Lang Lin returned home, and as usual, the aroma of food wafted into his nose. But for some reason, he found the smell utterly foul this time, and he felt that nothing was more fragrant than the scent of a dead human... once again.
His eyes were now dark and ringed like a panda's. Yesterday's ordeal had left him shaken to the core, unable to eat or sleep, haunted by dreams of Saya devouring her intestines while he sat there eating alongside her. Yet, despite all that, he hadn't forgotten to practice the underwater breathing technique. It helped ease his mind a little when he focused on it.
"Zhang Bao, you're up early making food as alwaysimpressive." Zhang Bao really was an early riser. This giant of a man wasn't waking up for workouts or anything like that; no, he got up to cook. It seemed like if he had to go hungry, Zhang Bao would surely diehe couldn't stand it.
There were eight dishes on the table: bone broth, stewed pork with mushrooms, chicken bone soup...
Mew! The little rabbit ate merrily. Everything it was chowing down on now was far tastier than anything Lang Lin could make.
The little rabbit felt genuine admiration for Zhang Bao's cooking skills.
Lang Lin skipped the meal and headed straight back to his room. Just seeing that food made him think of Saya, and he kept picturing her smiling at him. It stressed him out and drove him mad. Lang Lin grabbed his laptop and put on some music to unwind.
His e-book was still selling like hotcakes. He didn't have to lift a fingerjust lie there, and the money rolled in.
He wasn't sure if it was the nice weather or what, but he slept straight through until noon. That's when Zhang Bao woke him up for lunch and mentioned a package had arrived.
"A package already? I only ordered it a few days ago. Their service is lightning-fast." Lang Lin eyed the box. It had arrived while he was asleep. The box, bubble wrap, tape, paper, and printer had all come together in one go.
"Bao, after lunch, come help me tape the boxes, alright?" Lang Lin didn't have to wait for the handmade books to finish. He could just prep the customer labels and addresses ahead of time. Once the books were done, he'd wrap them in bubble wrap and seal the boxes.
That way, there'd be no last-minute chaos. Getting things done early was a hallmark of good business sense.
"Sure thing, boss. Aren't you gonna eat?" Zhang Bao asked.
"Just get me some congee. I'm off meat for a while." Even though the sight of meat made him nauseous, Lang Lin had work to do. He hadn't eaten since yesterday and was starting to feel the hunger pangs. A bowl of warm congee would tide him over decently.
Their meal wrapped up quickly, thanks to Zhang Bao's voracious appetite.
In the afternoon, Lang Lin hooked up the printer and started printing labels for all 500 customers.
The A4 paper was laid out in six rectangular slots per sheet, with names and addresses filled in. That way, when it came time to tape them over, he'd just cut along the perforationsa huge time-saver.
Lang Lin handled the printing, while Zhang Bao cut out each individual label.
Lang Lin wasn't in a rush to stick the labels on the boxes yet. Doing it one by one would be a massive waste of time. Better to print and cut them all first, then apply them in one efficient batch.
It was quicker and made the whole operation look more professional.
Zhang Bao cut the paper with expert precision, like his kitchen knife slicing through meatzero flaws, not even a nick.
Lang Lin had bought ink in bulk, so he wasn't worried about running out while printing 500 names.
By the time the two of them finished, evening had already fallen. As for the little rabbit? It wandered over out of curiosity at the weird paper-cutting session but lost interest quick. In its little head, it thought, "These dumb humans playing with stupid paperwhat's the fun in that? Little rabbit doesn't get it at all." With that, the rabbit lifted its chin haughtily and strutted away.
Lang Lin figured this critter was picking up human mannerisms faster by the day. Even its snooty attitude was spot-on.
"All done, boss?" Zhang Bao grinned. The paper piles in front of them towered like a small mountain.
"Not yet! Next, we gotta stick 'em on the boxes and tape over them."
"Huh?... But it's evening already. Zhang Bao's starving. How about we whip up some food first, boss?"
"Hah!" Lang Lin smirked. "You're built like a tank, and you're already wiped? Fair enoughI'm getting hungry too."
