Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 88: Changchun Society’s Business Strategy (Second Update)
"Where is the business going?"

The name is not difficult to pronounce, but it always sounds a bit weird.

Seeing that Huang Le didn't understand, Xiao Ran could only explain, "This business place is where people in the underworld live. It looks just like an ordinary hotel, except that outsiders are not allowed to stay there. People in the underworld have a contempt chain. If you haven't been to a business place, you are not considered a underworld person. In the underworld, it's called a kongzi, which means an outsider."

"Oh."

Huang Le suddenly realized, and then asked curiously: "What was the code you just told the waiter? Why are they sitting downstairs when we enter the private room?"

Xiao Ran took a sip of tea and smacked his lips. This tea was top-grade Biluochun and it was very fragrant. You couldn't usually get such good tea outside.

After hearing what Huang Le said, he immediately laughed: "It's just the jargon of Nanchun Beidian. It means that I am a gangster and I want a room in the upper room. I have a lot of money. I want him to make a pot of tea and cook something for us later."

Xiao Ran said as she looked at Huang Le with a smile: "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"No, I can't learn it. I'm tired of hearing all these roundabout ways. I can't learn your skills."

Huang Le quickly shook his head to refuse.

At the same time, he praised: "Brother, where did you learn all these skills? You look much younger than me, so I have been living like a dog for so many years."

"The environment is different. When I was young, my family was poor and I had nothing else to do. I just liked to listen to these stories from the past. I listened so much that I learned almost everything by osmosis."

Xiao Ran was telling the truth. After the old man moved out of the village, he brought him to the city to make a living, and he suffered a lot.

While other people were still able to watch TV, my family was living in someone else's basement.

There was no other way. The old man came out with nothing at that time. He had to start from scratch. Later, relying on his skills, he slowly found a place to make a living and then settled down little by little.

These stories about Nanchun and Beidian were all told to me by my grandfather when I was bored as a child.

This is my first time to deal with this business. If I say I am an old hand, haha, at best I am just a novice (a person with theoretical knowledge but no practical experience)

But fortunately, no matter whether he is Chouchun or not, Xiao Ran has one advantage, which is his courage.

He is bold and confident in speaking, and no one can tell even if he is stinky.

"What about those people down there?"

Huang Le pointed to the guests sitting at the big table downstairs.

Xiao Ran wasn't sure either, but estimated that most of them were beginners who were just not able to speak the jargon and were therefore treated differently.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.

Huang Le opened the door and saw the waiter walk in with a plate of wine and meat and two large bowls of stewed noodles. He put the food on the table and said with a smile, "Enjoy your meal, and someone will clean up after you finish eating."

"it is good!"

Xiao Ran nodded and the waiter went out.

"Eat, aren't you hungry?"

Huang Le didn't hesitate to hear that. He picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started eating. After taking a few bites, he looked up and saw that Xiao Ran hadn't eaten.

Puzzled, “Why, are there other rules?”

"No, mainly I'm not hungry."

When he arrived at the business place, the food was absolutely guaranteed, but the problem was that Xiao Ran was not sure whether the chef of Changchun Club was an insider.

After all, having seen Donggua's tricks, Xiao Ran still found the food prepared by the beginners a little unpalatable.

Huang Le didn't have this psychological burden and just stuffed the food into his mouth.

"Delicious, this dish is really delicious. It would be a pity if you don't try it."

The stewed noodles are mutton stewed noodles from Zhengzhou, the braised meat is from Caidian, and the side dishes are crispy and refreshing, which is very refreshing to eat.

Seeing that Xiao Ran didn't eat, Huang Le simply took his bowl of noodles and ate it all together.

Although Xiao Ran didn't eat noodles, he still poured some wine and drank with Huang Le.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the atmosphere gradually became lively. Huang Le told Xiao Ran about his experiences in the mystery city.

Just like Xiao Ran, he also had a narrow escape from death.

Huang Le was lucky enough to survive thanks to a kind old man who helped him.

Huang Le couldn't help but sigh: "I don't have much ability, but I'm lucky. I was able to survive and meet a noble person."

Xiao Ran was also curious and asked, "Why don't you ask what the old man's name is? Why don't you make a longevity tablet for him when you go back?"

“I asked!”

Huang Le nodded: "Call... Li Ji."

"puff!"

Huang Le's words almost made Xiao Ran spit out his wine. He stared at Huang Le: "Li Ji?"

"Yes, Li Ji, it can't be wrong."

Huang Le looked at Xiao Ran in confusion: "Do you recognize him?"

Xiao Ran felt a burning sensation in his throat and couldn't utter a word. His heart was in turmoil, and he thought, "Why is he everywhere?" When he was in the trial of the mystery city, he felt that Li Ji was not an ordinary ghost, but he didn't think much about it. He didn't expect that Huang Le would actually meet him.

He didn't answer Huang Le's question, but just asked: "Did he give you anything?"

