Chapter 126 – Start-up Failure
The Shi Yuan Flower Shop Project had initially been very successful.
He had thought that he would have to start planting flowers from scratch, but Lu Tinghan told him they could directly wholesale them.
“The ‘ Overlook’ project preserved many fertilized eggs and seeds, including flowers. After achieving food abundance, a greenhouse was dedicated to flower cultivation in the past few months, and Shi Yuan managed to catch up on it.
“Previously, everyone grew xuejian flowers at home. Xuejian flowers are easy to care for; they can survive for ten to fifteen days even when left unattended, and they are also the Alliance flower,” Lu Tinghan told Shi Yuan. “It’s the first time we’re growing so many different flowers in the greenhouse since we came to Elton.”
“Wow!” Shi Yuan was delighted. “So how can I buy them?”
“You have to contact the relevant department,” Lu Tinghan said, patting his head. “I’ll take care of it.”
Shi Yuan knew that the “relevant department” was a mysterious human organization that seemed to encompass everything in the world and was responsible for various matters. He patiently waited for a few days, and Lu Tinghan came back with good news, saying that he had reserved a batch of flowers for him, including roses, hydrangeas, sunflowers, and orchids, which would be ready for harvest in about a month.
With the flower source issue resolved, the next problem was the storefront.
Elton had a vast area, including multi-level underground structures, with more than enough space.
But naturally, they needed to open the store in a lively area. Lu Tinghan found a few days to spare and accompanied Shi Yuan to walk through the streets and alleys, specifically looking for rental or vacant storefronts.
Although they said they were looking for storefronts, in reality, the two of them were highly inefficient.
They strolled leisurely through the streets, taking their time. The streets always had interesting things. Shi Yuan’s attention was diverted: in just a few days, he had eaten hot egg rice rolls, drunk rich corn juice, and sat with Lu Tinghan in a coffee shop, studying latte art for a long time. They passed by a newspaper office and listened to the editor-in-chief talk about how they had restored the printing house, holding a newly printed book that emitted the aroma of ink. They encountered a lost girl at the end of an alley and escorted her home. On the way back, Shi Yuan saw a robot and excitedly sat on it, listening to it emit the sound of “Warning! Warning!” as it moved slowly forward.
Every time the afternoon approached, Shi Yuan would suddenly remember the flower shop.
The two of them hurried or sauntered to see the storefront, conducting their research, and finally returned home in the darkness.
Shi Yuan would lie on his bed and say, “We absolutely can’t wander aimlessly tomorrow; we must focus on finding it.”
Lu Tinghan: “Hmm.”
And then, the two of them would play for the entire day.
Fortunately, Lu Tinghan had done his homework and contacted the people from the “relevant department” to obtain information about suitable storefronts, and specifically headed there.
On the seventh day of their looking around, Shi Yuan took a liking to the shop at No.79 High Tower Street.
Not because the foot traffic there was good, but because there was a watchtower on that street that stood tall and reminded him of Tower No.4 in Fengyang City.
“Then, this place it is,” Lu Tinghan looked up and evaluated the interior structure. “The location is good, and a flower shop doesn’t require overly complicated decoration.”
And so, it was decided.
In the following days, Shi Yuan was busy rehearsing the script, leaving early and returning late every day.
Only when he finally had a leisurely night did he realize and ask Lu Tinghan, “What about the money for buying flowers and renting the shop? I don’t have much money right now.”
The vanished Alliance currency only worsened his financial situation. Although it had never been good to begin with.
“It’s all been paid,” Lu Tinghan answered. “No need to pay rent; the shop is yours.”
Shi Yuan’s tail froze. “How much did it cost in total?”
Lu Tinghan didn’t tell him and said it was a gift.
His birthday gift.
He said, “Shi Yuan, you’ve lived for thousands of years, and I’ve never given you a birthday gift. All the gifts over the years combined, this little thing is not enough.” He also told Shi Yuan, “Giving birthday gifts is a human tradition.”
He didn’t mention that humans usually don’t count and combine gifts for past birthdays.
Especially for thousands of years’ worth of birthday gifts.
Shi Yuan said, “I feel something’s not quite right, but I don’t know what.”
