Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Robbery

Liu Qiang hid nothing, answering whatever Shen Lu asked.

Shen Lu pursed her lips, her gaze dropping as she seemed to consider whether to accept their items.

Just as Yang Jing and Liu Qiang were about to say more, Shen Lu spoke up. "I’ll only take the materials that pass inspection. I’ll pay the standard market price. If you agree to that, I’ll buy them. If not, we can forget it."

’They’ve been behaving themselves for the past few days.’ Shen Lu decided to cut them some slack. Besides, the sooner she gathered the materials, the sooner she could upgrade her kitchenware.

"We’re willing! Of course, we’re willing," Liu Qiang and Yang Jing said as they bent over and took the items out of their sacks one by one.

Two adults could certainly gather more scrap metal than three children, but they also brought in more substandard pieces.

Shen Lu only accepted the materials that passed her system’s inspection. The total came to 104 Star Coins.

Shen Lu didn’t ask if they wanted steamed buns or Star Coins and just paid them directly.

Liu Qiang accepted the money happily. Yang Jing dusted off her hands, a wide smile on her face. "Little Deer, I’m going to buy some nice ingredients today. Why don’t you come home for dinner?"

"I can’t. The shop is busy, and I can’t get away." Shen Lu refused outright. Liu Qiang and Yang Jing looked a little disappointed, but they weren’t surprised.

The two packed up their sacks and the rejected scrap metal, then headed home.

The moment they walked in the door, Liu Yaozu started yelling.

"So you decided to come back, did you? Are you trying to starve me to death?!"

"Yaozu, don’t talk such nonsense. How could we ever let you starve? You’re the only boy in the family!" Yang Jing went over and picked up the blanket Liu Yaozu had thrown on the floor. "Your father and I were out earning money. Look, we made over a hundred Star Coins. What do you want to eat today? Mom will go buy it for you."

Liu Yaozu shot her a disdainful look. "Just over a hundred? How many dishes can you even get with that?"

"How about a bottle of that grape-flavored nutrient liquid you like?" Liu Qiang suggested.

Liu Yaozu reluctantly nodded. "I don’t want an expired one. They get sour and taste awful."

"Okay, okay, I definitely won’t get you an expired one." Liu Qiang took the money and went to buy the nutrient liquid, leaving Yang Jing to tidy up the house.

Liu Yaozu lay quietly for a while, but he still felt restless.

His thoughts turned to Shen Lu again.

"Hasn’t that little bastard come to see us this whole time?" Liu Yaozu said crudely.

"Yaozu, don’t talk about your sister that way," Yang Jing said quietly.

"Am I wrong?!" Liu Yaozu’s voice rose. "Calling her a bastard is a compliment! Look at us! She dumped us here and hasn’t come to see us even once! No visits, no money... What’s the point of a worthless piece of trash like her?!"

"It’s not that your sister doesn’t want to come. You’ve seen her boss—he’s a real heartless bastard."

"Hmph." Liu Yaozu scoffed. He was about to curse some more when several male voices sounded from outside the house.

"Brother Yao, you in there?"

"Brother Yao, we came to see you!"

"Oh, hey, Auntie’s here."

Three young men about Liu Yaozu’s age pushed the door open and walked into the Liu Family’s home as if they owned the place.

"Ermao! Brother Tao! Xiao Shun!" A genuine smile spread across Liu Yaozu’s face. These were his three best buddies.

Yang Jing recognized the three of them, but she didn’t like Liu Yaozu associating with them.

She thought none of the three were any good and blamed them for leading her son astray into a life of petty crime.

But Yang Jing didn’t know that Liu Yaozu was actually the bad influence on the other three. Why else would he be the leader of their foursome?

"Have a seat, have a seat."

Dislike them as she might, she wouldn’t cause Liu Yaozu to lose face in front of his friends.

The rented house was small and sparsely furnished, with only two chairs in total.

