Great Harvest

It was nearly three in the morning.

After working so hard until so late, people all looked tired. Young people supported the elderly, and the elderly held their children, as they walked step by step towards home.

Luo Tan did not move. An idea emerged in her mind:

[Is it possible that some people did not come out tonight, or went back early after watching the excitement, and there are also infected people among them? 】

Xu Cheng, who was in the process of explaining the cleanup matters, was stunned and stopped talking.

The people who were walking halfway were also stuck in their tracks, with one foot hanging in the air, not knowing whether to move forward or not: No way? Is there another infected person at home?

The policemen who have been busy running around and are now exhausted and waiting to go back to sleep until noon are in tears: Come again?

Unconsciously, everyone's actions seemed to be paused, waiting for the final word.

Luo Tan clicked on the system notification and breathed a sigh of relief:

[The points have been credited! There are no new red dots on the map! So the piranha disaster should be perfectly resolved this time! ]

The next second, the people whose pause buttons were pressed resumed their actions at the same time. Those who had been assigned work continued to assign work, those who were preparing to go home continued to go home, and the police who were preparing to order a midnight snack and sleep all night continued to yawn.

Everything returned to normal, as if the suspension had never happened.

Luo Tan stood in front of Li Juan's house for a while. She originally wanted to wait for Aunt Li to come back safely, but thinking that even if Aunt Li was okay, it was already so late and she would most likely have to stay in the hospital for one night, she started walking towards her home. Before she had taken a few steps, she saw the police captain walking towards her after explaining his work.

The police asked her, "What's your name?"

Luo Tan smiled and said, "Uncle police, are you interrogating me? I am a law-abiding citizen and I have never violated the law."

The policeman choked: "..." Then he took out his police ID: "Xu Cheng."

Luo Tan curled her lips. When she wasn't smiling, she gave off an aura that said "stay away from strangers": "Luo Tan."

Xu Cheng asked: "Which two words?"

Luo Chen laughed and said, "Uncle policeman, you have so many questions." She looked back and said meaningfully, "Your colleagues look very tired and are waiting for your order to disperse."

At this moment, Luo Tan's stomach made a growling sound.

She covered her belly in embarrassment and her vision went dark.

A short chuckle was heard.

Luo Tan cursed in her heart, her patience was exhausted, and just when she was about to turn around and leave, something hard was placed in the palm of her hand.

Inside the wrapper was a piece of crystal clear hard candy. Luo Tan put it in his mouth and it tasted sweet.

Xu Cheng handed out the wedding candy given by a colleague that had been in his pocket for a day. When he turned around, the girl in front of him disappeared.

He held his forehead helplessly, but then he heard a brisk voice:

【This candy is quite delicious. 】

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly, and his eyes swept in the direction where Luo Tan left.

.

The next day, when Luo Chen woke up, it was already noon. She rubbed her empty belly, went out, and immediately saw a box at the door.

[Huh? What is this? Whose garbage is thrown at my door? ]

The door of a neighbor not far away happened to open. When Luo Tan saw the person who walked out of the door, he called out in surprise, "Aunt Li?"

Li Juan still looked pale and weak, but she smiled softly: "Xiao Tan, thank you for what you did yesterday."

She leaned over to look at the box under Luo Tan's feet: "What is this?"

Luo Tan: "Uh, a box of trash? I wonder who threw it here."

Li Juan worried, "It can't be some high-radiation biological weapon. I heard that some unscrupulous factories have recently dumped nuclear waste into the sea, creating a lot of strange creatures that have been exposed to radiation. They also sold these creatures to laboratories for research on biological weapons. So these things of unknown origin cannot be touched."

Luo Tan was horrified: "Ah, it's so dangerous."

I almost forgot that this is an interstellar age with extremely advanced technology.

She was about to kick the box aside when she saw a pattern printed on it.

It's shaped like a candy bar.

She pointed it out to Li Juan. The next second, Li Juan's attitude changed 180 degrees. In the blink of an eye, she changed from being frightened and earnest to smiling happily. As if she saw through everything, she changed her tone and said, "Open it."

