Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Awaiting Her Answer with a Burning Gaze

Everyone around them shot him furious glares, looking like they wanted to skin him alive.

If you don’t know how to talk, then just shut up!

They were all working-class people. Every bit saved was a bit earned. Saving 30 Star Coins a day meant they could afford another meal in three days.

No one had it easy making money. They supported Shen Lu because they were afraid the shop would close down, but that didn’t mean they wanted to get ripped off.

Shen Lu took in everyone’s reactions and expressions, but she just offered a nonchalant smile in response.

She shifted her gaze back to the men who had been demanding free food. Her tone was flat, her eyes challenging. "Do you gentlemen have any other questions? If not, please don’t hold up the other customers. After all, everyone’s time is precious."

"Hmph, this dump of a shop? I wouldn’t even want to come here!" the man huffed, desperately trying to save face. He put on a show of being furious, pushed through the crowd, and left in a huff.

Seeing this, the men who had come with him exchanged a look and also left without a word.

Shen Lu casually added them to her blacklist. They wouldn’t be able to set foot in her shop ever again.

The crowd dispersed, and everyone went back to choosing and buying their meals.

The flavor was just as Shen Lu had said—unchanged—but the texture wasn’t quite as good as before.

But this was to be expected.

The truth was, the vegetables sold to the Lower City District were the leftovers from the Upper City District. The fresh, crisp produce was always picked over by merchants from the Upper City District first. What remained—the slightly withered stuff—was then sold to the Lower City District at the same price.

You could say it was unfair, that if the quality was lower, the price should be too.

But then, you could just choose not to buy it.

The Imperial City’s cultivation bases were all state-owned. Merchants bid for the rights to operate and grow produce there. So if you didn’t buy from them, your only other option was to find a way to get vegetables yourself.

Shen Lu kept a close eye on the star-lights at the counter, watching the glow subtly lengthen, then subtly shorten again.

In the end, it stabilized at just over three stars.

She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ’It seems the price drop worked after all.’

[DING DONG. Detected Braised Pork Set sales 480/480, Kung Pao Chicken Set sales 380/380. Total revenue has reached 90,000. Customer satisfaction is at three stars or higher. Mission complete. Reward: one Lottery Ticket.]

Alright!

’Today’s mission is complete!’

「...」

The men Shen Lu had kicked out started to feel a little regretful after leaving the shop.

"Brother Chicken, we didn’t get the Braised Pork Set. How are we going to explain this to Third Brother when we get back?"

The man called Brother Chicken was the one who had been shouting the loudest earlier, demanding Shen Lu give them free food.

Brother Chicken ran a hand through his hair, shoving his hands into his pockets in frustration. "Ask, ask, ask, what’s the use of asking me? You guys are fucking useless! Did you have shit in your mouths back there? Not a single one of you said a word to that bitch!"

The others thought: ’You’ve got some nerve. You didn’t win against that bitch either, did you? You just got chewed out and kicked out.’

’We’re all cut from the same cloth. This is just the pot calling the kettle black.’

But they only dared to think these things, not say them out loud.

The men put their heads together. They definitely couldn’t go back in to buy the food themselves, but they couldn’t fail the mission their boss had given them. In the end, they could only grab a kid and have him buy it for them.

"Listen up, you little brat. Here’s 90 Star Coins. Go in there, buy one Braised Pork Set to go, and bring it back here. We’ll be waiting," Brother Chicken said, holding the boy’s head and patting it menacingly. "If you dare try to run off with the money and we catch you, we’ll pull down your pants, chop off your little dick, and eat it with our drinks, got it?!"

The little boy’s face was blank, his gaze a bit dazed. Brother Chicken found the kid interesting and pinched his cheek. "What are you staring at? Believe it or not, I’ll pull your pants down right now!"

"Where’s the money?" The little boy held out his hand. "Don’t you want me to buy food? It’s already past one. If I don’t go now, they might run out."

Brother Chicken shot one of his men a look, who then stuffed the money into the little boy’s hand.

After taking the money, the little boy turned and left.

The men stood at the mouth of a nearby alley, watching the boy. They were still a little worried he might not be able to resist the temptation and would either run off with the money or order the meal and eat it himself.

Shen Lu noticed the little boy as soon as he entered the shop.

She narrowed her eyes. Then she remembered.

"You’re Fang Ming, right?"

Fang Ming nodded, a little stunned. He hadn’t expected Shen Lu to actually remember him.

"Here to eat?" Shen Lu really wanted to ask him about going outside the city to bury Fang Peng. Everyone said it was dangerous out there. With his mother being so frail and him being so young, how did they manage to get back?

To be honest, after so many days had passed, Shen Lu had even asked Wang Daguo about them twice, but he said he wasn’t sure; it seemed like they hadn’t returned.

Shen Lu had assumed they’d met with disaster. To see Fang Ming appear before her today, safe and sound, was both surprising and intriguing.

But it was a painful topic for him, so Shen Lu could only suppress her curiosity.

Of course, Fang Ming wasn’t here to eat.

How could his family afford to eat out? His father had passed away, taking with him the family’s only source of income. He and his mother had to be more frugal than ever.

It was just...

He glanced at the Star Coins in his hand and sighed softly.

’I should take care of what those gangster-looking guys asked me to do first. I can talk about my own business after that.’

"I’d like one Braised Pork Set, to go."

"Alright. This is your first time eating at my shop, isn’t it?" Shen Lu felt a pang of pity for Fang Ming and personally led him to the service window to get his food.

The little boy had never been to a restaurant before, much less seen so many fragrant, tempting dishes laid out in large platters right before his eyes.

Wasn’t he tempted?

Of course he was!

Fang Ming swallowed hard and forced himself to look away.

He was afraid that if he stared any longer, he might get ideas he shouldn’t have.

With the heavy food container in his hand, Fang Ming finally remembered his own reason for coming.

"Boss Shen, I actually came today because there’s something I want to ask you."

Shen Lu leaned on the counter. "Oh? What is it?"

"I ran into Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci at the junkyard today. They were picking through the trash, and I overheard them say you buy high-quality scrap metal here. I wanted to ask... can I collect some and bring it to you too?"

As Fang Ming spoke, his head drooped.

He hadn’t gotten the information in an entirely honorable way. Although he had overheard it by accident, he had come directly to Shen Lu without asking the Wang Xiaohui sisters first, which wasn’t a very nice thing to do.

But he was also afraid that if he asked the Wang Xiaohui sisters, they wouldn’t tell him, or worse, they might even try to trip him up to monopolize this small way of making money.

His mother’s health had been getting worse since his father’s death. As the only man left in the family, Fang Ming felt it was up to him to support them now.

If he didn’t find a way to earn money for his mother’s medical treatment, he would soon lose her, too.

At this thought, a surge of courage welled up in Fang Ming’s chest. He suddenly lifted his head and met Shen Lu’s gaze bravely.

His eyes burned with anticipation as he waited for her answer.

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