The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

"Let’s eat first."

Shen Lu sat down at the table. Wang Daguo asked curiously, "Boss Shen, aren’t you eating with Fu Cheng today?"

Shen Lu ladled some porridge. "He has more check-ups to do, so he went to the hospital early this morning."

She had Ye Fan take him. She even packed breakfast for the two of them. ’I wonder if a big, rough guy like Ye Fan knows how to feed someone?’

At the hospital, Fu Cheng was in low spirits without Shen Lu by his side. While waiting for his next scan after the nurse drew his blood, Ye Fan was wolfing down breakfast.

To save time, Shen Lu had set a pot of eight-treasure porridge to cook the night before. In the morning, she steamed some scallion flower rolls. It was a simple but delicious meal.

Fu Cheng was hungry.

But Ye Fan showed no intention of feeding him breakfast. Of course, Fu Cheng didn’t like being fed by people he wasn’t familiar with anyway.

He slowly raised his left hand and held it out, palm up, toward Ye Fan.

Ye Fan, chewing on a flower roll, grunted, "What? You want breakfast?"

Fu Cheng nodded slowly.

"Wait until I’m done." Ye Fan had never fed anyone breakfast before, but it wasn’t like it was a difficult task. Still, he had to satisfy his own hunger before it was Fu Cheng’s turn.

Fu Cheng stubbornly kept his hand outstretched. The look in his one remaining right eye was enough to create intense pressure.

This was the intimidating aura of a Level 6 Dual Ability User.

Ye Fan felt a little uncomfortable. The man was clearly a cripple, lying on a flatbed cart no higher than his waist, yet he still felt a sense of fear.

"Fine, eat it yourself then."

Ye Fan shoved the flower roll into his hand and paid him no more mind.

Fu Cheng didn’t mind. He sluggishly brought the roll to his mouth and ate it bit by bit.

Just as he finished one roll, it was Fu Cheng’s turn for his check-up. Ye Fan waited outside, bored, and started shooting the breeze in the group chat.

Ye Fan: Just finished breakfast. Boss Shen’s cooking is amazing.

Little Bei: ? You guys got breakfast? I thought meals weren’t included.

Ye Fan: They’re not. I paid for it. It’s a staff meal I piggybacked on.

Little Bei: Fuck, if I’d known that was an option, I would’ve snatched up this job.

Ye Fan: Too bad. You all seemed pretty disgusted with the idea at the time.

Sun Yong: It wasn’t disgust. We were busy with other things and didn’t see the mission notice from the boss.

Ye Fan: Heh, you think I’d believe that?

Xue Can: Chatting idly instead of keeping watch?

Ye Fan tensed up and quickly explained: I’m on an outside assignment, not at the shop.

A private message from Xue Can came in.

Xue Can: The underground black clinic again?

Ye Fan had already informed Xue Can about Shen Lu taking someone to an underground black clinic a couple of days ago. It was a matter that could be big or small, and Ye Fan felt it was better to report it.

Besides, Xue Can had given orders that it was best to report everything, big or small, that happened at Shen Lu’s shop.

Ye Fan: No, we’re at a hospital in the Lower City District. Uh, Boss Shen had me bring Fu Cheng here for a check-up.

Xue Can: Her half-dead fiancé?

For some reason, Ye Fan thought the boss’s words sounded a bit sour.

Ye Fan: Yes.

Xue Can: What are the results?

Ye Fan: They’re not out yet. It’ll probably be this afternoon.

Xue Can: Right, got it. And less chatting in the group.

Ye Fan: Understood.

Closing the chat window, he saw Fu Cheng had been wheeled out. The nurse told him there were still two more tests to do.

Ye Fan scratched his hair in annoyance, but patiently pushed the cart over.

The whole process took over two hours to finish. The doctor told them to go home and wait; the full results wouldn’t be out until the next day.

On the way back, Ye Fan pushed the cart so fast he was practically flying. A few times, when going over large potholes, he nearly jostled Fu Cheng right off.

"Sorry, buddy! Just hang in there!" Ye Fan said, holding down Fu Cheng as he bounced off the cart. His apology was completely insincere.

Fu Cheng gave him a cold look. ’What else can I do but endure it?’ he thought. ’Should I risk falling into another long coma just to use my superpower to teach him a lesson over something so trivial?’

He wasn’t that stupid.

When they returned to the shop, Shen Lu was swamped. She told Ye Fan to take Fu Cheng back to the spare bedroom.

At 11:30, the braised pork belly, kung pao chicken, stir-fried baby bok choy, cold-tossed radish skins, hot and sour shredded potatoes, assorted braised meats, and malatang were all ready on time. The moment she opened the shop’s front door, about ten people came in.

"It’s you?!" Shen Lu instantly recognized the four people who had eaten here yesterday. "What would you like to have today?"

"Boss Shen, can two of us still share one set meal?" the man with glasses asked.

"You can, but the price of one set meal only gets you one portion. If you don’t get full, you can’t secretly give me a bad rating, okay?" Shen Lu said, half-joking.

She could accept one or two low-star ratings, but with so many people coming to share meals, who knew if someone would take advantage of her generosity and still curse her out?

"Of course we wouldn’t."

"Haha, I’m just kidding. Please, come on in."

Shen Lu guided the customers inside to order as usual. She didn’t plan on being the hostess forever; it was mainly because the shop had just opened and they were short-staffed, so she had to fill the role.

Besides, it allowed her to interact with customers up close, get the freshest feedback, and make timely adjustments.

Once the customers got used to this dining style, she wouldn’t have to keep doing this job.

The new arrivals seemed to have planned it, automatically pairing up. Each pair ordered the set meal they wanted and went to a more secluded corner to eat.

Shen Lu noticed they had also brought their own Insect Cakes.

’Can they really stomach that stuff with my food?’

Wang Daguo saw it too and couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, "Holy shit, isn’t that just like eating rice mixed with cement?"

He was one of the people who knew from deep experience. After eating Shen Lu’s cooking, it took immense courage to go back to eating Insect Cakes.

Shen Lu didn’t pay it too much mind. She saw her mission progress increasing by +1 with each customer, and the satisfaction rating was holding steady above three and a half stars, approaching Four Stars. She believed that with a little more time, the constant stream of new positive reviews would offset the ultra-low ratings from Gao Jie and his group on opening day.

A few members of the Gale Mercenary Corps trickled in. Shen Lu recognized their faces but didn’t know their names. Still, since she did business with Xue Can, there was no harm in offering a smile.

Jin San scoffed, thinking Shen Lu’s smile was sycophantic.

He had done a simple background check on Shen Lu. A "fake young miss" switched at birth, kicked out of her rich family, now relying on her useless fiancé to survive. She had no complex or profound background, nor did she have any shocking connections to back her up.

She was clearly a small fry who could be easily controlled, yet the Corps Leader kept hesitating to make a move, even acting all protective as if she were his own.

’What was that Little Bei said? If Xue Can was going to make a move, he would have done it already?’

’What kind of "make a move" was he talking about, exactly?’

If you asked him, Xue Can had clearly taken a liking to the girl.

Instead of just snatching her, he had to play these roundabout games. It was truly disgusting.

And this girl, Shen Lu, was even worse. She was stringing Xue Can along while she still had a fiancé. She looked all pure and innocent, but who knew how much of a slut she was in private.

He, Jin San, had seen plenty of two-faced women like her. Someone of Shen Lu’s caliber was nothing in his eyes.