Trainer? I'm just an ordinary hot spring owner.

And...isn't this Acerola?

Dr. Kukui did not let Jiang Cheng wait too long and immediately began to introduce: "I called Captain Acero specifically. She wants to see your antique lampstand."

Jiang Cheng suddenly realized that it was the God of Wealth who had arrived!

"I see. Everyone, please come in. The hot spring center will still be open for a while." Jiang Cheng opened the door and motioned for everyone to come in. As soon as the door was opened, Liliae and Mamane, as well as Professor Kukui and Acero, were all amazed.

"Jiang Cheng... did you...repair this yourself?" Dr. Kukui stepped into the corridor and looked at the bright water beside him. The azure blue water was crystal clear, and above the water, pink lotus flowers were swaying on the water. Under the huge emerald green lotus leaves, the carp king was swimming happily.

The water was sparkling but calm, and the Magikarp seemed to be drifting in the air. What was even more surprising was the colonies of sun corals beneath it.

They gathered in front of a huge magic coral, enjoying themselves in the water. There was also a colorful starfish lying quietly at the bottom of the water basking in the sun.

The water plants were swaying slowly. In such an environment, Dr. Kukui felt his mood calm down. If there were no external influences, he felt that he could stay in this beautiful environment for a whole day.

"Yes, I borrowed some of the style from my hometown Donghuang. I designed the hydrology here to be like a pond in a garden, with stones surrounding the edges as decorations. I also left a gentle slope on the coastline for the Pokémons to rest, go ashore to bask in the sun, etc." Jiang Cheng nodded and began to explain.

"The conditions are limited now, and we will further improve the pond in the future to make it more beautiful."

Lillie and Mamane also looked around curiously. The Ether Foundation where Lillie lived had a complete ecosystem, but this kind of garden-style design of oriental architecture was the first time she had seen it, and it was quite novel in her eyes. However, since there was a corridor separating the underwater world from the land, even she could observe these Pokémon relatively relaxedly.

It was just that the strange elf that she had seen before was always floating by the side, which made Liliae frightened. She also remembered who Jiang Cheng was. He was the person she had bumped into on the road before. It was originally just a trivial matter, but even Liliae had never seen an elf with such a unique appearance, so naturally she was impressed.

Zhenyifa doesn't like to deal with people. She just flies high in the air, and her beautiful wings with a metallic luster make her look like a gem in the sun.

Aselora stared at the underwater demon coral for a long time, her small body leaning on the railing of the corridor, so that Kukui had to focus half of his attention on her to prevent her from accidentally falling into the water.

"Is that Coral? It's a Pokémon I've never seen in Alola..." Acerola finally had enough and turned her gaze back to Flutterbear: "I've never seen this Pokémon of yours before either. It seems you've come a long way on the path of ghost-type."

"..............." Jiang Cheng's expression was indescribable. How could this be explained clearly?

If I say, it’s not that I like the ghost type, but that the ghost type likes me, would you believe it?

It doesn't seem right to say this, as if I were some kind of innate ghost holy body.

Who could have thought that Dad and Mom’s decorating effects would be so good?

Mistakes made due to youth.jpg

Kukui saw that Jiang Cheng's expression was a little strange. He didn't quite understand it at first, but the moment he saw the hot spring hall, his heart skipped a beat. Oh no, this child's parents had just passed away, and he must be very sad. He must have worked hard on the ghost system because he missed his relatives too much. If he hadn't arrived in time...

Instead of telling the truth, Kukui laughed twice to break the current atmosphere: "Haha, this is such a great environment for people to enjoy. Xiao Jiang, you really are running this hot spring center with all your heart. Just based on this pond, I'm sure your business will be good!"

"Haha, really? Thank you, Dr. Kukui. If possible, please help me promote it in the future." Jiang Cheng took the opportunity to ask others for help in advertising, as if he was giving Pinduoduo a 10 billion yuan subsidy.

"Hahahaha, of course. By the way, this big pond must have taken a lot of work, right? How is the interior decoration of the hot spring hall going?"

Kukui intentionally led the topic to the environment of the hot springs, in order to pave the way for letting Mamane and Liliae live there later.

"The decoration inside the hot spring hall? I have certainly considered it, but my ability is limited. You can come in and take a look first and give me some suggestions so that I can make some modifications based on them."

