Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [67]

On Friday, when Chiba Shuuichi opened his eyes, dark clouds hung thickly outside his balcony, like rain was about to fall.

This kind of weather made him feel lazy, not wanting to get out of bed.

He glanced over at the bedside, where Akiyama Tsuki was neatly kneeling in seiza, and then lifted the covers. "Come in and let me hold you for a bit."

"???" Akiyama Tsuki was stunned, expectation mixed with vigilance appearing on her face. "Has the perverted young master finally lost his patience and decided to accept the little maid’s morning service?"

"Quit talking, just get in." Chiba Shuuichi didn’t feel like explaining, urging listlessly.

At his words, Akiyama Tsuki obediently got up and slipped under the covers.

Chiba Shuuichi wrapped her in his arms, inhaled the sweet fragrance of the girl's hair, adjusted to a comfortable position, and closed his eyes again.

Akiyama Tsuki waited with anticipation, but after a long while he still hadn't done anything. She puffed up her cheeks, somewhat unsatisfied.

Thankfully, Chiba Shuuichi hadn’t seen it, or he would've realized this gesture was exactly the same as her little sister’s.

Feeling the breathing behind her slowing down again as if he were drifting back to sleep, Akiyama Tsuki got anxious—if they didn't get up now, breakfast would be late, and they’d end up late for school…

Hm?

Wait, is this some kind of special play? The always diligent Student Council Kaichou suddenly showing up late because, privately coerced using her sister as leverage, she had to visit a male classmate's home to provide wake-up service—

And then she got treated like a full-body pillow, delaying her even further…

Ahh…

This scenario is amazing! Chiba-kun truly knows what he’s doing!

Excited, she trembled involuntarily.

Her restless movement made it impossible for Chiba Shuuichi to fall back asleep.

He irritably slapped her butt. "Stop squirming around! How am I supposed to sleep like this?"

"Mmm…" Akiyama Tsuki trembled even harder.

Speechless, Chiba Shuuichi pushed her out of bed. "Go prepare my toothbrush, water, and a wet towel."

The rejected little maid reluctantly got up and went to prepare.

A few minutes later, she grabbed her little leather shoes from the balcony and followed Chiba Shuuichi downstairs.

When they returned to the ramen shop, they found Akiyama An already downstairs, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Clearly she'd washed up, yet she still looked half-asleep.

Sniffing at breakfast like a little puppy, she suddenly looked suspiciously at the two people entering from outside. "Nee-chan, why are you coming in from outside? I didn’t see you come downstairs?"

Akiyama Tsuki immediately panicked. How did she forget this loophole?! She’d done the same thing yesterday and hadn’t even realized!

"Well, um…"

"Breakfast is ready~ An-chan, hurry and eat, or you'll be late for school." Just in time, Akiyama-san interrupted her youngest daughter's thoughts by bringing breakfast to the counter.

"Wah~ I'm eating!" Akiyama An immediately tossed aside her questions about her sister, scrambling onto a stool at the counter to dig in.

"..." Akiyama Tsuki breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing her silly sister had such a short memory.

Chiba Shuuichi secretly pinched her butt again. "Eat first."

He sat down, thanked Akiyama-san politely, then asked, "Are there still any unresolved problems at the ramen shop? If so, please let me know, Taichi. I'll do my best to help."

Ever since the ramen shop opened, he’d started to suspect he'd misjudged the System.

The System only said "excellent shop owners," never specifically female ones. Probably handsome male shop owners could qualify too.

He just hadn't encountered any yet.

Though… Hmm, even if he did meet one, he wasn't exactly eager to recruit them. Something felt off.

But if male shop owners were acceptable, maybe excellence wasn’t limited to good looks—ability alone might also qualify?

If so, then raising Belonging toward the Shopping Street probably had a more universal approach—using the 100,000-yen universal butler service to help excellent shop owners solve their problems.

Clearly, the way he dealt with the two Ogawa Taichis was... well, a bit unorthodox.

After reflecting, Chiba Shuuichi concluded the problem was still the System’s fault. Couldn’t it have clarified better, instead of misleading him?

Good-looking male shop owners and talented owners were clearly even harder to find—wasn’t this pure misdirection?

Akiyama-san tilted her head thoughtfully, sighing slightly. "Actually, there is one pretty big problem."

"What problem?" Chiba Shuuichi immediately perked up. This was the perfect chance to test his theory.

"The business is too good. Customers have increased significantly, and it’s so exhausting..." Akiyama-san complained, rubbing her sore arms and looking worn out.

"…" Chiba Shuuichi was speechless. Complaining about business being too good?

Well, fair enough—it really was tough. After all, during the day, it was only Akiyama-san working. Class Rep and Kaichou could only help out after school.

"About this…" Before Chiba Shuuichi could speak, Akiyama Tsuki suddenly turned to her mother with a serious expression.

Akiyama-san shivered slightly. "Alright, alright! I'll stop complaining, okay? Tsuki-chan, don’t nag me like Kizaki-obaasan, please?"

"…" Tsuki rolled her eyes helplessly. "I mean, if Mom really finds it tiring, why not just set a daily limit?"

Chiba Shuuichi became even more annoyed, pinching her thigh hard. Couldn’t you let me say it first? I was just about to test this!

"Ah…" Tsuki immediately went soft, lowering her head and covering her mouth, falling silent.

With leisurely confidence, Chiba Shuuichi reclaimed control of the conversation. "Taichi, maybe estimate a daily serving number that wouldn't tire you too much, then close when it's sold out."

"You could also consider directly buying ready-made noodles, or using a noodle-making machine. Then you'd only need to prepare the soup base each day."

Akiyama-san shrank back timidly, whispering conspiratorially, "If Kizaki-obaasan found out I dared to use a noodle machine, she'd kill me!"

"But if the flavor stays consistent, what could she say?" Chiba Shuuichi smiled lightly.

Clearly tempted, but still hesitant after careful consideration, Akiyama-san decided against it. "Forget it, forget it. Being tired is better than being scolded by Obaasan."

"And limiting portions might not be ideal anyway. Our family’s expenses will only increase in the coming years..."

Chiba Shuuichi thought briefly before suggesting again, "Then… limit handmade noodles and leave machine-made noodles unlimited? As for the soup base, making more portions shouldn’t significantly increase your workload, right?"

"Oh? That’s great!" Akiyama-san’s eyes immediately sparkled, relieved at the thought of reduced labor.

"That could work, and it creates a buzz too—limited to 100 handmade ramen bowls, split into lunch and dinner servings. First-come, first-served."

"As for the noodle machine, our shop is too small to justify buying one, so it'd be better to buy fresh noodles from a noodle workshop. But the price would have to be cheaper," Tsuki, having recovered, started carefully analyzing again, prompting Chiba Shuuichi to fiercely pinch her little butt again.

"One hundred servings is still exhausting…" Akiyama-san muttered quietly.

"Our shop is small. Fifty would probably be enough," Chiba Shuuichi suggested.

"That's too stingy. Even the champion of that top ramen shop in Shibuya only limits it to sixty servings per day," Tsuki stubbornly chimed in again.

Chiba Shuuichi: "..."

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This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!