After Transmigrating Into a Scummy Alpha, I Have Unlimited Krypton Gold (GL) - Chapter 27

“To Miss Zhu, I must seem like a shameless Alpha, constantly insatiable and bullying my wife at home.”

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While Xue Lingyu was busy slandering Xue Cheng at the old family compound, Xue Cheng was at the shop, reviewing the first drafts submitted by the new writers. As expected, after she gave them the core plot points, they were able to write exactly what she had in mind.

Xue Cheng looked at the original shopkeeper, a woman named Jia Xiu, who was thirty-five years old and a neutral Omega. She was quite capable, so Xue Cheng kept her on when she took over the business.

“Shopkeeper Jia, you’ve reviewed these. What are your thoughts?”

Jia Xiu had initially thought Xue Cheng was a spoiled brat who knew nothing. She feared Xue Cheng’s reckless changes would drive the shop into the ground, leaving her to find a new job. But after observing Xue Cheng for a while, she saw that while Xue Cheng was indeed making bold moves, they weren’t random. Her goals were clear, and many of her ideas were surprisingly brilliant.

Xue Cheng also frequently tested her with questions, making Jia Xiu feel a sense of urgency. She worried that Xue Cheng was unhappy with her and planned to replace her.

Now, hearing another question from Xue Cheng, Jia Xiu tensed up. She thought carefully before giving a cautious answer. “Owner, these storybooks are a new genre, but the content is very interesting. The plots are thrilling and not like the stale, old tropes. I believe they will sell very well once we officially launch them.”

She spoke, her eyes fixed on Xue Cheng, trying to gauge her reaction, but she didn’t stop talking. “These writers aren’t famous yet, so the initial response might be lukewarm. But once customers buy the books and read them, word-of-mouth will surely make them sell better and better.”

Xue Cheng nodded, not entirely satisfied with the answer. It was a safe, by-the-book, conservative response. But Xue Cheng still offered some advice. “Since we are introducing something new, we can’t just sit and wait for the market to react. That’s too slow.”

This was a tip from Liu Wuyuan. Xue Cheng wanted to borrow the concept of a modern book launch event to actively build their brand. She already had some ideas for the format. In her previous life, when she was too busy to read novels, she would sometimes put on headphones and listen to audio dramas while lying down to rest. She knew they didn’t have the same technology in this era, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find a workaround. People performed operas on stage; she was just changing the format.

She then asked Jia Xiu, “How is the progress on the new shop?”

To make sure the new combined bookstore and teahouse was a success, she had planned to set aside a space in the middle for performances. She had considered a combination of shadow puppetry and voice acting behind a screen, but then decided that too many tricks might not be necessary. A regular stage performance, like a play, would suffice.

Xue Cheng had also planned for a fixed schedule of daily performances, but customers could also pay extra to request specific shows. Watching a performance would be free; you could just order a pot of tea and some snacks, and watch while you ate and drank. But if a customer wanted to see a particular play that wasn’t on the schedule, they could pay extra to have it performed.

She also made it clear that these weren’t professional operas, which require decades of training. The performers just needed to have a clear speaking voice, be able to perform with emotion, and be reasonably good-looking.

She had spent a lot of time secretly planning the new business, and Jia Xiu knew how much Xue Cheng cared about it. She reported the progress to Xue Cheng in great detail. First, the recruitment of performers was going smoothly. They needed to be literate so they could understand the scripts. Second, she updated Xue Cheng on the renovation of the new shop. Xue Cheng was a stickler for details, and Jia Xiu had quickly realized how demanding she was. Xue Cheng was not someone who would settle for “good enough.” If she made a request, she expected it to be done perfectly, and she would rather start over than compromise to meet a deadline.

The supervisor for the construction was the old shopkeeper from the Xue Family Teahouse, a male Alpha named Wan Le, in his early thirties. Although they were colleagues, Jia Xiu had never been fond of Wan Le. She felt that just by looking at his face, you could tell he wasn’t a good person. He was also a slacker. Jia Xiu herself often went to the construction site to supervise, while Wan Le, who was supposed to be the supervisor, was nowhere to be found, probably off drinking tea and cooling down somewhere. Luckily, with Jia Xiu’s occasional supervision, the workers didn’t slack off. But Jia Xiu didn’t want to tattle on Wan Le to Xue Cheng. She just reported the construction progress plainly.

Xue Cheng had a knowing look in her eyes. She hadn’t fired Wan Le yet because she didn’t want to make a scene and alarm the other family branches, who might see it as a sign that she was trying to take over the family business. But she knew she would eventually have to fire him. He wasn’t serious about his work, and supervising the workers wasn’t a demanding job. All he had to do was make sure they were following the instructions.

“I understand. That’s all for today. And what about the wooden printing blocks I asked you to get? Are they ready?” She thought it was silly to use manual copying when movable type, a great human invention, was available.

Jia Xiu flipped through her small notebook. She was in the habit of keeping a daily record to avoid confusion. After confirming the details, she answered Xue Cheng. “The workshop has completed half of them. The rest should be finished in two days, according to your requirements. Once they are arranged, we can start printing.”

