Chapter 18 Boiled Eggs

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Shu woke up early in the morning. He started working in the kitchen at 6 o'clock and finished at 7 o'clock. He then went to school carrying a pile of things.

　　Before leaving, he told Lu Xiaoyu: "The meal is on the table, so get up and eat it quickly. After eating, go back to sleep. Review the textbooks I gave you carefully. I will check them when I come back in the evening. If you run around, I will send you back to the orphanage. Do you hear me?"

　　Lu Xiaoyu lay on the bed, covered with the quilt, and said nothing. Lu Shu asked again, "Did you hear that?"

　　"I heard you... I'll get up and eat later." Lu Xiaoyu said reluctantly.

　　"It will get cold soon, hurry up and get up!"

　　Lu Xiaoyu got so angry that he suddenly sat up from the bed.

　　"Negative emotion value from Lu Xiaoyu, +299..."

　　Lu Shu's eyes lit up. It turned out that waking up this little girl every day could earn him negative emotion points? Isn't this a big profit?

　　The two of them depend on each other, and Lu Shu always feels that he should fulfill some disciplinary obligations. He is also worried that the little girl will develop too many bad habits in the future.

　　But now it seems that apart from being greedy, there is nothing wrong with Lu Xiaoyu.

　　There was a reason why Lu Shu went to school early. He wanted to make money.

　　The school he attended was just across the street from the yard where he lived. The elementary school, junior high school, and high school were all in the same school, called Los Angeles Foreign Language School.

　　Lu Shu goes to the stall every morning to sell boiled eggs.

　　An egg put into boiling water will be fully cooked in 10 minutes, and if taken out 8 minutes in advance it will be a runny yolk egg. The cooked egg must be put into cold water immediately so that the skin will be easier to peel and the taste will be better.

　　Lu Shu's boiled eggs were very particular, and paired with the seasoning he prepared, they were surprisingly delicious.

　　The recipe for the ingredients is not something uncommon: a small dish with half soy sauce, half vinegar, and a few drops of sesame oil.

　　When he first started setting up a stall in front of the school last year, only primary school students would come to try their eggs. An egg was only one dollar and fifty cents, which was not expensive and even primary school students could afford it.

　　Lu Shu could earn about a few dozen yuan a day, which was enough to support his family.

　　Later, everyone knew that his eggs were delicious, and some people would buy one or two eggs on their way to breakfast. Some people also knew that Lu Shu was working part-time, so they deliberately came to help him. Now many people on this street know that there is an orphan student like him who earns money to pay for his tuition.

　　To be honest, there are actually quite a lot of kind-hearted people in this world, so Lu Shu's business has always been pretty good.

　　Today is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year and many adults have to go back to work, so he went to the intersection to sell it. This area is crowded with breakfast shops and the urban management will not care.

　　After selling all the goods, he can go to school quickly. If he closes the stall earlier, maybe he can put all the things back home before going to school. After all, it would be a bit strange to go to school with all these things in his hands.

　　Of course, sometimes we really can't catch up, and there's nothing we can do about it.

　　The students passing by on this road were basically his classmates, which was one of the reasons why everyone gradually stopped calling him.

　　Things like class and stratum are not something that anyone has clearly defined from the beginning as to who should play with whom and who shouldn't. It's a matter of everyone choosing to get together.

　　Millionaires can't play with other millionaires and they definitely can't join in the fun with billionaires. Maybe a billionaire's daily expenses are millions.

　　This example is also applicable to Lu Shu. Nowadays, young people spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a trip to a KTV or theme park. Lu Shu is really reluctant to spend so much money. If he has money in the future, he will go to experience it, but he knows the principle of postponing enjoyment.

　　Lu Shu has always felt that "delayed enjoyment" is a good term.

　　When his classmates first saw him selling boiled eggs at the intersection, they were a little surprised. However, Lu Shu did not feel any psychological pressure. He could earn money to support himself with his own ability, so there was no need to be ashamed to face others.

　　Later, it was the classmates who felt a little embarrassed. They just pretended not to see anything when they passed by. They always felt that it was inappropriate to say hello, and it was also inappropriate not to say hello, so they just turned a blind eye.

　　Gradually, Lu Shu was marginalized.

　　So when everyone in the class group discussed who was most likely to awaken, they thought of everyone except Lu Shu.

　　In front of Lu Shu was a basin with freshly boiled eggs, and a small foldable table with small plates, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil on it. Next to the table was a pile of small plastic stools. Customers could eat here or take away.

　　"Xiaoshu, you're out selling eggs so early." An auntie passed by and said with a smile, "Give me two eggs. I'll take them back for my son to eat. He hasn't gotten up yet. I wish I could be as diligent as you."

　　"Okay, two eggs." Lu Shu took a plastic bag and put two eggs in it and gave it to the aunt: "Three yuan."

　　An egg costs 1.5 yuan a day, and the profit is about 50 yuan a day, which means a minimum of 1,500 yuan a month, and more if business is good. This is the living expenses for Lu Shu and Lu Xiaoyu.

　　It can't all be spent, there is still 500 yuan in rent every month, 100 yuan for water and electricity, and I have to save some money for tuition by living frugally. I also have to consider the tuition for Lu Xiaoyu when he can go to school independently in the future.

　　In fact, Lu Xiaoyu is also very sensible and greedy, but she seldom asks for food. Even if Lu Shu doesn't buy snacks for her, she won't cry.

　　From time to time, Lu Shu would buy some snacks to amuse Lu Xiaoyu. Every morning, Lu Shu would leave two eggs for Lu Xiaoyu to eat, and Lu Xiaoyu loved them.

　　Sometimes when Lu Shu was too weak and fell ill, Lu Xiaoyu would slowly pack up and boil eggs to sell. She was familiar with the process of boiling eggs and had watched Lu Shu do it countless times.

　Maybe because Lu Xiaoyu was too young and looked too cute, some people would ask her, where is Lu Shu? She said Lu Shu was sick and she was the only one left to sell eggs. She looked so pitiful, but she could sell dozens of eggs in just ten minutes...

　　The two people were like the snowman they built in the yard, one big and one small, keeping each other warm in the freezing cold world.

　　For Lu Shu, being alone was too lonely, really too lonely, so lonely that when you wanted to talk, there was no one around. So Lu Xiaoyu secretly ran out of the welfare home to find him, and he felt very warm.

　　For Lu Xiaoyu, Lu Shu was the only person who cared about her future. No matter how good or bad the food was, she always felt that following Lu Shu, her future would be quite interesting.

　　The two miserable people are actually not that miserable inside, and this is the fundamental reason why they can continue to survive in this world.

　　Sometimes Lu Shu thought that this was not bad, they could live well without parents. If he could win a cultivation technique in the future, he would give it to Lu Xiaoyu, so that the two of them could continue to be together.