Reborn in 1990: My Family Store Leads to the Future

This novel is entirely fictional; please do not apply it to real life.

【...】

【Ding】

Congratulations on unlocking the Future Shop!

[Users, you can exchange modern currency for future currency.]

[Current Mall Level: lv1 (0/100 million)]

At the counter, Lu Yuan groggily opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and first looked around at his surroundings.

He was working as a clerk at a shop counter. Outside the counter was a commercial street bustling with people, many of whom were Chinese wearing Zhongshan suits.

A few blond, blue-eyed men were occasionally mixed in with the crowd.

Lu Yuan also saw a trendy man wearing flared glasses and bell-bottoms, carrying a tape recorder on his shoulder, swaggering past on the side of the street.

No, where did this come from?

Lu Yuan rubbed his head and shook it. Unexpectedly, he noticed a note stuck to the counter that read: "No one may assault customers without cause."

Oh, no, this note…

Memories flooded my mind; this was Shanghai in 1990, the "Magic City" of Shanghai.

Because his uncle was a minor leader on the Bund, he gained some connections and opened a small shop on Xijing Road.

If I remember correctly, later on, my uncle stepped down due to an accident, and because the competition from his peers on Xijing Road became increasingly fierce, and he was unable to introduce new and rare products for a long time, his shop business gradually declined, and he eventually had to sublet the shop.

Lu Yuan rubbed his temples. So, he's been reborn?

Not only was he reborn, but he also gained a system?

Lu Yuan immediately tried it out; he took out a ten-yuan note and exchanged it.

Immediately, the ten-yuan bill disappeared from his hand, and a hundred-yuan bill appeared on the system panel.

Huh?

Why is it 100 yuan? Not 10 yuan?

After thinking for a while, Lu Yuan realized that in later generations, a well-preserved Great Unity coin would be worth one hundred yuan.

It turns out that the system uses this method for currency exchange.

So, what kind of things are sold in the store?

【Three Squirrels System】

Popcorn: 12.5

Nuts: NT$50 (750g)

[Iced Jelly: 10 pieces]

[Snow King Series]

[Complete set of ice cream cone machine: 1000 yuan]

[Ingredients: One ice cream cone costs two yuan]

[Complete milk tea machine set: 5,000 yuan]

【Gentle Breeze Series】

[Qingfeng Banknote: One Yuan]

It turned out to be the case.

Lu Yuan understands that this system transports goods from 2025 to the present.

Just then, a young man dressed in polyester clothing walked over and asked, "Boss, do you sell Coca-Cola?"

Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "Handsome, sorry, no."

In 1990, Coca-Cola was a rare and precious gift, requiring foreign exchange certificates to purchase.

The young man frowned, took out a dollar and said, "Then give me a pack of Pegasus cigarettes."

Lu Yuan was embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry, my shop's tobacco and alcohol permit hasn't been approved yet, and we don't have any cigarettes."

The young man laughed angrily: "You have nothing in your shop, what kind of shop are you running?"

"You can take a look at these snacks," Lu Yuan said, introducing the snacks displayed on the shelf: "Pumpkin seeds, dried sweet potatoes, figs, and small cakes."

The young man waved his hand impatiently and said, "This stuff is so old-fashioned, who would want to buy it?"

"I'm leaving. It's pointless. How can you run a shop on Xijing Road if you have nothing?"

If this were in his previous life, with Lu Yuan's fiery temper, he would have already started arguing with the young man.

However, Lu Yuan, who had been thoroughly beaten down by society, understood that this guest was right.

Although the competition on Xijing Road is not as fierce as on the Bund Road, you need to have some unique skills to survive and thrive here.

For small shops, their so-called specialty is having products that others don't.

Lu Yuan looked at the panel on the system and thought for a moment.

If goods from future markets were placed in 1990, they would certainly be a major factor in the market's decline.

Or should he bet everything he has and go for something big?

He stood up and glanced at the shops.

The shop he rented wasn't very big, only about thirty square meters. A shop of this size can only be small and beautiful.

Inside the shop, the shelves were all made of green glass, which looked old-fashioned. Moreover, all the goods inside were things that could be easily found in ordinary stores, such as snacks, needles and thread, and even soy sauce.

Furthermore, he was the only customer in the shop, and he served customers with a sour face.

Lu Yuan frowned deeply. No wonder he could still bankrupt a shop in his previous life, even though he occupied such a good location.

He had absolutely no respect for this profession.

Lu Yuan made up his mind to carry out a major renovation of the shop.

First, order a transparent glass container, then put the future snacks inside.

Secondly, find a pretty saleswoman and give her some proper training so she can provide smiling service.

Finally, spend a little money to print some flyers and publish some GGs in the newspaper.

Lu Yuan was a man of action.

……

at home.

Because both parents are busy taking care of the family's mahjong parlor, no one is home.

Lu Yuan searched around at home and found a bankbook with 10,000 yuan in it.

Although his small shop failed in later competition, that doesn't mean the shop wasn't profitable.

This 10,000 yuan is enough for him to carry out his plans.

Before starting the plan, Lu Yuan first tested the system.

He wanted to see what the packaging of the goods purchased from the system looked like.

If the label says something like the production date, he has to repackage it as a white-label product to avoid arousing suspicion.

With a thought from Lu Yuan, a can of Three Squirrels caramel-flavored popcorn appeared on the round table.

Lu Yuan looked at the popcorn.

It was installed inside a plastic cylinder, through which one could see the beautifully colored popcorn inside, making one's mouth water.

Given the distance, it's safe to say that such a product would be extremely popular and a bestseller today!

He glanced at the product's ingredient list and the production date indicated on it.

Surprisingly, the system adapted the production location and production date accordingly.

This indicates that it was manufactured in Hong Kong and the date is February 1990.

Lu Yuan felt relieved, which saved him the trouble of explaining.

Next, Lu Yuan tried again, buying all the small items available in the mall to confirm that the production dates and locations were all correct.

After a while, Lu Yuan looked at the daily necessities, snacks, candies, and drinks laid out on the round table.

He thought about it and decided not to waste these things. They would be very cheap in later generations, but they are all rare items now.

He can take it and give it to his uncle.

So, Lu Yuan put some thought into packaging the goods from the future, planning to give them to his uncle after he got off work.

……

Glass factory.

Lu Yuan withdrew 1,000 yuan from the bank and put it all into his backpack.

He went to a glass factory on the outskirts of Shanghai and asked a salesperson, "Hello, how much are your transparent glass display cases?"