Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Brought It On Themselves

Shen Lu took them straight to the Seventeenth District to find Granny Jin.

She had brought up the idea of Granny Jin moving into her shop again, but it had ultimately come to nothing.

Granny Jin insisted on staying in her own house. Perhaps her son, who might return at any moment, was the only hope she clung to, the one thing that kept her going. She couldn’t let go of that just yet.

After her health improved, she had personally gone to see Shen Lu and told her to stop sending meals over.

On occasional afternoons when the weather was nice and she was free, Granny Jin would come to the shop to sit for a while. She never stayed long, though, usually leaving after an hour at most.

"Renting a house?" Granny Jin looked at Shen Lu with some surprise but quickly composed herself. "I still have places available. What’s your price range?"

"Just something big enough for three people."

"There’s a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor. Go have a look for yourselves, and if you’re satisfied, come back and pay." Since she knew Shen Lu well, Granny Jin decided to take it easy and just handed her the key, letting her take them to see apartment 201 on her own.

Shen Lu took the key and went upstairs with Liu Qiang to see the apartment. They were back down in less than five minutes.

Liu Qiang didn’t look happy. He clearly wasn’t satisfied with the apartment.

After all, he had just come from Shen Lu’s pristine shop and had spent two days in a hospital. It was hard for him to accept such a drastic change in living conditions.

"These conditions are awful," Liu Qiang said in a low voice. "It’s even worse than our own house!"

The Liu Family’s house wasn’t luxurious, but at least it was more spacious than the rental they had just seen. The two-bedroom apartment was less than forty square meters; it would be a tight squeeze for three adults.

"When I was first kicked out of the Shen Family, I was homeless. Later, I lived in a ten-square-meter tin shack," Shen Lu said flatly, recounting her past. "Besides, you sold your house without discussing it with me. If you’re not satisfied with the place I found, then you can figure it out yourselves."

’What was there to complain about?’

’They brought this on themselves.’

Liu Qiang fell silent.

He knew that most people in the Lower City District lived in places like this. Forget three people in forty square meters; some families had three generations crammed into a space that small.

When it was time to pay, Liu Qiang looked at Shen Lu again.

"...Didn’t I already give you all my money?" Shen Lu reined in her temper. "No matter how hard you stare, I can’t magically pull money out of thin air."

"Then since you brought us here," Liu Yaozu piped up, never missing a chance to take a jab at Shen Lu, "you should be the one to pay our rent."

"If that’s how you’re going to be, then I’m done with you."

With that, Shen Lu turned and started to walk away.

Liu Qiang scrambled to stop her. "Little Deer, don’t be angry. Your brother’s hands and feet are injured, so he’s in a bad mood. We’ll pay the rent ourselves. We’ll pay."

After struggling to pay the rent, the three members of the Liu family first carried Liu Yaozu into the apartment, then went back to move their scattered furniture and belongings.

Shen Lu had no intention of lending them a hand, so she stayed in Granny Jin’s apartment to chat with her instead.

Granny Jin had seen a lot in her life. Even before Shen Lu spoke, she’d already figured out most of the situation. After Shen Lu finished explaining in a few brief sentences, Granny Jin’s brows furrowed.

"That family of yours doesn’t seem easy to deal with. Especially that... brother."

Shen Lu sighed. "He’s been spoiled rotten by his family. But as long as I’m the one dealing with him, he won’t be able to pull anything."

Granny Jin thought about it and agreed. ’That’s true.’ Shen Lu wasn’t some delicate girl who would just cry when faced with trouble. If pushed too far, she would really fight back.

"I’ll help you keep an eye on them."

She couldn’t do much more than that. After all, she was old and had limited energy.

"Thank you, Granny Jin."

She had already wasted nearly half an hour. Seeing that it was almost six, Shen Lu decided not to stay any longer.

Liu Yaozu lay on the only bed, staring at the rust-stained ceiling. Images of the exquisite decor in Shen Lu’s shop flashed through his mind.

"If I’d known we were going to live in this dump, I would’ve just stayed in the hospital," Liu Yaozu grumbled.

Liu Qiang said, "A day in the hospital costs dozens of Star Coins. How could we afford that?"

"That’s because you’re both useless!" Liu Yaozu never knew the meaning of restraint with his family. He always said whatever was on his mind, with no fear of hurting their feelings.

Even though it wasn’t the first time she had heard her son belittle her, Yang Jing was still deeply hurt.

"Yaozu, this is our situation right now. The most important thing is for you to get better. What would you like for dinner? Mom will go buy it."

"I want meat."

"Mom will go buy it right now."

"And don’t get any of that cheap stuff like chicken or duck necks. I won’t eat that."

Yang Jing nodded emphatically. "Of course not. Mom will buy you chicken legs. I’ll cook you some nice chicken legs."

’Her son had suffered so much; he deserved to eat something good to recover his strength.’

There wasn’t a market in the Seventeenth District. To buy groceries, you had to walk a long way to another district. A round trip would take at least two hours. With no time to unpack, Yang Jing got some money from her husband and rushed out, afraid that if she was late, it would delay her son’s dinner.

Shen Lu returned to her shop, put on her chef’s coat, and started making dinner.

Halfway through, Cai Su said, "I think Mr. Xue is here."

"Hm? Why is he here?"

’Shouldn’t Xue Can have left for the Zhunan Survival Base with the other high-level government officials?’

A thought struck Shen Lu. She glanced at her Light Brain, which she had been ignoring all afternoon. Sure enough, there was a message from Xue Can.

’What in the world is going on?’

’If Xue Can doesn’t leave the Imperial City for the mission, how is he supposed to meet the female lead? And if he doesn’t meet her, how is she supposed to get to the Imperial City?’

’Oh my god, please tell me I didn’t just butterfly-effect the female lead to death!’

’When the cataclysm comes, who’s going to be the savior?’

’Without the female lead’s help, how is the male lead supposed to gather enough supplies to stabilize the home front?’

Countless thoughts raced through Shen Lu’s mind in under a minute. The dish in the wok nearly burned, but luckily, Cai Su’s reminder snapped her back to reality. She quickly finished stir-frying the vegetables in front of her.

Shen Lu didn’t like having leftovers, so she usually cooked just enough for the number of people present.

Now with Xue Can joining them, there wasn’t quite enough food. It was too late to cook more rice, so Shen Lu simply boiled a handful of noodles and tossed them into a cold noodle salad.

The cold noodle salad had both a staple and vegetables, so it could serve as a main course or a side dish. It was a perfect two-for-one solution.

The food was brought to the table, and everyone took their seats. Even Fu Cheng was no exception.

Although Fu Cheng enjoyed his private meals with Shen Lu, he knew it was a hassle for her. Now that he had a wheelchair, getting upstairs and downstairs was easy. Besides, it wasn’t good to stay cooped up in his room all the time. So, he decided he would come down for dinner from now on.

Everyone reacted differently to Fu Cheng’s appearance.

Cai Su had been working for Shen Lu for a long time. While she wasn’t exactly familiar with Fu Cheng, he wasn’t a stranger either. She was genuinely happy to see him able to come downstairs to eat.

If nothing else, it meant Fu Cheng’s condition had improved dramatically.

She remembered back when they were running the street stall, Fu Cheng spent most of his time unconscious on a handcart.

Back then, she’d always had a feeling that he might just quietly stop breathing one day.

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