I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

The expansion of the Konoha factory also brought in a large number of people. What was originally just a small market is now gradually becoming a commercial street.

You can even see the barbecue stall set up by the Akimichi clan here, but the business here is not as good as in the village, and the high prices mean that only ninjas or wealthy people can afford it.

"Shikamaru, my barbecue is obviously more delicious, why is that store doing more business?"

Choji, who came here to help, asked Shikamaru beside him.

Shikamaru looked at a small stall opposite the barbecue stall, with the words "Rolled Meat Patties" written in large letters. Although it was called meat patties, there was actually very little meat, only a little bit of minced meat, and more of a lot of vegetarian dishes. Even the taste was not as delicious as barbecue, it was just food to fill the stomach.

There was a constant stream of workers queuing up, and there were only two women at the stall. They were busy like tops and had no free time at all.

Shikamaru had seen both women before. One was the wife of A Kuan who broke his leg, and the other was Ryosuke's wife.

It was probably Ryosuke who came up with the idea of ​​setting up a stall, but he didn't expect to bring A'Kan's wife over as well. Judging from the speed at which she made the pancakes, it was obvious that she was a veteran. Thinking of the last time they met briefly in the hospital, Shikamaru felt relieved.

"Shikamaru, Choji is asking you a question? Why don't you use your smart head to think about it!"

Ino looked at Shikamaru in a daze, feeling extremely angry. After becoming a jonin, it became increasingly difficult for her to understand Shikamaru.

Many investors have seen the commercial value of this market outside the village. Ino also came here to help after her training. She didn't expect that the barbecue stall business was not good at all, which made her a little discouraged.

"Ah, sorry, what did you just say, Choji?"

Shikamaru came back to his senses and turned around to ask Choji again.

Unable to bear it any longer, Ino repeated what Choji had just said. After listening to her, Shikamaru pointed directly at the two women opposite and said.

"They are the families of the workers here, so many of their acquaintances will go there to take care of the business."

"Sure enough, it's not a matter of taste. I was wondering how this thing could beat the barbecue of the Qiu Dao family. It turns out that it still relies on acquaintances."

After hearing this, Ino said somewhat unconvinced.

“Not only that, but barbecue is still too expensive for them.”

Shikamaru shook his head. After staying here for a long time, he gradually understood the workers' thoughts.

"No way, the barbecue here is much cheaper than in the village. The price of a simple barbecue is only a little more than twice that of a burrito across the street. Wouldn't it be good to spend a little more money to enjoy a delicious meal?"

Shikamaru didn't understand why anyone would eat this kind of thing. He didn't even want to say that it was a meat roll.

Shikamaru looked at the two companions in front of him. Even though they had grown in size and improved in strength, they were still so naive.

"If you calculate it this way, if they eat barbecue for a month, they can eat more than two months of burritos, and six months is more than a year. In this way, the remaining money is enough to do something else, and the only thing that is wronged is their own stomach."

"They don't dare to ask for luxury."

Shikamaru has seen too many people here struggling to survive just for that not-so-generous salary. From the sympathy in the beginning, to now gradually becoming numb, sometimes in the middle of the night Shikamaru can't help but ask himself in his heart, can I really change all this?

The announcement of the factory's opening had already sounded, and the number of workers in front of the stall gradually decreased. Shikamaru only walked over when the two women had some free time.

"Hello, would you like some cake?"

A Kuan's wife, who was still busy, didn't look up and greeted him skillfully.

"Give me three cakes."

"Okay, three servings, right? Eh, Mr. Shikamaru?"

Hearing the familiar voice, A Kuan's wife raised her head. She knew that her husband's generous compensation was still thanks to the young boy in front of her, and she was a little at a loss for a moment.

"Hey, Mr. Shikamaru, why are you here? And you're eating this kind of thing?"

Ryosuke's wife, who had some experience, walked over quickly and knew Shikamaru's background.

Shikamaru said with a smile.

"Why, I can't eat this?"

"No, no, no, I'll do it for you right away."

A Kuan's wife immediately got busy and began to roll up the vegetables and minced meat skillfully. However, there was more minced meat than vegetables in these three pancakes, which was completely different from what she had made for the workers before.

Shikamaru paid no attention to that and asked about Hiro's wife.

"How is A-Kuan now?"

"Thanks to your concern, A-Kuan is doing well now. He and mother-in-law are taking care of the children of Foreman Ryosuke, and Foreman Ryosuke is paying them their wages."

Shikamaru didn't expect this to happen and turned to look at Ryosuke's wife.

"I can't handle it alone, so I ask them to come and help. We can also earn some money to supplement the family income."

Ryosuke's wife hurriedly explained that she didn't want to give Shikamaru a bad impression.

It is not easy for Ryosuke to do this for an elderly person, a disabled person who cannot even stand up on his own. Shikamaru nodded and said nothing more.

"The pancake is ready, be careful it's hot."

A Kuan's wife handed the freshly made pancake to Shikamaru, and Shikamaru directly took out a banknote and said that there was no need for change.

Without waiting for them to say anything, Shikamaru turned and left. The two could only watch Shikamaru enter the barbecue stall opposite. For a moment, they wanted to say something but didn't dare to step forward.

"Shikamaru, why did you buy this?"

Ino didn't expect Shikamaru to leave just to buy something like this, and said with some disgust.

Not to mention Shikamaru, who was eating the potato chips in his arms without even looking at the burrito.

Shikamaru sighed and said, "Do you know that the two women across the street have more than a dozen children at home, three elderly people, two of whom are demented, and one husband is disabled. Only one husband works in a factory. They are busy all day just to make sure these people have enough food."

Ino was a little bit unconvinced by this exaggerated fact and said in disbelief.

"is that a lie?"

Choji also stopped eating potato chips and stared at Shikamaru. He didn't expect that the two women opposite him had such miserable life stories.

"It's up to you to believe it or not."

Shikamaru was a little annoyed and left immediately. The factory had started operating and he still had a lot of things to do.

Ino and Choji stared at the two burritos left by Shikamaru for a long time in silence.

...

After the expansion project was successfully completed, the factory quickly entered full production. With the production line running at full speed, the factory's profits began to increase exponentially, which made every high-ranking official in Konoha Village smile. After all, ninjas also want to make money, otherwise they would not do so many dangerous missions.

But this joyful atmosphere did not last long. Just when everyone was still immersed in the joy of success, something unexpected happened in the factory.

The factory, which had been running day and night and making a humming sound, suddenly stopped operating, and the entire workshop fell into deathly silence.

This sudden change quickly attracted the attention of vendors at the market outside the village. They gathered at the factory gate, some out of curiosity, wanting to find out what was going on; others out of concern, worried that this change would affect their business and livelihood. For a while, a large number of people gathered at the factory gate, and discussions were heard one after another.

Shikamaru led a team of patrol ninjas to the scene quickly. They passed through the crowd and arrived at the factory gate.

He then asked the Anbu in charge of alert about what happened, and the Anbu whispered a detailed report in Shikamaru's ear.

After hearing this, Shikamaru's pupils suddenly dilated. More than half of the workers in the factory went on strike.