Escape System: [Tasks 1 and 2 are unified tasks for all players. Task three is different for each player and may have varying content. It’s like playing a strategy game; different early choices lead to different story developments later on. Task three is a rational task based on the triggered plot development in the early gameplay.]
[However, it’s not absolute. Some players are just lucky and won’t trigger the task, but completing the first two tasks will be sufficient.]
Bai Lixin: [Understood, thank you.]
[You’re welcome,] the Escape System paused briefly, then continued, [Master Bai Lixin, this copy is a welfare copy. According to our system’s understanding of copies, the death rate in welfare copies is not very high. It’s a genuinely kind copy, so you don’t have to feel much pressure in this one.]
Bai Lixin: [Alright, thank you for the reminder.]
Bai Lixin opened a private chat window and sent messages to Sun Ning and Li Cancan respectively: [What do you think?]
Sun Ning: [I observed for a bit and haven’t found any issues so far. These should be plot NPCs. Still, we need to see if they’re hiding something.]
Li Cancan: [I’m doing well. I’ve already settled in. Sun Ning and I are staying together. You can rest assured, I’ll take care of Sun Ning.]
Seeing the vastly different responses from the two, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but chuckle.
Sun Ning focused on the game and analyzed the situation with him.
Meanwhile, Li Cancan’s attention was on Sun Ning, and she reported her safety to him.
In a way, these two seemed quite complementary.
In reality, Bai Lixin had nothing much to tidy up. After sitting in the room for a while, he pushed the door open and walked out.
The two children were playing in the courtyard, and the two adults were nowhere to be seen.
Bai Lixin called out to the two boys, “Where did your parents go?”
The younger brother immediately hid behind his older brother. The elder brother proficiently protected his younger sibling and answered in a clear, standard Mandarin, “My dad went to the fields, and my mom is in the kitchen preparing dinner.”
Considering that their mother was mute, and their father could only speak the local dialect, Bai Lixin was curious. “Who taught you to speak Mandarin?”
The elder brother raised his head proudly. “Our grandma taught us.”
“I heard my grandma say that she used to be the daughter of a wealthy family and later married my grandpa when their family fortunes declined. So, my grandma not only writes beautifully but also knows many ancient poems and verses.”
Bai Lixin recalled the elderly woman’s parting words, “exhausted from the journey.”
He took out a cotton candy from his backpack. “Here’s a question for you, and if you answer, I’ll give you this candy. Deal?”
The boy looked at his younger brother and nodded generously. “Okay, big brother, ask away!”
“Do you have a girl in your village named Pan Pan?”
The boy replied confidently, “Yes, I can take you to see her if you want. She doesn’t live far from our house.”
“Thank you very much.” Bai Lixin smiled and handed the candy to the older brother.
However, the older brother just stared at the candy for a moment, swallowed but gave it to his younger brother.
With big round eyes, the younger brother stared at the candy in his hand for a long time before carefully placing it in the older brother’s pocket.
He wasn’t very fluent in speaking, and he tugged on his brother’s sleeve, speaking with a childish voice, “Big brother, eat.”
After saying that, he gazed innocently at Bai Lixin with his watery, big round eyes.
Bai Lixin quickly took out another one: “…”
‘Take it, both of you!
I have no idea how to deal with human kids of this age.’
Each of the brothers got a candy, and they happily tore open the wrappers to eat.
Watching the two brothers wolfing down their candies, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but speak, “You can only eat one today, alright? Eating too many will ruin your teeth. Tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow, I can give you more.”
The older and younger brothers stood obediently in front of Bai Lixin, nodding earnestly.
Kids this age didn’t understand what joking is.
In their understanding, the words of others were always truthful and not false.
The older brother led the way with his younger sibling, and Bai Lixin didn’t have to exert much effort or time to find Pan Pan’s doorstep.
Just as he stood in the alley outside Pan Pan’s house, he spotted some figures standing there from a distance.
It was two people, one large, one small. As they approached, Bai Lixin realized it was a young man with a small braid at the back of his head. Bai Lixin had seen him among the players earlier.
The young man with the small braid was talking to the little girl sitting on the doorstep. The little girl looked exactly like the one they had seen in the opening video, but at the moment, her face was filled with sadness, and she appeared quite unhappy.
No matter how much the player talked, Pan Pan remained silent.
Before he reached Pan Pan, the older brother suddenly stopped, turned to Bai Lixin, and extended his hand, saying, “Big brother, can you give me another piece of candy? I promise I won’t eat it.”