"Yes, I got a candle."

As Huang Le spoke, he took out a candle and handed it to Xiao Ran.

The candle has burned down, but you can see two words on it: "Peace".

If my guess is correct, there should be two more words on the burnt area, [一路]

Don't ask him how he knew this. This kind of candle can be seen in any funeral supply store. However, when Xiao Ran took a look, he felt that this candle seemed unusual. Although it didn't look like a ghee candle, it wasn't an ordinary item either. As for what material it was made of, he couldn't tell for the time being.

He returned the candle to Huang Le and told him to keep it well, as it might come in handy at a critical moment in the future.

While the two were talking, several waves of people came downstairs intermittently.

After a while, the place was almost full.

If there were no seats left, they could only stand by the door. Huang Le was sitting in the private room, looking at the people below who didn't even have a seat. He couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority. He probably understood what Xiao Ran meant by the chain of contempt.

"Bang bang bang..."

At this time, there was a knock on the door. The waiter poked his head in. Seeing that the two had almost finished eating, he immediately came in to take out the remaining wine and food, and then brought a new fruit plate and tea.

"You two, the show will begin shortly. If you need anything, just let me know."

The waiter had said this, how could Xiao Ran not understand the rules? He thought for a moment and calmly placed a piece of paper money on the tray, then said, "Hey, we are here to buy some things. We are not familiar with the route, so please help us run errands."

The guy immediately smiled and said, "You're welcome. This is my job. I just don't know how you plan to change it."

The guy was so happy not only because of the paper money, but also because of Xiao Ran's compliment.

Modern people think that the word "running errands" is a bit humiliating, but in fact it is also a compliment in the world.

Artists in the past did not have a fixed place to work. Most of them would move to another place after completing a business deal. The more places they traveled, the more they saw and understood, and the more people would compliment them for running errands.

To put it bluntly, they are also a kind of old couple, but compared with the short-legged old couple like Uncle Li, they are more senior, have wider connections, and know more.

The guy didn't ask Xiao Ran what he wanted to exchange, but only asked what Xiao Ran had. It was obvious that he would give Xiao Ran an explanation later.

Seeing that the waiter recognized the ghost money, Xiao Ran didn't beat around the bush any more and directly took out the two spell patterns [Onomatopoeia Assistant] and [Intern] in his hand.

The guy took it, checked it and returned it to Xiao Ran, motioning Xiao Ran to wait a moment and then he went out.

After a while, Xiao Ran noticed that several waiters downstairs started serving tea and water to the guests, and they were whispering to each other.

"This Changchun Club is really powerful."

Seeing this, Xiao Ran sighed in his heart. Now that he had mastered the business, there would be endless business to do. He could organize what the beginners needed and even infer the person's professional level.

With just this first-hand information, the Changchun Society has no idea how much benefit it can gain.

After a while, the waiter came upstairs and handed Xiao Ran a list.

He signaled to Xiao Ran that if there was anything he needed, he should just put a check mark at the back and he would act as the middleman to bring them together.

Xiao Ran doesn't need to worry about the rest.

It seems simple, but actually there are a lot of things involved. If the thing Xiao Ran wants to exchange is different from the price offered by the other party, the assistant will need to find another buyer, exchange Xiao Ran's things for things that the other person needs, and then make the exchange.

Of course, if the things Xiao Ran has are not worth enough, then he will have to pay more to make up for it. If the replacement items have more than enough...

Hehe, that’s the guy’s ability.

This business is not something that ordinary people can do.

Xiao Ran took the list and quickly glanced at it. He only found the F-level spell rune [Spirit Attachment]. He did not find the E-level spell rune [Craftsman] he was looking for, so he felt disappointed.

But there were still quite a few things on the list that surprised Xiao Ran. For example, the F-class cursed item [Evil Thoughts Embroidery Needle] made Xiao Ran a little tempted. Although he had the [Evil-Suppressing Order], the tools he had were still a little insufficient for stitching up the corpses himself.

After thinking about it, Xiao Ran ticked the box and handed the list to Huang Le.

"I won't watch it. I'm poor."

Huang Le took a look at the items above. To be honest, he wanted them all, but he didn't have much money in his pocket. After completing the trial, he was only given five coins.
Xiao Ran nodded and tapped the bell beside him with his fingers.

"jingle!"

The sound of the bell was so small that it was almost negligible, but after a while the waiter came in.

Xiao Ran motioned Huang Le to give him the list and said, "My brother only wants to see these two items."

Huang Le was startled at first, but he immediately understood what was going on and nodded, "Hey, buddy, take a look at how to change this thing."

"okay."

The clerk took the order, glanced at the tick Xiao Ran had made on the back, and pinched his fingers as if calculating something. After a while, he smiled and said, "It's not expensive. Just give me the [Intern] and it will be delivered to you in 20 minutes..."

(End of this chapter)