The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

Shen Lu rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have misread. ’What could I possibly need Bai Wanwan’s help with?’

Shen Lu: If you wanted to eat, why didn’t you come yesterday?

Bai Wanwan: [eye_roll.jpg]

Bai Wanwan: Not to mention all the people, there were even influencers livestreaming. Do you think I don’t care about my image?

Bai Wanwan and Bai Lei had actually come yesterday.

The two of them arrived a bit late, right as the business regulators showed up to check for a license.

Bai Wanwan had even nudged her brother, telling him to go out and handle the situation.

"Xue Can definitely can’t handle this. Go on, little bro, it’s your time to shine."

Bai Lei remained perfectly composed. "No rush. Even if a hero is going to make an entrance, it has to be at the moment of greatest crisis. That’s how you maximize the favorability boost."

Bai Wanwan gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice, little brother. I’m starting to see you have the makings of a Family Head."

The two siblings waited for Shen Lu to be unable to handle the situation so they could make their grand entrance. Instead, they watched as Shen Lu pulled out a permit issued by the main bureau and sent the regulators away.

Bai Lei: ...

Bai Wanwan: ...

Then Shen Lan started causing trouble, but again, before the two could step in, Shen Lu resolved the matter herself.

It felt like they had waited for nothing.

Watching the crayfish competition contestants eat until their faces were flushed and necks were straining, Bai Lei’s mouth watered. He almost couldn’t resist signing up himself.

But Bai Wanwan grabbed him and held him back.

"Believe it or not, the second you appear on camera, videos of the Bai Family’s second young master eating crayfish in the Lower City District will be all over our social circle by tonight."

Bai Lei wrung his hands in frustration. "Why can’t Shen Lu just cooperate with me and open a shop in the Upper City District? Why does she insist on opening one in the Lower City District?"

Forced to only watch and not eat, the two siblings returned home full of regret.

Bai Wanwan had sent Shen Lu quite a few messages, repeatedly asking her to save some crayfish that she would buy at a high price.

Unfortunately, Shen Lu was incredibly busy and had muted her notifications. Even when she had free time later, she never got around to opening them.

Unaware that the Bai Family Siblings had come and gone in secret, Shen Lu replied in a flat tone, "Well, nothing to be done about it then," intending to end the conversation.

Bai Wanwan: What do you mean, nothing to be done about it?

Shen Lu: The crayfish are all gone. There are no more.

The crayfish cultivated by the Imperial City’s seafood merchants weren’t as high-quality as the ones from the system, so Shen Lu had no plans to buy any. Nor did she intend to recreate the braised crayfish anytime soon. If Bai Wanwan wanted to eat, she’d either have to order from the menu in the restaurant or wait for Shen Lu to host another crayfish competition someday.

Shen Lu tapped her finger, preparing to mute Bai Wanwan’s messages. ’This young lady sends eight hundred messages a day. It’s really too much.’

Bai Wanwan: You really...!

Bai Wanwan: Forget it, forget it. I won’t stoop to your level.

Bai Wanwan: You haven’t forgotten about Shen Lan’s birthday party tonight, have you?

Bai Wanwan: Come over to my place this afternoon. I’ll find a suitable dress for you and do your makeup.

Shen Lu paused. ’Oh, if Bai Wanwan hadn’t mentioned it, I really would have forgotten.’

’But how did Bai Wanwan know I was going to Shen Lan’s birthday party?’

Shen Lu: You knew I was going?

Bai Wanwan: Everyone knows you’re going. So you’d better be dressed to the nines.

It had been some time since Shen Lan returned to the Shen Family, and she had yet to make her formal debut in their social circle. The birthday party was her chance.

Shen Lan had sent invitations to almost everyone Shen Lu had ever socialized with, as if she wanted to completely erase their impression of Shen Lu and replace it with herself.

Someone asked her if she would be inviting Shen Lu.

Shen Lan smiled and said she would.

