The Small Shop

Bright Sun city, the capital city of the Northern Wind Kingdom.

Within the bustling city, the streets were filled with people, and the haggling of prices could be heard everywhere in the streets. On both sides of the roads were large buildings, and guards were standing at the entrance of each building. Every building was a shop, selling different resources to the people.

The resources were because everyone in the city was a cultivator. Every small shop to big shop was selling their things to the cultivators. Every street was filled with cultivators who were buying and selling items.

Among the shops, two shops controlled the whole market of the capital city: Wind Auction House and Moon Palace. The Wind Auction House was even more crowded, and its business was booming because the royal family owned the auction house.

Within the capital city, the buildings were built very neatly. The royal army handled the order in the town. On every street in the town, order was maintained, and rules were followed.

If you were to follow the main road towards the Royal Palace, on which both Wind Auction House and Moon Palace are situated, and you walked past them and moved toward the entrance of the city for dozens of meters, walking straight to the outer area and continuing to walk till you reached the city walls, you would see a small shop between houses.

The outer area of the city was for poor people. The whole outer space was filled with poor cultivators who didn't have enough money to buy resources and were ready to do odd jobs. A boy was sitting in front of the shop. He had a slim figure. His long white hair, along with his hem, was tied into a knot. He gave off a feeling of a sage.

"Still no customers." The young man, Fang Chen, opened his eyes and yawned. He was sitting on the chair and was sleeping in it, waiting for the customers. He stood up, stretched a little bit, and went inside the shop.

Fang Chen, a twenty-one-year-old male, was an ordinary but ambitious MBA graduate from Earth. While coming back home, he died in an accident. He suddenly found himself in the body of a person with the same name and age in another world, with a system calling itself <Pawn System> which made its presence known when Fang Chen woke up.

Fang Chen created the shop on the same day with the help of the system. Even though ten days had passed since he woke up and established the shop, not a single customer had shown up.

Fang Chen had already gotten used to it. He had to follow the <Pawn System>'s instructions and check the prices of the things available in the market. He would go to the inner area and ask for the costs of different resources as observed by the customers in other shops.

Once Fang Chen was back in the shop, he looked at the empty counters and sighed. Even though the shop was small and simple, it was very well arranged. With an area of twenty square meters and four counters, it was indeed a small shop.

As he looked at the empty counters, Fang Chen couldn't help but give a long sigh. The instructions in the shop were hung on an exquisite board. It was hard to imagine who would be stupid enough to pawn their things if they could see the instructions. The instructions listed could only be described as ridiculous.

A person who wants to pawn anything will not be able to get their desired price. No loaning will be allowed. You can forget about your things if you do not pay the interest in Spirit Stones.

Spirit Stones are the currency that only cultivators have. A single Spirit Stone can be worth up to 1000 gold coins. But it was also a kind of stuff where there was a scarcity of it. For a small shop, it was a ridiculous request to do business. The Spirit Stones were only used in a few shops in the city. Most of the Spirit Stones were in control of the Royal family and noble clans.

Fang Chen did not believe at all that anyone would use a pawn shop and they would pay the interest in only Spirit Stones, even though he would agree that the things which can be bought and pawned are different from other shops. But when he looked at the instructions, Fang Chen thought it was impossible to get anything pawned.

"As the master of Pawn System who desires to pawn everything in the world to earn a profit, how could you not have your first customer? If you get a customer in a month and get a profit from the deal, you will get a system's reward."

That was a mission that the system had given on the next day of establishing the shop. There were still two weeks to complete the task, but in the area where Fang Chen has built the shop, a cultivator couldn't have Spirit Stones. Fang Chen looked outside at the empty street absentmindedly.

"It looks like my dream of becoming a renowned businessman will be destroyed before I could earn anything." Fang Chen checked the time and sighed inwardly. He stood up, closed the windows of the store, and lit up the lamp.

The things which can be pawned were not described, and the profit could only be earned in Spirit Stones, but there were exceptions. This is a pawn shop, so it has to be opened twenty-four seven. Ten things were available for exchange or purchase from the shop but were hidden, and if the customer comes asking for them, only then will they be shown. If the master doesn't get profit as described by the system's margin, then for a whole week, the profit earned from other things will be minus at a similar margin.

Even though the shop was small, the rules and regulations were strict, and Fang Chen had to follow them. The shop will be open for the whole night, so Fang Chen went outside and sat on the chair and took out a paper on which the prices of different things were written.

There were four counters in the shop; Each was for different things. One was for pills and herbs required by cultivators. The second one was for weapons, and the third one was for miscellaneous stuff like talismans, formations, techniques, etc. The fourth one was also the main counter where anything could be sold, and the ten things provided by the system were also on it.

Each counter can appraise the things described for the particular counter. And the last counter can appraise anything which is not in the given category. Fang Chen was given three chances to appraise an item if even the center counter could not appraise.

As the night descended, the moon in the sky was humming, and the unrest in the outer area of the city started to happen. Fang Chen kept the list of prices aside and went into the shop and stood behind the main counter. Because as night descends, the business of the Pawn Shop starts.

Now the street was starting to fill with people. Many fights were beginning to break out. Everyone was hiding behind masks. Because even though the outer area was considered poor, it was still the main attraction of the capital city. As every deal and exchange of things happened in outer space. In terms of Earth, it was a black market.

Fang Chen was envious of the shops in the inner area. Even though they were also open twenty-four seven, they still didn't need to take risks by doing business at night with shady people. Fang Chen didn't know about it when he opened the shop. When one week had passed, and he decided to take a tour of the city at night, he got to know the scary part of the city. Then he asked for security. The system said as long as he was in the shop, no one could touch him.

Fang Chen continued to follow the same routine. During the day, he would go check out other shops, and at night, he would prepare for a shady deal. Like this, more than ten days passed, and no customer had graced Fang Chen with their presence. It was another treacherous night, and Fang Chen was sitting behind the counter. As the night continued to pass, the outer area started to return to tranquility. When the streets became quiet, Fang Chen felt that the night was different.

Fang Chen still didn't leave his post and waited for the customer. Only three hours remained until the sun rose. Time continued to pass. When it reached one hour, Fang Chen heard a bell indicating a customer had come.

"Welcome to Yin & Yang Pawn Shop. What can I do for you?" Fang Chen greeted the person who entered the shop.