Chapter 42: The Bully of Jiule Tea Street

"Wuwu—Foxie!"

Yu Xueqing hugged the little fox and rolled around on the bed, deeply depressed by the live-streaming sales performance of the day.

She used to watch anchors on the Douyin platform making hundreds of millions in just a few minutes during live sales. Only after becoming a live-streaming host herself did she realize the harsh reality.

Forget about making a profit; she actually lost money.

Losing four yuan wasn't much, but for Yu Xueqing, who had not yet stepped foot into society to work, it felt like her first profound beating by the harsh realities of the real world.

After working hard for four hours, she made zero profit and even ended up four yuan in the red.

Feeling immensely aggrieved, Ah Qing lay on the bed and cried her eyes out.

"Yingyingying..."

An Sheng wore a helpless expression, his entire fox body sprawled out, allowing Yu Xueqing to bury her face in his chest and shed little pearls of tears, while lifting his small paw to pat her head in comfort.

Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to eat—an immutable law.

Any prominent entrepreneur in society or frequently exposed live-streaming sales host had to carve their way through thousands of competitors, achieving great success before they could command countless exposure opportunities.

Who cared about the ones who failed?

After coaxing Yu Xueqing to sleep, An Sheng sneaked over to Lin Sakura's place for a supplementary meal.

Ah Qing was aggrieved.

Lin Sakura was pathetic.

An Sheng decided it was all Old Chen's fault! The geomancy of the town was flawed, and they needed to pick an auspicious day to drag a village chief named Old Chen off to be sacrificed to the heavens!

Returning home, An Sheng curled up around Ah Qing's waist and fell asleep.

***

Early the next morning.

An Sheng woke up to a bumpy motion, opening his eyes to find himself sitting in the passenger seat of a small car.

"Ying?"

An Sheng looked at Yu Xueqing, who was sitting in the driver's seat and driving at a leisurely pace, letting out a puzzled chirp.

Ah Qing... where are we going this early in the morning? Where do you want to drive to?

"Little An is awake?"

Seeing the little fox wake up, Yu Xueqing wore a naive and endearing smile as she said, "Thanks for your hard work yesterday, Little An, staying quietly with me through the live stream."

"Today we are going home to eat, and then, in the afternoon, we'll take our fox treasure out to roam the mountains."

"Ying?"

An Sheng looked perplexed, but soon enough, he understood what was happening.

Driving her car, Yu Xueqing arrived at her family's tea shop located in Jiule City to seek live-streaming wisdom from her dad.

Having suffered a crushing defeat the day before, thanks to the little fox's comfort and the auto-translation effect of his own brain, Yu Xueqing had regrouped and was now brimming with fighting spirit.

If she didn't make money, the little fox would have to go begging on the streets!

How could Yu Xueqing bear to hang a QR code around the neck of such a cute little fox, making poor Foxie beg along the streets with a pitiful expression?

Time to fight!

Sitting at the tea table, Yu Xueqing recounted her mental journey during the past two days of live-streaming to her dad and her mom, who was tidying up the display cabinets.

Yu Zhenghong was taken aback; he hadn't expected that giving Ah Qing a summer job would transform his usually timid and docile daughter into such a fiercely motivated warrior.

Right then and there, Yu Zhenghong began sharing some of his insights and experiences regarding live-streaming.

However, when Yu Xueqing furrowed her brow, took out her phone, opened videos of other female tea-selling anchors, and asked her dad how to defeat them, Yu Zhenghong's expression changed drastically.

Chen Peipei's face darkened instantly.

Chen Peipei never watched live streams, whereas Yu Zhenghong had previously patted his chest and boasted to Chen Peipei that he saw other live-streaming hosts making a fortune selling tea.

Furthermore, he had applied for funding from Chen Peipei to purchase live-streaming equipment and tip hosts in order to learn the ropes from them.

"So... are we still having lunch at noon?"

Yu Xueqing and An Sheng squatted in front of the tea shop's entrance, staring blankly out at the street, occasionally turning their heads to look toward the tea table behind the decorative screen inside the shop.

Although there were no sounds of shouting from inside, an oppressive atmosphere of impending storm could faintly be sensed.

"Yingying~"

An Sheng raised a paw and patted Yu Xueqing's shoulder to reassure her. Lunch would definitely be served, and if nothing unexpected happened, it would be an extremely lavish spread.

Moreover, it would undoubtedly be cooked personally by Yu Zhenghong.

