The Humble Eatery, Chapter 5

The little boy dashed out swiftly.

Youyou walked over, a hint of envy in her voice. "Little Tong is actually from a well-connected family."

This was the thriller realm, where public transportation was the norm. Owning a private car meant belonging to a very influential family.

Su Man didn’t even turn her head. "It’s quite normal. Just look at his clothes—they’re very fine. He’s well-fed and plump, and his expression is innocent. You can tell he hasn’t been through much hardship."

"You knew all along, shopkeeper?" Youyou asked in surprise.

Su Man remained silent. Wasn’t it obvious at a glance?

"You treat him well because you already knew who he was, right?" Youyou whispered into her ear. Indeed, a person qualified to be a shopkeeper had a broader perspective than they did.

Su Man didn’t answer. She did things as she pleased and didn’t owe them any explanations.

At that moment, Little Tong hurried in, pulling a middle-aged man dressed in a tailcoat.

"Uncle Butler, it was this beautiful lady who saved me. She even gave me a delicious meal," he said, pointing brightly at Su Man.

The man nodded to Su Man and then politely thanked her, "Thank you for saving our young master."

He took a pouch of money from his chest and respectfully handed it to her. "We left in a hurry and didn’t bring much. This is two thousand thriller coins—not much, but a token of our gratitude."

Su Man accepted it with neither humility nor arrogance—it was what she deserved.

Seeing her composure, the butler’s eyes flashed with admiration. He then took out a red badge-like object from his chest and handed it to Su Man. "This is a token from the Tong family, a gift for a friend."

Su Man took it as well. Seeing her accept it, the butler pulled Little Tong aside and said goodbye. "The head of the family is waiting for us. We hope to see you again, shopkeeper."

His words were full of courtesy. Su Man nodded knowingly and watched them leave.

Little Tong couldn’t help but glance back repeatedly, waving reluctantly. "Shopkeeper, thank you for saving my life."

After they had completely left, Youyou, Dashan, and Xiaoshan all crowded around to look at the red token in Su Man’s hand.

The badge seemed to depict a huge crow. Youyou sighed, "In our realm, we don’t have access to those big shots. I don’t even know which family is Tong."

Su Man didn’t care much and stowed the items in her backpack compartment.

As for the two thousand thriller coins, although they could be counted as shop revenue, Su Man hadn’t added them yet. If the earnings were enough, this amount could be hers.

Thriller coins weren’t easy to come by; she wasn’t proud enough to push away any she earned.

After that, more customers came in, all behaving properly and eating without causing trouble.

By eight o’clock at night, the shop closed.

Youyou, Dashan, and Xiaoshan all had their own homes and went back after work.

Su Man stayed in the little room marked “No Trespassing.”

She did a quick calculation of the day’s earnings—980 earlier, plus 500 more later, totaling 1,480.

Still far from ten thousand.

If the next two days went the same way, she probably wouldn’t complete the mission.

At this point, Su Man secretly wished someone would cause trouble.

If there was a disturbance, she could earn a bit more.

She couldn’t help but pick up the price list and look again. It was truly amazing—items as cheap as fifty thriller coins, and the most expensive worth twenty thousand.

She wondered what the middlemen did when reclaiming these thriller items.

If she could catch one worth twenty thousand at once, the mission would be done immediately.

But she knew deep down the saying was true: price correlates with value, and perhaps also with strength.

Sun Li seemed not to need much sleep. While Su Man rested in the room, he kept watch at the shop.

In the dead of night, half asleep, Sun Li suddenly knocked and woke her.

"Su Man, someone’s outside."

She instantly woke up, jumped out of bed, and followed him to the shop.

Their shop had a rolling shutter door. At that moment, the shutter rattled as if something was hitting it.

"Open it," Su Man said without a trace of fear, letting Sun Li handle the door.

Sun Li obediently opened the shutter.

The moment it rose, Su Man and Sun Li got a clear look at the two faces outside.

"Hey, Su Man, it’s them!" Sun Li recognized them, his excitement evident. "They still dare to come."

Su Man was surprised as well. She admired their boldness to come and make trouble here.

Outside stood none other than the first customer she had greeted today, along with his younger brother.

They froze momentarily upon seeing Su Man.

Da Lin looked at his brother Xiao Lin, a trace of panic on his face. "What do we do? Didn’t you say they wouldn’t dare to come out and check?"

It was precisely because Xiao Lin had promised him that he dared to follow him here to vent over the injustice he had suffered during the day. But now, Su Man was right inside, arms crossed and watching them.

Xiao Lin was also surprised. Usually, shopkeepers were very timid. A wave of annoyance surged within him—ever since they were forced to spend money, something had felt off.

"It’s fine. Didn’t we find a helper?" Xiao Lin suddenly made a cold decision. Since they’d been spotted, they might as well go all out.

Da Lin thought of their helper and nodded repeatedly. "Right, we still have help. Let’s go. The way that woman looked at me scared me."

The two agreed and immediately signaled from the shadows.

A mountain-like, huge brute moved forward.

Xiao Lin pointed at the fast-food shop’s door lock and ordered the big guy, "Smash that door! Get in and wreck the shop!"

He was confident about this. This brute was a notorious thriller creature known for strength and malevolence. Given a little incentive, it would do any dirty work. It was infamous in the thriller realm, and Xiao Lin had spent effort to find it.

Now was the perfect time to put it to use.

Su Man saw the massive creature from her angle—it truly resembled a mountain of flesh.

Before she could study it further, the creature’s huge fist shattered the door into pieces.

The dishes, tables, and chairs inside were damaged to varying degrees.

If she and Sun Li hadn’t dodged quickly, they would have been injured.

"Damn it!" Su Man was genuinely furious.

Seeing Da Lin and Xiao Lin gloating and smug, she didn’t even want to say a word.

She threw her dagger, combining it with her previously mastered knife skills, and in the blink of an eye, she took their heads.

The fallen faces of Da Lin and Xiao Lin still bore their proud expressions.

Su Man was about to deal with the remaining creature when it suddenly stopped moving, standing dumbfounded after their deaths.

She didn’t understand what it was doing.

She told Sun Li to watch it and quickly went to get the price list and contact information.

She wondered whether the middlemen worked at this late hour.