"Handsome lad, could you help me get that rice cooker out?"

The old woman in burial clothes repeated her request.

"Can't you get it yourself?"

Liu Zheng cautiously used respectful language.

"I'm old, my legs don't work well anymore, and I can't even lift my arms."

The old woman in burial clothes sighed.

"This old woman is so pitiful. My son isn't filial, my daughter-in-law isn't filial either, and all hundred-plus daughters are ungrateful wolves."

She began sobbing as she spoke, though tears were heard but not seen.

A hundred-plus daughters? Did you self-study "Postpartum Care for Sows" or something?

"Did all those daughters have 'Di' in their names?"

"Yes. Handsome lad, how did you know?"

The old woman in burial clothes asked.

"I have some understanding of folk customs."

No wonder her sons and daughters weren't filial. It took over a hundred "Di"s to finally summon a son - clearly one side didn't want to summon, and the other didn't want to come. When both parties are unwilling, how could it be anything good?

"No wonder. Handsome lad, you clearly look educated, with a good job and good looks - definitely both warmhearted and quality."

The old woman spoke auspicious words.

Liu Zheng looked at his yellow vest, then at his very human-like dignified appearance, deeply feeling that ginger indeed gets spicier with age when it comes to boasting.

"Handsome lad, you're not unwilling to help, are you?"

"No wonder. Handsome lad, you clearly look educated, with a good job and good looks - definitely both warm-hearted and quality."

White hairs began emerging from her rouged cheeks, resembling both zombie misfortune hair and rat whiskers.

Her figure became more hunched, her back bulging high like a pregnant woman's belly.

"Help! Of course I'll help!"

Liu Zheng declared decisively.

"As a five-good youth of the new era, an excellent employee of Bloody Restaurant, and honorary homeowner of Jiahe New Residence, how could I not champion the weak against the strong?"

"Handsome lad, my memory is poor - I can't remember so many names."

"No problem, just call me Bullhorse."

He said kindly.

"Little Bull then, quickly help me get the rice cooker out. My family is waiting to cook with it."

The old woman in burial clothes urged.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm willing yet unable."

Liu Zheng sighed.

"You have hands and feet - how are you willing yet unable?"

The old woman grew somewhat impatient.

"Don't try to deceive this old woman. Sons and daughters all deceive me, you deceive me too - what's wrong with this world?" Newest update provided by novel~fire~net

"I can't go on living, I can't survive. Nobody wants me to live."

Her words grew increasingly indistinct.

A long tongue hung out, foul-smelling saliva dripping drop by drop onto the ground, corroding honeycomb-like small holes.

Her nails began lengthening, cyan-black nail edges sharp like daggers.

"You won't let me live? Then none of you get to live either!"

She screamed miserably, like an explosion after enduring endless grievances.

"Who's not letting you live?"

Liu Zheng frowned as he spoke.

"You won't help me pick up the rice cooker - that means you don't want me to live."

"Please, handsome lad, show some mercy. I'll even kneel for you, alright?"

The old woman in burial clothes knelt with a thud, crushing several floor tiles.

"It's not that I don't want to help you - I truly don't have the ability."

He said helplessly.

"You have so many tentacles - can't you spare one to help me pick it up?"

The old woman in burial clothes demanded.

The moment she finished speaking, three blade lights immediately flashed.

Liu Zheng, holding the boning knife in his mouth, cut off his last tentacle.

"Now I don't have any."

He spat out the boning knife and said with a smile.

"Then you still have a mouth! You can carry it out with your mouth."

The old woman paused momentarily, then sneered.

Liu Zheng suddenly charged toward the flower bed, then smashed his head violently against the corner.

The force was incredibly powerful - he shattered both mouth and jaw completely.

Liu Zheng looked toward the old woman without speaking, just raising his head slightly.

The meaning was clear.

"I don't have a mouth either."

Silence. The scene fell into deathly silence.

"Big root hair."

The old woman in burial clothes gave him a deep look, straightened her back, hands behind her, and walked away.

