Chapter 249: You Can’t Work by Fits and Starts

But this was the result.

Song Zhigao had planted the poison, but Shen Lu discovered it with ease. It was as if he hadn’t done it at all.

Jin San walked over. "Big Brother, I told you these sissy tactics wouldn’t work. I’ll just go grab her, and all our problems will be solved."

Boss Jin shot him a sidelong glance. "Fine. You go grab her, then."

"Alright, just wait for my good news!"

Jin San walked off, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

The assistant hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Boss, should we send a couple of men with Third Brother?"

Boss Jin sat back down on the sofa. "Send a few more men. And make a trip to the Thunder Mercenary Corps. You must bring that woman, Shen, back to me."

The assistant said, "Yes, sir. I’ll arrange it right away."

...

[DING! Sales targets met: Braised Pork Set 790/790, Kung Pao Chicken Set 690/690, Steamed Fish Head with Diced Hot Peppers Set 350/350. Total revenue has reached 175,000 yuan. Customer satisfaction is three stars or higher. Mission complete. Reward: 1x Lottery Ticket.]

Shen Lu let out a long sigh of relief.

’The missions are taking longer and longer to complete these days.’

’Before, I’d hear the mission completion notification in less than an hour and a half. Now it takes two and a half hours.’

’Part of it is because the mission quotas are higher, but it’s also because customer traffic has plateaued, with not much growth.’

’The Commerce Association’s tactics have still had a considerable impact on my little shop.’

However, she heard from customers that the Fragrant Sky fast-food restaurant seemed to have gone back to its original prices, with only the prize drawing event still ongoing.

That was why Shen Lu clearly felt an increase in customers today.

After lunch, Shen Lu composed herself and went up to the third floor.

Song Zhigao was sitting cross-legged against a pillar, his head hanging low, a shadow seeming to envelop him.

Ye Fan stood two steps away, watching him intently. If Song Zhigao made the slightest unusual move, he would act immediately.

"Boss Shen." Ye Fan nodded to her.

Song Zhigao’s body jolted, and he buried his head even lower.

Shen Lu walked up to Song Zhigao, her tone calm and detached. "Talk. Tell me what happened."

Song Zhigao didn’t dare to look up. "Do whatever you want with me."

"I want the whole story. Huo Qian checked. Of the two basins of Kung Pao Chicken, one was poisoned. A single bite would have been instantly fatal."

Song Zhigao said nothing, meeting her with silence.

Shen Lu wasn’t a particularly patient person. The reason she was willing to hear Song Zhigao’s explanation was twofold: first, he had rushed out to stop her when she was about to eat the poisoned food, and second, she valued his talent.

Song Zhigao was a very skilled cook. His movements were deft and efficient. He might not have much experience managing a kitchen, but with time, he could definitely become an excellent head chef.

"What’s your relationship with Master Luo?" Shen Lu asked suddenly. "Is it because I didn’t treat him well when he came to apply for the job, so you came to get revenge for him?"

Song Zhigao shifted. "...I didn’t come for revenge."

Song Zhigao knew very well what kind of person Master Luo was.

The old Master Luo had been a very dedicated and responsible head chef, but he changed after getting into gambling.

Song Zhigao had watched him sink step by step into the abyss of gambling, willingly wallowing in it with no desire to escape.

He felt it was a great pity and had tried to dissuade him many times, but unfortunately, Master Luo wouldn’t listen to him at all.

"So? You didn’t really come to steal my techniques, did you?" Shen Lu raised an eyebrow. "No, that’s not right either. If you were here to steal techniques, you wouldn’t have needed to use poison."

Song Zhigao fell silent again. He felt conflicted and his thoughts were in turmoil.

Yesterday, Boss Jin had threatened him with Master Luo’s life. If he didn’t plant the poison, Boss Jin would kill Master Luo. Left with no choice, he had agreed.

He had planted the poison today, but then contradicted himself by jumping out to stop it. He didn’t know what Boss Jin would think, nor did he know if Master Luo’s life had been spared.

’If he wasn’t spared, then I’m the one who killed Master Luo.’

But he couldn’t bring himself to watch Shen Lu die in front of him.

The nearly one month he had spent at Little Deer Cuisine was the most relaxed and enjoyable month of his career as a chef. There was no backstabbing, no endless exploitation, and no pressure to do unconscionable things to increase profits.

He could even learn many new things.

He really liked this little shop. He had developed a sense of respect for Shen Lu, who was younger than him but possessed superb culinary skills.

That was why he couldn’t bear to watch Shen Lu die before his eyes, at his own hands.

Shen Lu didn’t press him further. "Think it over. I’ll be back tonight."

Going downstairs, Shen Lu ran into Fu Cheng in the stairwell.

"Why haven’t you gone to the hospital yet?" Shen Lu asked, surprised. "Did Wu Jun forget? I’ll send him a message."

Normally, Fu Cheng would have already gone to the hospital for his rehabilitation by this time.

Since Ye Fan’s and Lin Zhou’s contracts were about to expire, the task of taking Fu Cheng to the hospital had been given to Wu Jun.

"I was waiting for you," Fu Cheng said. "Little Deer, don’t be sad."

’Being betrayed by your own employee must feel terrible.’

No one understood the feeling of betrayal better than he did.

Fu Cheng’s heart ached for Shen Lu, so he hadn’t gone to the hospital, waiting for her in the stairwell instead.

"I’m not sad." Shen Lu shook her head.

’What’s there to be sad about? It’s not like I only found out today that something was wrong with Song Zhigao.’

’It’s just that my guard wasn’t high enough, and I actually let him succeed in planting the poison.’

And he didn’t poison the braised pork that he was in charge of, but the Kung Pao Chicken that Little Mantis was responsible for.

Shen Lu suspected that if Xiao Lang hadn’t noticed something was wrong, and if she hadn’t checked it out of a sense of responsibility, Song Zhigao would have done nothing and simply watched as the customer who bought the Kung Pao Chicken died in Little Deer Cuisine.

Song Zhigao wasn’t a particularly kind-hearted person either. In this Otherworld, ninety percent of people didn’t care about the lives of strangers.

But Song Zhigao cared about hers.

This point surprised Shen Lu, and it was also why she had only placed Song Zhigao under guard and hadn’t taken further action.

Shen Lu was speaking sincerely, but Fu Cheng thought she was just putting on a brave face.

Fu Cheng’s gaze fell on her delicate white hands, and he felt an impulse to take hold of them.

And he actually did it. Just as his fingertips were about to touch hers, Shen Lu suddenly remembered something and raised her hand.

"It’s so late, you can’t keep dawdling at home." She glanced at the time and said, her tone a little serious, "Fu Cheng, you can’t be so inconsistent. Physical therapy can be tedious and tough, but don’t you want to be able to stand again?"

Fu Cheng, his hand awkwardly extended: ...

’But I’ve been training hard every day!’

’Why am I suddenly getting the blame?’

Fu Cheng was just about to defend himself, but Shen Lu didn’t give him the chance. She called over Wu Jun, gave him some careful instructions, and as she was sending them out the door, she stuffed a bag of small cookies into Fu Cheng’s hands.

"Train hard. If you do well, I’ll make you something delicious."

Fu Cheng gave Shen Lu a complicated look, at a loss for words.

He had come to comfort Shen Lu, but instead, she had sent him off as if she were placating a child.

However, Fu Cheng didn’t say anything and went to the hospital with Wu Jun.