In the eastern region of Xia, women usually cooked daily meals, but during festivals and holidays, the men would personally step into the kitchen to whip up a feast of hearty dishes for friends and relatives.

Right now, Chen Peipei was sulking.

If Yu Zhenghong didn't seize the opportunity to cook up a grand meal to appease Chen Peipei's mood, An Sheng could only say that Yu Zhenghong deserved to eat instant noodles for the next few days.

Squatting at the entrance, Yu Xueqing thought for a moment, then ran inside to help mediate the dispute.

Dad only watched female anchors anyway, and the ones losing out were those anchors. Besides, Dad didn't even spend any real money, so Mom, please forgive Dad this once!

Yu Zhenghong trembled all over, and Chen Peipei's face turned as black as charcoal.

The comforting effect of Yu Xueqing's words was roughly equivalent to stabbing her father with Frostmourne.

The interior of the house was lively indeed.

Squatting at the threshold, An Sheng watched the bustling flow of pedestrians on the street.

An Sheng narrowed his eyes, ignoring the people rushing past in a hurry, and shifted his gaze to those walking slowly with a hesitant, look-around demeanor.

"Ying—"

An Sheng suddenly called out, lifting his head proudly as if greeting someone.

"Ah?"

The woman who heard the fox's call paused in surprise. After looking around in all directions, she pointed a finger at her own cheek with a dazed and bewildered expression:

"Divine Fox Master... are you calling me?"

An Sheng nodded gently, let out a couple of soft chirps, and trotted forward, nudging the woman's jeans-clad calf until he literally shoved her straight into Yu Xueqing's family tea shop.

Excluding the second-floor warehouse area, the usable area of Yu Xueqing's family tea shop on the ground floor was about eighty square meters.

Deducting the ten-square-meter tea-drinking area and the five-square-meter restroom, the rest was filled with tea sets and tea display cabinets.

Although the varieties of tea weren't extremely numerous, the staple oolong tea, black tea, and scented tea were all fully stocked.

"Yingyingying..."

The little fox's mouth curved up slightly in a smug smile as he resumed his squat at the entrance to survey the passing crowd. Utilizing his past life's sales vision, he selected a target individual, called out to stop them, and reeled them in.

Then, listening and identifying positions, the moment a customer spoke with a Jiule City accent, he would shepherd them right into the shop.

Today, please give this Divine Fox Master some face and patronize Ah Qing's family business generously. Once the Divine Fox Master attains enlightenment in the future, I'll hand out massive red envelopes to all of you!

As customer after customer was herded into Yu Xueqing's family tea shop by An Sheng, Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei temporarily forgot about their quarrel and hurriedly rushed forward to welcome the patrons brought in by the fox.

"Yingyingying—"

With a smug expression and a slightly swaggering gait, An Sheng stood on his hind legs, pushing a bewildered middle-aged man in a tailored business suit right into the tea shop.

"Huh?"

As the tea shop grew bustling with voices and crowds, the owners of the neighboring tea shops walked out with strange expressions, staring at the lively scene at Yu Xueqing's shop in utter bewilderment.

On the tea street of Jiule City, business was traditionally conducted through wholesale supply.

Someone would make a phone call, and the familiar tea shop would prepare the requested goods and deliver them to the doorstep.

Of course, retail customers existed, but they usually came in twos and threes to sit down, drink tea, and listen to the owner's introduction before deciding to buy, rarely making much of a commotion.

And yet, as the owner of the neighboring tea shop stepped outside, he was greeted by a sight that left him utterly speechless.

A completely white fox was squatting at the entrance of Yu Xueqing's tea shop, soliciting customers.

With a single cry halting the pedestrian traffic, it would physically herd the customers straight into the shop.

Once they were inside, that white fox would block the doorway, simultaneously stopping the foot traffic outside and ushering more customers inward.

Chen Peipei was introducing the teas with a hoarse voice.

Yu Zhenghong was boiling water across three kettles, with seven or eight teapots arranged on the table, speaking eloquently as he explained the distinct flavors and notes of various teas to different customers.

Even Yu Xueqing was pitching in to help Chen Peipei.

"Isn't this fucking forced buying and selling?" the owner of the neighboring tea shop blurted out in utter astonishment.

"Old Hong is something else! Training a fox to solicit customers. To think he'd use the Divine Fox Master as a doorman and block customers from leaving—he really isn't afraid of being struck by lightning..."

The other tea shop owners muttered and complained under their breath, filled with envy and disbelief.