"We were born on the same day, and we’ve had such a magical encounter. It’s a rare kind of destiny. Although Shen Lu made a little mistake before, I’m sure she has repented by now."

Hearing her say all this in that scheming, innocent-act way, Bai Wanwan just felt nauseated.

She hated these "green tea" types who put on an act. Chen Cheng was bad enough, and now there was a Shen Lan too.

Shen Lu thought for a moment, then replied to Bai Wanwan with "See you this afternoon."

It wasn’t that Shen Lu didn’t have the money to get herself dolled up; she wanted to borrow Bai Wanwan’s influence.

Shen Lan’s malice towards her was already out in the open. Shen Lu could figure out with her toes that there would definitely be some unexpected "surprises" waiting for her at the birthday party.

She didn’t have the time to get tangled up with Shen Lan, but Shen Lan’s constant attempts to make her presence known were annoying. It seemed a lesson was needed to make her behave.

Closing the chat window, Shen Lu returned to the kitchen. She picked the whole spices out of the braised pork and turned down the heat to let it continue simmering.

By now, an enticing, meaty aroma filled the entire kitchen. Just the smell alone was enough to make you want to eat three bowls of rice.

It was almost eleven o’clock, and Shen Lu started stir-frying the bok choy.

Stir-frying bok choy didn’t require any complex techniques; you just had to pay attention to the heat.

She placed the stir-fried bok choy into a large stainless steel basin and had Wang Daguo take it to the serving window in the fast-food section. The cold-dressed radish skin had already been prepared and was in place.

Shen Lu turned up the heat to briefly reduce the sauce for the braised pork. She didn’t let it get too dry, wanting to leave some clinging to the meat for maximum flavor.

The final basin, piled high with braised pork, was moved to the serving window. All the dishes for today’s set meal were now ready.

Shen Lu washed her hands, came out from the back kitchen, and opened the shop’s main doors, only to find that there weren’t as many people outside as she had expected.

"Boss Shen, are you still selling fried rice today?" a regular customer asked.

"The fried rice and fried noodles are temporarily unavailable. We’ve launched a new braised pork set meal. It’s one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, plus rice for 120 Star Coins. Would you like to try it?" Shen Lu greeted him warmly.

"B-Braised pork set meal?" The regular gulped, but the next second, he shook his head firmly. "If there’s no fried rice, then I won’t eat. Boss Shen, let me know when you’re selling fried rice again. I’ll come back then."

With that, he turned and left without a second glance, as if afraid he would regret his decision.

Shen Lu’s smile froze. ’No way. The first day of official business, and my first attempt to sell the braised pork set meal was a failure?!’

Not only that, but several other people left with him. A portion of the remaining crowd stood outside the door, hesitating. It was the fashionably late Boss Zhou who was the first to step through the entrance.

His pace quickened noticeably, especially after Shen Lu introduced today’s menu.

"Braised pork? That’s my favorite! Come, come, hurry and get me a set meal."

Shen Lu could only suppress her confusion and lead Boss Zhou to the fast-food section.

Grabbing a tray, Boss Zhou figured out the process on his own and walked up to the serving window. Gazing at the basins of fragrant food, he was practically drooling.

Standing inside the window, Cai Su, following her boss’s instructions, used a ladle to serve the customer. One scoop of each dish was the standard, but at Boss Zhou’s request, she also drizzled a spoonful of the braised pork sauce over his rice.

Further down were braised snacks and malatang, but Boss Zhou only added an extra braised chicken leg and didn’t get anything else.

After paying, he eagerly went to a seat to enjoy his meal, even starting a video call with his wife.

"I told you to come with me, but you weren’t interested. Said there probably wouldn’t be any good food. Well, look! Braised pork! Delicious, fragrant braised pork. You regret it now, don’t you?"

After showing off, Boss Zhou took a large bite of the braised pork, his eyes squinting in pure bliss.