The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

The rain was endless, and it grew even heavier the next day. The streets were completely flooded, and the first floors of some shops in lower-lying areas were half-submerged.

Little Deer Cuisine was relatively fine. It was situated at the highest point on all of Gold Street, so the water didn’t creep into the shop.

But the heavy rain blocked the roads, so customers couldn’t come, and business was hit hard.

For the first time ever, Shen Lu failed to complete her daily mission. At 7:30 PM, the system’s notification chimed.

[Ding! Detected Braised Pork Set sales 360/10, Kung Pao Chicken Set sales 260/8. Total revenue has not reached 70,000 yuan. Regrettably, Host has failed to complete today’s mission. The penalty is a deduction of 1,000 popularity value.]

Shen Lu: 〒▽〒

Shen Lu: "This is so unfair! It’s clearly the rain’s fault!"

[Therefore, the penalty has been reduced accordingly. Only 1,000 popularity value was deducted.]

Shen Lu: "Then how much was it supposed to be originally?"

[2,000 popularity value.]

Shen Lu: "Fine. I guess that’s fair, barely."

Remembering she had to go to the Bai Family’s home tomorrow, Shen Lu sent Bai Lei a message asking him what to do.

Bai Lei: It’s just a little rain. Don’t worry, my people will definitely come to pick you up tomorrow morning.

Shen Lu: Are you sure you can call this "a little rain"?

Bai Lei: You have to trust that we have the means.

Shen Lu pouted. ’They’ll just get a boat to pick me up, what other tricks could they have?’

’Oh well. It’s not like I have to figure it out. I’ll just wait obediently.’

The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Lu packed a container of old brine and placed it in her System Warehouse. Then she started waiting for someone from the Bai Family to pick her up.

Around ten in the morning, a deafening ROARING sound started.

Ye Fan sent Shen Lu a message: Boss Shen, a helicopter has landed on our roof. I looked at the logo on its fuselage, and it seems to belong to the Bai Family.

Shen Lu: !!!

’What?’

’What the hell is that?’

’A helicopter?’

’Hey, hey, hey! Can a helicopter even take off in a torrential downpour like this?’

Shen Lu asked Ye Fan to take her to the rooftop to see what was going on.

Like an eagle grabbing a chick, Ye Fan grabbed Shen Lu by the back of her collar and leaped up to the rooftop in a few large bounds.

Shen Lu: ╮(─▽─)╭

’Seriously, couldn’t you have used another method? This is so embarrassing!’

A black helicopter was parked on the unfinished rooftop. Its rotors were still spinning tirelessly, kicking up a huge gust of wind. The moment Shen Lu arrived, she was pelted all over by the flying raindrops.

Once the rotors stopped, the cabin door opened. A lean man in a suit came down first, opening a sturdy, large umbrella.

Bai Wanwan adjusted her sunglasses and climbed down the ladder. She was wearing a silver-white raincoat that covered her from head to toe. With the large umbrella overhead, not a single drop of the flying rain could touch her.

Shen Lu, by comparison, was much more disheveled.

"Let’s go. This stormy weather is the worst," Bai Wanwan said. Her tone was proud, and the upward lilt at the end of her sentence sounded almost like a spoiled pout.

Shen Lu’s feelings were hard to describe. She said a quick word to Ye Fan and ducked under Bai Wanwan’s umbrella.

"Don’t get too moved," Bai Wanwan said, glancing at her sideways. "I wasn’t originally planning to pick you up. You know flying in this weather is very risky."

Shen Lu: ...

’Young Miss, can’t you just talk normally for once?’

"Is this really okay? What if lightning strikes? We’re flying so high, we’ll get hit, won’t we?" As she stepped onto the ladder, Shen Lu couldn’t help but worry.

Bai Wanwan glared at her. "Don’t jinx us! Besides, the helicopter has lightning protection. A little thunder is nothing..."

Before she could finish, a startling clap of thunder exploded overhead. A purple bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the already gloomy heavens.

’Holy crap?!’

Shen Lu instinctively tried to duck somewhere. Bai Wanwan did the same. The two of them scurried about like frightened mice, and their heads slammed into each other hard.

THUD!

Shen Lu’s ears were ringing, as if a giant gong was reverberating inside her head. A sharp pain bloomed on her forehead, and her consciousness started to blur.

When she came to, she had been carried onto a seat inside the helicopter cabin. Beside her was Bai Wanwan, who was also clutching her forehead and just coming to her senses.

Shen Lu: ...

Bai Wanwan: ...

"Why is your head so hard!" Bai Wanwan was the first to lash out. "You nearly killed me."

The cabin door closed, and the suit-clad bodyguard reminded the two of them to fasten their seatbelts to avoid any safety issues during turbulence.

Shen Lu looked out the window, worried. "Shouldn’t we wait for the rain to let up a bit before we go?"

She was quite fond of her life, after all.

"The torrential downpour is forecasted to last until eight o’clock tomorrow morning," Bai Wanwan stated ruthlessly, giving the command, "Take off."

The roaring sound suddenly intensified. Shen Lu felt her body lighten, and when she looked out the window again, they were already in the air.

Shen Lu pressed herself firmly against the back of her seat, as if that was the only way to find a shred of security.

Bai Wanwan rubbed her slightly swollen forehead and chuckled at Shen Lu’s expression, which looked like she was facing a formidable enemy.

"What’s with that face? Would I have come to pick you up myself if it was really dangerous? This is the Eagle-5, the military’s latest model. It can fly safely not just in a torrential downpour, but even in a thunderstorm."

Shen Lu was skeptical. This deviated too much from her existing knowledge base.

However, half an hour later, the helicopter landed smoothly on the helipad in the Bai Family’s backyard.

After getting off the helicopter, Shen Lu realized her legs were as soft as jelly. Bai Wanwan had to grab her to keep her from collapsing onto the ground.

Seeing how utterly disheveled Shen Lu looked, Bai Wanwan had a maid take her to a guest room for a hot bath, deciding the rest could be discussed later.

After a hot bath and changing into a set of clean clothes, Shen Lu finally recovered.

’It’s not that I’m a coward, it’s just that humans are too weak in the face of nature’s power.’

’What kind of sane person flies in a helicopter in this weather?’

’Thankfully, the accident I was worried about didn’t happen.’

Although Shen Lu was invited as a chef, both Bai Wanwan and Bai Lei treated her as an honored guest, inviting her to have lunch with Father Bai and Mrs. Bai.

Lunch was uneventful. Shen Lu carefully tasted the food prepared by the Bai Family’s chef. Their skill was much better than the chefs who applied for the job yesterday, but the seasoning was too light for her taste.

She thought she could understand why Bai Wanwan and Bai Lei often went all the way to the Lower City District to eat.

However, this gave Shen Lu another concern. ’Should I lower the spiciness of the dishes to make them more palatable for everyone?’

After the meal, Shen Lu discussed it with Bai Lei.

"No need. The guests will be my friends and classmates. Except for a few who can’t eat any spice at all, most of them like more exciting flavors."

Bai Lei said carefreely, "Definitely don’t lower the spice level. And be sure to make a lot of the spicy crayfish. I’ve never had crayfish prepared like that before."

Bai Wanwan chimed in, "Exactly. The ones who don’t eat spicy food can just choose the non-spicy dishes. You don’t have to worry about them."

Shen Lu thought that made sense, so she nodded in agreement.

Bai Lei’s birthday party was tomorrow, so Shen Lu started getting busy that afternoon.