The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Eating Sashimi

To put it bluntly, she had to go scavenging.

Shen Lu gave herself a pep talk. Might as well give it a try. If there was one thing this place had in abundance, it was mountains of discarded metal scrap.

Not far from the Seventeenth District was No. 3 Landfill. Shen Lu pushed herself up, hands on her knees, and started walking toward the landfill, sticking to the shady spots for cover.

As she left the narrow, crooked streets, a fierce, sandy wind blew right into her.

Inexperienced, Shen Lu didn’t close her mouth in time and got a mouthful of sand for her trouble. She spat a couple of times but couldn’t get it all out.

Another dozen or so steps brought her to No. 3 Landfill.

Unlike the landfills of Shen Lu’s original world, this one had no leftover food scraps or discarded furniture—only cold, hard metal.

The nauseating smell of rust bored aggressively into her nostrils. It was so stimulating that Shen Lu felt utterly refreshed.

Two hunched-over, middle-aged men walked past her, casting a couple of curious glances her way.

Seeing a girl in a lace princess dress in the Seventeenth District was one thing, but encountering one at the landfill was even more shocking.

A lace dress was a symbol of the upper-class citizens. Only they could afford such exquisite and expensive clothing.

What would someone like that be doing in a landfill?

Shen Lu ignored their gawking stares, ripped off a relatively clean piece of her dress’s inner lining, and tied it around her nose and mouth like a mask. Then, with unwavering steps, she entered the landfill.

She had assumed the system would accept any metal that wasn’t worthless junk. Shen Lu didn’t recognize many types of metal, so she did her best to pick out parts that looked to be in good condition to show the system.

[Host, the black, thread-like metal in your hand is tungsten. 1000 grams can be exchanged for ten liters of pure water.]

Shen Lu was stunned. "How much? How much did you say for ten liters of pure water?!"

[1000 grams, Host.]

Shen Lu: "You’ve got to be kidding me!"

She had spent an hour just to find a single palm-length tungsten wire that weighed less than 40 grams.

What did 1000 grams even mean? She would have to find 25 more wires of this length just to reach that amount!

At her current rate, there was no way she could find 25 tungsten wires in a single day!

Frustration was one thing, but Shen Lu still buried her head and continued to search for metals she could trade for ingredients.

Three hours later, Shen Lu couldn’t take it anymore. Covered in grime, she walked out of the landfill and traded her haul with the system for half a bucket of water, a handful of mint, and a half-fingernail’s worth of sugar.

The system had some conscience, at least. The bucket was a freebie. It was metal and came with a lid. Shen Lu was very satisfied.

She smacked the mint a few times to release its aroma, tossed both the mint and sugar into the water, then put the lid on and gave it a couple of shakes. After letting it steep for a moment, the mint water was ready.

That’s right, Shen Lu had decided to set up a small stall to sell mint water.

After all, she was penniless and didn’t even have a place to live, let alone a fire to cook with.

Mint water required no fire, was simple to make, and in a world with such extreme food scarcity, she had no doubt it would sell.

As she left, Shen Lu grabbed a foot-long metal plate and headed back to the Seventeenth District, carrying the bucket.

Shen Lu already had a spot in mind.

Right next to the Seventeenth District was the Imperial City’s most famous Gold Street.

The entire street was a dazzling array of food, drink, and entertainment—a paradise in the hearts of the middle and lower-class citizens. Even the upper-class citizens would occasionally venture there.

Unlike the dilapidated and desolate Seventeenth District, Gold Street was opulent and bustling, so prosperous it felt like it belonged to a different time and space, giving one an unreal sense of having been transported.

Shen Lu didn’t go too far. She found a shaded spot and set down her bucket.

She pulled out a piece of scrap iron and began scratching words onto the metal plate with a screeching sound.

Scraping away the rust revealed the lighter metal underneath. Before long, a few crooked characters appeared on the plate—Little Deer Cuisine.

Shen Lu propped the metal plate in front of the bucket and dusted off her hands.

Okay, she had a sign and a product. This was her stall. It was incredibly crude, but who said a stall had to be fancy? As long as it worked.

Shen Lu mentally urged the system to verify her mission.

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