Chapter 121: I Hope You Get Well Soon
To this day, Bai Wanwan still refused to believe that the special effect Shen Lu’s food had on the Spiritual Sea came from Shen Lu herself.
She had asked her brother numerous times—Shen Lu didn’t have a superpower. Since she was just an ordinary person without one, the key had to be the ingredients.
To this day, no one knew where Shen Lu got her ingredients.
Perhaps investigating the source of the ingredients was the key.
Shen Lu seemed more like a shield pushed to the forefront. Bai Wanwan even suspected that Shen Lu herself had no idea about the effects of the food she was selling.
Bai Lei was fired up by his sister’s comment that he wasn’t a child anymore.
’That’s right, I’m an adult now,’ he thought. ’But I’ve always lived under the family’s protection and haven’t contributed a single thing.’
’If I can figure out the secret behind Shen Lu’s food, it’ll be undeniable proof of my own abilities.’
"You’re right," Bai Lei said, turning off his Light Brain. "Let’s go to the Lower City District tomorrow."
To investigate Shen Lu’s secrets, they would of course need to strengthen their connection with her.
Bai Wanwan nodded. "Fine. It’s a good chance to eat at Shen Lu’s new restaurant."
Before bed, Bai Wanwan specifically instructed a servant to make her noodles for breakfast, reminding them to heat up the braised pork Shen Lu had given her and use it as a topping.
The servant agreed.
Bai Wanwan had a wonderful night’s sleep. But when she went downstairs for breakfast the next day, her noodles only had egg and scallions. The braised pork was nowhere in sight.
"Where’s my braised pork?" Bai Wanwan demanded.
The servant didn’t dare to look up. "...Th-the Young Master... ate it."
The Young Master had woken up earlier than the Young Miss. While she was heating the food, he had darted into the kitchen and, without a word, eaten all of the braised pork.
’My sister is so devious, trying to hoard the dish Shen Lu made all for herself. It’s a good thing I’m an early riser, or I would have missed out.’
Bai Lei, gloating, grabbed two steamed buns and fled as if making an escape.
He had eaten all the braised pork, and Bai Wanwan was sure to fly into a rage.
He had no intention of sticking around to face her wrath.
’Not listening, not listening, la la la.’
’She started it, after all.’
「Lower City District. Gold Street. Little Deer Cuisine.」
After a long day’s work, Shen Lu rubbed her eyes as she crawled out of bed. She only started to feel awake after washing up.
Normally, now that she didn’t have to go scavenge at the junkyard, Shen Lu’s mornings should have been fairly free.
But she had gotten back too late last night and hadn’t taught Cai Su how to make the braised dishes yet. That meant she had to prepare them herself this morning for the lunch rush.
Cai Su always woke up earlier than Shen Lu. By the time Shen Lu came downstairs, Cai Su was already mopping the floor.
"Morning, Sister Cai," Shen Lu greeted her.
"Morning, Boss Shen," Cai Su replied with a small smile, finishing up the last patch of floor. "I’ll just wash the mop and then I’ll be in the kitchen."
Cai Su eagerly looked forward to making breakfast every morning, as it was also the time when Shen Lu taught her how to cook.
"Okay."
Shen Lu went into the back kitchen first to change, then moved some ingredients from the pantry.
She had just placed the ingredients on the counter when Cai Su came in, quickly changed into her chef’s uniform, and joined her.
"Boss Shen, what are we making this morning?"
"Let’s make some savory crepes. They’re nutritious."
’I didn’t let any dough rise last night,’ Shen Lu thought, ’otherwise I’d be in the mood for some fried dough sticks and soy milk.’
She mixed flour and water into a relatively thin batter, then whisked in eggs, chopped scallions, and a bit of salt. Shen Lu took out a flat-bottomed pan and demonstrated for Cai Su twice, explaining the key points before letting her take over.
With Shen Lu watching over her, the first crepe came out perfectly. For the second one, Shen Lu let Cai Su try to figure out the right time to flip it on her own. It got a little charred, but it was still fine.
