I run a convenience store in the Empire

[Edited] Chapter 51

She picked up a grilled sausage with a clamp, skewered it with a bamboo skewer, gently blew a few breaths to cool it, and then took a bite. The piping hot sausage had a charred and crispy skin, while the meat inside was tender and bursting with flavor.

As soon as Tang Tang finished eating one, the decoration company arrived. According to Tang Tang's instructions, they started working on transforming the small garden with picnic grass. They dug up the floor tiles and green grass to create a rectangular garden ten meters long and five meters wide against the cement wall.

During the process, Tang Tang hid in the kitchen and brought out three buckets of green grass from the game. When the big garden was ready, she worked with Cao Hai and Yang Xingli to plant the turquoise grass on the freshly dug brown-yellow soil.

Yang Xingli looked at the original brown-yellow land now covered with green grass and felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Then he snapped back to reality, wondering why he was happy about the flat, clean ground being dug up and replaced with grass that couldn't be eaten or used.

Tang Tang noticed Yang Xingli's regretful expression and slightly smirked. "You'll understand tomorrow. You're going to love it."

She then went back to the kitchen and found the ingredients for a hot pot. She took out two packs of hot pot base, a package of vegetables, a package of spicy fat beef buns, and the vegetable buns and fat beef buns that had been opened in the refrigerator that morning. She also gathered other ingredients from the refrigerator and sliced them thinly. Lastly, she grabbed ice cola, orange juice, lemonade, and a new lychee cider from the freezer.

Tang Tang tried a sip of the lychee cider. It was sweet and sour, with the taste of lychee and a hint of wine aroma, mellow and palatable with a very low alcohol content. She liked it instantly.

While talking and laughing, they finished preparing the hot pot. Tang Tang was still sipping her fruit wine when she noticed Cao Hai and Yang Xingli unconsciously standing by the pool, washing the pots and dishes by hand. They ignored the dishwasher next to them and complained about how difficult it was to clean the pots and bowls.

Tang Tang nearly choked on her drink. She found it amusing that they were so active in cleaning but missed the convenience of the dishwasher right beside them. She pointed out, "You guys know there's a dishwasher right there, right? Just put the dishes in, and it'll do the cleaning for you."

Instead of looking regretful, they looked at the dishwasher with great interest, like children discovering a new toy.

Tang Tang, finding it humorous that these futuristic soldiers seemed more outdated than her, didn't disturb their fun. She assigned rooms, with Cao Hai and Yang Xingli sharing the remaining ones, while she and Qi Tian kept their own. After finishing her tasks, she went upstairs, locked her room, and entered the game.

Tang Tang switched to the scene outside the store on the round platform screen and placed the koi pond directly opposite the glass vitrine in the large garden, centering it on the dividing line. She also planted a pudding watermelon next to the marshmallow star tree in the flower bed.

After setting up everything in the game, she took a shower and prepared for bed. She noticed the blessing nestled at the foot of her bed and wondered briefly about the luck aura affecting her half-sister before yawning and getting ready to sleep. She touched the red rope on her wrist, sighed, and thought about decorating the koi pond in the morning before drifting off to sleep.

The crazy shopping competition between students of the Imperial University and the Imperial Military Academy caught the attention of both schools. They deemed it a sign of the students being too idle and decided to organize a field-level competition instead.

As a freshman in the mecha department at Imperial Comprehensive University, Li Xingran was appointed as the captain of the freshman team by the team mentor. This was partly because she did not participate in the rush to buy snacks from Tang Tang's convenience store.

The mentor praised her for her sensible behavior and reminded her that celebrating by buying unknown snacks to outdo the military academy students was foolish. He emphasized that winning this game was the real cause for celebration before leaving.

However, the other freshmen trainees, upon learning that Li Xingran did not join the snack-buying frenzy, looked at her with contempt and disdain. Some couldn't resist making snide comments.

"Heck, isn't this the school's famous high-achiever? Doesn't she care about school spirit?"

"She's just using Imperial Comprehensive University as a stepping stone to get into the Imperial Military Academy."

"Isn't her family quite wealthy? Why didn't she pitch in to buy snacks?"

A few rational voices tried to defend her. "It was a voluntary activity. She's not obligated to participate."

"Exactly. It's unreasonable to expect her to spend money on this."

"You guys are being too harsh. Everyone has their own reasons."

Li Xingran stood in front, seemingly unaffected by their discussions. She calmly interrupted, "Regardless of what you think of me, since I've been appointed leader, you have to follow my commands. Our main goal is to beat the Imperial Military Academy in this competition. And—" She paused slightly for emphasis.