Chapter 65: Is the Light Brain Really That Fun?
Bai Wanwan stared at the chat screen for a long moment before kicking her brother.
"I seriously think Shen Lu is acting like she’s possessed."
Bai Lei didn’t dare dodge his sister’s kick, taking it without complaint.
"What is it now?"
"I just saw she was online and sent her a few messages. She wasn’t passive-aggressive with me for once, and she even sent me a sticker..."
In the past, whenever they chatted, it was basically them declaring war on each other. Their conversations were always full of tension, rarely peaceful.
It wasn’t that Bai Wanwan thought this was a bad thing; she just... hadn’t gotten used to it yet.
Bai Lei munched on some melon seeds. "It’s perfectly normal. She’s been through so much. She’s not the young miss of the Shen Family anymore, just the lower-class citizen Shen Lu. Naturally, she’s lost some of her confidence and arrogance."
"Are you sure she has no arrogance?"
’If she had no arrogance, why would she refuse Bai Lei’s partnership offer?’
"Alright, I take back that last part. She’s probably just become more tactful."
"I really don’t know what she’s thinking. Why refuse to work with you? A place like the Lower City District is so filthy, chaotic, and smelly. Why would she want to stay there?"
Bai Lei shrugged. "Who knows."
Meanwhile, Shen Lu was fascinated by the Light Brain, like a small child with a new toy.
As someone who used to be a hardcore internet user, Shen Lu had almost forgotten what the joy of surfing the web felt like.
The Light Brain, as an upgraded version of a phone, had a comprehensive and powerful set of functions.
The light screen could be enlarged without limit. Shen Lu could watch dramas, scroll through Big Eyes, and watch videos on DouDou all at the same time. She could even browse the orange shopping app to see what the e-commerce platforms here sold.
The software here wasn’t as varied as in her previous life. There was basically only one app for each function, with no duplicates.
The joy of surfing the web was exhilarating. Even after midnight, Shen Lu was still wide awake.
Fu Cheng, who was waiting for Shen Lu to come to bed, wished he could sit up and turn off her Light Brain.
’Is the Light Brain really that fun?’
’So fun you’d forget to eat or sleep?’
Because the original owner’s identity had changed, all her previous accounts on various platforms were now defunct.
So, Shen Lu registered a new account on every platform with the ID "Little Deer Cuisine."
If she wanted to make her little shop bigger and stronger, online promotion was essential. Shen Lu hadn’t thought of a promotion plan yet, but registering the accounts was a good first step.
Glancing at the time, Shen Lu almost let out a shriek.
’I was just playing on the Light Brain for a bit, how is it one in the morning already!’
’This is a disaster!’
She had to wake up early tomorrow, and she hadn’t even started braising the chicken legs and dried tofu.
Shen Lu scrambled to get the chicken legs and dried tofu braising. By the time she finally lay down in bed, half an hour had passed.
Fortunately, she fell asleep quickly, sinking into a deep slumber in less than a minute.
Fu Cheng, who had been waiting for a long time, took her hand and let out a long, soft sigh.
’Seeing her so busy every day, she hasn’t had a proper rest in so long, let alone any time to play. No wonder she’d lose track of time playing on the Light Brain.’
’If only I could help her.’
「 ... 」
Shen Lu was a sound sleeper. Although she’d slept a few hours less than yesterday, she was still in good spirits.
Pulling her hand from Fu Cheng’s palm, Shen Lu got out of bed and stretched.
She quickly washed up and ate, put several more pounds of chicken legs and dried tofu on to braise, then grabbed her tools and headed out to the junkyard with Cai Su.
There were only a few days left before her "novice benefit period" ended. She had to milk the system for all it was worth.
After two hours of scavenging, Shen Lu and Cai Su returned to the small house to prep ingredients.
They washed and chopped, then loaded everything onto the cart. Once Wang Daguo arrived, he would push it to Gold Street.
