Chapter 271: Dinner Party

Liu Qiang’s eyes went wide, choked speechless by her sharp retort.

’Liu Yaozu is the family’s only male heir, their only hope for continuing the family line. How could he possibly be a good-for-nothing? How could Shen Lu compare him to a shabby rental unit?!’

Seeing Liu Qiang and Shen Lu about to fight, Yang Jing weakly spoke up, "Little Deer, don’t say that about Yaozu. The money... if it’s gone, it’s gone. It wasn’t much anyway, just twenty or thirty Star Coins."

"You spendthrift!" Liu Qiang couldn’t win an argument with Shen Lu, but scolding his own wife was a different story—she’d never talk back. "Go on, earn twenty Star Coins for me right now! Don’t you know what’s going on? It’s the sandstorm season! It’s even hard to scavenge at the junkyard!"

Shen Lu said, "Is taking your anger out on her going to help? It wasn’t her who dirtied the house, nor was it her who brought over those shady characters to disturb the neighbors. You’re completely blind to what Liu Yaozu did and just pick on the honest one?"

His neck tight with anger, Liu Qiang seethed, "Shen Lu, you have the gall to talk? Whose fault do you think it is that I ended up like this?!"

He angrily pointed to his injured thigh. "Couldn’t you have found a decent place to work? You had to provoke enemies who came for revenge and even got us involved!"

Shen Lu crossed her arms. "That’s right. If you hadn’t jumped out to claim me as family, they probably wouldn’t have found you. But who was it that insisted on claiming me?"

’Just want the benefits without any of the responsibility?’

"You!" Liu Qiang was so angry he was speechless, wishing he could stand up and slap Shen Lu across the face.

"Mom, we’re having a staff dinner at the restaurant tonight. Do you want to come?" Shen Lu couldn’t be bothered to argue with Liu Qiang any longer. She hadn’t come here just to trade barbs.

"Ah, I..." If they hadn’t been fighting, Yang Jing would have agreed immediately. But with Shen Lu and Liu Qiang having argued so fiercely, and with the invitation extended only to her, going felt like betraying her husband. She was very hesitant.

"You’re not allowed to go!" Liu Qiang said menacingly.

"Go!" Liu Yaozu’s voice was even louder than Liu Qiang’s. "Mom, you should go!"

’The food at the dinner will definitely be lavish. She can pack up some leftovers and bring them back for me to eat.’

"Dinner’s at 6 PM. If you’re late, don’t bother coming." Shen Lu tossed out the sentence and made a cool exit.

When it came to Yang Jing, Shen Lu felt a certain pity for her misfortune mixed with anger at her lack of fight. Still, on some level, she could understand her.

After all, Yang Jing was a person with little worldly experience, an introverted and timid personality. She was desperate to rely on the men in the family, lacking her own opinions and courage.

But she was not the "real" Shen Lu. She lacked that instinctual, filial devotion a daughter might have for her mother. She would help her, but not endlessly.

Back in the front of the restaurant, quite a few people had already arrived. They had all come on foot and were covered in a fair bit of sand. After entering, they first took off their jackets to shake off the sand, then patted down each other’s hair and pants.

The cleaning robot, Kuku, got to work, cleaning up the sand on the floor with swift precision.

’System products really are a cut above the rest.’ The cleaning robot’s workload had increased significantly over the past two days, and Shen Lu had worried that it might break down from cleaning up so much sand every day.

It turned out her worries were for nothing. The cleaning robot was running normally, without any problems at all.

Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci, shedding the timidity of their first visit, happily went off to play with Xiao Lang.

Grandma Wang and Mrs. Wang greeted Shen Lu and thanked her for taking care of their family.

"Wang Daguo is a very earnest and hardworking employee." Shen Lu gave him her affirmation. "I’ll be entrusting him with more important work in the future."

Shen Lu was quick to make such promises. As for when Wang Daguo would actually get a taste of this "pie," that was another question entirely.

Deng Ying arrived, leading a little girl by the hand who shared a fair resemblance with her.

"Boss, this is my little sister, Deng Xuan." Deng Ying gently pushed her sister toward Shen Lu. "Xuanxuan, hurry and say hello."

"Boss Shen, hello." Deng Xuan was very well-behaved, doing exactly as Deng Ying instructed. Her eyes, like black grapes, looked at Shen Lu with curiosity.

’She had heard her sister talk about Shen Lu many times.’

’Her sister said Shen Lu was the best boss she’d ever met, that her cooking was delicious, and that she could always effortlessly solve problems that others couldn’t.’

’But her sister had never mentioned how beautiful Shen Lu was.’

"Boss Shen, you’re so pretty." Unlike the taciturn Deng Ying, Deng Xuan was surprisingly sweet-tongued.

Shen Lu patted the little girl’s head. "Thank you for the compliment, you cute little thing."

Shen Lu couldn’t bring herself to use the word "pretty" in return. Deng Xuan really couldn’t be called pretty.

She was thin and dark-skinned. While her eyes were quite large, her face was so gaunt it made them look almost frighteningly so.

It was similar to how Deng Ying had looked when she first arrived.

After working here for a while, even though she only ate lunch here, Deng Ying had put on some weight in her face and looked much better.

Deng Ying gave her sister a quick tour of the restaurant, told her which places were off-limits, and then let her go play with Wang Xiaohui and the other kids.

Shu Meng’s family was the last to arrive. Her husband’s name was Fan Shicheng, and her son was Fan An Kang. They seemed like a rather harmonious family.

Shu Meng led her husband and son over to greet Shen Lu. Her husband wasn’t what you’d call talkative and was indeed a man of few words. Fan An Kang was wearing a slightly worn school uniform, his chest puffed out, his desire to show off plain to see.

Shen Lu raised an eyebrow, finding it a little amusing.

Cai Su sidled up to her and whispered enviously, "That uniform Shu Meng’s son is wearing is from Mingde School. Look at the nameplate on his chest—he’s already in the second grade."

"Is that a good school?" Shen Lu asked.

Cai Su shook her head. "It’s not that it’s good, it’s that it’s the *only* school in the Lower City District. From elementary to high school, this is the only one."

Educational resources were scarce. There was no compulsory education here; you had to pay if you wanted to go to school.

And in the Lower City District, more than half the population was waiting for government relief rations to get by.

’So that’s how it is. No wonder Fan An Kang looks so proud.’

Shen Lu didn’t find his behavior annoying, though. ’It’s normal for kids to have a bit of vanity. When I was little, I would stuff a bag of tasty candy my family bought me into my pocket and show it off everywhere.’

The staff dinner was held in the fast-food section as usual. Pushing the tables together created one long one. Since it was buffet-style, with everyone getting their food from the window, there was no issue of being seated too far away to reach the dishes.

As six o’clock approached, Shen Lu called for everyone to take their seats. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of clothing peeking through the doorway.

Turning her head to look, she saw Yang Jing slowly shuffling in.

"Little Deer, I-I’m not late, am I?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"No, you’re right on time." Shen Lu smiled faintly and introduced her to the group. "This is my mother. Her surname is Yang."

Immediately, everyone began to greet Yang Jing.

Yang Jing had always been the one who was ignored. It was the first time she had ever been given this much attention. Everyone’s warm and sincere greetings left her feeling overwhelmed by the favor, and she didn’t even know where to put her hands.

She looked at Shen Lu, at a loss, hoping her daughter would help her.

Shen Lu pretended not to see and turned away, feigning busyness.

With no help in sight, Yang Jing had no choice but to brace herself and say, "Hello, everyone."