Chapter 40: Bewitching Every Passerby
Shen Lu stood watching from a distance. The trash dumped this time was more or less the same as last time—either metal scraps or expired nutrient liquid.
Everyone scrambled for it in a frenzy.
Shen Lu saw a few familiar faces. Zeng Xiaodao, Wang Daguo, Granny Jin, and others were all part of the army of scavengers.
This time, Zeng Xiaodao was well-behaved and didn’t try to snatch from others. After all, he was still severely injured and his mobility was greatly reduced. Since he’d had unpleasant run-ins with quite a few people before, he didn’t get greedy. He picked up a few vials and left in a hurry.
Wang Daguo, using his size to his advantage, snatched half a box of nutrient liquid. He and two skinny kids headed for the Sixteenth District in high spirits.
Granny Jin was old, her hands not as fast as the young people’s. If it weren’t for Cai Su’s help, she wouldn’t have managed to grab a single one.
She knew her limits. She picked up one and stopped, then went back with Cai Su.
Still, quite a few people remained. With so many people, friction was inevitable. Shen Lu walked around the crowd and, in just ten short minutes, saw five different groups get into six fights.
The pharmaceutical company’s act of dumping its trash sent the people near the No. 3 Landfill into a short-lived frenzy.
This was especially true because an exceptional amount of nutrient liquid was thrown out this time. Almost everyone who came managed to get at least one vial.
Shen Lu watched with a detached gaze, feeling a creeping unease.
’The gap between the rich and poor here is too vast,’ she thought with a sigh. ’The people at the bottom live without any dignity.’
’No use thinking too much about it. I’m one of them now, after all.’
Back in her rented room, the fresh air was exceptionally refreshing to breathe in.
Shen Lu wasted no time, going to the bathhouse for a shower before returning to prepare the ingredients for her stall.
She redeemed the day’s ingredients, placed them in the one-touch washing machine batch by batch, washed a batch, chopped a batch, and then stuffed them into three different-flavored soup bases to cook.
The cold-marinated radish skins had been prepared two days ago. After they were done marinating, she had stored them in the System Warehouse. All she had to do was take them out, and they were ready to eat.
The mint water was made before she went out to scavenge. Now, it was time to mix the batter for the egg waffles.
This was quick to make; it wouldn’t even take five minutes.
After thinking about it all night, Shen Lu finally decided on teppanyaki.
Teppanyaki was very flexible. It was no exaggeration to say that any ingredient could be cooked teppanyaki-style.
Her stall didn’t offer any staple foods, a point that quite a few customers had already brought up.
Shen Lu also wanted to add staple food options to her stall. Now, with teppanyaki, she could make things like fried noodles and fried rice, which would perfectly fill that gap.
The System Mall had pre-cooked rice, but the price was double that of uncooked rice.
Shen Lu could only grit her teeth and redeem it. What else could she do? She didn’t have anything to cook rice with.
The noodles, however, she could prepare herself. She just needed to boil them in the plain broth pot, which was very convenient.
The food cart wouldn’t fit in her room, so Shen Lu had to prepare the ingredients for the fried rice and fried noodles first. She would cook them once she got to her spot.
Hurrying before Wang Daguo arrived, Shen Lu brought the food cart out from her inventory.
Materializing a food cart out of thin air didn’t surprise anyone. It wasn’t some world-shattering event. After all, this world had foldable space technology and Space Abilities. Forget a food cart—some people could make airplanes and tanks vanish into thin air.
Shen Lu placed the egg waffle maker, plastic bowls, metal cups, and various seasonings on the cart’s countertop. The mint water, cold-marinated radish skins, and ingredients for the fried rice and noodles went on the shelf below.
The food cart also had hooks on both sides, which were perfect for connecting to the malatang cooker, making setup and breakdown very convenient.
Just like that, Shen Lu evolved from the owner of a humble little stall to the owner of a proper-looking one.