As he spoke, Jiang Cheng led everyone to open the door of the hot spring center and walked inside.

As soon as you enter the door, you will see the bar restaurant for guests. The overall space is very large. Guests usually check in or check in here, then buy some snacks and drinks on the other side and sit in the restaurant to rest.

Dark green carpet, sea blue wallpaper, log style home furnishings, and above the bar, there is a little Frosty the Frog holding a cone of ice cream next to the ice cream machine, and next to it, a Gastly is waiting eagerly.

"Gars, didn't I tell you not to eat too much ice cream?"

In the past, Gastly's fixed spawn point was sleeping on the urn in the ghost healing room, but since the ice cream machine was installed, Gastly's spawn point has become next to the ice cream machine. This guy can often be seen harassing Frosty the Frost at the bar.

"Garsis————" Seeing Jiang Cheng appear, the guilty Gastly quickly turned into a puff of smoke and slipped away, but it soon came back, rolled up the ice cream that Frosty had just made with its big tongue, and ran away in a hurry.

"I'm sorry to make fun of you all. I just bought an ice cream machine so that I can make ice cream for customers in the hot spring. I didn't expect Gastly to fall in love with it as soon as he ate it. Now he can't stop asking for it every day..."

Jiang Cheng explained to everyone with a tone that was half helpless and half doting.

"Hahahaha, Pokémon are creatures like that, aren't they? You'll definitely have fun if you get along with them!"

Professor Kukui was mostly talking to Liliae about this, a child who loved Pokémon but was afraid of Pokémon. This was the first time even Kukui had encountered such a child.

Lillie was looking at the smiling Frosty Fairy in front of her, feeling a little envious. There was no such little cutie in the Aether Foundation. She had seen such a thriving scene through the glass before. However, in comparison, the Pokémon and humans in the hot springs got along more harmoniously. The two completely shared the living space, unlike the Aether Foundation where they kept to themselves. However... the shadow in her heart made her hesitate.

Will you definitely find fun?

Chapter 65: Delicious Ice Cream

"You all came from afar to my place, and I don't have much to offer you, so why don't I treat you all to ice cream? Just consider it a favor and do a product tasting. How about that?"

Jiang Cheng came to the bar, stretched out his hand and let the little Frost Fairy jump onto his palm, and then climbed onto his shoulder: "This is Frost Fairy, the dessert minister of our hot spring hotel. The current ice cream and future dessert facilities are under her management."

With his hands on the bar, he jumped lightly and flipped sideways from the bar into the interior. After a month of eating and drinking well, Jiang Cheng's complexion was noticeably rosier. After learning that he had a treasured physique, his heart was inflated, and he wanted to go out and learn boxing on the spot to become Wing Chun Ip Man.

Taking out a cone, Jiang Cheng introduced: "I don't know what everyone likes, so I chose the more popular original flavor, strawberry, and vanilla flavors. In the future, we will launch flavors such as matcha, mango, raspberry, coffee, and chocolate. It all depends on the customers' own ideas..."

As mentioned before, Jiang is a conservative and the flavors he chooses are more popular. Otherwise, as an old Tianjin native, they would have milk with pancake flavor and gabacai flavor, as well as popsicles with stinky tofu flavor.

Food, it's magical, isn't it?

"Vanilla flavor, sounds cool, give me one please"

"...Please give me strawberry flavor..." Liliae replied timidly.

"Hmm...I want a vanilla flavor too."

Everyone has finished their selection, and finally only Mamane is left, and he is now having difficulty making a choice.

I want to try out the flavors... I feel like they all taste good, I really want to try them all... But would it be bad to eat so much on our first meeting... And what if they don't taste good...

Jiang Cheng seemed to see his dilemma: "It's okay, I can make you a portion of each flavor first, you can try them and choose after you're sure. If you like them, you can try all three, but if you eat too much ice cream, you might get an upset stomach, right?"

My buddy has already advised you that if you turn into a jet fighter at that time, I will not be responsible.

Mamane replied nervously: "Thank you...thank you...sorry, I...I'm not used to getting along with outsiders, and I'm not reliable enough...but I will try my best to overcome it..."

"Why apologize?" Jiang Ben originally wanted to dilute the other party's nervousness with a smile, but seeing that Mamane was so reserved, he spoke to him seriously.

