Chapter 121 Economic Crisis 2

Chapter 121 Financial Storm 2

Su Han stuffed her wallet into the backpack, deep in thought about how to make money. Just then, she unexpectedly encountered a temp worker.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Su Han approached quietly.

From the corner, fragmented bits of conversation drifted over:

"...I need money urgently for business... Can you help with cash advances?"

"Don’t worry, I won’t skimp on the handling fee."

"Your price is too high... You’re not the only one offering credit card cash advances here..."

"Final offer... If it’s a deal, fine. If not, I’ll find someone else."

After a long while, the two finally reached an agreement, both wearing satisfied smiles.

"Later." With those final words, the temp worker walked away.

Having overheard the entire exchange, Su Han was speechless.

A financial storm was coming, yet someone had the balls to use credit card cash advances for business. She had to admire their guts—though the bolder they were, the faster they might go down in flames.

Shaking her head, Su Han slipped away unnoticed.

The commercial district remained bustling, with no visible signs of decline on the surface.

She quickly calculated—she only had 900 Be left but needed to survive 20 days. That meant she could spend no more than 45 Be per day, covering food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. It would also be wise to stock up on meds, just in case.

Should she find a job that provided room and board, or set up her own small business? Su Han wrestled with the choice.

Considering her limited funds and unwillingness to borrow money for business, she ultimately decided to look for a job.

Job postings were everywhere—many shops were badly understaffed.

For example, a bakery apprentice position: shift from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily pay of 80 Be.

Or a hotel night shift position: shift from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., daily pay of 100 Be, includes housing.

Then there was the mall sales gig: 9-to-5, base pay of 50 Be per day, plus a 10% commission on sales.

...

She immediately nixed the sales gig. After hesitating between the bakery apprentice and hotel night shift positions, Su Han eventually chose the bakery apprenticeship.

The interview process was straightforward. The boss (a man everyone called Boss Zhang) was in his forties. After asking about her age and whether she could endure hard work, he hired her on the spot.

Su Han initially thought she was hired because she appeared diligent and reliable, but she later learned the truth—the bakery was severely understaffed, so Boss Zhang couldn’t afford to be picky...

Having made bread and cakes at home before, Su Han already had some experience. After Boss Zhang showed her the ropes a couple times, she quickly picked it up—mixing, kneading, baking—her work was meticulous, like she'd been doing it for years.

Impressed, Boss Zhang had to hand it to her, "You’re a natural, young lady. Have you learned this before?"

Right away, Su Han replied, "Yes." Though she had taught herself.

Even with an extra pair of hands, the bakery’s bread still flew off the shelves. A long line had already formed at the cash register, with many customers waiting to pay. And whenever freshly baked bread was placed in the display window, it would sell out before you could say 'fresh bread'.

Su Han worked diligently, occasionally sneaking looks at the surroundings. Gradually, she began to feel that the customers weren’t spending money—they were throwing away Monopoly money, eager to get rid of it. After 5 p.m., the rush gradually tapered off. Finally catching a breather, Su Han sat down to rest.

At 6:45 PM, the bakery owner, Boss Zhang, tidied up and prepared to close the shop, casually calling out, "Who wants the unsold bread?"

Su Han froze for a moment. The reason she had chosen to work as a bakery apprentice was that she knew bread had to be fresh—only day-old loaves were sold. If the bread remained unsold by evening, it would often be discounted or sold cheaply.

She had only intended to get a discount, but she never expected the boss to be so generous—he was actually planning to give the leftovers to the employees for free!

Without hesitation, Su Han raised her hand. "I want them."

The other two employees looked relieved and readily agreed, "Then they're all yours."

"Take them, don’t be shy."

Su Han was surprised. "You don’t want any?"

One of the senior employees immediately wore a weary look, sighing deeply. "Before you came, the leftovers were always split between the two of us..." The subtext was obvious: they’d had their fill.

So Su Han didn’t hold back and happily accepted everything.

The bakery did great business, and goods sold quickly. But with so many varieties, a few items inevitably ended up unsold. In the end, Su Han received two croissants, a spicy pork floss bread, two sandwiches, five milk bread slices, and three cheese buns.

So much delicious food! Su Han grinned from ear to ear.

Before leaving work, Boss Zhang called the new employee aside and explained, "Since you only started working in the afternoon, today counts as half a day’s pay—50 Bei. Starting tomorrow, you’ll get the full amount. That okay?"

With one bag of bread in her left hand and another in her right, Su Han felt pure joy. She readily agreed, "No problem."

Once everything was settled, Boss Zhang flipped the lights off, locked up, and called it a day.

Su Han ate two sandwiches, then headed to the grocery store with two large bags of bread. The 50 Bei she had just earned were enough to buy ten bars of soap, which she promptly purchased and stuffed into her backpack. Then, carrying the bread, she went to the park.

An economic crisis meant a gradual economic downturn. The main signs were rising unemployment, falling wages, increasing debt, a significant drop in living standards, and higher crime rates. Though stores were stocked with goods, the poor were broke—some couldn’t even scrape together three meals.