[DING-DONG~ Mission issued: Please sell 40 cups of mint water, 30 egg waffles, 30 servings of malatang, 5 orders of fried rice, and 5 orders of fried noodles.]
’Great, the mission’s here.’ Shen Lu rubbed her hands together, eager to get started. She hadn’t done this for a day and, strangely enough, she’d missed it.
Wang Daguo arrived earlier than usual, a broad smile on his face.
"Boss Shen, you bought a food cart?" He spotted the cart parked by the door right away. "Is the stall business that profitable?"
The moment he said it, Wang Daguo knew he had asked a stupid question.
Shen Lu was selling real, tangible food, and her business was booming. Forget buying a cart with a few days’ income—with a little more time, she could definitely move out of the Seventeenth District and rent a storefront to open a proper shop.
Shen Lu just smiled without answering his question. "I’m not bringing Fu Cheng to the stall today. Just push the food cart to the usual spot."
It was stinky and sunny outside, and Shen Lu felt bad about bringing Fu Cheng to the stall.
Before, her business had been slow, and through experimentation, she discovered that Fu Cheng had a wealth-beckoning effect, which was why she brought him every day.
But Shen Lu felt she probably didn’t need him anymore. She had been setting up on Gold Street for many days now and had built a certain reputation, even gaining some loyal customers. Even without Fu Cheng the Lucky Cat, she wouldn’t go one or two hours without a single customer like before.
"Oh, okay, okay." Wang Daguo scratched the back of his head, then as if suddenly remembering something, he pulled a tube of pink nutrient liquid from his pocket. "Boss Shen, this is for you. Strawberry-flavored nutrient liquid. Girls all like this flavor."
Giving Shen Lu a tube of nutrient liquid was his family’s idea.
Shen Lu had given them egg waffles and cold-marinated radish skins before. His family was poor and couldn’t offer a proper gift in return, but the nutrient liquid they’d snatched today was considered hard currency in the Lower City District. Even though it was expired, it was still a presentable gift.
Shen Lu didn’t refuse. ’It’s only polite to reciprocate.’
Besides, it was her first time observing nutrient liquid up close, and she was a little curious.
The pink nutrient liquid was in a glass container similar to a test tube. When shaken, faint silver specks would shimmer with a soft glow. It was very pretty.
She put it into her System Warehouse and set out with Wang Daguo.
After parking the food cart, Wang Daguo confirmed what time he should come back in the afternoon and then left without delay.
Shen Lu opened the large umbrella, wrote the items and prices on the small blackboard that came with the cart, and then took out the ingredients for the fried rice and noodles to start cooking.
She poured a little oil onto the griddle, cracked two eggs and scrambled them, then added the rice. She seasoned it with a little bit of soy sauce and salt, and finally sprinkled on some scallions. A basic egg fried rice was now ready.
Leaving the fried rice on the edge of the griddle to keep warm, Shen Lu scooped up the noodles, which were cooked until eighty percent done, and prepared the fried noodles in the same way.
The aroma of fried rice and fried noodles was distinct from that of malatang. The allure of staple foods easily whets the human appetite.
Even wearing a mint-scented mask, Shen Lu could clearly smell the fragrance of the fried rice and noodles.
’Wouldn’t this captivate every single passerby?’
But the reality was a far cry from what she had imagined.
It wasn’t that no one came to buy, but there were only a scattered few, and not a single regular customer among them.
’It can’t be this jinxed, can it?’ Shen Lu frowned. ’Don’t tell me I can’t do business without Fu Cheng?’
’Impossible. Absolutely impossible.’
’I’ll just wait a bit longer. Maybe it’s the weather. They probably thought I wouldn’t set up shop today, so they didn’t come.’
...
Shen Lu glanced down at the fried rice and fried noodles, not a single order of which had been sold, and thought with some resentment, ’Don’t tell me I’ll have to bring Fu Cheng out here after all?’
’Nooo!’