Lang Lin hadn't been the one cutting paper; he'd just been printing. It wasn't tiring at all, but meal time was meal time.
Zhang Bao bolted off to prep dinner right away. Lang Lin shook his head helplessly and fired up some internet music.
The song he picked was about a young man's heartbreak over parting from his love. The singer was a fresh-faced newcomer who'd just debuted: Meng Yuxie!
Her songs weren't anything groundbreaking, but her unique voice had wormed its way into the hearts of many.
She was only 18, and this debut was already a solid first step in her professional singing career. Her face was pretty in that endearing, protect-me way that made guys want to shield herwhich explained why most of her fans were single working men.
Lang Lin wasn't into her looks; it was purely her voice that hooked him. Now that he was on this new path in life, he might've been as obsessed as the rest back in the day.
Time flew by. Late into the night, Zhang Bao finished taping all the boxes, while Lang Lin just lounged and listened to tunes. He had zero reason to jump in and help.
Zhang Bao had scarfed down a mountain of food and slacked off all day, plus today's work was a breeze. Why should the boss pitch in?
Lang Lin stroked the ring on his finger. The skull's crimson eyes held no glow, signaling it needed three days to recharge for one dimensional opening. From what he'd observed, even after three days, the eyes stayed red. That meant it wasn't strictly every three daysyou could open it anytime as long as the cooldown was met.
It lined up with what he'd figured.
Ever since getting the underwater breathing technique, Lang Lin had felt energy surging through him. But it was worthless with his crippled leg. He was still a joke, not much different from before. Facing Saya had terrified him... and it made him too scared to open the door again anytime soon. Remember, Lang Lin was weak. If he ran into something as deadly as last time, he wasn't sure he'd survive.
The dimensional door didn't let you exit whenever like entering did. It was risky. If he could bail out on demand, it'd be way safer.
Days passed in a blur. Wu Xichen drove over himself to deliver the books right to the house. Lang Lin felt grateful. "Thanks a ton, Uncle Wu, for bringing the books all this way."
"Haha, no sweat, no sweat. We're like uncle and nephewit's nothing."
"If I order another 500 copies, same timelinecan you handle it?"
What? Another 500? Wu Xichen's heart leaped with joy. He grabbed Lang Lin's hand with a beaming smile. "Absolutely, we can do it."
"Awesome." Lang Lin handed over the cash. "This is for the 500 you need to print this week..... But after this month, I won't be ordering 500 books anymore!"
"Huh?... Why? Were Uncle's prints not up to snuff? Or too slow on delivery?" Wu Xichen panicked. The 500-book order wasn't chump change, and now another 500? That was serious dough. If Lang Lin ditched him for slowness and went to a bigger print shop, it'd be disastrous.
Lang Lin picked up a book to inspect it. The text looked straight out of a fancy publisher, with colors and design from another dimension. How could it turn out crappy?
"Nah... What I mean is, I'm bumping it up from 500 to 3,000 copies a month!" Lang Lin eyed Wu Xichen, who was now slack-jawed in shock.
"3,000 for real?"
"You heard right. Customers are clamoring for more. If I didn't know you, I'd have gone to a big print house already! And with higher volume, printing costs should... drop too!" Lang Lin emphasized "drop" on purpose.
"Even though your shop's small, Ah Lin, you probably know how efficient it is?"
Wu Xichen needed to lock this in Lang Lin printing with him. He gritted his teeth. "We'll slash the rate to 16 yuan per copy! That's the absolute floor. Any lower, and Uncle gets zilch."
16 yuan... That was workable. Push it further down, and Wu Xichen would be in the redpaper, ink, staff, utilities, you name it. Lang Lin knew the drill, so he nodded. "Deal16 yuan each. A month's got about four weeks; that means 750 copies a week from you. Sound good?"
750 was a hefty load for his little outfit to nail on time. Wu Xichen's shop was tiny, staff sparse. But eyeing the payout, he agreed.
After hashing out the details with Wu Xichen, Lang Lin waved him off. Then, with a smile, he flipped open his laptop and logged into Weibo.