Fresh Merchandise  

With that, a new ability was added to Juanito's barren stockpile of abilities. Although he knew such trend wouldn't be for long.

'Now, onto the meat of the matter.' He licked his lips before opening the Shop Menu. 'Time to check some actual goodies.'

And like a kid who has received a present, Juanito browsed the shining new items available to him from the shop.

'First, food produce..'

As someone who just barely opened up a store, there were not many available items for purchase. For one, the variety and selection would scale with the store's grade.

Carrots, Potato, Banana, Kale, and Spinach were the only ones for sale, costing only 1 to 2 copper every kilogram with Kale and Spinach being the pricier.

'That's quite basic, doesn't this world have this stuff already,' Juanito wondered. And out of curiosity, he purchased one item without delay. 'Let's try this.'

[Purchase success! Banana (1kg) added to your inventory]

[-1 copper]

Taking a glance at his current balance, he now had 4 gold, 4 silver, and 9 copper. Feeling that such convoluted conversion isn't up his alley, he tapped the currency icon a few times until it showed 449 copper.

All he had to do was to move the decimal places to the left if he wanted to view the equivalent value in a higher denomination.

"Much better," he nodded approvingly.

"M-mister.."

"..uhmm..good sir"

"Hmm..good, this taste quite good!"

Chewing on a piece of banana, Juanito found its taste delectable as it was not only fresh as though it was newly plucked, the sour typical sour taste has been overridden by a mellow sweetness.

Satisfied, he continued devouring the remainder of the fruit until he felt a tug on his leg - again.

"Mister-!"

"Benefactor..."

Struck by a profound sense of nostalgia brought by the fruit, he was caught unawares of his surroundings. As a result, his rear was left unguarded.

'Banana..huh..not only does its peels have the uncanny effect of making someone trip mysteriously, but the fruit itself is also a dangerous form of distraction.'

'Terrifying,' he thought darkly as he turned his attention to the tramps, "What's up?"

The malnourished children who were on the verge of death now looked at him with fervent desire. To be precise, they were drooling at the sight of food within arm's reach.

"You...want some?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes!" came their eager response.

Juanito then casually tossed two bananas, one each. And like starved wolves, the pair pounced on the fruit, immediately devouring the entirety of their grub.

"Hey! you're not supposed to eat the skin.."

Shocked by their poor mannerisms, or lack thereof, Juanito bent down and gently dug his knuckles into the pair's head, "Calm down, there's a lot from where this came."

"Here's how to enjoy a banana," Pulling out another piece, he masterfully peeled away the skin, revealing its curved and soft texture.

"There's a myriad of ways other than eating it raw. You can make a smoothie or with toast..."

However, his seamless presentation was ignored by the pair's ravenous zeal. "I know you guys are famished but - whatever."

"Here, take more, and be careful or you'll choke!" Juanito scolded as he tossed the bundle of fruit, resigned to letting the kids fill their bellies. 'This should be better than them wailing nonstop..'

As the pair were busily munching, he once again opened his UI, directly entering the Bakery Tab.

White bread, Wholegrain, and Ciabatta were sold in a dozen loaves for 3c, 5c, and 7c respectively.

'Cheap!' Juanito blurted in his mind, astonished.

'3 coppers for a dozen loaves of white bread is insane. More often than not, a loaf of bread could expire on me back in the days.'

In his past life, a loaf of milk bread was a staple on his grocery list, and often it would go stale, perhaps mainly due to personal preference since he had a variety of food such as cereal and oats.

In this era, however, a morsel of the lowest quality bread could factor in their survival, doubly so in poverty-stricken areas like the slums.

'I have to acquaint myself with this world's market, only then I'll know if I can make a killing.'

Juanito's mental departments roiled as he began devising a feasible plan of raking in profits without compromising the financial interest of his would-be customers.

'First, the consumer. Fortunately enough, it is clear as day what this impoverished land direly needs, food. And a ton of it. Next, the target audience'.

Gazing down at the young tramps before him who were nearly at the point of completely devouring the clamp of fruit, he silently remarked. 'These poor souls, and their kind,'

[Purchase Success! White Bread (12 loaves) added to your inventory]

[-3 copper]

Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, he retrieved a crusty yet soft-looking bread and dangled it in front of the pair who were salivating at the sight.

Captivated by the unearthly aroma it exuded, they inadvertently reached for the holy grail, like impassioned believers in worship.

"I have a favor to ask..", Juanito's authoritative voice was uncharacteristically deep, and stared raptly at the pair. "Spread the word"

With that, the wretched pair who were oppressed for a long time finally relished in the scrumptious meal granted by their savior.

Little did they know that what they've tasted was just a drop in the bucket among the myriad of delicacies unimaginable to even the elites of this world.