Xue Cheng was pleased with Jia Xiu’s answer, confirming her impression that she was a very competent worker. She happily patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “You’re doing great. We’ll use these printing blocks for the new books. The entire workshop will receive a bonus equal to half a month’s wages, and your salary will be doubled this month.”

Hearing the good news, Jia Xiu, who had been so serious, couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, owner.”

“Mhm.” Xue Cheng was in a good mood. Before leaving, she added, “Keep up the good work. I’ll make sure you’re all well rewarded in the future.”

“Yes, owner, you can count on me.”

Watching Xue Cheng leave, Jia Xiu felt for the first time that having a new person take over the bookstore and teahouse was actually a good thing. At least Xue Cheng was fair with her rewards. If you did well, you got a bonus. If you made a mistake, she wouldn’t scold you unnecessarily. If you fixed it in time, Xue Cheng wouldn’t do anything about it. But if a mistake was serious, she would also hand out a fair punishment based on the severity of the offense. Ever since Xue Cheng took over the businesses, Jia Xiu had noticed a change in the atmosphere. The workers all seemed to have more energy.

Xue Cheng, thinking of the “not feeling well” Liu Wuyuan at home, decided to get off work early today. She first went to Guang’an clinic, intending to ask Miss Zhu to come to her house to check on Liu Wuyuan. But Miss Zhu seemed surprised to see her. “Master Xue? Didn’t your wife just come by earlier?”

Xue Cheng’s mind took a moment to catch up. She asked, “When did my wife come? Is she feeling sick?” It was only after asking that he remembered Liu Wuyuan had left early in the morning. It seemed that she had felt unwell but hadn’t wanted to wake her up, so she had endured the discomfort and gone to the doctor by herself. Realizing this, Xue Cheng cursed herself. She had been so hard on her that she was in this state, and she had slept like a rock, completely oblivious.

Miss Zhu explained Liu Wuyuan’s situation and said that she wasn’t in a suitable condition to conceive right now. So she had given her a bowl of a contraceptive herbal soup. When Xue Cheng heard this, she panicked. She knew that contraceptive herbal soups were very harmful to the body. She had been so swept up in desire that she hadn’t thought things through and had acted so recklessly. Now, hearing that Liu Wuyuan had drunk the soup, she felt a mix of heartache and guilt.

She lowered her voice and asked, “Is there… is there a contraceptive herbal soup for Alphas? The kind you can take beforehand?” Even though she was a little embarrassed and her face was red, there was an urgency in her eyes. It was the first time Miss Zhu had ever seen an Alpha voluntarily ask for contraceptive medicine for herself.

Miss Zhu scratched her head and said hesitantly, “Yes, there is, but usually…” She wanted to say that Alphas were usually impatient and never remembered to take medicine before a moment of intimacy. Besides, Alphas were too proud, afraid the medicine would affect their performance.

Xue Cheng didn’t care about the “buts.” As soon as she heard there was such a thing, she said eagerly, “I want some, I want some. Give me several doses.” When she said this, she was just thinking it was better to be prepared. But Miss Zhu, a young unmarried woman, felt like she had just stumbled upon a huge secret. Her face turned bright red. She ignored Xue Cheng, turned to a drawer, and took out two medicine bottles. She placed them on the counter and said, with a glare, “Five taels of silver. Take one before you mark each other.”

“They’re pills?” Xue Cheng took out the silver from her purse. Pills were even better, much more convenient. She was so clueless that she didn’t understand why Miss Zhu was giving her a strange look. It was only later that she realized her previous words had been ambiguous, but the topic had already passed. It was too late to explain, so she just took the medicine, feeling misunderstood, and went home.

Back home, she carefully hid the medicine bottles. She felt like having these two bottles of contraceptive pills made her look like a s3x-crazed beast. To Miss Zhu, she must seem like a shameless Alpha, constantly insatiable and bullying her wife at home.

Xue Cheng went back to her room to hide the pills, then went to knock on Liu Wuyuan’s door. She waited for a moment and, hearing no response, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside. Liu Wuyuan was still in bed, sleeping. She glanced at the sky. She had been gone for at least two hours. Liu Wuyuan sleeping for so long must mean she was very uncomfortable, and it was her fault for being so rough on her yesterday.

Xue Cheng quietly walked to the bed and placed a hand on Liu Wuyuan’s forehead to check her temperature. When she found it was normal, she let out a sigh of relief. She must just be exhausted.

But Liu Wuyuan, even in her sleep, seemed to feel the hand on her forehead. She let out a soft “Hmm” and opened her eyes. The sleepy haze in her eyes disappeared in an instant, and she was wide awake. She blinked at Xue Cheng, her eyes filled with a question.

Xue Cheng explained, “You’ve been sleeping for so long, I was afraid you were sick.”

Liu Wuyuan propped herself up, glanced at the sky outside, and let out a small yawn. She pulled Xue Cheng down to sit, and lazily snuggled into her arms. She grabbed Xue Cheng’s collar and sniffed lightly. There was no lime scent, nor was there any other Omega’s scent. She was very satisfied.