Chapter 203: "Nothing for Me?
Chapter 203: Chapter 203: "Nothing for Me?
Shen Lu was already stressed about the huge wave of customers expected to flood her shop tomorrow, knowing she wouldn’t have enough to meet the demand. So when Boss Cao just had to come looking for a fight, she didn’t hold back, giving him a thoroughly satisfying tongue-lashing.
Boss Cao’s face turned livid with anger, but he couldn’t refute a single word she said.
Shen Lu’s words were harsh, but she wasn’t wrong.
His skills really hadn’t improved a bit in over a decade, and he’d never once thought about getting better.
Boss Cao saw himself as just a small-time noodle stall owner. He wasn’t going to get rich, just make enough to support his family.
Besides, around here, the main purpose of a meal was to fill your stomach, not to taste good.
If you wanted something delicious, you had to be willing to spend more Star Coins.
Few customers used to care much about that. It was only after Shen Lu showed up that people started getting picky.
Boss Cao clutched his chest and glared at Shen Lu. "You just wait. You’re destroying the established rules of the market. Someone’s going to come and put you in your place!"
In the end, Shen Lu’s strategy of improving quality while lowering prices was hurting other people’s bottom lines.
Even though she was only open for lunch, customers who ate at other restaurants during other times of the day would complain that those places couldn’t match the prices or quality of Little Deer Cuisine.
"What? 200 Star Coins for a single order of braised pork? A whole braised pork meal at Little Deer Cuisine is only 90 Star Coins, and it tastes just as good as yours."
There was no telling how many comments like this were made.
"You don’t need to worry about me. You’d be better off figuring out how to keep your own noodle stall in business, Boss Cao." Shen Lu’s expression fell. She gave him a smile dripping with scorn before turning and heading into her shop.
Boss Cao spat on the ground and trudged back to pack up his stall, his heart filled with resentment.
For dinner, they had savory braised prawns, shiitake mushrooms with bok choy, and a cucumber and preserved egg soup.
Shen Lu sat on the edge of the bed, peeling prawns for Fu Cheng. She peeled seven or eight in a row, only stopping when he said he’d had enough.
Seeing that she had something on her mind, Fu Cheng sent her a message.
Fu Cheng: Did something unpleasant happen?
The range of Fu Cheng’s consciousness was limited, so he wasn’t aware of the conflict between Shen Lu and Boss Cao that had taken place outside.
Shen Lu was genuinely upset, and with no trustworthy elders or friends to turn to, she opened up about her worries the moment Fu Cheng asked.
"I didn’t know at first that the ingredients I was getting had the ability to soothe one’s Spiritual Sea. I was just focused on making money fast, so my prices were already lower than other shops. Now that I’m using local ingredients, my prices have dropped even more. I have a feeling the other owners are about to come after me."
It only took Fu Cheng a moment of thought to understand the situation.
Fu Cheng: I can have Li Zexing come and handle this for you.
Shen Lu shook her head. "Unless Li Zexing can be here every day, or my shop gets tied to some big shot from the Upper City District, they’ll keep trying to cause trouble."
But Li Zexing couldn’t be at the shop every day, and she had no desire to get too deeply entangled with the rich and powerful.
Otherwise, she would have accepted Bai Lei’s proposal for a deep partnership long ago.
As things stood, she was out in the open while her opponents were in the shadows, leaving her in a vulnerable position.
"Forget it. I shouldn’t worry needlessly. Maybe I’m just overthinking things." Shen Lu smiled and fed a spoonful of soup to Fu Cheng.
Fu Cheng’s heart sank.
If he were still the young master of the Fu Family, he could solve all of Shen Lu’s troubles with a single casual command.
But he had been cast out. He had lost his former identity and, aside from some personal assets, no longer possessed the status and power he once had.
Lost in their own thoughts, they finished the rest of their meal in silence.
After dinner, Shen Lu gathered the dishes and went downstairs. She saw Cai Su cleaning the kitchen and casually asked how Xiao Lang was doing.
"He’s doing well." Cai Su was much more relaxed, a far cry from the panic she’d felt when she first learned her son was going to have a second awakening. "It should go very smoothly."
Shen Lu nodded, then went upstairs to wash up and get ready for bed.
After tallying her earnings and doing her daily draw, Shen Lu pinched the bridge of her nose and headed into the bedroom.
Today, she had drawn 100 pieces of exquisite tableware.
According to the item description, it could increase the perceived deliciousness of food by 1%.
Shen Lu picked up a plate to inspect it closely, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what made it capable of increasing deliciousness.
’Is it because of the blue and white floral patterns?’
Still, she could use this tableware when she eventually started serving stir-fry dishes. It looked much nicer than her current set. Plus, porcelain with blue and white patterns was a luxury item here; it would definitely make the place seem more high-end.
Shen Lu lay down on her soft, comfortable bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.
「The next day」
As soon as Shen Lu got out of bed, she felt a chill in the air.
The chill was especially noticeable on her bare ankles after she crawled out from under the warm covers.
’Does the weather change this quickly?’
Shen Lu was taken aback. She knew the seasons here weren’t normal, but summer had just ended a few days ago. ’Can it really get cold this suddenly? What happened to autumn? Did we just skip it?’
She opened the practically useless weather forecast. It showed a high of 19° and a low of 10° for the day.
’I’ll have to go buy a couple of warmer outfits later,’ Shen Lu thought as she washed up.
All of her clothes were short-sleeved tops for summer; she didn’t own a single jacket, let alone a long-sleeved shirt.
’And bedding. I need to buy thicker blankets, too.’
These days, Shen Lu left breakfast to Little Mantis. She would program the recipe the night before, and a hot meal would be waiting for her when she came downstairs in the morning.
Breakfast this morning was soup dumplings and mung bean congee. Once she’d eaten her fill, Shen Lu headed out to pick up her supplies.
The moment she stepped out of the shop, Shen Lu couldn’t help but rub her arms.
The shop and her living quarters shared the same utility bills, but they were renovated differently. The shop had an automatic climate control system, which maintained the most comfortable temperature for the human body regardless of the weather outside.
That was why the air outside felt exceptionally cold to Shen Lu.
She had originally planned to pick up her supplies first, but after climbing into a rickshaw, Shen Lu decided to buy clothes instead. She was afraid she’d catch a cold otherwise.
She picked a random shop and bought a few warm outfits, then found another store and bought a thick blanket. After storing everything in her System Warehouse, Shen Lu hurried over to Boss He’s storefront.
Boss He was dressed the same as yesterday: black rubber shoes, a pair of jeans, and a short-sleeved shirt so faded its original color was a mystery. A cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth as he moved vegetables alongside his employees.
"Boss He, I’m here for my order," Shen Lu said with a cheerful smile.
Boss He straightened up and took a long drag from his cigarette. "There’s nothing for you today."
"Nothing for me?" Shen Lu froze for a second, then forced another smile. "Don’t joke around, Boss He. How could there be nothing for me?"
Boss He’s storefront doubled as his warehouse, and in a place like this, produce was never stockpiled. Vegetables were always in high demand, far outstripping the supply.
She wasn’t an idiot. She secretly took stock every time she came to pick up an order. ’Today’s delivery is clearly bigger than yesterday’s, so how can there be nothing for me?’
"I said there’s nothing, so there’s nothing. Go on now, you’re blocking the way."
Boss He looked at her as if she were a nuisance he didn’t want to waste any more words on.
The smile vanished from Shen Lu’s face. She didn’t press the issue. "Alright, I won’t disturb you any longer. Keep the deposit. I’ll be back for the same order tomorrow."
Boss He shot her a meaningful glance but said nothing in return.