“Then it’s all right,” Lu Tinghan smiled and kissed him, “Or maybe you can think of it this way: when you have money from acting and selling flowers, then you can buy me a gift.”
“Okay,” Shi Yuan was delighted, “It’s a deal! I really love your gift!”
He ran to the sofa, threw himself on Lu Tinghan, and gave him a big kiss.
That one kiss led to trouble.
Sitting on Lu Tinghan, although Lu Tinghan didn’t make a “Warning! Warning!” sound, he did other things.
The next day, both of them slept until noon.
It was still Lu Tinghan who woke up refreshed, cooked noodles, and waited for Shi Yuan to wake up.
In the following days, Shi Yuan shuttled between the theater and the flower shop.
The workers did a simple renovation of the shop, welded the iron racks for displaying flowers, installed lighting fixtures, and created an overall fresh and clean atmosphere.
Shi Yuan said he wanted to give the flower shop a meaningful name.
Lu Tinghan thought he would see something like “Little Devil Flower Shop,” “Tingting Flower Shop,” or “Lighthouse Flower Shop” or “Time Flower Shop.” However, three days later, he stood in front of the flower shop sign, which had a big number “1” on it, and fell into contemplation.
He asked, “What is this ‘1’?”
“It’s you!” Shi Yuan happily replied.
Lu Tinghan: “…”
Lu Tinghan said, “Shi Yuan, no, let’s change the name. This one is a bit wild.”
“But I like it,” Shi Yuan said, “I told everyone from the beginning that I was going to the city to find ‘1’.” He thought for a moment. “Although I know its meaning now, I still think it has a lot of commemorative significance.”
“No, it won’t work,” Lu Tinghan said, “This really won’t work.”
“Ah, don’t you think it’s commemorative?”
“Yes, but no.”
“But… “
“No.”
Lu Tinghan’s attitude was firm, so Shi Yuan had to reluctantly give up on the idea.
They whispered and discussed it for two days in bed.
Finally, the sign of “Long Tail Flower Shop” was hung up.
Shi Yuan eagerly awaited the blooming of the flowers.
Until one night, two months later, when Lu Tinghan came home with a hesitant expression.
“What’s wrong?” Shi Yuan asked him, “What happened?”
Lu Tinghan: “Shi Yuan…”
“Yeah?”
Lu Tinghan said, “Shi Yuan, your flowers all died.”
Shi Yuan: ?????
The next day, he arrived at the greenhouse and saw a large area of withered flowers.
This was the first time people had grown flowers on such a large scale here, and they weren’t skilled in the business. The soil moisture, ventilation, and lighting weren’t properly set up the previous night, and a moment of negligence caused all the budding flowers to wilt.
Shi Yuan squatted by the field, reaching out to lift up a flower bud.
It was limp and weak. As soon as he loosened his hold, its head immediately drooped.
Shi Yuan: QAQ
Lu Tinghan comforted him, saying, “It’s okay, in another month, we’ll have a new batch of flowers. We won’t be short of the ones we planned for.”
Long Tail Flower Shop could only delay its opening. After a month of waiting, one evening, Lu Tinghan came home with a hesitant expression.
“What’s wrong?” Shi Yuan immediately became alert. “Did my flowers die again?”
Lu Tinghan: “No.”
Shi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Tinghan said, “Your shop burned down.”
Shi Yuan: ?????
The next day, he arrived at the shop, and half of it had been burned down.
The adjacent hotel’s kitchen caught fire, and although the firefighters extinguished it in time with no casualties, the kitchen was right next to the flower shop and burned completely.
Lu Tinghan said, “Cough, they will compensate you for rebuilding.”
Shi Yuan: QAQ
Lu Tinghan spent the whole night comforting Shi Yuan before finally making the little devil happy again, and he could hear the sound of Shi Yuan purring happily.
Rebuilding took one or two months, and during this time, they missed the greenhouse’s blooming season.
The next wave of flowers would require several more months of waiting.
And Shi Yuan became busy as well.
“Eternal Heroes” reached a critical moment, and as one of the leading actors, Shi Yuan had a heavy workload, often rehearsing for the entire day.
Before, he used to wait for Lu Tinghan to come home, but now it was the opposite—Lu Tinghan was always waiting for him outside the theater.
