"Xiuping's son is very successful, having made a good amount of money by starting his own company over the past two years, and they even hired a nanny at ho."
"If it wasn't just to pass the ti, she wouldn't co to work here..."
Inside the supermarket, seeing the confusion and astonishnt on Chen Feng's face, another employee beside him chuckled and explained.
The person referred to as Aunt Zhang was the sa woman seen earlier in the morning, slightly overweight, who had also joined for lunch.
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang."
Chen Feng nodded his understanding.
It turned out that Aunt He was here to experience life.
Feeling the gap between people, he shook his head secretly.
Regarding the employee shopping card placed in front of him, after so thought, Chen Feng finally decided to put it away in the drawer and not to use it.
He wasn't at the point where he couldn't afford to eat; it was better to take fewer things that were free.
Then, standing at the checkout counter, he quickly put on the red vest emblazoned with the words "Yonglefu" and began to settle into work.
Everything went smoothly, and he even saw another employee who ca to take over for Aunt Zhang.
Li Hongxia, in her late thirties, mainly responsible for the supermarket's cleanliness and stocking the shelves.
Sowhat thin, with sallow skin, visible wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and a lot of spots on her face.
"This is Xiao Feng, the new college student."
"This is Hongxia, just call her Sister Xia."
Before leaving, Aunt Zhang kindly introduced them, and Chen Feng expressed his thanks by nodding politely to Li Hongxia.
Ti passed by, as he stood behind the checkout, custors began to appear in waves.
Elderly, children, youths, and young won.
"Give a pack of cigarettes, Tianhua, yes, the slim ones."
A man asked for a pack of cigarettes, and Chen Feng scanned the barcode to process the paynt.
"How much is this bottle of water?"
"Five yuan." Another person ca by, picking up a bottle of sports drink nad Arrowhead.
"Alright, scanned it."
Beep! The account was credited, five yuan!
The small supermarket continually chid with various sounds, and Chen Feng kept busy until ten o'clock at night when custor traffic finally began to thin.
Perhaps because they were not acquainted, he and Li Hongxia didn't talk much.
Both were quietly doing their own work, until almost midnight when there were hardly any more custors, Chen Feng finally went shopping for so of his own necessities.
Two bundles of noodles, a carton of milk, two boxes of eggs, a large bag of bread...
Mostly food items, during which he also bought a carton of Superman brand Energy Bars.
This was a high-nutrition food from Chi Country, looking like long stick-shaped milk bars but containing rich protein, especially suitable for people who practice martial arts or exercise regularly.
The price wasn't cheap either, costing over 500 yuan for just a carton of twenty-four bars.
"You can pay with our internal shopping card, just deduct the 300 yuan limit first."
"For the remaining amount, top it up yourself; the shopping card will automatically provide you with an internal discount."
While mopping the floor, Li Hongxia kindly suggested, Chen Feng paused for a mont before realizing there was such an option.
"Thank you, Sister Xia," he said, carrying a large box of goods.
"No need to thank ."
Li Hongxia smiled slightly and glanced at the Energy Bars he was holding.
Her eyes revealed a hint of surprise, and she curiously asked, "Xiao Feng, do you like to exercise?"
"Yes, I'll work out occasionally."
Chen Feng didn't ntion the specifics of practicing boxing again; he didn't like to show off.
"That's good."
Li Hongxia nodded with a smile, and soon finished mopping the floor.
Without further conversation, Chen Feng followed her advice and proceeded with the transaction.
He first used up his own monthly free allowance with the employee card and then topped up four hundred yuan more.
After receiving an 8.5 percent discount, there was still one hundred twenty yuan and sixty cents left on the shopping card.
"Money goes really fast."
Shaking his head, Chen Feng checked the balance in his phone.
The thousand yuan transferred by Chen Yun was down to six hundred, plus what was left on the shopping card; altogether, he had just over 700 yuan left.
"It should be enough to last until payday."
"If worst cos to worst, I can use Alipay's service, since there's no interest if I pay it back within a month."
Chen Feng thought to himself; he simply couldn't bring himself to ask Chen Yun for money again.
"I'll lock the door; you go ahead and leave first."
Li Hongxia finished cleaning up and, with a long iron hook, pulled down the rolling shutter door of the supermarket.
"It's alright, I'm not in a hurry."
Chen Feng gently shook his head, glancing at the pitch-black sky.
He found a cardboard box, packed all his purchases into it, and stood silently on the sidewalk outside the supermarket, watching the other person lock up.
Not until the rolling shutter door was firmly locked did he say goodbye and leave with a big box in his arms.
Click-clack!
His footsteps echoed; it was already past midnight, entering the early morning.
There were very few pedestrians on the streets, with the dim streetlights casting their glow on the road.
The occasional drunkard appeared, and sporadic street food stalls wafted the scent of grilled skewers.
Chen Feng sniffed at the tip of his nose, ultimately suppressed the saliva in his mouth, and continued walking toward the nearby residential area.
Click-clack!
His steps were steady and strong; with his increased Strength and Constitution, he didn't feel tired at all.
It was only a few minutes later when the old neighborhood appeared across the street.
Chen Feng stepped forward, preparing to brush past a dark alleyway entrance.
"Damn it, we're going crazy from poverty."
"Wang Jie says he's our brother, but he refuses to lend us even a di."
"Brother Jin, did you look for him?"
"Nonsense, that kid has gone into hiding sowhere. If it weren't for... Huh?"
Voices ca from the alley; Chen Feng glanced over with his peripheral vision.
Under the fading yellow light of the streetlamp, he could barely make out three young n standing at the entrance of the alley, smoking.
They all had tattoos on their arms, and at a glance, it was clear they were gang mbers – one of them even had dyed blonde hair.
Perhaps having seen him walk by, their conversation abruptly stopped, and they all looked over at him.
"Alone?"
Soone muttered, their gaze intentionally fierce.
Chen Feng did not stop but continued to walk toward the residential area.
This was an old district in Nanjiang City with poor infrastructure and inadequate surveillance.
He had seen these gang mbers several tis around here; the leader was Zhao Jin, always up to no good, who had been in and out of jail with quite the record.
There was no enmity between them, and he did not wish to get involved with the gang mbers.
Click-clack!
Imdiately, he continued with his steady and forceful steps, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Without any trouble, Chen Feng arrived ho safely.
He deadbolted the door and turned on the lights.
The gray-black floor tiles ca into view, and the old sofa seed to shine with a glow, while the television remained off.
Chen Feng quickly took items like eggs and bread out of the box and put them in the fridge for preservation.
Finally, he headed to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and let the hot water from the showerhead cascade over his body.
Sigh!
A day's fatigue ca over him, and Chen Feng exhaled deeply.
Water droplets, like little pebbles, slid over his muscles, now more defined.
Making money, practicing boxing.
These two thoughts deepened in his mind, and he knew he had a long way to go.
Eventually, after cleaning up,
he wiped his hair with a towel and without a word, lay down on the bed.
His breath relaxed, and as tiredness swept over him like a tide, he didn't reach for his phone, letting sleepiness envelop him.
Just a few minutes later,
a flicker in the mist, and the long-awaited Dream World appeared once more.
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