Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Share Weal and Woe

Shen Lu could tell the difference between praise and criticism. She nodded in agreement. "It was alright. I think I need to keep working on it."

Otherwise, how could she deal with crafty old foxes like President Pan?

As expected, when President Pan and the other two came to the restaurant at noon today, it wasn’t just to eat.

The three of them ordered four dishes, and after they finished eating, they asked her to sit down for a chat.

The conversation went around in circles, offering nothing new. First, they showered her with compliments and flattery, and then they made their request.

"Xiao Shen, we’re all from the Lower City District. We prosper together and we fall together. If you do well and I do well, then everyone does well."

"The population of our Lower City District is clearly more than ten times that of the Upper City District, but our economy is less than half of theirs. I think it’s because there are too few jobs. Many people still rely on government rations to get by. *Sigh*. We’ve been trying to find a way to change this situation."

"Every sandstorm season, development in the Lower City District slows down. The weather is just too bad to go outside, and there’s no suitable transportation to keep goods moving."

"Xiao Shen, what do you think?"

Shen Lu’s eyes darted around. ’How else would I look at it? With my eyes, of course,’ she was tempted to say.

But it was obvious that if she made that kind of joke, the three of them would corner her and talk for another hour.

"Indeed, this is a very serious problem." Shen Lu’s expression turned grave, as if she were deep in thought. "Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and I can’t think of any useful solutions. This is a job for President Pan, Mr. Sun, and General Manager Chen. I will gladly follow your lead."

"Well said." Mr. Sun’s voice trembled with excitement. ’We’ve finally got her hooked,’ he thought. Just as he was about to continue, Shen Lu spoke unhurriedly.

"Personally, I am willing to do my part for the development of the Lower City District, but this restaurant isn’t mine alone. What I can do is rather limited."

"Not a problem. We don’t need you to do too much. Just let the Commerce Association use that military armored vehicle in your shop."

"Ah, this?" Shen Lu looked troubled. "I thought I made it very clear to President Pan last time. I’m not the one who borrowed this vehicle."

"It doesn’t matter who borrowed it. Look, it’s just sitting idle anyway, so why not put it to use? We can even pay you a rental fee."

"Mr. Sun, this isn’t a matter of money. The military told us when we borrowed it that it has to be returned in the exact same condition it was loaned out in. Otherwise, they’ll throw us in jail."

No matter how much President Pan and the other two tried to persuade her, whether by sweet-talking or playing the victim, Shen Lu didn’t budge.

The three of them left, extremely displeased.

Shen Lu recalled their frustrated and unwilling expressions as they left, and she slumped onto the sofa with a pout.

’There’s no way I’m lending them the vehicle.’

Last time President Pan approached her, he probably just wanted to use the vehicle for food deliveries to get that empty shell of a delivery platform up and running.

But today, with the three of them coming to her, it was definitely not that simple.

President Pan and Mr. Sun had been on such bad terms before. For them to team up, there had to be a massive profit at stake.

Shen Lu was right. President Pan and Mr. Sun did indeed have shared interests.

A merchant from the Shanghai Survival Base had placed an order with them and wanted an expedited delivery.

President Pan and Mr. Sun were naturally thrilled about the huge order, but logistics were a major problem.

The weather at the Shanghai Survival Base was different from the Imperial City’s. They didn’t have a sandstorm season; right now, it was just cold and damp, nothing particularly difficult to endure.

Their most difficult seasons were spring and summer.

Spring brought insect plagues, and summer brought tsunamis.

So, after discussing it, President Pan and Mr. Sun concluded that Shen Lu was the key to whether they could complete the order.

If they could use the military armored vehicle from Shen Lu’s shop to transport the goods out of the Qinling region, the rest would be easy.

The military armored vehicle was not only wind-resistant, but its defense was also incredible. It would guarantee safety while also saving them the cost of hiring mercenaries—killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, Shen Lu was tight-lipped and simply refused to agree.

Shen Lu had seriously overdrawn her brain cells today. After talking with one person after another, her mind was struggling to keep up.

After showering and lying down in bed, she zoned out for a bit before using today’s Lottery Ticket.

She hadn’t drawn anything good lately—it was always either ingredients, tableware, or condiments.

However, considering her shop’s defenses were already maxed out, Shen Lu wasn’t too bothered.

But she still held out hope with every draw. Who knew? Maybe the system would give her a big surprise this time!

[Congratulations, Host! You have drawn the prize from Blind Box #98: one Any Door.]

[Any Door: After setting an exit point, opening the door in any location will lead directly to the exit point, truly allowing you to go wherever you want.]

[Note: The number of uses is related to the Host’s spiritual power.]

Shen Lu couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise and immediately took out the Any Door to have a look.

Who that has seen *Doraemon* wouldn’t want an Any Door?

Shen Lu didn’t just want the Any Door; she wanted Doraemon’s four-dimensional pocket even more.

’I wonder if the system can whip one of those up for me.’

The Any Door wasn’t as magnificent as Shen Lu had imagined. It was just an ordinary wooden door, not quite new but not old either, with a brass lock that opened with a simple twist.

Because no exit point had been set, the other side of the door was a distorted space.

So, Shen Lu closed the door.

After a moment of thought, she set the exit point to her own bedroom.

With this door, her personal safety was greatly enhanced.

If she ever encountered a danger she couldn’t avoid or resolve, she could just open the door and escape.

The only thing was, the number of uses was tied to her spiritual power. She didn’t know how many uses that translated to, or if there was a limit on the number of people who could use it.

What if she wasn’t leaving alone? If there were other people with her, could they enter the Any Door too?

Shen Lu put the Any Door away and sighed.

’Why am I overthinking this so much? I should just get some sleep. My brain needs a rest.’

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the weekly mission. The mission was already complete, so Shen Lu decided to take the day off and accompany Fu Cheng on a trip to the military.

"It’s just a check-up, you don’t have to come with me." Although Fu Cheng was happy, he still tried to persuade her, "Don’t let it affect the restaurant’s business."

"It won’t. If I had to do everything myself, why would I have hired so many employees? Let’s go, let’s go! We’ll be late if we don’t leave now."

Fu Cheng couldn’t win against her, so he had no choice but to agree.

After a three-hour drive, they finally arrived at the military base located at the northernmost end.

After showing their entry passes, Wu Jun followed the route given by the sentry at the gate and reached the Military Hospital on the base’s periphery.

This Military Hospital was clearly much more Advanced than the Lower City Hospital. From the architecture and furnishings to the various equipment, there wasn’t a single trace of anything old.

Many people were coming and going, but whether they were patients, doctors, or nurses, their expressions were all stern and cold. In the vast outpatient hall, there was barely a sound besides the shuffle of footsteps.

"This place... is a little too serious, isn’t it?" Shen Lu subconsciously lowered her voice, leaning down to whisper her complaint in Fu Cheng’s ear.

Fu Cheng looked up, and his ear brushed against the corner of Shen Lu’s lips. The warm, soft touch sent a flush of red to the tips of his ears.

He didn’t do it on purpose.

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