So during prosperous times, Su Han consciously lived frugally, saving her money for when the crisis hit. To that end, she’d even resorted to sleeping on park benches to skip rent.

She didn’t know when the crisis would arrive, but it was inevitable—only a matter of time.

Sitting on the bench, she glanced at the bags in her hands and let out a faint sigh. No Portable Storage? Such a pain! If only she could store these inside, she wouldn’t have to worry about food later. But now, she had to carry everything with her, with nowhere to put it. And bread only stayed fresh for three days—after that, eating it might cause negative effects.

Just as she was fretting, a familiar voice spoke up. "What are you doing? Planning to sleep on a park bench at night too?"

It was Zhong Rui!

Su Han smiled wryly and replied, "Currently mulling over life, experiencing what it feels like to go from rich to poor overnight." As she spoke, she couldn’t help but miss the supplies she had stockpiled before, as well as the Portable Storage with its temp control and freshness lock.

Zhong Rui sat down on the bench and muttered, "The character I drew has a Portable Storage."

Su Han was stunned and snapped her head toward him.

But Zhong Rui didn’t look pleased at all—in fact, he seemed downright irritated. "Other than the Portable Storage, I only got 500 Bei in cash and a credit card. Nothing else." He was flat broke.

"Also, 200 satiety, 200 cleanliness, and 200 stamina—stats so bad it’s embarrassing."

"The worst part is, my profession is a mid-tier milkman. In this instance, there’s a 45% chance of getting one bottle of milk per day, a 10% chance for two, and a 1% chance for ten. The rewards are practically worthless—total garbage."

"At least you’re better off than me. Same stats, mid-tier silversmith—just as lame. Plus, I only got 1,000 Bei and a credit card." Su Han thought to herself that she’d gladly trade 500 Bei for a Portable Storage.

"Enough doom and gloom. Have you eaten yet?" Zhong Rui changed the subject.

Su Han replied, "I work at a bakery—we get to take home the leftovers. I already had dinner. Want any?"

"I've eaten, had some grilled skewers." Zhong Rui leaned back against the bench and recounted his experience. "I noticed business has been booming lately, so I bought a lamb hind leg and bamboo skewers to make lamb kebabs and sell them as street food."

Su Han handed him the bag without hesitation. "Keep the bread with you." After all, her companion had an inventory system.

"Not afraid I'll pocket them?" Zhong Rui joked.

"Back in the final battle, you didn’t betray me. Now you’d do it for two bags of bread?" Su Han retorted.

Zhong Rui was left speechless—that was a weak argument.

Su Han used two bars of soap to restore her hygiene meter to full. Then she rested her head on her companion’s shoulder and said very naturally, "I plan to sleep on this bench. Lend me your shoulder."

Zhong Rui froze. This happiness came too suddenly, leaving him unprepared.

"Why?" he muttered.

Su Han yawned, her voice drowsy. "Of course, it’s because I can exploit the fact that you like me..."

What else could Zhong Rui do? He could only spoil her.

Silently, he took off his coat and draped it over Su Han, then put his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

Su Han either didn’t notice or chose not to resist. In any case, she soon drifted off to sleep, a small smile playing on her lips.

It was a peaceful night.

The next morning, Su Han stirred awake.

Zhong Rui took out two bottles of milk and began his breakfast, alternating bites of spicy pork floss bread with sips of milk.

Su Han didn’t hold back, grabbing the other bottle of milk and tearing into a cheese bun.

"Any plans?" Zhong Rui asked.

"Earn money, provide for us, and bring back the leftover bread." Su Han chugged down the milk and casually asked, "What about you?"

"Sell lamb kebabs. If they don’t sell, I’ll keep them for dinner," Zhong Rui replied.

Su Han’s eyes lit up—she wouldn’t mind if the skewers didn’t sell. But she knew it was unlikely. People had been spending money recklessly lately, as if they had a grudge against it. So she encouraged him, "Go make that money."

"Yeah," Zhong Rui agreed, then proposed, "Let’s meet here again tonight."

"Sure," Su Han readily agreed.

At 9 a.m., the system’s mechanical voice announced, "Game Day 2."

At that moment, Su Han was working the dough when she suddenly noticed a silver bangle on her right wrist. She quickly took it off, tucked it into her pants pocket, and acted like nothing was wrong as she continued working.

During the one-hour lunch break, Su Han slipped out of the bakery and went to a silver shop to have the bangle appraised.

After some measurements, the clerk determined, "Silver bangle, 999 silver, total 15g. If you’re selling, we'll give you 3 Be per gram."

3 Be per gram meant 45 Be for 15 grams.

Su Han pushed back. "Can’t the price be higher? Look at the craftsmanship..."

Before she could finish, the clerk smiled politely. "Sorry, we don’t consider craftsmanship for buybacks—only the silver value."

Su Han couldn’t help but feel disappointed. But thinking that 45 Be was at least half a day's pay, she agreed to sell.

By nearly 7 p.m., Su Han had acquired two honey buns, four egg tarts, three sandwiches, a loaf of whole wheat bread, and three red bean paste buns. After packing everything up, she headed home happily.