[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-258":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286094,4472,"Chapter 258: The Fastest Way to Earn Money in History","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-258",258,"\u003Cp>\"Mr. Joseph?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not knowing Leon’s intentions at this moment, Agatha, recognizing him by the same patch of yellow hair on his head as the child, couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s only been a day, and your change is truly... quite significant...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just significant, but expensive too—this outfit alone could cover half my salary at the Cleanup Bureau. A clothing shop in a seaside town charging the same prices as the capital? Absolutely ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After mentally grumbling about Ankara’s bizarre prices, Leon smiled and replied:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s nothing much—just changed clothes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, it was only a change of clothes, but your current appearance is vastly more pleasant to look at.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling Joseph’s past attire and comparing it to his present look, Agatha’s lips twitched upward, and she bit down hard several times but couldn’t hold back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go ahead and laugh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glancing at the princess, who was barely holding back a smile, Leon, pondering his \"persona,\" spoke softly with an indulgent expression:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If my rose can bloom into a smile, even if everyone mocks me, it’s worth it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, it seems only his face has changed—Joseph is still the same Joseph.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a helpless shake of his head, Agatha, no longer a waitress and no longer obligated to cater to customers, spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Joseph, please don’t say things like that. I’m just myself—I’m not anyone’s rose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, my most beautiful rose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man is beyond saving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Leon, whose eyes were full of her, Agatha shook her head, gave up on trying to change him, and turned back to the job listings in the newspaper, preparing to find herself work first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing her gaze, the strands of transparent thread above the protagonist Elijah trembled slightly, and then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, Elijah asked thoughtfully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the way, Miss Agatha, weren’t you working at the dockside tavern? Why are you here at the post office?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m unemployed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After briefly explaining the situation, Agatha said helplessly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won’t stay here long—probably just a couple of weeks—so I need a short-term job. But all these ads want long-term staff, and I don’t want to deceive anyone, so I’m stuck...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A two-week short job?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Agatha’s words, Elijah’s heart stirred—he remembered he needed a local guide. He blurted out directly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about working for me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing Agatha would likely be unemployed, Leon had been waiting at the post office for hours and preemptively cut in with a prepared excuse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My parents left me a vast fortune, but they died in a shipwreck long ago. Now only my grandmother and I remain. She’s been very ill lately, and the old lady hopes I’ll marry soon. So... could you help me? Pretend to be my fiancée for a few days?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uh...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing Leon’s “hiring” proposal, the protagonist Elijah immediately clamped his mouth shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to—Joseph had just sacrificed his parents and grandfather, leaving only a dying grandmother who desperately wanted to see her grandson married before she passed. Meanwhile, Elijah only needed a guide to show him around a few sights. How could he compete?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... this doesn’t seem right...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Joseph’s request, the kind-hearted Agatha bit her lower lip, hesitating:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Joseph, I don’t mind helping you, but I plan to leave soon—what then...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There might not be a ‘then.’\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon sighed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve always known birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable thresholds—but I still hope to let my grandmother depart without regret. Also, I sincerely apologize for my past harassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, I did it only to keep others from bothering you, and I hoped to grow closer, maybe even convince you to become my... ah...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'm sorry, my rose—Miss Agatha. I was selfish before. Whether or not you help me this time, I'll never bother you again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So... all that effort to pursue me was to protect me from harassment—and to ease his grandmother’s heart?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having only vague memories of events before the “plot,” Agatha, upon learning Leon’s carefully crafted “truth,” felt her bright eyes soften slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that case, though Joseph is... slightly odd, he’s truly a good man—and deeply filial. Should I just...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master! Master Joseph!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Leon delivered his “Grandmother’s Illness Fist” followed by the “I Have a Reason Palm,” successfully landing a full combo of “Short-Term Fiancée Techniques” and leaving both stunned, a neatly dressed, plump butler hurried over from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing “Mr. Joseph,” the fat butler beamed with relief, rushed over, and grabbed Leon’s arm, pleading:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ve finally found you... Quick! Come home with me!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your grandmother got into a fight with old Madame Pomona from the neighboring estate over a silk scarf from the East, and she beat her with a broom until her buttocks were swollen. Go home and calm her down!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elijah: \"?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Agatha: \"?!?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You bastard—you wouldn’t even let me in at Joseph’s house last night, forced me to sleep on the street, and now you show up here to ruin me on purpose?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glancing at the transparent threads above the butler’s head, Leon knew this was the 【King of Drama】 meddling. Knowing resistance was useless, he erupted in feigned fury:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you doing here? Didn’t I order you to take my five hundred elite guards—loyal only to me—to the wealthiest merchant guild in the empire, left to me by my noble grandfather, and buy the most beautiful rose in the world—the one worthy of me—Agatha?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bastard is rewriting the setting on the fly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Leon’s answer—which contained no trace of canon and was entirely fabricated—the 【King of Drama】, controlling everything, gritted his teeth in rage but couldn’t challenge Leon’s power to smash the script. He swallowed his anger and accepted Leon’s new addition without letting the butler object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon, meanwhile, knew when to stop. He didn’t linger to further disrupt the plot. Instead, he played the part of a proper supporting character: offering a slightly awkward smile to the two, he left the post office in a flustered, pained hurry to go home and inventory his newly “earned” wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the two protagonists left behind, they were stunned by the absurd twist and the sudden revelation of his fortune. They stood silent for a long while, until Elijah finally spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This Mr. Joseph... is kind of... interesting, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m planning to tour Ankara for two weeks. If you need a short-term job, how about being my guide?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Act One of “Twelve Days Together”—Meeting at the Tavern—End.\u003C\u002Fp>",1082,"2026-06-20T03:18:31.831Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","88e748fcac062d8ab6d568d342f92dd4ecda5fa722d7fb495b82a2a9a9639e88","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-259","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-257",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]