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The remaining kids fled in terror. Chen Ting stood there frozen, seemingly wanting to say something, but upon meeting Dong Xingyu’s gaze, she too turned tail and ran.
She didn’t want to do it either, but she had no choice. If she hadn’t tricked Dong Ye into coming, she would have been the one getting beaten today.
Dong Xingyu’s face was as dark as ink. Without even glancing at the two boys lying on the ground, he quickly carried his daughter back to their house.
“Sorry, Dad. Did I cause you trouble?” Dong Ye’s voice was even softer, tinged with a faint sob.
Dong Xingyu’s heart clenched, and he nearly ended up shedding tears as well, “Silly girl, what does this have to do with you? It’s their problem. Don’t worry, Dad will protect you no matter what.”
Once they were back inside, Dong Xingyu placed Dong Ye on the bed and checked her wounds. Although they appeared mostly superficial, the sight of those bruises still looked terrifying.
“Do they bully you like this often?”
Dong Ye shook her head. “No, Chen Ting was the one they used to bully. When I saw them before, they even told me not to provoke them.”
Dong Xingyu wasn’t a child, so he quickly understood the underlying complexities. “From now on, don’t play with her anymore.”
Dong Ye nodded. She wasn’t clueless. After she had been brought over, Chen Ting had stood at the back of the crowd, seemingly sympathetic toward her, yet there was a hint of hidden satisfaction in her eyes.
She remembered Chen Ting once telling her how envious she was of Dong Ye. That how despite her poor health, her father had never abandoned her and had always taken good care of her.
In contrast, Chen Ting herself was seen as a burden by her parents, constantly scolded or beaten, and even had to take care of her younger cousin brother1, who was treated like a treasure by her parents.
However, none of that justified dragging others down with her.
After tending to his daughter’s wounds, Dong Xingyu brought out some still-warm potatoes for her to eat.
His brow remained furrowed. He had just secured a job at the factory, which meant he would often be away during the day. Then what about his daughter? How could he ensure his daughter’s safety then?
Before he could come up with a solution, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
*
After Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan finished harvesting all the potatoes from the field, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s keep selling potatoes for tomorrow’s vegetable sale,” Jiang Ci murmured, looking at the small mountain of potatoes before her.
“Potatoes are good, everyone likes them,” Song Jinchuan said objectively.
Once the fieldwork was done, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan returned to their rooms.
Jiang Ci played with Xiao Lulu for a while before lying down on the bed and letting out a deep sigh.
[Once the next task is completed, the host can take a vacation and return home,] the system’s voice suddenly chimed in.
Jiang Ci bolted upright from the bed. “Really? I get a vacation?”
[Of course. I’ve seen your hard work over the past few months, so I specially applied for a vacation for you.]
“That’s amazing!” Jiang Ci was almost moved to tears. But then she thought of something. “But in my world, one day there equals a month here. If I go back for a vacation, won’t this place be on hold for several months?”
[Don’t worry, host. I’ve already taken that into consideration. While you’re away, time in this world will slow down and sync with your world and will only resume to it’s previous time flow when you return.]
Overjoyed, Jiang Ci got out of bed and spun around with Xiao Lulu in her arms. She could finally go home!
Because of this news, Jiang Ci had trouble falling asleep and woke up a little after five in the morning.
When she opened her room door, she happened to see the door next to hers open. Song Jinchuan looked surprised to see her. “Why are you up so early again? Is there anything you want to eat?”
As he spoke, he had already rolled up his sleeves, ready to start cooking, but Jiang Ci stopped him, “No, it’s just that I’ve been feeling more energetic lately, so I got up early.”
Jiang Ci couldn’t explain her reason of finally getting to go back home, so she had to make up an excuse.
After having breakfast with Song Jinchuan in the courtyard, Jiang Ci went out through the side door of the backyard, planning to check on the barbecue shop. The new task was related to the barbecue shop, and she needed to see if they needed to stock up on some more ingredients.
In the task she received yesterday, the system told her to launch an all-you-can-eat2 buffet promotion at the barbecue shop three times within a week, priced at two fourth-level crystal cores per person.
To facilitate this, the system also provided Jiang Ci with some specialized barbecue tables and chairs that could be placed in the courtyard outside.
Although two fourth-level crystal cores weren’t considered cheap for survivors, the chance to eat as much meat as they wanted to would likely convince many that the price was reasonable.
As Jiang Ci pushed open the side door of the backyard, she was still thinking about how to stock up on more meat, arrange the tables and chairs, and whether she needed to borrow staff from the neighboring hotpot restaurant.
However, before she could take a single step, she noticed a shabby, old tent had appeared on the empty ground behind the barbecue shop.
Jiang Ci frowned slightly. When did that appear? She was sure it hadn’t been there yesterday.
Song Jinchuan, who was behind her, noticed her pause and came over to see what was happening. Soon, his gaze followed Jiang Ci’s and landed on the tent in the distance, instantly putting him on alert.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
At that moment, there was movement from within the tent as a figure lifted the flap and stepped out.
