Chapter 427: Coffee and Snacks (Two-in-One)

"Sss... it's getting a bit cold..."

Just as dawn was breaking, the hardworking laborer Li Ang climbed up and walked on the road to work while yawning.

After being blown by the cold wind of late autumn and his brain becoming a little clearer, Li Ang instinctively shrank his neck, wrapped Anna's knitted scarf around another time, and then instinctively thought of what happened last night...

He didn't give an answer to the question Melanie raised, but instead mumbled something about you'll understand when you grow up, barely muddling through.

Even if he had told Melanie, she might not have understood at her age. But for news about the Cleaning Bureau and anomalous objects in "another world," the less ordinary people know, the less likely they are to run into them, so naturally, it's better to hide it if he can.

However, although Melanie's question ended there, it didn't seem entirely meaningless. At the very least, it answered a small doubt for Li Ang—what exactly the Director had lost.

According to the information given by 【Materialist Soul】, a person who possesses the anomalous object 【Love Without Memory】 must lose one of the three: "parental love, filial love, or romantic love."

It seems now that what she lost should be the love from children. And judging from her performance yesterday, she should be very fond of children.

After all, although the Veteran's Alley where he lived didn't belong to the slums, it wasn't a good location either. Besides various noisy and dirty companies, there was a prison holding many serious criminals. The number of residents was small, and there were even fewer children, so naturally, there were no small shops selling candy.

So the milk candy wrapped in colored paper that she bought for Melanie and the others could only be bought at a department store four or five streets away. And she was willing to walk such a long way to buy candy for two children she had just met, so she naturally wasn't someone who disliked children.

Hmm... for someone who especially likes children, not having children of her own is one thing, but if she had children and kept being forgotten by them, that might really be a cruel thing.

Shaking his head with some sympathy, Li Ang was just about to speed up his pace to the Cleaning Bureau, and then take the Black Goat to visit the nurse who was suspected of carrying an "anomaly," but he was stopped by a sweet, burnt fragrance.

A handcart with stools and a table, a huge tin hot water boiler and copper faucet, a charcoal stove with bright red flames, several low tables and stools made of sawn wood frames...

Amidst the coffee aroma filling his nose, a small space wrapped tightly by old canvas, protected from the cold late autumn wind, and glowing with warm heat, suddenly hit his eyes.

A coffee stall...

Looking at the warm stall that looked particularly attractive in this gray, cold morning, Li Ang couldn't help but stop. After hesitating for a long time, he finally succumbed to the tempting sweet fragrance, shrank his body, walked into the tent, and found a table near the inside to sit down.

"Boss, a cup of coffee, two slices of thin bread."

"Coming right up!"

Taking out a cup with a broken handle, shaking in the coffee powder nimbly, then wrapping his hand with a rag, unscrewing the copper faucet emitting white smoke to pour in hot water, and pinching the stirring rod with three fingers to stir it twice, a steaming cup of black liquid was placed in front of Li Ang.

"Guest, do you want butter on the 'two thins'? If you are interested, I also have ham slices here, just fried before opening the stall this morning, still hot."

"Uh... how much does it cost to add ham slices? Is it expensive?"

"Not expensive, not expensive, very cheap!"

After wiping his hands on his dark apron, the boss, who looked to be in his early fifties, smiled honestly and held up a dark finger.

"One copper wheel without ham slices, two copper wheels in total if you add them!"

Two copper wheels... and you charge an extra copper wheel for just one slice of ham? Why don't you go rob someone? I can buy a whole one at the department store for less than a silver wheel, okay!

Speechlessly looking at this coffee stall boss who looked honest but was actually extremely cunning, Li Ang couldn't help but curl his lips:

"Forget the ham, just butter the bread... remember to butter it thick!"

"Coming right up!"

The extra sales attempt failed, but the boss's honest face didn't show disappointment. Instead, he smiled, took out a long loaf of toast, cut two thin, thin slices with two quick slashes, dipped them twice with a brush smaller than one used for polishing shoes, and threw them onto the stone slab above the charcoal stove to roast.

Damn... the way you do business is too damn stingy.

Looking at those two slices of bread that would be considered thin even if put into a bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles, Li Ang couldn't help but shout that he had been scammed, knowing that he had probably met a master of gouging customers.

But since he was already here, and he couldn't bear to leave the stove fire burning so brightly in this small stall, he finally didn't raise any objections, but picked up the hot coffee and sipped a small mouthful carefully.

Mmm... really good... feels like I've come back to life...

As his hands were warmed by the cup and his empty stomach was warmed by the coffee, Li Ang couldn't help but squint his eyes comfortably, and the dead profiteer boss also brought up the "Lanzhou bread slices" at the right time.

"Guest, your meal is ready, one copper wheel please."

