I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 324

Chapter 324: Ornamental Fish, Edible Fish, Catfish

 

A soft, round blue and white beret with a satin ribbon, as if the sky and the greenery merged together, a European Lolita-style dress reminiscent of the natural world, non-revealing, with vine and small flower patterns, and a pair of blue and white round-toe flats adorned with bows…

 

This new uniform for the café was custom-made by Ouyang Xue with the factory several days ago, and I received it the next day, but even today, I still absolutely love it.

 

I’ve pretty much adapted to the lifestyle and dressing style of girls now, I’m used to wearing skirts and such, and because of Xiao Mo’s online shopping addiction, there are quite a few girls’ exclusive clothes at home, but when I first saw this exclusive uniform, I was still amazed.

 

It’s just… so perfect for me.

 

I don’t know why, whether it’s the influence of my body or the influence of the old uncle’s otaku lifestyle, my acceptance of this kind of semi-anime clothing is very high. Like the first time I bought girls’ clothes, I was attracted to that set of “artist” themed hoodie and skirt.

 

Now, this set also belongs to that type, but with added elements of “nature” and “blue sky” “Lolita”, which elevates its magnificence by a notch. It might be a bit showy to wear it out, but it’s just right for daily office work in the café.

 

If my uniform’s color scheme is related to “life”, then Xiao Mo’s set is themed around “death”.

It’s also a dress, with a skirt, pantyhose, and round-toe flats, but Xiao Mo’s main color scheme has become black and white.

 

At first glance, it looks a bit like the mercury lamps in “Rozen Maiden“, but unlike the maid headband of the mercury lamps, Xiao Mo’s set comes with a mini top hat. It’s like the neighboring vampire girl wearing an evening gown to attend a castle party. This outfit elevates Xiao Mo’s already noble temperament, forming a stark contrast with my cute style.

 

“Come on, lift one foot up, put your hand like this… Okay, smile, more sunshine, more lively… Very good.”

 

As usual, after trimming the branches and buds of the outside flowers, counting all the cats in the café, and conducting a routine check of the equipment in the store – the automatic water dispenser, automatic feeder, and floor sweeping robot, all without any issues – Ouyang Xue looked around the shop with few customers, then pulled me and Xiao Mo to a small table on the side and took several photos.

 

“Not bad, Nuo’er looks very cute today. This time, strike a pose standing on two legs. Yes, yes, just like that. Bend your knees slightly inward… like this.”

 

*Click click…*

 

This small table is a plastic cylinder, similar to those circular columns sold online to display on desks or computer cases. I’ve also taken photos here in maid outfits before, described by Ouyang Xue as “a life-sized figurine”.

 

“Speaking of which, Nuo’er, you look so cute when you walk normally. If Su Yunjin hadn’t mentioned your situation, I would have thought you were some sort of young lady from somewhere, just experiencing life.”

 

After taking the appropriate photos, Ouyang Xue signaled for Xiao Mo to step up as well. “Xiao Mo, you too. Although you two like to joke about being a Grim Reaper and a little demon from another world, this outfit really suits you.”

 

“It’s okay to think of me as a demon.”

 

Yin Xiamo stepped up and struck a particularly domineering pose. “This might make it easier for you to imagine me.”

 

“Yes, that’s the vibe.”

 

Ouyang Xue quickly raised the camera and snapped several photos in succession. “Just by looking at Xiao Mo’s expression, I can imagine how Nuo’er gets bullied every night.”

 

“Hey!”

I interjected, displeased. “Please refrain from making baseless assumptions. At home, I’m the master!”

 

“Really?” Ouyang Xue wore an incredulous expression. “I can’t imagine that at all.”

 

“Absolutely!”

I felt my cheeks puffing up. “Xiao Mo listens to me at home. Whatever dish I make at night, she must eat it. And all the clothes at home are washed by her. She’s completely obedient to me!”

 

“Oh?”

Ouyang Xue put on a smile reminiscent of Tom from “Tom and Jerry” when he found the invisibility potion.

“Tell me more about this obedient behavior.”

 

“Nuo’er’s current appearance is a bit like when a kitten enters its adolescence and its cheeks start to swell,” Yin Xiamo said as she stepped down from the small table.

