery person’s cart. However, the one Xiao Mo was holding was much larger than the one a delivery guy would have, almost as big as a “travel suitcase.”

 

The front part of this “travel suitcase” had a cartoon cat head, primarily in sky blue and white, designed in a simple yet adorable way. It had two very sturdy straps, most likely meant for carrying it on one’s back.

 

Wait a minute, I think I remember now. This large backpack seems to be something Ouyang Xue bought as a backup, mainly for transporting large cats like Dingman, a huge cat, also known as a “cat bag,” a super-sized cat bag.

 

Cats are different from humans. If a cat gets sick and needs treatment, it must be taken to the veterinary hospital. But unlike dogs who can just hop into a car, cats need to be put in a cat carrier.

 

So, this super-sized cat bag was bought for that purpose.

 

In fact, there are many specialized “super-sized” equipment in the shop specifically for Dingman and the others, such as super-sized cat litter boxes, super-sized cat trees, super-sized cat beds, and so on. Let alone, I’m almost 1.4 meters tall now, and if I were to grab Dingman’s armpits and lift him up, his tail still wouldn’t completely leave the ground.

 

Large cats like Maine Coon or Ragdoll cats, especially males, can stand over 1.3 meters tall including their tails. Exaggerating a bit, some mixed-breed cats with large cat genes can even exceed 1.5 meters. Although Dingman isn’t that large, he still belongs to the type that requires a separate cat carrier and litter box.

 

The super-sized cat carrier Xiao Mo brought out is the type that can directly accommodate a cat up to 1.3 meters tall.

 

Although… well, considering Dingman and Nian Gao’s physical condition, along with the environment and food provided by the café, it’s theoretically unlikely for them to get seriously ill. But given Ouyang Xue’s personality, it’s not surprising for her to buy such a cat carrier as a backup.

 

“If there’s an order later, Nuo’er, you’ll sit inside and let Dolly carry you, guiding them through the specific process of delivering takeout, and also experience the stability of a champion horse.”

 

Handing me the super-sized cat carrier, Xiao Mo seemed to be stating something very ordinary.

 

“This carrier should fit you, Nuo’er, so I’ll take care of things here after you leave.”

 

“……”

 

……