The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: "More People Have Been Dying Lately.

Bai Wanwan stormed off with her egg waffles, and Shen Lu shook her head in amusement as she watched her go.

’What was the point of covering her face? Her clothes and that spoiled, arrogant temper weren’t hidden at all. And then there was the perfume—it was her favorite scent.’

’It would have been strange if Shen Lu *hadn’t* recognized her.’

"Boss, were you really from the Upper City District before?" one of the more curious customers couldn’t help but ask.

Shen Lu didn’t deny it and nodded, but that was all. She had no intention of elaborating.

To her, that was all part of the original owner’s past. It had little to do with her.

’What she needed to do was figure out how to live a full life in this strange new world. As long as those people left her alone, she had no intention of bothering them.’

"Oh, okay." The customer could see she wasn’t in the mood to talk and tactfully fell silent.

As she was selling the last of her food, Zeng Xiaodao appeared, dragging himself over with a limp.

The youth had a bleeding gash on his face, clearly a recent injury.

Zeng Xiaodao had no concept of politeness. He plopped down on the handcart where Fu Cheng lay and yelled in a coarse voice for Shen Lu to bring him some food.

Shen Lu always prepared more ingredients than her daily quota required. There wasn’t much left now, but she had already met her quota.

"Folks in the back, you don’t need to wait in line anymore. After this customer buys, I’m closing up for the day!"

There were only one or two portions of each item left, so Shen Lu decided to just pack it up.

"Ah, but don’t you still have spicy hot pot?"

"I’ve been in line for half an hour!"

"Boss, I can pay extra for what’s left. Just pack it all up and sell it to me."

"Sell to me! I can offer more than him!"

"Everyone, please quiet down and listen to me." Shen Lu had to calm the agitated customers. "I’ll prepare more ingredients tomorrow. And for the customers who couldn’t buy anything today, I’ll include a small extra gift. How does that sound?"

"If you’re okay with that, please come over and write down your names."

Hearing there would be gifts, the crowd, which had been resentful and noisy, finally quieted down.

Shen Lu didn’t have a pen and paper, but a customer did and offered theirs for free.

There weren’t that many people in line, maybe about ten or so. They registered their names one by one, and Shen Lu folded the paper and put it in her pocket.

When the crowd dispersed, Shen Lu gathered all the leftover vegetables from the spicy hot pot and brought them to Zeng Xiaodao. She then took a rare moment of leisure for herself, enjoying an egg waffle and some mint water as an afternoon snack.

It was only three o’clock, and Wang Daguo hadn’t arrived yet. Shen Lu sat on her stool, chatting with Zeng Xiaodao while she ate.

"You didn’t come yesterday. Were you off fighting someone?"

Zeng Xiaodao shoveled food into his mouth and didn’t answer right away. He only looked up after finishing half the bowl.

"Yeah."

His tone was low and sullen, and he looked very unhappy.

"Did you lose?"

’If he’d won, he probably wouldn’t be covered in injuries, right?’

"Didn’t lose."

After a moment, Zeng Xiaodao added three more words, "Didn’t win either."

"You weren’t trying to rob someone again, were you?"

Zeng Xiaodao shot her a glance. "Did you close up shop just so you could make fun of me?"

He hadn’t missed the faint mockery in Shen Lu’s tone.

"Of course not. I was almost sold out, and I wanted to take a break anyway."

Zeng Xiaodao finished the rest of the spicy hot pot in one go, then held out his bowl. "Egg waffle."

Shen Lu forked an egg waffle that was keeping warm on the machine, placed it in his bowl, and said, "Here."

The boy took a huge bite, devouring half of it at once. Even though it burned him, he refused to spit it out.

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