"Everyone in town gets their stock from Old Wu. He's got everything—snacks, groceries, daily supplies—you name it. Fair prices, honest weights, free delivery right to your door. All the beer and drinks in my store? All from him. Been that way for over a decade, never once changed. You can't go wrong with him!"
Another contact added to Song Miaozhu's growing list.
"Oh right, since you're opening a convenience store, you'll need to change your shop sign too. Our town has a unified planning policy—every storefront uses the same antique-style signage. They look similar, but trust me, the quality varies wildly. Some signs fade within a year. The one we have for our diner? Old Zhao made it. He's an expert—been hanging there for years and hasn't lost a bit of paint," Aunt Chen said.
Miaozhu thought of the Anshou Hall Paper Shop's torn plastic sign and asked proactively, "Aunt Chen, do you have old Zhao's contact info?"
"Old Zhao's too old for smartphones, but he took on a female apprentice. Here, add her on WeChat!" Aunt Chen passed her another contact.
By the time Song Miaozhu finished dinner, she had leads on suppliers, signage, and even business licensing.
Aunt Chen was too efficient.
After dinner, Miaozhu stopped by the small supermarket next door and bought some snacks she hadn't been able to carry yesterday—sunflower seeds, peanuts, and other roasted goods.
She couldn't find any colorful chalkboards, so she settled for a street vendor's go-to: a big, battery-powered megaphone with a recording feature. She also grabbed a huge stack of label stickers and a calculator.
Just a few steps into her walk home, she remembered—she still needed an outfit suitable for the underworld. She dropped her bags off temporarily at Aunt Chen's and headed back into town to search for clothes.
It was nearly dark by the time she found two suitable pieces at a vintage clothing store. Two velvet cheongsams—one maroon with black thorn embroidery, the other emerald green with red roses.
Even the shop owner seemed baffled by her choice. "Miss, while you do look... uniquely elegant in those outfits, the colors are a bit too bold—might not suit most people's taste…"
"It's fine. I'll take both. Don't worry, I won't return them if I change my mind," Song Miaozhu said.
Though not exactly what she'd envisioned, they were the best options after hours of searching. And judging by what she saw yesterday in Yinshui Alley, these outfits might be a bit much for the living world—but they'd be perfect for the underworld.
Plus, they were surprisingly comfortable.
Seeing her insistence, the shopkeeper didn't argue. As long as her shop's reputation wasn't affected, she was fine with the sale.
Back home, Miaozhu cross-checked her receipt and labeled all the products she planned to sell at her ghost shop—at double their original prices.
A 2.5-yuan pack of instant noodles? Now 5 hell coins.
After currency conversion, that'd be 10 yuan in human money.
With cross-realm sourcing and the 1% underworld tax, a slight markup was justified.
"Start high, adjust if sales lag."
After prepping the goods, she sent them ahead to the ghost shop. After showering, she slipped on her cartoon-print tank top and shorts pajama set, then draped the deep plum velvet tunic over it. Just as she expected—super comfortable.
She tied up her hair, laid down on her bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off straight into her ghost shop.
This was the right way to travel to the underworld.
~
Barefoot and floating above the ghost shop's floor, Song Miaozhu surveyed the sea of plastic bags cluttering the space.
She lit the white candle first, then nudged the counter closer to the entrance. After sorting the bags into categorized stacks behind the counter, the shop finally looked presentable.
She opened the door for business.
No customers yet, but no matter—she confidently switched on the loudspeaker.
[Handsome ghosts! Beautiful ghosts! Don't miss out—Anshou Hall's fresh mortal-world stock has arrived!]
[We've got snacks, seeds, smokes, drinks—everything you miss from above.]
[If we don't have it? For a small fee, we'll run the errand for you!]
[Prices start at just 1 hell coin!]
[Handsome ghosts! Beautiful ghosts!—]
Yesterday, she'd observed that most shops in Yinshui Alley relied on glowing, flashy signs to catch attention—none of them used a loud, aggressive sales pitch.
She had checked the Fengdu: A Handbook for New Ghosts beforehand—there were no noise restrictions for disturbing the peace.
Ghosts could make sound, but it consumed ghost energy.
Normal conversation used barely any, but shouting or hawking wares? The ghost energy cost grew exponentially.
And where did ghost energy come from? From yin energy.
Yin energy came from ghost lifespan. And ghost lifespan could be turned into hell coins.
In short—shouting cost money. That's why no one else was doing it.
So in a sea of quiet, somber storefronts, Anshou Hall—with its booming megaphone—instantly became the center of attention. Every ghost on the street turned to look. Once they heard the recording clearly, their eyes lit up with excitement.
It felt... eerily similar to a zombie movie—where a survivor accidentally makes noise and draws the whole horde.
Even someone as bold as Song Miaozhu felt a moment of panic. But then she remembered: the certificate that proved she owned a Heaven-tier ghost shop would completely conceal the fact that she was still alive.
She calmed down and got to work, sticking to the plan.
The ghost customers were far more eager than expected. There was no longer any need to play the recording. Miaozhu turned off the playback and switched to the megaphone's speaker mode:
[Interested customers, please come inside for a look!][Stock is limited—first come, first served!]
She stepped back behind the counter and activated the shop's limited entry mode—only three ghosts could enter at a time. Otherwise, she was worried the crowd might literally crush the place.
The first customer skateboarded in smoothly: "You actually sell mortal-world goods?"
Song Miaozhu nodded. "This batch is mostly food items."
"No way! Then I want headphones, a Walkman—no, wait! A top-spec latest-gen Fruit-brand phone! The net doesn't work down here, so preload it with trending songs and anime!
Oh, and an Extreme Speed Hero collab skateboard!
Money's no issue—I died young, so my family burns stacks of hell notes yearly. Can't even spend it all."
Skateboard Ghost's wishlist was ambitious. But Miaozhu didn't have those items in stock yet. Smiling, she replied:
"Of course! But those items aren't available yet—I'll need some time to get them for you. If you're sure about your order, come back tomorrow. I'll have a custom order price list for you. If you're okay with it, you just pay half upfront. Once I bring the goods in, you can pay the rest."