Luo Tan: “Ah?”

Although she was puzzled, she was also very curious about the contents of the box, so she tore open the tightly wrapped transparent tape and opened the box herself.

Inside the box, there are all kinds of candies, each wrapped in glass candy paper with various patterns marked on the wrapping paper. The colorful candies sparkle in the sun.

Luo Chen's first reaction was: "Did someone put this at my door by mistake? I didn't buy any candy."

Li Juan smiled and said, "This should be given to you by someone else."

"Give it to me? Why give it to me?" Luo Tan didn't understand and was greatly surprised.

Li Juan's eyes flickered, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. After a few seconds, she smiled and said, "The neighbors all like you very much."

Li Juan pointed at the pattern on the box and said, "On Chishui Street, only Grandma Song's family opened a sugar factory. This should be what she gave to you."

Grandma Song? An old lady whom she had met once appeared in her mind.

Well, although she couldn't understand why Grandma Song gave her candy, it temporarily solved her urgent problem of hunger.

Luo Chen peeled a candy and threw it into his mouth.

The candies produced in the Star Age use various chemical ingredients to simulate the taste of fruits, which is almost 80% accurate.

He tried one last night when he was hungry and it tasted good, but now Luo Tan has tried two of different flavors in a row and finally felt something was not right.

[The watermelon and apple flavors are too similar, and I always feel that the taste of the fruit itself is missing. If some real fruit juice can be added, it will probably taste better. ]

Not far away, Song Qing, who was holding his little granddaughter and bargaining with the supplier of raw sugar materials, pricked up his ears.

Candy with real fruit juice?

She ran towards home like a sharp sword, running faster than any young person. The little granddaughter on her shoulder was biting her fingers and laughing.

The supplier behind him was stunned and shouted, "The goods you asked for!"

Grandma Song waved her hand and said, "Just ship it to my factory!"

She didn't have time to bargain with that man. The most important thing now was to research new candy recipes and how to incorporate fruit juice into candy making!

How smart! Why didn't she think of this idea?

Not to mention Chishui Street, even in the developed capital planet, no sugar maker has ever tried to add real fruit juice into candy.

In the technologically advanced universe, the production of any item is inseparable from technology, but many people have forgotten that people like to eat fruit candies because they like the fruity flavor. The more technology is added to the candies, the further it is from the original taste of the fruit. Those simulated seasonings are nothing more than a poor imitation of nature.

On the other end, Li Juan asked, "Xiao Tan, what do you think of the burgers I made last time?"

Luo Tan said without hesitation: "It's delicious."

Li Juan hesitated for a long time and said, "Then tell me, can I open a burger shop?"

After saying this, she stared at Luo Tan nervously, afraid that she would show any displeasure.

You know, she never knew there was such a food as burgers before. It was Luo Chen who gave her this idea. If Xiao Tan felt that this idea was plagiarized from hers, she would never continue.

But how can a woman without children survive alone in this slum?

The next second, she saw Luo Tan's eyes light up: "Sure!"

At the same time, she heard——

[Wow! This is awesome! If this is the case, I can eat delicious food every day! ]

Luo Tan held her hand and was about to say something excitedly, but the next second he felt lost like an eggplant wilted by wind and rain.

【But, I have no money, ahhhhhh, it's right in front of me but I can't eat it. 】

What kind of problem is this?

Li Juan hurriedly said, "Xiao Tan, as long as you agree, I promise that when Aunt Li's shop opens, you can come and eat for free anytime!"

Luo Tan's eyes suddenly lit up and became sparkling with stars again.

She did not refuse, but continued to hold Li Juan's hand and said with a smile: "Aunt Li, can you not only sell burgers, but also French fries, fried chicken nuggets, grilled egg tarts, fried chicken wings... Can you arrange all of these? In addition, I have thought of a name for your store--"

She wrote with a flourish: "Kaifeng cuisine!"

