CFSMS -Chapter 8 Boss Lu’s Bun Shop, Protected by Grandpa Li

“A Strange Black-Spot Disease Has Infected the Boys and Girls of Xiaohe Town — Suspected Evil Cultivator Activity.”

The person who released the news couldn’t be traced, but the matter itself was true.

In the Qingyuan Realm, children could have their aptitude tested and begin cultivation once they turned twelve.

Had he not accidentally met Xiaohua and her mother, Grandpa Li would never have discovered that Xiaohe Town was hiding a secret even he didn’t know about.

Only after mobilizing his connections the previous night did he learn that quite a few children in town who were about to turn twelve had contracted a strange illness. Just like Xiaohua, black spots had appeared on their faces.

As for whether those black spots caused any harm beyond disfigurement, Grandpa Li had yet to find out.

At the same time, however, he learned that Boss Lu’s red bean buns could remove those black spots.

Someone had deliberately spread the news, which had led to the current situation.

It was far too much of a coincidence.

Grandpa Li strongly suspected that the mastermind behind everything was targeting Boss Lu.

Thinking about how delicious those buns were, he swallowed unconsciously, his expression becoming resolute.

He absolutely would not allow anyone to interfere with Boss Lu’s stall.

Boss Lu’s Bun Shop shall be protected by me, Grandpa Li!

At that moment, blazing determination erupted from Grandpa Li’s eyes.

Many people nearby looked at him with newfound awe.

“You want two red bean buns too?”

Lu Wu glanced at the masked figure standing before her stall.

The strange attire, similar ages, and identical tastes made her increasingly suspicious that she had somehow encountered a bizarre organization.

She noticed that the masked people who had bought red bean buns earlier were all gathered in a corner. They whispered among themselves, laughing one moment and crying the next.

They didn’t seem mentally stable at all.

Still, they were paying customers.

As a business owner, Lu Wu couldn’t exactly refuse them.

“Then wait a moment.”

Wearing a worried expression, Lu Wu wrapped soft, sticky red bean filling inside the dough.

The cooled red bean paste was like a shy young maiden, gradually hidden beneath the dough’s embrace.

To satisfy the masked customers, she made an entire steamer basket filled exclusively with red bean buns.

Despite her vigilance, the masked people caused no trouble.

One after another, they bought their buns and quietly left.

Only after the last masked figure disappeared did Lu Wu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Grandpa Li, you’re here again.”

Seeing him, Lu Wu smiled.

“That’s right. Give this old man two Purehearted Little Meat Buns.”

Grandpa Li replied with a grin.

The way he looked at Lu Wu was like a kind grandfather looking at his granddaughter.

Only those glowing eyes of his left Lu Wu feeling inexplicably confused.

The queue continued moving forward.

When it was finally a middle-aged man’s turn, he stared at Lu Wu and let out a cold laugh.

“Oh? So this is that legendary bun shop everyone’s been talking about?”

“Doesn’t look that special to me.”

“One low-grade spirit stone per bun? Heh. There sure are a lot of suckers around.”

“You people aren’t all planted customers, are you?”

“I’m going to see for myself what kind of heavenly bun this is.”

Looking at the fillings, he thought they seemed pretty ordinary.

Sure, they smelled amazing, but who knew whether the buns were all aroma and no substance?

Lu Wu paused while packing an order.

She blinked and examined the man.

Plain-looking features.

A cultivator, but only at the early Qi Refinement stage.

No obvious background, yet he had jumped out to cause trouble.

This fit the standard image of a cannon-fodder villain from a novel perfectly.

Could it be that she was finally about to enter the classic “trash protagonist rises against all odds” storyline?

Lu Wu rubbed her hands excitedly.

While she was thinking about how to handle the situation, Lou Xiaotian walked over with a smile and casually hooked an arm around the man’s shoulders.

“Wu Dalang, shouldn’t you be selling your flatbreads? Why are you here buying buns?”

Wu Dalang was a flatbread vendor from the neighboring street.

His business also operated at night, not far from here.

