The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Whoever Moves First Is a Little Dog

Walking over to the patch of land Yang Jing had tilled, Shen Lu inspected it, squatting down to pinch up some soil and rub it between her fingers.

It was sticky and hard, requiring a lot of force to crumble.

It must have been difficult for Yang Jing to turn over this kind of soil.

"Little Deer, how did I do?" Yang Jing asked haltingly.

"It’s great," Shen Lu affirmed. "This is exactly the result I wanted. You did an amazing job today."

Yang Jing’s eyes lit up at once, and she stammered, "R-really?"

"It’s true," Shen Lu told her. "This is a relatively simple job. As long as you put your heart into it, you can do it well. And I can see you were very dedicated."

’She probably tilled this land twice.’

"Yes! I’ll work just as hard tomorrow!"

Yang Jing was overjoyed. She had taken jobs before, but she was always met with disdain.

She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and her movements were clumsy. She couldn’t handle delicate tasks, and she lacked the strength for heavy labor. Eventually, Liu Qiang grew tired of her never earning a full wage and told her to just stay home. When she had free time, she was to go scavenge at the dump.

’So, I can do a good job and get someone’s approval after all.’

The two of them entered the sheet metal hut. The moment he saw her, Liu Yaozu, who had been lounging against the head of the bed, shot upright and greeted her eagerly, "Shen Lu, you’re here."

He had learned his lesson this time and didn’t add any extra theatrics, like asking if she was there to see him.

Liu Qiang snorted and turned his head away, refusing to look at Shen Lu.

"Yes. I came to see how your work is progressing," Shen Lu said nonchalantly, gesturing to the floor. "Are these the seeds you’ve sorted?"

"Yes." Liu Qiang remained silent, so Liu Yaozu had to speak. "These are the Level 1 seeds, these are the Second Level seeds, and those are the Third Level seeds."

On the floor were three sheet-metal basins, each containing a different amount of scallion seeds.

The light in the hut was bright. Shen Lu grabbed a handful of Level 1 seeds and held them up to the light to inspect them.

Seeing this, Liu Qiang couldn’t help but snap, "Yaozu and I sorted those seed by seed. What’s the point of you checking them?"

’It’s like she doesn’t trust us.’

Liu Qiang was thoroughly annoyed.

Shen Lu didn’t care whether he was annoyed or not. She checked two more handfuls before nodding in satisfaction, confirming that there were no issues.

"Not bad. You didn’t make any mistakes sorting the seeds."

Liu Qiang snorted coldly, but Liu Yaozu looked at her eagerly. "Shen Lu, see? We did such a good job today. Shouldn’t we get a little reward? You don’t have to give us money; leftovers from the store would be fine."

Having eaten food from the restaurant, Liu Yaozu’s palate had been spoiled. He couldn’t take a single bite of the Insect Cake Yang Jing had offered him at noon. He had endured his hunger and patiently sorted the seeds, all so he could curry favor now and get some food from Shen Lu.

But there were no leftovers now. The restaurant rarely had any; most days, they sold out completely.

However, Shen Lu didn’t refuse him outright. She leveled a cool gaze at Liu Yaozu, staring at him until his skin crawled and he began to wonder if he had been too hasty.

After a dozen seconds or so, Shen Lu finally spoke. "You did a good job today. Tomorrow at noon, you can come get a meal. From now on, that’s how it will be. Finish your work for the day, and you’ll be rewarded with a meal the following noon."

Liu Qiang frowned. "Why the next day at noon? Why not tonight?"

Shen Lu shot him a look. "If you’re not satisfied, we can cancel the reward altogether."

"Satisfied! We’re satisfied! Very satisfied!" Liu Yaozu scrambled to say, frantically signaling his father with his eyes to shut up. "Dad was just talking off the cuff. Don’t mind him. Tomorrow is fine, I have no problem with eating tomorrow!"

"Is that so?" Shen Lu drawled, her gaze sweeping over the three of them.

Liu Qiang desperately wanted to say no, that he wasn’t satisfied. But other than him, the other two were perfectly happy, especially Liu Yaozu.

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