Just because Shi Xiaolei wouldn't resort to crooked schemes to amass wealth for a life of luxury and extravagance doesn't mean he's entirely content with his current living situation and has no higher aspirations.
He wasn't a monk, after all, detached from worldly desires.
Living amidst the colorful secular world, Shi Xiaolei also harbored various desires.
If he earned clean money through his own abilities and felt no guilt spending it, he would, like any ordinary person, immediately use it to improve his life.
For instance, now.
Setting aside the dividends from the new company, which were still a long way off, after selling a hundred bottles of potion to S.H.I.E.L.D. at a post-tax price of ten thousand dollars per bottle, netting a million dollars, Shi Xiaolei immediately had the idea of 'upgrading his base camp'.
With that thought in mind, he calmly analyzed whether it was necessary... After several days of careful consideration, Shi Xiaolei concluded that it was indeed very necessary.
Firstly, the 'shop in front, home in back' layout would, to some extent, bring inconvenience to daily life. Not only would the living environment be affected, making adults uncomfortable, but the children's growth would also be impacted, which was the most critical point.
Secondly, 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 fitting everyone in, they probably wouldn't even have room to turn around.
Thirdly, moving to another place, freeing up the shop space, and redecorating it would not only accommodate more customers but also allow him to adjust his business direction during the period of closure for renovation.
It's worth noting that ever since he drew the 'Ark', Shi Xiaolei had gained a source of high-quality ingredients that cost almost nothing. Not to mention the unmentionable dinosaur meat, among the existing ingredients, there was lamb, honey, potatoes, corn, carrots, and so on, which could be used in the shop. If he were to bring in some vegetable seeds, young poultry and livestock for meat, and edible aquatic fry, and try to cultivate and raise them... let alone a small shop, relying on the Ark hidden in the dimensional rift, Shi Xiaolei could even establish a high-end, world-class chain restaurant enterprise.
In simple terms, first, the thought of dealing with the several tons of lamb accumulated in his backpack sparked Shi Xiaolei's idea of adding new dishes to the menu. Then, starting from there, his thoughts gradually expanded, and more and more ideas emerged. Finally, this prompted him to finalize the plan of 'expanding the scale, redecorating, and adjusting the business scope'.
Finally, also out of his own needs, he felt that living in the current house was too constricting... After all, he was a tall man over two meters. Rooms and furniture that were perfectly suitable for ordinary people were a bit small for Shi Xiaolei. The ceiling was a bit low, the showerhead in the bathroom was even lower, the bed was too short, and he often bumped his head when going out, etc. There were all sorts of inconveniences in life. Once or twice was fine, but if it happened too often, it could really lower one's happiness index.
"I understand." With sound reasoning, 2B pondered for a moment and then expressed her support for Shi Xiaolei's idea.
"Conna, what do you think?" Having convinced the older one, Shi Xiaolei lowered his head and bounced his thigh: "Do you think the house is small, and do you want to move to a bigger one?"
"Yes, yes!" Holding a long spicy stick she had just picked, the little girl twisted around quickly, looked up with her small face, and asked expectantly, "Does the new house have an attic? I want to live in the attic. Last time I went to Isabella's house to play, she took us to her secret base..."
Not only out of consideration for the children's feelings, but also to cultivate their ability to think independently, in Western countries, parents almost always leave a space for their children, pretending not to know, allowing them to create their so-called 'secret base'.
"Is that so? I'll definitely find a house with an attic." Hearing Conna's description and sensing her envy, Shi Xiaolei added another note to his little notebook.
Feeling that wasn't enough... wanting to do better than other parents, and having just talked about 'secret bases', Shi Xiaolei, on a whim, suddenly asked the little girl, "Speaking of which, I know a great place, big enough for you to make the best secret base, one that no one else can compare to. How about it, Conna, want to go see it?"
"Really?" With a pair of sparkling big eyes, Conna nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, Shi Xiaolei, when are we going? I want to go!"
He looked up at the clock on the wall; it was still half an hour until Conna's bedtime.
Thinking that there was no time like the present, Shi Xiaolei simply smiled and replied, "Let's go now. But Conna, let's agree first, you can only play for half an hour. When the time is up, you have to come back and sleep obediently, okay?"
"Okay!" Raising her small hand, Conna happily and obediently agreed.
"Alright then, let's go now." After saying that, Shi Xiaolei stood up, holding Conna, and extended his empty right hand to the bewildered 2B: "Come, Sylvia, take my right hand."
Not understanding the situation, but having one hundred percent trust in Shi Xiaolei, 2B still obediently extended both hands and tightly grasped Shi Xiaolei's large hand.
Through his sea of consciousness, he communicated with the Ark's main control center, obtaining 'access permits' for the two of them. Opening his eyes, and reminding them once more not to be surprised, Shi Xiaolei silently willed a teleportation.
The lights were still on in the room, the lunchbox with the spicy sticks on the table hadn't been covered, and the sofa still bore the imprint of where Shi Xiaolei had sat, but the three people had vanished. If someone were to break in at that moment and see all this, they would surely find it very eerie, and might even be frightened.
On the other end, Shi Xiaolei, 2B, and Conna had already appeared inside the Ark.
Unlike the last time he came alone and went to the main control center first, Shi Xiaolei directly led the two of them to the main base he had personally built—last time he was here, he reactivated the Tek Teleporter in the base. After confirming the coordinate data from the device's display screen, Shi Xiaolei firmly memorized those two sets of code numbers.
The Tek Teleporter was too large and could only be placed in the yard... With no obstructions around, after arriving, Conna and 2B immediately saw the surrounding scenery and the various creatures active nearby.
"Wow~~~!" Her small mouth gradually opened wide, and as a Pteranodon approached, Conna's mouth was so wide she could fit an egg in it.
2B was also full of surprise, but perhaps the moment of teleportation triggered her long-hidden combat instincts; her reaction wasn't as dramatic as Conna's. Instead, she subconsciously assumed a slightly wary stance.
"Don't be nervous." Feeling 2B's tension through their clasped hands, Shi Xiaolei turned his head and reassured her with a smile, "Everything you see is under my control. Relax, Sylvia, there's no threat here."