Xiao Shun sat on the edge of the bed while Ermao and Brother Tao took the chairs. Liu Yaozu sent Yang Jing out to buy some melon seeds and other snacks for his buddies, leaving just the four of them in the room.

"Brother Yao, what happened to you?" Ermao asked.

Liu Yaozu snorted. "You’re just in time. I need you to do something for me."

...

Bai Wanwan’s birthday party was that evening. In the afternoon, Shen Lu baked a birthday cake, placed it in a box, and tied a ribbon into a neat bow around it.

The gift wasn’t expensive, but Shen Lu felt it was the thought that counted.

After letting Cai Su know, Shen Lu picked up the cake and left the shop.

She walked to the street corner and hailed a rickshaw, planning to take a taxi after she passed the checkpoint.

But halfway there, the rickshaw was blocked.

The law and order in the Lower City District existed in a delicate balance—not quite chaotic, but not exactly safe either.

For instance, as long as a roadside mugging didn’t result in a death or become a major organized crime, the police department mostly turned a blind eye.

After all, the Lower City District was full of unemployed drifters who needed some way to get by. Mugging was one option. If you were chosen as a target, you could only blame your bad luck.

The rickshaw driver’s face turned pale. He couldn’t believe his luck was so bad that he’d run into a mugging.

"What do you want?" Even though he already knew the answer, the driver asked, just going through the motions.

The man with the shortest hair pointed at Shen Lu. "You. Get out of the rickshaw."

The driver froze for a second, then quickly moved aside, showing no intention of protecting his passenger.

’Great, they’re not after me.’

Now it was Shen Lu’s turn to be surprised.

"Me?" she asked, pointing to her own nose.

"Yes, you!" the man confirmed viciously. "Get down here, now!"

Shen Lu pursed her lips and climbed out of the rickshaw. Without a word, the driver took off, not even bothering to collect the fare.

The three men quickly surrounded Shen Lu. They all reached for her at once—one grabbed her hair, another tried to snatch the cake, and a third went for her pockets.

But Shen Lu was faster. She whipped out a taser and took them down one by one, leaving them stunned and convulsing on the ground.

"What a pain," Shen Lu muttered, still not satisfied. She stomped on each of their faces. "Mugging someone in broad daylight? Have you no professional decency?"

"You’re perfectly able-bodied, yet you resort to taking shortcuts instead of finding work. If I weren’t in a hurry today, you wouldn’t be getting off so easy!"

Before leaving, Shen Lu deliberately ground her heel into each of the men’s sensitive areas.

After all, muggings were either for money or for sex. Since they were clearly broke and didn’t have much money on them, Shen Lu decided to make sure they couldn’t be "men" for a good long while.

Even though they were unconscious from the shock, the three men’s bodies still twitched in pain. Only then did Shen Lu walk away, satisfied.

The delay on the road made her a little late. By the time she reached the Bai Family’s villa, the living room was already packed with people.

A butler took the gift from Shen Lu’s hands to a room designated for presents. The moment he turned away, a pair of disdainful eyes locked onto her.

"Shen Lu?" Lin Yurou said, crossing her arms. "It really is you. What are you doing at Wanwan’s birthday party? You’re not welcome here!"

’This one’s looking for trouble.’ Shen Lu collected herself and recognized the girl.

The original owner of her body had been in the same class as Bai Wanwan. Since it was Bai Wanwan’s birthday, some of their classmates had naturally been invited, and Lin Yurou was one of them.

She was one of Bai Wanwan’s sycophants. Back when Bai Wanwan and the original Shen Lu used to argue, Lin Yurou had acted as her cheerleader, occasionally spouting classic bootlicker lines.

Shen Lu hadn’t considered this possibility before coming. Now, being confronted by Lin Yurou, it finally dawned on her.

"What’s it to you?" Shen Lu retorted calmly. "This is the Bai Family’s home, not the Lin Family’s. Stop meddling in things that don’t concern you."

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