Getting the cold shoulder left Shen Lu feeling a little awkward.
'So cold.'
But she soon found out the reason why.
It turned out that today's garbage truck was from a pharmaceutical company. Besides discarded metal scrap, it also carried some expired nutrient liquid.
They hadn't been expired for long—less than a month—and they still tasted pretty good. Instead of the usual hard-to-swallow earthy flavor, these were fruit-flavored.
Upper-class citizens wouldn't give this stuff a second glance, but for lower-class citizens, it was a real treasure. You could either consume it yourself or sell it.
Just now, Wang Daguo and Zeng Xiaodao had both spotted several packs of strawberry-flavored nutrient liquid. Zeng Xiaodao was faster and snatched them up, even yanking away the ones Wang Daguo had already grabbed.
"Zeng Xiaodao was born but clearly never raised right. He spends all day doing irritating things like this. Sooner or later, someone's going to beat him to death."
"Exactly! Then Granny Zeng will have to bury her own grandson."
"That's not a given. Granny Zeng..." The person trailed off and sighed. "Maybe if Granny Zeng passed away, Zeng Xiaodao wouldn't cause so much trouble."
The group exchanged a look and said no more.
Having heard the gossip, Shen Lu stealthily picked up a few metal parts they had discarded. She found a deserted spot, broke them into tiny pieces, and dug out a few specks of gold.
"Pharmaceutical companies sure are loaded, tossing out parts with gold in them just like that," Shen Lu muttered to herself, handing the gold over to the system.
Her haul today was incredible. She got so many ingredients in exchange that she couldn't even use them all today.
Shen Lu asked the system if she could store some of it in her temporary backpack. She didn't want to exchange it all at once.
[Of course, Host! However, the temporary backpack only stores items for 24 hours. For just 20 popularity value, you can rent a warehouse with state-of-the-art preservation technology! Items will stay as fresh as the moment you put them in, even after ten or fifteen days!]
Shen Lu politely declined.
'Twenty-four hours is long enough. Popularity value is so hard to earn; I can't bear to spend it on renting a warehouse.'
Back at her rental house, Shen Lu started preparing the mint water and the egg waffle batter. Just as she finished and was about to take a break, the system's notification chimed.
[DING-DONG~ New task issued: Please sell 20 cups of mint water and 10 egg waffles.]
Before leaving, Shen Lu drank a cup of mint water and fed a cup to Fu Cheng. Then, she grabbed her things, carefully locked the door, and headed to Gold Street.
Shen Lu set up her stall in the same old spot. It was noon again, and just like yesterday, Gold Street was depressingly empty.
Shen Lu hid in the shade, fanning herself with her hand.
It was the same start as yesterday. She waited for half an hour, but not a single person came to buy anything.
She even made an egg waffle on purpose, its rich aroma filling the air in a ten-meter radius, but still, no one came to buy.
'Strange.'
'I've been setting up my stall for three days in a row. Logically, I should have a few repeat customers by now. How can there be not a single one?'
[Host, I wonder if you've noticed something.]
The system's tone was hesitant.
[It seems that whenever you set up the stall by yourself, business isn't very good.]
Shen Lu pouted. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?"
[But if Fu Cheng is here, business slowly starts to pick up.]
Shen Lu was skeptical. "For real?"
[I'm not sure either. Host, you could run an experiment.]
Shen Lu put a hand to her forehead. "He's really heavy and difficult to move."
Every time, she had to use every ounce of her strength just to move him. If it wasn't necessary, she preferred not to.
The system went silent.
It had merely observed this phenomenon. Whether the Host was willing to believe it was beyond its concern.
Shen Lu waited another half an hour. She hadn't sold a single cup of mint water, let alone any egg waffles.
Shen Lu couldn't sit still any longer. She tried her best to promote her goods, but still didn't make a single sale.
"What the hell?" Shen Lu's cheeks puffed out in frustration. She couldn't help but recall the system's words. 'Don't tell me Fu Cheng can actually make business better?'
The sun beat down, making her scalp ache. Shen Lu bit her lip, quickly packed up her things, and returned to her rental house.
After struggling to move Fu Cheng onto the cart, Shen Lu generously poured herself a cup of mint water.
'Anyway, the stuff I scavenged today was valuable enough. I exchanged it for a lot of water. I have enough to take a bath, let alone drink.'
After recovering some of her strength, Shen Lu pushed Fu Cheng to her stall's location.
The moment she parked the cart, two girls came over to buy egg waffles.
Shen Lu's eyes widened.
'No way. Does the main villain have some kind of money-attracting power?'
Shen Lu hurriedly set up her things and started making egg waffles for the customers.
The fragrant, mouth-watering aroma of the waffles spread instantly. The two girls pressed their hands together and sniffed the air in delight.
"Miss, your egg waffles smell and taste so good," the girl with longer hair said with a smile. "I smelled them when I passed by yesterday. I was going to finish my errands and come back to buy one, but by the time I returned, you had already packed up. I asked at other shops, but none of them sell egg waffles."
"I usually pack up once I run out of ingredients," Shen Lu said, flipping the egg waffle maker so both sides would cook evenly.
"That makes sense. You have to take care of your family member, right?"
Shen Lu felt a strange pang of guilt. After packing up, she basically just loafed around like a corpse. If she hadn't accidentally pressed on Fu Cheng's broken arm yesterday, she wouldn't have even remembered to change his dressings and bandages.
Two egg waffles were soon ready. This time, Shen Lu had exchanged for a few plastic bowls to serve them in.
However, the customers had to return them after eating. If they wanted to take a plastic bowl with them, they had to pay for it.
The girls were still eating their egg waffles when a few young men in flashy clothes approached. Their hair was slick with grease, and their weaselly faces reminded Shen Lu of baboons.
"Hey, beautiful lady," the leader greeted her, thinking he was being suave. "Interested in making a new friend?"
Shen Lu frowned slightly and gave an answer that didn't match his question. "I have mint water and egg waffles. Which would you like? Or perhaps a combo?"
The young men chuckled, their expressions a mix of sleazy and stupid.
"What's so good about this stuff? Come with me. I'll take you to a high-end restaurant to eat leafy greens. That's a treat only upper-class citizens get!"
"So that's a no? Then I'll welcome your business next time," Shen Lu said. Though her lips were curved up, her smile was cold.
The leader reached out, trying to put his arm around Shen Lu's shoulder.
"Stop pretending. Instead of working so hard under the hot sun for a few measly Star Coins, why don't you come with me? I guarantee..."
Before he could finish, the young man's body suddenly started convulsing, as if he'd been electrocuted.
Shen Lu hadn't intended to kill him. She had the setting on low and only zapped him for a few seconds before stopping.
With a THUD, the young man collapsed to the ground, a wet patch instantly spreading across his crotch.
"You fucking bitch!" Humiliated, the young man flew into a rage. He scrambled to cover his crotch and pointed at Shen Lu, ordering his cronies, "Smash her stall!"
"Yes, Brother Hu!"
The men rolled up their sleeves and charged. Shen Lu forced herself to stay calm, tightening her grip on the stun baton in her hand.
'If they dare to lay a hand on anything, I'll fry these sons of bitches.'
'Do they really think I'm a pushover?!'