Qian Chuanchuan felt she must have been very fierce just now, because the man who had been so incredibly stubborn before actually said nothing this time and nodded obediently.
Qian Chuanchuan felt smug in her heart: Ha! You were scolded by me, weren’t you!
Little did she know, a trace of amusement flashed in the man’s lowered eyes. To him, her attempt at being “fierce” looked like a tiny kitten baring its claws—completely non-threatening, and instead making him want to reach out and rub her head.
She was incredibly cute.
The moment this thought surfaced, Ling Zhanlou froze.
This was already the second time he had found this girl cute.
From childhood to adulthood, both before and after the apocalypse, there had always been many girls showing interest in him. He had always been indifferent, feeling nothing, or even a bit annoyed.
But…
Ling Zhanlou looked at the girl’s clear eyes. They were filled with starlight, so bright it made one’s heart tremble. Yet, they held no one’s reflection, including his own.
Ling Zhanlou suddenly clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.
“Ling Zhanlou?” Qian Chuanchuan suddenly spoke up, waving her slender hand in front of his face. “Why are you dazing out all of a sudden? What are you thinking about?”
The starlight in her eyes swayed gently with her movements, still crystal clear, and still… containing nothing.
“It’s nothing,” the man replied, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his voice deep.
Seeing that he said it was nothing, Qian Chuanchuan didn’t pay it any more mind.
At this time, the people from Dawn Base also arrived. They looked at the steamer trays moved outside the shop, their eyes flickering for a moment before they quickly suppressed their thoughts.
Since she dared to move the sales point outside the shop, she naturally had absolute confidence in her security. They decided to stay quiet and just buy with crystal nuclei; there was no need to go looking for death.
The buns were ready soon. Just as Qian Chuanchuan was about to step onto the stool to take down the steamer trays, Ling Zhanlou stopped her.
“I’ll get them.”
The steamer was emitting billowing hot steam. It would be dangerous for her to climb the stool to reach them, and she could easily get burned.
Qian Chuanchuan paused for a second, then nodded. She did have that much trust in the Wealth God.
This time, Ling Zhanlou still bought only thirty meat buns, and the rest were all taken by the people from Dawn Base.
After everyone left, Qian Chuanchuan collapsed directly onto the bed. Even when she closed her eyes, her mind was still wrapping buns.
Out of a thousand buns, she had now completed more than half. The system records showed she had already sold 568 buns. With 432 more sold, the shop could be upgraded.
Maybe… I should just put in a final effort tomorrow and finish this KPI!
She was really looking forward to seeing what the shop would look like after the upgrade. Maybe there would even be an automatic bun-wrapping machine; then she could truly liberate her hands!
Qian Chuanchuan’s grand ambitions for that moment shattered into pieces when her alarm went off at 3:00 AM the next morning.
I am so damn sleepy!
Yaw—n—
She had two massive dark circles under her eyes, and her soul felt as if it were still tucked under the covers. Her fingers mechanically rolled the dough, but her head kept nodding down, looking exactly like a little chick pecking at grain.
“Just today… once I get through this, I’m free…” she hypnotized herself while rolling the skins with grief and indignation. She didn’t even bother to wipe the flour smeared on her face; her entire being radiated a “don’t touch me” aura of resentment.
Qian Chuanchuan felt like her heart rate was off the charts.
By the time she finally finished wrapping 225 buns, she felt she didn’t even need a fully automatic machine anymore—wasn’t she basically one herself?! She bought one more steamer tray, making it exactly fifteen.
If she wrapped another batch like this in the afternoon, the 1,000-bun KPI would be complete.
Qian Chuanchuan watched the steamer trays as they began to emit curls of white steam, her eyes nearly sliding shut. Her face clearly spelled out: Sleepy! Unhappy!
When the people from Dawn Base arrived, they saw Qian Chuanchuan leaning over the windowsill with her eyes nearly closed, radiating a low-pressure aura.
“Boss, what’s wrong? Did you not sleep well last night?” After two days of interaction, everyone was somewhat familiar. The woman with dreadlocks stepped forward and asked with a hint of curiosity.
“It’s not that I didn’t sleep well, it’s that I got up too early,” Qian Chuanchuan said, letting out another yawn.
Ugh, her arms were sore, and her back was sore.
“By the way, the shop will be closed for a day tomorrow. Don’t come by.”
In truth, the shop upgrade didn’t take a whole day—two hours were enough—but Qian Chuanchuan insisted on closing for a day to give herself a holiday!
“Closed?”
“What a coincidence,” the dreadlocked woman laughed. “We were planning to head back to the base this afternoon anyway.”
After all, they had been out for two or three days; it was time to go back. None of them were spatial ability users, so for the buns they bought over the last two days, aside from what they ate, they had an ice ability user freeze the rest to prevent them from spoiling. Some of them had families and wanted to take them back for their relatives to eat; for those without families, these buns could be exchanged for supplies or sold directly. It was a guaranteed profitable business.
Qian Chuanchuan chatted idly with the dreadlocked woman while waiting for the buns to cook.
Why hasn’t Ling Zhanlou arrived yet? He’s usually the earliest.
Just as Qian Chuanchuan was thinking that, the man arrived. And he arrived with dark circles under his eyes too!
Qian Chuanchuan: “…”
She was like this because she got up early; what about him?
“Did you go off to be a thief last night?”
Ling Zhanlou gave Qian Chuanchuan a deep look, then replied, “I spent the whole night killing zombies.”
Qian Chuanchuan’s gaze fell upon the man’s clothes. He was still wearing the same outfit as yesterday, and it was perfectly clean.
“Then you’re quite impressive. Killing zombies all night and not a single drop of blood on your clothes.”
Qian Chuanchuan swore she didn’t mean anything by that; it was just a casual remark.
To her surprise, the man suddenly turned his face away, his Adam’s apple bobbing unnaturally. “Mhm.”
—The guilt was practically written all over his face!
Qian Chuanchuan nearly choked on her own saliva. This acting skill was even worse than hers! But she chose to ignore it. The Wealth God’s dignity must be protected! Besides, who doesn’t have a few secrets?
Once again, Ling Zhanlou helped take down the steamer trays. He also helped pack the buns.
After the Dawn Base group left with their buns, Qian Chuanchuan told him to follow her into the shop.
Ling Zhanlou was somewhat surprised. He could sense that she didn’t want people entering the shop, including him. Why let him in all of a sudden?
Suppressing his confusion, Ling Zhanlou followed Qian Chuanchuan inside. As soon as he entered, a stack of mineral water cases came into view. He did a quick scan—there were at least twenty cases.
“Put all of these into your spatial storage.”
That’s right, Qian Chuanchuan had let him in just to take the water. She really didn’t want to exert herself moving them outside. She was already exhausted; if she had to move this much water, she would truly drop dead from fatigue.