"Mama's achievements in the field of mechanics are obvious to all. Even I, who live in the quiet city of Marie, have heard of your name. You don't like to get along with outsiders, but it's just your personal habit and character. Character has nothing to do with reliability, and it's not something worth apologizing for."

"Hey?"

Jiang Cheng's answer was somewhat beyond Mamane's expectations: "Don't you think... I'm weird?"

In fact, Mamane's evaluation of himself is not entirely the result of self-deprecation. Whether it is his teachers, parents, neighbors, friends, or especially his beloved cousin, they all hope that he can be more outgoing and reliable. Not daring to talk to people and not being good at communicating with outsiders are not good things in their eyes. Although Mamane doesn't know why it is not good, he wants to change, but many times he just can't.

But the words of the hot spring owner in front of me are something I have never heard of before.

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but laugh. He had been in Alola for so long, and everywhere he looked, he saw E-people. It was really a novel experience to see Mamane being so introverted. It felt like, ah, this world is still a normal world.

"Why is that weird? You're just better at getting along with yourself."

Jiang Cheng bent down, took out the cone from the ice cream machine, and prepared to make ice cream for everyone.

"But...but my cousin said..." Mamane seemed to want to gain some kind of recognition, but also seemed to be bound by something. He himself couldn't explain how he felt right now. He didn't know what he was asking or what answer he wanted, but he just... wanted to know.

Whether it was Liliae, Acero, or Professor Kukui, they were all extremely quiet at this moment, watching the communication between Jiang Cheng and Mamane.

Raising his eyebrows, Jiang Cheng handed the cone in his hand to Frosty Milk Fairy. The little guy began to operate the ice cream machine seriously, while Jiang Cheng looked at Mamane.

"I'm not very familiar with your cousin, but from my limited understanding, your brother may not want you to change yourself that much, or he doesn't want you to change for any specific purpose."

"Hey?"

"Alola is a very comfortable place, without so much competition. Your cousin doesn't need you to work hard to make a name for yourself, nor does he need you to become a great figure. As a family member, the wish for you to be bolder is just to hope that you will be able to encounter things you like and do things you want to do, and not be held back by your personality. Don't throw away things that belong to you. Not being good at communication and being introverted are not a problem. They just don't want you to miss out."

"Mamane"

Jiang Cheng took three small portions of ice cream of different flavors from the hand of the Frosty Milk Fairy and pushed them in front of Mamane: "There is no so-called standard answer in life. Just live according to your own ideas. Eat whatever you want. Even if you eat three portions of ice cream at a time or three malasadas in one bite, what does it matter?"

Mamane was lost in his inner memories. He seemed to be recalling his past. Did his cousin really say this to him? It seemed that he did... His cousin often told him not to be too stressed, but he didn't seem to listen...

Mamane was not the only one who was touched by Jiang Cheng’s words.

"Your strawberry ice cream." Jiang Cheng handed the ice cream to the remaining people, and took a strawberry flavor from Frosty Milk Fairy: "Thank you Frosty Milk Fairy."

"Ah...thank you..."

Liliae took the ice cream from Jiang Cheng's hand and looked at the boy in front of her curiously. He was obviously not much older than her and the others. At first glance, he looked like a boy of the same age, but he spoke mature words far beyond his age. This feeling was very subtle.

What on earth could have made him become like this?

What did he go through?

Lilia began to feel curious.

Mamane has now started to taste the ice cream in front of her.

With just one bite, he couldn't help but fall in love with it. The perfect sweetness, the cool and delicate taste, and a certain indescribable sense of relief rising in his heart intertwined together, making its deliciousness continue to improve.

Mamane announced that the hot springs ice cream has officially surpassed the ice cream at the shopping mall in Mamane's selection and has taken the top spot in Alola!

Chapter 66: This time it’s hard to clear

Jiang Cheng's performance far exceeded Dr. Kukui's expectations.

In Kukui's original impression after communicating with Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng was a talented child who was very strong despite having encountered a disaster.

He is very talented in combat, especially in combat strategies, and is definitely one of the best among novice trainers.

In particular, he was quite talented in choosing Gastly's move combinations and tactics, and with the coordination of his moves, even Kukui himself, who was of equal strength, couldn't think of any good way to crack it for a while.