 

“Feeling like an adult, acting all important. As parents, we naturally have to indulge her.” Yin Xiamo continued.

 

Adolescence, growth stage… is there also a maturity stage and a complete form afterward?

 

“You two have such a good relationship.”

 

Seeing the bickering between Xiao Mo and me, Ouyang Xue chuckled.

 

“I’ve always envied this kind of relationship since I was young. Having close friends like this is such a great blessing in life.”

 

“Ouyang,” at this moment, Li Chen walked down from the second floor. “Is everything ready here? Let’s go pick up today’s shipment.”

 

“It’s ready. Why are you in such a hurry? Let me chat with the kids a bit more,” Ouyang Xue glanced at Li Chen.

 

“Are you talking about the shipment Old Yang mentioned earlier?”

 

“Yeah, they called a moment ago saying the goods are ready, just waiting for us to pick them up.”

 

Li Chen hesitated for a moment. “Why don’t you stay here? I’ll go get them.”

 

“You think you can handle it alone?”

 

Facing Li Chen, Ouyang Xue completely lost the patience she had when talking to us. She casually placed the camera aside and got up to walk over.

 

“That fish tank and the decorations weigh nearly fifty kilograms. Can you move them by yourself?”

 

Li Chen frowned. “I’ll just ask someone from Old Li’s side to help.”

 

“Are they your wife? You just ask for help whenever you need it? If we ask for help this time, they’ll have something to say next time.”

 

Ouyang Xue impatiently said, “Alright, let’s go. I’ll go with you, we’ll handle it together.”

 

“This…” Li Chen scratched his head.

“Wife? Help me… But you? Huh?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Li Chen looked at us somewhat aggrievedly, like a big orange cat scolded by its mother cat, then turned around.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Why are you so silent and slow?”

 

Ouyang Xue pushed him from behind. “Hurry up. Be careful when moving later. Don’t drop anything. That fish tank costs thousands!”

 

“……”

 

As we watched Ouyang Xue and Li Chen leave the café, Xiao Mo and I exchanged a glance without saying a word.

 

“Why… why are you looking at me like that?”

 

I felt a bit guilty. “I was telling the truth to Sister Ouyang just now…”

 

Usually, I cook at home, so it’s natural for Xiao Mo to eat whatever I cook. And when I take a bath at night, Xiao Mo does the laundry. There’s nothing wrong with that.

 

As for the “shipment” Ouyang Xue and Li Chen mentioned, it’s actually a large fish tank, along with some ornamental fish and aquatic plants, prepared to be placed in the lobby of the café’s entrance to enhance the café’s “liveliness”.

 

Previously, due to the rushed renovation and lack of manpower, the café’s decorations mainly consisted of small ornaments, like the magic circle in the central area and the hanging paintings around it, which were basically bought and hung up.

 

However, this also resulted in the café having an excessively high concentration of otaku culture, making some customers feel a bit uncomfortable when they entered.

 

Moreover, although these small decorations seem to make the interior structure of the café very substantial, upon closer inspection, they actually belong to the “flashy but not substantial” type.

 

They don’t give customers much freshness – most people just glance at the anime girl hanging paintings on the wall once or twice and then ignore them. But the fish tank is different. Inside the fish tank, there are various ornamental fish, aquatic plants, and small shrimps.

 

When customers are eating or waiting for their meals without playing with their phones, they can watch the fish and shrimps swimming around, which is the difference between dynamic and static decorations.

 

So, in the past few days, we also considered some customers’ opinions and started to add some more popular decorations to the first floor. For example, this time, Ouyang Xue and Li Chen went to “Old Yang’s” place to move the “big fish tank”.

 

It is said that this big fish tank is over two meters long, and the landscaping inside has already been set up. The aquatic plants are alive, and there are various small fish and shrimps used for algae control. It also comes with a super large bathtub stand. When moving it, the tank and water must be moved together.

 

There’s no other way when it comes to keeping fish. There are many disinfectant components in the tap water of modern cities. If you buy a fish tank first and then pour tap water in and add fish, the fish are likely to die.

