Time flew by quickly.
In a blink, the day Stardew Valley would launch had arrived. Many people were eagerly anticipating it.
And the shop renovation was nearing completion.
Having spent nearly 5 million Baileys, various magical equipment was already in place.
The overall atmosphere was clean and bright.
Above the main entrance, a sign reading "Dreamscape Entertainment Experience Center" hung prominently.
On the street, many people curiously examined this shop, unsure what it actually did.
Alto placed the help wanted sign he'd written at the entrance.
Right now he planned on temporarily hiring a few people responsible for the experience center's opening operations, like front desk, reception, and such. Requirements weren't high.
"H-hello! My name is Sophia."
"Are you still hiring?"
A somewhat shy elf girl stood before Alto.
Dressed very plainly, bright wide eyes currently looking at Alto a bit timidly.
However, Alto's eyes lit up.
Perfect! Looks like his first worker was about to clock in.
Sophia was a commoner living in the Lower District.
Her mother worked in a textile factory. When she was very young, her father passed away, at that time, her youngest sister had just been born.
Her mother alone had struggled to raise her and her siblings.
Precisely because of this, from childhood she'd helped her mom handle various household chores while also takingcare for her younger siblings.
Her greatest wish was finding stable work to help relieve her mother's burden.
One family with three children, extremely rare among elves, considering elves weren't known for their high fertility.
Because of this, their family's life was exceptionally difficult.
She looked at Alto before her, who seemed about her age.
'He must be incredibly capable! Still so young, yet owning such a large shop.'
Sophia thought to herself.
"Then let me briefly introduce the work benefits!"
"Eight hours daily, six days on with one day off, three thousand Baileys monthly, plus a room and be included."
"How does that sound, Miss Sophia?"
H'de really wanted to hire an assistant. With so many random tasks piling up, he'd long wanted to be a hands-off boss.
But unfortunately, he didn't have suitable candidates yet.
This young girl before him seemed somewhat green. Giving her too much work all at once probably wouldn't be appropriate.
So for now, he'd place her in the shop as staff to gain some experience.
What six days on, one off? What eight hours daily? Sophia didn't hear any of it.
Her mind was already stunned by the figure: three thousand Baileys.
Too much! Way too much!
Her mother's monthly salary was only 1,800 Baileys.
If she could get this job, their family's situation would improve drastically.
Watching the dazed Sophia, Alto waved his hand in front of her eyes.
What's going on? Was she dissatisfied?
Did he offer too little? Did young people nowadays have such high demands?
This was his first time being a boss, no experience whatsoever.
Secretly wondering if his work setup based on previous life standards was a bit harsh.
"Ahem, what's wrong? Feel the benefits are a bit low?"
"Young people need to keep their feet on the ground, not aim unrealistically high. Our shop just got established, the future prospects are incredibly bright."
"As long as we work hard together, you'll have your piece as well!"
Alto mimicked his previous life's bosses, starting to spout corporate platitudes and went on for quite a while...
"Huh! Why are you crying?!"
Alto was shocked!
Did his words actually work?
Young people really are easy to fool!
Sure enough, he had natural talent as a capitalist!
Sophia's eyes reddened slightly, somewhat choking up.
She was under the impression, tha he was a really good person!
"No, boss, I'm extremely satisfied with the work benefits!"
"When can I start work?!"
"If you have no objections, that's perfect. You can officially start tomorrow."
"I'll definitely work hard!"
Alto produced a contract for Sophia to sign.
Right now his experience center hadn't officially launched yet, so there wasn't much work to do.
Once Stardew Valley officially launched, his shop would start simultaneously.
By then, relying on one person definitely wouldn't be enough.
So he hired two more girls for reception duties.
Everything was ready, just waiting for the right moment.
So he wnet on and prepared a few final things.
Joseph directly contacted Alto at this time.
"Master Kane's work is currently stealing all the spotlight."
"Are we sure we want to release Stardew Valley now? Should we perhaps delay it a bit?"
He really lacked confidence. After all, Master Kane was a long-established designer with an extremely large fan base.
Going head-to-head like this, they might end up face-planting hard.
Not that you're not good enough, the opponent's just too strong.
"Relax, old Joe. I have faith in my work."
"Let's proceed as planned!"
Just like that, amid widespread anticipation...
Launch day finally arrived.
Adventurers of Truffle Town officially released, priced at 168.
Stardew Valley, priced at 78.
The price difference was significant because the scale differed. Different sizes required different Moonstone quality, and costs increased accordingly.
Like this time, Stardew Valley's engraving cost reached 50 Baileys per copy.
Alto still adopted a low-margin, high-volume strategy.
Dawn had barely broken when long queues formed on the streets.
"Boss, give me a copy of Adventurers of Truffle Town."
"Boss, I want Adventurers of Truffle Town too."
"Boss, give me a copy of Stardew Valley."
"Waited for so long, finally I can play Stardew Valley."
"I think Master Kane's work is more attractive. I'll buy Adventurers of Truffle Town instead!"
"That's easy, just buy both!" some rich kid said.
"I barely saved up some money. I'll buy Master Kane's work first!"
First day, the situation was very unfavorable.
Though thanks to Plants vs Zombies, Alto had a certain fan base, compared to veteran designers, it was clearly lacking.
Many people had a special nostalgia for older works.
Like Kane's.
He was a long-established design master.
Some had literally grown up playing his works since childhood.
Under these circumstances, people not being optimistic about Stardew Valley was normal.
After all, in previous promotions, Stardew Valley was described as a management simulation RPG-style game.
Though a bit weird, judging from promotions, its gameplay leaned more toward traditional dream worlds.
This setup was vastly different from Plants vs Zombies, so many people doubted he could do it well.