Running a Food Court in a Famine-Stricken Apocalypse

The second before she was hit and sent flying, overworked office drone You Li was envying her friend, who ran a shop: "I don't want to work for someone else. I wish I could open my own shop and be the boss!"

When she opened her eyes again, she was bound to a business-management System and given a dessert shop.

The good news: Her dream came true.

The bad news: This is a famine-ravaged apocalypse where people can't even get enough to eat!

By day, the heat is sweltering; by night, it is freezing cold. Monsters roam rampant, and even one drop of rain in a contaminated zone can blister your skin.

Resources are scarce and the social order has collapsed. Neighbors who were laughing and chatting one moment can be smashing each other's heads in the next over a single hard, cold flatbread.

The lower-class people, branded as inferior from the moment they were born, struggle to survive in the cracks of society, as helpless as blades of grass adrift in the wind.

Then, one day, someone accidentally wanders into a heavily contaminated zone.

At the point of death, a flash of pale yellow lights up their vision. It is a dessert shop standing amid the barren wasteland.

The shopkeeper seems to have some kind of mysterious power.

Here, the air is fragrant, the water can be pure and tasteless, and the food comes in a wonderful array of flavors. No matter their status, everyone has the right to eat their fill.

What's more, even women from the lower class can learn to read and study all kinds of skills.

Ordinary people and those with special abilities flock to the shop.

The upper-class rulers also send out spies to investigate, and receive this report: It's just a bunch of women and puppets gathered together.

But later, this little dessert shop grows into a street, then a city...

And later still, history records that in that year, Pingcheng's decades-long rule came to an end, and a city named Jinli rose from the ground. From then on, everyone was equal, and women reclaimed the power that belonged to them.

A few points to note:

1. Our lovely female lead is just an ordinary person, a truly ordinary person. Don't expect too much of her. Her awareness and abilities will improve gradually.

2. I'm writing something lighthearted, so the pacing is fairly slow.

3. Later on, it may lean toward an ensemble cast of women (I'm giving it a try), but there will also be male characters (good ones or foils), and romance (not limited to the female lead or to romantic love).

4. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to open my story. This is my first time writing something like this, and I'll do my best. For the paid chapters, I suggest reading one chapter at a time before subscribing. Money is hard to earn these days, and if you're not satisfied, you can stop in time. Also, everyone's time is precious, so there's no need to tell me when you leave. (Thank you.)

Theme: Always love yourself and live well.