Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Rich Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Rich 3 days before.
Xi Ping trudged through the streets of Crystal Cove, her arms straining under the weight of the huge bags she carried.
The eyes of the people around her followed her every step, their reactions a mixture of envy and suspicion.
So openly ogled the bags, their lips curling with desire at the sight of so much food in a world where hunger was a constant companion.
Others sneered, their voices dripping with malice.
“Look at her,” one woman muttered.
“Bet she sold herself for that.” “Yeah, probably to so fat old guy,” a man added with a snicker.
“No way she could have gotten that much food any other way.” Xi Ping kept her head down and ignored the taunts.
She had no ti for their petty words, not when her arms were aching, and her mind was spinning from the events that had just unfolded.
The mory of Su Jiyai’s glowing purple eyes and her lips against Xi Ping’s neck flashed in her mind, but she shook it off.
She needed to focus on getting ho.
Her house ca into view, a dilapidated building that seed to sag under its own weight.
She approached the door, and as she stepped inside, she was greeted by her foster mother’s shrill voice.
“You’re back already?” her foster mother, a sharp-featured woman with a permanent scowl, snapped.
“What, you couldn’t even finish the job you were sent to do?” Xi Ping didn’t respond.
Instead, she placed the bags gently on the floor, her body grateful for the release from their weight.
She could feel the stares of her foster father and brother boring into her.
They were sitting in the corner of the room, lazily lounging as though the idea of helping her hadn’t even crossed their minds.
“Useless girl,” her foster father grumbled, his voice thick with disdain.
“Always coming back empty-handed.” Xi Ping’s foster brother, younger but just as cruel, smirked.
“Maybe we should sell her to that old man in the next town.
I heard he’s offering three packs of noodles for a good wife.” Her foster father nodded in agreent.
“Three packs of noodles would be worth more than she is.” Xi Ping remained silent, her face expressionless as she reached down and unzipped one of the bags.
The mont the contents were revealed, the room fell into stunned silence.
Her foster mother’s eyes widened as she saw the neatly packed bags of rice and cup noodles inside.
She rushed forward, grabbing one of the rice bags with trembling hands.
“Oh my God,” her foster mother gasped, her face lighting up with uncharacteristic excitent.
“We’re rich!
We’re finally rich!” Her foster father and brother were imdiately on their feet, crowding around her as they stared at the bounty of food.
The smirks they had worn monts ago were replaced with expressions of greed and eagerness.
Her foster mother hugged her husband and son, her previous anger forgotten as she gushed over their sudden windfall.
“We’ll never go hungry again!” she exclaid.
“This is enough food to last us years!” Xi Ping stood back, watching the scene unfold with cold detachnt.
She had expected this reaction.
She had known that the mont they saw the food, they would change their tune.
But she had no intention of letting them keep her bound to this miserable life any longer.
“I brought enough food to last you twenty years,” Xi Ping said, her voice cutting through the chatter.
“Now, keep your promise and set free.” The room fell silent again, and her foster family turned to her, their expressions slowly hardening.
Her foster mother was the first to speak, her eyes narrowing.
“Twenty years?” she echoed, her voice sharp.
“This isn’t enough to last twenty years.
This food might last us five years at most.” Xi Ping clenched her fists, anger bubbling up inside her.
“Don’t play gas with ,” she said, her voice low and dangerous.
“You know exactly how much food this is.” Her foster mother crossed her arms, her lips curling into a smirk.
“Do I?
Maybe you miscounted.
Maybe you didn’t bring back as much as you thought.” Her foster father and brother were quick to back her up, nodding their heads and muttering in agreent.
“Yeah, she’s right,” her brother said with a sneer.
“This isn’t enough for twenty years.” Xi Ping could see the trap they were setting for her, and it only fueled her anger.
She had brought them more food than they had ever seen in their lives, and now they were trying to twist the situation to keep her under their control.
“Fine,” she said, her voice cold.
“If you think it’s not enough, I’ll take a quarter of the food and live with you all.
That way, you’ll still have plenty.” Her words made her foster mother’s smile falter for a mont, but the woman quickly recovered.
“A quarter?” she scoffed.
“You’re lucky we’re even considering letting you stay here with us.
You think you deserve a quarter of what we worked for?” Xi Ping’s eyes flashed with fury.
“You didn’t work for any of this.
I did.” Her foster father stepped forward, his face twisted in anger.
“Watch your mouth, girl.
You’re not in any position to make demands.” But Xi Ping wasn’t backing down.
She had suffered enough under their roof, and now that she had the ans to break free, she wasn’t going to let them manipulate her any longer.
“You promised my freedom if I brought back enough food,” she said, her voice steady and firm.
“I’ve kept my end of the bargain.
Now it’s ti for you to keep yours.” Her foster mother opened her mouth to argue, but Xi Ping raised a hand to stop her.
“If you don’t want to leave, then give a quarter of the food.
Otherwise, let go.” Finally, her foster mother let out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine,” she snapped.
“But you will have to hunt for us one more year and then you can go.”
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