Arakawa-ku, 71 convenience store.

"Sousuke Araki, a contemptible man, is a man who aspires to become the general manager of 71 convenience stores in the Kanto region! On the first day of employment, please advise. ”

Sousuke Araki, wearing a peaked cap, a green long-sleeved uniform with a large "7" on his chest, bowed 90 degrees to two other men, who were also dressed in clerk uniforms.

After failing the interview for several days, he resolutely launched "Plan B" in the face of an empty wallet.

Joined 71 Convenience Store and began his "convenience store career".

Since high school, he has often worked part-time at 71 convenience stores, and has about 5 years of part-time experience.

A few days ago, I heard that he was about to graduate, and a senior who worked at a convenience store asked if he needed to recommend him for the position of "reserve store manager".

However, Sousuke Araki was focused on the "communication business" at the time, so he naturally looked down on the work of convenience stores and kept saying "think about it".

"That...... Welcome, welcome...... Araki-kun, it's really timely that the above can recommend a skilled hand like you, and I don't know what to do about the recent shortage of manpower. ”

One of them, a middle-aged Mediterranean man with a short stature and a good conversation, is none other than the franchise manager of this convenience store, Kento Misaka.

In the face of Sousuke Araki's self-introduction, which was obviously too violent, he was also a little crying and laughing, rubbing his two hands in front of him.

However, according to the resume, Sosuke Araki in front of him, although he looks like a gangster, is actually not only a college graduate, but also has more than five years of experience as an hourly employee at a 71 convenience store, so he can be said to be the best helper at the moment.

"Yes, yes, it's great that you can come, after Sano resigned, I have been working the night shift for three days in a row......"

Another male clerk named Koida Moto, also immediately echoed with resentment.

Hearing him say this, the store manager immediately glared at him.

After the introduction, Sousuke Araki began to officially enter the work state.

As a "gold hourly worker" of a convenience store, Sousuke Araki is familiar with loading goods, sorting shelves, counting inventory, cleaning, cashiering, and life services.

There are a large number of convenience stores like 71 in Japan, about every 500 meters, most of which are open 24 hours a day, and in addition to providing a variety of food, daily necessities, and magazines, they also include ATMs, photocopying, paying utility bills, handling various cards, taking ID photos, and sending and receiving couriers.

Manager Misaka only checked the work status of Sosuke Araki a little, and then left satisfied, leaving only Sosuke Araki and Mototo Iida.

In the afternoon, the store was close to the industrial area, and there was an endless stream of customers coming to the convenience store, and the two were busy until 8 o'clock in the evening, when they went out for a lunch.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to be free, Sousuke Araki's eyes began to scan the shelves and freezers.

The hourly salary in a convenience store is not high, and the reason why he can insist on working here is naturally because the convenience store job has a lot of "hidden benefits".

As industrialization deepened, 71 convenience stores offered an increasing variety of fresh food, such as sushi, salads, fried foods, oden, and various microwave-ready noodles and rice.

Most fresh foods have a 1-3 day shelf life.

Expired food must be discarded according to the rules of convenience stores.

However, in practice, in line with the principle of not wasting food and avoiding the trouble of garbage classification, most franchised store owners will allow store staff to buy "just expired" food back at a very low price.

Sousuke Araki, who had just entered university at the time, was so poor that he couldn't even afford to eat in the school cafeteria, so he worked part-time at a convenience store to solve three meals a day.

After scanning around and placing a few of his favorite foods that were close to expiration to the bottom left corner of the shelf, Sousuke Araki returned to the cash register satisfied.

Most of the customers are right-handed, and they will give priority to the upper right side of the goods, so the products placed in the lower left corner are the most likely to "expire", which is a valuable experience he has summed up over the years.

Seeing that Sosuke Araki finished patrolling the shelves and there were no customers in the store, Koida Mototo beckoned him to go out and smoke a cigarette together.

"Araki-kun has been on two periods in a row, is it really okay?"

After the two lit cigarettes to each other, Koida Mototo asked with some concern.

"Of course, no problem, I was able to work a record three shifts in a row at the best store in Shibuya."

Sousuke Araki took a puff of his cigarette, revealing a bright melt.

Unlike others, he prefers to work in the late night hours.

Late-night work is not too busy, and the hourly pay will be more than other hours, and more importantly, you can collect those delicacies that have just passed the "expiration date" in the first place.

"Ah, if only everyone was as energetic as Araki-kun. Recently, many convenience stores have changed to an 18-hour system because they can't find people on duty late at night. This shop is too, especially after that incident......"

Koida Moto sighed.

Late-night hours are often the most scarce of the five working hours of convenience stores.

"What about it?" Sousuke Araki immediately asked curiously.

"Huh? Didn't you hear about it before you came? I thought you knew about it......"

Koida Mototo immediately lowered his voice, and said in Araki's ear with a gossipy face: "In the past month, when the store often shifts in the morning, I found that the money in the cash box was not counted, but there were more strange things such as leaves and broken copper coins...... They all said that it was a ghost from a nearby cemetery who had come to buy something...... The day before yesterday, I heard the manager of Misaka calling to ask someone to come and remove the spirit. ”

"Oh, I see." Sosuke Araki replied perfunctorily.

In his opinion, most of them are clerks who use this as a cover, and their hands and feet are not clean.

"Don't believe it, Araki-kun, not far behind this store is the recently popular 'shared cemetery', a tomb that is said to be able to hold the ashes of six people......"

"Huh? Shared cemetery? ”

Japan's aging population and land area restrictions have caused the price of cemeteries to rise year by year, giving rise to the brain-pumping thing of "shared cemeteries".

However, for the poor with limited financial means, or the elderly who are single, this kind of cemetery is also an option.

"Sano, who recently left his job, is said to have seen something terrible when he chased out because he forgot to put chopsticks in the oden for his guests...... After that, it was unlucky for more than ten days. ”

At this moment, more than a dozen boys wearing high school uniforms and combing the head of an airplane of the same style as Sosuke Araki walked into the store with a smile.

The two immediately extinguished their cigarettes and returned to the cash register.

After a while, when the time was up, Koida Moto, changed into his coat and prepared to leave.

"These are students from the industrial department of a nearby high school, and their hands and feet are occasionally unclean. As long as it's not too excessive, you just turn a blind eye and don't get into conflict with them. ”

Koida Mototo said this, and then quit work.