It was this kind of talent that made Kukui admire talented people. Thinking that such a child must not be buried, he started the support plan for Jiang Cheng.

But now, Kukui saw the maturity in Jiang Cheng that he had previously ignored, which far exceeded that of his peers.

Even though he grew up with little food and clothing, even though he experienced such great changes, even though he lived in poverty and had to sell his property to make ends meet, I never saw any resentment or dissatisfaction with the world on his face.

Now he can even say such things. Although 14 years old is not very young for a trainer, and I heard that there is a champion challenger who is only 10 years old in the Hoenn League, maturity cannot be judged by such standards.

Jiang Cheng's empathy for Mamane's feelings and his appreciation for Ma Ruiyin's intentions have reached a level that even Kukui himself finds difficult to achieve.

But the more mature Jiang Cheng becomes, the more heartbroken Dr. Kukui becomes.

It is hard to imagine what a child of this age, who should be as innocent as Mamane and the others, has gone through to become what he is now.

You know, the other person's cheeks have only started to turn rosy within this month.

"Okay, you guys eat first, I'll go to my room to get something." Jiang Cheng didn't forget what the main business was at the moment. After entertaining everyone, he hurried back to his room, pretending to get something, but actually took out the lamp holder from the system and brought it to Acelora at the front desk.

"This is the lamp holder I want to buy. It is made of pure gold. I wonder how much it can be sold for?"

Jiang Cheng gently placed the lamp holder in front of Aserola. Aserola was not polite at all. She took the lamp holder and began to observe the patterns on it.

"Hmm...hmm...is that really the case..." Aselola narrowed her eyes and looked at the lamp holder in front of her, and nodded slightly as if she had verified something.

Her vague behavior naturally attracted the curiosity of Dr. Kukui and the other two. Dr. Kukui, who always believed in speaking his mind, naturally asked directly, "Yes, did you find anything valuable?"

Jiang Cheng was shocked when he heard Kukui's words. "Brother, you play a support role like this? We are selling antiques to others. If you say that, won't it be difficult for them to bargain?"

However, Aserola didn't feel anything about it. As a descendant of the royal family of Alola and her father was a wealthy woman who owned a library, she couldn't say that she had no interest in money at all. It seemed too crazy to say so. She could only say that she had a moderate interest.

In comparison, the message on the lampstand in front of her attracted her more attention.

"It is indeed something that people care about." Acerola raised her head and looked at Jiang Cheng: "Where did you get this thing?"

Jiang Cheng knew that it was time to tell a story. Whether the antique could be sold at a good price depended on how well the story was told. If other guys were not good at making up stories, they would be wasting their time.

When I first went to Panjiayuan, I heard many different versions of the story. I only need to make a small investment to reach the limit of the antique business in this world.

So he exaggerated the story of the little candlelight spirit coming to his hot springs, saying that he had rescued a little candlelight spirit that was lost and wanted to find its family. He took the little candlelight spirit all the way through the forest and suddenly found a foreign-style house. The little candlelight spirit said that was its home and warmly invited Jiang Cheng to go in. But Jiang Cheng was upright and said that we never ask for anything in return when we do good things. So the little candlelight spirit took out the lampstand from the foreign-style house to thank him. After that, he wanted to find the foreign-style house again but could not find it anymore. And so on...

This short story from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, which combines the good deeds of the Young Pioneers, the little candlelight spirit looking for its mother, and the Peach Blossom Spring, is obviously very contagious. At least Acelora believed it.

Hehe, she really believed it.

Acerola nodded, as if she had completely entered the story: "You were right not to go in. That mansion should no longer exist in the world of the living, so you couldn't find it the next day."

Liliae next to her became even more nervous. Pokémon... could it be so dangerous?

Mamane even found the ice cream in her hand a little bland and looked at Jiang Cheng in front of her with concern.

"Did you feel unwell afterwards?" Dr. Kukui first asked whether Jiang Cheng was injured.

“It’s okay, I just felt weak for a day afterwards and felt unmotivated, but I felt much better after two days.” Jiang Cheng tried hard to suppress his expression. If there was an upgrade system in Zuowang Dao, he would have upgraded from Erbing to Facai by now.

"That's a sign that Candlelight has sucked your life force away. Come to think of it, you seem to be very attracted to ghost-type Pokémon."