"Take your time. If you’re not sure, you can lift the edge with chopsticks to take a look."
After leaving Cai Su to practice, Shen Lu went to work on the braised dishes. She had just finished washing the ingredients when the back kitchen door opened a crack and Wang Daguo’s head poked through.
"Boss Shen, Sister Cai, I’m here."
Shen Lu said, "Perfect timing. Come in and lend a hand."
"Okay."
Wang Daguo went to change into his chef’s uniform and came over to Shen Lu. "Boss Shen, what do you need me to do?"
"Put these chicken legs in this pot." Shen Lu assigned the simple manual labor to Wang Daguo while she prepared the braising liquid.
Cai Su had a bit of a knack for cooking. By her fifth crepe, she had already perfectly mastered the timing for flipping. She just couldn’t flip it by tossing the pan like Shen Lu and still needed to use a spatula.
’But tossing the pan isn’t that hard,’ Cai Su thought. ’I’m sure I can learn to do it.’
They made dozens of savory crepes until the large bowl of batter was completely used up.
Shen Lu sent a message to Ye Fan and Lin Zhou, telling them to come over for breakfast. A minute later, she accepted a payment from Ye Fan for a day’s worth of meals.
’I’m still taking a loss on this,’ she mused. ’The deal was for one person’s portion per meal, but I always give them a little extra.’
’Hopefully, the two money-minded mercenaries will be more dedicated to protecting my little restaurant.’
The crepes were a bit dry on their own, so Shen Lu gave everyone a carton of milk and some chilled, dressed radish skins.
Cai Su took her breakfast back to her dorm to eat with her son. Wang Daguo ate with Ye Fan and Lin Zhou in the main dining area. Shen Lu, needing to feed Fu Cheng, returned to the living quarters on the second floor.
Shen Lu set up a tray table and began tearing a crepe into small pieces for Fu Cheng while telling him about the Light Brain.
"I bought it for you. You definitely had a Light Brain before, so this one will need to be bound to you. Can you handle that yourself?"
Fu Cheng’s situation was different from hers.
All of her citizen information had been updated, which was like having her entire record wiped and reformatted. She didn’t need to unbind an old Light Brain; she could just link a new one directly.
Although Fu Cheng had been abandoned by the Fu Family, he was still Fu Cheng. To use a new Light Brain, he’d have to unbind his previous one. It wasn’t difficult, just a bit of a hassle.
The iris scan in particular was a concern; she didn’t know if he could pass it with only one eye.
Fu Cheng blinked at her, signaling that it wasn’t a problem.
"Eat first. We’ll deal with that after."
With the Light Brain on his mind, Fu Cheng was clearly eating much faster today.
Shen Lu glanced at him. "So, you *can* eat this fast?"
Fu Cheng paused mid-chew, looking a little guilty.
Before, it was true that his body had been weak. But now that he was much better, he had been deliberately maintaining his previous, slower eating pace.
As for why... he just wanted to spend a little more time with Shen Lu.
Shen Lu, oblivious to his little scheme, said happily, "Looks like you’re getting better and better!"
’When I first got here,’ she thought, ’Fu Cheng was practically a dead man.’
’I still remember seeing him being gnawed on by rats. It’s just heartbreaking and pitiful to think about.’
’And now, I’ve nursed that half-dead man back to health, little by little!’
Shen Lu couldn’t help but recall a stray cat she had once rescued. When she found it, the cat was just skin and bones, its eyes were matted shut with filth, and it was so small and weak it could barely walk.
Shen Lu had just graduated from college at the time and had very little money, but she still scooped it up and took it to a veterinary hospital, spending every last penny she had.
Unfortunately, the kitten was too sick. It held on for three days before passing away.
Shen Lu knew it wasn’t her fault, but she still carried that regret with her.
In a way, watching Fu Cheng recover healed a part of that regret.
At this thought, Shen Lu’s gaze toward Fu Cheng softened with an almost motherly affection. She gently patted his bandaged head and offered a heartfelt blessing, "I really hope you get well soon."