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墨書 Inktalez
I called, and sure enough, the counselor gave me some face and answered my questions before hanging up. I followed the address to the cafeteria, which was bustling with students during the peak time after classes.
It was crowded, with people coming and going in a lively manner. I found the clay pot rice window and asked the person in charge about job openings. After a quick glance at me, the person said, "It's thirteen dollars an hour. Are you willing?"
I nodded, "I'm willing."
The person smiled, "You’re quite an interesting girl."
"Alright, come to work tomorrow. For today, just get familiar with the place."
I nodded happily and left with a spring in my step. I was fortunate; one of my classmates had suffered from heatstroke, and I took over his shift. During the day, I worked part-time at the cafeteria and helped classmates pick up their packages after evening study sessions. I could earn thirty to forty dollars a day, which helped me get through my financial crisis for the time being.
Half a month later, my mother sent me five hundred dollars for living expenses with a message: "Spend it wisely; the family is under a lot of pressure." I couldn't help but rub my forehead in frustration. She was really stubborn.
Clearly living well, she insisted on pretending as if we were suffering greatly. To make matters worse, my brother posted a photo on social media—a picture of our family of three enjoying a buffet. The caption read: "Thanks to my parents; wishing me luck in getting into a good high school!"
I was instantly filled with anger. Our school cafeteria had great food—stir-fried dishes, noodles, various rice bowls, and soup noodles.
The prices for each dish are quite reasonable. Two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup only cost twelve yuan. Yet, even so, many students at the school choose to eat fried noodles for over ten yuan or buy instant noodles from the supermarket. Sixteen yuan for a meal is a bit too expensive for college students who only have a little over a thousand yuan for their monthly living expenses.
As for my dear younger brother, not only does he indulge in buffet meals, but he also brings our parents along. For three people, it easily costs at least three hundred yuan. In a fit of anger, I took a screenshot to check the location. I wanted to see just how good this buffet really was.
I first sent a screenshot to the family group chat. It was a post my brother had just shared on his social media—a photo of the three of them enjoying the buffet, along with his caption: "Thanks to my parents! Wishing me success in getting into a good high school!"
Then I followed up with a message in the group chat: "Dear uncles and aunts, I'm eighteen this year and will be an adult in a month. I wanted to ask if any of you have friends looking for a daughter-in-law. A low salary is fine; I only need one thousand yuan a month as long as they cover my meals! I'll marry whoever it is right away!"
There was silence in the group for a few seconds before a flurry of uncles began to respond with laughter and playful comments. "What has gotten into Xiao Chang?" one asked. "Don't joke around, Xiao Chang; my heart can't take it," another chimed in. "Hahaha! If you can't find a boyfriend, come to my house; I'll make sure you get plenty to eat," yet another uncle teased.
Watching the playful banter from my uncles brought warmth to my heart. It wasn't that I genuinely wanted to get married; I just wanted to embarrass my parents within the family.
Sure enough, after a short while, Mother started bombarding me with messages, demanding that I take back what I said.
“Liu Shang, what are you thinking?!”
“Mom, I’m out of money, really out of money. Please, I’m begging you to help me.”
Seeing that I replied, Mother called several times in quick succession.
“Liu Shang, I don’t care what’s going on with you. You need to take it back immediately; what you just said is unacceptable!”
“Xiao Chang, just think of it as your mom begging you. Please take it back.”
“Xiao Chang, if you take it back, I’ll send you a thousand yuan. How about that?”
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