The brother’s voice was sincere, and Bai Lixin didn’t think much of it. He reached into his backpack and handed a piece of cotton candy to the young boy.
Thanks to his previous experience in the Eternal Diamond Mountain, where he barely had enough, he always made sure to sweep through the mall before entering any copy. He collected useful and useless items alike, or else he wouldn’t be able to satisfy these children’s innocence and joy.
“Sister Pan Pan.” With the candy in hand, the older brother immediately ran over to the little girl, who was sitting with a sad expression. He directly handed her the cotton candy and said, “Look, candy, for you.”
The little girl was momentarily stunned, her eyes fixed on the candy in her hand. After a while, her eyes welled up with tears, and she began to cry.
“Wuuu, wuuu.”
The older brother was taken aback and quickly tried to comfort her. “Sister Pan Pan, don’t you like it?”
However, the little girl didn’t say anything. She just held the candy tightly and cried bitterly.
Her cries were loud, and they drew the adults from inside the house.
A door opening sound came from the house, and before long, a woman wearing an apron rushed out.
As soon as she saw the two unfamiliar men standing at the door with a crying Pan Pan, she didn’t mince words and immediately picked up Pan Pan, who was in tears. She held the little girl tightly in her arms, soothing her while giving the two men a wary look. “Who are you people? Child traffickers?! Let me tell you, kidnapping children is a crime, do you know that? Leave immediately, or I’ll call the police!”
The young man with the small braid quickly explained, “Big sister, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not child traffickers. We were sent by the city to help in the village.”
The woman was still somewhat skeptical. She scrutinized Bai Lixin and the young man with the small braid, her gaze shifting between them before finally landing on the two boys.
The older brother explained in a gentle voice, “This uncle didn’t do anything to her, and he and this big brother are just visitors.”
“This big brother is staying in our house.”
Small Braid: “…”
‘We look almost the same age.
Why call me “uncle” and him “big brother”?!’
The woman finally lowered her guard a bit but still spoke with a less than friendly tone, “Fine, you’re here to help, so be it. But why come to our house? We don’t need help. You two look suspicious, and not all helpers are good people.”
“It’s not like that,” Small Braid continued to explain. “I saw that Pan Pan was sitting here looking very unhappy, so I asked her what was wrong.”
This statement was better left unsaid. Once said, it only infuriated the woman further. “Haven’t you just arrived? Why do you know my daughter’s name is Pan Pan? What exactly is your purpose?”
Small Braid: “…”
‘Just kill me already!’
Bai Lixin glanced at the older brother.
The older brother said, “Auntie, I called out Pan Pan’s name just now.”
Small Braid quickly explained, “Yes, that’s right. I heard the little boy calling her, and that’s how I knew. I really didn’t know her name was Pan Pan. I live next door, and when I saw her sitting here, I came over to check on her.”
The woman glanced toward the neighboring house, then looked down at Pan Pan in her arms.
Now that Pan Pan’s cries had subsided somewhat, the woman asked gently, “Pan Pan, did these two bully you? You just tell the truth. Mommy’s here, and with me around, they won’t dare to bully you.”
Pan Pan hiccupped and, while sniffing, her voice trembled as she spoke, “Little brother used to give me candy, and now I miss him, sniff.”
A fleeting pain crossed the woman’s eyes. She gently patted Pan Pan in her arms and cast a warning look at the two men before closing the door and carrying Pan Pan inside.
Small Braid: “…”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Small Braid smiled awkwardly at Bai Lixin. “Looks like I messed things up. If I hadn’t said anything earlier, it would have been better. Hello, I’m Zhao Zheng, and I’m probably older than you so just call me Brother Zhao.”
Bai Lixin extended his hand. “Hello, Zhao Zheng. I’m Bai Lixin.”
Small Braid: “…Hello.”
‘Okay, just call me Zhao Zheng I guess.’
Small Braid: “What did that little girl mean by her last sentence just now? What does it mean that she missed her little brother after seeing this candy?”
Bai Lixin thought for a moment. “Does Pan Pan have a younger brother?”
After they finished speaking, both of them focused their gaze on the five-year-old brother.
The brother’s action of extending his hand was already very skilled.
Bai Lixin: “…”
He placed a piece of candy in the brother’s hand, and only after the brother had passed it to his younger sibling did he answer earnestly, “Sister Pan Pan’s little brother was taken by the monsters on the mountain.”
