Chapter 344: Gossip

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: Gossip

The vendor’s eyes lit up when he saw Lily Hart. "Boss Hart, here to buy some candied hawthorn?"

He’d just been worrying about the lack of business.

Lily Hart nodded. With a grand wave of her hand, she said to Frost Shaw, "Pick whatever you want. I’m paying."

Frost Shaw inexplicably felt like he was being kept, a secret joy blooming in his heart. He picked up a few sticks of candied hawthorn. "These will do."

Lily Hart took out a Crystal Core to pay. The vendor didn’t refuse this time and readily accepted it. "Come again, Boss Hart~"

A faint smile touched Frost Shaw’s lips. He cradled the sticks of candied hawthorn as if they were a bouquet of flowers, his heart filled with sweetness.

"Let’s go home and eat," Lily Hart said.

Those simple words, spoken so casually, made Frost Shaw freeze on the spot. Watching her back, he felt as if his heart had been filled with honey.

He hurried to catch up, unwrapped one of the candied hawthorns, and offered it to her. "Want some?"

Lily Hart glanced at it, her teeth already aching in phantom pain. ’Eating so many sweets in one day isn’t great.’

She shook her head, refusing, and patted her stomach. "I’d better save room for dinner."

Frost Shaw chuckled, polished off the skewer in a few bites, and stored the remaining ones in his space to eat later.

At the night market, the candied hawthorn vendor watched their well-matched figures retreat and couldn’t resist gossiping with the stinky tofu vendor next to him.

"Hey, who do you think that guy is to Boss Hart?"

"Frost Shaw? Isn’t he the convenience store owner?"

"But they look so close. Do you think...?"

"No way. You think Boss Hart would hang herself from a single tree? I wouldn’t be surprised no matter how many people she finds, men or women!"

"That’s true~"

When the two of them returned to the RV, some dishes were already on the table, but Roman Rowe, Seth, and the others were still busy in the kitchen.

Even Owen Warren had gone into the kitchen to join the fun, provoking a stream of nagging from Roman Rowe. "Get out of here, stop making a mess."

Hearing this, Owen Warren became even more determined to stay, insisting on helping them chop and wash vegetables from time to time.

But his knife skills were terrible. Someone asked for shredded carrots, and he cut them into thick strips.

He even wore a look that said, ’I’m amazing, praise me,’ making Roman Rowe so angry he wanted to take off his shoe and beat him with it—if only he could win the fight!

Hmph! Hmph!

Roman Rowe submitted to the tyranny and ultimately failed to drive Owen Warren away. The meal was finally prepared amidst the chaos.

Lily Hart had exerted herself too much today and was so hungry her stomach felt empty. Everything tasted delicious to her.

Even Owen Warren’s carrot strips looked pleasing to the eye. She lavished praise on all the dishes everyone had made.

The ones being praised were happy, the one eating was happy, and the customers outside were happy.

Everyone was happy. The only ones who weren’t so happy were probably... the residents of Central Command.

They were all waiting and waiting, wondering when Boss Hart would come back.

They heard that Boss Hart had left several shops at the other bases, but Central Command, where she’d stayed the longest, only got ten scratch-off machines.

If that wasn’t preferential treatment, what was?

They were about to start a war online over it, but most of the anger was directed at the residents of other bases. How dare they eat so well!

Lily Hart had been gone for so long that even administrators like Steven Gibbs weren’t used to it.

He used to sneak off to the lottery shop to buy a few scratch-off tickets. He loved the feeling of picking them out himself and didn’t like buying from the machines.

Since Lily Hart left, Steven Gibbs hadn’t gone out to buy any more. He couldn’t help but sigh.

Across the conference table, Brian Booker and Lena Corbin gave him a puzzled look and said in unison, "What are you sighing for?"

Steven Gibbs subconsciously started, "The lottery shop... I mean, what do you two think of the White Family’s new administrator?"

Brian Booker shrugged. "What’s there to think? They’re a colleague. It’s not the first or second time the White Family has changed administrators."

"True," Steven Gibbs replied perfunctorily, his mind already drifting back to the lottery shop.

Lena Corbin, as if seeing right through him, feigned casualness and said, "I wonder if Lily Hart will ever come back to Central Command."

Steven Gibbs’s head shot up. "Of course she will!" Then he felt he had been too emotional.

After forcing himself to calm down, he said, "I think Lily Hart will definitely be back. There are more people here, so there’s more to earn. She’d be a fool not to come back."

Lena Corbin and Brian Booker exchanged a look and silently shook their heads. "Who knows~"

Steven Gibbs wanted to argue his case, but he felt that the more he said, the more he’d slip up. ’I can’t let them find out how much I’m looking forward to Lily Hart’s return!’

...

Their second day at Prudence Base came to a successful end. After dinner, Lily Hart started a poll.

Before bed, she checked the results. The winner was surprisingly the factory. ’The news about the warm clothes must have spread,’ she thought.

The temperature was dropping day by day. Fending off the cold and stockpiling food were now two of the most important tasks for survivors.

She’d heard from Frost Shaw and the others that temperatures could drop as low as minus thirty degrees Celsius. Many people had frozen to death because they lacked proper warm clothing.

Now that there was news of warm clothes, it was only natural that they would vote to save the factory.

As the people wished, Lily Hart replicated the factory. It was only at its initial stage, though, not yet capable of producing warm clothes.

[What are the conditions for upgrading a sub-shop?] Lily Hart asked the system.

[Points.] The system was concise.

[The number of points earned by the sub-shop?] Lily Hart confirmed.

’That’s not so bad, then. It’s not like the farm plot with its unpredictable rules.’

[Correct~ For example, when a sub-shop earns 500,000 points, it can be upgraded by one level. The above is purely an example and not for reference.]

’Understood. In short, I just have to earn more and more points to upgrade faster!’

Lily Hart went to sleep, her mind at ease.

After a wonderful night’s sleep, Lily Hart woke up full of energy. She first gave Nana and Lily a good cuddle, then played with King for a while.

This had already become her fixed morning ritual.

After washing up, she took the three of them downstairs to sunbathe. The first floor was so spacious now that it never felt crowded.

The two cats and the one flower sat on the tabletop, basking in the morning sun. It was warm and incredibly comfortable.

Lily Hart poured herself a glass of warm water, pulled up a stool, and sat down. After a sip, she rested her head on the table.

She stroked Nana’s soft fur with one hand while pulling cat food out of her space for the two little cats to eat with the other.

King nudged closer, plopping its head right into her palm and rubbing against her with its cool petals.

Lily Hart smiled dotingly, fished a Crystal Core out from a corner of her space, and placed it in her palm.

Surprise burst forth on King’s little face. A few petals wrapped around the Crystal Core, and it swallowed it in one gulp.

’Feeding little pets brings so much joy. Watching them eat their fill, depending on you with their whole being.’

’The feeling of satisfaction is indescribable. It’s just so fulfilling, so gratifying.’

"Want to go upstairs? Or keep sunbathing here?" Lily Hart asked the three of them, propping her head up with one hand.

The two little cats shook their heads, their ears nearly taking flight. Seeing this, King shook its head too, its petals almost whirling into a circle.

"Alright, alright, you can stay here then. Be good, don’t run off~" Lily Hart instructed.

Before the customers arrived, she first bought two hundred booklets of scratch-off tickets for the day’s stock.

She placed them in four separate corners for easy access.

Just before eight o’clock, the door to the breakfast shop opened from the inside, and Old Man Keaton poked his head out.