Chapter 25: New Shop Unlocked, 'Tongyuan Money Shop'!

Walking back to the office, Chen Yan thought about his recent conversation with Old Zhai. He had genuinely been surprised when he tried to buy some noodles to take back, only to be turned down.

After all, the goods in the storehouse were provided by the system. In theory, as long as someone paid, shouldn't it be the same no matter who bought them?

However, after Old Zhai rejected him the second time, he suddenly understood why the system had established this rule. It might not be obvious now with so few native residents in the Ancient City. But as more and more native residents arrived and various industries emerged, if anyone could just go to the storehouse and buy whatever they wanted, things would eventually go awry. In the long run, the economic self-circulation system—from a small area like Qinghe Street to the entire Ancient City in the future—would likely fall into a severe imbalance.

To the tourists, his place seemed like just another scenic spot. Yet he knew very well that Qinghe Street, along with the new scenes and shops to be unlocked in the future, formed a self-contained little world of their own. Reckless interference would truly cause problems. Therefore, exclusive supply for exclusive goods was a necessary boundary. No one, not even him as the boss, could be allowed to break the rules.

Having figured this out, Chen Yan felt much more at ease. He returned to the office, finished his daily work summary, and went to sleep.

The next morning at exactly six o'clock.

This time, Chen Yan didn't even wait for the alarm to go off before getting out of bed. He threw on some clothes and hurried into the bathroom to wash up. Finishing his morning routine and once again skipping breakfast, he rushed toward Qinghe Street as fast as he could.

The horizon was just beginning to pale with the first light of dawn, and the air still carried a hint of the night's chill. The moment he arrived at Qinghe Street and stepped onto that iconic gravel and dirt road, the system's notification chimed in his mind right on time.

[DING!]

[The second batch of native residents has arrived.]

[Notice: The quota for native residents in the 'Qinghe Street' scene (Primary) has been exhausted. The number of shop (stall) unlocks has been exhausted.]

[The auxiliary facility for the 'Tongyuan Money Shop' has been synchronously unlocked.]

"Huh?" Chen Yan froze as he looked at the new pop-up windows appearing before him.

Just yesterday, the first batch of native residents had arrived, and the second batch was still being invited. But today, all five spots had already been filled? Didn't this mean that today, three new native residents had arrived at Qinghe Street in one go, and three new shops had been unlocked all at once?

The system's efficiency was truly impeccable. Another point that surprised—or rather, confused—him was the auxiliary facility that unlocked synchronously with the Tongyuan Money Shop. He knew about the Tongyuan Money Shop; he had seen it earlier when he crossed over to Qinghe Street and recorded information along the way. But what was this "auxiliary facility" all about?

Unable to figure it out, he didn't bother wasting his brain cells. Barring any accidents, he would find out soon enough anyway.

Over at Li's Tea House, Si had just finished taking down the wooden panel doors. Seeing Chen Yan from a distance, he immediately called out, "Morning, Mr. Chen."

Diagonally across from Li's Tea House, a new shop had opened. The shop's panel doors had all been removed, and a black lacquered wooden plaque had appeared above the entrance. Written on it in neat regular script were four large characters: 'Tongyuan Bank'.

Chen Yan nodded in Si's direction. Just as he arrived at the entrance of the Tongyuan Money Shop, a thin old man came out to greet him. The old man looked to be about the same age as Old Zhai. He had a lean figure, but his back was perfectly straight, and just standing there gave off a faint sense of imposing presence. He wore a brown long gown with dark trim around the cuffs, and the fabric was clearly more refined than what Shopkeeper Li and the others wore.

"Mr. Chen," the old man said with a steady tone, bowing respectfully to him with clasped hands.

However, Chen Yan's attention was drawn to the goatee on the man's chin. This old man appeared rather skinny with slightly protruding cheekbones, yet his gaze was sharp. Combined with the goatee, it inexplicably gave off the impression of someone shrewd and deeply calculating.

"You are..." Chen Yan asked, having already grown used to being addressed as Mr. Chen the moment he met anyone.

"I am Yan Wenshan, the shopkeeper of the Tongyuan Money Shop. If you have any instructions in the future, Mr. Chen, please don't hesitate to say the word." With another respectful clasp of his hands, Yan Wenshan kept it brief and to the point, finishing his introduction in just a few sentences.

"Ah, so you are Shopkeeper Yan. A pleasure to meet you." Chen Yan returned the gesture and glanced inside the Money Shop.

The storefront facing the street wasn't particularly large. Directly opposite the door was a wooden counter, its surface polished to a shine. Behind the counter sat a row of wooden pigeonhole cabinets, each compartment numbered and looking perfectly orderly.

Seeing Chen Yan's interest in the furnishings, Yan Wenshan immediately invited him inside and introduced every piece of equipment in the room.

"The True Master has already informed me." After finishing the tour of the furnishings and returning to the counter, Yan Wenshan spoke again, "This Money Shop doesn't just handle the deposit and exchange of copper coins. It will also collect the commission shares from each shop on your behalf, Mr. Chen, and calculate the monthly tax money they owe. I will record it all in a unified ledger and periodically transfer the funds to you."

As he spoke, he pulled a blue-covered ledger from under the counter, flipped it open, and handed it to Chen Yan with both hands.

Chen Yan took a quick glance. Tables were already drawn inside the ledger—each row for a shop and each column for a day. The grid cells were narrow and densely packed, clearly the handiwork of an experienced accountant.

"Then I will leave this troubling matter in your capable hands, Shopkeeper Yan."

He hadn't expected the newly unlocked Money Shop to have such comprehensive functions. Not only could it collect commissions on his behalf, but it could also help coordinate the monthly taxes owed by each shop. Pleasantly surprised, Chen Yan finally understood why such a crucial Money Shop would be unlocked during the primary stage of Qinghe Street.

"I'll let you get back to your work then, Shopkeeper Yan. I'm going to go have a look further ahead."

He handed the ledger back to Shopkeeper Yan and bade his farewells. Along the way, he clasped his hands in greeting toward Shopkeeper Li, who was standing at the entrance of the tea house diagonally across the street, watching the commotion. Chen Yan then continued walking further down Qinghe Street.

The unlocking of the Tongyuan Money Shop had solved another minor annoyance for him. Going door-to-door along the street to collect commissions after work every day was indeed a nice, relaxing experience. It was fine when there were just one or two shops, and even three, four, or five wouldn't be a problem. But what if there were ten or twenty? Or even dozens or hundreds? As more and more shops unlocked in the future, it would inevitably become a significant burden if there was no Money Shop to help manage everything.

While he was pondering these random thoughts, he passed by Miss Yu the Third's Guduo stall. Sure enough, she had saved the first batch of fried Guduo just for him.

He spent ten copper plates to buy five skewers of fried Guduo and chatted with Miss Yu the Third for a bit. Eating as he walked, Chen Yan unknowingly crossed Yongtong Bridge and arrived at the North Shore of Qinghe Street.

The moment he stepped off the bridge, a scent drifted over—he couldn't tell if it was herbs or spices. Following the aroma, he walked a short distance forward. As a shop on the west side of the road with its doors and windows wide open came into view, Chen Yan finally pinpointed the source of the unique fragrance.

On either side of the entrance to this newly unlocked shop sat a coarse pottery incense burner. Inside, an unknown spice was burning. Wisps of white smoke slowly drifted out through the hollowed-out patterns of the burner lids, floating all the way up to a wooden plaque hanging beneath the eaves:

[Su's Incense and Medicine Shop]