Chapter 59: "Fu Cheng, I’m going to wash up... don’t suddenly open your eyes.
"Do I have any reason to do that?" Shen Lu said coolly. "If I were to extend my stall’s hours, your shop would go out of business sooner or later."
She had some understanding of the situation with the other shops on Gold Street.
The reason she’d always limited her stall’s hours to the daytime was, for one, safety, and for another, she didn’t want to completely squeeze out her competitors.
Those who didn’t know the truth thought her relationship with Xue Can was significant, so no one would dare to touch her.
But she knew herself that her connection to Xue Can wasn’t strong. Just like now, their relationship had practically dropped to a freezing point.
Unless she was willing to accept Bai Lei’s offer, it would be very difficult for Shen Lu to fend for herself if those other businesses ganged up on her.
As for the impact on Cao’s Noodle House’s business, Shen Lu could only say that everyone was just trying to make a living based on their own abilities. She hadn’t used any dirty tricks; it was simply that her food was good and a great value, which was why customers liked it. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
Boss Cao gritted his teeth. "Cut the crap, you bitch!"
"Think what you want. Now, please take your wife and leave. And keep a better eye on her in the future. Don’t let her come and act crazy in front of me again, or I can’t guarantee what I’ll do."
The young woman’s cold, lofty arrogance deeply stung Boss Cao. He wished he could just slap her dead, but because of her supposed backing, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.
"I’m not letting this go!" Boss Cao tried his best to save face. "I’ll call the police! Shen Lu, you just wait! You’ll be rotting in jail!"
He couldn’t swallow this insult. Even if he had to spend money, he would make sure Shen Lu suffered!
Boss Cao scooped up his wife and quickly left, but the gossip from the crowd of onlookers didn’t stop.
"Boss Shen, don’t worry. Boss Cao is all talk. He’d never actually call the police."
"I mean, even if he did call the police, what would happen? I doubt any cops would even show up to investigate."
"Exactly. It’s just a blown-up kitchen. So many people have died under mysterious circumstances in the Lower City District lately, and we haven’t seen the police investigate any of that."
"Besides, I heard a mutant beast actually appeared inside the city."
Hearing the words "mutant beast," Shen Lu instinctively looked toward the person who had spoken.
"And it was a new type of mutant beast that had never been seen before. It was chasing someone down the street in broad daylight! Luckily, someone caught it and sent it to a research institute."
Shen Lu: ... ’Why does that sound so familiar?’
"Huh? How could there be a mutant beast in the city? The walls are reinforced every year, and there are soldiers guarding them. How did a mutant beast sneak in?"
"Who knows? But the person who sent the mutant beast to the research institute got a huge reward. Something like a hundred thousand Star Coins?"
"I know about that! It was someone from the Gale Mercenary Corps. Man, it’s good to be a Superpower User. They can make a hundred thousand Star Coins with a single job. Not like us regular folks who could work our whole lives and never make that much."
Shen Lu: (￣ー￣)
’Alright, that confirms it. They’re talking about me.’
’But it seems like nobody knows that the unlucky person being chased was me. Maybe everyone’s attention was just on the mutant beast?’
She had intended to just listen to the gossip quietly, but then someone brought her into the conversation.
"Boss Shen, you need to be careful. The higher the street number, the more people die. And you’re close to the wall. If any mutant beasts sneak in, don’t hesitate. Just run."
Shen Lu broke out in a cold sweat internally. ’Thanks for the warning. I’ve already done that.’
After selling out, she packed up her stall and went home.
Cai Su still went to the clinic to pick up her child. Shen Lu had asked her to stop by before she went home.
Wang Daguo was in a big hurry today. He dropped off the items, said they’d settle the payment tomorrow, and left.
Cai Su had already washed all the bowls and utensils. Shen Lu focused on cleaning the various food processors and started a pot of rice in the rice cooker.
Freshly cooked rice still wasn’t as good as day-old rice. It had a bit too much moisture, which meant the stir-frying time would have to be longer.
Then she mixed a dressing into the radish peels she had saved over the past few days. Just as she finished, she heard someone calling her from outside the door.
"Coming," Shen Lu said as she went to open the door. Sure enough, it was Cai Su.
"Boss Shen, are you still busy? I just put my son down and came right over."
"No, no, it’s just a few small things. I’m not going to the bathhouse today, so I have time to do it."
Being chased by the mutant beast yesterday had left Shen Lu with some trauma. No one wants to be chased by a monster, though Shen Lu figured it wasn’t something that would happen every day.
"Wait a moment." Shen Lu turned and went inside. Using her body to block the view, she took a pre-portioned container of millet and pumpkin congee from her storage space and handed it to Cai Su. "Here, take this home to eat."
"I can’t accept this, Boss Shen. I have food to eat..."
"Nutrient paste and Insect Cakes have no real nutrition. You might be able to make do, but what about Xiao Lang? He’s already malnourished. Sister Cai, just take it."
At the mention of Xiao Lang, Cai Su couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
She took the congee, her heart filled with an ineffable gratitude.
Shen Lu waved her hand. "Hurry back. You’ve had a long day."
Cai Su’s eyes grew moist. "Thank you, Boss Shen. I’ll definitely work even harder!"
After Cai Su went upstairs, Shen Lu closed the door.
Shen Lu was quite happy to be able to help someone. The little tune she hummed while she worked was even more cheerful.
Fu Cheng’s heart softened.
’Shen Lu is truly a kind-hearted girl.’
After cooking two pots of rice, Shen Lu started braising the chicken legs and dried tofu.
With most of her work done, she brought out some water, planning to give herself a sponge bath.
Before taking off her clothes, Shen Lu said, a little embarrassed, "Fu Cheng, I’m going to take a sponge bath. You... don’t suddenly open your eyes."
Fu Cheng: !
He hurriedly retracted his consciousness, stuffing it back into his sea of consciousness.
In the quiet room, the sound of fabric rustling was exceptionally clear.
Fu Cheng could easily tell that Shen Lu must be taking off her clothes. Then came the sound of wringing out a cloth—a light SPLASHING, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.
The man’s lips pressed into a thin line. Belatedly, he blocked his sense of hearing, completely cutting off all sound until even the concept of time became blurry.
He wasn’t sure how long Shen Lu’s bath would take and was afraid of startling her, so he kept his hearing blocked and his consciousness withdrawn.
His left hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, betraying his inner turmoil.
Shen Lu finished her sponge bath as quickly as possible and changed into a lace dress she hadn’t worn in a long time.
She had no choice. She had lost her clothes during the mutant beast encounter yesterday and hadn’t bought new ones today. This dress was the only thing left in her house.
’I have to go buy clothes tomorrow. And I should buy a couple of extra sets, just in case.’
While nestled on the sofa and combing her hair, Shen Lu used the Lottery Ticket.
[Congratulations, Host! You have drawn from Blind Box #111: The ’Cloud of Customers’ Megaphone.]
[Cloud of Customers Megaphone: Want to boost customer traffic in a short amount of time? Use this! It can attract a large number of customers within two hours, helping you achieve explosive profit growth!]
[Note: This is a one-time use item. Please use it with caution.]
’It’s a one-time use item?’ Shen Lu pouted, feeling like she’d gotten a bit of a raw deal.
She took out the small horn to examine it. It was a little red megaphone, very small and cartoonish.
’This will probably be on a long cooldown, right?’
’As long as I have Fu Cheng with me, my business will never be bad. This thing feels pretty useless.’