 

The newly purchased bottom sand also lacks nutrient content for growing aquatic plants. Therefore, you can only buy a finished fish tank with a ready-made ecological environment, pour out about half of the water, lift the fish tank stand onto the car, and then add water back when you arrive at the café.

 

“Nuo’er.”

 

After Ouyang Xue left, Xiao Mo came to my side. “What did we have for dinner last night? Excluding Dolly and Yueyue’s portions, just ours.”

 

“Um…” I thought for a moment. “Stir-fried pork with green beans, smashed cucumbers, fried eggs, and fish head tofu soup.”

 

“What about the night before yesterday?”

 

“Napa cabbage, sweet and sour ribs, and a steamed tilapia fish.”

 

“And the night before that?”

 

“Broccoli, mushroom chicken soup, and three pan-fried fish.” I was a little puzzled. “What’s wrong with that?”

 

“Don’t you realize it yourself?” Yin Xiamo, with her arms crossed, said, “In the past month, unless I specifically requested you to, you will have only cooked fish for most dinners, Nuo’er.”

 

“Is… is there something strange about making fish?”

 

I instinctively said, “Fish is very cheap in Shenzhen City, high in nutritional value, white meat, chicken, duck, goose, and fish are all healthier than red meat…”

 

The girl leaned closer. “Is that so?”

 

I insisted, “Yes, that’s how it is!”

 

But that wasn’t the truth.

The reason why I bought fish every day was actually because… from what I remembered, one of Xiao Mo’s favorite foods was fish.

 

She admitted it herself when we went barbecue in the park before. When she was with the hero at the seaside, there was nothing to eat, so the brave man went into the water to catch fish to grill. So the taste of fish made her feel like she was back home.

 

I knew very little about Xiao Mo. At least in terms of food, I wasn’t sure what she liked or disliked. It seemed like she could eat anything, and there were no particular foods she didn’t like. But because I knew Xiao Mo liked fish, whenever I went to the market, I would habitually buy a fish.

 

Sometimes it was fish head, boiled with tofu and bamboo shoots, sometimes it was freshwater fish, steamed or braised, sometimes it was sea fish, simply deep-fried.

 

I thought I was being discreet enough, but I didn’t expect her to notice.

 

“Silly.”

 

Seeing my serious expression, Xiao Mo didn’t reveal anything, she just reached out and patted my head.

 

“I’m not picky about food, especially the ones you make, Nuo’er. I like them all.”

 

“You two couple, stop showing affection, the camera is already on.”

 

Fei Luo walked over. “Is the mayor coming today? Should I stay downstairs and mix drinks as usual?”

 

Fei Luo’s clothes were also black dress, but whether it was a deviation during measurement or part of the original design, Fei Luo’s chest was just too big, pushing the top of her outfit into two obvious big bunny ears, and exposing a small area around her belly button, where you could vaguely see Fei Luo’s slender waist and a faint belly button.

 

In theory, as a dragon species, they should not have belly buttons, but maybe because their appearance is based on human illusion, Fei Luo retained this feature.

 

If things go as expected, Mayor Ye Yuqing and the reporters probably won’t interview us downstairs. At most, they’ll just mention it briefly at the entrance and move on, after all, downstairs is both a cocktail bar and a computer area, which wouldn’t look good on air.

 

“They won’t interview downstairs, just work as usual,” I said.

 

I took the opportunity to walk over to the camera left by Ouyang Xue. “Has Gabriel gone downstairs?”

 

“Yeah, the show is starting in a few days, and she said she wanted to try out the new recording equipment down there.”

 

Fei Luo waved to us. “Then I’ll go downstairs too. I’ll leave this area to you guys.”

 

“Okay.”

 

I opened the main interface of the camera’s small screen and found the directory of the photos Ouyang Xue had just taken.

 

Hmm… looking at the little girls standing on the platform inside, it really looks like life-sized illustrations. Rubbing the beret on my head, I pondered.

 

According to this temperament, the character I put in some games should be at least five stars… no, at least a six-star level character.

 

“Ding dong! Welcome!”

 

“Ah, hello!”

 

Hearing the notification sound at the door, my professional instincts subconsciously made me turn around and put on a smiling face.

 

“May I help you… oh?”