Jiang Ci recognized him—it was Dong Xingyu, the employee they had just hired yesterday. He was holding a potato in his hand.
Yesterday, Jiang Ci had made a point of matching names with faces to avoid any issues with identity theft at the job.
Dong Xingyu seemed momentarily flustered but quickly composed himself. He walked up to the two of them and explained, “I’m sorry, Boss Jiang. Something unexpected happened yesterday, so I had to bring my daughter out of the base in the middle of the night. I thought this place would be safer, so I set up a tent here temporarily. It was too late last night for me to knock and inform you. We’ll leave soon.”
“What happened? Why did you leave the base in the middle of the night?” Jiang Ci frowned, her gaze shifting to the tent where a pale-faced girl peeked out. She didn’t seem very old.
Under normal circumstances, no one would bring such a young girl out in the middle of the night, especially since the nights in the apocalypse were fraught with even more danger.
Dong Xingyu hesitated but eventually told the truth. It wasn’t their fault—the logistics director had abused his authority and forced them out without explanation.
After listening to Dong Xingyu’s account, Jiang Ci was furious. Wasn’t this just plain bullying?
“Didn’t you tell them you’re an employee of my store?” Jiang Ci asked. This wasn’t because she was narcissistic, but because it was simply a fact that everyone wanted to buy supplies from her now, so they had no choice but to also treat her employees well by extension.
Dong Xingyu shook his head, “I didn’t get the chance to tell them yet.” This batch of employees hadn’t started working yet, so most people didn’t know they had been selected.
“This is just bullying! You didn’t do anything wrong,” Jiang Ci said angrily. “Don’t leave. Stay here with your daughter in the courtyard for now. Once the employee dormitory is ready next week, you can move there directly.”
Dong Xingyu opened his mouth, wanting to refuse, but when he thought about his daughter’s health—she had just recovered and was beaten up by those brats, leaving her even weaker—he realized they couldn’t possibly keep wandering around. Having a stable place to stay would be a blessing.
Seemingly sensing Dong Xingyu’s hesitation, Jiang Ci didn’t say much more. She turned around and walked back into the courtyard, gesturing for him to bring his daughter inside.
After hesitating for a few minutes, Dong Xingyu called his daughter and followed Jiang Ci into the courtyard.
“We’ll stay at Boss Jiang’s place for the next few days. Remember, don’t touch anything in the house, and don’t wander around,” Dong Xingyu instructed and couldn’t help but nag despite the fact that Dong Ye had always been well-behaved.
Dong Ye, feeling nervous, nodded and tightly held her father’s hand.
“Don’t be too scared. Boss Jiang is very kind,” Dong Xingyu reassured her, noticing her anxiety.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they noticed the difference between the interior compared to the outside world. It was like stepping into another realm.
Dong Ye’s eyes lit up, and she squeezed her father’s hand, whispering, “Dad, it’s so beautiful here.”
Since there were no available rooms in the front courtyard, Jiang Ci had to arrange for them to stay in an empty room in the backyard.
Jiang Ci pushed open a room. It had remained unoccupied, so the decor was basic, and although there weren’t many furnishings, it was still perfectly livable.
Jiang Ci also placed a foldable bed in the room, thinking that the father and daughter could each have their own bed, especially since the daughter seemed old enough.
Dong Xingyu thanked Jiang Ci for what felt like the hundredth time, and Dong Ye, though timid, also thanked her.
Looking at the thin and frail girl in front of her, Jiang Ci’s expression softened.
The bruises from the beating were still visible on Dong Ye’s pale face, making them look even more stark and painful.
Jiang Ci recalled a neighbor from her hometown—a quiet, well-behaved middle school girl who lived downstairs, and who was also a good student.
But one day, she suddenly started coming home with injuries, some from pinching, others from cigarette burns.
Jiang Ci was in high school at the time, and their schedules rarely overlapped. She would only occasionally run into the girl, who would instinctively pull her clothes down to hide the wounds when she noticed Jiang Ci’s gaze, so Jiang Ci pretended not to see them.
One evening, after finishing her evening self-study session, Jiang Ci found the girl sitting in the stairwell, crying quietly.
Jiang Ci handed her a tissue and asked what was wrong.
Perhaps it was Jiang Ci’s concern that made the girl feel warmth, and she began to recount her ordeal in fragments.
She had been the victim of school bullying. A group of girls had started targeting her for no reason, dragging her to the restroom or playground after class to humiliate her in various ways.
She sought help from her teacher, but the teacher chose to gloss over the issue. When she told her parents, they responded with the classic line, “Why would they bully you and not someone else?”
Jiang Ci’s brows furrowed slightly as she listened, but at the time, she was just a high school student herself. When faced with such situations, the only options she knew were to seek help from teachers or parents, so she didn’t know what else to do.
Before Jiang Ci could say anything, the girl’s mother opened the door and called her back in.
That brief encounter was the only time they had talked. The next time Jiang Ci heard about the girl was when her mother mentioned that she had jumped from the school building.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
