Chapter 209: Was She Too Impatient?
Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Was She Too Impatient?
Working for someone else was out of the question. Shen Lu would never work for another person in her life.
Being her own boss was a bit tiring and a bit stressful, but the freedom was incredible.
After once again expressing how much she missed Shen Lu’s cooking, Bai Wanwan arranged to eat at her shop after returning to the Imperial City.
"You have to prepare a whole spread just for me."
"Of course." Shen Lu’s eyes flickered with an idea as she asked, "Does your family have any connections with ingredient suppliers?"
"Hmm? What are you up to?"
Shen Lu trotted out the same story she used on everyone else. She explained that her original supplier’s planting base had been attacked, causing a severe drop in vegetable supply and forcing her to buy local ingredients.
Bai Wanwan perked up at once. This was the first time she had heard Shen Lu mention the source of her ingredients.
"Oh? Which base is your supplier from?" she asked, feigning nonchalance.
"Hmm?" Shen Lu tilted her head. "Why do you ask?"
"The quality of the ingredients they provide is excellent. I was wondering if they could become a long-term supplier for my family."
From the other side of the screen, Shen Lu gave Bai Wanwan a long, searching look, making her heart skip a beat.
’Was I being too hasty?’
’Did Shen Lu get the wrong idea?’
Bai Wanwan let out an awkward laugh. "I was just, uh, mentioning it in passing."
Shen Lu had indeed figured something out. After all, she already knew that the food from the System Mall had the effect of soothing and healing the Spiritual Sea, and Bai Lei was a Superpower User.
Back when she was running a street stall, Bai Lei, who was a bit of a germaphobe, came to buy food from her almost every day. Later, he even wanted to partner with her to open a shop in the Upper City District.
At the time, she’d felt that Bai Lei was being a little too enthusiastic. Now that she thought about it, it was clear he’d had an ulterior motive all along.
And with that, Bai Wanwan’s eagerness to approach her also made perfect sense.
However, Shen Lu didn’t want to call them on it just yet. It was best for her to maintain the status quo.
"It’s not really my call. How about this: I’ll ask for you, but I can’t make any promises about whether they’ll agree."
’First, I’ll create this non-existent supplier to divert everyone’s attention.’
"Really? Thank you!"
"But don’t get your hopes up. After all, they can only supply a small portion of my own order right now. I heard the damage to their planting base was pretty severe, and repairs will take several months. Plus, it takes time to re-seed and grow the vegetables until they’re ready for harvest."
Shen Lu was weaving such a good story, she almost started to believe it herself. "Anyway, they probably won’t be taking on new clients for a while."
Bai Wanwan was very optimistic. "That’s fine. We can just get our name on a list for now. Once their planting base is repaired, they can take on new clients, right?"
"So, about what I asked earlier... can you get in touch with any ingredient suppliers in the Upper City District? The quality of ingredients in the Lower City District is terrible. I’d like to get my hands on some from the Upper City District."
Shen Lu steered the conversation back to her own request.
Bai Wanwan readily agreed, "I’ll ask around. Don’t worry, I’ll get it all sorted out for you."
Shen Lu smiled. "Oh, really? I heard the Upper City District won’t supply ingredients directly to businesses in the Lower City District, bypassing the middlemen."
"That rule exists, yes, but the Bai Family has its own small planting base. It’s not for public sale, it just supplies our family with vegetables. Giving you some of our produce wouldn’t be considered breaking the rules."
’It must be nice to be rich,’ Shen Lu mused.
’Look at the Bai Family, so wealthy and extravagant. They set up a small planting base just to supply themselves with vegetables.’
This couldn’t help but remind Shen Lu of the wasteland behind her own shop.
’If I could just cultivate that land and plant some vegetables, it would ease some of my ingredient supply problems, wouldn’t it?’
Unfortunately, the wasteland was mostly sand, mixed with some unknown black substance that was both sticky and hard. Not only would it be very difficult to cultivate, but it was also completely unsuitable for planting.
Reining in her wandering thoughts, Shen Lu reconfirmed with Bai Wanwan the types and quantities of ingredients she needed, along with the delivery time.
This presented a challenge for Bai Wanwan. While their family’s small planting base was fairly diverse, the quantities were insufficient.
For potatoes alone, Shen Lu wanted over a hundred pounds, an amount the Bai Family’s planting base simply couldn’t produce. They would also need to find another way to source meat items like pork, chicken, and fish.
These were minor issues, however. Bai Wanwan could have her people coordinate and handle it.
"You can count on me. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of perfectly." Bai Wanwan was highly motivated. After all, Shen Lu had promised to ask that mysterious ingredient supplier on her behalf, so she certainly couldn’t disappoint Shen Lu.
"Great. When you get back, I’ll treat you to a meal." A favor for a favor. Since Bai Wanwan was willing to help her out, it was only right for Shen Lu to prepare a meal to thank her.
While they were talking, Shen Lu arrived at her shop. "I have to go now, I’ve got some things to do."
"Okay, okay, I’ll be back in a couple of days myself. We can talk in person then."
Shen Lu agreed and promptly ended the call.
Bai Wanwan stared at the darkened screen, feeling an indescribable excitement. Bai Lei snuck up silently behind her, glanced at his older sister, and asked quizzically, "What’s with that dreamy look on your face? Did you fall in love?"
Bai Wanwan gave him a massive eye-roll and flicked her little brother on the forehead.
"I was on the phone with Shen Lu, for your information."
"She hung up already? Why didn’t you get me? There was something I wanted to ask her."
Bai Wanwan shot him a sidelong glance. "Don’t you have her number?"
"She doesn’t answer my messages!" Bai Lei pulled up his chat history with Shen Lu for Bai Wanwan to see.
No matter what Bai Lei sent, Shen Lu would either reply with a simple "Mhm," "Oh," or "Ah," or she’d send back a smiling emoji.
It was clear she had no interest in chatting with Bai Lei.
Bai Wanwan immediately came to Shen Lu’s defense. "She has a fiancé, so it’s not really appropriate for her to be chatting a lot with other guys. And honestly, you... asking about the weather and whether she’s tired or not... it sounds so flirty."
Bai Lei: ?
’Then what else was I supposed to say?’
’My relationship with Shen Lu isn’t even that close. Don’t you have to start with casual topics to slowly break the ice?’
Bai Wanwan cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "I just mentioned to Shen Lu that I wanted to buy ingredients long-term from that mysterious supplier. She didn’t refuse and said she’d ask for me."
Bai Lei: !
"You—you—you just asked her, just like that?!"
That’s so abrupt!
"I swear, it wasn’t planned! She brought it up herself, so I just seized the opportunity," Bai Wanwan said, her lips curving smugly. "You just wait. Once I’m back in the Imperial City and talk to Shen Lu in person, I’ll definitely lock this down."
"Oh, that would be amazing." Bai Lei was even more excited than Bai Wanwan.
Shen Lu’s cooking was undeniably delicious and had special effects, but the problem was that her shop was in the Lower City District. It was a two-hour trip to get there, whether from his school or the Bai Family residence.
It was such a waste of time. If he could eat food made from those Spiritual Sea-soothing ingredients right at home, nothing would be better.
Plus, it wouldn’t just satisfy his own needs—it could also help the entire family.
In their minds, the brother and sister could already see the Bai Family elders praising them effusively and giving them a big thumbs-up.