 

The next moment, I saw Jiang Wei and her girlfriend… oh no, I should call her wife now, Jiang Wei and her wife, Ye Zi, walking in from outside.

 

“Good morning, your new clothes look great.”

 

As soon as they entered, Jiang Wei waved over here. Dingman and several cats, who happened to be nearby, were the first to greet them, continuously meowing at the two.

 

“Alright, alright, you want treats, right?”

 

Jiang Wei sighed helplessly and shouted towards me, “Nuo’er, three cans of cat food!”

 

“You spoil them too much. They won’t even eat their dry food at noon.”

 

Although I said that, I still went to the side and brought three cans of cat treats over. I flipped over the “Manager: Yin Nuo’er” sign hanging on my chest, revealing the QR code for payment. “It’s 33 yuan.”

 

“Ding, received 35 yuan.”

 

Jiang Wei scanned the QR code on the work badge, and the sound of the payment received came from the speaker above her head.

 

“Why is it two yuan more?”

 

“I wanted to take a picture of you and Xiao Mo.”

 

Jiang Wei took the cat food and then raised her phone. *Click* She pressed the shutter button, capturing a photo of me and Xiao Mo behind me.

 

These days, because of discussing graphics cards, Jiang Wei would almost come to the café every other day. Because Dingman and Nian Gao are very attached to me, so when we discuss matters with Jiang Wei, these cats are always around.

 

Jiang Wei would habitually buy a few cans of cat food for the kittens. Over time, Dingman also remembered this “generous” master, so now when Jiang Wei comes in, he heads straight to him and Ye Zi.

 

This is natural. Cat food, especially treat cans, are second only to catnip in attractiveness to cats, but they are very expensive. The smallest cans of cat treats in the store cost at least 8 yuan, and that’s the wholesale price. If we sell them, it’s usually 10 to 12 yuan.

 

The larger cans cost 15 to 20 yuan. There are also many customers who feed the cats when they come to the store, but most of them buy cat food and small fish snacks. A small bag of cat food costs only two or three yuan, and even a large bag of small fish snacks costs only five yuan. The quantity is large and can be fed to the cats one by one, which can entertain the cats for a long time.

 

In contrast, a can of cat food costing around ten yuan is quickly devoured by the cats in just a few minutes, and one can’t enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by cats while holding small fish snacks. So the sales of canned cat food in the store are not high, only “tycoons” like Jiang Wei can afford them, and naturally, they are remembered by the cats in the store.

 

“These clothes suit you too well.”

 

Opening the can of cat food—placing it on the ground for Dingman and Nian Gao to enjoy—Jiang Wei stood up again.

 

“They really match the temperament of Nuo’er and Xiao Mo.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

I invited the two to sit at a table, poured a cup of tea for Jiang Wei and Ye Zi, put on my modified Bluetooth earpiece, and asked, “Would you like something to eat?”

 

“Just bring us some snacks.”

 

Jiang Wei picked up the menu and glanced at it. “Two cat’s claw egg tarts, and also a bowl of chicken soup, and another bowl of white porridge.”

 

“Got it.”

 

I took out the tablet computer purchased by Su Yunjin before, clicked on the items Jiang Wei mentioned, and then showed him the payment code.

 

“Here you go.”

 

“Beep.”

 

While Jiang Wei was making the payment, Ye Zi had already taken out two large boxes from the backpack she was carrying behind her. “How have little Nuo’er and little Xiao Mo been recently?”

 

“Just the same as before, nothing special, just an ordinary life.”

 

I smiled and looked at the two boxes. “Are the graphics cards here?”

 

“Yes, we’ve already informed the factory to start production on the designs you sent this morning. These are the ones for the Weather Cat and the Tianqi Battle Maid, the 2600 series and the 2800 series.”

 

Ye Zi placed the two large boxes on the table. “These are samples. You can take a look.”

 

?New graphics cards??

?Isn’t the Tianqi graphics card the new model that has been making waves recently? Are they going to compete with intel and AMD in the market??

?Forget about intel, AMD is already dominating the market…?

 

Perhaps because the surveillance live stream in the store had already started, through the tablet, I saw that many fans who had tuned into the live stream early were already chatting in the barrage.

