Song Miaozhu estimated that this device would last at most a month—likely even less. The battery alone might not last more than a few days.
"Looks like I'll need to stock batteries and power banks too, with all these electronic orders coming in."
Xiang Yun nodded thoughtfully. "So, what's the price for this?"
Song Miaozhu had bought it for thirty-five yuan. "I'll sell it to you for seventy hell coins."
Xiang Yun blinked in surprise. "Seventy? Not seventy thousand?"
"Just seventy. But no refunds or replacements once it breaks," Song Miaozhu clarified. "If you need another after this one dies, you can buy a new one. Though honestly, a proper sound system would suit you better."
Since Xiang Yun was a musician, her Fragrant Cloud Pavilion was likely a performance venue. Speakers would offer far superior audio quality.
"What's a sound system?" Xiang Yun asked curiously.
With no other customers around, Song Miaozhu patiently explained the difference between a loudspeaker and proper audio equipment. Their conversation flowed easily, and soon, another item was added to the sourcing list.
Xiang Yun wanted a high-quality, high-volume speaker system.
"Little Sister Song, let's exchange ghost contacts!" Xiang Yun produced a jade token. "Message me once you have updates."
Song Miaozhu tilted her head. "Ghost contact?"
"You're new, so you wouldn't know. You can activate basic messaging at the magistrate's office for free with your shop license—just three hundred hell coins monthly for the service. Some recently deceased ghost official developed it a while back. Works well, aside from occasional signal issues."
Song Miaozhu: "!!!"
"Fengdu has its own WeChat now?! Then again, with all the programmers dying from overwork, underworld internet services weren't surprising. I need to ramp up electronics sourcing fast—before the underworld develops its own versions."
"Sister Xiang Yun, I'll add you after setting up the service. I'll have the speaker quote ready by tomorrow—just come before the end of the Chou hour [1:00-3:00 AM]."
After seeing Sister Xiang Yun out, Song Miaozhu resumed tallying the day's earnings. Business must have been exceptionally lively, because soon, the door chime rang again.
Old Deng from the neighboring incense shop floated in. Before Song Miaozhu could speak, he demanded, "Where's your great-grandma?"
The tiny shop left no hiding spots—no other ghosts were present.
"She reincarnated yesterday."
Though he'd suspected as much, the confirmation visibly weighed on him. "That Song Huaihua! Not even a goodbye after decades as neighbors! Tch!"
With that, he stormed out.
Song Miaozhu dismissed the interruption and finally finished counting:
22,274 hell coins total.
A perfect match.
She'd spent 9,852 yuan on mortal-world goods, plus thirty-five for the loudspeaker. Doubled, that came to 19,774 hell coins.
Additionally, several ghosts had purchased currency molds on the spot—one second-grade ingot and fifteen first-grade ones, totaling 2,500 hell coins.
19,774 + 2,500 = 22,274.
As the candle neared its end, she closed shop and deposited all earnings into the Heaven & Earth Bank's treasure basin, converting them to RMB at the 1:2 exchange rate—doubling her initial investment.
This capital would fund even larger future purchases.
Returning to the living world just before the candle died, her phone chimed:
[Wealth Vault Deposit: ¥44,548 received.]
The comforting balance lulled her into deep, dreamless sleep.
~
She slept soundly, waking up naturally at 6:59 AM.
A few swipes on her phone, and her 7:00 alarm rang right on time.
She had been right—while she was operating her shop in the underworld, her physical body entered a sleep-like state. In fact, she felt even more rested than when she slept normally.
She'd enter the ghost shop at 11 PM, sleep four hours as a body, and another four hours with both body and soul after returning. That made a full night's sleep, ending just as the day began at 7 AM.
Running her underworld shop wouldn't disrupt her daily life at all.
The velvet robe she wore was surprisingly comfortable too. She could wear it over her pajamas and sleep just fine. Though, of course, the aesthetic only worked in the underworld.
Last night, several ghost customers had asked if she could sell that kind of clothing, but she had refused. The vintage shop only had those two pieces left, and the owner likely couldn't source more. Besides, it only cost a few hundred yuan—not worth a special procurement trip to the ghost market.
The thought made her chuckle. There was a time when she'd scramble for ten-yuan-per-hour part-time jobs. Now she couldn't be bothered with something that only earned a few hundred.
Still, clothing was an untapped market.
Shouyi (burial clothes) came in limited styles and rarely changed. Most people stopped burning new clothes for their departed after the initial mourning period. As a result, many ghosts wore low-grade paper garments—cheap ones that visibly looked like paper.
As society evolved, fewer artisans could produce true spirit-grade paper attire.
"I can't make proper spirit garments yet, but I can curate living-world fashions for underworld tastes."
But that could wait. Today's agenda was packed. After a quick wash, she grabbed the rattan cane and headed out. The cleaners were scheduled for 9:00 AM—she needed to open Anshou Hall Paper Shop first.
En route, she prioritized tasks:
—Quote ten bulk orders from last night (research prices, prepare invoices).
—Restock bestsellers for tonight's ghost shop sales.
—Commission a new sign from Old Zhao's Woodcarving Studio.
—Obtain a business license for the convenience store.
—Visit Old Wu's wholesalers for initial stock.
—Purchase shelves—needed for both shops.
"Especially the ghost shop. Floor displays waste precious space."
She passed a noodle shop, ate a quick bowl of plain noodles, and arrived at Anshou Paper Shop at 8:40.
She grabbed a stool, sat in a dust-free corner of the porch, and began checking online prices for the items on her procurement list.
The Skating Ghost's latest top-tier Fruit brand smartphone cost 10,000 yuan—and he wanted it preloaded with trending songs and anime. That'd be extra.
He also wanted a Speedy brand superhero-themed skateboard. When Song Miaozhu looked it up, her jaw dropped.
58,800 yuan?!