DING DONG~ Mission issued: Please sell 65 cups of mint water, 55 orders of egg waffles, 55 orders of malatang, 55 orders of fried rice, 55 orders of fried noodles, and 25 orders of braised snacks.
Shen Lu asked the system, "Are there no bonus missions today?"
Bonus missions are generated randomly and are not issued on a fixed schedule.
Shen Lu: "Alright then."
Cai Su came over holding her child, and Shen Lu remembered she had promised yesterday to go to the clinic with her.
"Brother Wang, could I ask you for a favor?" Shen Lu called out shyly to Wang Daguo, who was about to leave. "I need to run to the clinic. I’ll be right back, probably in about ten minutes. Would that be okay?"
"Sure." It wasn’t actually convenient for Wang Daguo, but he and Shen Lu had been working together for so long, it would be wrong not to help with something small like this. "Boss Shen, it would be best if you could come back quickly. Things have been really busy over there lately."
Speaking of which, Wang Daguo was quite frustrated.
Too many people had died recently, so they’d hired several more temporary workers, but he still hadn’t been made a permanent employee.
The pay for temporary workers was quite low, only 50 Star Coins a day. If he could become a permanent employee, his salary would double, and he’d get benefits.
Shen Lu nodded, and calling to Cai Su and her child, she walked to the clinic as fast as she could.
Doctor Xiao was in his office reading a medical book. When he saw them arrive, he closed the cover, went to the dispensary to get the medicine, and skillfully administered the IV to Xiao Lang before giving him a routine check-up.
"You’ve been giving him better nutrition recently, haven’t you?" Doctor Xiao withdrew his hand. "Keep it up. It’s good for him."
’Better nutrition?’
Cai Su was completely baffled. She hadn’t been giving Xiao Lang any extra nutrition recently. He was eating the same things as before... ’Oh, wait. There were the egg waffles and the millet and pumpkin congee from Shen Lu.’
Afraid that taking too long would cause trouble for Wang Daguo, Shen Lu paid the 2,000 Star Coin medical fee and hurried back to the stall with Cai Su.
Wang Daguo was sitting in a chair, waiting in utter boredom. When he saw the two of them return, he immediately stood up.
"Boss Shen, you’re back."
"Thank you."
"No problem, no problem, it was nothing. I’ll get going then." Wang Daguo started to walk away. "Let’s just settle the payment this afternoon like usual."
"Alright," Shen Lu nodded.
By now, a crowd had already gathered around the stall, urging Shen Lu to hurry up and start selling.
Shen Lu soothed the customers while starting on the fried rice. Customers who didn’t need fried rice or fried noodles could form a separate line to buy other things first.
The crowd naturally split into two lines, remaining quite orderly.
Around noon, business hit its peak. Shen Lu and Cai Su were so busy they didn’t even have time to look up.
It only started to calm down after one o’clock.
This was when Bai Lei and Bai Wanwan arrived. It had rained yesterday, and although it was brief and the sun had come out afterward, a faint stench still lingered in the air.
Because of this, both siblings were wearing respirator masks.
The siblings bought two deluxe combos. While waiting for them to be packed, Bai Wanwan complained, "Shen Lu, you’re not actually planning to stay in the Lower City District for the rest of your life, are you?"
Shen Lu couldn’t be bothered to explain anything to Bai Wanwan, so she just gave a perfunctory "Mhm."
Bai Wanwan was very displeased with her attitude. "What’s so great about this place? It’s filthy and chaotic. Whenever it rains, it’s like a stinking sewer, not to mention during the sandstorm season and winter."
"Your order is packed." Shen Lu handed over the food containers. "Next customer, what would you like?"
Bai Lei tugged on his sister’s arm, and the two of them stepped aside.
"What are you doing!" Bai Wanwan glared at him.
"I need to tell you something." Bai Lei led Bai Wanwan toward the parking area. "I think I know why Shen Lu won’t partner with me."