 

?My goodness, is it really okay for them to broadcast business secrets like this? These two graphics cards shouldn’t have been announced yet, right? Does this count as… getting the news ahead of time??

?It doesn’t feel like a secret anymore, right? Since these two dared to take them out in front of the live stream audience, it means the related promotional videos aren’t far off.?

?I just hope they perform well. I’ve heard their prices are very good. If the performance is good too, I’ll buy one to play with.?

 

Glancing casually at the barrage in the live stream room, I took the two graphics cards and carefully inspected the covers, nodding.

 

“They’re very cute.”

 

Indeed, these two graphics cards were cute.

The first one followed a petite route, the Tianqi Cat, which is the graphics card model 2600. It looked like it could fit into any case, with a package featuring a “Nuo’er Meow” illustration that Xiao Mo sent to Jiang Wei before, accompanied by a cafe background, overall emphasizing a playful and cute style.

 

The box for the “Tianqi Battle Maid” graphics card was larger, and the background illustration changed from a cafe to a more suburban feel. Although “Nuo’er” was dressed as a maid on it, she didn’t have any… well, she had no worldly desires at all, looking particularly girly and beautiful.

 

When discussing this graphics card with Jiang Wei earlier, I actually had concerns about this. After Xiao Mo sent the illustration, I was worried that Jiang Wei might make the graphics card look weird, like some of the domestic graphics card manufacturers with a second-dimensional route, where the image of the “Graphics Card Girl” is somewhat on the edge. Fortunately, Jiang Wei knows our personalities. Both the packaging of the graphics card and the overall design inside are very decent.

 

Now the only thing we need to worry about is the quality and “after-sales service” of the graphics card. After all, although they haven’t explicitly said it, they are somewhat related to the café. If there are any problems with the graphics card later, or if the after-sales service is not good, it will tarnish our reputation.

 

“Don’t worry, we always attach great importance to after-sales service. Since Brother Jiang Wei opened the store, there hasn’t been a single complaint about after-sales issues.”

 

Seeing my concern, Ye Zi explained, “All of our graphics cards support personal warranty, and we have a dedicated after-sales team.”

 

“That puts my mind at ease.”

 

I nodded. “So, you came here today…”

 

“Just wanted to chat and see if there are any areas we can collaborate on. Nuo’er, you know that my main focus is on computer products.”

 

Jiang Wei looked a little embarrassed. “Just for breakfast and a casual chat, don’t worry too much about it.”

 

“It’s fish canned food!”

 

Just then, a blur of motion caught our eye. Yueyue, now dressed in her delivery uniform and carrying a thermal bag emblazoned with the café’s logo, dashed down from the second floor and stood beside Dingman and the other cats. She glanced at the cans of food in front of them, then looked at me and Xiao Mo with a pitiful expression.

 

“Can I have some?”

 

“Wuu—”

 

Normally gentle, Dingman seemed to sense danger and for the first time emitted a protective growl, carrying the canned food and heading towards another place.

 

“Yours… Did you finish all your little fishies?”

“I’ve said it already, that fish canned food is for the cats.”

 

“Sorry, sorry.”

 

At this moment, Dolly also came running down from the second floor and pulled Yueyue over. “Sorry for the trouble.”

 

Jiang Wei’s mouth twitched. “How about… I buy another one?”

 

“No, no, they’re just joking.”

 

I quickly got up, took Dolly and Yueyue to the snack box on the side, pointing to the fruits and small fish canned food inside.

 

“I forgot to tell you, this is the snack box in the café. Sister Ouyang just applied for it from above a few days ago. The snack department of Tongmeng Network directly supplies it. If you feel like snacking, you can have it anytime. There are fruits and fish inside. Just take it, no need to report to us.”

 

“If it runs out, just let me know, and I’ll have them replenish it from Tongmeng Net.”

 

“Wow!”

 

Yueyue’s eyes lit up, taking two cans of fish from inside. “Then I’ll have this. I’ll eat it if I get hungry on the way later.”

 

“Yes, you can take any.”

 

I returned to my previous position with a relieved sigh.

 

It feels like… the snack expenses at the café are going to increase.

 

“……”

 

……