Chapter 289: Comforting People Is Much Harder Than Killing People
Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Comforting People Is Much Harder Than Killing People
The grain sticks baked just as quickly. Right before they were done, Shen Lu poured the fermented dough into a rectangular mold.
Once the grain sticks were finished, she could put the milk bread in. The bread would only take about ten minutes to bake.
She packed the almond crisps into bags and cut the grain sticks one by one, packing them up as well.
With nothing left to make, Shen Lu tidied up the counter, washing the used tools one by one.
Fu Cheng helped her put the tools into the sterilizer cabinet. After all that was done, the milk bread came out of the oven.
Shen Lu waited for the milk bread to cool slightly, then sliced it and packed a portion along with the other treats.
"These are for you." Shen Lu placed the bag in Fu Cheng’s arms. "The bread has a shorter shelf life, so you should eat it soon. The other things should be fine as long as you finish them within a week."
"Okay."
"Mhm, you should go up, wash up, and get some rest."
Shen Lu packed another portion. This one was for Xue Can. The rest was for herself.
Xue Can was completely focused on teaching Xiao Lang how to project his superpower. It wasn’t a simple task, and for a five-year-old child, it was particularly difficult.
Xiao Lang’s little face was flushed red with effort, and he was on the verge of tears from frustration.
"Brother Xue, I’m too stupid! I can’t learn it! Waaaah..."
After failing yet again, Xiao Lang couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into tears.
The crying was giving Xue Can a massive headache. Just then, Shen Lu happened to come over and gently asked what was wrong.
Before Xue Can could say anything, Xiao Lang threw himself into Shen Lu’s arms.
"I-I’m too stupid... I can’t learn... what Brother Xue... what Brother Xue is teaching me."
Shen Lu shot Xue Can a look, raising an eyebrow as if to ask, ’Did you yell at him?’
Xue Can’s hair practically stood on end. He had wanted to yell at Xiao Lang, but he’d held back!
Xue Can shook his head. After a moment’s thought, he tried to comfort the boy. "Xiao Lang, projecting your superpower is very difficult. Most people take ten days to half a month just to get a feel for it at the beginning. You don’t need to be so discouraged."
’Comforting people is so much harder than killing them.’
Xue Can lamented silently, vowing never to be anyone’s teacher again.
"Really?" Xiao Lang asked, sniffling, a small teardrop clinging to his eyelashes.
Xue Can nodded with utmost sincerity. "Really."
This sort of thing wasn’t a secret; asking anyone else would yield the same answer.
Only then did Xiao Lang start to recover from the heavy blow.
Shen Lu wiped his tears and gave him an almond crisp to eat.
The little boy’s gloom finally lifted completely. After taking a small, crisp bite, he started giggling again.
"It smells so good and it’s so crispy!"
"Sister Shen, how do you make things that taste so good?!"
"Sister Shen, I’ll definitely study hard and learn how to be a great Superpower User!"
"Sister Shen, I have to repay you! When I grow up, I’m going to marry you."
Shen Lu: ?
’What the hell kind of audacious thing is he saying?!’
Shen Lu poked his little nose. "Don’t talk nonsense."
"I’m not talking nonsense." Xiao Lang’s expression was serious and earnest. "That’s how it is on TV. The male lead saves the female lead, and when she grows up, she repays him by marrying him. Sister Shen saved me, so I have to marry Sister Shen too."
At this, Xue Can couldn’t take it anymore. Fu Cheng was already annoying enough, and now there was this little brat who hadn’t even hit puberty. To make matters worse, Xiao Lang was practically his apprentice.
’And now this half-apprentice was trying to compete with him for her?’
’Who could tolerate this?’
’This was absolutely unacceptable.’
"Xiao Lang, you should watch less TV. That stuff is all made up, it’s not real." Xue Can cruelly extinguished Xiao Lang’s untimely notion. "You and Boss Shen aren’t a good match. Don’t ever have thoughts like that again."
"I think it’s real." Xiao Lang was a little stubborn. "I’m just a little young right now. I can’t marry Sister Shen right away like in the TV shows. Sister Shen, can you wait for me for thirteen years?"
According to the rules here, you had to be eighteen to get a marriage license. Xiao Lang was five now. He had already asked; in another thirteen years, he would be old enough to marry Sister Shen.
The little boy’s gaze was sincere, like a glittering black diamond.
But Shen Lu still turned him down.
"Xiao Lang, I understand that you’re very grateful to me, but marriage is something for two people who are truly in love. When you grow up, you’ll meet a girl that you’ll truly love, okay?"
There were some things Shen Lu could joke about to amuse a child, but this wasn’t one of them.
Xiao Lang was asking her in earnest, and she knew he wouldn’t take her answer as a joke. She had to reply just as seriously.
"Did Sister reject me?" Xiao Lang pouted. "It’s okay. I’ll ask Sister again when I’m all grown up."
"Alright, it’s getting late. You should go back and sleep." Shen Lu didn’t want to dwell on the issue, lest the boy take it too much to heart and it become an obsession.
Xiao Lang nodded obediently. "Good night, Sister Shen. Good night, Brother Xue."
He waved his little hand and PITTER-PATTERED back to his dorm.
Xue Can’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He desperately wanted to ask Shen Lu, ’Do you like Fu Cheng?’
But he didn’t dare, afraid the answer would be one he didn’t want to hear.
"These are for you." Shen Lu presented the bag full of pastries. "Thank you for taking care of Boss Jin for me."
"It was nothing." Xue Can took the bag. "With Boss Jin dead, the suppliers who were following his orders and refusing to sell to you shouldn’t block your stock anymore."
Xue Can knew exactly what kind of person Zhao Qian was. Shen Lu’s dealings with him were definitely not pleasant. Besides, Zhao Qian’s plantation was limited in size, so his variety naturally couldn’t compare to a proper supplier’s.
If Xue Can hadn’t reminded her, Shen Lu would have completely forgotten about it.
She hadn’t even gotten her deposit back yet. She’d go check on the situation tomorrow. If she could get supplies, she definitely would. Even if she couldn’t use it all in one day, she could always store it in the System Warehouse.
After all, the System Warehouse had a preservation function. Now that she was earning thousands of popularity value points a day, she had long since renewed the ten-year lease on Virtual Warehouse (1).
It was a pity the System Warehouse couldn’t be bought outright; otherwise, she would have definitely purchased a few to have on hand for emergencies.
Out of gratitude, before he left, Shen Lu also filled a large container with mint water for Xue Can.
It was free of charge.
Xue Can left the shop carrying the bag. After a few steps, he turned and looked back.
Shen Lu was stretching as she walked toward the stairs, a posture that revealed her slender waist.
Xue Can made a circle with his hands. ’Hmm, two hands would probably be enough to wrap around it,’ he thought.
Taking a breath of the cool night air to suppress the heat in his chest, Xue Can didn’t linger any longer and hurried back to his base.
He was afraid that if he kept looking, he wouldn’t want to leave.
’He wasn’t like Fu Cheng, who shamelessly lived off a woman.’
Xue Can had made up his mind. He would try to complete this five-day mission in three so he could come back sooner and eat Shen Lu’s cooking.
It might have been a bit of a stretch, but Xue Can stubbornly believed that this, too, was a light among the countless homes, and one of them was his.
At the same time, he also hoped that one day in the future, this wouldn’t just be his own wishful thinking, but an established fact.