The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

The reporter gladly accepted. He rubbed his hands together, boldly declaring that he would seize the final victory.

Shen Lu returned to the fast-food area and hosted the match the reporter was participating in.

Unfortunately, the reporter was up against Gao Jie, who was entering for the second time. This time, Gao Jie’s objective was clear. As soon as Shen Lu shouted for them to start, he transformed into a merciless crawfish-eating machine, devouring eight of them at a jaw-dropping speed and successfully advancing to the semi-finals.

Shen Lu recognized the man from the Upper City District, and the corners of her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Congratulations to this contestant on successfully advancing to the semi-finals. Please wait to the side."

Gao Jie leisurely wiped his hands, his attitude as arrogant as ever.

Little did he know, the cameraman from "Big Seeker Hot Takes" had filmed him eating the crawfish. After a quick edit, the clip was posted online.

"Shocking! Could This Be the One-in-a-Million Crawfish-Eating King?"

"Big Seeker Hot Takes" was already a promotional account with a sizable fanbase, so new videos quickly garnered likes. With the added boost from Shen Lu’s traffic accelerator, this video shot to the top of the trending list in no time.

Not only that, but the number of viewers on the "Big Seeker Hot Takes" livestream was also constantly rising. The viewer count even surpassed one million, especially during the period when the people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce arrived.

All this buzz centered around Little Deer Cuisine. So, by the time night fell, the crowd in front of the restaurant had grown instead of shrinking. Surprisingly, people from the Upper City District made up half of the crowd.

But Shen Lu was no longer accepting registrations.

For one, the supply of braised crawfish was about to run out. For another, it was getting too late. She was a person, not a machine; she couldn’t keep running forever.

This displeased many who had rushed over from the Upper City District. They clamored that Shen Lu had better know what was good for her, or they would make her regret it.

It was all just talk, though. After all, with Xue Can standing guard and the shop’s own defenses being decent, they couldn’t stir up any real trouble. The situation remained more or less under control.

At ten o’clock that night, the finals concluded. Gao Jie clinched the final victory with an extraordinary performance.

"Congratulations, Mr. Gao, on taking first place, winning the championship with a record of eleven crawfish in one minute." Shen Lu clapped for him sincerely. "You are now a permanent member of our establishment. Whenever you dine here, you will receive a 20% discount on all dishes."

Shen Lu respectfully handed him a golden card with a cute little deer on it.

"This card is non-transferable and for your personal use only. Please don’t damage it, and be sure to keep it safe, Mr. Gao."

The membership card was a product of the system, and Shen Lu had chosen the design herself.

"What kind of good food could a place like this possibly make?" Gao Jie said dismissively, but he took the membership card anyway. "If you have the braised crawfish, though, I might consider coming back."

Shen Lu’s smile didn’t falter. "The choice is yours."

’Come or don’t. See if I care.’

The competition had finally drawn to a close. All Shen Lu wanted was to close up and rest, but the people outside had other ideas.

Gold Street was always bustling at night, but today it was exceptionally crowded, which even boosted business for the other shops.

With great effort, Shen Lu dispersed the crowd and invited everyone who had helped her that day into the shop.

Shen Lu switched the floor-to-ceiling windows to privacy mode, blocking the view from the outside.

"Thank you all for your hard work today." Shen Lu’s voice was hoarse and listless as she handed out their payments one by one.

Ma Laosan accepted his pay without hesitation. ’Damn right,’ he thought. ’After collecting "management fees" on Gold Street for so many years, this is the first time I’ve ever done a full day of honest-to-god work. I’ve earned this!’

"Your business is booming, Boss Shen." Ma Laosan was very satisfied with the amount Shen Lu paid him; it was enough for him and his boys to live large for ten days or so. "Well, we won’t bother you any longer. We’ve been hungry all day, so we’re off to find something to eat."

In truth, he would have much rather eaten at Shen Lu’s, but from the looks of her, she clearly didn’t have the energy to cook anymore.

Ma Laosan left with his Ma Zai. Shen Lu then paid the mother and daughter from the Wang Family and had Wang Daguo take them home to rest.

That left Xue Can and his group. Shen Lu asked them how they wanted to settle the payment.

Xue Can replied, "There were no incidents today. If you don’t mind, Boss Shen, could you sell us some portable food instead?"

This wasn’t the first time Xue Can had asked to buy food from her. His persistence baffled Shen Lu.

"If you’re not in a hurry, I can try." ’I definitely won’t have any free time during these first few days of business. Judging by today’s turnout, the next two or three days will be just as busy.’

’There are only three of us in the shop, including me. Where would I find the time to prepare extra, portable food for Xue Can?’

Xue Can was very accommodating. "No hurry. We’ll work with your schedule, Boss Shen."

Little Bei couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance.

’Is this still the boss I know?’

’Since when does the boss speak so gently to a client?’

’Oh, right. Boss Shen is no ordinary client. Tsk, tsk. To think this is what the boss is like when he’s trying to woo a girl.’

’It’s honestly... bone-chilling.’

After seeing Xue Can out, only Cai Su and Shen Lu remained in the shop.

"You should go get some rest, too. Today was crazy. We can clean up the shop tomorrow morning."

Shen Lu couldn’t hold out any longer either. She had been working nonstop since four in the morning. Every muscle in her body ached, and her eyelids felt impossibly heavy.

Cai Su was utterly exhausted. She had spent the entire day manning the sausage grill and the malatang station, selling food nonstop.

She’d even had to ask one of Xue Can’s people to pick up her child for her.

Shen Lu dragged her exhausted body up to the second floor. She didn’t even have the energy to shower. The moment she dove into her big bed, she was out like a light.

After a solid night’s sleep, Shen Lu sat up in a daze, the left side of her face completely numb.

She had slept on her stomach all night without moving, completely squashing her left cheek.

Ruffling her messy hair, Shen Lu slowly got out of bed. She sat on the edge for a moment to collect herself before finally heading to the bathroom for a shower.

While getting ready, Shen Lu checked her popularity value, and her sleepy eyes instantly shot wide open.

"My popularity value increased by 10,000 yesterday?!"

’No way. I have a rough idea of how many people showed up yesterday, and it definitely wasn’t ten thousand.’

[Have you forgotten, Host? You used the Twenty-four-hour Promotion Traffic Accelerator yesterday. Its effect is still active and won’t end until nine o’clock.]

Shen Lu retorted, "If that’s the case, why did my popularity value only go up by 10,000? This item of yours is pretty weak."

"The Imperial Capital Survival Base has a population of about four million. Let’s say only a third of them have a Light Brain. Even if only one-fifth of *that* group watched a video about Little Deer Cuisine, it still shouldn’t have resulted in only a 10,000-point increase in popularity value."

[Popularity value is calculated based on approval ratings. Over a million people viewed videos related to Little Deer Cuisine yesterday, but their approval rating was too low! So, those views couldn’t be converted into popularity value.]

Shen Lu dried her face. "So they still think I’m a fraud?"

’Honestly, you guys, I’m speechless. If you think I’m a fraud, then come and expose me! I already put the invitation out there!’

The system’s tone was regretful.

[Few residents in the Lower City District own Light Brains, and those in the Upper City District are naturally prejudiced against the Lower City District. Host, changing people’s biases is a long and arduous journey.]