Looking at the bread slices in the small dish that were almost "translucent," Li Ang finally paid the money honestly, but he was still dissatisfied in his heart and couldn't help but mock:

"Boss, your knife skills for cutting bread are so nimble, you must have earned a lot, right?"

"Hehe, just so-so, barely making a living."

Estimating that there were many guests like Li Ang who made strange remarks, the boss wasn't angry when mocked. Instead, he honestly pointed to the stove behind him and smiled:

"Look at my stove, it burns the best charcoal, and I'm always adding fuel, ensuring that no matter when guests come, the coffee poured out is the hottest. This charcoal money is also a cost!"

That's true... but with your face that sells a slice of ham for a copper wheel, plus that bread-cutting skill comparable to a Lanzhou master, the extra money spent on charcoal is probably doubled back in a blink of an eye. You definitely earned a lot.

"I won't lie to you, for early guests like you who go to work in the municipal district, what you value most is not the affordability, but the real temperature."

Seemingly wanting to develop Li Ang into a regular customer, seeing that he seemed indifferent to his words, the boss pointed to the other side of the street and explained patiently:

"My coffee may not be sweet enough or strong enough, but the temperature is definitely the best, and the stove fire is the most vigorous, which can always heat up to the outside of the tent."

"Even to make it easier for you to warm your hands without being burned, I even use thickened ceramic cups here, instead of thin iron cups that you can only hold for a second before having to put them down because they're too hot, ensuring that no matter how you come, you can leave warm from the inside out."

"Otherwise, look, there are so many stalls over there, why is mine the most crowded? That's because what I'm selling you is far more than this cup of coffee, but also a warmth in the cold morning. Don't you think that's the truth?"

"Oh, by the way, don't tell anyone else what I've told you!"

Seemingly suddenly realizing that these words had leaked a lot of "business secrets," the honest-looking boss waved his hands and said shyly:

"This small coffee stall, I plan to pass it on to my daughter in the future, so no matter how she lives outside, she can have a way to make a living when she comes home. If even these tricks are learned by others, then she will be in trouble!"

"..."

I believe you, ghost! A person as shrewd as you, can you just tell anyone anything?

Not to mention anything else, your coffee isn't sweet at all, but I came here following the sweet scent just now, so there must be tricks in that pot of yours. If I really learned to do what you do, I'm afraid I'd lose my pants!

Tsk... but then again, although you are stingy as hell when selling things, since you put so much thought into it, then this money is indeed what you deserve to earn!

Being stunned by this business philosophy of the coffee stall boss that focuses on added value, Li Ang couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in admiration, then quickly finished the bread and drank the coffee, and got up to leave in a hurry toward the Cleaning Bureau.

And not long after he left, a baby-faced girl wearing a professional suit skirt followed the sweet scent all the way here.

Seeing the honest-looking coffee stall boss, the girl's big, watery eyes lit up. She hurriedly ran over, pulled the boss, and complained: "Dad! Your body just recovered, why are you stealing out to open the stall again? Mom was furious when she found out!"

"Hmph! I'm opening a stall, what does she have to be angry about?"

Hearing the baby-faced girl's words, the boss, who was just kind and honest, twisted his nose, turned into an unreasonable stubborn old man, and asked back angrily:

"What? You also look down on my small stall? Let me tell you, if it weren't for this small coffee stall, the three of us would have starved to death long ago, could our family have today?"

"Oh! No one looks down on your small stall! But do you have to set it up today?"

Looking at the father who suddenly started acting stubborn in front of her, the baby-faced girl said helplessly:

"Our gas company's pipeline cracked, and we just paid out a large sum of money, and the water company also had an accident. It's a troublesome time."

"Mom is angry that you are still running around at this time, not focusing on dealing with company affairs, but actually running out to set up a stall early in the morning..."

"What's there to deal with? What should be earned is earned, what should be paid is paid! Why play tricks? Also, do you have to manage me coming out to set up a stall for two hours a day? Can the company not turn without me?"

The coffee stall boss became even angrier when he heard this, blowing his beard and staring:

"Besides, I said from the beginning, these municipal projects shouldn't be touched!"

"Although doing these makes money fast and stable, basically there is a large sum of money coming in every year, but the problem is that the power to manage things is not in our hands. In the end, we can only suggest but not decide. Can this work?"

"I knew from the beginning that according to the style of those grandsons, something would happen sooner or later! It's better to continue honestly doing our family's department store. Although the risk is high and the profit is thin, at least we can watch it ourselves, and it's easy to solve if something happens."

"But your mother is stubborn! She insisted that relying on our family's reputation, people would restrain themselves a little bit when doing things, and she insisted on drilling into it, and I couldn't pull her back!"

"The result? To save a little filtering money, those grandsons poured the feces water from the sewage river directly into the public water pipes! It made the medicine for diarrhea in the whole capital sell out! They restrain a fart! They don't even want their faces anymore!"

