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“Hurry and go. The commander sacrificed himself and the documents to take out the enemy. We can’t let his death be in vain. We must get out of here alive and deliver these documents.”
Liu Yang wiped away his tears and led his teammates onward. Eighteen of them had set out; now, only six remained.
They had lost thirteen comrades in this vast, boundless forest.
The six of them had to survive—because the families of those thirteen fallen comrades were counting on them.
Luckily, the rest of the journey was free of danger. By the time they reached the train station and saw their support team waiting, they couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.
Linjiawan Village, Guangdong Province
These past few days, Lin Qingmei had been incredibly busy. She went tide-harvesting in the morning and gathered firewood in the mountains afterward, finally filling the woodshed completely.
She earned seven to eight work points daily just from harvesting at the tide, which made her completely forget about the accounting exam.
When the village chief came to inform her that the test was at ten o’clock the next day, she was stunned.
Whatever, an exam is just an exam. Whether or not she became an accountant didn’t matter much to her.
As things were now, she could earn a few work points a day just from harvesting. She could feed herself and wasn’t responsible for anyone else. There was no need to work herself to death.
The next morning, Lin Qingmei still carried her bucket to the shore to tide-harvest. The exam was at ten anyway—she had time to gather a few things and then head over.
It wasn’t a spring tide today, so there weren’t many people by the sea.
Clams +3
Small crab +1
Mantis shrimp +1
………
She picked things up as she walked, heading toward the same reef area where she’d drained tide pools before.
There were lots of pools there, and she came by daily to drain a few.
Wow, so many oysters here!
Why didn’t she see them the last time?
Oysters +2
Oysters +2
Oysters +5
Oysters +10
………
Digging for oysters was strangely therapeutic. Before she realized it, she had collected way too many. There was no way she could finish all of them herself, so she’d have to cook them down into oyster sauce.
Oysters didn’t sell for much at the collection station, and they didn’t exchange for many work points in the village either. Even over a hundred oysters would only earn two work points.
Most people in the village didn’t even bother with oysters. They got sick of the taste, and if they had a lot of chickens at home, they’d rather use the oysters as chicken feed.
Her bucket was already full of oysters, so Lin Qingmei gave up on draining any more pools and turned to head home. Since there were other people around at the shore, she didn’t dare use her space powers openly.
“Qingmei, you just came back from tide-harvesting? Come, let me see what you’ve got!”
As Lin Qingmei reached the path back to the village, she ran into Leng Chunya and her granddaughter Lin Qinghua. Running into those two was seriously bad luck.
She didn’t plan to acknowledge them at all, but unexpectedly, Leng Chunya shamelessly reached over and tried to grab her bucket.
“I swear, Leng Chunya, your thick skin could put city walls to shame! What I pick up from tide-harvesting has nothing to do with you. Are we even close?”
Lin Qingmei shoved her away. Looks like that kick she gave her last time healed too well.
“Qingmei-jie, how can you push my grandma? She’s still your elder after all,” Lin Qinghua said softly, lowering her head as if scared—but no one noticed the flash of hatred in her eyes.
“Pah! Lin Qinghua, who gave you the right to speak?
Back then, weren’t you enjoying mooching off me every day? You think I won’t make you cough it all back up?”
The original host must’ve been blind to be manipulated by this fake sweet girl. All that time, she secretly used Grandma Lin’s spare money to pay for her tuition. Since she had the nerve to show up today, it was time to collect the debt!
The original host may have been kind and forgiving—but Lin Qingmei hated being taken advantage of!
Paying back a debt is only fair. She was definitely getting her money back today.
“Qingmei-jie, what are you talking about? Aren’t we good friends? Why are you saying this to me?”
“Pah! Who’s your good friend? You freeloading, ungrateful snake—you’re not qualified to be my friend! Two years of high school tuition cost me twenty yuan. Add another twenty for all the snacks and treats you ate. Just pay me forty yuan and we’re square.”
That was actually a lowball estimate. Who could even calculate things like steamed buns and toilet paper?
“Qingmei, you know I don’t have money. If I did, I wouldn’t have troubled you. Can’t you just… let it slide for the sake of our friendship?”
Lin Qingmei rolled her eyes. Lin Qinghua’s eyes were red, and she looked like she might faint any second.
This little white lotus really knew how to act—if a man were here, he’d probably be overwhelmed with pity.
Too bad for her, she ran into Master Tea-Taster Lin Qingmei. Her little schemes were doomed to fail.
“Lin Qinghua, can you stop faking it? Not even a burlap sack could contain all that fake of yours. I know exactly what kind of person you are. Don’t pretend to be some innocent fairy when you’re just a sly fox. Be smart and pay me back, or I’ll let all those loser simps of yours know what kind of woman their goddess really is.”
“Qingmei-jie, what are you talking about? If you don’t like me, I’ll avoid you next time. As for the money I owe, I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I get a job.”
Pay it back? Never happening.
But for now, she still needed those guys chasing her to help find a job. She couldn’t let them know what she was really like.
Lin Qinghua had always been pragmatic. Most of her admirers came from regular families. If she was going to marry, it had to be someone rich.
“Whether you find a job or not has nothing to do with me. Right now, I just want you to pay me back.”
No matter how sweet her words were, Lin Qingmei wouldn’t believe a single one. This woman never spoke a single honest word.
“Oh no, Qingmei-jie, how could you push me like that?”
Seeing someone approaching from behind Lin Qingmei, Lin Qinghua immediately faked a fall and sat on the ground.
“Lin Qingmei! How could you push Qinghua? She’s your cousin!”
Hearing the voice behind her, Lin Qingmei instantly realized—she’d been set up.
Lin Qinghua really didn’t know her place. Fine then—if she wanted to tear things up, so be it.
Wait a minute. That voice sounded… familiar?
Turning around, she recognized the speaker—it was her fiancé, Cheng Youjin.
So he was involved with Lin Qinghua now?
She had been planning to go to his family and break off the engagement—and what better time than now?
“Where do you get the guts to talk to me like that? Since you two are already messing around together, I’ll grant you your wish. Hand over the keepsake around your neck—our engagement is over as of today.”
Lin Qingmei didn’t want to waste any more words on this idiot. She stepped forward and yanked the jade pendant from around his neck.
She wasn’t going to wear it ever again, but there was no way she was letting that disgusting man keep it either.