Chapter 33

The mention of this familiar company name brought back memories, reminding him of the hundreds of patients still lying in the hospital corridors and the agonizing screams he heard in the hallway when visiting Anna. Leon’s good mood instantly vanished.

There was no way he could afford the medical bills for hundreds of people. After the public water pipe incident, the price of antidiarrheal agents in the Old District skyrocketed fiftyfold, and the special supplements that could treat this epidemic were even more expensive. Even if he emptied his annual salary, he couldn’t buy many vials.

And while there were only four or five hundred patients on Red Brick Road, these were severe cases of unbearable abdominal pain. At least tens of thousands of residents in the Old District were affected, and it was unknown how many patients couldn’t afford treatment and were toughing it out.

The only thing to be grateful for was that this disease wasn’t highly contagious. As long as one didn’t come into direct contact with excrement or vomit or stay in a confined space where these substances were heavily volatilized, they wouldn’t contract the illness. Most people were still safe.

But the trouble was that this epidemic originating from dirty water seemed difficult to recover from on its own. At the very least, an injection of alchemical supplement was needed. But given the income level of people in the Old District, few could afford the alchemical supplement.

The only solution he could think of at the moment was to find evidence of negligence by Chaer Water Power Corporation and the Road Administration Department. Then, whether it was reporting them to higher-ups in the kingdom or providing information to a big newspaper, the goal was to make a fuss and force them to pay for the medication! And if it turned out that it still couldn’t be resolved…

“Guest?”

Leon suddenly lost in thought after hearing his name, his expression becoming unpredictable. The shady businessman boss couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in surprise and then called out gently:

“Guest, your meal is ready. That’ll be one and a half copper wheels.”

“Oh oh!”

After being snapped back to reality by the shady businessman’s call, Leon let out a couple of “oh”s. While reaching for his money, his face not looking too great, he shook his head and said: “Sorry, hearing that name reminded me of something… Also, you’re older than my father, so it’s not right to address you by your first name. I’ll call you Uncle instead!”

“Hehe, sure, if you’re willing to call an old street vendor like me ‘uncle,’ what do I have to refuse? Besides…”

After bringing over the coffee and the plate with bread, the coffee stand owner looked at Leon, who looked rather thin, probably younger than his own daughter by two years. He smiled kindly and then pulled up a limping stool to sit nearby, asking gently:

“Since you’ve called me uncle, let me ask a question. When you mentioned Chaer Company, your expression didn’t seem too good… Did you have some unpleasant experience with that company?”

“Hmm… sort of…”

After hesitating slightly, Leon didn’t say he planned to investigate that Chaer Water Power Corporation but instead recounted Anna’s injury due to the “gas pipeline explosion.”

Ah, so that’s how it is… You’re the one who refused compensation.

“That must be tough for your family.”

After listening to Leon’s words, the coffee stall old man couldn’t help but blink and then sighed: “Your sister is already sick, and now this happens… Alright, since you’ve called me uncle twice, whenever you come here to order anything, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount, alright?”

???

Ah zhe… Is calling me ‘uncle’ really that effective? Looking at the coffee stand owner who suddenly overflowed with sympathy, Leon couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise, unsure how to respond to this unexpected kindness.

However, before he could figure out how to ask, the shady businessman gave a hearty smile, returned half a copper wheel, and added:

“Of course, since you’ve called me uncle, remember to visit often and take care of my business, okay!”

“…”

Good job. If I were someone who couldn’t resist such pressure, regardless of how cheap other stalls are, I’d probably end up stuck at your place. If I ate breakfast somewhere else in front of you, I’d feel guilty for at least half a week… You’ve gone through a lot to keep customers, truly deserving every penny you earn! Understanding this was likely another customer retention tactic, Leon smiled and didn’t say much, directly agreeing.

After all, although this coffee stall was a bit pricey, it was indeed the most comfortable among all the stalls on this street. Since they were offering discounts to develop him as a regular customer, he certainly had no reason to refuse.

After finishing the bread and ham slices in a few bites and bidding farewell to his newly recognized cheap uncle, Leon, feeling warm inside and out, readjusted the scarf knitted by Anna and once again stepped into the biting cold wind of early autumn morning.

After he left, a regular customer drinking coffee near the fireplace came over with a teasing grin: “Old Chaer! I’ve been drinking coffee at your stall for seven or eight years, and I’ve never seen you, the iron rooster, offer discounts! What made you change your mind today?

Could it be that your daughter can’t get married, and you’re eager to scope out a son-in-law, trying to get familiar with the young man first?”

“Hehe, don’t be ridiculous~ I just hit it off with the young man. Seeing that he might be having some financial difficulties recently, I decided to take care of him a little, hoping he’ll come back and take care of my business.”

Waving his hand to indicate that the other person was overthinking it, the coffee stall owner chuckled as he watched Leon’s retreating back: “But it’s not entirely impossible. I think the young man is pretty decent. Though a bit thin, he’s not short and has a rather handsome appearance.

And look at the direction he’s heading; there are only office buildings in the city administration district ahead, so he should have a proper job. Moreover, even to someone like me who sells coffee on the street, he’s always very polite… Hmm… Quite a good kid.”

Thinking about the other situations he heard from his daughter Amy, the coffee stall owner raised an eyebrow slightly, chatted casually with the regular customer for a few more sentences, then sat back in his chair. He tilted his head to look at the black canvas roof of the coffee stall and absentmindedly stroked the gray stubble on his jaw.

People tend to hide themselves when facing familiar people and environments.

Only in the presence of easily obtainable temptations, and strangers whose situations are worse than their own and with whom they almost won’t interact, do they unintentionally reveal a little bit.

What this kid unconsciously revealed was quite rare… hmm… gentle, polite, serious, down-to-earth, and also pretty sharp-minded. If Amy likes him, I really have no reason to oppose…

But the problem is, our family doesn’t accept marrying daughters, we only accept sons-in-law. I wonder if he would agree?…

Unaware that he had been placed on the list of potential sons-in-law, after braving the cold wind and arriving at the Clearing Bureau, Leon opened the door to his office and saw the new anomalous item mentioned by the red-haired bureau director—a black broom floating in mid-air.

[Name: Lazy Demoness’s Rent Broom (Degradation, Flight, Protection)]

[Appearance: A hard wooden broom painted entirely black, with a few crow feather decorations hanging from the top. In addition to an ever-present faint smell of pine oil, small cat paw prints frequently appear on the broom handle.]

[Ability: Magic Enhancement, Flight, Airflow Shield]

[Cost: Every Friday afternoon at 3:30 PM, a feline will knock on your door. Be sure to entertain it well.]

[File: An old broom discarded by an unknown witch. Every Friday afternoon, this witch goes out to play flying ball and doesn’t return home until the next morning, leaving no time to take care of her beloved cat. Therefore, she specially reached an agreement with the Leo Subdivision of the Clearing Bureau, exchanging the rental of the broom for users taking care of her cat for one day each week.]

[Review: A simple and practical anomalous item, and you get free cat petting. It’s Beverly, the director of the Leo Subdivision’s favorite.]

[Taint Value: 0.5]

(End of Chapter)