After muttering a few words, seeing that the temperature slowly rose after the sun came out, and there were almost no guests, the coffee stall boss raised his hand to cover the stove, extinguished the charcoal fire, put away the tent cloth, pushed the small cart and took his daughter away angrily, continuing to ask while walking:

"How is the gas pipeline crack? Did you apologize to people properly, and then give compensation?"

"Gave it, gave it! It's just that one family didn't seem to want it, saying they didn't suffer any major injuries, just pay for their bandaging fees."

"It's their business if they don't want it, but since our company had a problem, the compensation must be in place... By the way, what is that family's name?"

"The surname is a bit unclear... Ah! Bobby Laien! Right! Li Ang Bobby Laien! He is a good person who doesn't have much money, but always smiles very gently and is very gentle to his sister!"

"You ask about the newcomer in our bureau? His name is Li Ang, Li Ang Bobby Laien."

Besides the coffee stall father and daughter, there were two other people talking about Li Ang's situation at this time.

"Bobby Laien?"

Hearing this somewhat familiar surname, the little woman in the gold mirror blinked, bit into the sponge cake in her hand, and asked curiously:

"Someone from the Lionheart Duke's family? Don't you hate nobles very much? Why would you accept him into your Virgin Bureau?"

"It's just the same surname, actually two different words."

After simply explaining Li Ang's surname, looking at the woman in the gold mirror who put down the cake and chewed the puff pastry, the red-haired Director couldn't help but frown:

"Why are you asking about him? Want to poach someone?"

"I do have that idea."

After admitting her plan without any taboo, the little woman wearing a black and white Lolita dress picked up a nut cake ring, licked the sweet almond powder on it, and then smiled:

"I read the file you reported. This is a 【Forced Information Acquisition】 ability with a higher rank than a Great Demon. It's amazing if used well. Which Director wouldn't be thinking about it?"

"..."

Looking at the eyes of her best friend in the mirror that suddenly narrowed, the little woman ate the cake ring in one bite, then picked up a small oil tea pancake, and while brushing strawberry jam on it, explained:

"But don't worry, I'm really not trying to poach him this time, but want to make a small deal with him... Has the anomalous object of that hospital director been taken out?"

So that's it... Are you thinking about that anomalous object that absorbs patients?

Looking at the lion carving scratching the dung ball on the gold mirror, the red-haired Director pondered for a moment, and a look of realization flashed in her eyes.

In the jurisdiction of the Bobby Laien Bureau where Beverly is located, there is a port occupied by an out-of-control infected person. Nearly ten thousand residents in more than ten surrounding villages and towns have been forcibly given a certain incurable epidemic. As long as that out-of-control infected person dies, everyone will die together.

Although the people in the Bobby Laien Bureau reacted fast enough to block the port in time and didn't cause more trouble, they really couldn't do anything about the out-of-control infected person who kidnapped nearly ten thousand people, and it wasn't easy to use their trump card for this kind of medium-scale event, so they had to let it be for the time being.

But now it's different. The ability of the hospital director killed by Li Ang is to absorb patients, which happens to be the nemesis of that out-of-control infected person. And according to the rules of the Cleaning Bureau, those who complete the cleaning task have the priority to apply for the anomalous objects extracted.

So she suddenly contacted herself through the 【Celestial Sphere Mirror】 today, not to contact the feelings between best friends after a long time, but to communicate with herself in advance, let Li Ang not compete with her for this anomalous object...

Staring at the good sister who started eating cheese pudding in the gold mirror, the red-haired Director blinked her charming fox eyes and said with difficulty:

"This... I understand this thing is very important to you, but Li Ang witnessed the power of the out-of-control infected person during the cleaning process and is also very interested in this anomalous object, so..."

"Tsk! Stop talking nonsense!"

Knowing her best friend's character too well, Beverly on the other side of the gold mirror rolled her eyes, and while gnawing on the coconut bread, said angrily:

"Just say it, how much money do you want to borrow from me this time?"

"Oh, this is not about money."

The red-haired Director waved her hand and smiled:

"Li Ang is just a newcomer who just joined the job, worked hard to complete his first task, and finally got his first anomalous object."

"For such a commemorative thing, it was taken away by you in one sentence. If you don't compensate him with something good, can you feel at ease?"

"..."

Hearing this, looking at her best friend's pair of ill-intentioned fox eyes, Beverly on the other side of the gold mirror stiffened slightly, feeling that the orange cream pie in her mouth was no longer fragrant.

After eating the snacks in her hand in a few bites, Beverly showed the momentum that the Director of the Bobby Laien Cleaning Bureau should have, reached out and slapped the table, stared like a lion, and asked angrily:

"Hurry up and say it! What exactly do you want?"

"I want you to exchange the Witch's Broom for him."

"Pah! You're dreaming!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 428 =====