Life Begins with a Market Stall in the StarNet World, Part 1

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Hearing this, Shi Gang and the others wore puzzled expressions, while only Qiao Shishi and Fei Qingyu seemed to have realized something. The two exchanged a knowing glance but remained silent.

“I said you’re paying compensation, so stop pretending,” Shi Gang shouted loudly as he stood up, glaring down at the little girl who was a full head shorter than him.

Just as everyone thought Wen Jiu had to apologize and pay up, she suddenly raised a finger and pointed at the holographic interface of the smart ring.

Wen Jiu swiftly navigated through the live broadcast interface and pulled up a video recording. She then switched it to holographic projection mode, casting the footage in the cafeteria so everyone could see clearly.

Everyone watched the holographic projection in confusion, but Shi Gang and his group grew increasingly uneasy.

The projection showed Shi Gang and his companions eating. Li Shanyan carried a plate and sat down in front of Shi Gang, after which they began whispering to each other.

“Tsk, this smells pretty good,” Shi Gang casually picked up a meatball, watching the juice about to drip off.

Because of a cat-ear-shaped filter on the camera, everyone could only see him putting the meatball into his mouth, and the other three did the same.

Up to this point, nothing seemed amiss, so Shi Gang and his group resumed their confident demeanor.

That is, until the next scene appeared.

“Is this really food made by humans?” one of Shi Gang’s followers marveled. “It’s so delicious, boss.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get to work!” Shi Gang banged his fist on the follower’s head.

In truth, he found these fried meatballs too tasty. If it weren’t for wanting to ruin Wen Jiu’s business and drive her away, he would have happily sat there and devoured the entire plate without leaving a drop of grease.

Under Shi Gang’s harsh scolding, the group reluctantly snapped out of their food-induced daze.

One of the followers glanced around furtively, and seeing no one was paying attention, cautiously pulled a handful of small stones from his pocket and handed them to Shi Gang.

Shi Gang sprinkled a few stones into his own plate, then carefully scattered stones into the other three plates as well, as if afraid someone would miss it.

After preparing these, what followed was what everyone had witnessed earlier. One follower suddenly stood up and shouted that he had found stones in his food and demanded Wen Jiu come out and explain.

With a ding, the video ended.

The students who had been gossiping fell silent, no longer uttering any idle talk.

A few feeling guilty quietly apologized to Wen Jiu, who nodded lightly in response before casting a cold gaze at Shi Gang.

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“Wasn’t it you who said if it wasn’t you who found stones in the food, you’d pay twice the money?”

Her grey-blue eyes brimmed with sarcasm. “Just transfer the money to my account now.”

Shi Gang stared at her in disbelief. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t fathom how Wen Jiu had video evidence.

“You... you did this on purpose!” His voice trembled. “Are you messing with me?”

Wen Jiu blinked innocently. “I don’t know why you put stones in the food. You’re not going to say I forced you to do that, are you?”

“Everyone just heard it. Hurry and pay up,” Qiao Shishi stepped forward, imitating Shi Gang’s earlier gesture by slapping the table, though to Shi Gang it felt like a huge mockery.

But now with undeniable evidence, he was completely suppressed and had no way to turn the tables.

Wen Jiu spoke again: “Hurry up. We’re in a rush to finish.”

Fei Qingyu added with a jab, “Can’t afford it, huh?”

Shi Gang was furious but dared not speak. If this had been private, he could have run and dodged the debt immediately, but now so many students were watching.

He could only use his smart ring to bring up his own holographic panel and, forcing a brave face, say, “Who said I can’t pay? It’s only six thousand star coins!”

Wen Jiu smiled as she opened her account interface and successfully received six thousand star coins.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” After confirming the deposit, Wen Jiu led Qiao Shishi and Fei Qingyu back to the kitchen, completely ignoring the dark expression Shi Gang wore behind them.

Shi Gang, having lost face so badly today, didn’t want to stay and be a spectacle any longer. He stormed out of the cafeteria.

Because most students had come to watch the commotion, the long line that had formed earlier had dispersed, leaving only a few scattered people still waiting.

The three quickly sold the remaining fried meatballs and then Fei Qingyu brought the recycling bins inside.

Fei Qingyu washed dishes much faster in the evening than at noon. Before Wen Jiu and Qiao Shishi finished wiping the kitchen grease, he had cleaned all the bowls and chopsticks thoroughly.

After finishing, Fei Qingyu left the cafeteria first, saying he needed to train more. Wen Jiu and Qiao Shishi then slowly walked back to the dormitory.

“That was hilarious. Did you see Shi Gang’s face when he left? It was almost the same color as pig liver.” Qiao Shishi joked while changing clothes. “By the way, when did you record that video? I was worried you wouldn’t handle their troublemakers.”

“I noticed it as soon as they arrived,” Wen Jiu said, sitting on the bed to change out of her sneakers. “People like that are obviously looking for trouble. You have to be extra careful.”

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After Shi Gang and his group bought the fried meatballs, Wen Jiu ended the live broadcast, then quietly activated the recording mode on the little drone, hiding in a corner to capture their entire series of actions.

She had only done it as a precaution, never expecting it would actually come in handy.

What surprised her more was earning a sum of star coins from it.

Wen Jiu lay back on the bed, seriously contemplating what to do with the money.

As the saying goes, money makes money. Leaving it idle won’t grow it naturally; she had to plan carefully.

She opened the smart ring’s holographic interface and browsed the gold rush store, selecting some ingredients she had previously thought were affordable and adding them to her shopping cart.

Then, in the spirit of saving wherever possible, she claimed every available coupon before happily placing the order.

After purchasing the ingredients, she still had over five thousand star coins remaining. Wen Jiu pondered for a moment and decided it was time to start her plan of setting up a stall in the Star Network world.

She began searching for detailed procedures on how to set up a stall in the Star Network.

First, she had to link her real-name information, then select a stall location, and finally pay the required fees.

Thanks to Yu Ruman’s efforts, her household registration information had long since been legalized, and she was recognized as an orphan adopted by Academy 3047.

After entering her information, Wen Jiu began selecting a spot for her stall.

To make money, she reasoned, she had to choose a prime location with good visibility and high foot traffic.

She recalled the Star Light Night Market she had visited with Qiao Shishi last time. Although the Star Network world had many markets, she had sensed enormous business potential there.

So, Wen Jiu decisively browsed the floor plan of the Star Light Night Market. Each stall area was annotated with various data, such as pedestrian flow and competition from neighboring stalls.

After some time, she chose a reasonably priced spot with decent foot traffic and paid the fee. Now all that remained was to enter the Star Network world and set up her stall.