Ever since Lu Wu’s bun shop had exploded in popularity, many customers had flocked over after hearing about it, leaving Wu Dalang’s flatbread stall much quieter than before.

He had originally come to taste the buns and scout out the competition.

But seeing so many customers eagerly lining up made him jealous, and in his frustration he had spoken without thinking.

Now, under Lou Xiaotian’s cold warning glance, Wu Dalang regained his senses.

Avoiding eye contact, he muttered quietly and didn’t dare say another word.

“Two low-grade spirit stones. Here’s your order.”

Lu Wu handed over the kidney bun and meat bun he had requested.

Then she sighed in disappointment.

She hadn’t even gotten the chance to fight back.

How had the cannon-fodder villain already lost his nerve?

“Hmph…”

Unwilling to lose face, Wu Dalang snorted and stuffed a bun straight into his mouth.

The freshly steamed bun burst with scorching-hot broth the moment he bit into it.

His tongue instantly burned.

But mixed with that pain was an unbelievably delicious flavor that exploded across his mouth.

It was so good his tongue practically felt like it was melting.

Wu Dalang froze.

Unconvinced, he immediately took a bite of the kidney bun.

The spicy kidney bun used a chili oil specially formulated according to the system’s recipe.

Spicy, numbing, fragrant, and addictive.

One bite left a lingering aroma.

His taste buds surrendered instantly.

Compared to these buns, the flatbreads his family had proudly made for three generations were nothing but lifeless dough.

They weren’t even worthy of comparison.

He had been wrong.

Narrow-minded and foolish.

“Wuwuwu!”

Unable to spit out the food because it was too delicious despite being too hot, Wu Dalang chewed desperately.

The way he looked at Lu Wu changed completely.

When Lu Wu glanced up, she saw his tear-filled eyes.

Tilting her head, she looked puzzled.

Lou Xiaotian hadn’t even touched him.

Why was this man crying?

Could he have suffered some internal injury she couldn’t see?

【Ding! Congratulations, Host. Mission completed.】

【Reward: Qi Refinement Level 3 cultivation base and one random lottery draw.】

While she was pondering the matter, the system notification sounded.

Lu Wu looked and discovered that the mission progress bar had already filled completely.

At the same time, a warm current surged through her body.

The flow was gentle, slowly coursing through her meridians and washing away all her fatigue.

She felt refreshed, energetic, and full of vitality—as if she had swallowed the world’s greatest tonic.

So this is spiritual energy?

Feeling the changes within her body, Lu Wu was delighted.

Even so, she had no intention of closing her stall early.

The mission might be complete, but she had promised to work for seven days.

She absolutely wouldn’t slack off.

“Boss Lu, it’s my turn! One meat bun and one red bean bun.”

“Oh right, Boss Lu, do you have any other flavors?”

One customer asked.

Lu Wu found him somewhat familiar. He was probably a regular.

“New flavors? Of course.”

“They’ll be available tomorrow.”

In a good mood, Lu Wu granted the customer’s small request.

The system had given her plenty of recipes.

For the remaining few days, she could experiment with new flavors and reward both old and new customers.

Amid laughter and conversation, today’s stock was quickly running out once again.

“No more Purehearted Little Meat Buns?”

One customer frowned upon hearing the news.

“That’s right. Today’s batch is sold out.”

“You can try the kidney buns or red bean buns. They’re both excellent too.”

Lu Wu introduced the alternatives.

The customer before her was a young woman in her twenties, dressed elegantly.

Based on Lu Wu’s judgment, she was clearly from a wealthy family.

And her accent wasn’t from Xiaohe Town.

A traveler from another place?

Still unaware of the existence of the One Realm Communicator network, Lu Wu waited for the customer’s decision.

“What? I specifically traveled across two cities just to try your meat buns, and they’re already sold out?”

The young woman grumbled unhappily.

Still, she didn’t make things difficult for Lu Wu.

She bought one of each remaining flavor instead.

After receiving the buns, she didn’t eat them immediately.

Instead, she took out her One Realm Communicator and began sending messages.