The fact that Shi Xiaolei wouldn't pursue shady means to earn money for a life of luxury and extravagance didn't mean he was completely satisfied with his current living conditions and had no higher aspirations.
He wasn't some monk with few desires, after all.
Living in this colorful, mundane world, Shi Xiaolei also had various desires like everyone else.
If he earned clean money through his own abilities, he wouldn't feel guilty spending it and like ordinary people, he would immediately use it to improve his quality of life.
Like now.
Setting aside the dividends from the new company that wouldn't hit his account for quite some time, selling exactly one hundred bottles of medicine to S.H.I.E.L.D. at a post-tax price of ten thousand dollars each had brought in one million dollars.
With this windfall, Shi Xiaolei immediately thought of "upgrading his base of operations".
With this idea in mind, he then calmly analyzed whether it was truly necessary...
After careful consideration for several days, Shi Xiaolei felt it was indeed very necessary.
First, the shop-in-front-home-in-back layout brought some inconveniences to daily life.
It wasn't just that the living environment was affected, making adults uncomfortable; the impact on a child development was even more critical.
Second, with the rhythm of opening a blind box once a month, no one could predict when the next family member would appear.
The current house was already quite cramped for a family of three. If a few more mouths were added, forget about living there they probably wouldn't even be able to turn around comfortably.
Third, moving to live elsewhere and freeing up the shop space for renovation would not only accommodate more customers but also allow for adjusting the business direction during the break for renovations.
It's worth noting that ever since drawing the "Ark" Shi Xiaolei had acquired an additional source of high-quality ingredients that cost him almost nothing.
Setting aside the dinosaur meat that couldn't be shown to the public, among the existing ingredients, he had lamb, honey, potatoes, corn, carrots, and so on that could be used in the shop.
If he brought in more vegetable seeds, young poultry and livestock for meat, aquatic product seedlings, and tried farming and breeding.
Not just a small shop, with the Ark hidden in the dimensional fold, Shi Xiaolei could even establish a high-end, world-class chain food enterprise.
Simply put, first thinking about how to deal with the few tons of lamb meat accumulated in his backpack had sparked Shi Xiaolei idea to add new items to the shop menu.
From there, his thoughts gradually expanded, ideas multiplied, and finally led him to settle on a plan to "expand the scale, renovate, and adjust the business scope".
Finally, out of personal need, he felt too cramped living in the current house.
After all, being over two meters tall, rooms and furniture that were just right for ordinary people were a bit too small for Shi Xiaolei.
The ceiling was a bit low, the shower head in the bathroom even lower, the bed too short, frequently bumping his head when going out, and so on—these various inconveniences in daily life might be tolerable once or twice, but repeated occurrences could really lower one happiness index.
"I understand."
With logical reasoning, 2B thought for a moment and then expressed her support for Shi Xiaolei idea.
"Kanna, what do you think?"
Having convinced the adult, Shi Xiaolei lowered his head and bounced his leg a little.
"Do you feel our home is too small? Would you like to move to a bigger house?"
"Yes, yes~!"
Holding the long spicy strip she had just chosen, the little girl quickly turned around, looked up with her small face full of expectation, and asked.
"Does the new house have an attic? I want to live in the attic. Last time when I went to play at Isa house, she took us to her secret base..."
Not just out of consideration for children feelings, but more to cultivate their ability to think independently, in Western countries, parents almost always leave a space for their children, pretending not to know about their so-called "secret bases".
"Is that so? I'll definitely find a house with an attic."
Hearing Kanna description and feeling her envy, Shi Xiaolei added another note to his mental checklist.
Still not feeling it was enough, wanting to do better than other parents, and having just brought up the topic of "secret bases" Shi Xiaolei suddenly had a thought and asked the little girl.
"Speaking of which, I know a good place that would be perfect for making the best secret base, one that no one could compare to. What do you think, Kanna, want to go see it?"
"Really?"
With her big, bright eyes wide open, Kanna nodded vigorously.
"I want to go, I want to go! Xiaolei, when can we go? I want to go~!"
Looking up at the wall clock, there was still half an hour before Kanna bedtime.
Thinking that there's no time like the present, Shi Xiaolei simply smiled and replied.
"Let's go now. But Kanna, let's be clear, you can only play for half an hour, and when time's up, you need to come back and go to bed obediently, okay?"
"Okay~!"
Raising her little hand, Kanna happily and obediently agreed.
"Well then, let's set off."
After saying this, Shi Xiaolei stood up with Kanna in his arms and extended his free right hand to the puzzled 2B.
"Come, Sylvia, take my right hand."
Not understanding what was happening, but having one hundred percent trust in Shi Xiaolei, 2B still obediently extended both hands and firmly grasped Shi Xiaolei large hand.
Through his sea of consciousness, Shi Xiaolei communicated with the Ark main control center and obtained "access permission" for the two.
Opening his eyes, after reminding them "don't be surprised" Shi Xiaolei silently uttered the word "transport."
The lights were still on in the room, the lunchbox containing the spicy strips on the table hadn't been covered yet, and the impression from where Shi Xiaolei had sat was still on the sofa, but the three people had vanished without a trace.
If someone had broken in at that moment and seen all this, they would definitely have found it very eerie, and might even have been frightened.
Meanwhile, Shi Xiaolei had brought 2B and Kanna to the interior of the Ark.
Unlike the last time when he came alone and first went to the control center, Shi Xiaolei directly led the two to the main base he had personally built—during his last visit, he had reactivated the Tek Transmitter in the base.
After confirming the coordinate data from the device built-in display screen, Shi Xiaolei had firmly memorized those two sets of numerical codes.
The Tek Transmitter was too large and could only be placed in the yard with no obstructions around, upon arrival, Kanna and 2B immediately saw the surrounding scenery and the various creatures moving nearby.
"Wow~~~!"
Her little mouth gradually widening, as a pterodactyl approached, Kanna mouth became so big that an egg could have fit inside.
2B was also full of surprise, but perhaps because the moment of teleportation had triggered her long-hidden battle instinct, her reaction wasn't as dramatic as Kanna.
Instead, she unconsciously adopted a slightly vigilant posture.
"No need to be tense."
Feeling 2B nervousness through their joined hands, Shi Xiaolei turned his head and smiled reassuringly.
"Everything you see is under my control. Relax Sylvia, there's no threat here."
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist?you can read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)