The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

Shen Lu could only agree and returned to the shop to wait for Boss Zhou.

About 20 minutes later, a small truck pulled up to the door, and Shen Lu went outside.

"Boss Shen, your new shop is looking great!" Boss Zhou was full of praise the moment he saw her. "From now on, I can finally sit down and eat in peace."

He usually got his food to-go, as he didn’t like eating on the roadside.

"I also want to make the dining experience as comfortable as possible for my customers," Shen Lu said, offering the usual pleasantries while showing the delivery workers the way to the second floor.

Shen Lu had bought basic appliances like a TV, an air purifier, a water heater, a washing machine, and an air conditioner. After they were installed, she settled the final payment with Boss Zhou.

Boss Zhou complimented her, "Boss Shen, business is booming."

"May we all have booming businesses and fortunes to come."

As she was seeing Boss Zhou off, Shen Lu mentioned the crayfish competition.

"A crayfish competition?" Boss Zhou’s eyes lit up the moment he heard those words. "You’re not kidding, are you, Boss Shen? Crayfish are very expensive!"

Here, a single crayfish cost upwards of 100 Star Coins. Even though it was currently crayfish season, the price remained stubbornly high.

"I’m not kidding. I’ll tell the other customers when I open the stall at noon."

"Then when is your shop opening, Boss Shen?" Boss Zhou swallowed hard. He wished Shen Lu would open that very afternoon so he could bring his wife and kids over to feast on crayfish.

"I still need to prepare. If all goes well, it should be the day after tomorrow."

"Great, great! I’ll definitely be there to support you the day after tomorrow!"

Boss Zhou left happily.

Shen Lu closed the shop door and headed to No. 3 Landfill to meet up with her two employees.

Wang Daguo and Cai Su hadn’t been slacking off just because Shen Lu wasn’t around. They were both scavenging diligently. By the time Shen Lu arrived, the piles of scrap next to them had grown into small mounds.

Shen Lu told them to stop scavenging and help her dismantle the metal parts from their previous finds.

Time flew by so quickly. Shen Lu felt like she hadn’t done much, but it was already ten o’clock.

The three of them returned to the rental house to prepare the ingredients for the day’s stall. Shen Lu didn’t plan to stay open for too long today—just long enough to complete her daily quest—so she didn’t prep as many ingredients as before.

With more hands, the work went quickly. Before long, everything was ready, and the daily quest arrived right on schedule.

[DING~ New Quest: Please sell 85 cups of mint water, 75 egg waffles, 75 servings of malatang, 75 servings of fried rice, 75 servings of fried noodles, and 45 servings of braised snacks.]

Cai Su left to take her child for a vaccination, while Wang Daguo pushed the food cart and the malatang machine to their usual spot.

While setting up the tables, Wang Daguo discreetly observed the number of customers who had shown up to eat today.

’It seems about the same as yesterday.’

’I wonder if business will recover today. I hope people aren’t still bothered by the fact that I used to be a corpse collector.’

’I hope there are fewer customers like that... or better yet, none at all.’

Wang Daguo worried secretly but put on a placid expression, not wanting Shen Lu to notice anything was amiss.

After setting up the tables and chairs, Wang Daguo made another quick trip to wheel Fu Cheng out.

He settled him in his usual spot, even carefully adjusting his position to keep the sun out of Fu Cheng’s eyes.

Fu Cheng noticed the gesture and abruptly opened his right eye to glance at Wang Daguo.

’This man looks big and brawny, but he’s more meticulous than I thought.’

Wang Daguo also noticed Fu Cheng looking at him.

The two weren’t familiar with each other, so there was nothing to say. Wang Daguo gave a broad, silly grin and turned to get back to work, his figure looking quite simple and honest from behind.

’Shen Lu probably hired him because she saw how honest he is,’ Fu Cheng thought.

Shen Lu insisted on filming a video again today, capturing the entire process of her making fried rice and fried noodles. She had her "veteran actor" Wang Daguo make an appearance again, who promptly began to wolf down the plate of food.

Wang Daguo’s table manners weren’t the prettiest, but watching him eat made the food seem exceptionally fragrant.

The onlooking customers rubbed their growling stomachs, unable to resist urging Shen Lu to start cooking.

"Boss Shen, your employee has had his fill, but we’re still starving over here!"

"I wasn’t even planning to have fried noodles today, but watching him made my mouth water."

Shen Lu quickly replied, "Alright, alright, I’m starting now! Everyone, please form a line and order one by one."

She cranked up the heat, let the griddle get hot, poured the oil, and cracked in an egg. The aroma instantly wafted through the air.

Just as everyone was captivated by the enchanting aroma, Shen Lu’s clear, sweet voice cheerfully announced the precise details of her shop’s grand opening.

"By the way, today is the last day for the stall! I’m taking tomorrow off, and the day after, my little shop will have its grand opening. We’ll be holding a crayfish competition, so feel free to come join the fun and sign up. The winner will receive a mysterious grand prize!"

Her words were like water hitting a hot oil pan—the crowd instantly erupted.

"What? Only today? No, Boss Shen! If you don’t open your stall, what will I eat for lunch?"

"A crayfish competition? What’s that?"

"How do we sign up? Does it cost money?"

"What’s the mysterious grand prize? Can we become a lifetime supreme VIP and eat for free forever?"

"Boss Shen, don’t take tomorrow off! Please open for one more day!"

...

"Of course there’s a registration fee. It’s not much, just 100 Star Coins." Shen Lu ignored the pleas for her to open the stall again and focused on explaining the crayfish competition. "Expensive? How is that expensive? You can’t even buy a single crayfish for 100 Star Coins. But at my event, once you pay the fee, you can eat as many as you can in one minute. Forget ten—if you can eat a hundred, that’s your talent."

"For real? All-you-can-eat for 100 Star Coins?"

Shen Lu patiently explained, "It’s all-you-can-eat within the time limit. I’m holding this event as a thank-you to my new and loyal customers. If you’re interested, you can come check it out the day after tomorrow."

She hadn’t prepared a large amount of ingredients, so by the time Shen Lu heard the quest completion notification, almost everything was sold out.

She glanced at the time; it was just past three o’clock.

Shen Lu had Cai Su and Wang Daguo pack up the stall. They were going to head back early today to move.

A familiar car stopped in front of the stall. The rear door opened, and Shen Lan emerged gracefully, holding down the hem of her dress.

Shen Lu, who was resting on a chair, narrowed her eyes. ’What is she doing here again? Looking for more trouble?’

The sun was strong today. Shen Lan held a delicate parasol and wore a fluffy pink dress, looking like a rich young lady straight out of a manga.

If she hadn’t twisted her ankle, Shen Lu would have thought she was actually quite pretty.

A pained expression flashed across Shen Lan’s face before she quickly suppressed it, walking even more carefully toward Shen Lu in her high heels.

"What do you want?" Shen Lu glanced behind her. "You’re alone?"

The corners of Shen Lan’s mouth lifted slightly, a flicker of disdain in her eyes.

’She’s really putting on an act.’

’Last time she was so sharp-tongued and infuriating. Is she hoping Mother would come today?’

’Don’t think I can’t see through it. This is just another one of Shen Lu’s little tricks to get Mother’s attention.’

’Unfortunately for her, no matter what schemes Shen Lu cooks up, she can’t change the fact that she isn’t the Shen Family’s biological daughter.’