The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Good and Evil Judgment Device

"Little Cai," Granny Jin called out softly.

The woman raised her face. Half of it was red and swollen, and her eyes were bloodshot, but there wasn’t a single tear.

She showed no panic or regret for having killed someone. In this world, especially in the Lower City District, a person’s death was a very, very small matter.

"Grandma Jin." Cai Su pushed herself up using the bed, offering a faint smile. "I’m sorry for troubling you."

"What happened between you and Wang Hu?"

Cai Su was silent for a moment before speaking. "He had just come back and found the needle marks on Xiao Lang’s arm. He demanded to know what was going on."

"I wouldn’t tell him, so he threatened to go ask at the clinic. I tried to stop him. If he went and found out Boss Shen had lent me 2,000 Star Coins to save Xiao Lang’s life, he would have definitely taken the rest of the money for his gambling."

"We started struggling. When we were outside the door, he tripped over his own feet. I couldn’t stop my momentum and pushed him over."

Cai Su hadn’t intended to take Wang Hu’s life. When she saw him tumbling over the railing, she had even tried to pull him back.

But she wasn’t strong enough to hold back a grown man. By a strange twist of fate, Wang Hu died just like that.

Granny Jin patted her on the shoulder. "I’ll have someone take care of the body tomorrow morning. Try not to be too upset."

"I’m not upset," Cai Su said, her voice flat. "With him dead, I’m actually relieved."

"As long as you’ve thought it through." Hearing this, Granny Jin decided to skip the words of comfort she had prepared. "You should get some rest."

Granny Jin tugged on Shen Lu’s arm, signaling for her to come downstairs.

"Granny, I’d like to speak with Sister Cai alone for a moment," Shen Lu said.

Granny Jin glanced at the two of them, nodded, and went downstairs by herself.

Cai Su didn’t know what Shen Lu wanted to discuss privately. There were no chairs in the room, so she could only invite Shen Lu to sit on the bed.

"I thought you’d be heartbroken," Shen Lu said, studying her expression. "Granny Jin told me that you and your husband used to have a good relationship."

Cai Su gave a self-deprecating laugh. "You said it yourself—*used to*. After my family fell on hard times, he helped me a lot. Otherwise, I never would have married him."

"Then why didn’t you leave him sooner? I don’t think your life would be any worse if you did. At least you wouldn’t be getting beaten, right?"

"But you can’t just be heartless. It’s true he hasn’t treated me well these past two years, but before he got addicted to gambling, he was very good to me. It was because of him that I got through those difficult times."

Cai Su lowered her eyes. "He pulled me out of a dark place once, and I wanted to do the same for him. But... maybe this is for the best. He had completely changed, and there was no bringing him back. Gamblers rarely meet a good end. Even if he hadn’t died today, someone would have killed him eventually."

"It seems you’ve thought this through very clearly." After a pause, Shen Lu asked, "Do you have any plans for the future?"

Cai Su just shook her head honestly.

She didn’t even have a clue how to keep Xiao Lang alive, let alone make plans for what came next.

"Can you chop vegetables? How’s your math? Can you handle addition and subtraction within a hundred?"

Cai Su froze for a second, staring blankly at Shen Lu.

Shen Lu wasn’t used to being looked at like that and averted her gaze slightly. "In your current situation, you probably have no way of paying me back. As it happens, I need an extra hand, so you can work off your debt."

"But you have to at least know basic math. If you can’t even do that..."

"I-I can!" Cai Su stammered, cutting her off. "My math is good. I’m not great at chopping vegetables, but I can learn. Boss Shen, I promise I’ll learn quickly."

"Alright then, you can start a three-day trial tomorrow. I’ll make my final decision based on your performance."

"Okay, okay! Boss Shen, I’ll definitely... I’ll definitely work hard to satisfy you." Cai Su felt a sense of unreality, as if a pie had just fallen from the sky and landed in her lap.

Just moments ago, she was agonizing over her future, and now Shen Lu, who was practically a stranger, was extending a helping hand once again.

In that moment, she saw Shen Lu as a fairy with a halo, an angel of mercy who had come to save her from her suffering.

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