SBTW 1

Shuttle Between Two Worlds: The Chief Minister’s E-Commerce Minion

Chapter 1: Just Time-Traveled, and I Sealed a Ruffian into a Wall with Cement 

Author's Note: Starting a new book! A lighthearted, snappy story spanning two time periods is officially underway. The premise is a bit wild, so I hope it brings a smile to everyone's face. If you like it, don't forget to bookmark it and let Qiqi keep you company with endless laughter every day!

[Countdown: 00:00:03]

Inside a cozy, pink-themed bedroom, an upbeat old-school song played from the stereo.

Tian Qiqi sat cross-legged on her bed, her hair casually twisted up into a messy bun, holding a freshly brewed bowl of Weili instant noodles while her fingers flew across her smartphone screen, spinning around like an unstoppable little top.

"Two hundred catties of White Rabbit creamy candies... fifty LED flashlights, high-yield cabbage seeds... Ah, almost forgot the entrenching tool."

With a plastic fork clamped between her teeth, she checked her shopping cart while pulling up her backup inventory list to cross-reference everything.

Having run a "self-defense and hardware general store" for a few years, she was long accustomed to this kind of upside-down, day-and-night lifestyle. Replying to customer messages by day, packing orders by night, and sometimes having to haul whole boxes of heavy tools and building supplies all by herself—sure, it was a bit exhausting, but she was never one to sit still. The moment she got busy, her energy levels skyrocketed.

[Countdown: 00:00:00]

A familiar wave of dizziness violently struck her.

The room’s lighting flickered wildly. Her warm pink bedside lamp and liquid crystal screen distorted instantly as if swallowed by darkness, and the music in her ears was abruptly drowned out by a wave of urban clamor.

The thunder of hooves, the din of a crowd, and the howling of a night wind sweeping sand and dust down a long avenue poured into her senses all at once.

Before Tian Qiqi could even swallow that mouthful of noodles, she tumbled straight out of thin air into an unfamiliar, narrow alley.

"Cough, cough..."

Choking on the dust, she staggered forward a couple of steps with her arms full of gear, her bunny-eared slippers nearly sliding right out into a puddle of muddy water.

This wasn't her first time experiencing time travel.

Sometimes she dropped into the middle of a mountain; other times she landed in someone's backyard. The most absurd time, she crashed straight into a chicken coop, sending a whole yard of feathered residents squawking into a panic.

Compared to her initial panic, she could now accept the twists of fate with complete calmness.

It was just that her landing posture this time was a bit of a mess.

In her left hand, she lugged three giant bags of Taiwan Cement; in her right, she hugged a heavy manual water pump. She was still wearing her thick Crayon Shin-chan winter pajamas, and the bunny slippers on her feet were caked in mud. She looked less like an otherworldly celestial maiden and more like someone who had just broken out of a construction site in the middle of the night.

Thud!

Suddenly, two bags of cement slipped from her grip and hit the ground.

As luck would have it, two ruffians were blocking the end of the alley with daggers in hand. Before they even realized what was happening, they were brutally flattened by the sacks of cement dropping from the sky.

A miserable shriek echoed instantly through the narrow alley.

The two men collapsed straight into the mud in agony, their short blades flying out of their hands, their faces twisted as if they were questioning the meaning of life.

Tian Qiqi looked at the cement bags, then down at the two incredibly unlucky hoodlums. "...That's some crazy accuracy right there."

Down in the corner, a grime-covered little beggar shrank back against the wall.

He had clearly witnessed everything that just went down. His tiny body froze in place, and even his chipped wooden bowl slipped from his hands without him noticing. He just stared with wide, glowing eyes at the strange girl who had materialized out of nowhere.

Strange clothes, strange objects, and those two bags of "divine artifacts" that had just flattened the bad guys.

Following his gaze, Tian Qiqi quickly flashed him a bright smile. "Hey there, little buddy, you okay?"

Her smile was as radiant as an afternoon sun, looking nothing like someone who had just dropped out of the sky.

The beggar grew even more nervous, pulling his shoulders in and not daring to utter a single word.

The ruffians on the ground were still groaning in pain. One of them raised his head with a shudder, terror plastered all over his eyes.

"W-Witch... what kind of sorcery are you using..."

Tian Qiqi lowered her gaze to the rain-slicked mud by the alley edge, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

It had just rained, so there was mud and water on the ground, paired right alongside the cement she’d brought over.

Her construction supplies had somehow all come together in one place.

She had been complaining earlier about hauling too much gear tonight, but right now, she felt like the universe was actively cooperating with her.

"This isn't sorcery," Tian Qiqi said, setting her empty noodle bowl aside and picking up her entrenching tool. Rolling up her pajama sleeves, she grinned radiantly. "This is the wisdom of the modern working class."

The little beggar couldn't understand a single word, but he was about to witness a scene that defied all comprehension.

