40: Delicious lemon tea

"Little Boss, this is bad! My boss is being haunted by a ghost!"

Xiao Hu seemed genuinely terrified, actually seeking help from a teenager five or six years his junior.

When Lu Chuan heard this, the confusion on his face was impossible to hide.

Seeing Lu Chuan's disbelief, Xiao Hu immediately pointed behind him, gesturing for Lu Chuan to look at Baba Le's head.

At this moment, Baba Le also ran clumsily to the stall.

Under the soft light, a small, thin black cat with big, round eyes was seen clinging tightly to Baba Le's hair, preventing itself from being shaken off his head as he ran wildly.

"..."

Lu Chuan pointed at the several-month-old black cat, not saying a word, just looking at Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu blinked, a hint of confusion flashing across his face before he understood.

Immediately, blood rushed to his head, making his face burn crimson, and his hands awkwardly didn't know where to go.

All this time, he thought a ghost had appeared, but it turned out he had mistaken a kitten that jumped onto Baba Le's head for a ghost.

This blunder was even more ludicrous than when he had mistaken Lu Chuan for a ghost earlier.

At this moment, Baba Le also realized what happened.

He was incredibly embarrassed on the spot and didn't even bother to scold Xiao Hu; he immediately hugged the kitten and began to explain to the viewers in his live stream.

His core message was that he had actually known it was a kitten all along, but he did it to create a terrifying atmosphere.

Facing the viewers' skepticism, he argued:

"How could a streamer be a coward! Since the streamer chose to explore the supernatural, there's no way he could be a coward!"

Then came some more obscure statements, such as "having long abandoned the emotion of fear" and "the bravest person among humans," which made all the viewers burst into laughter.

For a moment, the live stream was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"Is he always like this?"

Lu Chuan tugged at Xiao Hu's sleeve and asked in a low voice.

Xiao Hu looked at the red-faced Baba Le, hesitated for a long while, and finally nodded weakly.

"Heh heh."

Lu Chuan's lips curved upwards, and he was about to say something.

Just then, Baba Le suddenly leaned over and shouted at Lu Chuan:

"Little Boss, my family in the live stream all say you're braver than me, daring to set up a stall alone in front of an abandoned Haunted House. But I don't believe it; do you dare to go inside the Haunted House with me for a walk?"

Lu Chuan rolled his eyes.

Did he look very bored?

"I'm not going, I still have to set up my stall!"

Baba Le wasn't really trying to compete with Lu Chuan in bravery; it was all for creating a show effect.

So he looked at Lu Chuan's stall, his eyes darting around, a plan forming in his mind, and he immediately burst into laughter.

"I don't think you'll make a single sale if you set up here for a year. How about this: as long as you're willing to go in with me for a walk, when we come out, I'll buy... ten of each item you're selling at your stall. How does that sound?"

Lu Chuan looked up in surprise, feeling a little tempted.

He had great confidence in the food he made, certain that it could conquer anyone's palate.

But everything is difficult at the beginning, and selling the first item in this ghostly place was a big challenge.

However, it seemed the opportunity the system mentioned had truly arrived.

"Is that true?"

Facing Lu Chuan's distrust, Baba Le immediately took out his phone, scanned the QR code on the stall, and transferred two hundred yuan.

Seeing Baba Le's straightforwardness, Lu Chuan said no more, took off his mask and hung it up, then strode into the Haunted House.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Baba Le was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly pulled Xiao Hu and followed him in.

---

Thirty minutes later.

Lu Chuan walked out of the Haunted House with his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely, and at the end, he stretched and yawned.

As for Baba Le and Xiao Hu, they were already slumped in a heap, trembling all over, their eyes full of fear as they looked at the Haunted House.

This Haunted House was truly eerie!!!!

Could it really be haunted?

But why wasn't this little boss scared at all?

Baba Le and Xiao Hu couldn't figure it out.

The viewers in the live stream couldn't figure it out either.

But this didn't stop Lu Chuan from starting his business.

"Come, come, Big Streamer, you said ten of each. Which one do you want to try first?"

Despite still being terribly frightened by Lu Chuan's teasing, Baba Le was a man of his word.

He immediately forced himself to walk to the stall and, trembling, pointed at the lemon tea.

"lemon tea, all ice, all sugar, both cups."

"Starting with a cup of lemon tea? That's good. This lemon tea has the effect of calming the mind and spirit, which is quite suitable for your current state."

Calm the mind and spirit?

Baba Le looked at his still trembling thighs, his face full of disbelief.

It wasn't some immortal elixir; could a mere cup of lemon tea really calm someone down immediately when they were terrified?

Of course, he thought this, but he didn't say it out loud.

He and Xiao Hu just supported each other, watching Lu Chuan begin to make the lemon tea.

Lu Chuan took out a fresh, oval-shaped perfume lemon and placed it on the cutting board. His right hand reached for the knife rack beside him and pulled out a gleaming fruit knife.

Chop, chop, chop... With a few cuts, the single lemon was evenly sliced into thin pieces, about 3mm thick.

The unique refreshing scent of lemon immediately wafted into Baba Le and Xiao Hu's nostrils, improving their somewhat dispirited mood.

At this point, Lu Chuan used the tip of the knife to remove the seeds from each lemon slice, then accurately flicked them into a shaker cup nearby, where he began to muddle them with ice cubes.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

The rhythmic muddling gradually crushed and mixed the lemon slices and ice, fully releasing the aroma.

Lu Chuan then took out a honey jar and a thermos, scooping a large spoonful of mixed syrup with local honey and 250ml of clear tea, adding them one by one to the shaker cup, and adding some more ice.

He then tightly closed the shaker cup, shook it up and down for a while, and once thoroughly mixed, poured it into two transparent plastic cups.

Finally, Lu Chuan took out a plastic box, from which he took some salted lemon slices, mint leaves, and passion fruit pulp, dropping them into the milk tea cups as decoration.

"Your lemon tea is ready, please enjoy!"

Watching Lu Chuan's smooth, flowing movements, Baba Le and Xiao Hu were momentarily in a daze.

They hadn't expected this little boss to actually be here to set up a stall!

At least, this skillful operation couldn't be done by someone just dabbling.

Suddenly, the two developed a strong curiosity about Lu Chuan and a keen interest in the two large cups of lemon tea before them.

Immediately, each took a cup of lemon tea, brought it closer, and observed it carefully.

Upon closer inspection, both their faces showed surprise.

Under the soft light, a vibrant, emerald-green lemon slice was diagonally inserted into the cup's rim, a few passion fruit seeds were scattered on the tea's surface, and mint leaves gently dotted among them, creating bright and layered colors.

Through the transparent cup wall, beaded with condensation, fine lemon fibers were vaguely visible, as clear as sunlight piercing through a thin mist.

Irregular ice cubes floated in the clear, golden-yellow tea, reflecting a cool luster, as if the coolness of midsummer was within reach.

Visually alone, these two cups of lemon tea had already brought Baba Le and Xiao Hu a unique enjoyment of sunshine and freshness.