-013- The First Customer

The college entrance examination had ended smoothly, and the whole city was swept up in wild celebration. Every shopping mall, hotel, KTV, bar, and inn was packed to capacity. People not only rejoiced at the successful graduation of this year's seniors but also congratulated the birth of a new generation of spirit trainers. A three-day festival of revelry was about to begin.

Out in the suburbs, Tong Si felt none of this fervor. Yet his phone wouldn't stop buzzing. When he checked, he found it was his old class group. With the pressure of the exams, the group had been silent for a while, but now, as soon as the exams ended and everyone regained their phones, invitations to eat out flooded the chat. Naturally, the hottest topic was the choice of their first spirit.

Liu Bo exclaimed, "Everyone! We're finally free! The exam's over; we're spirit trainers now!"
Xu Na replied, "You fool, we've only escaped suffering, but we haven't gotten our spirits yet!"
Liu Bo continued, "My dad promised to take me to buy a spirit egg after dinner!"
Chen Yiming chimed in, "I've already bought mine, hehehe..."
Luo Qin asked, "What spirit is it? Can you tell us?"
Chen Yiming responded, "I'd rather not say."
"..."
Then the homeroom teacher, Mr. Wang, wrote: "Class, the college entrance exam is over. You can now choose your first spirit and register as spirit trainers, but I hope you all choose carefully. Your first spirit is especially important—pick the one best suited for you and nurture it well."

Reading Mr. Wang’s message, Tong Si quietly deleted the line he had written: “I have nine spirit eggs here, everyone’s welcome to come buy.” He felt like a peddler hawking goods, which he did not like. Business, to him, should happen naturally. Good things need not fear being overlooked; after all, his spirit eggs were all of ordinary grade—superior to the average eggs on the market.

At that moment, the long-silent bell at the front door rang. The breeding house business had been slow, so Tong Si spent little time inside, usually staying upstairs or in the courtyard. Still, the JOJO Breeding House had to remain open for business.

To guard against theft, Tong Si had installed a bell at the door that chimed whenever someone entered. “Welcome!” he called, stepping in from the courtyard to see three new customers in the shop.

“Hello, are you here to buy spirit eggs?” Tong Si noticed that the guests seemed to be a family: a man in a suit, a plainly dressed woman in a yellow floral dress whose figure was rather plump, and a crew-cut boy about Tong Si’s age.

“Yes, are you the owner?” The man in the suit wiped the sweat from his brow—clearly he had come from afar.

“I am. If you’d like to buy spirit eggs, could you tell me roughly what type of spirit you’re looking for?” Tong Si glanced at the boy, who pouted and looked around the shop, clearly dissatisfied.

“Dad, let’s go. There are only nine spirit eggs here; they must be low quality,” the boy complained, tugging at his father’s sleeve, already turning to leave.

“Ah, Zishan, at least look first! How can you judge the eggs’ quality without even checking?” The woman held the boy, whose name was Yun Zishan, back.

“Exactly. How can you know the quality of my eggs without even looking?” Tong Si’s impression of Yun Zishan was not good—he had dismissed the eggs out of hand. Joking aside, these were all ordinary-grade eggs; how could they be poor? For the descendants of major families, perhaps ordinary-grade eggs weren't special, but for most families, starting out with an ordinary-grade egg was already quite good. The majority of families only bought common-grade eggs. Only wealthier households would consider high-quality eggs, and the top three grades were reserved for noble houses and the truly rich.

“But you only have nine eggs—it’s obvious you can’t sell them,” Yun Zishan retorted. Tong Si was momentarily speechless.

“You’re Yun Zishan, right? What grade of spirit are you looking for?”

“I…” Yun Zishan glanced at his father.

Before coming to JOJO Breeding House, they had already visited two others. Zishan had picked out several eggs, but all were expensive—either the spirit breed was rare, or the grade was high. Their family’s means were modest; they couldn’t afford any egg priced over 100,000 Alliance Coins. Still, Yun Zishan didn’t want to settle for just any spirit, so they’d come all this way to compare options before deciding.

From the way Zishan looked at his father, and judging by their attire, Tong Si guessed their dilemma: their budget wasn’t high, but they wanted a higher-grade spirit. He understood. As the first customers to visit JOJO Breeding House, Tong Si decided to treat them especially well.

“Let me introduce you to the nine eggs I have. First, all nine are ordinary-grade spirits.” He looked at Yun Zishan. His stock wasn’t large, but all his eggs were of ordinary grade—a standard not every breeding house could meet. Most shops mainly offered common and ordinary grades. If a shop’s eggs started at ordinary grade, it was certainly a large establishment—unlike this small place of his.

“From the left, we have Mareep, Oddish, Hoppip, and Bellsprout.” Indeed, the eggs he sourced from Grandpa Chu were of only these four species: four Mareep eggs, two Oddish, two Hoppip, and one Bellsprout.

Tong Si picked up one of the white, patterned eggs. “This is a Mareep egg. For beginners, I’d especially recommend Mareep. Compared to other spirits, Mareep is easier to raise. When Mareep matures, its wool can be sheared and used to make clothes or sold. Its evolutions, Flaaffy and then Ampharos, are both formidable. Whether for household rearing or for spirit battles, Mareep is an excellent choice.”

Though he lacked sales experience, Tong Si’s words were convincing—he listed every advantage of choosing Mareep.

“And most importantly, all my ordinary-grade eggs sell for only 50,000 Alliance Coins each!” His final statement struck right at the heart. He’d already guessed the family’s budget was around 100,000, so he’d cut the price in half.

… (To be continued)