With deft movements, Tian Qiqi tore open the cement bags, quickly mixing the sand with the rainwater. The folding shovel made crisp clinking sounds as it turned the slurry over. Her movements were astonishingly practiced, making her look like she'd spent years working hard labor on a construction site.

The two thugs tried to escape, but the moment they struggled to their feet, their legs were already securely trapped and sealed by the thick, heavy cement.

"Since you guys love blocking alleys to scare people so much, you might as well stay here and help keep watch!"

Squatting on the ground, Tian Qiqi worked with enthusiastic glee, meticulously smoothing out the cement on both sides to make it look even.

Before long, everything from the thighs down of both ruffians was solidly sealed straight into the earth wall. Viewed from afar, it looked as though two live humans had suddenly sprouted out of the masonry.

The little beggar was completely dumbstruck. "D-Divine Sister..."

His voice quivered; he didn't even dare blink. "Did you turn them... into walls?"

Tian Qiqi couldn't hold back a chuckle. "It's not quite that dramatic."

She reached out to ruffle the little beggar's messy hair, her gaze drifting toward the dilapidated thatched cottage deep in the alley.

The roof had a massive hole in it, the wooden door hung crookedly, and the walls were covered in cracks. One look told her it must have leaked rain the entire previous night. "Is that your home?"

The little beggar gave a blank nod. "It rained last night... the bedding got completely soaked..."

Glancing at the large bag of leftover cement nearby, Tian Qiqi suddenly felt it would be a shame to waste it.

With a sudden thought, she pulled her sleeves up a bit higher. "Let's go! Since we ran into each other, I might as well help you patch up your house."

For the next few hours, the usually quiet ancient alley was bursting with lively activity.

Tian Qiqi stepped onto a wooden ladder to patch the roof while the little beggar ran all over the street gathering stone fragments and wooden boards for her. The two of them worked until they were covered in dust, yet they strangely looked like a well-coordinated team of partners.

Not only did she fix the drafty roof, but she also reinforced the crumbling door frame and smoothed over the cracked gaps in the walls.

As the setting sun slowly dipped below the horizon, that precarious little shack genuinely looked quite decent.

"All done!" Tian Qiqi clapped the dust off her hands with satisfaction, admiring her handiwork. "There, now if it pours again, you won't have to worry about turning this place into an indoor waterpark!"

Dazed, the little beggar reached out to touch the hardening wall, his eye sockets turning fiercely red.

Suddenly, he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. "Celestial Sister, please take me in!"

"I'll do whatever you tell me from now on!"

Startled, Tian Qiqi hurried forward to pull him back up. "Don't kneel, don't kneel! A man's knees are worth gold; you shouldn't just drop to them."

She dug two White Rabbit creamy candies out of her pajama pockets, peeled off the wrappers, and popped them into his hand. "Here, have a treat."

The little beggar cautiously took a bite.

As the rich, milky sweetness melted across his tongue, his eyes lit up instantly.

That expression made Tian Qiqi burst into laughter.

Right at that moment, however, the digital watch on her wrist let out a sharp, urgent warning beep.

[Countdown: 00:00:10]

The smile froze right on Tian Qiqi's face.

Oh no, time's up. That whole pile of afternoon pending orders was still waiting for her back home.

[Countdown: 00:00:05]

In a rush, she shoved the gear into the little beggar's arms. "Watch this water pump for me, and take this too—"

She handed over a riot baton as well. "If anyone tries to steal your stuff, just press this button."

Clutching the stack of bizarre items, the little beggar looked completely lost. "Celestial Sister... where are you going?"

The distortion of space was already beginning to pull at her body.

Backing away, Tian Qiqi could only wave goodbye to him. "I've got to run back to work! I'll come check on you another day!"

[Countdown: 00:00:00]

A faint shimmer flashed.

She vanished entirely from the spot.

Standing blankly inside the house, the little beggar clutched the strange iron rod and water pump. A faint, lingering scent of instant noodles still hung in the air.

At the mouth of the alley, the two thugs trapped inside the wall turned paler than ghosts. "T-The celestial maiden flew back to heaven..."

At the exact same moment—

Back in her modern pink bedroom, Tian Qiqi landed back on her bed with a soft thud, still locked in the exact posture of lifting a bag of cement.

Staring blankly for two seconds, she whipped her head around toward the wall clock: 12:01 PM.

Her phone notifications were going completely wild, buzzing continuously.

Opening her phone, Tian Qiqi saw that her unread messages on Shopee were about to explode.

Taking a deep breath, she retied her messy hair. The bewildered look in her eyes quickly cleared up, replaced by a spark of determination.

"Alright, time to keep grinding and make more cash so I can bring even more supplies to build houses in ancient times next time!"

--

T/N:

Yo, welcome to my new translation project! Honestly, I got hooked on this story and just had to share it with y'all. PS: 🔗click for👉🏻some shorts video.

—Siofra