Every time the rehearsal ended, Shi Yuan would walk out and see the black car. Once he got in, the tip of his tail would wag happily as they drove through the streets at night. He would excitedly share the interesting things from the theater troupe with Lu Tinghan. The gentle light of the street lamps swept across their faces, again and again, like waves, and in the end, they would always exchange a lingering kiss.
As the blooming season approached, Shi Yuan was still so busy. Lu Tinghan suggested that he hire a shop assistant to help manage the flower shop.
Regardless of the era, the pursuit of beauty is eternal, and there are many people interested in running a flower shop.
The first one they settled on was a young girl.
After a few days, she suddenly said that a relative of hers was sick, and she needed to go take care of them.
Shi Yuan felt regretful but still expressed his blessings to her.
The second one they settled on was a young guy.
After a few days, the guy said he had a dream about a very cute little lamb and felt it was some kind of omen. So, he decided to go work on a farm.
Shi Yuan: ??
The next one was an old lady.
After a few days, the old lady said that she found a small kitten on the roadside. It was too small, and she was worried about leaving it alone at home, so she had to resign.
Shi Yuan: ?????
The fourth time, it was a middle-aged man.
After a few days, the man called Shi Yuan and said, “I… something magical happened…”
Shi Yuan asked, “Ah, what magical thing?”
“It’s, it’s really magical,” the man hesitated, “You would never guess.”
Shi Yuan guessed while wagging his tail, “Mr. Li, did you pick up 50 cents on the roadside after dinner and remember the childhood story of falling into the river while fishing, and now you plan to cross-dress as a woman and work at a factory making squirrel toys, then donate them to a welfare organization?”
The man was shocked and pale, “Oh my! How did you know?!!”
Shi Yuan: ?????
——After confirmation from Lu Tinghan, it was verified that the reasons of these four people were all true.
In the end, Shi Yuan didn’t find a suitable shop assistant.
He furrowed his brow in confusion, his tail curled up, “Why is it like this? How can it be like this?”
This time, even Lu Tinghan was lost in deep thought, saying, “Yeah, why is it like this?”
They pondered for several days, but had no result.
Both of them leaned against the headboard of the bed together.
Shi Yuan: It’s too strange. I’m going to use my brain to think.jpg
Lu Tinghan: I’ve already used my brain to think, but it’s still very strange.jpg
Once again, the blooming season was missed.
Instead, there was a torrent of applause in the theater.
The performance of the Wild Rose Theater Troupe’s new play was a great success. During the curtain call, Shi Yuan and the troupe members held hands and bowed, and when Shi Yuan looked up, he saw Lu Tinghan in the audience.
Lu Tinghan smiled and applauded him, his gray-blue eyes shining brightly, resembling a gentle sea.
On the way back home, Shi Yuan was excited and talked to Lu Tinghan about many things from the performance. He said he had never seen so many audience members before and almost had a panic attack; he said Cheng Yi’s script was particularly good, and several people were moved to tears during the rehearsals; he said he thought Lu Tinghan wouldn’t have time to come and watch, but he still came, and he was really happy.
After listening, Lu Tinghan told Shi Yuan, “Open your terminal and take a look.”
Shi Yuan opened it.
There was a notification of a transfer three hours ago.
Lu Tinghan whispered in his ear, “I applied to the Alliance to restore your data. It took some time for the process, but now your savings have returned.”
Shi Yuan exclaimed, “Wow!!!”
His wages were restored!
His human was still so powerful.
Unfortunately, the next blooming season wouldn’t come until next year.
Thus, due to various uncontrollable and magical reasons, Shi Yuan’s entrepreneurial plan was postponed to next year.
The two of them visited a nursery one day and brought back two pots of xuejian flowers. No matter what, the little monster that loved flowers still wanted to see a grand bloom.
Shi Yuan watered them every day and would squat in front of the flowerpots to observe them when he returned home.
The green shoots slowly grew taller and became robust and healthy, and the flower buds became plump. Finally, one evening, the flowers bloomed.
Both of them looked at the flowerpots together, with a soft light shining in their eyes.
The weather turned cold, and when Shi Yuan spoke, a white breath came out. He said, “Lu Tinghan, let’s try the flower shop again next year!”
“Yes,” Lu Tinghan ruffled his hair and smiled, “Next time, we’ll definitely succeed!”
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