"Fighting me? You're still too green, old thing."

Liu Zheng thought triumphantly.

But after this encounter, he confirmed one thing.

This rice cooker definitely had problems.

Couldn't take it, absolutely couldn't take it.

Liu Zheng gave the trash bin one last longing look, then walked toward the plane tree's direction.

"I'm back."

He pushed open the rest room door and shouted.

"Back is back - why shout about it?"

The awakened Bullhorse rubbed his eyes, speaking with clear displeasure.

"Just didn't want to interrupt any good things you might have going on, boss."

Liu Zheng said with a grin.

"You not coming back would be the best thing possible."

Bullhorse said irritably.

"If I didn't come back, how would you run away?"

"Hmph, three-legged Bullhorses are hard to find, but two-legged delivery guys aren't?"

"Shout once in the old district, and applicants would come swarming in crowds."

Bullhorse retorted.

"It's not that simple, is it?"

Liu Zheng said half-believingly.

If it were that simple, would Bullhorse only have one subordinate?

Look how many employees the kitchen has - even if the delivery department's status is lower, the gap shouldn't be this big.

"You're really cunningly clever. Indeed, it's not that simple."

Bullhorse admitted.

"Fighting me? You're still too green, old thing."

"Then people in the old district don't have citizenship rights?"

"Some do, some don't. Those with citizenship rights are mostly fourth-class citizens anyway."

Bullhorse said.

"Citizens have classes too?"

Liu Zheng said surprised.

"Ingredients have classes, so of course citizens do too."

"How are they divided?"

He asked.

"Can't really say specifically, but ones like us are third-class citizens - basically have all the citizenship rights we should have."

"And that lover of yours should be second-class."

Bullhorse thought about it and said.

"Why?"

"You think ordering takeout only costs money?"

Bullhorse sneered.

"If she weren't at least second-class citizen, with her ordering style, you'd have seen her in staff meals long ago."

"Oh."

Whatever class citizen didn't really concern him - Liu Zheng wasn't planning to take her family name anyway.

"You caught quite a few there."

Bullhorse finally noticed the fish in the net bag.

"Not caught - picked up."

He explained.

"Picked up? Where from? I'll go pick some up too."

"The sewer farted and blasted all the fish to death. I just picked up a bunch."

Liu Zheng briefly described what happened in the sewer.

Of course, he skipped over the Rust part.

"Boss, you didn't seem to tell me the sewer is alive."

He said with deadpan eyes.

"Forgot."

Bullhorse admitted frankly.

"But what difference does alive or dead make to you? You're not strong enough to attract the sewer's attention anyway."

He said carelessly.

"At least let me have psychological preparation."

"Some things are better unknown than known. The unknown brings fear, but ignorance brings fearlessness."

Bullhorse said.

"Another poem plagiarized from Bai Langzi, right?"

"Will you fucking stop? At least the first half was my own thought."

Bullhorse shouted.

"Alright, alright. Boss, with this many fish, we should be able to trade for something, right?"

Liu Zheng changed the subject.

"I don't really understand fish either, but the quantity is quite substantial. Should at least trade for two bottles of alcohol or something?"

Bullhorse said hesitantly.

"Then we're done for. Neither of us understands - won't Napoleon lowball us?"

"From my understanding of it..."

Meeting his expectant gaze, Bullhorse continued.

"It will absolutely lowball us."

"Boo~"

Liu Zheng made dismissive sounds.

Selling at bargain prices was something he definitely wouldn't accept willingly - after all, he practically got these with his life on the line.

But if he didn't sell to the White Feather Chicken, he had nowhere else to sell.

Looking at that large net bag of fish, Liu Zheng suddenly got an idea.

"Boss, you take this one..."

He leaned close to Bullhorse's ear and whispered.

"Will that work?"

Bullhorse said doubtfully.

"Let's try. If it doesn't work, consider it building goodwill."

"Fine, they're your fish anyway."

Bullhorse shrugged, hooked the net bag with his horn, and went out.