Small Braid and Bai Lixin exchanged glances. Small Braid asked, “What kind of monster is it?”
The brother shook his head. “I haven’t seen it. Grandma says only naughty children get taken by the monsters, and Pan Pan’s little brother was naughty.”
Small Braid pondered, “Could it be that Pan Pan’s distress is about her little brother? Does she want to see her missing brother? So, is our task to go up the mountain and find her brother?”
Bai Lixin: “Let’s wait and ask some more.”
Bai Lixin crouched down and looked at the brother in front of him, using a gentle voice to coax, “Do you know anything else about that monster? Can you tell big brother?”
“Big brother, I like you.” The brother blinked. “I’ll tell you.”
“Grandma said the monster is called a Mountain Ghost.”
“It lives on the mountain and really likes children. It likes to eat children, so it often comes down from the mountain to capture children.”
“It only captures disobedient children, so as long as we’re obedient and well-behaved, we won’t be taken by the monster.”
Bai Lixin remained silent for a moment. “So… are there many disobedient children?”
The brother tilted his head. “Yes, many, many naughty children have been taken.”
Bai Lixin and Small Braid were instantly stunned.
…..
As soon as he opened the door to the place where he was staying, Bai Lixin smelled the wafting aroma of food.
The two brothers rushed into the main room, and Bai Lixin followed. Before he even entered, he heard a man’s voice saying, “We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you two been? Why are your hands so dirty? If you don’t behave, be careful of being taken away by the Mountain Ghost!”
It seemed that the two children were very afraid of the Mountain Ghost. Bai Lixin then heard the older brother begging in a frightened tone, “Dad, I didn’t run around randomly, it was the big brother who asked me to take him out. I’m not a bad kid, and my little brother isn’t a bad kid either. We’re not bad kids!”
“Alright, alright,” an elderly voice came through, “neither of you are bad kids. Dad was just scaring you. Hurry up and wash your hands for dinner, be good.”
Bai Lixin walked in and, as he sat at the dining table, his gaze scanned the dishes in front of him.
Eggplants, tomatoes, and a plate of braised pork.
The two brothers kept their eyes fixed on the braised pork as soon as they sat down, their mouths watering.
The husband chuckled and pushed the plate of braised pork in front of Bai Lixin. “This is specially prepared by the village head for comrades like you from the city. Go ahead, try it.”
He finished speaking and swallowed some saliva.
Bai Lixin silently glanced at the expressions of the people around the table.
The elderly woman’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the overcooked eggplant in front of her. Her face bore the marks of time, reflecting a sense of weariness and composure.
The mute woman, on the other hand, earnestly served food to everyone, her full attention on the two children.
The two children and the man had their gazes fixed on the plate of braised pork in front of them.
Bai Lixin contemplated for a moment, then slowly pushed the braised pork to the center of the table. “I can’t finish all of this by myself. Let’s eat together.”
The man was not polite and he smiled and said, “Then we’re lucky to share your meal.”
With that, he picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it on top of his rice, relishing the flavors.
The woman also picked up her chopsticks, served each child a piece of braised pork, and then placed her chopsticks down, continuing to add more rice.
After serving everyone with rice, the woman finally placed the last bowl of rice in front of herself, slowly eating the tomatoes in front of her.
As the piece of braised pork went down, the man picked up another piece and placed it in his bowl. He poured the sauce from the braised pork onto his rice before continuing to enjoy the meat.
While eating, the man spoke, “The village head said if we provided a room, the village will send us some meat with every meal. Of course, all this meat is for you. We can enjoy it because of your presence.”
Taking another bite of rice, the man continued, “Don’t feel like a guest here; consider this place your own. If you need anything, just let me know, and I’ll talk to the team.”
Throughout the meal, the man maintained a friendly conversation, while the others at the table ate in silence.
The braised pork was quickly devoured.
Bai Lixin didn’t eat a piece, the mute woman had one, and the elderly lady didn’t touch any.
The remaining large bowl of braised pork mostly ended up in the man’s stomach.
After finishing the braised pork, the man still seemed unsatisfied. He lifted the bowl containing the leftover pork, poured all the remaining rice into the sauce, mixed it thoroughly, and ate it all with relish.
Once he had consumed all the rice, he wiped his mouth contentedly and remarked, “Being a man is tiring, working so hard every day to support the young and old at home.”
“This meal was really satisfying.”
With that, the man stood up from his chair, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and casually said, “I’m going next door to play cards.” Then he left, leaving behind a messy table.
