Chapter 130: Curiosity Killed the Cat
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
“Hey! You’re reading a book instead of working?!” The busboy was half-way through the book when someone yelled at him angrily.
“Auch!” Startled, the busboy almost dropped the book. He was about to cuss when he saw that it was his boss. His face turned stiff while he said, “Boss, a customer left this book behind; it’s fascinating!”
Seeing his boss’s expression turning darker, he immediately said with a faked smile, “I’m off to work right now.”
“What’s this book that enthralled this kid so much?” Li Fusheng had spent all his life on managing this restaurant and had almost seen all walks of life.
While he thought back to how taken that busboy was, he picked up the exquisite book from the table and wondered, Was this book left behind by a customer?
He opened it casually and murmured, It’s a novel?
“How can such a book be interesting?” He was about to toss it aside when he remembered the enthralled expression of the busboy, and he murmured, “Is it really so good?”
Since he had nothing else to do right now after the rush hour passed, Li Fusheng turned to the first page.
– Ten minutes later –
Li Fusheng widened his eyes, wondering, Is there such a wondrous place in this world?
A lord from hell named Diablo is going to destroy the world?
A Paladin from a Saint Temple? Who is he?
Shen Qingqing’s writing was so good that she described each figure with vividness, such as the ambitious adventurers from all over the world, the wise and amiable Akara, and the generous and bold blacksmith Charsi.
After reading the journey into the Den of Evil and realizing the demonization of the previous hero, Li Fusheng got engrossed in this magical story in which the humans in the world of darkness and despair tried to find the light.
“The dark night gave me black eyes; I use them to look for light,” he read these words from the book.
“Superb! Superb!” Li Fusheng slapped his thigh and cried out loudly, oblivious to everything around him.
“This story is amazing!”
…
Shen Qingqing looked at Fang Qi curiously while she asked, “Sir, how did you come up with these words?”
She was curious about this Mr. Fang, who looked younger than her, but had great strength and seemed to know everything.
He could even come up with such meaningful sentences! she thought.
Fang Qi shrugged and didn’t respond. Those words had been a cliché in his old world, and he wouldn’t have used them if they were not fitting to the storyline of Diablo.
“Do you really think that people will read the book this way?”
“Of course. Curiosity killed the cat,” Fang Qi said with conviction.
“Curiosity killed the cat?” The two girls looked even more curious as they gazed at Fang Qi. “But there’s no cat in that shop.”
…
“Mr. Yu.” In Fusheng Restaurant, Li Fusheng called over the storyteller who had just walked off the platform with fatigue.
“Come and take a look of this novel.” Li Fusheng handed him the book and asked in a slightly panting voice, “Can you tell this story tomorrow?”
Although his restaurant was big, the storytelling was still an integral part of his business. After all, people would choose a restaurant which provided both entertainment and good food.
If the entertainment could pique their interest, it would be a bonus.
The storyteller with the surname of Yu read through the novel while his expression turned grim.
When he finished the first part, he asked, “Mr. Li, where did you get this book?”
“It was… left behind by some customers,” Li Fusheng said. “If they came back for it, we’ll certainly return it to them. But I don’t think it’s a big deal that we read it, right?”
“Right.” Mr. Yu stroked his beard. “If I tell this story, I ensure you that the customers coming into your restaurant will increase by at least 30%!”
“So many?” Li Fusheng was surprised.
“It’s because our restaurant is the only place that can tell such a wondrous story!” Mr. Yu said, “The world that this book describes is very novel but also very logical, which is very rare. The only thing is that the writer seems to be a bit inexperienced, but if it’s told by me…”
“Then, I’ll count on you, Mr. Yu!” Li Fusheng was thrilled by his words!
“But if you know about the origin of this book, you must keep it a secret,” Mr. Yu said.
“Of course!” Realizing that this novel could bring him great benefits, Li Fusheng would certainly make the best out of it!
…
“Even if they get hooked by this book and ask the storyteller to tell the story to the diners as you just explained, once they realize that the book can bring them more profit than Celestial Warrior, they will hide the origin of this book from others, right?” Xu Zixin was even more puzzled about this far-fetched promotional idea.
Fang Qi couldn’t help laughing. “Isn’t it a better outcome for us?”
“Really?” Shen Qingqing asked, “Better outcome? What do you mean?”
“They will make everyone in their restaurant curious,” Fang Qi explained. “If you can only hear a very interesting novel in one place but don’t know where to buy it or if it has a sequel, won’t you feel unsatisfied? Won’t you ask about it from people around you?”
“Well! I think you’re right!”
“This way, they will spread the curiosity to the people around them as well?” Fang Qi said.
“So the people who are asked about…” The two girls understood it suddenly.
“Oh!” Shen Qingqing was a bit upset. “Then, many people will buy the novel! I wish that I had printed more of them!”
“We have enough!” Fang Qi said.
“Enough?” The two girls were confused by Fang Qi’s logic. “If many people want to buy the book, we can’t satisfy them all.”
“I’ll tell you a story. There’s a vendor who sold rotten apples, and he could sell tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of them. However, he purposefully provided less…”
“Sir!” Shen Qingqing and Xu Zixin were amused by his story and asked, “How can one sell tens of thousands of rotten apples?! That’s nonsense!”
“Then, I’ll say rotten spiritual fruits. Just ignore the details,” Fang Qi said with a straight face.
“Then, what happened?” The two girls looked unconvinced.
“Before the sale of the rotten spiritual fruits, people stood in a long line in front of his shop, and some even began waiting there during the night. The people who bought the rotten spiritual fruits cried with joyful tears while those who came too late tried to buy them from those lucky ones at a cost several times of its original price.”
While he spoke, Fang Qi glanced at their tiny waists. “Some even traded their kidneys for the rotten spiritual fruits.”
“…”
“That’s nonsense!” The two girls rolled their eyes and said, “Forget it. Today, we can’t go to your shop since we must stay low for a while!”