Translator: CinderTL
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"Xiu Ping's son is doing well. Over the past two years, he's started a business and made a lot of money. They even hired a maid at home."
"If it weren't for passing the time, she wouldn't have come to work here..."
In the supermarket, noticing Chen Feng's confusion and surprise, another employee nearby smiled and explained.
She was Aunt Zhang, the same woman he had seen in the morning, slightly overweight, and they had eaten lunch together.
"Thanks, Aunt Zhang."
Chen Feng nodded lightly, understanding now.
So, Aunt He had come here to experience life.
He shook his head inwardly, feeling the difference between people.
As for the employee shopping card placed in front of him, he thought for a moment and ultimately decided to put it in the drawer without using it.
He wasn't at the point of being unable to afford food, and he preferred to avoid taking too many free things.
He quickly put on a red vest with the "Yongle Fu" logo and started his shift behind the counter.
Everything went smoothly, and he soon met another employee who came to relieve Aunt Zhang.
Li Hongxia, around 37 or 38 years old, was primarily responsible for the supermarket's cleanliness and the arrangement of products on the shelves.
She was slightly thin, with yellowish skin, noticeable wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and several spots on her face.
"This is Xiao Feng, the new college student."
"This is Hongxia, you can call her Sister Xia."
TL/N: Here sister is used to represent the word "Jie" which is a respectful but casual title for an older acquaintance.
Before leaving, Aunt Zhang kindly made the introduction, and Chen Feng thanked her while nodding in goodwill to Li Hongxia.
Time passed as he stood behind the counter, with customers gradually arriving.
There were elderly people, children, young men, and young women.
"I'll take a pack of cigarettes, Tianhua, yes, the slim ones."
A man ordered a pack of cigarettes, and Chen Feng scanned the barcode to charge him.
"How much for this bottle of water?"
"Five yuan." Another customer came, grabbing a bottle of "Arrow" sports drink.
"Okay."
Ding! The payment was processed, five yuan.
The small supermarket was filled with various prompt sounds, and Chen Feng kept working until 10 PM, when he noticed the number of customers had decreased significantly.
Perhaps because they weren't familiar with each other, he and Li Hongxia hadn't exchanged much conversation.
Both quietly went about their tasks, and by almost midnight, with no more customers in sight, Chen Feng went to the product area to buy some items.
Two packs of noodles, a box of milk, two dozen eggs, a large bag of bread...
Mostly food, and he also bought a box of Superhero-brand energy bars.
These were a high-nutrition food from the Red Country, looking like long milk sticks but rich in protein, ideal for martial arts practitioners or people who exercise regularly.
They weren't cheap either—over 500 yuan for a box of 24 bars.
"You can use our internal shopping card to pay. First, deduct up to the 300-yuan limit."
"For the remaining balance, you can pay the difference yourself. The shopping card will give you an internal discount."
Li Hongxia, who was mopping the floor, kindly reminded him. Chen Feng paused for a moment, realizing there was such an option.
"Thanks, Sister Xia," he said, holding a large box of items in his arms.
"No need to thank me."
Li Hongxia smiled and glanced at the energy bars in his hands.
A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she curiously asked, "Xiao Feng likes to work out, huh?"
"Yeah, I occasionally practice," Chen Feng replied, not mentioning anything about martial arts. He didn't want to draw too much attention.
"That's good."
Li Hongxia smiled and nodded before quickly finishing mopping the floor.
The two didn't say much more, and Chen Feng followed her suggestion to make the payment.
He first used the employee card, spending the free amount for the month, and then topped up another 400 yuan.
He got a discount of 15% and had 120 yuan and 60 cents left on the card.
"Money really disappears fast."
Shaking his head, Chen Feng glanced at the balance on his phone.
The 1000 yuan transferred by Chen Yun was down to 600 yuan, and with the shopping card, he had a sum total of just over 700 yuan left.
"That should be enough to last until payday."
"I'll lock the door, you go ahead," Li Hongxia said after finishing cleaning, pulling down the supermarket's roll-up door with a long iron hook.
"It's fine, I'm in no hurry."
Chen Feng lightly shook his head, glancing at the dark sky.
After finding a cardboard box to pack up everything he bought, he silently stood on the sidewalk outside the supermarket, watching as she locked the door.
Once he saw the roll-up door was fully secured, he said goodbye and left with the large box of items.
Clack, clack!
His footsteps echoed as it passed midnight, and the night had fully arrived.
There were few pedestrians on the street, with the yellow streetlights casting a dim glow on the road.
Occasionally, a few drunken men appeared, and the distant smell of grilled skewers wafted over.
Chen Feng sniffed the air, then suppressed the saliva in his mouth and continued walking toward the nearby neighborhood.
Clack, clack!
His steps were steady and strong. Thanks to his improved strength and physique, he didn't feel fatigued on this walk.
Minutes later, the old neighborhood appeared across the street.
Chen Feng stepped forward, about to pass a dark alleyway.
"Damn, at this rate we're going to go broke."
"Wang Jie still calls us brother, but he wouldn't even lend us a few bucks when asked."
"Brother Jin, did you go looking for him?"
"Of course, this kid's probably hiding somewhere. If not for..."
"Huh?"
A voice from the alley caught his attention.
Under the dim yellow light of the streetlamp, he could barely make out three young men standing at the entrance of the alley, smoking.
They all had tattoos on their arms, clearly troublemakers, and one even had dyed yellow hair.
It seemed like they noticed him passing by, and their conversation abruptly stopped, all of them turning to look at him.
"One person?"
One of them muttered, his eyes intentionally turning a bit more menacing.
Chen Feng didn't stop and kept walking toward the neighborhood.
This was the old part of Nanjiang City, with poor infrastructure and ineffective surveillance.
He had seen these troublemakers around before. The leader was Zhao Jin, a lazy guy who had been in and out of jail, with a long criminal record.
There was no conflict between them, and Chen Feng didn't want to get involved with them.
Clack, clack!
His steady steps continued, and he quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Without incident, Chen Feng safely made it home.
He locked the door behind him and turned on the lights.
The grayish-black floor tiles came into view, and the old sofa seemed to glow faintly, with the TV still showing a black screen.
He quickly unpacked the eggs, bread, and other items from the box, placing them in the fridge.
Afterward, he went to the bathroom, undressed, and let the hot water from the shower fall on him.
Whoosh!
The weariness of the day washed over him as he exhaled deeply.
Droplets of water slid over his muscles, which were becoming increasingly defined.
Earning money, practicing martial arts.
These two thoughts grew stronger in his mind, and he knew he still had a long way to go.
Finally, after finishing his shower and drying his hair with a towel, he lay down on the bed without saying a word.
His breathing relaxed, and as the fatigue hit him like a tidal wave, he didn't check his phone, letting sleep take over.
A few minutes later, the mist flickered, and the long-awaited dream world reappeared.
(End of the Chapter)
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Translated 4 Series, 1.5K+ Chapters and 1.78M+ Words.