Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 17

“Boss, do you believe there are gods in this world?”

Su Ran looked at the boy in front of him. “I don’t know about gods, but I do know that the food you just ate adds up to 18 bucks. If you want to take what’s in your hand, I’ll give you a discount – let’s call it 30.”

The boy was only seven or eight years old, looked adorable, and had stuck around ever since Su Ran gave him a free lollipop once. He’d show up every few days, not because he liked Su Ran, but to scam free food.

The boy glanced at the snacks in his hand, pouting, reluctant to give them up, but he eventually put them back and took out a twenty. “See? I have money. Give me 2 bucks change back!”

Su Ran took the money right away. “No change. If I count what you owe from before, those 2 bucks won’t even cover it.”

“Wow, I’ve never met anyone who scams kids for money,” the boy shouted, pointing at Su Ran before grabbing a pack of cookies and darting off like a rabbit.

Su Ran sat there as always. “Gods? Ha! Now that must be a good job—unlike me. No salary, no days off, and not even time to date.”

Just then, someone entered. Dressed in all black, he stood out in the summer heat, and he seemed to have a guitar on his back, covered securely in a bag.

“Boss, a glass of juice. Freshly squeezed.”

Su Ran chuckled. “This is a grocery shop, not a juice bar. Please exit, turn right, and walk five hundred meters – they have it there. Thanks.”

But the man ignored him and wandered around the shop, picking up a bottle of apple juice. “This works too.”

“35 bucks.”

“Boss, can I store something here?”

Su Ran looked at him, repeating with resignation, “This is a grocery shop, not a pawn shop or a hotel. Please exit, turn left, walk a thousand meters – thank you.”

The man chuckled lightly. “My apologies.”

“Weird guy.”

Sunset came, time to close, as usual.

Late at night, someone came with a black umbrella, glanced up at the grocery shop’s sign, and knocked on the door.

Su Ran sighed, “Coming, coming.”

This job has no pay, yet he still had to wake up in the middle of the night to do business. Was this torture?

He looked at the black umbrella. “Come in.”

The visitor was a woman, around twenty-five, not exactly seductive but definitely pretty. Even Su Ran, usually so steady, couldn’t help but look twice. “So, what do you want to buy?”

The woman looked around the shop, speaking softly, “Boss, I heard you sell everything here. Is that true?”

“You’re joking. I only sell what I can,” Su Ran replied. “If I can’t meet your request, it’s not my fault.”

The woman smiled, looking even more beautiful. “I want to become a celestial immortal.”

“Hmm?” Su Ran was surprised, confirming the words she had used. “Say it again, what do you want?”

“I want to become an immortal!” The woman pronounced each word clearly.

Su Ran chuckled. “To become an immortal? You should go to a Taoist temple. This is a grocery shop – I can’t help you. Besides, if I could become an immortal, would I still be running a shop like this?”

“Are you sure it’s impossible?” The woman looked sceptical.

“Of course not.” Su Ran shook his head. He’d encountered all sorts of bizarre customers with odd requests, but this was the first time he’d heard someone wanting to become an immortal.

Maybe she’d read too many fantasy novels.

“If immortality is a no-go, then I want a flying sword!” she shouted.

Su Ran sighed, starting to think she might be a ninth-level novel fantasy case. Maybe he should reserve her a spot at a mental hospital. “Miss Fairy, little celestial, there’s not enough spiritual energy here for cultivation, and I don’t sell flying swords either. Kindly exit, turn right – bye-bye.”

“You say you don’t have one?” She seemed convinced Su Ran was lying.

“Of course I don’t,” he confirmed. If he had one of those, he’d keep it for himself rather than needing anyone to remind him.

“But that’s not right! My bestie just told me yesterday that she bought a flying sword from a grocery shop just like this – a real flying sword!” The woman was thrilled. “I saw it with my own eyes! A real flying sword, and she said she’d be ascending to immortality soon. Isn’t this the grocery shop?”

Su Ran was confused. “Where did she buy it from?”

“The grocery shop,” she replied firmly. “Boss, are you hard of hearing?”

“You saw the flying sword with your own eyes? A real flying sword?”

“Of course! Why would I lie to you?” She looked displeased, thinking he wasn’t a good shopkeeper at all.

“Who gave you that umbrella?” Su Ran felt something was wrong.

“This…” She hesitated. “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.”

Su Ran pointed to the black umbrellas by the door. “These umbrellas are only available in my store, and you say it’s a secret?”

She looked at the umbrella in her hand, then at the identical ones at the door. “They really are the same,” she muttered, hesitating. “I still can’t tell you.”

” Li Xiaotong, right?”

“How do you know my name?”

Su Ran looked at her. “A stranger hands you something, and you dare come here in the middle of the night? You’re really gutsy.”

Li Xiaotong looked horrified, as if seeing a ghost. “You—you know everything!”

“I know more than you think. Now, tell me, what’s this all about?” Su Ran figured she must be getting used.

“This isn’t some shady shop, is it?” She eyed him as if he were a butcher who devours people whole.

“A shady shop, my foot. If this were shady, you’d already be done for.” Su Ran brought over a small stool. “Now, tell me – what’s going on?”

Li Xiaotong pouted, “I’m not telling you. I’m leaving.”

With a wave of Su Ran’s hand, the door locked tightly, impossible to open.

“What on earth do you want from me!” she shrieked in terror, her volume stabbing Su Ran’s eardrums.

“Tell me, how old are you?”

“Why should I tell you?” Li Xiaotong leaned against the door, trying to put as much distance as possible between them, guarding against him as if he were a predator.

“Eighteen. No wonder you’re so brainless – still young,” Su Ran said, glancing her over. “But, honestly, with that face and figure, you look a bit older. I thought you were at least twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five? You’re the one who’s old!” Li Xiaotong retorted, unhappy at being called old. “I’d say you look more like forty—no, fifty!”

Su Ran shrugged. “Alright, don’t waste time. Tell me who gave you that black umbrella, and I’ll let you leave. Deal?”

Li Xiaotong hesitated. This Su Ran wasn’t simple; he seemed to read her mind. “Really?”

He nodded, and a man appeared in her mind – dressed in black, with a tightly wrapped guitar bag slung across his back.

So, it was him!