Escape System: [Tasks 1 and 2 are unified tasks for all players. Task three is different for each player and may have varying content. It’s like playing a strategy game; different early choices lead to different story developments later on. Task three is a rational task based on the triggered plot development in the early gameplay.]
[However, it’s not absolute. Some players are just lucky and won’t trigger the task, but completing the first two tasks will be sufficient.]
Bai Lixin: [Understood, thank you.]
[You’re welcome,] the Escape System paused briefly, then continued, [Master Bai Lixin, this copy is a welfare copy. According to our system’s understanding of copies, the death rate in welfare copies is not very high. It’s a genuinely kind copy, so you don’t have to feel much pressure in this one.]
Bai Lixin: [Alright, thank you for the reminder.]
Bai Lixin opened a private chat window and sent messages to Sun Ning and Li Cancan respectively: [What do you think?]
Sun Ning: [I observed for a bit and haven’t found any issues so far. These should be plot NPCs. Still, we need to see if they’re hiding something.]
Li Cancan: [I’m doing well. I’ve already settled in. Sun Ning and I are staying together. You can rest assured, I’ll take care of Sun Ning.]
Seeing the vastly different responses from the two, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but chuckle.
Sun Ning focused on the game and analyzed the situation with him.
Meanwhile, Li Cancan’s attention was on Sun Ning, and she reported her safety to him.
In a way, these two seemed quite complementary.
In reality, Bai Lixin had nothing much to tidy up. After sitting in the room for a while, he pushed the door open and walked out.
The two children were playing in the courtyard, and the two adults were nowhere to be seen.
Bai Lixin called out to the two boys, “Where did your parents go?”
The younger brother immediately hid behind his older brother. The elder brother proficiently protected his younger sibling and answered in a clear, standard Mandarin, “My dad went to the fields, and my mom is in the kitchen preparing dinner.”
Considering that their mother was mute, and their father could only speak the local dialect, Bai Lixin was curious. “Who taught you to speak Mandarin?”
The elder brother raised his head proudly. “Our grandma taught us.”
“I heard my grandma say that she used to be the daughter of a wealthy family and later married my grandpa when their family fortunes declined. So, my grandma not only writes beautifully but also knows many ancient poems and verses.”
Bai Lixin recalled the elderly woman’s parting words, “exhausted from the journey.”
He took out a cotton candy from his backpack. “Here’s a question for you, and if you answer, I’ll give you this candy. Deal?”
The boy looked at his younger brother and nodded generously. “Okay, big brother, ask away!”
“Do you have a girl in your village named Pan Pan?”
The boy replied confidently, “Yes, I can take you to see her if you want. She doesn’t live far from our house.”
“Thank you very much.” Bai Lixin smiled and handed the candy to the older brother.
However, the older brother just stared at the candy for a moment, swallowed but gave it to his younger brother.
With big round eyes, the younger brother stared at the candy in his hand for a long time before carefully placing it in the older brother’s pocket.
He wasn’t very fluent in speaking, and he tugged on his brother’s sleeve, speaking with a childish voice, “Big brother, eat.”
After saying that, he gazed innocently at Bai Lixin with his watery, big round eyes.
Bai Lixin quickly took out another one: “…”
‘Take it, both of you!
I have no idea how to deal with human kids of this age.’
Each of the brothers got a candy, and they happily tore open the wrappers to eat.
Watching the two brothers wolfing down their candies, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but speak, “You can only eat one today, alright? Eating too many will ruin your teeth. Tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow, I can give you more.”
The older and younger brothers stood obediently in front of Bai Lixin, nodding earnestly.
Kids this age didn’t understand what joking is.
In their understanding, the words of others were always truthful and not false.
The older brother led the way with his younger sibling, and Bai Lixin didn’t have to exert much effort or time to find Pan Pan’s doorstep.
Just as he stood in the alley outside Pan Pan’s house, he spotted some figures standing there from a distance.
It was two people, one large, one small. As they approached, Bai Lixin realized it was a young man with a small braid at the back of his head. Bai Lixin had seen him among the players earlier.
The young man with the small braid was talking to the little girl sitting on the doorstep. The little girl looked exactly like the one they had seen in the opening video, but at the moment, her face was filled with sadness, and she appeared quite unhappy.
No matter how much the player talked, Pan Pan remained silent.
Before he reached Pan Pan, the older brother suddenly stopped, turned to Bai Lixin, and extended his hand, saying, “Big brother, can you give me another piece of candy? I promise I won’t eat it.”
