[{"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-33":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},2285869,4472,"Chapter 33: 33 The Witch","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>33 The Witch’s Broom\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing the name of the water company he was assigned to investigate, Li Ang’s expression darkened slightly, but he quickly recovered, reasoning it was merely a coincidence—same surname, same name, nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The familiar company name stirred memories: the hundreds of patients still lying in hospital corridors, the agonized screams he’d heard while visiting Anna, and his good mood vanished in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could never afford the medical bills for hundreds of people; after the public water pipe incident, antidiarrheal prices in the Old Quarter had more than quintupled, and the specific tonic to treat this plague was even costlier—he couldn’t buy even a few doses with a year’s salary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Red Brick Road had only four or five hundred patients, these were severe cases of abdominal pain; the true number of affected residents in the Old Quarter numbered at least tens of thousands, and countless others who couldn’t pay were still enduring it alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only silver lining was that this plague was not highly contagious—so long as one avoided direct contact with feces or vomit, or stayed out of enclosed spaces where these substances heavily evaporated, infection was unlikely; most people remained safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem lay in the fact that this waterborne plague seemed nearly impossible to cure on its own—at minimum, a single alchemical tonic injection was required, yet given the income levels of Old Quarter residents, very few could afford such tonics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only solution he could currently conceive was to gather evidence proving Char Water Company and the Road Administration were negligent, then either report it to higher authorities in the Kingdom or leak it to fearless major newspapers—anything to make the scandal explode and force them to pay for the medicine!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if, in the end, even that failed to resolve it…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Customer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Li Ang suddenly fall into deep thought, his expression shifting unpredictably after hearing his name, the shrewd shopkeeper raised an eyebrow in surprise and called out gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Customer, your meal is ready. Total: one and a half copper wheels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh oh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the shopkeeper’s call, Li Ang snapped back to attention, murmured twice, then reached for his coins while shaking his head with a grim face:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, your name brought back some memories… Also, you’re older than my father—calling you by name feels wrong. I’ll just call you Uncle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe, fine. If you’re willing to call a street vendor ‘Uncle,’ what’s there not to agree to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bringing over the coffee and the plate of bread, the coffee stall owner smiled warmly at Li Ang, whose slender frame seemed even younger than his own daughter, then pulled over a wobbly stool and sat beside him, asking gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since you call me Uncle, let me ask two questions—when you mentioned Char Company just now, your expression wasn’t good… Did you have some unpleasant history with that company?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm… sort of…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief hesitation, Li Ang didn’t mention his plan to investigate Char Water Company; instead, he told the story of Anna’s injury from the “gas pipe explosion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s it… you’re the one who refused compensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your family must be going through a hard time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening, the coffee stall old man blinked, then sighed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your sister’s still sick, and now this misfortune… Look, since you called me Uncle, from now on, whenever you come here to order anything, I’ll give you half price—how’s that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait… is my “Uncle” that powerful?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the coffee stall owner suddenly overflow with sympathy, Li Ang raised an eyebrow in surprise, caught off guard by this unexpected kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could figure out how to respond,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the shrewd merchant grinned amiably, returned half a copper wheel, and added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, since you called me Uncle, remember to drop by often—help out your Uncle’s business, alright?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Got it. My “Uncle” just got me a membership card, didn’t it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn, if I were the type who couldn’t say no, I’d be locked into your stall forever—even if other vendors were cheaper, I’d never dare eat breakfast elsewhere, or I’d feel guilty for half a week… You’ve gone to great lengths to keep customers—no wonder you make money!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understanding this was clearly a sales tactic, Li Ang smiled and accepted without further comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, though this coffee stall was slightly more expensive, it was the most comfortable on the entire street—and now it offered discounts to turn him into a regular, so why refuse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wolfed down the bread and ham, bid farewell to his newly acquired honorary uncle, and stepped back into the biting autumn morning, wrapped in the scarf Anna had knitted for him, feeling warm from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After he left, a regular customer lounging by the stove, sipping coffee, leaned over with a mischievous grin:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Char! I’ve drunk coffee here for eight years, and I’ve never seen you, Mr. Tightwad, lower your prices! What’s gotten into you today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did your daughter still not find a husband, and now you’re scrambling to find a son-in-law, trying to get on this young man’s good side?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe, nothing of the sort~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just felt a connection with the boy. Saw he might be struggling lately, so I gave him a little break—hope he comes back often to support my business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waving off the suggestion, the coffee stall owner watched Li Ang’s retreating back and chatted casually:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But honestly, he’s not a bad prospect—slightly thin, but tall, and quite good-looking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And look where he’s headed—only government offices ahead, so he must have a real job. Plus, even to a street coffee vendor like me, he’s always polite… Hmm… a fine young man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling other details his daughter Amy had mentioned, the coffee stall owner raised an eyebrow, exchanged a few more words with the regular, then sat back down, gazing up at the dark canvas roof of his stall, stroking his salt-and-pepper beard in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People, when around those they know and their familiar surroundings, always hide themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only before easy temptations, or strangers who are worse off and unlikely to cross paths again, do they unconsciously let a little of themselves slip out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What this boy revealed without realizing it was rare indeed… gentle, courteous, diligent, sharp-minded—if Amy liked him, I’d have no reason to object…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem is, our family only accepts sons-in-law who move in—we don’t accept brides. I wonder if he’d agree to that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unaware he’d been added to the list of potential sons-in-law, Li Ang arrived at the Cleanup Bureau after braving the cold, opened his office door, and saw the new anomaly the Red-haired Director had mentioned—a black broom floating midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Name: The Lazy Witch’s Rental Broom (Corrupt, Flight, Protection)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Appearance: A solid black wooden broom, adorned at the top with a few crow feathers; besides an ever-present faint odor of pine oil, the handle frequently bears tiny cat paw prints】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Abilities: Magical Enhancement, Flight, Air Shield】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Cost: Every Friday at 3:30 p.m., a feline will knock on your door—be sure to treat it well】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【File: An old broom discarded by an unknown witch. Every Friday afternoon, she goes out to play flying ball, returning only at dawn, leaving no time to care for her cat. She thus reached an agreement with the Lion Division of the Cleanup Bureau: in exchange for renting out her broom, the user must care for her cat one day per week.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Evaluation: Simple, practical anomaly—free cat cuddles included. Favorite of Lion Division Director Beverly】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Contamination Level: 0.5】\u003C\u002Fp>",1254,"2026-06-20T03:18:28.556Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","97991ced69124756f28cee1003e487feddbe0c7d8bf48ab1ee1ab99f1e53196a","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-34","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-32",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]