Chapter 183: "You bought so much, can you sell it?
Chapter 183: Chapter 183: "You bought so much, can you sell it?
Little Mantis made breakfast this morning.
In the past, Shen Lu would never have been willing to waste Little Mantis’s battery power.
But now that Little Mantis had been upgraded and its battery life was longer, Shen Lu had programmed it the night before to knead dough and make savory pies for breakfast.
It wasn’t that Cai Su’s noodle soup tasted bad, but eating it every day was bound to get old.
Cai Su woke up early as usual, but since she didn’t have to cook today, she seemed a bit at a loss for what to do.
Little Mantis was making the pies, and it could handle the entire job perfectly on its own. She couldn’t even lend a hand.
The millet and sweet potato congee had been placed in the cooker the night before with a timer set, and now it was bubbling away happily.
She didn’t need to worry about cleaning the floors, either. The robot vacuum Shen Lu had recently drawn was working diligently, leaving the floor so clean and smooth you could roll around on it.
Cai Su wandered around for a moment, then decided to go to the backyard to watch her son run.
Ever since Xue Can had stayed a night at the shop, Xiao Lang had started a daily morning exercise routine.
Cai Su thought this was great. Xiao Lang hadn’t been very healthy before, and the failed superpower awakening had taken a huge toll on him.
Now, getting more exercise to build up his physical fitness was a very good thing.
Besides, there wasn’t much else for Xiao Lang to do. The uniform school starting age here was seven. Xiao Lang was only five, so schools wouldn’t accept him.
There were kindergartens, but they were very rare—fewer than ten in the entire Lower City District. They were also located on streets very close to the checkpoints, and the tuition was exorbitant.
For an average family, just being able to send their child to school to learn to read was considered a great achievement. Before they were old enough for school, children basically just stayed at home.
Cai Su knew that young children should be out playing more, but Xiao Lang never seemed to have much luck making good friends. The kids he used to play with always bullied him.
The worst time, they’d cracked his head open.
After that, Xiao Lang didn’t like going out to play much anymore and preferred to stay by her side.
’Once he turns seven and starts school, things will get better.’
Cai Su thought optimistically. ’By then, Xiao Lang will be older, his health will improve, and he’ll definitely make good friends at school.’
"Mom!" Xiao Lang threw himself into Cai Su’s arms, his little face flushed from running and his whole body covered in sweat. "I ran for 20 minutes! That’s 5 minutes more than yesterday!"
Clearly, Xiao Lang was fishing for praise.
Cai Su wiped the beads of sweat from her son’s forehead and affirmed him gently, "You’re doing great, Xiao Lang!"
"Hee hee, Brother Xue said I can’t just sit around all the time. I need to exercise more so I can awaken smoothly. Mom, once I successfully awaken and become a Superpower User, no one will ever dare to bully you again."
Cai Su’s hand froze. Her expression was one of shock. "What did you say? Awaken?"
’Hasn’t my son already failed his awakening?’
"Yeah! Brother Xue said I’ll have a second awakening, probably sometime in the next two weeks."
In contrast to Xiao Lang’s happiness and anticipation, Cai Su’s heart was filled with nothing but panic.
’Her son had only just recovered a few days ago. How could he be awakening again?’
She didn’t know much about Superpower Users and had assumed that after a failed awakening, that was the end of it. Why was there such a thing as a second awakening?
The memory of her son nearly dying from the last awakening made Cai Su’s heart feel as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
She took Xiao Lang by the hand and frantically found Shen Lu, who had just come downstairs. Stuttering incoherently, she said, "Boss, Xiao Lang... he... Mr. Xue, yes, it was Mr. Xue who said... a second awakening, I..."
Shen Lu caught the keywords and managed to understand what Cai Su was trying to say.
"Sister Cai, are you saying that Xiao Lang is going to have a second awakening, right?"
"Yes, yes, Boss! How can there be a second awakening?" Cai Su’s eyes turned red. "Xiao Lang barely escaped with his life not long ago, and his body hasn’t even fully recovered! Isn’t this a death sentence?!"
"Don’t panic, Sister Cai. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing," Shen Lu quickly reassured her. "The last time Xiao Lang’s awakening failed was due to malnutrition, which meant he couldn’t provide the energy needed for it. But things are different now. I believe Xiao Lang will definitely be able to awaken smoothly this time."
’The ingredients provided by the Shop are not only nutritious, they could also heal and soothe one’s Spiritual Sea.’ Shen Lu refused to believe it. ’Even a half-dead patient like Fu Cheng had been nursed back to his current condition in less than two months. How could Xiao Lang, who ate this food every day, possibly fail to get through a simple awakening?’
It wasn’t that Cai Su didn’t trust Shen Lu. It was just that she was a mother, and her worry clouded her judgment. The thought of her son once again teetering on the edge of life and death made it impossible for her to calm down.
To reassure Cai Su, Shen Lu came up with an idea.
"Sister Cai, how about this? After breakfast, take Xiao Lang to the hospital for a check-up to see what his physical condition is really like."
The hospital had specific check-ups for awakenings. Shen Lu felt that no matter what she said, it wouldn’t be as convincing as a report from the hospital.
Cai Su nodded repeatedly, but she quickly became embarrassed.
"Boss, I... I need to ask you for another advance on my salary."
She was still paying off her previous debt, so the only way to afford a check-up for her son was to get an advance.
Shen Lu readily agreed and gave Cai Su 2,000 Star Coins.
"If it’s not enough, just call me." Shen Lu gave her number to Cai Su. If she ran short on money, she could use the hospital’s public Light Brain to call her.
Cai Su and her son quickly finished their breakfast and rushed to the hospital. Since Shen Lu also needed to pick up vegetables, she left with them.
In the back kitchen, only the four trial employees and Little Mantis were busy at work.
After finishing his task, Song Zhigao turned around just in time to see Wang Daguo going into the pantry to move vegetables.
He walked over and said, "Let me help you move them."
Wang Daguo didn’t refuse. Two people were indeed faster than one.
So many people came to eat nowadays that one bag of rice a day wasn’t enough; they needed to cook at least two.
The rice cooker could handle a maximum of 15 pounds of rice at a time, so two bags required five or six batches to cook completely.
After they moved the rice, Deng Ying volunteered to take over cooking it.
Wang Daguo and Song Zhigao went back to the pantry to continue moving vegetables.
This time, they were moving bok choy. The little green stalks were already in crates, so they just needed to carry the crates out.
Song Zhigao quickly scanned the pantry and asked with feigned indifference, "These vegetables are so fresh. Where does Boss Shen get her supply?"
"I don’t know," Wang Daguo answered honestly. "The boss has never said."
Song Zhigao lowered his gaze and didn’t ask again.
...
Shen Lu paid the remaining balance, collected all the vegetables she had pre-ordered yesterday, and immediately transferred them into the System Warehouse.
’Otherwise, there’s no way she could carry so many vegetables by herself.’
At the same time, she placed a new order and paid the deposit.
Her large-scale orders made the several vendors take a second look.
"You’re buying so much. Think you can sell it all?"
To be fair, Shen Lu’s procurement volume was among the highest in the entire Lower City District. Moreover, she was a new face, and spending money so freely right from the start was highly unusual.