The brother’s voice was sincere, and Bai Lixin didn’t think much of it. He reached into his backpack and handed a piece of cotton candy to the young boy.
Thanks to his previous experience in the Eternal Diamond Mountain, where he barely had enough, he always made sure to sweep through the mall before entering any copy. He collected useful and useless items alike, or else he wouldn’t be able to satisfy these children’s innocence and joy.
“Sister Pan Pan.” With the candy in hand, the older brother immediately ran over to the little girl, who was sitting with a sad expression. He directly handed her the cotton candy and said, “Look, candy, for you.”
The little girl was momentarily stunned, her eyes fixed on the candy in her hand. After a while, her eyes welled up with tears, and she began to cry.
“Wuuu, wuuu.”
The older brother was taken aback and quickly tried to comfort her. “Sister Pan Pan, don’t you like it?”
However, the little girl didn’t say anything. She just held the candy tightly and cried bitterly.
Her cries were loud, and they drew the adults from inside the house.
A door opening sound came from the house, and before long, a woman wearing an apron rushed out.
As soon as she saw the two unfamiliar men standing at the door with a crying Pan Pan, she didn’t mince words and immediately picked up Pan Pan, who was in tears. She held the little girl tightly in her arms, soothing her while giving the two men a wary look. “Who are you people? Child traffickers?! Let me tell you, kidnapping children is a crime, do you know that? Leave immediately, or I’ll call the police!”
The young man with the small braid quickly explained, “Big sister, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not child traffickers. We were sent by the city to help in the village.”
The woman was still somewhat skeptical. She scrutinized Bai Lixin and the young man with the small braid, her gaze shifting between them before finally landing on the two boys.
The older brother explained in a gentle voice, “This uncle didn’t do anything to her, and he and this big brother are just visitors.”
“This big brother is staying in our house.”
Small Braid: “…”
‘We look almost the same age.
Why call me “uncle” and him “big brother”?!’
The woman finally lowered her guard a bit but still spoke with a less than friendly tone, “Fine, you’re here to help, so be it. But why come to our house? We don’t need help. You two look suspicious, and not all helpers are good people.”
“It’s not like that,” Small Braid continued to explain. “I saw that Pan Pan was sitting here looking very unhappy, so I asked her what was wrong.”
This statement was better left unsaid. Once said, it only infuriated the woman further. “Haven’t you just arrived? Why do you know my daughter’s name is Pan Pan? What exactly is your purpose?”
Small Braid: “…”
‘Just kill me already!’
Bai Lixin glanced at the older brother.
The older brother said, “Auntie, I called out Pan Pan’s name just now.”
Small Braid quickly explained, “Yes, that’s right. I heard the little boy calling her, and that’s how I knew. I really didn’t know her name was Pan Pan. I live next door, and when I saw her sitting here, I came over to check on her.”
The woman glanced toward the neighboring house, then looked down at Pan Pan in her arms.
Now that Pan Pan’s cries had subsided somewhat, the woman asked gently, “Pan Pan, did these two bully you? You just tell the truth. Mommy’s here, and with me around, they won’t dare to bully you.”
Pan Pan hiccupped and, while sniffing, her voice trembled as she spoke, “Little brother used to give me candy, and now I miss him, sniff.”
A fleeting pain crossed the woman’s eyes. She gently patted Pan Pan in her arms and cast a warning look at the two men before closing the door and carrying Pan Pan inside.
Small Braid: “…”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Small Braid smiled awkwardly at Bai Lixin. “Looks like I messed things up. If I hadn’t said anything earlier, it would have been better. Hello, I’m Zhao Zheng, and I’m probably older than you so just call me Brother Zhao.”
Bai Lixin extended his hand. “Hello, Zhao Zheng. I’m Bai Lixin.”
Small Braid: “…Hello.”
‘Okay, just call me Zhao Zheng I guess.’
Small Braid: “What did that little girl mean by her last sentence just now? What does it mean that she missed her little brother after seeing this candy?”
Bai Lixin thought for a moment. “Does Pan Pan have a younger brother?”
After they finished speaking, both of them focused their gaze on the five-year-old brother.
The brother’s action of extending his hand was already very skilled.
Bai Lixin: “…”
He placed a piece of candy in the brother’s hand, and only after the brother had passed it to his younger sibling did he answer earnestly, “Sister Pan Pan’s little brother was taken by the monsters on the mountain.”