"Okay, okay! All up to you!" Seeing Luo Tan's cheerful and slightly coquettish look, Li Juan's heart melted. Although the name "Kaifeng cuisine" sounds a bit strange, what does it matter?

Li Juan thought again of her child who died before he was born, but this time, she was not so sad. She looked at Luo Tan's lovely face and a firm belief emerged in her heart:

Everything will get better slowly.

…

After seeing Aunt Li off, Luo Tan was just about to go back to the house when he saw a person standing under the shadow of a tree not far away.

It was the police officer named Xu Cheng. I don’t know how long he had been standing there.

In his hand he held something bright red, which shone so brightly under the sun that it was blinding.

Many uncles and aunts were already discussing the matter not far away.

Ha, when the police come to your door, they either catch the thief or collect the banner.

He wouldn't be here to return the banner, right?

[I don’t know who is so unlucky? ]

Between going up to say hello as if nothing had happened and pretending not to see it, Luo Chen chose the latter without hesitation. He reached out to close the door, but a foot stretched into the gap.

The next second, Luo Tan quickly blocked the banner flying towards her with both hands and said innocently: "This is not mine!"

Xu Cheng raised his hand, and a banner with a red background and gold threads appeared in front of her. The words "To Ms. Luo Tan..." made her eyes hurt.

It turns out that the police came to the house just to deliver a banner. This is really against the will of heaven!

Luo Tan: "That's not necessary..."

Before she finished her words, she heard Xu Cheng withdraw his hand with regret, saying: "So, I wanted to apply for a government subsidy for you..."

Grant?

Luo Tan grabbed a corner of the golden flag and refused to let go.

Xu Cheng slowly let go of Jinqi and said with a smile, "Let's go inside and talk?"

Seeing that the lively grandfather and grandmother had already started to applaud, Luo Tan could not bear the pressure of being stared at with admiring and grateful eyes by so many people, so he had to let him enter the room.

As Xu Cheng entered the room, his smile faded a little. He frowned as he looked at the broken ceiling and walls, the old floor and furniture in the house.

But he did not forget the main purpose of his visit today. He got straight to the point and said, "Ms. Luo Tan, in view of your outstanding performance in standing up for justice yesterday, the police station would like to hire you as our case consultant. Are you willing?"

Luo Tan: "If I don't agree, there will be no subsidy?"

Xu Cheng shook his head: "The grant has nothing to do with the employment."

The next second, Luo Tan shook his head like a wave drum.

【I don’t want to work.】

Xu Cheng was speechless, and after half a reply, he said with difficulty: "If you are willing to join, our treatment is very good, six insurances and one housing fund, year-end bonus, unlimited afternoon tea break, etc. are all available..."

Luo Tan seemed to hesitate, but then shook his head.

"I feel like I'm just an ordinary person and can't handle such a big responsibility."

Xu Cheng: ...If you say you are an ordinary person, then there are no ordinary people in the world.

But he obviously couldn't say that. Just as he was about to say a few words, he heard the true thoughts of the girl in front of him.

[Hey, you want to buy me off with a mere six insurances, one housing fund, and an afternoon tea break? Did I work all those extra shifts for nothing? Luo Tan, Luo Tan, you have a government subsidy and a box of candy now. You won't starve to death in a short time. Don't seize every opportunity to become a wage earner.]

Xu Cheng’s expression was indescribable: ...I forgot about the box of candy and came a little late.

He stood up, looked around and pointed: "Look at your house, the ceiling is soaked when it rains, right?"

He bent down and glanced at the table legs: "Look, a lot of the wood has been eaten away by insects."

He walked to the window again, sighed deeply, fiddled with the window for a long time and said, "This window can't be closed."

He turned around and smiled: "I can apply to my superiors to help you repair your house for free."

Luo Tan: “?”

[Is there such a good thing? ]

The next second, Xu Cheng said in embarrassment: "But you can't continue to live here during the house repair period. So, I will be a good person and help you apply for a dormitory at the police station."

Luo Tan: “…”

【Men are really cunning. 】