Small Braid and Bai Lixin exchanged glances. Small Braid asked, “What kind of monster is it?”
The brother shook his head. “I haven’t seen it. Grandma says only naughty children get taken by the monsters, and Pan Pan’s little brother was naughty.”
Small Braid pondered, “Could it be that Pan Pan’s distress is about her little brother? Does she want to see her missing brother? So, is our task to go up the mountain and find her brother?”
Bai Lixin: “Let’s wait and ask some more.”
Bai Lixin crouched down and looked at the brother in front of him, using a gentle voice to coax, “Do you know anything else about that monster? Can you tell big brother?”
“Big brother, I like you.” The brother blinked. “I’ll tell you.”
“Grandma said the monster is called a Mountain Ghost.”
“It lives on the mountain and really likes children. It likes to eat children, so it often comes down from the mountain to capture children.”
“It only captures disobedient children, so as long as we’re obedient and well-behaved, we won’t be taken by the monster.”
Bai Lixin remained silent for a moment. “So… are there many disobedient children?”
The brother tilted his head. “Yes, many, many naughty children have been taken.”
Bai Lixin and Small Braid were instantly stunned.
…..
As soon as he opened the door to the place where he was staying, Bai Lixin smelled the wafting aroma of food.
The two brothers rushed into the main room, and Bai Lixin followed. Before he even entered, he heard a man’s voice saying, “We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you two been? Why are your hands so dirty? If you don’t behave, be careful of being taken away by the Mountain Ghost!”
It seemed that the two children were very afraid of the Mountain Ghost. Bai Lixin then heard the older brother begging in a frightened tone, “Dad, I didn’t run around randomly, it was the big brother who asked me to take him out. I’m not a bad kid, and my little brother isn’t a bad kid either. We’re not bad kids!”
“Alright, alright,” an elderly voice came through, “neither of you are bad kids. Dad was just scaring you. Hurry up and wash your hands for dinner, be good.”
Bai Lixin walked in and, as he sat at the dining table, his gaze scanned the dishes in front of him.
Eggplants, tomatoes, and a plate of braised pork.
The two brothers kept their eyes fixed on the braised pork as soon as they sat down, their mouths watering.
The husband chuckled and pushed the plate of braised pork in front of Bai Lixin. “This is specially prepared by the village head for comrades like you from the city. Go ahead, try it.”
He finished speaking and swallowed some saliva.
Bai Lixin silently glanced at the expressions of the people around the table.
The elderly woman’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the overcooked eggplant in front of her. Her face bore the marks of time, reflecting a sense of weariness and composure.
The mute woman, on the other hand, earnestly served food to everyone, her full attention on the two children.
The two children and the man had their gazes fixed on the plate of braised pork in front of them.
Bai Lixin contemplated for a moment, then slowly pushed the braised pork to the center of the table. “I can’t finish all of this by myself. Let’s eat together.”
The man was not polite and he smiled and said, “Then we’re lucky to share your meal.”
With that, he picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it on top of his rice, relishing the flavors.
The woman also picked up her chopsticks, served each child a piece of braised pork, and then placed her chopsticks down, continuing to add more rice.
After serving everyone with rice, the woman finally placed the last bowl of rice in front of herself, slowly eating the tomatoes in front of her.
As the piece of braised pork went down, the man picked up another piece and placed it in his bowl. He poured the sauce from the braised pork onto his rice before continuing to enjoy the meat.
While eating, the man spoke, “The village head said if we provided a room, the village will send us some meat with every meal. Of course, all this meat is for you. We can enjoy it because of your presence.”
Taking another bite of rice, the man continued, “Don’t feel like a guest here; consider this place your own. If you need anything, just let me know, and I’ll talk to the team.”
Throughout the meal, the man maintained a friendly conversation, while the others at the table ate in silence.
The braised pork was quickly devoured.
Bai Lixin didn’t eat a piece, the mute woman had one, and the elderly lady didn’t touch any.
The remaining large bowl of braised pork mostly ended up in the man’s stomach.
After finishing the braised pork, the man still seemed unsatisfied. He lifted the bowl containing the leftover pork, poured all the remaining rice into the sauce, mixed it thoroughly, and ate it all with relish.
Once he had consumed all the rice, he wiped his mouth contentedly and remarked, “Being a man is tiring, working so hard every day to support the young and old at home.”
“This meal was really satisfying.”
With that, the man stood up from his chair, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and casually said, “I’m going next door to play cards.” Then he left, leaving behind a messy table.
